Global People Lunch Explores Entrepreneurship with Alvira Fisher

29.04.2026

Students Discuss Entrepreneurship, Validation and Startup Growth

Wittenborg’s Amsterdam study location hosted a Global People Lunch on 2 April, featuring guest speaker Alvira Fisher, an experienced start-up mentor and financial services professional.

Held at the Dali Building, the session focused on entrepreneurship, early-stage business development and business model design, offering students practical insights alongside an open discussion.

Fisher, who has mentored many start-ups, drew on her experience across corporate finance, incubation programmes and academic research. She is currently pursuing a PhD at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, where she focuses on entrepreneurship education in STEM fields.

From corporate structure to uncertainty

Fisher began by reflecting on her transition from a corporate career in financial services in South Africa to starting her own business.

While working in a structured corporate environment, she found it difficult to push innovative ideas forward. “It’s hard to be the disruptive champion in a corporate organisation,” she explained, pointing to systems and processes that often limit change.

After completing her MBA, she made the decision to leave her job without a clear next step.

This experience eventually led her to work within a university incubator, where she began mentoring entrepreneurs and supporting early-stage ventures.

“Entrepreneurship is really about being human”

A central message throughout the session was Fisher’s perspective on entrepreneurship as a people-driven process.

“Entrepreneurship is really about being human,” she said. “It starts with the person you need to convince.”

She encouraged students to rethink how they approach their ideas, stressing that understanding customers should come before building products.

“Put your idea on the shelf for a moment. Go and find the person who might pay for it,” she added.

Students question the process

The session quickly became interactive, with students raising questions about their own business ideas and challenges.

Some asked how to take the first step when entering a new market, while others questioned how to know if an idea is worth pursuing. Funding was a key topic, with students debating whether bank financing or external investors were the better option.

There were also concerns about scaling, with one student highlighting the risks involved in growing a business too quickly.

Fisher responded by shifting the focus away from funding and back to validation. “Investors want proof,” she explained. “They want to see that you’ve tested your idea and that it works.”

Learning from real situations

To illustrate her points, Fisher shared examples from her work with entrepreneurs. In one case, a business idea based on a busy location failed to consider actual customer behaviour, showing the gap between assumptions and reality.

“You’re not looking for people to agree with you,” she said. “You’re looking for the truth.”

A practical takeaway

By the end of the session, the discussion had moved beyond theory, giving students a clearer understanding of what entrepreneurship involves in practice.

Rather than focusing on perfect ideas, Fisher encouraged a more grounded approach, one built on curiosity, testing and understanding people.