Interesting video about the Disclosure project
7/17/2010
Kauffman Foundation gets big response to request for education ventures - Kansas City Business Journal
The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation this week sent a call out to aspiring entrepreneurs who have ideas for high-growth companies that will transform the education market.
The call has been resounding.
Since its Wednesday announcement about the Education Ventures Program, Kauffman has received more than 50 applications for the 20 slots and seen its message flit across the Twitter universe in thousands of tweets.
“We’ve had very, very strong early interest in it,” spokeswoman Barbara Pruitt said Friday.
In part, that’s because Kauffman is offering to take some risk out of the entrepreneurship equation through the six-month program. The Kansas City-based nonprofit intends to pay the entrepreneurs competitive wages so they don’t need a full-time job and can devote their work time to their concepts, Pruitt said. Kauffman also plans to teach participants how to find financing, putting the entrepreneurs in touch with mentors and advisers who know what investors are looking for. That’s in addition to training and education about the various facets of running a business and about marketing their specific ideas.
The program is through the nonprofit’s Kauffman Labs for Enterprise Creation initiative.
“This program is the opportunity of a lifetime for high-potential entrepreneurs who don’t have the resources to quit their day jobs and take the leap of faith to start their businesses — businesses that they think will grow fast and transform education in a powerful way,” Bo Fishback, Kauffman’s vice president for entrepreneurship, said in a release. “Education is a more than $1 trillion market where innovations can produce massive benefits to the world and also create huge change in the lives of individuals.”
This is the first time Kauffman has done a program like this that’s focused on a specific industry, Pruitt said.
The timing is right, Sandy Miller, Kauffman’s director of advancing innovation, said in the release.
“The rapid pace of change in the education field in terms of technology, the growth of charter schools, new demands for post-secondary education and shifting priorities provide opportunities for entrepreneurs to catalyze their ideas,” Miller said.
The program is available to candidates at least 18 years old, either individuals or teams of as many as three people. The business ideas must offer products or services that help people learn and could change education. Applications are due by Sept. 20.
The program will mean entrepreneurs coming to Kansas City, the site of the training.
More information about the program is available online or during two teleconferences: Aug. 9 at 11 a.m. and Aug. 18 at 1:30 p.m. Call-in details haven’t yet been announced.
The Kauffman Foundation has about $2 billion in assets.
via bizjournals.com
Peace Through Entrepreneurship
Thom Ruhe believes firmly that entrepreneurship is the key to world peace.
"If you think about it," says the Kauffman Foundation's director of entrepreneurship, "if you're giving birth to something--a company--you're adding value in your society, employing people, producing a product that's in demand in the market and contributing to your community. You're less likely to strap a bomb to your body and kill a bunch of people."
That's why Ruhe is particularly delighted about this week's Startup Weekend in Tel Aviv, Israel, arranged by co-organizers Amir Harel and Eddie Reznik. Startup Weekend is a catalyst for startups all over the world. It brings strangers together for one weekend and combines them into teams to plan and build startup businesses in a 54-hour period.
Startup Weekend Tel Aviv began on Wednesday and finished up Friday. During that time, 130 Israelis and 30 Palestinians worked together, aiming to create viable new businesses. Fifty-six ideas were pitched Wednesday, with 16 selected for teams. "Once you enter into the Startup Weekend event, there is no Israeli, Palestinian, or American--there are entrepreneurs, developers, investors, designers working together to build technology and have fun," Harel says.
It isn't easy getting Palestinians and Israelis together, according to Marc Nager, Clint Nelsen and Franck Nouyrigat, directors of the nonprofit Startup Weekend. The organization had to get government approval, hire a bus and lease the Peres Peace House in Jaffa, Israel. Startup Weekend is also providing hotel space for the Palestinians. "It's hands down the most expensive Startup Weekend we've had," Nelsen says.
It's likely not the most difficult to arrange, however. That prize is likely to go to efforts under way now to create a Startup Weekend in Haiti. Nouyrigat says it will take place in December or January.
