{"id":5446,"date":"2025-09-30T10:36:55","date_gmt":"2025-09-30T17:36:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/colleges.claremont.edu\/thehive\/?p=5446"},"modified":"2025-10-01T09:41:42","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T16:41:42","slug":"startup-salon-recap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/colleges.claremont.edu\/thehive\/startup-salon-recap\/","title":{"rendered":"Startup Salon Recap"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\u201cLook to your left and to your right. Your peer could be the next prominent entrepreneur. I was inspired by the students there that night because a great event not only brings great opportunities to students, but also brings great students together.\u201d<\/b><\/em><\/h5>\n
Avery Izzo, Pomona Student<\/h5>\n

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During our first Startup Salon of the semester, curious students joined<\/span> Miles T. Bird<\/span><\/a> (CMC\u201913), managing partner of StoryHouse Ventures<\/strong><\/a>, and<\/span> Randy Saaf<\/span><\/a> (HMC\u201998), Co-founder and CEO at Play Cubed<\/strong><\/a>, for a behind-the-scenes conversation about startups.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

During the evening, students asked questions covering a range of topics, including creating a successful venture, gauging consumer demand, building a strong team, securing funding, and other relevant issues. Miles and Randy discussed their journeys entering early-stage startups after college, the value of AI, leveraging the internet and algorithms to one’s advantage, and, most importantly, the necessity of taking risks. <\/span>Drawing on their own experiences, they reminded students, \u201cYour whole lives, you\u2019ve been successful because you\u2019ve been optimizing for not failing. But with taking risks, failure is inevitable.\u201d The nature of their success has conditioned many students to avoid risk, and undoing that mindset, they said, is crucial to thriving as an entrepreneur.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Having alums return to campus to share their stories adds an invaluable element to our students’ consideration of their own future journeys. One student said, \u201cI never knew how powerful the alumni connection was if it wasn\u2019t for this event. Randy just mentioning the word ‘clinic’ (Harvey Mudd\u2019s senior project requirement) en route to explaining starting a company, creates a real connection to his past that we\u2019re currently living.\u201d It is powerful to hear successful professionals speak in ways that relate to students now, as it transforms their perception of the speakers from separate, isolated entities to individuals just like them, who were once in their exact position. It motivates students to create something themselves because they see that it is genuinely possible.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you’re interested in other events surrounding leadership, entrepreneurship, professional development, and creativity, join us on the following dates:<\/span><\/p>\n

– October 3 | <\/span>The Curious Case of a Venture-Backed Company<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n