–>Who: Toma Bedolla, co-founder of…
–> What: …House of Genius, a new kind of entrepreneurship meetup that focuses on a merit-based approach to idea sharing and collaboration.
–> How: Listen to this interview and learn more about House of Genius.
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In his quest to seek out the people and ideas shifting how the world works to make it better, Scott Henderson speaks with Toma Bedolla, a co-founder of House of Genius and CEO of TravelShark.
House of Genius generated from where many great ideas are born: frustration. Bedolla and the other co-founders were frustrated with the one-way pitching and networking focus that dominate traditional entrepreneurship meetups. They believe that the best ideas and the most genuine feedback come from unexpected sources and unlikely connections.
That’s why they launched House of Genius. It works like this: people apply to attend a House of Genius event, and they are vetted and chosen based on their expertise. (Diversity of experience is the cornerstone of the House of Genius model: from technologists to PhDs to creatives– they have it all.) Then, at the event, attendees are forced to stay anonymous; they can’t reveal their last name or what they do.
As Bedolla explains in this interview, this unconventional model has allowed brilliant ideas from one sector to be shared and transplanted into a completely different and unexpected realm. From professional dancers giving tech advice to FBI profilers giving marketing advice, the cross-germination of best practices and methods has proven to be extremely impactful.
House of Genius is currently in 8 cities and plans to be in 2 or 3 more by this fall. In a few years, they hope to be in 100 cities, as a resource for anyone and everyone with a great business idea to get the genuine and critical feedback needed to launch a successful venture.
Learn more about House of Genius.