Startup Weekend Tel Aviv is just one example of a belief in the power of entrepreneurship. The Institute for Economic Empowerment of Women has a program it calls Peace Through Business. That program provides long-term business education to women in Rwanda and Afghanistan, based on the philosophy that an economically sound country has a much greater capacity for peace.
Ruhe celebrates that premise: "We're making the world a better place through entrepreneurship, and to hell with our political differences," he says.
Startup Weekend was founded in Seattle in 2007 by Andrew Hyde as a for-profit business. It was created to prove that sustainable, high-growth companies could be created in a single weekend if you got the right people in the room. Nager and Nelsen purchased it the following year and turned it into a nonprofit. Their primary goal is education. "We want to be the best experiential model for teaching entrepreneurs," Nelsen says.
They are making an effort to bring women to Startup Weekends by partnering with Girls in Tech and Women 2.0. "On a normal weekend, it's definitely a male-dominated room. So we started to make a conscious effort to recruit more women," Nager says. "Having a woman on a team really balances it," he says.
The next initiative is to spread into the university world and get more involved with students, Nelsen says.
How does it work? Typically, participants show up on Friday night to pitch their business ideas. "About a third of the people have an idea they want to present to their peers," Nelsen says. They have 60 seconds to describe a problem, and the solution they have for that dilemma. In a room filled with 100 people, there will be about 40 ideas, he says. People vote for the ideas they like best and narrow the field down to 10 or 15 ideas. Then people "vote with their feet." They gravitate to the idea that grabs them and form teams of five to seven people to develop the model. It's not unusual, by the end of the weekend, to have teams marketing and even selling their products.
To date, more than 100 events have launched more than 560 new startup ventures. More than 10 percent went on to receive funding.
Startup Weekends are featured events associated with Kauffman's Global Entrepreneurship Week, taking place Nov. 16-22 this year. Global Entrepreneurship Week includes 1,000 events in more than 100 countries. "Like any good movement," Ruhe says, "it's taken on a life of its own."
In Ruhe's view, "American entrepreneurship is one of our last great competitive advantages. The rest of the world knows it--and they have an insatiable appetite to learn about it." He points out that more than 50 percent of the traffic on the entrepreneurship.org website is international in nature.
Says Ruhe of Global Entrepreneurship Week, "It's become a child of the world. I hope it grows up to become a decent global citizen."
Next: Ruhe's top tips for starting a business.
Social entrepreneurship and the solar light bulb (3 letters) | eLetters
Re: “Power of light; Denver inventor may change world with solar-powered bulb,” July 10 news story.
It’s people like Stephen Katsaros, the inventor of the solar-powered light bulb, who renew my faith in America. This guy should get the Nobel Peace Prize, and Humanitarian of the Year Award, if there is such a thing. This amazing man is the personification of Jack Kennedy’s haunting proposal to America: “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”
Lynn Highland, MorrisonThis letter was published in the July 17 edition. For information on how to send a letter to the editor, click here.
I was reading your article with enthusiasm about Colorado native Stephen Katsaros, when on the second page I discovered that he was having these solar light bulbs made in China. China! What? I cannot believe that there is not a spot in Colorado where these can be comparably made, considering the expense of shipping them. I am thoroughly disappointed.
Karen LaValley, ArvadaThis letter was published in the July 17 edition. For information on how to send a letter to the editor, click here.
Your article provides a rather narrow and flawed definition of social entrepreneurship — one that casually and callously denies “revolutionary” innovations to those most in need. In countries such as Ethiopia where demand (and need) is profoundly high for innovative solutions, the basic economic model of supply and demand wouldn’t apply, as they can ill afford to pay to play.
Across the spectrum there are social entrepreneurs who value doing good for its own sake, while others choose ideas for their PR value and great return on investment. Social entrepreneurship includes offering matched corporate dollars to buyers’ purchases, and making worthy causes the beneficiaries of profits rather than gluttonously feeding corporate greed.
