NDSU Honors College hosts fireside chat with entrepreneur and filmmaker David Fialkow
NDSU’s Honors College is hosting a fireside chat with entrepreneur and filmmaker David Fialkow on Tuesday, Nov. 17, at 2 p.m. in Beckwith Recital Hall in the Challey Hall.
Fialkow is co-founder and managing director of General Catalyst, a venture capital firm and an academy award-winning documentary filmmaker and producer. He’s produced several documentaries, including “Icarus”, which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 90th Academy Awards, and the recently released film “Everest: The Other Side.”
Fialkow’s success in two very different worlds inspired the invitation for a fireside chat at NDSU, according to James Brown, executive director of NDSU Honors College.
“He helped build one of the most influential venture capital firms in the country, and he’s produced Academy Award-winning documentaries,” Brown said. “He’s backed ideas before there was a clear path to success, and he’s told stories that needed telling, even when the odds were against him.”
While all Honors College students will attend, the fireside chat is open to all students and the public. As Fialkow shares his experiences, attendees will hear how he learned which ideas are worth pursuing and what stories will have an impact.
“Every great company and every great film starts with someone willing to take a risk on an idea before anyone else believes in it,” said Fialkow. “Students are at the moment in life where that kind of courage matters most. I’m grateful to the NDSU Honors College for the invitation, and I can’t wait for a real conversation in Fargo.”
Brown hopes attendees stay after the chat to attend the reception and take time to connect with like-minded colleagues.
“I hope students and all attendees walk out thinking a little bigger about their own ambitions, and a little more honestly about what they’d be willing to risk for them,” Brown said. “If even one person leaves with the confidence to pursue an idea they’d been sitting on, the afternoon will have been worth it.”
Registration at Eventbrite is available at no cost but is not required to attend.