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ZAMP’S SAM ZEBARJADI ON COFOUNDING WITH A SIBLING AND THE GROWING TECH SCENE IN ATLANTA

04.04.12 By Tech Cocktail

Way back at the beginning of the month, Zamp was a showcased startup at our SXSW #StartupLife Celebration Founder Sam Zebarjadi was gracious enough to sit down for an interview, which became part of our SXSW video series (you can watch the interview here).  He talked about his really cool social travel service that connects travelerswhile they are traveling, as well as how to get through the tough days, why the startup life is all about networking, and how the idea of stealth mode is dying.

Because we could only cover so much in the video interview, I circled back with him to learn more about what it’s like to co-found a company with your brother and learn more about the burgeoning startup scene in Atlanta.

Read more from Tech Cocktail

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The entrepreneurial lure — should you bite?

01.12.12 Posted from CBS MoneyWatch

Entrepreneurship is all the rage these days. What with the breakout success of social media, the coming of age of Gen Y, and corporate America not hiring, it’s not surprising that the question of whether to start your own company or join someone else’s startup is a hot topic.

What is surprising are all the popular myths, obvious platitudes, and downright bad advice from people who have no idea what they’re talking about because they’ve never walked the talk in the real world. So let me shed a little light on the subject. Read more from CBS MoneyWatch

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Secrets of Succesful Startups: The Treats Truck

12.15.11 Posted from CBS MoneyWatch

In 2007, Kim Ima bought and rehabbed a truck that she drives around New York City, selling homemade cookies and other sweets. The Treats Truck is now a successful business. She tells hosts Laurel Touby and Jennifer Hill how she generated national publicity, landed a book deal and more. Read more on CBS MoneyWatch

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Vanquishing Entrepreneurial, Politically Correct Boogeypersons

12.08.11 Posted from Tech Cocktail

“I’m not good enough.” “I need to be perfect.” “I need to be in control.” “I will avoid confrontation at all costs.”

We all have them.  They’re still there haunting us from our childhood nightmares.  They are the boogeymen (or boogeypersons if you prefer) of our youth.  They are self-limiting beliefs. We all have them, and as adults we continue to confront them every day.

They show up all the time, and we pretend that they are not there.  They frequently appear as the important tasks that we constantly avoid.  They are the item on the top of our to-do list that rolls over each day to the next without ever being completed. They are the product we keep talking about building that never goes farther than talk.  They are the difficult conversation we avoid with an employee, a friend, or a spouse. They are the great idea we know is a winner but are scared to pursue.  They are the boogeymen of our youth and they cost us dearly. Read more at Tech Cocktail

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Harvard Launches Innovation Lab

11.22.11 Posted from Tech Cocktail

The Ivy League school whose super-famous dropouts Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg have revolutionized our lives has launched an incubator.

The Harvard innovation lab, or i-lab, will bring together students with big ideas with the entrepreneurs, faculty, and those in the Boston area who can help get those big ideas off the ground. They are already incubating a few neat ideas: Read more from Tech Cocktail

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What Kind of Entrepreneur Are You?

11.11.11 Posted from Entrepreneur.com

A successful entrepreneur isn’t always the classic, bull-by-the-horns risk-taker of legend. Sure you’ll need passion, drive and a good idea. But moxie will only get you so far. You’ve got to know your strengths and know how to make the most of them. This questionnaire, which is loosely based on a classic personality test, can give you a sense of just how well suited you are to the work that you do. Are you the industrious captain of industry like Martha Stewart? Or more of a Creator like Steve Jobs? Read more from Entrepreneur.com

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Business and Emotion

11.10.11 Posted from Ton De Graaf

Ton is one of the very few coaches in the world who is designated by the Worldwide Association of Business Coaches as a Chartered Business Coach™ (ChBC™) after a vigorous and independent assessment conducted by the Middlesex University and the Professional Development Foundation in the UK

Just watched the October 19th special event, filmed live at the Apple campus in Cupertino, California where Apple celebrated Steve’s life.

What a legacy that man leaves behind, just awesome. From a business and executive coach’s perspective (yep, that’s me) a few thoughts: Read more from Ton De Graaf

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Are You Blinded by the Conventional Wisdom?

11.03.11 Posted from BNET

How did Google manage, for several years, to ignore the rise of social networking? How did Microsoft miss the Internet? And why did it take so long for beverage companies to appreciate that consumers would pay real money for bottled water?

In none of these cases can you blame these big blunders on stupid employees. Nor does the ‘rotten apple’ theory of corporate blame work here either; simply too many people colluded in the same error to hold any one or two of them to account. Read more from BNET

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Success? It’s Just a Decision Away

10.13.11 Posted from BNET

True story: I’m eating dinner with two old friends. (It’s a downer when you realize “old friends” doesn’t just indicate length of relationship but our respective ages.)

One says, “I hate being fat. I’ve tried everything but can’t lose weight. What do you think?”

“I don’t think you want to lose weight,” I said. (I know, kind of blunt. Normally I would deflect and evade, but I know he wants to hear what I really think.) Read more from BNET

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Entrepreneur-Sourced Ideas For Reducing Barriers To Business Creation

09.09.11 Posted from Fast Company

Back in the 1910s, my Grandpa Jack was working in a shoe store, but he had bigger aspirations. So, he put a few machines in the back of the store and made socks and stockings on the side. As business picked up, he started building his own textiles factories, one of which I worked at during college.

Grandpa Jack’s story shows how America’s entrepreneurs have always been critical to driving prosperity. They start businesses, drive innovation, and create good jobs. Unfortunately, the recession led to a drop of about 100,000 new businesses created. That’s a problem because we know that new businesses are a major factor in increasing employment.

Today, we need to do everything possible to clear the way for entrepreneurs to go ahead and start that business. One critical way to do that is to reduce barriers that get in their way. Read more from Fast Company