Michael Goldberg

Michael E. Goldberg, Assistant Professor of Design and Innovation at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University, takes readers on an international adventure in Beyond Silicon Valley: How One Online Course Helped Support Global Entrepreneurs. From Cleveland, Ohio, to transitioning economies in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, Goldberg tells the stories of students who took his hugely popular Beyond Silicon Valley massive open online course (MOOC). The students start businesses, mentor entrepreneurs, grow entrepreneurial advocacy organizations, and energize the startup ecosystems in their communities. ADVANCE PRAISE FOR BEYOND SILICON VALLEY “In Beyond Silicon Valley, Goldberg has created an indispensable playbook to help entrepreneurs, regardless of where they may live and work, start and scale the companies of the future.” —Steve Case, co-founder of America Online and author of The Third Wave: An Entrepreneur’s Vision of the Future “Beyond Silicon Valley breaks new ground in teaching entrepreneurship and economic development.” —Philip Kotler, Distinguished Professor of International Marketing, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University “An engaging speaker, writer and forward thinker, Goldberg has provided a roadmap for anyone building an entrepreneurship ecosystem in an emerging economy.” —JJ Ramberg, host, MSNBC’s “Your Business” “Beyond Silicon Valley is captivating. Michael Goldberg will change how you think about entrepreneurship and where risk-taking, business-building people can flourish.” —Brad Stone, author, The Everything Store and The Upstarts Thank you for downloading this free PDF of Beyond Silicon Valley. I hope you find it useful and inspiring. I’m making this PDF version of the book avail- able for free because I’d like as many people to read and use it as possible. But I’d also like to connect with as many readers as possible. So, if you want to share a copy of this e-book with friends or colleagues (and I hope you do), please do so by sharing a link to my website, where they can download their own free copy (and I can get an idea of how many people are using the book). Here’s the web address . www.BeyondSiliconValleyBook.com — Michael E. Goldberg Beyond Silicon Valley How One Online Course Helped Support Global Entrepreneurs by Michael E. Goldberg I dedicate this book to people who are working hard to support innovators and entrepreneurs in communities around the world. ©2018 by Michael E. Goldberg First printing, April 2018 Printed in the United States of America All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—including electronic, mechanical, photocopy, and recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. All requests to reproduce material from this book should be sent to: Michael E. Goldberg [email protected] Library of Congress Control Number: 2018902181 ISBN: 978-0-9998352-0-3 Book design by Ben Small, Live Publishing Co. CONTENTS Foreword 6 1. Michael Goldberg—My Cleveland Connection 12 2. Arjan Tupan—Meeting Up in Düsseldorf 24 3. Phan Dinh Tuan Anh—Embracing All Aspects of Innovation 36 4. Giorgi Tukhashvili—Adding More Tech to Tbilisi 51 5. Yvette Mazariegos—Networking Regionally and Globally 58 6. Ajit Nigam—Accessing Capital in India 67 7. Patel Barwabatsile—Making Private-Public Partnerships Work 84 8. Emmanouil Androulakis—Emphasizing the Need for Coordination 95 9. Jovan Stalevski—Exemplifying The Role of the NGO 110 10. Martin Valdivia—Making Government Work 125 11. Daniel Alejandro Knobelsdorf—Moving Through Rough Seas 132 12. Susan Langmann—Mentoring Entrepreneurs Everywhere 141 13. Elaine Slatter—A Mentoring Maven 155 14. Fatos Axhemi—Advancing Information Technology in Kosovo 163 15. Laurie Pickard—Providing a Business Path Through MOOCs 172 16. Mehdi and Arash—Convening Entrepreneurs in Iran 186 17. Juan Manuel and Luis—Advising and Investing in La Rioja 200 Acknowledgments 213 Endnotes 216 The Cleveland Connection The Role of Government 46 The Role of Philanthropy & Donors 76 The Role of Intermediary Organizations & NGOs 119 The Role of Anchor Institutions 150 Access to Capital & Mentoring 179 Conclusion 211 6 | Beyond Silicon Valley FOREWORD eyond Silicon Valley: Growing Entrepreneurship in Tran- Bsitioning Economies (Beyond Silicon Valley), by Professor Michael Goldberg, has spread its message around the globe by engaging thousands of entrepreneurs in a worldwide network of startup visionaries. Beyond Silicon Valley captures Goldberg’s own entrepreneurial journey as he experiments with the potential of the MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) to achieve its fundamental goal of education for all. For entrepreneurs seeking to