I started a not to be named University entrepreneurship program. I drew similar pictures and it looked beautiful, as if the ecosystem was bursting with activity

I started a not to be named University entrepreneurship program. I drew similar pictures and it looked beautiful, as if the ecosystem was bursting with activity. But the reality was different. It lacked excitement, it lacked visibility, it lacked engagement and above all it lacked entrepreneurial culture (which I see as gluon or higgs boson of a robust entrepreneurial ecosystem). So at the heart of this beautiful map, I created a cultural hub .. a space that was founded and run by students, who elevated the excitement and visibility of entrepreneurship. To top it up, I elected a student women entrepreneur to lead it. It had interesting implications: 1. Entrepreneurial ecosystems tend to be male dominated. By creating a community of student entrepreneurs, lead by a female student, it created a 'safe zone' for other women entrepreneurs to come forward and engage. 2. Much of what we did at the space, was to encourage trying new things, new ideas and celebrating every tiny milestone of a student. I started a FB page, where every student activity was documented and celebrated. 3. In less than 2 years, I helped start over 60 new ventures. Some died or would have died or will die and a few get accepted into top incubators..and others are at limbo... but the process helped students to learn important lessons in entrepreneurship. It is best to do it while still a student. 4. The space helped connect all the dots in the picture (drawn in the article). It brought the organizations closer to the students and helped create visible linkages. It helped movement of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial ideas easily across those linkages and removed redundancies in the ecosystem. 5. I gained a lot of visibility in the media and it didn't go well with the fossils of University who claimed entrepreneurship as their own and turned my exciting job into a political game and a living hell. Non of it leaked to my students, but being an entrepreneur myself, I already had many other projects that I was working on ... so I left the University and aside from championing my students from the sidelines now, I find utmost excitement in pursuing my own tiny startup. I am broke, but I am happy and every day take pride in the work I did, to create the nucleus of a successful entrepreneurial ecosystem in one of the top Universities, that would act as a cascading feeder to the community for many generations to come.