Entrepreneurship | Rob McNealy, Candidate for Colorado's 6th Congressional District

Posts Tagged ‘entrepreneurship’

50 Entrepreneurs with Brian Schwartz

Friday, July 18th, 2008

In this Podcast Episode

Rob McNealy interviews Brian Schwartz about his 50 Entrepreneurs interview project, which has served to inspire him towards a goal of entrepreneurship himself.

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Brian Schwartz’s Bio

Brian Schwartz has been a loyal, dedicated employee for 15 years, never taking more than 2 weeks off since the day he left college, raised with a strong work ethic and always striving to be a people pleaser.

According to Brian:

“I’ve always been a good employee, evidenced by surviving every layoff and merger I’ve been through over the years. Circumstances never arose where I had a needed to create employment for myself. But, shortly after I turned 37, I started to feel that something was missing. Two questions that really caused me to think were, ‘where do you see yourself in 10 years?’ and ‘if you could know the exact moment when you were going to die, would you want to know?’ My answer to those questions: If you had asked me that 10 years ago, I would have said ‘not here’ and yes, because there are a lot of things he still wants to do!”

In searching for his passion, he asked himself what he enjoys doing most when he’s not getting paid to do it. Writing and meeting with others were the answers, and thus the idea of 50 interviews was born.

Tags: 50 entrepreneurs, brian schwartz, entrepreneurship, interviews, podcast
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My Small Business Startup Inspiration

Thursday, May 22nd, 2008

I’ve admitted it before, but in case you haven’t heard, I am a reformed MBA who’s recovered from time spent in the corporate world. I’ve always had big ideas, and I’ve done a lot of side work, first in construction, then web design and programming, and pretty much anything in between. When I got married, my wife supported my side endeavors, and the extra income they brought, but she was risk adverse, and couldn’t really stomach the idea of me going it on my own full time. There were stints between contract work where I did my own thing, but as soon as the next big opportunity came along, I usually jumped at it.

Then, about 4 years ago, my wife was starting her clinical years of medical school, I was getting more frustrated by the day with my job, and we had a daughter who was spending way too much time in daycare. In short, between the guilt we felt over sticking our daughter in daycare 10+ hours a day, and the long and difficult hours we were both working, we were all miserable. Close to our breaking point, we lasted about 3 days in this situation before my wife took an emergency leave of absence from school, and by the end of the week, I had also left my job. I’m not sure if it was more of an act of inspiration or desperation, but at that moment, we finally took the plunge into making our own business a full time endeavor.

It took some adjustment, but by the start of the next quarter, my wife was back at school, and I was home balancing life as a full time Dad and a business owner. My company, Neraida Vision Systems didn’t take off like I hoped, but it was a huge learning experience. Because failure was not an option, necessity caused me to take a step in another direction. As a result, my next company, Natural Wood Floors, was born about a year later.

So that, in a nutshell, is how I ended up taking the big leap into full time entrepreneurship. I always love to hear startup stories, so jump in and share what inspired you to take charge of your own life, quit that day job, and start a company of your own!

Tags: entrepreneurship, inspiration, MBA, small business, startup story
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Scott Shane Author of Illusions of Entrepreneurship

Friday, May 9th, 2008

In This Podcast Episode

Rob McNealy interviews author and Case Western Reserve University Professor, Scott Shane, about his book The Illusions of Entrepreneurship: The Costly Myths That Entrepreneurs, Investors, and Policy Makers Live By.

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Scott Shane’s Bio

Dr. Scott Shane is the A. Malachi Mixon III, Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies, in the Department of Economics at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. He is the author of over sixty articles and ten books on topics about entrepreneurship around the world. He is also an angel investor, and a member of the Northcoast Angel Fund.

Dr. Shane received his Ph.D. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. His previous faculty appointments include University of Maryland, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Georgia Institute of Technology. His current research examines: (1) how entrepreneurs discover and evaluate opportunities, assemble resources, and design organizations; (2) university spin-offs and technology transfer; (3) business format franchising; (4) angel investing; and (5) genetic factors in entrepreneurship. Dr. Shane has consulted to numerous large and small organizations, and has taught in executive education programs around the world.

The Illusions of Entrepreneurship is an excellent and essential resource for anyone who has dreamed of starting a new business, for investors in start-ups, policy makers attempting to facilitate the formation and survival of new businesses and researchers interested in the economic impact of entrepreneurial activity. Scott Shane offers research-based answers to these questions and many others: