Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘small business’

Mass Challenge D-Day Tomorrow

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on October 22, 2012| 4 Comments »

The Mass Challenge Awards Ceremony takes place tomorrow night at the Boston Convention Center. Erik is one of the 26 entrepreneurs who are finalists in the Class of 2012. He first read about Mass Challenge on this very blog the day before the deadline for applying!

The whole family is excited that Erik has done so well. Suzanne and John (both entrepreneurs) will be sitting at his table at the big event. Erik’s mother, lately arrived from Sweden, will be strolling the baby around South Boston with a little help from yours truly.

The Awards Ceremony includes Governor Deval Patrick. Orlando Jones will moderate. And I am a particular fan of speaker Gerald Chertavian.

A native of Lowell, Chertavian so appreciated the mentoring he received in high school that he served as a Big Brother in college and for years after. Having sold his own entrepreneurial company, he decided to give back by building an organization to give young low-income but motivated people a paid year to prepare for the workforce through internships and training.

For more on the unique approach of Chertavian’s nonprofit YearUp, now in many U.S. cities, look here.

YearUp photograph of Gerald Chertavian

Read Full Post »

Entrepreneurs at Struggling High Schools

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on October 19, 2012| Leave a Comment »

I came across a nonprofit organization called BUILD on the website of the accelerator incubator MassChallenge (where Erik is among 26 finalists who will be honored at Tuesday’s awards). BUILD helps inspire students to graduate from high school by getting them engaged in an entrepreneurship project.

“MassChallenge Partner BUILD Greater Boston is gathering a select group of entrepreneurs to mentor student business teams in some of the city’s lowest performing high schools.

“BUILD is an exciting 4-year college success program that uses entrepreneurship to motivate disengaged students to excel academically, graduate from high school, and succeed in college. …

“To help students become college-eligible, BUILD also provides tutoring, test prep, mentoring, and college planning advice. Entrepreneurship is the hook — but college is the goal. Over the past 13 years, 95% of BUILD seniors nationally have been accepted to college, with 88% accepted to 4 year colleges and universities.

A student team calling itself “the Dream Team and their mentors, including MassChallenge Alumni Shonak Patel, won 1st place at the Youth Business Plan Competition at Northeastern University on June 2, 2012, receiving $1,500 to start their business.”

According to the Bay State Banner, the Dream Team’s product is an “inspirational iPhone case, made of bamboo and customizable to have the purchaser’s own dream etched into it.” More here.

See video highlights of the competition from the Boston Business Journal.

“Being a BUILD mentor gave me the opportunity to use my passion for entrepreneurship to inspire greatness in others.” — Shonak Patel, Charlestown Mentor and MassChallenge Alumni. 

Read Full Post »

Hiccup Entrepreneur: Age 13

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on May 6, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Connecticut seems to be doing quite a lot for entrepreneurs — even rather young ones. So thanks to an annual competition for young inventors in the state, Mallory Kievman is getting her hiccup-suppressing lollipop patented and marketed by experts.

Writing for the NY Times, Jessica Bruder quotes one of Mallory’s benefactors.

“ ‘It’s very rare, when you’re evaluating businesses, that you can envision a company or product being around 100 years from now,’ said Danny Briere, a serial entrepreneur and the founder of Startup Connecticut, which nurtures new companies, including Hiccupops, and is a regional affiliate of the Startup America Partnership. ‘Hiccupops is one of those things. It solves a very simple, basic need.’

“Mallory met Mr. Briere last spring at the Connecticut Invention Convention, an annual competition for kids. ‘I went there, and I knew it would either be a hit or a miss project,’ she said. ‘People would either like it, or they would think I was crazy.’ ” Read more.

I love reading about simple but valuable solutions to everyday challenges. Think paper clip. Think Post-it note. It takes a special kind of imagination. Nowadays, given the valuation of apps, you would think solving everyday challenges was too uncool for the inventive mind. But Hiccupops will likely bring Mallory checks in the mail long after Instagram is forgotten.

Photograph: Andrew Sullivan for the NY Times

Read Full Post »

Entrepreneurs Only

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , on April 10, 2012| 2 Comments »

I took a tour of Mass Challenge today, an accelerator incubator program. And what is an accelerator incubator program? you ask. An incubator helps small businesses get launched and grow. An accelerator helps them get launched and grow really fast.

