Your Present Plans Are Going to Succeed
I met Tricia Kandik at the very first SmartUps Pubtalk in Eugene, Oregon a few months ago. From the very start of our conversation I was struck by her enthusiasm and passion concerning her business and entrepreneurship in general. Her business was so new, she’d just picked up her first batch of business cards. I’m...
By Bplans
Threadless
The June issue of INC Magazine features an article about one of my favorite companies, Threadless. Threadless is technically a T-shirt company, but in actuality it’s much more than that. It’s a community of artists, buyers, and evangelists all committed to and interacting about T-shirts. The description on their website states that Threadless is a...
By Bplans
Startup Success: Real Numbers, Real Voice, Real Help
How’s this for a startup success story? Avaaz.org started 17 months ago. It now has more than 3.2 million registered active members and last week raised $1.5 million in aid for Burmese cyclone victims in three days. Recognizing some problems with flow of aid through normal channels, founder Ricken Patel connected with Burmese monks to...
By Tim Berry
Microsoft Making an Offer
It’s Microsoft, but it also has startup success stories and a story to tell. I collected this video from the Microsoft startup site: This is a six-minute interview with Dan’l Lewin, corporate vice president for Microsoft and its emerging business initiatives. It’s posted on microsoftstartupzone.com, which has some interesting content. Click here for that post...
By Tim Berry
A True Story: Starting Mama Rose’s Naturals
Francesca (the baby on the right) is fine now; “very healthy,” says her mom, Rosetta Thuresson (also on the right). But that’s now, and thank goodness. Four years ago, when she was 3 months old, she caught RSV, which Rosetta describes as “a horrific virus that attacks the respiratory system.” The immune system and lungs...
By Tim Berry
Mompreneurs Up and Running in 3 Weeks
I received this in an e-mail from Olivia Omega Logan last week: I am a mom of two small children who left my job in March 2007 to stay home with my son (now 2) due to his health issues at the time. I had an idea of a personalized baby t-shirt company and had...
By Tim Berry
Real Entrepreneurs, Real Inspiration
I get excited talking to entrepreneurs. Small business owners have a certain level of passion about what they’re doing that is infectious to everyone around them. There’s a glint in their eyes that shows the hunger they have to share their idea to as many people as possible. It’s so great to watch other people...
By Bplans
Unlikely businesses
If the world at large is full of oddities (and trust me, it is), the small business world is certainly no exception. Sprinkled among the dime-a-dozen coffee shops and clothing retailers are all sorts of strange and unlikely niche businesses. Here’s my favorite: Ardon’s Shaver Service, located in midtown Eugene, Oregon, between the Suds ‘Em...
