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Big Ideas in Economic Development
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Archive
2013
January (6)
How Women Entrepreneurs Succeed in the Midwest
15 Must-Read Twitter Accounts For Women Tech Entrepreneurs
Podcast: Savvy Female Founders
10 Tips For Completing The Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Application
Midwest Primed For Action Despite Uncertain 2013 VC Climate
Spread The Joy Of Resolutions Across the Year
February (9)
Belles Of The Angel Capital Ball
Angels Among Us: An Overview Of Angel Investing
5 Questions With Angel Investor Lee Zapis
Should You Join the Crowd?
Angel Investing: 10 Key Facts To Know
Podcast: The Inside Scoop on Angel Investing
Your Job Can Be Fun
Chris Schmid: A Champion for the Region
Embrace Pet Insurance's Laura Bennett: Supporting Women Entrepreneurs
March (10)
8 Must-Read Mentoring Articles
Q+A: Casentric On Why Mentoring Matters
Podcast: Making The Most Of Mentoring
5 Places To Find Your New Job
The Team Mentoring Advantage
8 Common Startup Myths
Q+A With Dan Rose: How Do You Talk To An Angel?
Podcast: Angel Investing From A To Z - A Panel Discussion
The 6 Habits of Highly Effective Mentors
The Perks Of Your New Job
April (10)
Podcast: 2013 Charter One Launch100 Leadership Circle
8 Ways Mentors Can Establish Trust
Podcast: 2013 LaunchTown Entrepreneurship Awards
Podcast: Fostering Inclusive Entrepreneurial Ecosystems
Why a Liberal Education Creates Great Entrepreneurs
Q+A: Amplified Wind Solutions On Being A Cleantech Champion
Podcast: The Rapid Innovation Fund And Related Funding Opportunities From The Department Of Defense
Podcast: Why Advice Matters - A Panel Discussion About Mentoring
Even Small Grants Can Make A Sizable Impact
How To Be Happily Employed
May (5)
They're On The Case
Hustle For Your New Job
10 Valuable Resources for Minority Entrepreneurs
Q+A: BOLD Guidance CEO Nichelle McCall
Minority Entrepreneurship: Crucial Facts to Know
2012
January (5)
Does your Startup Need an Employee Handbook?
What if Universities Recruited Entrepreneurs Like They Recruited Athletes?
It Takes Time to Raise Capital
Certifiably Entrepreneurial
A New Year's Resolution We Can Keep: Create Jobs
February (7)
And the Award Goes to... Recognizing Entrepreneurship's Biggest Stars
From Idea to Invention: Do you have what it takes?
Former Fly-over State Lands Venture Capitalists with Fund of Funds
Need a customer? Sell your product. Need an investor? Sell your plan.
Boomerangs and Salmon
Investing and Services
If You Only Schmooze, You'll Lose
March (6)
Hudson Entrepreneur has his Head in the Game
The Clothing-Optional Job Fair
The Pitch
Madness
Metrics
Entrepreneurs and Investors: Three Reasons Your Senator Should Support Senate Bill 1933
April (7)
So You Want to Be a Business Mentor?
Yes, There Is A Tech Talent Shortage, But What Are You Doing About IT?
Boning Up On Business
Prescriptions for an Ailing Healthcare Market
Personal Brand Matters, But Results Matter More
When It All Comes Together: The Creation of ConvergeCT
Business Basics 101 - The Importance of a Business Plan
May (9)
Where Were You When Facebook IPOed?
5 Reasons You Should Apply to the 10,000 Small Businesses Program at Cuyahoga Community College
What Next?
Business Plan Competitions Have the Right Stuff for Students
Cash, Check or Unlimited Salad Bar?
Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Offers Tools to Grow
The Only Guilty Man in Shawshank
It's Not You, It's Them: Tips for Pitching Potential Customers
5 Reasons Why Selling Is Different At Startups
June (12)
Doubt Is The Father Of Invention
They Just Knew There Had To Be A Better Way
Economic Development Funding Opportunities: Coming to a Community Near You
With Organized Angels on Their Side, Can Start-ups Really Start Up Anywhere in the Country?
