Last week’s post by Roger Thompson featured “Ten Rules for Entrepreneurs”. To build on that, I thought I’d include some of the more quotable moments and insights from a recent panel featuring past participants of the HBS Business Plan Contest (BPC). Moderated by faculty member and Rock Center Executive Director Mike Roberts, the lineup lost no time in getting down to brass tacks with the SRO student crowd of would-be entrepreneurs.

Paris Wallace (MBA ’07) of Good Start Genetics noted that the BPC is an effective way to meet people and make connections. For example, a competition judge is now on his company’s board. Good Start, which closed an $18 million Series A round of fundraising in September, will use advanced DNA sequencing technology for a pre-pregnancy test to more accurately screen for a range of potential genetic disorders.

“There’s no bolt of lightning,” Wallace said of hitting on the right idea for a business. “You’re not going to find it — it’s built over time.” His partner, Eric Boutin (MBA ’07), added that the pair did not have a background in biotech.

Shelby Clark (MBA ’10) noted that the Rock Center fellowship he received between his first and second years at HBS was critical in getting the ball rolling for Relay Rides, a service allowing customers to rent neighborhood cars from private owners by the hour or by the day. (Clark also got some “Air Time” in the December Bulletin. By the fall of his second year, Clark had raised $500,000 in funding. His advice? Be clear with partners when it comes to delineating between areas of responsibility and ownership. And make sure that everyone has an equity stake early on. Any mistakes? “I hired people with outstanding résumés, people who thought some of the not-so-fun work of starting a business was below them,” he confessed. “You need soldiers, not generals.”

All emphasized the importance of action over PowerPoint presentations and laboring over the “static” text of a prose business plan. “Creating companies is not something you do in your head or on a spreadsheet,” said Eric Paley (MBA ’03) of Brontes Technologies, a 3-D dental imaging company sold to 3M in 2006. “You do it by talking to people. We leveraged the fact that we were HBS students to talk to anyone and everyone.” Paley added that winning the BPC isn’t the main point, noting that all of the panelists were runners-up. “You get a lot out of just participating,” he said.

All agreed that starting a company is a significant risk and that an HBS degree is a solid insurance policy in case things don’t work out — but you can’t expect success by hedging your bets from the get-go. “See how excited you get,” counseled Boutin. “This is the incubation period. If you put a backup plan in place, I guarantee you will quickly fall back on it.”

“Just do it,” said Clark. “There will always be a reason not to. And this is the single most risk-free time in your life.”

Send us a note if you’re a past participant in the BPC (next year marks its 15th anniversary). We’re gathering experiences, tips, and stories (good and bad) for a feature to appear in the June 2011 issue of the Bulletin.

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