Reading Time: 3 minutesBrad Feld Startup Communities ISBN: 978-1-118-44154-1 “If I’d known then what I know now…” If you’ve followed my blog over the years, you know that I’m incredibly passionate about building our local startup community here in Iowa City and eastern Iowa. Almost as soon as I entered the startup community, I wanted to find ways … [Read more…]
Reading Time: 8 minutesIn just a few hours, I’ll be on my way to Denver for Denver Startup Week, part one of the fall entrepreneurial mega-trip. This will be my third year attending Denver Startup Week, and the week following will be my second trip to the 1 Million Cups Organizer Summit in Kansas City. My trip to Denver … [Read more…]
Reading Time: 2 minutesSteve Case The Third Wave: An Entrepreneur’s Vision of the Future ISBN: 978-1-5011-3259-9 At this point, I’ve read a fair number of books by successful entrepreneurs who have exited their companies, now worth enormous sums of money. All of these books contain some sort of retelling of history through the eyes of that entrepreneur. Many … [Read more…]
Reading Time: 6 minutesIt seems like the same thing happens each summer. I notice that my calendar empties out with the conclusion of school and kids’ activities around the first week of June. My optimism builds as it looks like I have nearly three months of productivity ahead of me. Then, in what seems like just a few … [Read more…]
Reading Time: 3 minutesAndrew Yang The War on Normal People ISBN: 978-0-316-41424-1 We’re living in extraordinary times. Job markets are rapidly shifting, and most in the political class don’t seem to understand the changes ordinary people face with regards to technology. The “Internet is a Series of Tubes” meme still accurately portrays the knowledge set of most who … [Read more…]
Reading Time: 5 minutesWe’ve arrived at roughly the midpoint of summer. The days are as long as they are going to get, which makes bedtime for the kids that much more difficult. When daylight begins to appear before 5 am, and stays light past 9 pm, it feels like everyone is awake all the time. I tend to … [Read more…]
Reading Time: 2 minutesB. Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore The Experience Economy ISBN: 978-1-4221-6197-5 How does your company stay ahead of the competition? Do you launch new products that improve upon your old offerings? Do you try to swoop in and produce something better than your competitors, either through ease of use, price, or through the … [Read more…]
Reading Time: 7 minutesCan something be exhausting yet invigorating? If so, that’s how I would describe the two weeks I spent traveling across the Midwest, from eastern Iowa to western Michigan, back to central Iowa, and then home again. Being away from home and driving nearly 1300 miles over the course of a nine day period was exhausting, … [Read more…]
Reading Time: 3 minutesScott Belsky The Messy Middle ISBN: 978-0-7352-1807-9 I picked up The Messy Middle after listening to Scott Belsky’s keynote at EntreFEST 2018. If you follow this blog, I reference that keynote quite a bit when talking about the struggles and trials that entrepreneurs endure during the creation of their companies, and how it differs completely … [Read more…]
Reading Time: 5 minutesI’ve managed to find a brief moment during this busy time to collect my thoughts and reflect on all of the entrepreneurial activities of which I’ve been a part recently. This is probably the last break in the action I’ll have until the end of May. A week from now, I’ll be on the road … [Read more…]