Why I (Quietly) Cheer for Lebron and The Heat
In a Groupthink Rut? 4 Techniques to Help You Make Better Business Decisions
Don’t Miss Out On Free Business Education Classes
Visualize Disease Detection
Faces and Places
Becoming a Better Salesperson
Surgical Theater: A Dress Rehearsal For Neurosurgeons
Making Connections
July (7)
Serial Catalyst: Claude Kennard
Startup CEOs and Synchronized Swimmers: Toiling in Obscurity
Business Basics 102: What Goes Into my Business Plan?
Converge
Entrepreneurship in Northeast Ohio 101
Connecting With The Right Communities: The Story Of SIVAD
Tech Startups Creating Brain Gain in Northeast Ohio
August (7)
Campus Shift: The Anatomy of a Pivot
What Does An Investor Look For In A Prospective Investment?
Your Teen Media: Teen Parenting 2.0
Due Diligence: What to Expect When You Are Expecting
Where and How to Access Capital in Northeast Ohio
Darkside Scientific: Bask in the Glow of a Bright Idea
Memphis Knows Acceleration
September (7)
5 Ways Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Can Help Your Company
The Unexpected Value of Teaching Entrepreneurship
Renter’s BOOM: How To Use Resources To Increase Opportunity
How Crowdfunding Could Help Wireless Environment Market A Bright Idea
Podcast: Cleveland Plus - Why Northeast Ohio is Great Place to Start Up
What’s Your Exit Strategy?
Podcast: Entrepreneurship Education For All
October (3)
The Ins and Outs of Sizing your Market
Podcast: LLC, C-Corp or S-Corp: What's Right for My Business?
On Demand Interpretation Services: Making Courtrooms Accessible To All
November (3)
Podcast: Northeast Ohio Startup Success Stories You Should Know
Finding Your Target Market
And the Winners Are: Universities Generating Great Ideas
December (4)
Happy New Year!
How The Midwest Is Becoming An Entrepreneurial Hotspot
5 Tips For Building Credibility - And Keeping It
What It Means To Be A Member Of The Board
2011
January (7)
Structuring Effective Interviews
Local Investment Trends Better than National
The Pain of Change or the Pain of Regret?
Five Ways to Turn an Investor Off
Are We (Finally) Heading to the Emerald City?
5 Tips for Success In a Tough Economy
Who’s Saying the Midwest Will Be the Fastest Growing Venture Market in 2011?
February (7)
With Venture Capital Scarce, SBA Offers $2 Billion for Early-Stage and 'Underserved' Entrepreneurs
Social Media 101 for Startup Businesses
Boom In Black-Owned Firms Having Limited Effect On Black Unemployment
The Funding Landscape for Minority Entrepreneurs
Will the Midwest Become the Next Silicon Valley?
Overcoming The Fear of Success
Notes from Startup America Initiative & Partnership Launch in DC
March (7)
Why Do Brilliant Startup Ideas Falter?
Interns: A Startup's New Best Friend
How Obama’s Budget Could Impact Entrepreneurs, Inventors, Manufacturers, and Researchers
A New Way of Thinking for Minority Business
Cause for Celebration and Concern
Obama Spreads Innovation Agenda To Middle America
The Federal Policy on Startups Explained
April (6)
Websites Connect Startups With Investors, But Won't Replace The Real Thing
Can Non-Profit Investors Help Grow The Next Silicon Valley?
Women Do It Better!
There Are No Shortcuts in Good Recruiting
Century Old Advice for Today's Startup Businesses
Use these Grant Assistance Resources to Win Funding
May (6)
College Grads: Be Innovative
Startups are Not for Everyone. . .and that’s OK
To Combat Black, Hispanic Unemployment, Look To Young Companies
Top Reasons to Start Your Business in Ohio
Starting Your Own Business? Make Sure You Are Ready by Doing These 5 Things
Entrepreneurs: Master 'The Pivot'
June (5)
Could the Government Save You Money?
When Should an Entrepreneur Hand Over the Reins?
A Key to Startup Success
Are Tech Giants Killing Innovation with the 'Acqui-Hire'?
Rescue Regional Economies With High-Growth Startups
July (5)
The Voice of Entrepreneurs in DC
A Little Something for Everyone
Entrepreneurs Need Funding To Create Jobs: 3 Ways Washington Can Help
The Art and Science of Keeping Customers
Startups: Run Fast, Patent Later
August (6)
The Difficult Job of Following Jobs
Investing in Northeast Ohio
How the Economic Rollercoaster Strains Startups
Risky Business: The Untold Story of Venture Capital
Cleantech Startups are Expensive, but Worth It
The New American Dream: A Job
September (4)
Advisory Board Dos and Don’ts
Is The Startup America Initiative Moving Fast Enough?
