Got an Idea? Want a Runway?

Falia Justima of the FGCU Runway Program in the School of Entrepreneurship at FGCU speaks with John and Maggie about how the runway program and other offerings in entrepreneurship may benefit adjunct faculty a their teaching.  She also shares he life story and  experience as an adjunct faculty member.  

For a transcript of this podcast: Transcript of Adjunct Files Project Runway.docx

Runway Program

Falia Justima, Keller Williams Naples Florida

Jonathan Schaffer  |  Entrepreneurship Lab Manager

fgcu.edu/school-of-entrepreneurship/

P: 239.745.4647 | E: jschaffer@fgcu.edu

Theme music composed, performed and produced by James Husni.

Adjunct Nation is a collaborative podcast under the auspices of The Lucas Center for Faculty Development at FGCU. You can learn more by clicking on this link:

https://www.fgcu.edu/lucascenter/

Transcript

Welcome to the Adjunct Files.

We're a growing, diverse community who face challenging work in an ever-changing, higher

education landscape.

Your co-hosts for this podcast are with you in this.

I'm John Roth, Adjuncts since 2015 and now a coordinator for Adjunct Faculty at Florida

Gulf Coast University.

I'm Maggie Hohne, Adjuncts since 2022 and currently work in the Office of First-Year Seminars.

Together we hope to have conversations to empower, support, and elevate Adjunct Faculty.

This conversation today is one to do just that.

Welcome back to the Adjunct Files.

John, how are you?

Doing well.

How are you?

I've been a little bit more than a couple of weeks.

I know.

I feel grief over that.

Adjuncts makes the heart grow fonder.

Maybe that's it.

But it's great to see you again and we're almost there crunch time before the semester

starts.

Yes.

So, Summer Bee just ended last week and we're gearing up for fall.

And today we have an amazing guest that I had the pleasure of meeting last year at

a different professional development opportunity.

But she's amazing and I'm excited to have her here today.

Balia, could you introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about your role?

All right, Maggie.

Thank you for having me.

Thank you, John.

My name is Falia Justima.

I currently am on staff at FGCU as the runway program manager and an Adjunct as well.

And outside of that, I am a real estate broker and run a small real estate firm in the

Southwest Florida.

I'm very happy to be here with you guys.

That's it.

That's all she does.

That's it.

A super small list.

We love an accomplished lady.

So could you, that sounds like a lot, right?

So how do you balance being an entrepreneur still while managing future entrepreneurs

and still being in the classroom at the same time?

How do you balance all of that?

Well, as you can tell, it's definitely a time management skill.

As far as my entrepreneurial journey, it basically started in high school.

That's when I discovered my passion for entrepreneurship.

That's where I realized there were a lot of problems around me.

I was always asking questions.

Problem solving is something that's been with me.

And the last few years really being here in this capacity as far as a teacher has really

taught me that I need to reinforce my skills as an entrepreneur.

So the learning and the pouring into my students is really it comes naturally.

I'm super passionate about teaching and showing students the way things are done in the real

world.

Could you give us just an elevator pitch of what the runway program is here?

Absolutely.

The runway program is one of the initiatives of the RIS Institute of Entrepreneurship in

the School of Entrepreneurship at FGCU.

And it's basically, it used to be an incubator where students would come with their business

ideas, develop, take time, work on the business, and actually at the end of the semester pitch

for equity free funding.

In the past year we have basically tried to assess different aspects of the program.

And now it's been developed more into a process based reward program where students can get

earn points towards building certain aspects of their business and that translates into

money that they can use to actually get their ventures started.

The runway program is currently available to students and alumni of FGCU.

And it's typically a semester long, but depending on the type of businesses it usually

comes back a second semester from start to finish.

Is the program tied to a credit bearing course or is this more of like an extracurricular

sixteen week long program?

It is an extracurricular program but there's also a three credit course that is available.

It is thought by one of our professors, Professor Scott Kelly.

So students can sign up for the runway seminar as a regular course or while taking the runway

as a core curricular or just to runway as an extra activity.

I love that.

What makes this runway program unique and what kind of ventures have actually that you

can maybe share that have come out of it that you're really proud of?

Well I always said that this is the program I needed when I was a student here years ago.

As I mentioned I've always felt like I had the entrepreneur spirit but I didn't have

the guidance to be able to stop my ventures and actually be successful.

So there was a lot of failures during those years as far as starting projects and not

being able to finish them or not learning the way to actually go about it.

But what's unique about this program is the fact that it serves as the perfect bridge

between academic theory and real world application.

So the big differentiator this time around is going to be a system that values and incentivizes

the journey not just a performance base where you come and pitch and now you get money.

So throughout the semester students have the opportunity to work on their business and

produce tangible deliverables where as opposed to just going into a classroom get the lectures

or go into a workshop and not coming out with any practical work that can apply to their

businesses.

So the program is really special because it is hands on, it is innovative and we see

many businesses come out of the program from all kinds of industries like from healthcare,

wellness, science, entertainment and technology.

So we are just very pleased, very proud of the program and how we cover a wide range

of businesses and ideas from inception to actually a real product or service.

Can you, any more specifics like give me an example of what students have been able to

accomplish.

So I know your plan favorites here, baby.

You don't want to get you into trouble but I just I want to get more concrete.

Absolutely.

They come usually at different levels.

Sometimes it's just an idea.

Other times they may have a business that's actually bringing revenue but they need a

little bit more help.

More specifically the example that I'm super proud of is in my real estate business I had

to come up with a plan for marketing and part of that plan was getting our pictures done

for our website.

Well the company that I ended up doing business with is actually a student of the program.

So I don't know if you guys have heard of Sunday's photography.

They're actually locally so I was able to connect with them and get my photo services

done to build our website.

So it tells you like the benefits to us as a community to be able to help those businesses

and actually benefit from them and benefit our whole community from the ventures that

start in the runway program.

The other example I can come up with is another company called Amazing Grey's In.

She came to our program with an idea, wanted to create a chakurri board products for events.

And I think about three to four months into being an incubator and learning she was able

to actually put her business out there and she had catered one of my events recently.

Oh cool.

Family event.

So there's a lot of progress as far as them starting and within a semester seeing real

results but those are the two that I can think of on top of my head right now.

Cool thank you so much Valia.

You know Meggie this sounds like one of the more full embrace of authentic assessments

and also hands on active learning doesn't it?

And some of the highest levels of Bloom's Taxonomy just throw in a few things out there.

And so you know ideas like this I'd love to be able to embed some version of this in a

course.

Tell us Valia how maybe adjunct faculty which there are like you know 400ish here in a

variety of fields how adjunct faculty might be able to engage or connect with the runway

program either mentors collaborators even participants but it sounds like it's really

focused on students and alumni.

Correct at the moment.

So there are many opportunities for collaboration with our adjunct faculty members.

So the short answer to this question is definitely yes we are always seeking a way to engage

them in our runway program.

As an adjunct faculty myself the big benefit is that we bring the professional experience

into the classroom.

So if an adjunct would like to connect with us we actually encourage you to come and serve

as a capacity maybe of a mentor.

A lot of them are executives professionals they can give to our students time in the classroom

but also in the incubator lab to help them basically learn the skills to launch their

business and help them to this process.

They can help with helping with workshops and topics like intellectual property, financial

modeling, digital marketing.

We really need the expert knowledge to be applicable into those ventures.

Cool.

I love that.

This is so cool I wish I was creative enough.

I wish I was a student again.

Is it just undergraduate students that it's available for or people at the masters and

doctoral level as well?

At any level as long as you are a student at FGCU or a former student you can definitely

count.

You count.

I do count.

Seasonal alumni.

As long as you are current if you are part of the FGCU and the capacity of staff you'll

need to actually be taking classes to be able to qualify but after you've graduated

if you're not connected as an employee here you'll be able to participate.

That's amazing.

John maybe you want another master's degree or doctorate.

Join me in becoming an FGCU alumni.

I don't know if I'd be accepted.

You would.

We would accept you John.

