Installment #8 of Carnival of the Capitalists is up and running on Bill Hobbs’ web log. Be sure to visit this blog, as Bill has the best site for political commentary.
Angel Investors Come into the Open
An interesting evolution is taking place with angel investors. Those who were once as illusive as unicorns are now creating more formalized systems.
The “Entrepreneurs are Gamblers” Myth
“I could never start my own business. I cannot tolerate that kind of risk. After all, entrepreneurs are nothing more than gamblers who are willing to bet it all on a hunch of a business idea.” Many people view entrepreneurship this way. To them entrepreneurship is as nothing more than a crap shoot. However, when we study financially successful entrepreneurs a very different picture emerges.
Carnival of the Capitalists #7
Visit this week’s Carnival of the Capitalists hosted by Keven Brancato at Truck and Barter.
A good read about a rocky ride
Dan Hanlon has written a book that chronicles his adventures as he raised a boat load of money to start up Excelsior-Henderson Motorcycles, built a manufacturing facility, but never made it to commercialization.
In Their Own Words….
Harvard has put together an impressive collection of on-line videos from their “stable” of entrepreneurs. Some of these are quite good. Each has a little plug for HBS, but just consider those to be “a word from our sponsor”. The stories can be quite compelling and make excellent cases for practitioners and students. They are well organized by topic, and have clear and concise messages.
11/17/03 Carnival of the Capitalists
Carnival of the Capitalists is up for 11/17/03. Check it out!
SBA Report Sheds Light on Start-up Costs
A new report issued by the SBA sheds light on the cost of start-ups. It reinforces the point that many of us are making: most start-ups have nothing to do with venture capital type deals, so why do we spend so much time talking about them??!! Here are some highlights from this report:
The “I’ve Got a Secret” Myth
Time and time again, I run into entrepreneurs who are petrified to share any aspect of their business for fear that someone will steal their idea and beat them to the punch. Just how real is this fear? In reality, the actually cases where an idea for a business gets stolen are quite rare. However, just to be safe and sleep well at night, here are my suggestions:
Cash Flow’s Impact, Part II
Here is a good article from Entrepreneur.com that offers more insight into my recent posting on cash flow management.