A Handful of Entrepreneurial Projects I’m Taking Part In

I was supposed to update this more often than I have been, but when the workload begins piling on along with the incessant need to pay some modicum of lip service to networking and job search shenanigans, blogging takes a back seat to more important work. Hell, even my work over at my anime music website is on a higher priority, telling, especially when I’ve only been able to write one article in the last couple months (notwithstanding all that editing work I do when my writers submit articles or reviews).

Well, it’s been two months into my program at the Marshall School of Business. As much as business school provides a forum for learning, networking, and launching the next phase of your career, the biggest return on investment for me lies in the opportunity to work on oddball projects that will hopefully materialize into something meaningful. So, to see what I’ve been working on so far, read on!

• USC Startup Weekend – As you can probably imagine, I’m pretty hyped up for what this event can bring in terms of hands-on experience. The objective is to create a startup within the span of 54 hours; definitely a tall order. The most that one can reasonably expect to get done in that span of time is to create a rough prototype and showcase it and I do worry that my ability to contribute is low seeing that I have little coding experience. Still, I do hope this can turn into something meaningful where I can get a broader exposure to new ideas and work on transforming dream into reality.
• 2012 Y-Prize: New Media Business Plan Challenge – This one’s definitely right up my alley since Anime Instrumentality is already working decently within that domain space. Unfortunately, I’m not sure of the potential that the anime niche has to offer. So here, I’m looking to do something that’s orthogonal from anime music. I do have an idea and people did show sufficient interest in it to help me figure out how to solve the problem I presented. If my instincts are correct, this could be a very helpful tool for travelers. I’ll update more about this idea as it progresses.
• Maseeh Entrepreneurship Prize Competition – This one is a bit more audacious in that it involves solving problems of greater scale. That said, it does give me the chance to talk to Viterbi engineering students and figure out what sorts of projects they’re working on so I have a better idea of the world outside of internet and mobile apps. Now, I just have to find a team to work with…

Essentially, what you’re looking at is my entrepreneurial bug really manifesting. To that end, I’m grateful for the channels that allows me to branch out beyond my classmates at Marshall and into some of USC’s other graduate programs. As fun as business students are, there is a need to get out of the insularity of business school and venture into other disciplines where the innovations lie.

Anyhow, this weekend is USC Startup Weekend. Hopefully I’ll be able to update you all with my exploits during the course of the 54 hours!