Members of HW Venture brainstormed ideas for the upcoming school year as part of the Venture Kickoff event held May 23 at the Middle School. The club discussed plans for the new Venture class curriculum, planned potential field trips and learned about the process behind launching a business.
Venture President Coco Kaleel ’20 spoke about the ways in which the club can integrate more fully into the school community, such as strengthening partnerships with campus organizations such as HW Works and Hack HW. Kaleel also encouraged members to take risks in their business ventures and emphasized the importance of perseverance and confidence in the business world.
“Something I never want to hear you say is ‘Is this allowed?’” Kaleel said. “You may get 1,000 no’s before one yes and that is okay. The important thing is to keep trying.”
Club members also explained their visions for the future of the club. Ideas included creating a Venture website, expanding the HW Inc summer program to reach others outside of the school community and hosting more alumni speakers on campus.
Members also worked to come up with the curriculum and logistics behind the new Venture class that will be launched for the 2019-2020 school year. Members discussed grading and class rules, as well as laid out rough plans for the school year.
Andrew So ’21 said the open-ended nature of the discussion allowed him to brainstorm possibilities for his own business, and that being surrounded with similarly-oriented students inspired him to pursue his goals.
“I thought the way the discussion was organized allowed for a lot of individual thinking and brainstorming,” So said. “I was definitely inspired by everyone’s ideas and visions for the club, and got some ideas for my own project.”
Kaleel said the purpose of the launch event was to provide club members with an opportunity to get to know each other and inspire each other to pursue their business ventures.
“We wanted to get everyone together and start thinking about the endless possibilities we have the capability to explore next year,” Kaleel said. “We wanted everyone to see each other and learn to work together, and begin forming the relationships and connections that will serve as the basis for the future of Venture.”