Three Key Questions
John Jonelis
It’s crucial for an Angel Investor to leverage the strengths of a group. Great groups are out there but how do you identify them? Here are three key questions: Continue reading
Category Archives: Entrepreneur
HOW TO CHOOSE AN ANGEL GROUP
Filed under Education, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, High Tech, Low Tech, Startup Companies, Startups
GOODBYE DR ALZHEIMER
Adapted from the Journal of the Heartland Angels
By John Jonelis
ADMdx has pioneered a new science to help big pharma wipe out Alzheimer’s disease. With a mission that huge, they can pivot and adjust, yet never stray from their course. I’m talking to their CEO, Dawn Matthews and her first statement knocks my socks off. Continue reading
Filed under Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, High Tech, Startup Companies, Startups
TOUGH LOVE
Techbash – Part 5
John Jonelis
This is a story about raw love. Tough. Rugged. Unashamed.
I’m at i.c.stars—the premier social incubator in Chicago—and I find myself a bit overwhelmed by it all. I stop in to thank Sandee Kastrul, their President and Co-founder and she pours me some hot coffee.
“I think,” She says, “that at the end of the day, there are three things that you should know about us:
- We’re positioned as an opportunity, not a charity.
- Rather than exploit our interns, we exploit our CIOs.
- We’re funded by the technology industry—not the government.
Those seem to me rather interesting assertions for a social venture. But she goes on to explain: Continue reading
Filed under Conflict, Education, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, High Tech, Low Tech, Politics, Poverty, Relationships, Startup Companies, Startups, The Economy
HIGH TECH HIGH TEA
TechBash – Part 4
John Jonelis
I‘m at Chicago’s premier social incubator – i.c.stars. Fresh faces of their current crop of interns rim this boardroom-sized table. All neat. All professional. As the tea makes its rounds, I hear well-crafted introductions. Mannerly. In-depth. Heartfelt. Spoken by people who have known each other during months of intense struggle. It’s more like introducing family than business associates. Continue reading
Filed under Education, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, Giving, High Tech, Influence, Startup Companies, Startups
THE APPRENTICE MEETS DIGITAL BOOT CAMP
Techbash – Part 3
VERBATIM – John Jonelis
This is a story of high expectations, high reality, and high energy. I may as well give it to you straight, because Loop Lonogan would want it that way. He’s in the lockup. Too much hard partying on Twelfth Night. His guests spilled into the street and all kinds of trouble erupted—part of it involving a policeman he knocked cold. So I’m here at i.c.stars headquarters. Here to finish Lonagan’s series of articles. I’m talking to the president and co-founder, Sandee Kastrul. Continue reading
Filed under Conflict, Education, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, Giving, High Tech, Influence, Low Tech, Poverty, Relationships, The Economy
GIVING BACK
TechBash – Part 2
by Loop Lonagan
as told to John Jonelis –
Seems to me Christmas is all about givin’ to other people and I say we keep it that way. I love Christmas. Ever’ year I start my celebration on Thanksgiving and don’t take the tree down till January the Fifth. That’s Twelfth Night fer youse guys that don’t know. That night I throw a big party, hire cooks, a piano player, ‘n’ ever’body burns a branch from the tree before they leave.
There’s an outfit right here in Chicago that keeps the spirit o’ giving alive all the yearlong. They find people with talent, creativity, intelligence, hard knocks ‘n’ plenty o’ moxey. Then they pay ‘em to train fer big-time jobs. That’s one o’ the nicest gifts you can give a person with them kinda attributes—a chance to use what they got inside themselves. Think about it—all that potential just waitin’ to burst out so bad a guy could explode. Continue reading
Filed under Characters, Education, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, Faith, Giving, High Tech, Poverty, Startup Companies, Startups
TALENT HIDES
TechBash – Part 1
By Loop Lonagan,
as told to John Jonelis –
I feel the bite of Christmas in the air. It’s the season o’ giving. I’m here at TechBash coverin’ fer Da May Report but I never seen an event like this before. Right away, I get hit with pounding music, flashing lights and maybe a couple thousand er more people. Place is fulla bigshots. So many C-level execs at one party—mosta them CIOs o’ big corporations. And the food and open flowing bar. I mean, this is a HUGE party that puts Dennis Koslowski and Tyco to shame—but this one’s legit. Lemme tell you about it: Continue reading
Filed under Characters, Education, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, Giving, High Tech, Poverty, Relationships, Startup Companies, Startups
SHORT ON MARKETING
Where Tech Startups Come Up Short
.From the Journal of the Heartland Angels
By John Ortbal
Far too many start-ups in the technology sector launch a great product with distinct advantages over competitors but fail to gain a solid footing in their marketplace. One of the major reasons is lack of adequate investment in what I call a solid marketing infrastructure. Continue reading
Filed under Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, High Tech, Influence, Low Tech, Startup Companies, Startups
FOUNDER’S PROCLAMATION
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation.
Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and—Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me “to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, Continue reading
Filed under Biography, Characters, Education, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, Faith, Politics
TEAM – A CASE STUDY
by Terry Flanagan
Your next opportunity may be right under your nose. When people with common values and objectives—coachable individuals with unique expertise come together, they can deliver value in a very short timeframe. Continue reading
Filed under Entrepreneur, High Tech, Low Tech, Relationships, Startup Companies, Startups
FEAR OF FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION
by Tom Lemanski
From the SMART Leadership Archives
With the aid of the film, Apollo 13, let’s briefly consider the concept of failure and its role in innovation, problem solving and decision-making.
The Apollo 13 movie documents the heroic efforts of the NASA flight team in successfully returning their crew of three astronauts to earth in their ill-fated, aborted, mission to land on the moon. There’s a compelling scene where the flight engineers discuss the crippled space craft’s desperate power situation that concludes with Flight Director Gene Kranz’s (portrayed by Ed Harris as pictured at left) determined declaration:
“Failure is not an option.”
Filed under Education, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, High Tech, Influence, Low Tech, Relationships, Startups
GAS FOR THE MASSES
By Bill Blaire – Private Equity Investor
As told to John Jonelis
I’m sittin’ way in the back o’ this crowd so’s I can duck outa here fast. That’s just in case this meetin’ gets outa hand like the last time. It ain’t like I don’t enjoy mixin’ it up—you know I do. Thirty years in the Local #1 boilermakers don’t make a guy soft. But if they haul me off to the lockup again, maybe they throw away the key this time. Continue reading
Filed under Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, Low Tech, Startup Companies, Startups
The Gamemaker's Father 