The beginning of August marks the end of the 2010 Yale Entrepreneurial Institute Summer Fellowship.  We need a moment to breathe.

For the last ten weeks, Tutor Trove joined 9 other ventures as we immersed ourselves in a gushing fountain of entrepreneurial knowledge, advice, and experience.  Speakers from a whole range of backgrounds came to share what they knew with us - Lawyers guided us through the maze of setting up an LLC and filing for intellectual property protection; Media and PR professionals showed us how to walk the publicity tight rope; Entrepreneurs young and old came in to share their stories and talk about their brilliant successes and humbling failures; And mentors provided by the Fellowship melded with each of the teams, bestowing wisdom and shedding light on tough decisions.

Best of all, the enthusiasm of the group was contagious.  We were working on projects that spanned the spectrum of innovation.  Among others, there were two food ventures, a forestry inventory, a website that aggregated theater reviews, and group of grad students who burned discarded wood chips into biochar.  While Tutor Trove couldn’t tell the biochar guys what temperature yields the best soil amendment, we could talk to them about how to reach clients and hone their message.

It was a phenomenal program.  Now, the teams have dispersed as they try and apply what they learned.  After the frenzy of the summer, it feels a little empty around the office.  But Tutor Trove is suited up and better prepared than ever to tackle the problems facing education today.