On Thursday, Twitter founder Jack Dorsey joined CEO of (RED) Deborah Dugan and Wharton professor Adam Grant in a panel discussion at Irvine Auditorium. The event, titled “Be the Change,” addressed the value of philanthropy and entrepreneurship.
The discussion began with a single question: Who qualifies as an entrepreneur? According to Dorsey, entrepreneurship involves “taking on big risk, even financial risk, to see big ideas.”
For Dorsey, the risk paid off. Twitter has an average of 241 million monthly active users, and the company is worth over $18 billion. But the panelists were quick to emphasize to the thousand-strong audience that money shouldn’t be the goal of entrepreneurship. Dugan agreed, recounting how her love of rock and roll motivated her to leave Wall Street to work at a nonprofit.
“Money is equivalent to oxygen. It can help you run faster but it can also suffocate you,” Dorsey said.
Addressing the issue of philanthropy, Dorsey told students, “For me, there wasn’t a master plan about saving the world,” adding that he and his partners create “things that we want to use.”
During the question and answer session, students asked the speakers about topics including how to find partners and mentors for their startups.
Freshman Emily Zhen, who was told by the panelists to find her passion through self-reflection, said afterwards, “All of [the speakers’] viewpoints really complimented each other and confirmed my belief that to start something successful, you have to love what you do.”
Dining Philosophers and PennApps organized the speaker event, which they said was part of a larger movement at Penn to support entrepreneurship.
Throughout the event, a projector displayed a Twitter feed on a large screen behind the panelists, highlighting the most impactful quotes of the evening. An hour after the event, #BeTheChangePenn had reached more than 68,000 people, according to Keyhole, a Twitter analytics site.
The Daily Pennsylvanian is an independent, student-run newspaper. Please consider making a donation to support the coverage that shapes the University. Your generosity ensures a future of strong journalism at Penn.
DonatePlease note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.