Category Archives: Characters

May 23, 2013 · 4:00 am

GOOGLE’S AMAZING ASCENT

From Startup to the New Digital Age

Jeff Segal – message therapist – Part 1

Once upon a time, not all that long ago, Google was a startup.

No one who attended The New Digital Age, hosted by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs last Thursday at the Swissotel, asked Google’s Eric Schmidt and Jared Cohen about the juggernaut’s humble, scrappy beginnings. They were there to hear about technology’s power to thwart terrorism and bring dictators to their knees. Continue reading →

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Tagged as big data, censorship, coup, dictatorships, digital communication, digital media, earning a living, feeding your family, global domination, Google, overthrow, revolution, terrorism, thought control, World affairs

May 14, 2013 · 2:07 pm

THE TWO LAWS

IMSA Kids at MIT Enterprise Forum

John Jonelis

From a special correspondent – Mark T. Wayne:

Frankly sir, I am flabbergasted! This is something beyond my experience! Think of it. High school students turned serious entrepreneurs. These are children in suit and tie—teams of them politely waiting to speak in turn without interrupting the others. Not so much as a spit wad—do you hear me? Not one! That in itself is cause for more than casual interest. And no fluff here, sir! These kids seek equity funding without so much as a blush. And they do it with such aplomb. Continue reading →

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Filed under Characters, Education, Electric Power, Entrepreneur, Games, High Tech, Low Tech

Tagged as children, English language, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, generate electricity underwater, green energy, High School, High School Students, IMSA, IMSA Power Pitch, mark T wayne, MIT, MIT Enterprise Forum, MITEF, new companies, Power Pitch, schools, sketch a tune, spit wads, startups, Tom Sawyer, Whitewash, who's in my class, winners, young adults, young people

May 1, 2013 · 12:22 am

WHAT’S CLEAN

Impact Engine – Part 6

John Jonelis

~ VERBATIM from a special correspondent ~

Loop Lonagan here. I’m at a place where my natural greed ‘n’ avarice can do some good fer dis poor worn-out world. This is the Chicago CleanTech Competition—what you might call a race between high-tech global janitorial services. Ten distinguished judges will pick the best o’ da best—companies that’re really doin’ somethin’ to deal with the mess we’re makin’ outa our little corner o’ God’s creation. What we got here is da last ten finalists in our great city and tonight that gets cut down to five. Continue reading →

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Filed under Characters, Entrepreneur, High Tech, Low Tech, Poverty

Tagged as angel, angel capital, angel investor, bacteria, Big Money, Chicago, chicago clean energy alliance, chicago ventures, clean water, cleantech, dirty water, drinking water, e. coli, entrepreneruship and politics, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, events, filter, gcca, global cleantech cluster association, Impact Engine, impact investing, innovation, innovation and culture, invention, investments, investor, Jobs, Kellogg, Loop Lonagan, new companies, Northwestern, philanthropist, pitch, portapure, social entrepreneur, vc, venture capital, virus, water, water contamination, water pollution

April 20, 2013 · 8:35 pm

UNWIRED

John Jonelis

– VERBATIM from a special correspondent –

Donatas Ludditis reporting but you can call me Don. Today I hop train to Chicago Ogilvie station and take elevator to meeting way up in tall skyscraper. Is raining hard outside but I no care. I no go out in rain. I just get off train and take elevator to meeting. It is in same building!

And they treat me like king here! You should eat such food! Maybe they think Einstein come back from the grave—I dunno. People say I look just like him. As a young man I yusta hate people calling me that and I break some noses. Some legs too, maybe. Now I smile. Carry his picture in wallet. Tell them he is my big brother. Continue reading →

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Tagged as cell phones, customer acquisition, Donatas Ludditis, Mobile Internet, mobile marketing, mobile phones, rio, roi, sdr, smart phones, software driven radio

April 5, 2013 · 4:00 am

GOOD OUTCOMES

John Jonelis

Written by a very special correspondent, Mark T. Wayne:

Did you know that, out of the multitudes of people that undergo knee surgery, 7% go bad within a year?* .No, I don’t mean to imply that patients with new knees turn to a life of crime, though some may do so. There are no numbers whatsoever to prove otherwise. There’s nothing to stop a man once he can run from the scene of the dastardly deed for the first time in years on his spanking new knees. Continue reading →

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Tagged as bad outcomes, BNC Venture Capital, communication with doctor, doctor, Family, good outcome, hip surgery, knee surgery, labs, nurses, orthopedic surgeon, patient guidance system, portable health care act, private enterprise, super bug, superbug, surgeons, therapist, wellbe.me

March 12, 2013 · 5:00 am

GIVE IT AWAY

Impact Engine – Part 5

John Jonelis

Verbatim transcript from a special correspondent

Loop Lonagan back at Impact Engine Investors Day. The Chase auditorium’s packed with angel investors and venture capitalists AND philanthropists that’d rather invest in self-sustaining ventures than just dump their money down the old rat hole. Continue reading →

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Tagged as bob hope, Charity, costs of a charity, crowd funding, giving, impact investing, NGO, overhead of a charity, percent giving, the lemon drop kid, the nellie thursday home for old dolls

March 5, 2013 · 4:00 pm

LIGHT UP A CONTINENT

Impact Engine – Part 4

John Jonelis

Verbatim from a special correspondent:

Ever hear o’ light poverty? Yeah, it’s a real thing ‘n’ it causes real poverty. But now somebody’s got a clever way t’ fix the problem. Lemme tell you about it. Continue reading →

