Reading Time: 3 minutesNiall Ferguson Civilization: The West and The Rest ISBN: 978-1-59420-305-3 Why have European countries and their descendants seen such explosive growth in technology and knowledge over the past 500 years or so? Why has the rest of the world seemingly lagged behind? Prior to the late 1400s, this wasn’t the case – other parts of … [Read more…]
Reading Time: 3 minutesRichard Florida The Rise of the Creative Class ISBN: 978-1-5416-1774-2 Cities and the Creative Class ISBN: 978-0-415-94887-8 When I discovered the world of entrepreneurship more than a decade ago, much of the terminology around entrepreneurial ecosystems and startup communities had not been invented or set in stone. Much of the literature surrounding these concepts discussed … [Read more…]
Reading Time: 3 minutesF. A. Hayek The Road to Serfdom ISBN: 0-226-32059-6 We live in interesting times right now. The economy has been untethered from reality for much of the 2020s due to a number of factors. In an effort to avoid immediate economic disaster, money printing was the name of the game during the pandemic. This, along … [Read more…]
Reading Time: 9 minutesDo you ever get the feeling that you’ve accomplished so much but just barely scratched the surface of a project? That’s how I feel after one year building the EntrePartners Innovation Center. I look around at the coworking space I’ve cobbled together and see how much I’ve done, but at the same time, it feels … [Read more…]
Reading Time: 3 minutesNoam Wasserman The Founder’s Dilemmas ISBN: 978-0-691-15830-3 In many previous posts on this blog and in this book review series, I’ve discussed the importance of failure in the entrepreneurial process. The best way that I’ve found to teach entrepreneurship is to experience the process, make mistakes, and ask lots of questions along the way. Textbooks … [Read more…]
Reading Time: 3 minutesEdward B. Burger and Michael Starbird The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking ISBN: 978-0-691-15666-8 Think back to all of the times in your life where you have felt stuck. Each of us have had problems or subjects that we just don’t understand and can’t find the answer. Perhaps you were stuck on a series of … [Read more…]
Reading Time: 7 minutesIt seems like these first two months of 2025 have flown past. Between meetings, trainings, conferences, and many school delays and cancelations, these weeks haven’t been the most productive. I think I’ve spent about as much time shuttling kids and running errands as I’ve spent in my downtown office in February, going in when it’s … [Read more…]
Reading Time: 3 minutesTyler Cowen and Daniel Gross Talent ISBN: 978-1-250-27581-3 How do you find the right people to hire? It’s been an interesting time for those looking to hire people since the peak of the pandemic. I’ve been lucky that I haven’t been in the market to hire anyone just yet for Cider Finder, but I’m hoping … [Read more…]
Reading Time: 2 minutesRob Fitzpatrick The Mom Test ISBN: 978-1-492-18074-6 People lie to you for different reasons. Most of the time, it’s because they don’t want to hurt your feelings. Very few people will tell you negative things to your face – this is how a polite society works. However, this is incredibly unhelpful for those who are … [Read more…]
Reading Time: 8 minutesIn the last ten years, I’ve offered predictions for the upcoming year every December 31. I’ve learned that I’m pretty terrible at making predictions. Perhaps there was a time long ago when it was easier to predict the future – when things weren’t so chaotic. Five years ago, right before the pandemic, I made all … [Read more…]