The program I visited may be the biggest anywhere. It has a whole floor of a gorgeous new building overlooking Boston Harbor, which the landlord has provided rent-free at least until 2014. It has zillions of sponsors and supporters, including the mayor and the governor, who don’t always see eye to eye on other matters.

Enter by tomorrow to be in the running for this year’s program and the top prize. Every entrant, whether chosen for the program or not, gets three to five professional reviews. You can enter from anywhere in the world. Caveats: there is an entry fee of $200, and your startup has to have made less than $1 million so far. Click here to enter.

From the website: “MassChallenge is the largest-ever startup accelerator and competition, and the first to support high-impact, early-stage entrepreneurs with no strings attached. Benefits for startups include:

* 3 month accelerator program. World-class mentorship and training, free office space, access to funding, media and more.
* $1M in Cash Awards. $4M+ in-kind support.
* Open to all. Any startup can enter, from anywhere, in any industry.
* No equity taken. No restrictions applied.”

And while we’re on the subject of small business, I also saw a great presentation about a new City of Boston website that walks people through all the things they need to do to get a business started in Boston. A wonderful, user-friendly site.

Read Full Post »

What Else Can Cash Mobs Do?

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on April 7, 2012| 3 Comments »

I’m learning about cash mobs and how they are used to help small businesses and promote economic development.

I like that it’s kind of a surprise for the business. The town selects a shop for some policy reason like wanting to revitalize a particular part of town or to encourage a promising entrepreneur. It promotes the business for a cash-mob day and encourages local folks to spend some money. People do because it’s fun, and because they, too, want to help.

“A cash mob works like this,” writes the Globe. “City officials, civic groups, or individuals use social media, blogs, and e-mail to spread the word about the event. As @Lowellcashmob tweeted this week, ‘Infusing revenue into Lowell businesses, you never know where the cash mob will strike!’ …

“Merchants do not run them, but are selected for a ‘hit.’ Participants are encouraged to spend $10 to $20. There often aren’t any discounts or incentives — it’s less about nabbing a Black Friday bargain and more about sharing the wealth.” More here.

Got me thinking. How else could this work? Could the town choose a local blood bank for a cash-mob day? How about a “paint the youth center” day? Or a day to buy something at the Pirate Supply Store to support the tutoring program? Would people think that was fun, too?


Read Full Post »

Chocolate Entrepreneur

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 30, 2012| 2 Comments »

I went to Manchester, New Hampshire, today for an event designed to bring bankers together with community and economic development people.

The panelists were pretty interesting. A woman from the NH Small Business Development Center talked about what it takes to put together a financing package and what sorts of entrepreneurs are a good investment. For example, people like Richard Tango-Lowy, who do their homework.

Tango-Lowy kept his IT job while he researched everything about fine chocolate, traveling extensively in France and Italy. Almost as soon as he opened Dancing Lion Chocolate, he was successful. He got a great review in the Boston Globe. He has no cash-flow problems. His only problem is keeping up with demand.

“The entrepreneur’s Mayan-style drinking chocolate, made with milk or water, is served in large painted bowls,” writes Kathleen Pierce in the Globe. “This driven chocolatier and Manchester resident is more than a little obsessed with cacao. He works with chocolate maker Alan McClure of Patric Chocolate in Columbia, Mo., to create a house-blend derived from Madagascar beans.

“Like a vintner, Tango-Lowy selects the chocolates that go into his tasting squares, bars, and candies, paying close attention to flavor profiles and how a particular bean enhances the moment. ‘I think about how long will it linger in your mouth. There are ones that hit the fragrant front and each piece evolves as you eat it,’ he says.

“When you discover that Tango-Lowy is a physicist, his approach to chocolate begins to make sense.” Read more.

Read Full Post »

Generations in the Jewelry Business

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on November 8, 2011| 5 Comments »

When Suzanne started the birthstone-jewelry business Luna & Stella a few years ago, I didn’t make the connection right away.

Suzanne never knew my grandmother Mabel, but Mabel (the woman I called Garkie from an early age) was also an entrepreneur, best known for jellies like Cinnama-Tang and for jewelry. I remember seeing her on black & white daytime television in New York when she was interviewed about her ventures.

My cousin Margot was going through the personal items of my late Aunt Maggie (Margot’s mother and Garkie’s daughter) and unearthed articles and artifacts. Here are samples. Styles have changed, but the urge to sell something creative has not.

The angel wing is Suzanne’s.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts