Topics

Filter Content

Showing: All Stages, All Topics, All Resources

  • Are You a Walt Disney or a Roy Disney?

    Perhaps no other country celebrates innovation the way America does.
    This passion for inventions started early in our history. Did you know that George Washington signed the First U.S. Patent Grant on July 31, 1790, and the patent examiner was none other than Thomas Jefferson? (Thank you, Google (GOOG)!) In America, we’re reminded of the life-changing power of inventiveness every day. Some of the greatest inventors of yesterday spawned the greatest brands of today. What do the names Chrysler, Coleman, Goodyear (GT), Campbell (CPB), Colt, and Edison mean to you? Cars, tents, tires, soup, guns, and the electric lightbulb, of course.

    Article

  • Entrepreneurship is Tough but Rewarding

    One of our well-respected business bloggers, Scott Messinger, indicates in his articles that starting up a business is no child’s play. He mentioned that if you want to have more time with your family through your startup business, you should think again. From my experience, Scott’s advice is something that you should look up to.

    Article

  • Trends & Tactics for Startup Success

    More and more successful companies are taking a holistic approach to serve specific market niches or verticals. Instead of offering a broad-based horizontal solution that may service a larger market, but require more customization and will likely involve competition from larger players, these companies are finding success ‘below the radar’ by staying focused on a narrower segment.

    Article

  • Ask the Attorney: Will Senator Dodd’s New Bill Destroy Angel Investing?

    Question:  I’ve read a few articles and blog posts over the past couple of days regarding Senator Dodd’s financial reform bill, and some of them suggest that it’s going to be more difficult for startups to raise money if the bill is signed into law.  Why is that?  I thought the bill was supposed to address the problems on Wall Street that led to our financial crisis.

    Article

  • Third Frontier Goal: Funding the Future

    Ohio voters to decide if $700M bond issue expands investment in high-tech economy.
    Self-healing metal that pops back into shape after it’s damaged.  Machines that give surgeons full-color, 3D images of a patient’s insides.  Sensors that warn police or soldiers of explosives miles away.  This is the promise of a proposed $700 million statewide investment program that aims to turn sci-fi dreams into Ohio’s business future.  But does the promise hold up?

    Article

  • Shared Spaces Give Startups Room to Grow

    With the recent opening of Ottawa’s newest co-working space, the city might be seeing an emerging trend towards shared offices.
    Currently, there are two co-working spaces: Freedom Café, which opened last month, and the Code Factory, which opened in May 2008.

    Article

  • Time to Get to Work

    Depending upon your politics, the recent passing of the historic healthcare reform bill has you high-fiving friends and co-workers or preparing for Armageddon, as it will most certainly usher in a period pestilence, poverty, and perniciousness.

    So whether you’re popping corks on some bubbly or stocking…

    Article

  • A Funding Fix for New Businesses

    I have spent the majority of my adult life investing my own and other people’s money in entrepreneurs. That’s why I know the U.S. has a serious problem on its hands.
    Although the stock market has tentatively rebounded, funding for the one area in which America has a distinct competitive advantage–that is, new company formation–is in scary decline. That may be a familiar refrain by now, but that doesn’t make the ramifications any less real. Or less dangerous.

    Article

  • They Call This a Stimulus for Small Biz? Pshaw!

    OK, let me get this straight: The Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy reports that 27 million small businesses in the U.S. account for 50% of the Gross National Product and employ over 50% of the workforce, and Washington figures $30 billion in loan support and some tax credits will get things done.
    What’s that, $1,100 per company? Wow, where do we sign up!
    Our fearful leaders gave $50 billion to General Motors, and $185 billion to AIG. According to the Congressional Budget Office publication, The Budget & Economic Outlook: An Update August 2009, big business has been showered with more than $10 trillion (that’s a “T”) in funding and commitments, including: $1.3 trillion disbursed by the Federal Reserve, with another $2.8 trillion committed (including aid to AIG, Citigroup, Bank of America, Bear Stearns; $800 billion from the Treasury, with $3.6 trillion committed (including guarantees for Money Market Funds and TARP); and over $2.1 trillion committed by the FDIC (including increased depositor insurance and more Citigroup guarantees).
    Um, does $30 billion to small business make a difference?

    Article