If, by design, social entrepreneurship keeps “game changing” solutions out of the reach of millions of people, our brave new 21st-century-ideas- driven economy will only further deepen the ever-widening gulf between those who have and those who have not.
Tami Ellison, Denver
This letter was published in the July 17 edition. For information on how to send a letter to the editor, click here.
Entrepreneurship-An Alternate Career Choice | Alternative Record
Entrepreneurship-An Alternate Career Choice
Entrepreneurship-An Alternate Career Choice
If you’ve recently started your own business-or if you’re thinking about it-you have a lot of company.Becom ing a home based entrepreneur is not just a career choice but also a lifestyle choice which more and more people are choosing day after day.
While many individuals go on their own internal reasons-a passionate need to be independent, a burning desire to turn a hobby into a profession, or the love of a challenge-others have chosen the entrepreneur route in response to external situations, including layoffs, frustration with their current workplace culture, or a need for greater flexibility in their lives.
Just as the dream during the 1950’s was to buy and own our own homes, working for yourself (especially from home) is the dream of the 21st Century.However becoming an entrepreneur isn’t for all.It’s important to consider whether you have what it takes to start a business and run it successfully.
You’ve probably heard that start-up statistics are grim.What you need to know is that around 30% of businesses that are started at home survive longer than 5 years. Stories of overnight successes and young millionaires are rare. The dot.com era ended two years ago, and venture capital money is increasingly hard to secure. The hardworking, determined, visionary who dedicates long hours and endless energy to his or her business is the more realistic picture of today’s entrepreneur.
Entrepreneurship comes with many hurdles both internal and external ones.They still need to offer exceptional service and top class products like any other business. They need to manage cash flow and maintain profitability and hire and retain the right mix of people. Externally, factors such as access to financing, the economy, government regulations, and technological issues impact entrepreneurs on a regular basis.
Many small businesses fail because of weaknesses in general management, financial management, and marketing (Statistics Canada, “Failing Concerns: Business Bankruptcy in Canada”). Michael Gerber cites the “entrepreneurial seizure” as a primary reason for failure in his book “The E Myth, Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work, and What To Do About It.” What is made evident by Michael Gerber is that many entrepreneurs fail in realizing their dream by assuming that understanding the technical side of the business is enough to enable them to succeed. There are many more aspects to a home based business than that.
To avoid becoming a casualty of the start-up craze, it’s critical to be aware of the pros and cons of running a business.There is no get rich quick scheme out there. The potential sure is there to earn a lot of money and a great residual income but you have to be willing to put in the hard yards and go through the dirty work needed to get there.
Are you the right person to become an Entrepreneur?
One recent study of entrepreneurs (William E. Jennings, “A Profile of the Entrepreneur”) asked subjects to rank several traits and attitudes related to business ownership in order of importance.
Results showed the most important attributes to be:
” Perseverance
” Desire and willingness to take initiative
” Competitiveness
” Self-reliance
” Desire to Achieve
” Self-confidence
” Good physical healthFilling out the bottom of the list were some surprising attributes, including a strong desire for money, patience, organizational skills, and a need for power.Today’s entrepreneurs are more interested in competition and achievement than money or power.
By asking youself these questions then you can start to work out whether you have what is required to successfully start and carry on your own home based business.
” Are you willing to do that hard work and put in the time and effort required to get started?
” Do you want to bear the responsibility for all business decisions and responsibilities related to your company?
” Are you independent, disciplined, and committed to entrepreneurship?
” Are you willing to play a number of roles within your business?
Where Do You Start?Research, research, research! Reseach in to the industry you are wanting to get into, and ensure you look at both positive and negative aspects. Talk to other entrepreneurs about what has worked for them, and read relevant trade journals, books, and business publications. You must be willing to learn daily and keep up to date with all current dilemmas facing this industry.
It is essential then to develop of comprehensive business plan.This is especially important if you are going to require outside funding to commence your business.All successful businesses whether online or not have a business plan in place. Set goals for your business, then break the goals down into achievable steps. A good plan will help you maintain focus when things become overwhelming.Networking can begin immediately when starting a business. Don’t burn your bridges at your current job, keep good relationships with current workers.When networking is done well it can establish mutually beneficial relationships.
Other aspects you also need to consider are :
Financial aspects such as amount of capital requirement to start-up and obviously if you can find an opportunity with low start up costs then that is great. However, remember that all businesses need capital to start.It can be difficult to start from scratch and be assured that there are a lot of entrepreneurs out there who continued to work their initial job whilst starting their entrepreneurial business until things picked up. Be patient.
If you are going to continue working in your current job then it may at times feel quite overwhelming.Remember to carve out time for friends, family, and fun. If you can find a business that can help you along with things such as automated marketing systems, training and support etc then this will help you spend your time wisely and focus on building your business.
In closing, please remember that becoming an entrepreneur is not for the faint-hearted. If you are willing to work hard and learn then stop looking for the magic formula, which doesn’t exist. Your dreams can come true with work and perseverance.Share and Enjoy:
Entrepreneurship-An Alternate Career Choice | Alternative Record
Entrepreneurship-An Alternate Career Choice
Entrepreneurship-An Alternate Career Choice
If you’ve recently started your own business-or if you’re thinking about it-you have a lot of company.Becom ing a home based entrepreneur is not just a career choice but also a lifestyle choice which more and more people are choosing day after day.
While many individuals go on their own internal reasons-a passionate need to be independent, a burning desire to turn a hobby into a profession, or the love of a challenge-others have chosen the entrepreneur route in response to external situations, including layoffs, frustration with their current workplace culture, or a need for greater flexibility in their lives.
Just as the dream during the 1950’s was to buy and own our own homes, working for yourself (especially from home) is the dream of the 21st Century.However becoming an entrepreneur isn’t for all.It’s important to consider whether you have what it takes to start a business and run it successfully.
You’ve probably heard that start-up statistics are grim.What you need to know is that around 30% of businesses that are started at home survive longer than 5 years. Stories of overnight successes and young millionaires are rare. The dot.com era ended two years ago, and venture capital money is increasingly hard to secure. The hardworking, determined, visionary who dedicates long hours and endless energy to his or her business is the more realistic picture of today’s entrepreneur.
Entrepreneurship comes with many hurdles both internal and external ones.They still need to offer exceptional service and top class products like any other business. They need to manage cash flow and maintain profitability and hire and retain the right mix of people. Externally, factors such as access to financing, the economy, government regulations, and technological issues impact entrepreneurs on a regular basis.
Many small businesses fail because of weaknesses in general management, financial management, and marketing (Statistics Canada, “Failing Concerns: Business Bankruptcy in Canada”). Michael Gerber cites the “entrepreneurial seizure” as a primary reason for failure in his book “The E Myth, Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work, and What To Do About It.” What is made evident by Michael Gerber is that many entrepreneurs fail in realizing their dream by assuming that understanding the technical side of the business is enough to enable them to succeed. There are many more aspects to a home based business than that.
To avoid becoming a casualty of the start-up craze, it’s critical to be aware of the pros and cons of running a business.There is no get rich quick scheme out there. The potential sure is there to earn a lot of money and a great residual income but you have to be willing to put in the hard yards and go through the dirty work needed to get there.
Are you the right person to become an Entrepreneur?
One recent study of entrepreneurs (William E. Jennings, “A Profile of the Entrepreneur”) asked subjects to rank several traits and attitudes related to business ownership in order of importance.
Results showed the most important attributes to be:
” Perseverance
” Desire and willingness to take initiative
” Competitiveness
” Self-reliance
” Desire to Achieve
” Self-confidence
” Good physical healthFilling out the bottom of the list were some surprising attributes, including a strong desire for money, patience, organizational skills, and a need for power.Today’s entrepreneurs are more interested in competition and achievement than money or power.
