Rocky Mountain Chapter Talks Business With John Doggett

By Rose Cahalan in Chapters, TXEX on December 4, 2013 at 5:35 pm | No Comments

Texas Exes chapters may be best known for their happy hours, chili cook-offs, and tailgates, but Longhorn alumni are just as serious about lifelong learning as they are about football and margaritas. Case in point: a recent lecture by McCombs School of Business professor John Doggett organized by the Texas Exes Rocky Mountain Chapter.

The Nov. 21 event drew roughly 30 Longhorns and friends to the Denver Athletic Club, where they mingled and networked over hors d’oeuvres before Doggett took to the podium. Before launching into his lecture, titled “Rethinking Entrepreneurship: Lean Startups and the Customer Discovery Model,” Doggett gave an overview of University news, from football to the Dell Medical School. Then he dove into the rapidly changing face of entrepreneurship. As investor money dwindles and social media connects business owners and customers more closely than ever before, so-called “lean” startups—business that are founded relatively quickly and cheaply and rely heavily on consumer feedback—are becoming the norm, Doggett said.

Chapter member Trey Lane, BBA ’04, who helped organize the event, calls Doggett’s talk “incredibly interesting.” “As an aspiring entrepreneur myself,” Lane says, “it totally makes me rethink how I would start a business.”

For the chapter, pairing an interesting lecture with a business networking event was a winning combination—and one they hope to repeat with other guest speakers. “We had a lot of interest,” Lane says,”and I think that’s partially due to having such an impressive speaker and time to network as well.”

Photo courtesy the McCombs School of Business.

Tags: chapters, colorado, Denver, entrepreneurship, John Doggett, lecture, mccombs school of business, Rocky Mountain Chapter