Archive for 2009
New York Entrepreneur Week’s Top 10 Tips to Starting a Business in This Economy
For the fearful, our current economic environment is an obstacle, for the bold, it is an opportunity.
What do companies like GE, HP, Microsoft, CNN, Hyatt and Burger King have in common? They were all started in economic downturns by entrepreneurs whose passion, commitment, and ability to execute far out-shadowed the temporary economic obstacles.
New York Entrepreneur Week (NYEW) scheduled November 16th to the 20th 2009 celebrates the opportunities to be found in this economy. Through a series of panels, keynotes and networking sessions, entrepreneurs will learn from over 120 speakers from 18 states and 3 continents the resources available to them and how to launch, grow, and manage a successful business venture.
Unemployed? Harvard MBA or Launch a Startup?
The situation: You’ve lost your job. And the market to get another one as you well know is dismal. With this as a backdrop, you may be thinking that now is the time to invest in yourself. Perhaps by going to business school and getting an MBA? Or perhaps it is time to start that business you’ve had in the back of your mind for some time?
There are plenty of people advising that now is the perfect time to start a business. But if debating between business school or starting your own business, how should one think about this decision?
The Age of Stupid – Can We Save the World by 2015?
Last month I saw a fascinating movie premier, The Age of Stupid.
Never mind that it was the first time a movie premier was broadcast live via satellite (from here in New York) around the world on over 550 screens in 45 countries. Or that they had in attendance the likes of Kofi Annan (former Secretary General of the United Nations), Heather Graham and Jillian Anderson as well as music from Moby and Radiohead.. Or that The Huffington Post called the movie launch “One of the most important films of the year (perhaps decade)….” as both a new way independent films will be released and also a way to give additional exposure to the environmental message. Read the rest of this entry »
Why Net Neutrality Will Never Happen/The Missed Entrepreneurial Opportunity- Part 1
As a precursor to this post, I just want to let it be known that if you aren’t aware of ISP’s, copyright infringement, torrents, or the FCC, then you probably won’t care too much. On the other hand, if you’re one the 10mm people that do (myself included), who actively use the Internet and care about much of the “underground” aspects of it, then read on.
To catch the unenlightened up to date, after much speculation and debate which appeared on various tech blogs, it was shown that the FCC was planning on proposing a new set of Internet legislation dubbed “Net Neutrality”. Now I know what some of you must be asking yourselves; “isn’t the Internet already a neutral place?” Though the file sharing trends and trials are being much more publicized because of the increased tension between users, ISP’s, and the various companies such as Sony or Apple (not to mention the recent Pirate Bay mockery that was made in regards to the proposed “legalized buyout” of it’s trademark and domain) as of late, relatively few people actually know the laws that govern both sides of the argument.
Green- The Hot Topic in ‘09
Green is a hot topic. The September 28 issue of Newsweek published a list of the 500 greenest companies in America with Hewlett-Packet listed as number one. Last April, former President Bill Clinton, Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) Chief Scientist Amory Lovins, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Empire State Building owner Tony Malkin, declared a very bold plan to reduce the energy use of the Empire State Building by 38 percent, and save $4.4 million annually in the process.
When it comes to conversations regarding green buildings, there are a couple of concerns that are in the foreground for most business owners – do green buildings really increase employee productivity and what is the cost of building (or retrofitting) within green guidelines?
The Future of Competitive Advantage in Web Technology and Service-Oriented Organizations
Our world is more hypercompetitive then ever before, and at an ever increasing rate of speed. As a result, entrepreneurs who stake their company’s long-term viability on just one competitive advantage (or even two) will not have a high likelihood of survival. Why?
The future of competitive advantage is aggregation. Having one or two competitive advantages has become the commoditized standard on a local, regional, national and global scale. Thus, survival and scalability means incorporating four, five, or even six disparate products/services synergistically and effectively to gain meaningful and sustainable marketshare. Furthermore, in addition to aggregation, businesses must continue a strong R&D Program, seeking new innovations that leapfrog the competition. Read the rest of this entry »
The Economic Benefits of Building Green
Most people who build green buildings are not the tree hugging type that are doing it to save the environment and the migratory patterns of local bird life. It’s ok to admit that there is a financial incentive to – in the end – doing the right thing. One of the nice things about LEED certification is that it doesn’t only look at the impact a building has on the environment and local ecology but also at the impact it has on the individuals using the building. Read the rest of this entry »
Geo-Exchange
People often confuse geothermal and geoexchange technologies and call them both Geothermal. This is a misnomer unless you live near one of the earths fault lines. Geothermal technology is actually a method of generating power through super heated water turning to steam and powering a turbine which generates energy. Geoexchange is a process of using the earth as one big heat sink for heating and cooling a building or home. Read the rest of this entry »