By asking youself these questions then you can start to work out whether you have what is required to successfully start and carry on your own home based business.
” Are you willing to do that hard work and put in the time and effort required to get started?
” Do you want to bear the responsibility for all business decisions and responsibilities related to your company?
” Are you independent, disciplined, and committed to entrepreneurship?
” Are you willing to play a number of roles within your business?
Where Do You Start?Research, research, research! Reseach in to the industry you are wanting to get into, and ensure you look at both positive and negative aspects. Talk to other entrepreneurs about what has worked for them, and read relevant trade journals, books, and business publications. You must be willing to learn daily and keep up to date with all current dilemmas facing this industry.
It is essential then to develop of comprehensive business plan.This is especially important if you are going to require outside funding to commence your business.All successful businesses whether online or not have a business plan in place. Set goals for your business, then break the goals down into achievable steps. A good plan will help you maintain focus when things become overwhelming.Networking can begin immediately when starting a business. Don’t burn your bridges at your current job, keep good relationships with current workers.When networking is done well it can establish mutually beneficial relationships.
Other aspects you also need to consider are :
Financial aspects such as amount of capital requirement to start-up and obviously if you can find an opportunity with low start up costs then that is great. However, remember that all businesses need capital to start.It can be difficult to start from scratch and be assured that there are a lot of entrepreneurs out there who continued to work their initial job whilst starting their entrepreneurial business until things picked up. Be patient.
If you are going to continue working in your current job then it may at times feel quite overwhelming.Remember to carve out time for friends, family, and fun. If you can find a business that can help you along with things such as automated marketing systems, training and support etc then this will help you spend your time wisely and focus on building your business.
In closing, please remember that becoming an entrepreneur is not for the faint-hearted. If you are willing to work hard and learn then stop looking for the magic formula, which doesn’t exist. Your dreams can come true with work and perseverance.Share and Enjoy:
The Oxford Handbook of Entrepreneurship by Mark Casson (Paperback – Oxford Univ Pr) | Millionaire Books for Millionaire
Entrepreneurship Training
Entrepreneurship comes with more baggage than one would expect. From designing a logo to picking a financial planner, a lot needs to be understood and executed systematically to succeed in commercial endeavors. The order of things could be particularly difficult to comprehend if you are a first time entrepreneur. Entrepreneurship training can help you deal with the business of doing business much better. This is not to say that practicing entrepreneurs don’t need help. If you already own a business, then entrepreneurship training can help you become more efficient, by filling any gaps there might be in the way you run your show.
Most training program packages offer several modules ranging from personal finance to business strategy. The popular ones include:
Finance: Money matters prey high on any entrepreneur’s mind. Only a handful would probably have all the necessary resources for investing in their fledgling business without having to borrow. Managing the investment well is crucial in order to ensure a steady source of future earnings. Entrepreneurship training programs could offer guidance on choosing angel investors, planning an investment portfolio, insurance matters, exercising prudence and so on.
Ecommerce: Vital for the survival of any business today, e-commerce has opened up huge opportunities. No new business strategy is complete without an e-business angle. Yet, there are a number of older generation entrepreneurs who are not entirely familiar with these concepts. For them, entrepreneurship training programs that concentrate on e-commerce business strategy and provide a boot camp type of training or crash course are particularly useful. is just one example of the several training options out there. Once they are ready to jump on the e-commerce bandwagon, sites like can provide very useful services.
Business development: Training programs could offer anything from tried and tested methods to innovative and fresh ideas, to help your business grow. Be it retaining employees or impressing clients, making your money grow or retrieving it in time, training programs can go a long way in addressing the needs of your business. In an increasingly competitive atmosphere, such programs prove indispensable.
Street smart skills: Many other aspects of your personality could influence the profitability of your business. You need strong negotiating skills for instance, in order to strike profitable deals with clients and vendors. Likewise, great communication skills are essential to make the right impression in the right places. Stress management techniques are critical when dealing with difficult situations. Specialists offer mentoring to develop one or more of the above skill sets. In addition, they could help you figure out your strengths and weaknesses, thereby focusing your attention on areas for improvement.