Ohio Third Frontier is Changing
Are Startup Incubators Inflating a Tech Bubble?
October (6)
It Takes a Virtual Village to Grow a Business
Medical Technology: How Regulations, Reforms Threaten To Stifle U.S. Healthcare Innovation
Big Beats for Big Ideas
How America’s Patent Laws have Changed
More than an Entrepreneur: What Steve Jobs Means to Me
How Social Media Can Help You Build Customer Relationships
November (5)
Do we need a Steve Jobs in the B2B technology industry?
A 'B2B' Gold Rush?
Peyton Manning would make a Great Startup CEO
How Spearfysh is Poised to Revolutionize the Direct Sales Industry
Women Entrepreneurs: It's Your Time
December (6)
Finding (and Funding) America’s Most Promising Entrepreneurs
Santa and the Secret to Happiness
Are You the Problem?
We're All Gonna Die
Why Investors EVADE Non-Disclosure Agreements
Crowdfunding’s Open Call for Investors: Beneficial or Detrimental?
2010
January (5)
The State of Cleantech In NEO is Booming
Top 10 Worst Business Ideas I Have Ever Come Across
Demystifying the World of Venture Capital via Blogs and Twitter
My Five Marketing To-Dos for 2010
Getting It Done - Part 3
February (8)
Midwesterners: Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is
Ohio Innovators and Entrepreneurs Need Issue 1
Jump In, Students...The Water's Warm
More Than A Spreadsheet, An Ecosystem
Seth Godin Inspires Again
How To Engage A Diverse Community
An Always Topical Topic: Presenting to Investors
The Best Entrepreneurs Are Predators
March (6)
Adaptive Excellence: Thoughts on Entrepreneurial Talent
5 Things Entrepreneurs Can Learn From the Cavs
Entrepreneurs: We've Got 7 Questions for You
Got Something to Say? We're Listening!
Where's Your Google? Your Amgen?
Introducing Launch100: Helping 100 Minority and Inner City Businesses
April (6)
Bringing Entrepreneurs, Investors, and Flowers Together in Cleveland
New Help for Minority & Inner City Entrepreneurs in Ohio
My Top 5 Marketing Takeaways from HubSpot’s CEO
Seeking CEO*
3 Years…6 People…Great Success
'As Ohio Goes, So Goes the Nation'
May (5)
A Lion, a Predator, and a Jerk Walk Into a Bar
Ohio's Economic Competitiveness Is Going to Improve
Insights From California's Greatest
More on Adaptive Excellence and A+ Players
Inspiration Coming From Success in Pittsburgh
June (6)
What Do Obi-Wan Kenobi, Dr. Dre, and Laurence Olivier Have in Common?
Northeast Ohio's Response to the Gulf Oil Spill
10 Tips In Preparing For Investors
Angels are the New Rock Stars!
Using LinkedIn to Close Deals & Increase Market Share
The Best 5 Movies for Entrepreneurs + Some 2nd Bests
July (5)
Connecting Inclusion and TBED
More Money Flowing to Entrepreneurs in Ohio
What Changes Do You Want to See in VC?
Getting an Investor’s Attention is Great, But…
The Importance of Cultural Fit in Startups
August (8)
Calling All Companies (That Want $)
25% Tax Credit for Angel Investors In the Works
Growth for Akron, Ohio, Knotice
Let's Get Engaged
"A.B.I." - Always Be Interviewing
It's Time Again for PerfectPitch
10 Additions to Entrepreneur’s 50 Cool Cities to Start Your Business
Help for Your Early-Stage Business When You Can't Afford to Hire
September (5)
Ideas of ‘Song Salutes’ for Entrepreneurs? Your Turn!
Looking for Your Next Deal?
What Does a CEO REALLY Do?
Crowdsourcing or Relationships: What’s Needed for Startup Marketing?
Why Every Entrepreneur Needs a Mentor
October (5)
Entrepreneurial Cultures at Work
Leveraging “Weak Tie-Ins” to Market Your Early-Stage Business
Tapping Your Clients as a Source of Capital
What Could Be More Fun Than a Trip to the Circus?
