GLOBAL LEADERS GUIDE STUDENTS: Netflix Co-Founder Marc Randolph Becomes HPU's Entrepreneur in Residence.

• Author: Elliott, Kathy

Kathy Elliott remembers what she told the group of students preparing to pitch their business ideas to Netflix Co-Founder Marc Randolph.

"This," she said, "is a big deal. Practice and be ready."

And practice they did, many of them inside her office in the Belk Entrepreneurship Center, where Elliott serves as director and mentors flocks of students preparing to launch companies.

They rehearsed. They improved. They stressed. They laughed at their own nervousness. And then they kept going.

When the big day arrived, a crowd of students gathered in a half circle to support their peers who were presenting, and Randolph sat in the middle. The space sports neon furniture and walls and tables where students can write their ideas. Everything about the center looks and feels like a small business incubator.

But it's only a space until the students arrive to fill it with their ideas, creativity and collaboration. That day, the center brimmed with the kind of energy--the true spirit of entrepreneurism--that moves students' businesses forward.

Randolph returned again this year as High Point University's Entrepreneur in Residence. So did Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak, who serves as HPU's Innovator in Residence. More students met the Silicon Valley veterans, shared their ideas with them and received honest feedback from people who've revolutionized their industries.

"When HPU welcomes someone like the co-founder of Netflix or the co-founder of Apple to sit and provide real, honest feedback to our students, it builds massive momentum," Elliott said. "The students know Marc Randolph and Steve Wozniak are coming back again and again, so they are constantly rising to the occasion. There is never a shortage of cool things happening here."

"When HPU welcomes the co-founder of Netflix or the co-founder of Apple to sit and provide real, honest feedback to our students, it builds massive momentum."

--Kathy Elliott, Director of the Belk Center for Entrepreneurship

THE ANATOMY OF INNOVATIVE MENTORSHIP

When global leaders such as Netflix Co-Founder Marc Randolph serve in residence at HPU, a transformational process takes place for the students they mentor.

Student starts with business idea

Student pitches a plan to Netflix Co-Founder Marc Randolph

Randolph provides feedback

Student refines business based on feedback

Student takes business to market

Learn more about how Marc Randolph helped a student launch her company at highpoint.edu/emilydelena

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