There is just one thing that really stands out about this great company that is genzyme - it's all about the patient... So I thought to myself - I've just got to go out and meet them. 

But I asked myself how can I tie meeting seriously ill patients with what makes this place such an Entrepreneurial company?  And how can I leverage that Entrepreneurial spark to make a real difference to them during my short time here?

Doing some further investigation, it turned out it was actually pretty easy.  You see there's a charity walk taking place in a couple of weeks for the Children's Hospital Boston.  A hospital which is considered to be the best of the best in paediatric care, trains those bright folks from Harvard Medical School, and who'se core values are courage, compassion and creativity to provide life-changing care.  Values that any entrepreneur needs when they are seeking to make a real difference in whatever they pursue. 

So I've signed up..What better way to try out those time-tested entrepreneurial skills of raising funds and rallying a group of people behind a cause. A cause which can truly make a difference to people's lives.  It's in a couple of weeks time and I've got to raise $500 to enter. Think of it as "we need to raise funds to keep this business going."  Welcome to the world that is Entrepreneurial fundraising.

STEP 1 - Friends, Family and Faculty - A good place to start and we're up and running.  The message is starting to spread. Initial round successful, so time set the bar "higher."

STEP 2 - Work collegues - Tied into the intern group here at genzyme and my old collegues - word is getting round "hey lets try and field a team from here" - momentum building as more and more people are joining in

STEP 3 - The Power of Social Networks - Harnessing the power of 1,000s of people across cyberspace - Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Blogs (including this one) - hey if it's good enough for Obama...

STEP 4 - The Angel Community - Off to the Massachusetts Life Sciences Innovation Day tomorrow.  What better way to introduce yourself, get a conversation going and create some new contacts (and contributions).

STEP 5 - The Venture Capitalists - Arrggh the dreaded VC's.  No doubt they'll be seeking at least 50% of the equity.  But worth a shot - I'll play the "hi I'm an intern looking to find out about how to raise finance."

Learning about how to raise funds while at Business School is one thing.  But it's no substitute for getting out there and giving it a go - exactly what this Saltire Fellowship is about and why it is just so different and much more valuable than studying for a traditional MBA.

So help me help the kids - and give a little back to this fabulous city for welcoming these 14 scots men and women with open arms. 

Find out more and join in if you can at http://howtohelp.childrenshospital.org/walk/pfp/?ID=MI0005

Together we can all continue to learn and make a huge difference at the same time.

:)

Update:  17:20pm - 02-Jun.  Just passed the half-way marker.