If you’re a person of a certain age, you can amuse children by telling them stories of what it was like growing up in the pre-helicopter-parent era. Nobody took you anywhere in an SUV. If you had to go to soccer practice, you found your own way there. And during lunch and recess at school you…

If you’re starting out in business, or you’re at an early stage of development, an incubator will help you with your business plan, your strategy for growth, and other guidance. They may even introduce you to investors. But, like being admitted to a good college, getting accepted into an incubator can be competitive. And, despite the…

Have you ever fantasized about how you’re going to walk into work one day and tell them you’re quitting? You’re moving to Colorado and you’re going to grow pot. Shane Mutter was President of Doerr Furniture when he did something close to that. It wasn’t quite as dramatic, and it’s not exactly pot he’s growing,…

The Idea Village started at the turn of the 21st Century as a rebellious reaction to the business-as-usual cabal who, through an interlocking web of clubs, krewes, families, and cronyism, controlled most of the purse-strings in a then-shrinking New Orleans.  Six years later, in the wake of the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, The Idea…

When you start up a business, you’re looking to hit milestones to reassure yourself things are going in the right direction. One of those milestones is simply being able to keep the doors open for the first year. And if you’re still going two years after starting up, you can be pretty confident that your business…