I'm always curious at how people end up at FGCU and where they come from.

Kind of their whole story.

Can you just tell us a little more about your background?

Absolutely.

My journey began in Haiti which is where I was born and raised until about high school.

After high school I moved here and I've always lived in Florida.

Been to many places but Florida is basically my second home now.

Do I consider myself a Floridian?

I don't know.

The weather would have to decide.

It gets really hot here.

Well as if Haiti is not.

We do have some breeze and fresh hair.

It's not as.

I've been to Haiti in January and it was hotter than you.

It was hot for sure.

It was 90s.

But you know what?

The humidity factor here is where we're.

We cannot compare that to anything.

Yeah well the hottest hot.

Why can't tell a slight difference?

Because I don't sweat as much.

What a switch.

I think this is what makes America great by the way.

But as far as just having people from all different backgrounds coming together in

a university that has this as well.

What a switch.

Did the whole family come over at that time then?

My mother's been here for a little while but my sisters and I were a family of five.

Our original family is bigger now but when I moved here there was five of us.

For my sisters, three of my sisters and my mom.

I was basically always interested in entrepreneurship in high school.

Having problems trying to figure out how things work.

Very curious about making money.

That led me to my real estate career.

I'm now a professional real estate in South West Florida.

And basically my time here in Florida I had one focus.

I wanted to start college.

I didn't start college right away.

But FGCU was always on my mind.

I'm like this is the school.

That's the place.

And I ended up being here.

I did my undergrad here in 2011.

Oh, I didn't know that.

Very nice.

And my master's in 2015.

So go Eagles.

Absolutely love being here.

And to see it come full circle and me working in the capacity of an adjunct faculty here

as well as a staff member is really amazing.

That is wonderful.

Is your educational background?

Because do we have an entrepreneurship back then?

Do you know what we did not have the entrepreneurship program back when I was in school here?

OK.

And this has been one of my biggest regrets.

I'm like we did not have this when I needed it the most.

My undergrad is in legal studies because the original plan was to go to law school.

But I ended up doing my master's in public administration.

Oh, wow.

Oh, wow.

See, we do have something in common.

Sorry, John.

That's fine.

That's fine.

I'm not a law guy, by the way.

So you said that you have your bachelor's in legal studies.

You have a master's of public administration both from here.

But we were talking earlier before the podcast.

You also have high school teaching experience.

Absolutely.

So after, what did I, I started teaching in 2018.

I was very involved in my community.

And at the time I was running after school programs, teaching children about, you know,

helping them academically, but as well as extracurricular.

I have a background in entertainment, movie productions, stage productions.

So at that time, in her free time, she...

In my free time.

I was like, I think my business is working full time teaching.

She's like the da Vinci, you know.

She's got a time turner, like an Harry Potter.

How do you pass the time?

Or yeah, kind of that Renaissance woman here.

So it's really interesting.

I was actually, I just finished my bachelor's and I was working on a stage production project.

And I was basically promoting it throughout the community and ended up winning two awards

for the stage production.

The principal at the school at the time knew my work with students.

And we were, I was putting up shows as far as flag events, helping students in different

capacity in art.

And then she said, you know, with your background and everything, I would love for you if you

would consider taking on a...

It was a director of the Finance Academy position at a Markely High School.

And I was like, I don't have the actual teaching background, but I love working with

kids.

And she basically hired me and I ended up being in that capacity for a few years before I transitioned

to have GCU.

Oh my gosh.

I do have an interesting life.

I also don't see how in the world she can fit all that in years wise.

No.

Because she looks like...

Oh, you look like you're 28.

Well, thank you very much.

I really look like that.

I was looking 26.

But...

You guys are so kind.

And I knew I liked you so much.

So for those of you listening to Don't Know, Omokoli is very close to FGCU, right in our

own backyard.

When you originally moved from Haiti with your family, did you move to this area?

Or did you move to a different part of Florida and then kind of find your way?

I actually live in Omokoli.

My mother's the result in Omokoli.

So I am definitely from the area.

At some point I moved out on my own.

I was living in Fort Myers.

And even when I was a student here, I was living in Fort Myers.

But I've always been in this area.

So I spent a lot of time in my community through church and other nonprofit organization.

I was very involved in the community.

But most importantly, I was part of the Omokoli community for many years.

I still am though.

Still am.

That is great.

It's a family out there.

Awesome.

Yes.

So, for Adjuncts who have an entrepreneurial idea or kind of a gene that just says, I've

got some things I think that would be cool.

But they're not sure what to do.

What's the first step for them?

I know it might not be through this program.

Based on your experience and kind of what you've seen.

You know how businesses fail.

Absolutely.

Yeah.

So that's a very important question.

The main thing would be to, if you have an idea, the hardest thing for anyone with an

idea is really to get started.

As an Adjunct faculty member, there are a lot of resources available to you.

And I would say the first thing would be to leverage a network here at FGCU.

Students have bring a unique perspective to innovation and they have great ideas.

And the second thing would be to just validate that idea and not just get started.

Spending time in the community, maybe the customers that you're trying to reach.

Spend time talking to them and asking questions and validate that idea before you actually

get started.

Utilize university resources apart from the students and your colleagues, you have resources

like the Maker Space and other spaces on campus where you can really kind of check it out

before you actually get your feet wet.

So my advice is really to focus on the process.

Not so much thinking about the outcome.

So process, validation, talking to people who may have the problem that you're trying

to solve or who may want the product prior to building it.

So really the hardest part of getting started is to think, what's my first step?

And it doesn't have to be a huge step.

I love that.

I think that is the hardest part I think for many people.

Absolutely.

And just a lot of things.

Even just I'm thinking about homework.

If I just sit down and do it for five minutes, I'll get in a groove and I'll keep going.

But I have to start it.

And that's what I don't want to do.

Yeah.

I think there was a book I think called Eat That Frog.

I read that.

Yeah.

Is that about that sort of kind of like get it going?

Just do it.

A bite at a time.

I think one of the biggest mistakes is thinking everything has to be perfect from the get-go.

Have an idea and I should actually materialize where it's ready to go.

No, the process does stick time.

And this is one of those things where the longer you take to validate the more you find

out as to how to actually approach it.

So you eat that frog a bite at the time and not expect everything to come together.

Many times we don't have all the answers.

But the ability to actually say, I'm going to take this step.

I'm going to talk to these people.

I'm going to gather feedback.

I will send out a survey.

I will validate.

I will come back and maybe change my solution to something different because now I know

better.

Those are the skills that really make successful entrepreneurs.

Let's say I'm not in a typical business major.

And as far as an adjunct, I'm teaching something in maybe College of Arts and Sciences.

And yet I love this idea of the hands-on, the practical, and not necessarily the full

runway program, but some aspect of it, maybe to have them start this semester and then

maybe launch into the runway program next.

What would be some aids to help adjuncts who would like to kind of give students that

concrete hands-on active learning experience?

I would say the best thing is to probably invite us into your classroom and we can do

a presentation on what runway is, how to students, for students to get started, the

requirements to actually enter the program, which are very easy by the way.

If you're a student, you qualify, but you do have to fill out an application and go through

that process and figure out when in the semester you really want to get going.

So in addition to runway, we have other initiatives such as, I don't know if you've heard of them

we launched last year, we have the idea challenges that we are doing now where basically you

can come with your idea and just very preliminary steps to starting something.

If you have an idea, you're thinking about it.

Through the challenges you can decide, and even if you don't win.

Just like a competition setup, even if you don't win, you can decide, hey, I want to

pursue this and let me take the next step towards runway.

And runway really, you can come at two levels.

You can come with the idea, we'll help you validate it, you spend a few weeks working

on what that looks like.

We work on the BMC model.

Just really validate every aspect of it to some degree before you start spending time

and resources and making it for real.

And then after a few months of working on that, you can transition into the accelerator,

which is where you go really in depth.

Let's say now you have interest, there are potential customers.

You really want to get in depth in creating a product that can be successful out there.