Where Cash is King, Be a Loyal Subject
November (7)
New Fund in Wooster Supports Hyper-Local, Organic Growth
Healthcare Booming in Cleveland
Ohio Moving Up on National Lists
Unlearn Your MBA…and Other Provocative Thoughts for Entrepreneurs
Launch a Company with Millions of Free Dollars
Entrepreneurs, Do You Know How to K.I.S.S.?
How the Small Business Jobs Act Affects Entrepreneurs
December (6)
How Well Do You Know the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem?
Top 10 Signals of Positive Momentum for Entrepreneurs in 2010
Find Your Perfect Mentorship Match
Social Media Engines for Entrepreneurs
Inspiring and Recognizing Entrepreneurial Success
The ABCs of Good Interviewing
2009
January (5)
Silicon Valley, Recessions and the Opportunity Right in Front of Us!
Key Questions For Planning & Forecasting
Bootstrapping To Beat the Odds
Here's To a Partnership That Can Transform NEO: Obama, Congress and the State of Ohio
The “Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup” Entrepreneur
February (7)
What a Difference MIT Entrepreneurs Have Made!
All Serious Daring
An Unscientific Look at the State of Entrepreneurship in Northeast Ohio
The Power of Exclusivity
Things NOT to Do When Presenting to Potential Investors
“…And the Terms, They Are A-Changin’…”
Here's Something to Talk About...
March (7)
How to Find Job Openings at Early-Stage Companies in NEO
Not Sure How or Why to Use Social Media?
Keeping it Lean and Proving Your Model
More Help Coming from DC for Entrepreneurs?
Free Money, Filling Your Talent Pipeline and Investing in Our Youth…What Could Be Better?
I've Been Surfin'...
Top 5 Marketing Tools for Early-Stage Companies
April (8)
The Hidden Value of Trade Shows for a Startup
Great Read for Leaders Concerned About Our Region's, State's and Country's Technology Future
Revisiting The Concept of "Access to Capital"
Calling All Women Entrepreneurs!
A Ferrari for the Price of a Smart Car
We're Building Something Big...
One Cool Simulator!
Making Your Resume Sing for Innovative, Early-Stage Companies
May (5)
Leveraging Inclusion As An Economic Stimulus
Are You Looking For Capital?
From Wall Street to J Bird Street (Love to Hear the Robin Goin' Tweet, Tweet, Tweet…)
I've Been Dreaming
Why and How to Hire a Great Lawyer for Your Startup Company*
June (7)
Is Twitter Just Hype?
Growth Capital for Inner City Businesses
A Time for Hard Decisions in Columbus...
Interns for Entrepreneurship!
The Entrepreneur Pursues the Dream; The Spouse Makes the Hotdog Casserole
Theme and Variations
We Have Momentum - How Can We Maintain It?
July (8)
Helping Recent and Soon-to-Be Graduates Find Jobs
5 Things You Don't Want to Miss at NASVF
Top 3 Reasons To Go To DealMakers Summit
Entrepreneurial Cities, Bargain Boomtowns, and Clean Economies
Top 5 Secrets of the JumpStart Ventures Portfolio
Ohio, Boston and California-born Startups are Our Future...
How Do I Love Thee Venture Capital? Let Me Count The Ways
Stanford University Should Charge for This!
August (9)
I'm Going to Make You an Offer You Can't Refuse
A Thriving Capital Ecosystem
Need a Job? Here's How to Get One at an Entrepreneurial Company
Pitching on Twitter for Investor Dollars?
Investment in Company #40...Another ‘Regular Day' at the Office
Reflecting on FY 2009 While Accelerating Into FY 2010
4 Keys to Become "Venture-Ready"
A Positive Sign for Women Healthcare Entrepreneurs in the Midwest
Weathering the Storm...
September (7)
Ohio Moving at hiVelocity
Top 6 Reasons Not to Miss the JumpStart Annual Meeting
Keep on Truckin’
What Works in Cleveland - JumpStart on WKYC
White House Energizing Innovative Public/Private Partnerships
Supporting Minority Business at "The Next Level"
Wall of Warriors
October (8)
Ohio Has Braggin’ Rights!
