08 Jun High School Fellowship Bootcamp Recap
The first ever Launch Fishers High School Fellowship Bootcamp took place June 1 – June 4. Some of Fishers’ best and brightest students listened and participated in presentations put on by local thought leaders and entrepreneurs. In this post, Alex Reibel, a Launch Fishers intern, shares her thoughts on the bootcamp.
Day 1
Bootcamp began. 24 students, either currently in high school or just graduating high school, came to Launch Fishers for the High School Fellowship Bootcamp at 9:00a.m. today with hopes that after Friday, they will be placed as an intern with a group of select host companies.
The bootcamp will consist of guest speakers each hour Monday through Thursday. Friday is the day that each student will interview with companies such as Launch Fishers, City of Fishers, Recovery Force, Iconic Digital and more.
Today, five different speakers came in to share their thoughts. Gerry Hays, an entrepreneur and professor at IU Kelley School of Business, taught us three essential lessons about entrepreneurship:
1. Do not get into it for the money.
2. Just be present; live in the moment.
3. Pick your partners correctly.
The following hour was filled by an interesting presentation by Kyle Shipley about startups. After lunch, the next two hours brought information about the maintenance of roads, parks, and athletic fields and the economic development in Fishers by two government workers. ProfyleTracker was the last speaker. They provided us tips on succeeding in job interviews and, of equal importance, what not to do during interviews.
Today was an interesting day, as I learned a lot about different aspects of business, and I know that the rest of the week will bring more learning.
The team at ProfyleTracker speaks about interviewing basics
Day 2
Day 2 started with the five creators of Zipline, which is going to be the next big social media app. Shortly after, Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness stopped by to talk about his position as mayor, and his vision for Fishers as an entrepreneurial city. After lunch, a captain from the Fishers Fire Department gave a summary of the fire department along with interesting fire rescue stories. John Wechsler introduced the two creators of Edwin the Duck. Edwin the Duck is an educational toy with advanced technological capabilities for younger children. It will actually launch in Apple stores world-wide this August. Kyle Shipley came in again at the last hour with a co-worker from HealthPro. They had created fake businesses to analyze the marketing campaign behind each one.
Thank you to all of the guest speakers! Now we know how to create new, hip inventions like Edwin the Duck and better understand how our city functions.
Edwin the Duck
Day 3
Day 3 kicked off with Michael Cloran, the creator of DeveloperTown in Broad Ripple. He discussed how failure has impacted his life, and how failure is part of the process of entrepreneurship. Following Cloran was Anna Graf Williams, a founder of Learnovation. She stressed the importance of taking care of our health and well-being. After lunch two employees of Fishers Parks and Recreation division came, describing how their parks and programs will inspire curiosity in children. Launch Fishers member, Kristen Cooper, shared her project Friendtro with us. Friendtro is a Match.com for friends. She had us form groups of five and each group had an assigned CEO, CFO, CMO, CTO, and CSO. Finally, Denzil “Val” Crooke from Incentus Global came in to talk about character and how we should try to improve our strong character.
Each speaker was engaging and I enjoyed the juxtaposition between business and the City of Fishers.
Group photo with Kristen Cooper
Day 4
It was the last day of bootcamp and tomorrow each student will interview with various businesses for internships. Today started with a visit from Officer Tom Weger of the Fishers Police Department. He discussed the importance of the police’s strong relationship with the community in order for the police to be successful. Following him was Thaddeus Rex, who delved into the science of charisma with his songs, stories and research. After lunch was Mark Roger from Frannet. He went over a presentation titled Road Map to Entrepreneurship, and discussed the differences between building your own business, buying an existing business and buying a franchise. Alyshia Madlem, the Vice President of Blast Media, came next. She taught us about the business of public relations, and how the industry is evolving with greater use of social media. Lastly, Autumn Gasior, the Director of Public Relations for the City of Fishers, spoke about her team tries and how they make sure the residents of Fishers are aware of city news.
Bootcamp has been a great experience, and I am thankful to all of the guest speakers for taking their time to come talk to us about business and their stories.
Thaddeus Rex