Entrepreneurship as a new normal

Kenosha Startup Week event examines innovation in companies big and small

Whether one works in a large corporation or a young company, maintaining an entrepreneurial mindset is important to driving innovation, according to a panel of innovators at a Kenosha Startup Week discussion Wednesday.

Samantha Jacquest, David Jones, Jeremy Fojut and Randy Hernandez discuss entrepreneurship at Kenall Manufacturing in Kenosha.

The โ€œEntrepreneurship as a New Normalโ€ panelists described what constitutes entrepreneurship and how to inject it into an organization.

โ€œItโ€™s developing an idea,โ€ said David Jones, founder of the Center for Collaborative Research. โ€œAll of a sudden, this idea germinates and itโ€™s like, โ€˜Iโ€™ve got to make this work. I canโ€™t rest until I make this happen.โ€™โ€

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Jeremy Fojut of NEWaukee described entrepreneurship as going through 15 different emotions in any given day, and your parents not understanding what you do.

โ€œHow do I replace the unknown with curiosity?โ€ he asked. โ€œI think you just have to have a drive and a passion for wanting to change something or do something different.โ€

Randy Hernandez of Kenall Manufacturing, where the event was held, said his interview process for new employees involves behavioral questions that indicate problem-solving skills. He expects his employees to be micro-entrepreneurs.

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โ€œItโ€™s all about creation. Itโ€™s almost creating something from nothing,โ€ Hernandez said. โ€œItโ€™s having a passion. Itโ€™s wanting to wallow in that passion for three or four years hence.โ€

Samantha Jacquest of Blue House Books never expected to become an entrepreneur, but she has recently hosted several pop-up shops with the hope of opening a bookstore in Kenosha. She has a masterโ€™s in book publishing and wanted to remain in the Midwest, where there wasnโ€™t a lot of job opportunity.

โ€œFor me personally, it was the need to create my own job,โ€ she said. โ€œThere are a ton of free resources out there in terms of educating you about what to do.โ€

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Fojut cautioned that while he sees startups being launched, they donโ€™t always solve some of societyโ€™s biggest problems.

โ€œWe havenโ€™t solved any real problems in a long time,โ€ he said. โ€œNo oneโ€™s taking that next leap. We have to solve some of these problems instead of perpetuating them. How do we help nonprofits be more innovative?โ€

Moderator Amy Greil of CNRED UW-Extension described it as the need for better recipes, not more cooking.

Encouraging better recipes may mean thinking outside the box and skipping college to complete a coding camp, which is becoming a trade skill, Fojut said.

โ€œUniversity is about to be disrupted,โ€ he said. โ€œThe bubble is happening. The debtโ€™s too high. The universities are teaching things that donโ€™t really need to be learned right off the bat.โ€

Itโ€™s also important to give young people opportunities to explore different career paths, the panelists agreed.

โ€œInternships are a great way for young people to have a safe space to go, โ€˜That ainโ€™t it,โ€™โ€ Jones said.

Within established companies, the panelists recommended competitions or idea collection projects to draw out employeesโ€™ ideas. Hernandez said he has had success with skunkworks projects aimed at innovation within large corporations.

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