Follow Me to @JumpStartInc
Success. Period. Full Stop.
Lean, Mean and Focused!
A Groundbreaking Event on the Horizon
Top 10 'Song Salutes' for Entrepreneurs
Phenomenal Founders
Third Frontier Report and National Office of Entrepreneurship
November (8)
Top 12 Reasons to Attend Groundbreaking Event on Dec. 3rd
Cornucopia of Entrepreneurial Energy
Pilgrim's Progress (Of A Sort)
3 More Reasons Ohio's Got Braggin' Rights
Transform the Business Landscape on December 3rd
What's a NEOtropolis?
Increasing Venture Capital in Ohio - Its All in the Leadership!
“It’s a Good Thing!”
December (10)
Top 5 Biggest Changes of 2009
The Place To Get All of Your Daily Innovation News...
The Twelve Blogs of Christmas
Dear Entrepreneur, I Want You. Exclusively Yours, Joe Investor
My Favorite 5 Marketing Bloggers
Can You Hear the Drum Beat?
Getting It Done - Part 2
One Way the Government Can Create Jobs Today and Tomorrow
Top 5 Surprising Facts About Inner City Entrepreneurship
Getting It Done - Part 1
2008
September (5)
Burton D. Morgan Foundation Issues a Challenge!
The Power of Inclusion as an Economic Tool for the Region
What exactly is venture development?
A Logical, Inspiring and Practical Plan from State Government?
Welcome to the inaugural post of the JumpStart IdeaExchange blog!
October (5)
Three CUEs to Communicate for Success
Leveraging Collaborations as a New Strategy for Growth
Some of the most "entrepreneur-relevant" perspectives period!
Could This Be Our Chance to Catch-up?
It's the Ecosystem, Stupid!
November (4)
Alienating, Difficult, Cyclical and Risky
Is the P-T Plan a Solution for the Mortgage Circus?
The Motivations of Angel Investors
Being King, Getting Rich, and the Best Laid Plans
December (4)
Clearly Articulating Your Market - A Key to Raising Private Equity
The ABCs (and LLCs) of Corporate Structures
Entrepreneurs and Investors: We Need You AND Your Information
Staying Positive About Our Entrepreneurial Future During the Meltdown
Recent Comments
Bob Chalfant wrote: This discussion should be a little more inclusive to include not only skin color, but gender, immigration status, nationality, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, and especially diversity of thought to gain multiple points of view.
If everyone thinks like everyone else, there is no creativity, no entrepreneurship, no economic development.
Is anyone listening the next generation millennials? Not too much different from us Boomers. Teamwork, technology, face to face conversations, pretty much the same.
How does an organization overcome internal biases, encourage women, latinos, asians, blacks, gays? What force is required in the org to move to a culture of broad insight, true inclusiveness, and positive reinforcement?
Paul J. Corson wrote: Great piece, John. Think, analyze, communicate, and disrupt - I loved my liberal arts education.
chris whittey wrote: This is simply superb, John. Thank you so much -- I plan on sending this to my faculty.
Chris
(VPAA, Cleveland Institute of Art)
Douglas Craver wrote: Interesting post although I'd be a concerned if any founder didn't have a grasp on these concepts or have researched them on the Internet.
My position with the founders I coach and advise is Business Plans are a waste of time and only serve to provide investors a false sense of security and chances are they'll just come back to waste more of your time looking for this or that projection. Get started on what you can do to take action on your idea today. The opportunities are moving too fast to waste precious time on a business plan with 2-5 year projections that are WAGs. The Midwest is still stuck on them because writing them is big business. They also actually delay funding decisions vs. facilitating them.
The extent of a plan should be a 10-12 slide deck with some short-term financial assumptions that you can put together in one day. It is the investors responsibility to understand the sector they are investing in. If they don't the money isn't worth it because they'll become difficult partners over time lacking patience.
I see way too many founders wasting their time responding to the questions of uneducated investors and guess who they don't end up getting funding from most of the time? As with everything in a startup or early stage venture every decision and use of time (cycles or timebox) should be solely based on whether it delivers value. Business Plans don't deliver value.
Maria Maculaitis wrote: Very informative. Knowing that they exist, how does one find out who they are and how can we get an opportunity to talk to some? I have read many sites regarding the differences between VC and Angel investors and this webcast was great.