Testimonials (Spring semesters)*

S. van Lunteren (2012)
“...I learned [that] being a thinker... instead of a doer won’t get you far, unless you intend to become a famous philosopher. For years I had a pretty easy time at the University since the thinking part was not my weakest one. Exams and papers were usually not too much of a problem. It is the practical part I’m not that skilled in. I’m more someone who watches on the sideline and thinks about what people are doing and how they would feel about it, an observer I would say. I learned that actually doing things without too much thought will get you further. Instead of contemplating for hours about what the ideal strategy for approaching someone should be, it’s probably best to just contact them and see how it goes. By approaching things this way one also more often has the satisfaction of reaching new breakthroughs... Oh yeah, and I learned that when you combine the Asian culture of hard work with the American ‘anything is possible’ spirit you end up with a person that has extreme dedication to his job, and I mean extreme."

A. van der Hulst (2012)
"[W]hat did I learn about myself? Mainly I have learned to continue, to hold on and to stay tough. There was one particular thing that was entirely new for me, I was used to be the leader of a group, work the most and be the smartest. When I entered this team everything was different, I was no longer the leader or the smartest person. I have learned a lot from this position, I had the feeling that I had to prove myself. People in your team can sometimes gave you the feeling like you are inferior to them because you are younger, of the opposite sex or just in your second year of your study. This is one of the reasons why I showed willingness to put effort in our venture 24/7. I have to admit, I have never spend so much time on my study as on this minor. This minor gave a very realistic view of what entrepreneurship is. If you are an entrepreneur, you are an entrepreneur every second of the day, when you have some time left, you feel obliged to spend this time on your venture."

J. Zaanen (2012)
"Overall, the minor was a lot of fun and a great overall experience. The minor gave me a lot of insight about entrepreneurship in general and definitely made the possibility of an entrepreneurial career more accessible for the future. Nowadays, I feel like I am much more aware about opportunities and problems that we happen to cross during everyday life. A potentially successful entrepreneur is someone who is aware of the environment he operates in and has the ability to take action or do research right away when an opportunity or important task is perceived. This entrepreneurial lifestyle is definitely something worth striving for."

M. Schot (2012)
“The interview made me even more excited about the program, partly because of dr. Hsieh’s enthusiasm and seemingly strong dedication... As far as the bootcamp is concerned, it was what I expected of it. It was a crucial time in the minor, I was pretty happy with the way it was set up, I succeeded in finding a team that I liked and shared the same interests as myself. It is just unbelievable that you can put a group of people together, and that somehow they all find a way to create teams and come up with an idea within a very short amount of time... Sometimes group members are more interested in being right (incuding myself), or making a point. A selfless attitude towards solutions is key... What I learned from the theory was, there are a LOT of blind spots that I wasn’t aware of at all. It’s like driving a truck without mirrors, or flying an airplane without instruments. The theory really cleared some of these blind spots out, which was really helpful... For me, this is just a start-off point for learning a lot more! I am looking forward to moving ahead!"

A. Lindenburg (2012)
"It was the lessons learned during the experience of setting up this company that later on in my life will have an impact. I learned to think in a different way, I see more possibilities. I have a greater feeling that my actions will influence the way things are going. Thanks for that."

J. Tuninga (2012)
"[W]e learned a lot from each other and the way other people like to work. This was a very nice advantage. In the end everyone tried to adapt to the way everyone worked and that was a very pleasant way of working with each other... I also learned a lot about myself in this Minor. It all started with the personality test we had to take for the bootcamp. It really was an eye-opener to see what kind of personality I was and that a lot of it was quit accurate. I also noticed that the personality types my teammates had were quite accurate as well. And as it is good to have a mix of people in a team, I did notice I got along best with the personalities that were most similar to mine. I also learned to just do things, instead of thinking everything over so many times. This Minor also opened my eyes to new possibilities in the future. It really interested me a lot and I possibly would like to do a Master in Entrepreneurship as well."

A. van Aken (2012)
"I strongly believe Chihmao did a great job on this. In order to be creative and think ‘outside the box’ you need a positive environment with other enthusiastic people. Before, during and after boot camp Chihmao stimulated the students in a very good way. His positive energy made people, like me, get even more exited and put even more effort in the minor, and innabox."

J.J. Teppema (2012)
"Dear Chihmao,
I would like to thank you very much for all your effort you have contributed to enable this inspiring semester. I have experienced what it is to be an entrepreneur in a very practical and instructive way. This has been a perfect addition to my theoretical education from the last 4,5 year. Good luck with your future career."
I would like to thank you very much for all your effort you have contributed to enable this inspiring semester. I have experienced what it is to be an entrepreneur in a very practical and instructive way. This has been a perfect addition to my theoretical education from the last 4,5 year. Good luck with your future career."