So at the end of the day, we are available and willing to come to classrooms.

The incubator space in the Lucas Hall is, we're trying to make it all day all night,

Apple Hub where students can come and there's always someone there to answer your question.

So don't hesitate to direct them to us.

Our staff is well equipped, that's why it's giving time, mentoring and teaching and even

connecting them to other resources and people in the community.

So we would be a good starting point for anyone who's interested in whatever aspect

and an idea of an idea.

Just that whole entrepreneurial, innovative spirit, how does that fit into traditional academics?

How does it complement what students are learning elsewhere?

I would say it starts with a mindset because with everything else, when you have either

a gift, a skill or an ability or just an idea, you have to take time to develop it,

I think we do a pretty good job at getting the students in that mind frame of what it

means to really be an entrepreneur.

Because that doesn't always mean because you have a great idea and skills and ability,

things will ultimately manifest into a full-blown business.

It's really that ability to cope with changes, to pivot, change directions when you have

to, to understand that you are building from the perspective of someone else, which is

a customer.

It's really never, almost never about how good you are and what you can do.

It's more about what do people want.

Are we bringing a solution that is going to make a difference?

Are we building something that others want or is it solely going to be from our perspective?

So spending time to building that entrepreneurial mindset is really important and a lot of times

it's something you have to learn, practice, grow and understand because it's not easy to

just make a business work up in there, I do understand.

But when you are more open to those hurdles, changes and understand that's actually the

type of business you in is that nothing is straightforward.

Everything comes at a curve wall and you always have to adjust, adapt.

I think our staff as far as the ability to get students to the point where they're super creative

innovative is really to start with that mindset and really shift their thinking to if you're

going to build something great, you have to learn to adjust to all those things that will come your

way and that give a midway because the idea can be great but you have to be willing to go through

what it takes to make it a reality.

A lot of resilience building.

Yes.

Which I think our students can use.

Well we all can.

But it's very directed.

And they have all that support, they have you all, the spaces, the faculty.

What are, you mentioned the makerspace in Lucas Hall, what are some of the other features that

that building has that's open for faculty, staff and students?

So right now it is primarily that space is open to our program participants and students in the

School of Entrepreneurship.

But in terms of helping with classroom projects, helping with content creation,

we now have a makerspace manager.

His name is Jonathan Shafer.

He would be a great contact for anyone who wants to make good use of our space.

It is definitely open to everyone but in terms of scheduling and sometimes you may want to

bring a classroom to work on a project.

You may want to learn how to use a machine to make designs, t-shirts and all that.

So it's always best to try to schedule time and whatever need the classroom may have.

This is a great space to utilize.

But as far as I'm concerned, Jonathan is really a great contact for that.

It's just a matter of scheduling and figuring out how you can use a space.

But it is available for staff to help in their classrooms.

So what's next?

Well, the program continues to evolve.

That is a beautiful thing.

When I came on board a year ago, let's say the program started back in 2016.

So there's been a lot of years of growth and a lot of businesses have come out of the program.

But right now the direction we're taking really is developing that process-based system where

in the past it was all about, hey, you grow, you get through a semester, you pitch,

you do a good job, you get funding.

But now we really want to re-want the process for the students.

As far as future plans, we are looking to be promoted more campus-wide because not a lot

of students know about Runway.

So we really want to start this initiative where we are more in classroom, like I mentioned earlier,

collaborate with other initiatives across the campus and be part of more

event just spread the word more around campus.

So that is primarily my main goal.

But the program itself will continue to grow in the past year with giving away a million

dollars plus funding.

And then we're about to-

Wow, that's a lot of zeros.

That's a lot of zeros.

Yes, for sure.

And we are seeing a little bit more diverse businesses, especially when it comes to technology.

So we do need to bring those expert skills more into as far as resources for our students.

But overall, I think it's a great program to have here at our school.

It is really a good time to be a student entrepreneur right now.

And I am very proud to be part of it.

Of course, our staff is amazing.

Dr. McDowell, our dean in the School of Entrepreneurship is very open to having-

We want it to be like a student hub for entrepreneurship.

