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Dear Friend,
Here's what's in the current edition:
We hope you enjoy receiving our newsletter, and that you'll spread the word to other entrepreneurs in your network. If you ever have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please feel free to contact me directly at akira@caycon.com. We look forward to having you in our community of entrepreneurs! Best regards, The EntrepreneurJuly 26, 2009 by Akira Hirai On July 24th, SnagFilms released The Entrepreneur, a documentary film about a driven auto industry entrepreneur named Malcolm Bricklin. Bricklin is a fiery, temperamental entrepreneur with a flair for brinkmanship. He has a storied past, having introduced the Subaru and Yugo automotive brands into the United States, and having developed the Bricklin SV-1 gull-wing sports car in the mid-1970s. This film follows Bricklin for five years as he strives to build a new car company, Visionary Vehicles. He scours the planet for an unknown manufacturer whose vehicles he can import into America. After a long search, he discovers Chery International, a small but growing Chinese carmaker. He negotiates exclusive North American distribution rights to the Chery. His next task: to raise the financing and support from dealerships to make it happen. Bricklin exhibits attributes shared by many successful entrepreneurs: industry expertise, unstoppable tenacity, unyielding hubris, and a willingness to risk it all (he has made and lost several fortunes and has developed a knack for emerging from bankruptcy on his feet). He also has anger management issues, zero empathy, and is inflexible. In the end, the business falls apart when Chery backs out of the deal. But it won’t be long before a man who has started 30 companies will take another shot at it. This isn’t the story of a “typical” entrepreneur – but every entrepreneur will appreciate many of the challenges Bricklin must surmount. Enjoy. View the movie on our website and add your comments >> The Age of EntrepreneurshipJune 25, 2009 by Akira Hirai (This is a repost from last month's newsletter, but it seems very relevant considering the documentary about Malcolm Bricklin. Here it is again in case you missed it the last time.) Entrepreneurship. It conjures images of twenty-something graduate students hacking code in a Silicon Valley dorm room, fueled by a steady supply of Red Bull and Ramen. Starting a tech company requires youthful vigor, endurance, freedom from obligations like mortgages, imagination, and an intimate understanding of what’s trendy and hip. Right? To be sure, a number of tech titans started more-or-less this way: Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and Hewlett-Packard, to name a few. However, a new study published last week by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation – the group devoted to fostering entrepreneurship around the world – suggests that the age distribution among company founders is much broader than we might have imagined. New Service: Turnaround ConsultingIn case you missed it in the last newsletter, I'd like to remind you that we now offer a Turnaround Consulting service. The practice is led by Van Lanier, a turnaround specialist who has been helping business owners revive their businesses since 1977. Van is the former National Director of Turrnaround Consulting for KPMG BayMark, and is a Certified Management Consultant. In addition to his consulting practice, Van has earned his stripes as a entrepreneur. In 1974, he asked the city of Fernandina Beach, Florida to award him its cable television franchise. It did. Thirty years later, a technology company he founded was named Innovation of the Year by Frost & Sullivan. Van has owned seven other small companies, five of which he started from scratch. Please visit Turnaround Consulting Services to learn more. Got Feedback?Help us make this newsletter relevant to you. Go to our feedback page. You can tell us what you think, let us know what you'd like to see in future issues, or just drop us a note to say hello. We look forward to hearing from you! Why Did You Send This to Me, and How Do I Opt Out?This newsletter was sent to you because you have either worked with Cayenne Consulting in the past, or you once contacted us about having us do some work for you, or because you know (or have at least exchanged business cards or LinkedIn information with) one of us here at Cayenne Consulting. We sincerely hope that you'll find our newsletter to be both useful and unobtrusive. However, if that's not the case and you'd like to opt out, simply click here to unsubscribe and you won't hear from us again. |
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Hello again - this is the next installment of Cayenne's newsletter for entrepreneurs, investors, and the rest of the startup community. In case you missed our previous issues, you can read them 