B. Gout (2012)
"I shook like a twig when they handed me the phone to talk to the chairman, but we fixed a meeting. And this was with a charity fund that didn’t even have fulltime employees. Barely a month later I called the senior head of marketing of ‘war child’, an international charity fund, known to virtually everyone in the Netherlands. Calm and clear I explained our concept, and it was very well received. That is definitely one of the most exhilarating moments of past semester... It has been a great experience, it has painted a great future also. I think I’ve got the entrepreneurship-fever. For the past few weeks I’ve noticed the same sharpness as when we’d just started. The sharpness for opportunities, what do I see?... And then, last but absolutely not least, Chihmao. I want to thank you for the best semester I’ve ever had. For organizing everything, for being enthusiastic but also very critical when needed. And for bringing us all together, you’ve personally created the conditions for possibly life long friendships. And yes, you may quote this ;-)"

L. Elfrink (2012)
"The main lesson I learned from this course was the assumption that everybody can become an entrepreneur as long as you set your mind to it. I expected to learn a bunch of lessons on an academic level, but I never really thought I would develop myself to such an extent on a personal level. I am very thankful that I could be part of the Minor Entrepreneurship Spring 2012; it was an experience I will remember and profit from for the rest of my life."

A. Roomer (2012)
"An important thing that I already knew but really experienced here, is the saying: ‘if everybody is responsible, no-one is responsible’. If there is not one person taking the lead on something, it is not getting done. Therefore now, when something needs to be done by more than one person, always one person is given the lead on a task. This way there is always one person responsible for something getting done... A final thing I learned is that, when willpower and imagination are combined, magical things can happen. This minor has given me the tools and the mindset to translate thoughts into action, ideas into matter. It has given me eyes that see opportunities instead of problems. And it has taught me to how to be able to persevere when things get tough. Whether that is as an entrepreneur, hedge fund manager or something else entirely, the lessons I learned during this minor are going to take me far in life." - A. Roomer (2012)

R. Kooyman (2012)
"I expected a great deal of the minor and wanted to get everything out of it, but now that I am almost finished, I can truly say that the minor entrepreneurship at the UvA exceeded all my expectations and I would recommend the minor to everybody with a slightly entrepreneurial spirit."

J. te Kiefte (2012)
“Within the program of this minor, I particularly liked the fact that there was a good hands-on approach to it, backed by some theoretical framework. Personally I believe the best way to get a feel or taste for Entrepreneurship – and I think that was the main motivation for most of the participants this semester – is to actually go and do it... Overall I believe this was one of the most intense but also one of the most instructive semesters of my entire University education. Surely, at times I wished that I had the possibility to turn everything off for a little bit, to just have nothing on my mind, but when we as a team started to make actual progress and actually managed to manufacture a prototype the ‘joy of entrepreneuring’ came back to me quickly.”

D. Granaada (2012)
“The minor programme met my expectations: it really gave me a comprehensive feel of what entrepreneurship is about... The most valuable lesson: getting the right people in your team is by far the most important aspect of entrepreneurship... I feel that I have become a more complete leader now that I had to manage a team for this long and with such a new kind of commitment... But the positive turn of this is that I now know how to translate a good idea into a compelling value proposition because I practiced it so many times. This was best tested in the many pitches I had to do in front of small and big audiences. Explaining your business idea and convincing people that your solution is the best is something that I really improved in over the course of the minor... Thank you, Chihmao, for being such an inspiring and driven coordinator and lecturer. At all times, you were there to put the student’s and their education at first place. Everything was always facilitated to let students get the most out of the minor, and I believe you really succeeded in doing so."

A. Steenhorst (2012)
"I really enjoyed the minor, especially the fact that it is mostly experimental or ‘doing’ orientated, if you want to learn something, you can go out there and find it out yourself. Everything is possible if you really want it."

M. Stam (2012)
"I learned that, being an entrepreneur, it’s not always about following certain steps to make success or following certain rules. Success is something you need to pursue as an entrepreneur, and to pursue success you need to believe in your goal and don’t be shy to take risks."

R. de Jong (2012)
"All in all, this Minor has done everything that I could have hoped for. We were taught both the theoretical side and the practical side of Entrepreneurship. Both of which are crucial to understand what the essences of entrepreneurship is about."
* Disclaimer: All testimonials listed on this page were contributed as a part of the Lessons Learned assignment.
Permission to show testimonials, pictures, and names was granted by the authors of these testimonials
(unless pictures not shown). Testimonials from years prior to 2012 are not shown, because permission to show
them was not requested before that year.