So at some point, my goal is that our school will stand out because of the program

and we'll be able to give away more money and help more ventures come out of it.

That's awesome.

Yeah.

And this program just to reinforce this is open for all majors as long as you're a student.

Absolutely.

It's across majors.

It really doesn't matter what major you are trying to pursue.

You can come to the runway program.

I love that.

So many different perspectives and ideas and it's all just under one roof.

Yes.

So, Falia, in addition, like you mentioned, you teach here as well as an adjunct.

Your full-time staff is that correct?

And then you teach.

And you've just done it for the last couple of years, I guess?

For the last couple of years, I was doing during moment for a little while.

But the last year, really, that's when I became full-time and took on all these roles at FGCU.

What's the experience been like as an adjunct faculty member?

I'm extremely supportive for me.

I typically would walk into a space or a new project, not knowing what to do.

A lot of time, I'm a little timid to figure things out.

But here, there's been a lot of support and things that I would normally have to go find the

interest to naturally come to me or available to me.

So I really like that part of being in a junk here.

There's a lot of support, especially with the adjunct academy course that I just went through.

So there's been no shortage of support, which is basically what I would have needed.

And I mean, I needed.

But it was available to me without having to reach out for to get it.

The experience has been amazing.

I love the fact that there are so many resources available, whether it's how to use the tools in

the classroom, Canva, Grading and all that.

So there's been a lot of support.

So my experience has been really positive.

And I think it really helped me develop that ability to say, I can do this.

I can do this because there's support.

And if you ever need to ask there are people like John who are like,

of course, maybe two.

My key.

So I can always call for support.

And I know you guys will be there for us.

So the support is really key in this experience for me.

That's amazing.

We're happy to hear that.

Yeah, I know.

That's a positive experience.

No money was exchanged.

Yes.

No bribery.

No sunshine state.

This is totally open.

You could tell it.

Yeah.

I think I'm hoping that that's more of the experience of adjunct faculty.

Whether they are staff or professionals or whatever they are.

And we're going to try to keep improving that.

We want them to be able to really shine here and grow themselves, right?

Absolutely.

There's the opportunity is there.

So what do you hope for yourself?

There's the program.

What's Folly's future look like?

What are some longer term?

Only God knows.

And I trust him that he will definitely.

He's working on that for sure.

You have no idea.

No pushback for me on that.

I agree.

I have Pastor John.

So I simply trust the process a long time ago.

I actually not that long ago.

I've decided that I am going to enjoy the journey,

make the best of it, give wholeheartedly and just learn and enjoy that process.

And eventually your path opens up.

But for now it is really student, educating them, guiding them, mentoring them.

I'm really pleased that I get to pour into them.

And they walk in the path that I was on and I can actually be there to guide.

At heart I am an educator.

So any path where I am able to share knowledge and make a difference is a good path for me.

Well you too Maggie and Folly are exactly why I love this place.

The institution is okay.

I mean it's not terrible.

I'm not saying.

So people make a place.

People make a difference.

The community, the connections, right?

Absolutely.

Yeah.

Well it's great to hear.

We're hoping to see you more involved at this place, more connected.

I love that.

I have a ton of collaboration, opportunities and ideas that we'll talk about off-air.

She's already good.

But wheels are already going.

I can see it.

Yeah she's tapping into you.

We'll watch out.

Awesome.

No but this has been amazing and I think what you're doing in the Runway program is one of those

things that makes FGCU unique.

And it's open for all students.

It has impact on the community.

Small business owners, like you having the opportunity outside of your nine to five

for your other businesses that you run.

To work with students who have graduated and continued on with their businesses that

you've helped them such a full circle moment.

I love that.

That's my favorite part.

It's time.

Awesome.

Amazing.

Well thank you, Falia.

This is great.

Thank you.

Yeah and anybody who's interested will put her contact information in the notes for this episode.

We'll list Johnna Thins as well.

Another episode is down.

Thanks y'all.

Yeah.

Bye bye.

Music for the adjunct files was written, composed, and produced by James Husker.

Music