Lessons Learned From a Failed Ivy League Entrepreneur

A "Case Story" By Chris Cononico
 

Online Reviews:

Lessons Learned From a Failed Ivy League Entrepreneur
Thursday, December 7th, 2006

I just heard about a new website that offers a great case story for young entrepreneurs. The Entrepreneurial Code is about a group of failed entrepreneurs from the Wharton business school and the lessons they learned. The website’s creator Christopher Cononico points out that you can often learn more by understanding other people’s failures than you can from their successes.

http://www.youngmoney.com/blog/


The Entrepreneurial Code
December 11, 2005

The Entrepreneurial Code is a fantastic case story written by Chris Cononico, a Wharton Business School graduate who started his business at 21 whilst still in college. Part case study part personal recount, The E-Code follows the journey of how Cononico, along with three friends, started ‘Quaker Card’ as a group assignment, growing it into a successful business right through to its fall from grace and ultimately its liquidation.

Described as “a story about how young entrepreneurs can sometimes become so consumed with their quest for success, they forget the fundamentals of leadership.” Cononico’s story is a reminder that sheer determination and hard work are no guarantees of success, and that a strong set of principles are needed to guide decisions and actions.

The Entrepreneurial Code goes into great detail describing the ups and downs of Quaker Card through Cononico’s eyes and in some ways reminded me of Richard Branson’s autobiography, ‘Losing My Virginity’ in particular his struggle competing against a bigger power and scramble to control cash flow.

I really recommend having a look at this amazing story, which you can read for free at the Entrepreneurial Code website.

http://www.entreplist.com


Learning from failure in The Entrepreneurial Code
December 16, 2005

Christopher Cononico tells the story of his business failure in The Entrepreneurial Code, a fascinating blow-by-blow of a student start-up in the pre-dotcom days. (This Case Story, as he calls it, is posted online for free.)

The problem with "we hung on by our fingernails, we rolled the dice for payroll, and we made it" tales of entrepreneurial success is that you only hear about the ones who made it. Fed a steady diet of back-from-the-brink-with-a-big-gamble stories, you can start to believe that they are the cause of success, rather than an unfortunate detour along the way.

Failure is a great teacher, but too often its valuable lessons benefit only those it touches. We nurse our wounds in private and hoard our expensive education. There are not enough books and speakers on the topic of "How I went bankrupt and hurt my friends and family."

Cononico is up front about the mistakes he made and the consequences of his bad business decisions. He has done a great service by sharing his experience for the benefit of entrepreneurs who follow him.

http://firesomeonetoday.com/
 

No Success like Failure
December 02, 2005

Chris Cononico, an entrepreneur and Wharton graduate, e-mailed us a web site he has launched. Called The Entrepreneurial Code: Lessons Learned from a Failed Ivy League Entrepreneur, the site hosts Cononico’s tale of how he and his college friends failed in business and then delves into their various lessons learned. Cononico says his content is directed at business students, but it certainly may be of interest to practicing entrepreneurs as well.

http://blog.kauffman.org/


Entrepreneurial Code for Students
I'm reading an excellent book online that is an example for college students who want to start their own business, The Entrepreneurial Code.

Helping young people to think "entrepreneurially" is at the heart of where PAL Network is going for career development.

80% of people think they can start and run their own business, but very few ever start, much less make a success and make any $$ at all. Read this young man's story with the lessons he has to share and you'll be well ahead of the game.

http://www.palnetwork.blogspot.com



 

Copyright  2005 by Chris Cononico
All rights reserved. No part of this manuscript may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.