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Filed under Characters, Crowd Sourced Novel, Electric Power, High Tech, Low Tech, Poverty, The Economy

Tagged as africa, Buffalo Bicycles, candle, electricity, energy currency, f.d. day, FK Day, generating electricity, kenya, kerosene, kerosene lantern, kinetic energy, light, light poverty, light up africa, Loop Lonagan, SRAM, third world, zambia, zoom box

February 22, 2013 · 5:00 am

THE FUTURE OF LEARNING

Impact Engine – Part 3

John Jonelis

Verbatim transcript from a special correspondent

Loop Lonagan here at IMPACT ENGINE Investors Day. I got an exciting report on the education of our kids. This’s real interesting stuff—and real important. Ever’body knows dat education is the difference between living in poverty and not. To tell the truth, maybe I didn’t pay so much attention when I was in school. But that’s the whole point. Lotsa kids in dis country is fallin’ behind the world bigtime Continue reading →

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Filed under Characters, Education, Politics, Writing style

Tagged as argument, CCSS, common core state standards, debate, dynamic content, education, evidence, evidence-based argumentation, hypothosis, Learning, new curriculum, new federal regulation, new leaning standards, new regulation, new teaching methods, public schools, socratic method, students, teachers

February 11, 2013 · 11:22 am

THE TWO WHEELS OF CHANGE

Impact Engine – Part 2

John Jonelis

Verbatim transcript from a special correspondent

Loop Lonagan here at IMPACT ENGINE Investor Day. This is the new Chicago incubator fer companies that do well by doin’ good—and doin’ it profitably! Think of it—we’re gathered here to get richer by makin’ all them other poor slobs around the world prosper! This I like!

The keynote speaker is FK Day. (He calls hisself FK fer short.) And he tells us a story that knocks us outa our seats. This is a real unusual chain of events that speaks about the virtues of capitalism doing alotta good by helping folks raise their own well-being. Continue reading →

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Tagged as africa, andromeda strain, bicycle, bicycle brakes, bicycle shifters, bicycles, bike, bikes, Buffalo Bicycles, business, charities, Chicago Cubs, Chicago Cubs Charities, cicycles, doing well by doing good, economic development, education, feeding a family, FK Day, getting to school, getting to work, healthcare, Impact Engine, impact investing, Kellogg, long distance, maintenance, Northwestern, poverty, rough roads, rugged terrain, SRAM, standard bicycle, standard parts, standardization, supply chain, third world, transportation, tsunami, walking, World Bicycle Relief, zambia

January 30, 2013 · 8:00 am

WHAT’S GOOD?

Impact Engine – Part 1

John Jonelis

Verbatim transcript of a recording by a special correspondent

Loop Lonagan here. Dis is somethin’ can change da world. It’s called IMPACT ENGINE ‘n’ it’s dare first investor showcase.

Already met one o’ da founders, Linda Darragh and she made a big-time impression on me. I saw dis gal charge-up a roomfulla sleepy thought leaders with da energy of an oxyacetylene torch. Ideas and plans fly off her like da Fourth o’ July. She’s the reason I’m here. Continue reading →

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Tagged as big data, change the world, doing well by doing good, fail fast, give a man a fish, impact investing, new horizon, new paradigm, s.w.a.g., social entrepreneurship, swag, teach a man to fish

January 18, 2013 · 11:28 pm

7 TIPS FROM A WINNER

Funding Feeding Frenzy – Part 5

John Jonelis

VERBATIM transcript of Loop Lonagan’s recorded notes.

Loop Lonagan here. I’m gonna go full circle at dis Funding Feeding Frenzy.

No, I ain’t drunk—well maybe I am by now—but what I mean is, I’m goin’ back to the start o’ this event. After all that stuff I already talked about, I’m finally gettin’ ‘round to the first speaker at the FFF—Palette App—the company that won last time. Continue reading →

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Tagged as 7 tips, android, angel, apple, capital, cash flow, Challenge, crowd funding, David Culver, dot bomb, dot com, Drunk, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, fff, funding, funding feeding frenzy, interview, iPod, jerrry freeman, Loop Lonagan, meeting payroll, motivating employees, motivation, palette app, paying the bills, pitch, raising funds, raising money, risk mitigation, self-directed ira, seven tips, simplify, tips, vc, venture capital, venture capitalist

December 28, 2012 · 9:44 pm

THE LUCKY DOG

Funding Feeding Frenzy – Part 3

John Jonelis

Loop Lonagan here, sittin’ with my friend Warren D Mink at the Funding Feeding Frenzy. We’re waitin’ for the first presentation, and I’m expectin’ some kinda high tech gadget.

Mink’s a real sharp VC and he tells me we’re gonna have some fun with a consumer product he knows all about ‘cause he saw it at BNC Venture Capital last night. This one serves a good purpose, he says, and looks like a winner. I sit back and enjoy myself ‘cause I know I’ll get all the detail I need from Mink’s notes.

And this one ends up takin’ 3rd place fer da whole event! Summa the best inventions is the simple ones, and hey—how come YOU ain’t the first one to think of it? Continue reading →

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Tagged as BNC Venture Capital, cat, cooled dog harness, dog, dog clothing, dog harness, funding feeding frenzy, heated dog harness, horse, pet, pet collar, pet harness, pet products, pet specialty products, pet wellness, serial entrepreneur, sled dog harness, specialty dog collar