Revamping: Want to give your business a much needed makeover? Revamping is ideal if you want to keep the freshness alive at work. But you need to be careful about the consequences as well. If you are planning on changing the way a product looks, keep in mind that your customers would have grown familiar with a certain image and deviating too much from the usual may not go down well with them. Professional help could see your business through a successful makeover.
Legally smart: Laws have been strengthened and made more comprehensive over the years; as a result there are a mind boggling number of legal issues that business owners need to deal with. Staying up-to-date will keep you from running into rough weather. While resources are aplenty on the internet, you could avail of professional help from a specialized entrepreneurship training program. While on the subject, we’d like to mention that Intellectual Property Rights have assumed significance in recent years and for all you inventors out there, is invaluable!
That’s not all. Suffield University grants degrees in a number of interesting fields; take your pick at Vaughn College of Business awards degrees in Business and Entrepreneurship. Visit them to learn more. provides you with a list of online training programs. Learn about the Entrepreneurship Training programs
Entrepreneurship training could help you mold your ideas, old and new, into profitable undertakings. Both amateurs and experienced entrepreneurs stand to gain from such programs. Go get that extra edge!
Hi, I’m Akhil Shahani, a serial entrepreneur who wants to help you succeed. If you like to work smart, check out http://www.SmartEntrepreneur.net . It’s full of articles and resources to help you start and grow your business successfully. Please visit us & download our special “Freebie of The Month” at
Millionaire Books LinkIf this information resource is useful, use this link for future reference.Bookmark & Share
Tagged as: Casson, Entrepreneurship, Handbook, Mark, Oxford, Paperback, Pr, Univ
Entrepreneurship
July 17, 2010
Entrepreneurship
It is common to hear about the terms Launch, Entrepreneurship, Start, Start, Venturing, Address to name the most common, but when we think of starting an activity, business, homework, etc., It is inherent that this be related to risk, either oriented risk difficulty involved or threatened by the lack of security. Hence relationships Starting up is not a simple activity. If you think about this, is a key element who stars in the making of the work: The Entrepreneur. A person who takes the risk and adventure of starting something. Much has to do the characteristics, qualities, skills, energy invested in this character to meet its objective. On the premise that our actions reflected what we are. Then this process becomes an inclusive process of direct relationship.
In translating the spirit of enterprise in the implementation of a plan of action. And the satisfaction of carrying it out is greater, when our own those ideas become businesses, and challenge that constant fear of failure. After all, failure is just an unexpected result. Which can change with improvement and troubleshooting tasks. There are many qualities and characteristics should be referred to an entrepreneur or businessman. And all are equally important, one of the most outstanding is the ability to transform problems into opportunities or obstacles or areas of improvement in maintaining positive and eliminate the resistance, fear of change. Just as starting a business is a challenge, this adventure is applicable and beneficial to many areas of life. Doe
s it depend only on that entrepreneurial spirit that the outcome is successful? Yes that is a key element, however the desire to transform our ideas and actually desired, in the constant search for satisfaction.
The daily task then is to educate the mind, avoiding these strictures and preparing to be ready for change, take risks and aim to turn dreams and ideals into reality. Try to encourage your initiatives personal, begins with the conviction of one's own effectiveness. If you believe you deserve to get it. Haydee Haydee Quijano Quijano looking articles with their readers will be inspired to start his own business. For a course on how to start your business on the Internet see:
Inner Child Inspirational quote of the day. | Soul Hangout
via soulhangout.net
Have a soulful and playful day you and your Inner Child, my dear friends on both sides of the sun.
Eduardo Galeano y el futuro del planeta - Soul Hang Out
In Spanish! Great dissertation of the present and the future of the planet by Eduardo Galeano the great Uruguayan writer!
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