{"671835":{"#nid":"671835","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Founder and CREATE-X Mentor Coaches on Business and Bold Moves","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EStephanie Smith is a coach for GT Startup Launch and has mentored students in the program. She graduated from Georgia Tech in 2009 and is the founder of the company Social by Steph, which manages paid social ads for businesses and has been running for almost seven years. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhy did you choose entrepreneurship?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EAfter graduating from Tech, I got an opportunity to work at a tech startup. The company\u0027s makeup was a bunch of entrepreneurs. I think I was employee number nine. They knew that this wasn\u0027t the end all, be all for any of their careers. It was just something they were doing at that time. In my mind it kind of was instilled in me, early in my career, that entrepreneurship was always an option. I knew at a certain point I wanted to have my own business. I just didn\u0027t know when it was going to be or what it was going to be. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EI appreciate the flexibility that comes with entrepreneurship so that I can set my schedule. I\u0027m not a super morning person. I may work late night. I take my laptop everywhere with me. It just comes with this level of flexibility that for me is priceless.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EAnd this isn\u0027t always the case, but sometimes working at companies, your next step, your promotions can be at the subjectiveness of managers. It feels good to be in charge of your future and decide what\u0027s next for you.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat made you want to coach students in CREATE-X? \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EThe last few years I\u0027ve gotten into teaching people how to do paid social ads, as opposed to just me doing it for them or trying to find a way for people to be able to afford me to do it for them. So, because I work with a lot of entrepreneurs and startups and small business owners, I decided to start teaching. CREATE-X naturally went with what I was doing. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EIt\u0027s cool to see what types of ideas students come up with and why they even came to that idea in the first place. I know when I was in school, it wasn\u0027t about starting your own company. It was really about making the GPA so that you can get on with a company like Google. But now, it\u2019s fostering that startup spirit.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat have you noticed about the students you mentor?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EI\u0027ve noticed that the teams that divvy up their tasks make the most progress. It\u2019s eye-opening to me to see how far they can go from the beginning of the summer to the end, just by really being organized and trusting each other and dividing those tasks. I always like to see that.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat has surprised you about your mentees?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EI have noticed there\u0027s been at least two that I recognized coming back for a second or third time with a new idea. It\u0027s like, \u201cOK, my last idea didn\u0027t really go the way I wanted it to go, so I\u0027m back again with something different.\u201d It\u0027s nice to see that they have that opportunity to try again.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat has been something you\u0027ve gotten out of coaching these students?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EI am transitioning into building technology myself that teaches people how to run ads. So honestly, this has been very mutually beneficial because it\u0027s also customer discovery for me. Finding out what\u0027s confusing, what you know is the first line of information that they need to know, what seems very cumbersome versus complicated. I have been able to also learn in the process from them. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat advice would you give to someone without coaching experience but interest in it?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EJust go for it. Whatever you have the experience in and the knowledge in can help these students because they\u0027re pretty much starting from ground zero. If you know you\u0027re in the spirit and you want to pay it forward because maybe some people have paid it forward for you and your career, then coaching and mentoring is always the best way to do that.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat advice would you give to students who are interested in entrepreneurship but are unsure?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EPut yourself out there. I\u0027m all about dabbling in interests. CREATE-X in general seems perfect for that because you can get the class credit as well as explore an idea that you have and get the guidance along the way to see if this is something that you want to do and put a lot of effort toward. I think it\u0027s all about exploration, and the best time to do it is when you\u0027re young, without a whole lot of responsibility. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat book, podcast, or resource would you recommend to students interested in entrepreneurship and why?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EStart with \u003Cem\u003EWhy\u003C\/em\u003E by Simon Sinek. That book is really just about finding the reason or the purpose for what you\u0027re doing. Why am I starting this business? What does that mean for me? What does that look like in the future? Not just because you want to make money or because you want to work two hours a day, but really going behind the passion of things.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EAnd then if I had to throw in a bonus book, it\u0027s called \u003Cem\u003EWhat Got You Here Won\u0027t Get You There\u003C\/em\u003E, by Marshall Goldsmith. I like that one because it changed my perspective a little bit. There was a mindset change that I had to do because working at different agencies, I knew exactly how to not navigate through my career there. I\u0027m working hard, and I\u0027m putting in the hours. I\u0027m doing all the politics that it takes to navigate an agency world, but then when I decided to shift to entrepreneurship, it wasn\u0027t the same. What got me to one level of my career is not going to continue to get me to the next level. It\u0027s about being ready for pivots, making necessary changes, educating yourself, and doing what it takes to get to the next level and realizing that everything you\u0027ve done to be successful doesn\u0027t mean it\u0027s going to continue. This has worked so far, but now it\u0027s time to change it up so that you can continue on.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EReceive mentorship from experienced entrepreneurs as a part of your GT Startup Launch experience. Applications for the 12-week summer accelerator are open now. Apply for \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/create-x.gatech.edu\/launch\/startup-launch\u0022\u003EGT Startup Launch\u003C\/a\u003E by March 19 and join our rich entrepreneurial network!\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EStephanie Smith, coach for GT Startup Launch and Georgia Tech alumna, encourages students to step out of their comfort zones, something she did when she founded her company, Social by Steph. Smith\u0027s company manages paid social ads for businesses and has been running for almost seven years.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech Alumna Stephanie Smith coaches students in GT Startup Launch, using the knowledge she\u0027s gained from founding her own company, Social by Steph."}],"uid":"36436","created_gmt":"2024-01-03 19:40:59","changed_gmt":"2024-01-04 20:27:43","author":"bdurham31","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2024-01-03T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2024-01-03T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"672673":{"id":"672673","type":"image","title":"Stephanie Smith.png","body":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003ECREATE-X Coach Stephanie Smith\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","created":"1704382786","gmt_created":"2024-01-04 15:39:46","changed":"1704382786","gmt_changed":"2024-01-04 15:39:46","alt":"CREATE-X Coach Stephanie Smith, who is wearing a bright blue suit, stands in a modern office ","file":{"fid":"255953","name":"Stephanie Smith.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/01\/04\/Stephanie%20Smith.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/01\/04\/Stephanie%20Smith.png","mime":"image\/png","size":4161280,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2024\/01\/04\/Stephanie%20Smith.png?itok=86FSu-3y"}}},"media_ids":["672673"],"groups":[{"id":"583966","name":"CREATE-X"},{"id":"655285","name":"GT Commercialization"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"139","name":"Business"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"137161","name":"CREATE-X"},{"id":"3472","name":"entrepreneurship"},{"id":"166994","name":"startups"},{"id":"1072","name":"Business"},{"id":"868","name":"Mentor"},{"id":"6729","name":"COACh"},{"id":"193395","name":"Office of Commercialization"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBreanna Durham\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EMarketing Strategist\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["breanna.durham@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}