The following blog post is cross-posted at http://www.leapfrogonline.com/digital-leaders-provide-guidance-to-build-an-entrepreneurial-chicago/ and was originally posted on May 1, 2012.
Over the past few years, Chicago has become a growing hub of digital entrepreneurship. Thanks to the willingness of experienced founders and executives to mentor future entrepreneurs, Chicago startups and budding businesses have an excellent support system that gives them the confidence needed to learn, take risks and reap the rewards.
In an effort to continue cultivating Chicago’s innovative culture, I’m honored to be involved with the Digital Leaders Office Hours, organized by Built In Chicago in partnership with Excelerate Labs. It’s a great addition to the mentoring I’ve been doing with Excelerate for the past two years. The feedback has been phenomenal so far, and as more and more investors, corporate leaders and experienced entrepreneurs join, the future for Office Hours looks bright.
Honestly, the mentoring work I’m doing with Excelerate and Built In Chicago is very similar in approach to what I do with our team at Leapfrog Online. It’s about listening, having conversations and learning together. We focus not only on what’s been accomplished, but what obstacles emerged and why. What have we done to figure this type of issue out and how can we improve in the future? Who else might we teach about this, and what are other people learning about this elsewhere? While the startup founder’s situation is different than ours, there is no less complexity. And the best approach to dealing with ever-changing complexity is adaptive learning.
At Leapfrog Online, we make it our mission to ensure we’re attracting the top digital, marketing and technology talent from across the country. Our employees know that by joining Leapfrog Online, they’ll never stop learning, inventing new solutions and engaging with the kind of mentors necessary to help emerging talent lead the way.
The Digital Leaders Office Hours offer Leapfrog Online another avenue to continue building the next generation of Chicago leaders, and we’re excited to be a part of strengthening Chicago’s digital and entrepreneurial spirit.
