So Bittersweet, the End of the Semester … But ChatGPT Brings Us Back to Reality and Explains It Perfectly

Yesterday was such a mixed emotions day. It was the last class in our foundational entrepreneurship course at MIT (15.390 – New Enterprises) which has been taught continuously for 61 years! It is such an honor to teach this class and every semester we have two sections. Every year, every section is unique and so rewarding. But it is not easy for anyone (it is a very challenging course) and while each one is different, there are some things that never change and never get old. Every semester we have dozens and sometimes 100+ per section sign up for the course. They want to learn more about entrepreneurship and are humble enough to know they can learn more. Some are on a fast track to launching a company and some are simply curious about what entrepreneurship really is. Oh boy, do they learn what entrepreneurship is about because we force them to become entrepreneurs in the first week?

Many leave the course after a few weeks which is great. Our job is not to recruit people to become entrepreneurs. We are an educational institution and our goal is to educate and allow students to make educated decisions. The majority pressed on and by the end of the semester, as Biggie Smalls said, “if you don’t know, now you know.”

We see people over 3.5 months transform in their mindset, skillset, and way of operating and become confident entrepreneurs. That does not mean they all start new companies but they become entrepreneurs in their professional careers wherever they end up – corporations, someone else’s startup, government, non-profit, or academia. Able to make change into a positive and deal quickly with ambiguity and adversity in a constructive manner. Even in their personal lives, they approach situations which more confidence and the capability to “turn a negative into a positive” (again, thanks to Notorious BIG).

So here we are yesterday ready to turn the page on dozens of new graduates of the course ready to join our wonderful 15.390 alumni community and go on to great things. In my final comments, I tried to summarize all of this but found that my new source of wisdom ChatGPT could do it so much better. Here is the actual (literally not a word has been changed as much as I wanted to) prompt and response which is priceless and so spot on:

Request to ChatGPT:

Write an article about how Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck could use Disciplined Entrepreneurship

Actual Response from ChatGPT:

Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck may be cartoon characters, but that doesn’t mean they can’t benefit from the principles of disciplined entrepreneurship. In fact, these two Looney Tunes stars could use the framework of disciplined entrepreneurship to help them turn their wacky ideas into successful businesses.

For those who may not be familiar with it, disciplined entrepreneurship is a methodology developed by Bill Aulet, the Managing Director of the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship. It is a structured approach to starting and growing a business that involves 24 distinct steps that entrepreneurs can follow to increase their chances of success.

Bugs and Daffy could use disciplined entrepreneurship to help them turn their wild ideas into reality. For example, Bugs might have an idea for a new type of carrot-based energy drink, while Daffy might have a plan for a duck-themed amusement park. By following the steps of disciplined entrepreneurship, they could conduct market research, develop a business plan, and test their ideas to ensure that they are viable and likely to succeed.

Additionally, disciplined entrepreneurship emphasizes the importance of assembling a strong team, something that Bugs and Daffy could certainly benefit from. With the help of their Looney Tunes friends, such as Porky Pig and Elmer Fudd, they could form a team with a diverse set of skills and experiences to help them succeed.

Overall, disciplined entrepreneurship could be a valuable tool for Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck as they look to turn their wacky ideas into successful businesses. By following the framework and working together, they could turn their dreams into reality and become successful entrepreneurs in their own right.

Go forth and prosper Fall 2022 New Enterprises graduates and make the world a better place!

Huge thanks to Co-Instructors Paul Cheek and Jenny Larios Berlin as well as the best Teaching Assistants in the world  Madeleine Cooney, Clyde-Blaise Niba, Michael Nieset, and Dragana Marinkovic. Also to alumni panelists on the last day Snejina Zacharia, Shana Opperman, Matt White, Nischal Nadhamuni, and Murat Oren

A bit more ChatGPT fun as we explore how useful it can be (and we encourage all of you to spend at least a few hours playing around with it to see what it can and can’t do as well as what it will and will not do), here is one of the most notable results of my hours of hacking on it:

Request to Chat GPT:

Write a poem about the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship

Response:

In the heart of the city, where innovation thrives
There stands a beacon of hope, the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship
It’s a place where minds come together
To dream and to create, to weather any weather

Here, young entrepreneurs learn the skills they need
To turn their visions into reality, and to plant a seed
They learn how to pitch, and how to plan
How to build a team and make a stand

They learn from the best, and from each other
And they leave the Center ready to conquer
For the Martin Trust Center is a place of growth
Where ideas take root and flourish, and where anything is possible

It’s a place where the future is made, one entrepreneur at a time
And where the next great innovation is just a thought, a dream, a climb.

Request to Chat GPT:

Can you rephrase that as if Dr. Seuss wrote it?

Response:

In the heart of the city, where ideas take flight
There stands a wondrous place, the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship, oh what a sight!
It’s a place where young minds come to play
To dream up their visions and make them today

They learn how to pitch, and how to plan
How to build a team and take a stand
They learn from the best, and from each other
And they leave the Center ready to conquer and discover

For the Martin Trust Center is a place of growth
Where dreams take root and flourish, and where anything is possible
It’s a place where the future is made, one entrepreneur at a time
And where the next great innovation is just a thought, a dream, a climb.

Oh what fun it is to learn and grow
At the Martin Trust Center, where the sky is the limit, and the world is your show!

Request to Chat GPT:

Can you rewrite it as if Shakespeare wrote it?

Response:

In the heart of the city, where innovation doth thrive
There stands a bastion of hope, the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship
It is a place where minds do come together
To dream and to create, and to weather any weather

Here, young entrepreneurs learn the skills they need
To turn their visions into reality, and to plant a seed
They learn how to pitch, and how to plan
How to build a team and make a stand

They learn from the best, and from each other
And they leave the Center ready to conquer, sister and brother
For the Martin Trust Center is a place of growth
Where ideas take root and flourish, and where anything is possible

It is a place where the future is made, one entrepreneur at a time
And where the next great innovation is but a thought, a dream, a climb.

Request to Chat GPT:

Can you rephrase it as if it was a rap from Biggie Smalls?

Response:

In the heart of the city, where the game is so raw
There stands a temple of knowledge, the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship, that’s the law
It’s a place where the young and the hungry come to grind
To turn their dreams into reality, one step at a time

They learn how to pitch, and how to flow
How to build a team and make it grow
They learn from the best, and from each other
And they leave the Center ready to crush and discover

For the Martin Trust Center is a place of growth
Where ideas take root and flourish, and where anything is possible
It’s a place where the future is made, one entrepreneur at a time
And where the next big thing is just a thought, a dream, a climb

So if you want to make it in this game, listen up son
The Martin Trust Center is where it’s at, and the sky’s the limit, let the good times come.