understand the meaning of their own travails, as well as anyone interest- ed in this unique and effective approach to sharing universal startup experiences, these stories can build resolve and galvanize actions. Conceived in 2013 by Goldberg, Beyond Silicon Valley developed as a way to share the lessons learned from the burgeoning Northeast Ohio entrepreneurial ecosystem, capitalizing on the MOOC as the vehicle to accomplish this audacious goal. One may reasonably ask, “Why Northeast Ohio?” Why not the better capital of tech innovation, Silicon Valley in California? While Silicon Valley boasts a well-deserved reputation as the pinnacle of successful entrepreneurial ecosystems, its unique at- tributes and primary focus on information technology make it a limited model for other regions around the world. Instead, developing ecosystems may be more likely to be inspired by the obstacles, struggles, and setbacks faced by Northeast Ohio—a region buffeted by economic challenges yet simultaneously buoyed by ingenuity and determination. Foreword | 7 Beyond Silicon Valley draws upon the stories and experiences of Northeast Ohio leaders who have strategized and exper- imented over more than a decade to reignite an entrepreneurial culture across the region. The lessons to be garnered from these experiments form the underpinnings of the Beyond Silicon Valley message. When combined with technology-enabled, in- teractive opportunities for students from nations far and wide, these lessons also inspire powerful experiences that are changing lives and charting new directions for economic advancement. The result is a global discussion focused on the transformative potential of entrepreneurship. Beyond Silicon Valley has grown to be the most frequently translated MOOC (now 16 languages) in the history of this teaching medium. Goldberg’s book captures this compelling global conversation and tells the varied and fascinating stories of entrepreneurs, angels, dot connectors, champions, and mentors, among many more energetic actors in this global startup phenomenon. Based on his dual experiences in venture development and international entrepreneurship education, Goldberg is unique- ly positioned to generate exchanges among entrepreneurs and ecosystem builders in far-flung places. He draws upon his own in-depth knowledge of the Northeast Ohio ecosystem and then uses his special talent for translating that story so it resonates in the context of other cultures. Throughout this journey, he exhibits an intellectual nimble- ness that creates his own methodology as well as an optimistic and accessible manner that breathes life into the educational process. His style encourages engagement by his audiences—and now, readers. Goldberg’s chronicle of his personal interactions 8 | Beyond Silicon Valley with entrepreneurs around the world coupled with first-hand accounts of the ways Beyond Silicon Valley participants have de- ployed its lessons—many against all odds—is an inspiring tale. Burton D. Morgan Foundation sponsored this worldwide virtual classroom experience—this MOOC—as a means of am- plifying the impact of our role as an entrepreneurial ecosystem builder in Northeast Ohio. The foundation, established in 1967, was the brainchild of Burt Morgan, who was an entrepreneur to his core. Today, Burton D. Morgan Foundation continues his vision of championing the entrepreneurial spirit. The word “entrepreneurship” was not in vogue in 1938 when Morgan graduated from Purdue University with a degree in mechanical engineering. He only knew then that he want- ed a job as an engineer. While working at Johnson & Johnson, he learned about the adhesives industry, or in his words, the “sticky” trade. He started moonlighting and created a strapless adhesive brassiere that would prevent tan lines. This “outside interest” got him fired and began the saga of Burt Morgan, in- trepid entrepreneur. In the years that followed, Morgan started dozens of companies. Some succeeded while others failed. He bought land for an international airport, started a bank, and developed patents. He became a philanthropist and a mentor. Ohio Governor James A. Rhodes tapped Morgan to serve among the Ohio Commodores, a respected cadre of entrepreneurs who traveled the world on trade missions, sharing views on entrepreneurship and attract- ing companies to locate in the State of Ohio. Morgan helped set up adhesives plants in Holland and Bel- gium, established a distributorship in South Africa, and trav- Foreword | 9 eled on a trade mission to Venezuela and Brazil. He enabled people and nations of the world better understand each other through the language of entrepreneurship. It is this legacy that inspired the foundation to be a primary supporter

Load more