“From Business Plan to Scalable Success” – Paul Cheek at PorterShed

We recently welcomed Paul Cheek, a serial entrepreneur and the Executive Director of the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship, for an insightful workshop followed by a fireside chat with Portershed co-founder, entrepreneur and academic John Breslin. The event, supported by Galway City Council’s “Innovative Cities” initiative and the University of Galway’s AgInnovation and TechInnovation programmes, brought together budding entrepreneurs and seasoned professionals to explore the evolving world of startups.

Paul Cheek, a Forbes 30 Under 30 honouree, shared insights drawn from his vast experience, including his work at MIT and his entrepreneurial ventures. His talk focused on modern entrepreneurship, emphasising that there are more startups today than ever before, boosted by global access to information and tools such as AI.

A key highlight was Cheek’s discussion of Jetpack, an AI tool that assists with creating first drafts of business plans – an example of how technology is streamlining entrepreneurship. He also emphasised entrepreneurs needing to prioritise customer engagement over traditional strategies and constantly reverting to ‘what would the costumer want?’.

One of the more startling statistics he shared was that 52% of Fortune 500 companies from 2003 no longer exist, reminding attendees of the rapidly changing business landscape. Paul encouraged entrepreneurs to use scientific systems to prioritise tasks from day one and stressed that creativity is at the core of any successful startup.

Key Tactical Insights from Paul Cheek:

• Start with traction before seeking funding: Focus on customer interest and market research first.
• Time and money are your most valuable assets; use them wisely.
• “The best investor is your customer.”
• Strategy and tactics go hand-in-hand: Start with a solid foundation, market testing, and regular milestones to guide progress.
• “Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy are the noise before defeat.”

During the fireside chat, Paul and John Breslin discussed topics such as data-driven decision-making and the difference between specialists and generalists in startups. Learn to be an expert in being scrappy at the beginning and be a generalist. Don’t rely on intuition alone for business decisions – build data sets based on customer feedback and research and let that guide your decisions. 

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us on the day – and we hope you enjoy the book!