Alisa Cohn: How to Think Like a Startup

Alisa Cohn: How to Think Like a Startup by Building an Entrepreneurial Mindset

Cornell Club-NY, Nov. 9, 2022

Alisa Cohn , Cornell MBA ’96, is regarded by many as the world’s top start-up consultant. On Nov. 9, 2022, she spoke to her fellow alumni at the Cornell Club-NY about her new book – From Start-Up to Grown-Up, and how to apply these lessons even if you’re not building a new business.

According to Cohn, key elements include managing yourself, managing your relationships with others, and managing your business. Her talk at the Cornell Club-NY focused on managing yourself by developing an entrepreneurial mindset.?

How do you build an Entrepreneurial Mindset? You’ll need:

1. Agility

2. Risk Tolerance

3. Selling

4. Initiative & Ownership

5. Resilience

She then broke down each of these factors.

Agility: You must wear multiple hats in a small business. For many entrepreneurs, that’s part of the charm. Do you have these skills? Test yourself honestly.

Risk: Scale your risk-taking; try incremental steps out of your comfort zone. Try different approaches, set larger goals, try new skills.

Selling: Create a story / narrative. Build empathy: start with the user in mind; practice situational awareness; get feedback from others.

Initiative & Ownership: Set clear goals for everyone, including yourself. Learn to be a coach.

• Lead with Curiosity;
• Ask, Don’t Tell (Ask People: "Tell Me More");
• End with Clarity (who will do what, when).

Your coaching approach builds motivation for yourself and others.

Resilience: Reframe situations. Teach yourself this skill: Building Productive Self-Talk. What do I tell myself when things go wrong; what could I tell myself instead; How will I remember? What you tell yourself impacts how you view situations.

The talk ended with a very robust question-and-answer session from the audience, which included students from the Cornell Tech program who described many modern, real-life business situations, and got cutting-edge advice. Alisa also took the time to autograph copies of her new book, and offer one-on-one encouragement.

Alisa Cohn is an Executive Coach who has worked with C-suite executives at prominent startups (such as Venmo, Etsy, Draft Kings,) and Fortune 500 companies (including Dell, Microsoft, Google, Pfizer, and The New York Times.)?She is the author of?From Start-up to Grown-Up?and the creator and host of a?podcast?with the same name. She was named the Top Startup Coach in the World at the Thinkers50/Marshall Goldsmith Global Coaches Awards and the #1 Global Guru for Startups. Her articles have appeared in HBR, Forbes, and Inc, and she's been featured as an expert on BBC World News and in the NY Times and WSJ.

You can download Alisa's 5 Scripts for Delicate Conversations at?www.alisacohn.com/5scripts. Read Alisa's book?here?and check out her?podcast. You can follow her on?twitter?&?instagram?@AlisaCohn.?Alisa Cohn was profiled in?First Round Review?and check out her?podcast with Tim Ferriss.

This evening with Alisa Cohn was an exclusive event for Cornell Club-NY members and their guests. The Cornell Club-New York is a private city club that serves as a hub for its Members, and is located at 6 East 44th Street in midtown Manhattan – steps away from Grand Central Terminal. To learn more about the Cornell Club-NY, please visit its website at:?www.cornellclubnyc.com