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Morrissette Institute for Entrepreneurship

Choosing the right people before the right idea

Dec 10, 2020

Podcast Design (1)

Rachel Zimmer is the General Manager of Entrepreneur First, a $140M fund that bets on people first, and then coaches them to find their breakthrough ideas. Zimmer understands this process well because it’s exactly how she started her company, 5Crowd (acquired by sgsco). 

In this episode, Rachel walks us through her own ideation process, the criteria that she used to filter her business ideas, and the uncomfortable process of leaving her job at Johnson & Johnson to pursue her entrepreneurial dreams with business partner Bram Warshafsky. 

Since the acquisition of 5Crowd in 2016, Zimmer has continued to help professionals discover their entrepreneurial potential with the added safety net through her work at Entrepreneur First.   She shares what she’s discovered about the qualities, personalities and combinations that make the best entrepreneurial teams.

The Ivey Entrepreneur Podcast is sponsored by Connie Clerici, QS ’08, and Closing the Gap Healthcare Group, Inc.

For more episodes, visit the Ivey Entrepreneur Podcast.