April Visionary Ventures: Realize your dream with Start-Up Success
By Rebecca Reimers
Success comes in many forms. Over the past nine years, Sandy Hessler and Liza Millet have taught and coached more than 300 students. Some have gone on to found multimillion-dollar businesses, but it’s seeing people transform their lives and overcome great adversity that are the most memorable for these two mentors.
“We’ve had students who have had significant trauma in their lives,” Sandy said. “Knowing that background, to see how they have really leaned into their vulnerability, taken control of their lives, and have built a sustainable business through that process is really inspiring.”
Liza, a co-founder of Silicon Couloir, also finds great satisfaction in teaching: “My deeper vision in life is to help people find their abundance and business is the language and lens through which I like to do that. I love helping people channel their passion into something they can make a living on.”
Start-Up Success: Fundamentals, Silicon Couloir’s annual five-week intensive business program, will be offered again starting this Friday, April 22, and there’s still time to join the class. Offered over two weekends and five Wednesday evenings, the course is structured to accommodate those with an existing job.
Students come to the course in different stages of their business. Some have an established venture they’re looking to optimize or reboot; others have five ideas on the back of a napkin. All are welcome. The frameworks and processes taught “are something students can take with them for the rest of their lives, whether it’s for this business, the next business, or an existing career,” Sandy said.
Participants will learn the key concepts in business, marketing and financials. But this is no ordinary how-to class. What Liza and Sandy aim to do is help students harness their passion and vision and channel them into a unique values-based business.
“In the Tetons region we get so many founders who are passionate about the world — not just about making money — so we get so many heartfelt businesses here,” Liza said. “When you give someone the permission to dream in a supportive environment the results are amazing.”
Spring, a quiet season for most in our area, is an ideal time to lay the groundwork.
“We provide a framework and roadmap for somebody who has the vision, dream and idea ... to have the foundations and structures to know the key steps so it’s not so overwhelming to begin,” Sandy said. “In our fast-paced culture the majority of new businesses fail because people haven’t taken the reflective time to make sure that the ground is ready for the roots to grow deep and the plant to be strong.”
The two instructors bring complementary backgrounds that “together bring wholeness,” said Sandy, whose expertise is in branding and marketing. Liza, a registered investment advisor, brings skills in finance, strategy and business development.
Complementary skills are a theme of SUS content. Students will develop and practice an “Elevator Pitch” that succinctly gives voice and resonance to their vision. Students also hear from outside speakers like Steve Sullivan of Stio to help students see real world application of the principles.
However, internal processing and reflection are also a vital part of the curriculum. Underlying outward success is “an internal awareness of the resilience and perseverance needed to keep going and love the vision more than they’re afraid of failure,” Sandy said. When you have a business idea and are testing it to determine if it will succeed in the marketplace, “a lot of openness, vulnerability, and in many ways courageous humility are needed.”
The class provides a supportive space where students can play, explore, practice and brainstorm together. Being an entrepreneur can be lonely, especially in the beginning. Joining a group of peers can have remarkable advantages, and many cohorts form a community that persists long after the class ends.
“We’ve seen over time that there are great bonds that form,” Liza said. “Being able to find a tribe of people who are pushing forward to bring a vision to life is often really necessary for an entrepreneur to realize their dream.”
If you’re ready to take the journey and become your own boss, visit SiliconCouloir.com/start-up to apply.