by John Jonelis
What happens when you invite the community into your high school and send your high school students into the community?
Amazing things! You create a THIRD SPACE in people’s lives.
Category Archives: Startups
INQUIRY AND INNOVATION
Filed under angel, angel investor, Business, Characters, Education, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, High Tech, mobile, Startup Companies, Startups
POWER PITCH
by John Jonelis
What happens when you give kids—kids gifted in math and science—a real chance to bust out with their God given talents and excel?
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- What if you trust them to lay their greasy little hands on equipment normally available only at elite universities?
- What if you allow them to direct their own time?
- What if you challenge them to construct their own goals and learn by themselves how to accomplish them?
- What if you dare them to build real startup businesses at such a tender age?
- And what if you throw them into a competition against a panel of critical judges from the real private equity world?
What happens? Good things! Good things happen! They happen here at IMSA – the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy. I’ll give you an intimate peek at the inner works of this educational powerhouse so you can see for yourself what makes this one of the biggest success stories in the country. Continue reading
Filed under angel, angel investor, Business, Education, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, Giving, High Tech, Startup Companies, Startups, vc, venture capital
THE NAME IS IN2
by John Jonelis
What happens when you give kids—highly gifted in math and science—a state-of-the-art facility entirely dedicated to entrepreneurship? This could be the best-designed business incubator on the planet and the students are going to create real businesses here. Hey—this is too much fun! It sure doesn’t look like high school to me! Where did they put the usual long halls walled by the usual rows of lockers? Where are the standardized rigid rectangular classrooms?
This is IN2, the new entrepreneurship center at IMSA—the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy—the Statewide high school for the best and the brightest. It’s located near Chicago and students live on campus, as if attending a university four years too soon.
IMSA will host a big party and ribbon cutting for the new IN2 innovation space on the 30th of the month—that’s the 30th anniversary of the school’s founding. I had the unique opportunity to preview this amazing facility. Here’s a sneak peek: Continue reading
Filed under angel, angel investor, app, Business, Education, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, High Tech, Startup Companies, Startups
HAT TRICK
by John Jonelis
He can feel it, hear it—his heart—beating hard, beating fast. Pounding above the din of those big nubbly tires and the blast of snow hitting the wheel wells. Is it anticipation? Fear? Primeval blood lust?
How will it feel to gun down a living animal? Can he really pull the trigger?
Today, Loop Lonagan joins seven seasoned hunters and four highly trained dogs to indulge in what his editor calls one of the great joys in life—slaughtering a few of God’s creatures. He’s a last-minute stand-in and rounds out the party to eight. Two hunters per dog. Perfect! How did he let himself get roped into this? Continue reading
Filed under angel, angel investor, Business, Characters, Death, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, loop lonagan, Startup Companies, Startups, vc, venture capital
ENGINEERING YOUR PITCH
Insights from the Cornerstone Angel Meeting
by Stephanie Wiegel
Angel investment deals aren’t made on the spot as the TV show Shark Tank suggests. Instead, entrepreneurs are excused from the meeting after delivering their pitches. If you’re vying for early investment money, what’s said behind these closed doors can make or break a deal. Continue reading
Filed under angel, angel investor, Business, Education, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, Startup Companies, Startups, vc, venture capital
YOU MIGHT AS WELL DANCE
IT Guys—Stop Playing Defense
by Howard Tullman
Not feeling enough love? Yes, techies are under appreciated until spit hits fan. But if you’re one of them, you’ve got a bigger role to play than you think. Here are three ways to raise your profile. Continue reading
BILLION DOLLAR UNICORNS
Kenneth M. Freeman
The world seems captivated by the growing number of unicorns – private companies theoretically worth more than $1 billion based on their latest round of funding. There are now more than 100 unicorns, led by Uber with a valuation of $66 billion. Continue reading
DRIVING VALUE WHEN FUNDING RUNS LOW
David Johnson
Overview
The funding environment for early stage startups has been shifting for some time, but as shifts accelerate, founders, executives, and investors should look to reassess their strategies to ensure that they remain optimal in a capital constrained environment. Q2 2016 saw the lowest rolling 12-month average deal flow for early stage investments since Q2 2013, this in spite of actual early stage dollars invested having increased by 127% over that period. Increasingly, early stage investors are looking to place fewer but more sizable bets on startups that are perceived as having the most promise. This can, and likely will, lead to a widening gulf between early stage startups that have a clear path to additional funding and those that may struggle to generate investor interest. Continue reading
Filed under angel, angel investor, Business, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, High Tech, Low Tech, Startup Companies, Startups, The Economy, vc, venture capital
INVESTING: IT’S ALL ABOUT THE CASH
by Scott M. Anderson
Angel investing is influenced by many factors affecting the startup including: technology, unmet demand, scalability and, most important, the founding team. These and many other factors will have a critical impact on the success or failure of the investment. However, there is one common factor to them all: Cash.
An investor and founder are in the elevator together. The investor says “Nice idea, how much capital do you need?” The founder says “$750K”. Investor says “Why $750K?” Founder says “We believe it’s the right amount based on other startups I’ve heard about.” Or she might say “It seems like the right amount based on the size of other angel investments.” Or she might say “It just seems like the right amount.”
Those responses are all wrong!! Continue reading
Filed under angel, angel investor, Business, Characters, Education, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, High Tech, Startup Companies, Startups, vc, venture capital
NO GOAT
by John Jonelis
This thing still replays in my mind. And the news is everywhere!
“The last real American sports story—the story of the team that couldn’t and seemingly never would—is gone for good… [Rick Morrissey – Sun Times] Now I watch in shocked delight as the Cub’s sleeping bats come alive! A leadoff home run…
“…ending more than a century of flops, futility and frustration.” [Ronald Blum – Associated Press] …now more runs—a lot more runs, but way too many innings left to go… Continue reading
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Filed under Business, Conflict, Death, Faith, Games, Relationships, Startup Companies, Startups, Story, Suspense
IN YOUR FACE RISK
by John Jonelis
“Oh, you’re an angel investor! Isn’t that risky?” I hear such drivel all the time. Are people afraid of outsized returns? Or perhaps they don’t understand risk, don’t know how to measure it, or how to take control of it. Yet all that is quite easily done and it’s a real charge to play the game using a Monte Carlo simulation (MC). I’ll show what’s likely to happen if you follow three simple rules. Then I’ll break one rule—just a little bit—and we’ll use the simulator to see what happens. Continue reading
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Filed under angel, angel investor, Business, Education, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, High Tech, Startup Companies, Startups, vc, venture capital
HOW BAD IS IT
by Loop Lonagan
Lotsa people keep tellin’ me good things about Bob’s Bad Poetry so I’m checkin’ it out. Yeah, yeah, I know what yer thinkin’. But there’s no law against an angel investor goin’ in fer high culture. That’s right, I like literature ‘n’ modern art too—’specially the abstract stuff. You got some problem with that, bud? Hey, me fodder and me mudder’s both Irish ‘n’ both poets, so’s I got it in da genes. Maybe you already figured that out from da way I talk. Continue reading
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Filed under angel, angel investor, Business, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, High Tech, loop lonagan, mobile internet, Startup Companies, Startups, Story, vc, venture capital, wireless, wireless internet, Writing style
The Gamemaker's Father 