February 21, 2022

During our February Encorepreneur breakfast, Dr. Garret Westlake (master of innovation at Virginia Commonwealth University’s da Vinci Center) reminded us that entrepreneurs fall in love with problems, not solutions.

One of the problems he fell in love with earlier in his career was in these statistics:

  • 81% of individuals with autism are unemployed.
  • 51% of individuals with autism and 4-year STEM degrees are unemployed.

Thank goodness he did – he founded a company focused on solving this problem and that company was the precursor to Microsoft, SAP, and other major technology companies that now make hiring and supporting those with autism a priority.

What is your problem to solve? What would bring you purpose and joy if you did?

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