Archive for the ‘Entrepreneurship’ Category
Monday, March 4th, 2013
Last month the Opus College of Business hosted Medora Danz, vice president of Blu Dot brand at the Master’s Pub. Danz shared some interesting insights on Blu Dot’s history and mission. The company’s goal is “to bring good design to as many people as possible.” To them, that means “creating products that are useful, affordable, and desirable.”
The modern design of Blu Dot in some ways combines the efficiency and economy of Ikea with the style and look of much more expensive brands. “B
lu Dot has created a brand that is humble, inclusive, democratic and humorous,” said Danz, noting that the company is trying to go after the middle.
One particular story Danz told was of a marketing campaign in New York City, timed with the first anniversary of the opening of their first retail location there. Fast Company detailed the story in 2009:
Mono, an advertising firm based in Minneapolis, dropped off 25 Real Good Chairs, a $129 item designed and manufactured by Blu Dot. Whoever found the chairs was free to take them. The chairs were left outside the Apollo Theater on 125 Street (below), at the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and atop the Highline, elevated park on the West Side, among other New York locations.
The recipients did not know that [a] video crew documented their snatch and get-away, sometimes trailing them for blocks.
Watch the video of the “Real Good Experiment” (more…)
Tags: blu dot, fast company, masters pub
Posted in Alumni, Entrepreneurship, EveningMBA, Events | Comments Off
Friday, March 1st, 2013
The Peeps & Company store at the Mall of America
When many people think of Easter, the first thing that comes to mind is not Church, but candy, specifically Marshmallow Peeps. The sugary chicks and bunnies are big business for Just Born Inc., the private company that makes them. Last year they opened a PEEPS & COMPANY store at the Mall of America, just one of three Peeps retail stores in the country. This is just one tactic among many that is keeping business hopping bounding along for Just Born.
According the the Los Angeles Times - for which we owe credit for this post’s headline – “yellow chicks are still the best-selling Peeps, followed by the white ones, then the pink, the lavender, the blue, green and orange. The company won’t divulge financial details, but according to spokeswoman Ellie Deardorff: ‘Business is terrific. We had to speed up Peeps production to accommodate the increased orders.’” (more…)
Tags: diorama contest, easter, Mall of America, peeps, retail
Posted in Entrepreneurship | Comments Off
Tuesday, February 26th, 2013
Tags: BreAnna Fisher, cognific, dodrinks, DoDrinks.com, Emily Pritchard, Fowler, Fowler Business Concept Challenge, House of Talents, Julie Steenerson, Kate Herzog, Martha McCarthy, Michael Wuollett, Minneapolis, nerdwallet, Norris Institute, Protégé Biomedical, Sapor Café, solome tibebu, Susan Wuollett, The Social Lights
Posted in Alumni, Career Services, Centers, Entrepreneurship, EveningMBA, Local business | Comments Off
Wednesday, February 20th, 2013
Edina-based ReconRobotics announced last week that it has been recognized as one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company magazine. Inventor of the tactical micro-robot and a major supplier of robotic technologies to military units and law enforcement agencies, worldwide, ReconRobotics was ranked 44th on the list of honorees, which also included Nike (ranked #1), Amazon, Samsung, and Google.
“This is a great honor for our young company and each one of our 58 employees,” said Alan Bignall, ’85 M.B.A., President and CEO of ReconRobotics. “Our world-class design and engineering teams develop ultra-lightweight robots that save lives, and I am ecstatic that their creativity and problem solving have been recognized by Fast Company.”
Bignall was named “Entrepreneur Alumnus of the Year” at the University of St. Thomas’ 22nd Annual Entrepreneur Awards Ceremony in 2011. (The video above was made for that recognition.) ReconRobotics is also one of the Norris Institute’s portfolio companies. (more…)
Tags: Alan Bignall, fast company, innovation, Norris Institute, ReconRobotics
Posted in Alumni, Entrepreneurship, Executive MBA | Comments Off
Monday, February 11th, 2013
UST Faculty regulary answer questions in the Star Tribune‘s Ask The Consultant column. Here’s a round-up of a few recent questions. Ask your own question.
How to improve visibility on the Internet?
Being in the wig business since 1969, we have seen many changes in our business. We find the Internet the most challenging. To promote our website (www.jacquelynwigs.com) we have been doing search engine optimization and pay-per-click. We have tried in-house and freelance companies to do the work for us but we still feel we are not getting enough qualified leads. Any suggestions?
GEORGE MAYER, JACQUELYN WIG CO., NEW YORK, N.Y
Read the answer from Mike Porter, director of the Master of Business Communication Program
How do I manage family members who work for me? (more…)
Tags: Consultant, consulting, family business, search, seo, star tribune
Posted in Entrepreneurship, Faculty, UST MBC | Comments Off
Friday, February 8th, 2013
Ever wonder what it’s like to travel 40 miles per hour … on skates?
Now add a couple of fierce competitors, roller coaster peaks, blind drop-offs and unanticipated turns.
Welcome to Red Bull’s Crashed Ice competition. The speed alone will make your stomach jolt.
“To be honest, the run went by so fast and I was so focused, I didn’t really take it all in,” said Jon Palmeri ’07, who first raced in the Crashed Ice world championship event in St. Paul last winter. He placed seventh among all the U.S. competitors in 2012 and competed again in January 2013. Craig Kaufman ’08 also raced in the 2012 event.
Officially known as ice cross downhill, the sport is similar to downhill skiing. But on ice. (more…)
Tags: Cathedral of St. Paul, crashed ice, newsroom, red bull, Valerie Turgeon
Posted in Alumni, Entrepreneurship, Events | Comments Off
Wednesday, January 30th, 2013
Photo Source: Google.com
Remember when Netscape, Buena Vista and Excite were our options for internet searches and we had to dial up to get to the internet? Then, we were introduced to the Yahoo yodeler and heard from a talking dolphin in the 2002 Superbowl ad touting the fact he learned to talk using Yahoo. Yahoo grew through acquisition but much of that growth was in response to the more rapid growth of a company called Google.
While giving you the history of Google isn’t the focus of this post, I think it is important to know a few facts about the company in order to understand how it grew to be, in my opinion, a fun company. Here are a few historical highlights:
1995: Larry Page and Sergey Brin begin working on a search engine called BackRub which was housed on Stanford servers.
1997: It was decided that the name BackRub didn’t quite fit the vision of Page and Brin. Their brainstorming resulted in the name Google – a play on words using the term googol, a mathematical term used to described the number 1 followed by 100 zeros. (Perhaps googol also stands for the ultimate goal of Page and Brin in terms of identifying the value of their company.)
1998: Google files for incorporation in California They also receive $100,000 in funding from Sun co-founder Andy Bechtolsheim which they use to set up work space in a garage in Menlo Park. Page and Brin hire their first employee.
1999: Google moves from their garage office to Palo Alto with a total of eight employees. Yoshka, the company dog, regularly came to work with the senior vice president of operations. The first chef was hired – he previously catered for the Grateful Dead. (more…)
Tags: android, Blogger, Eric Schmidt, Frommer's, Fun Company, google, Google glass, Google History, Google self driving car, Larry Page, Picassa, Sergey Brin, youtube, Zagat
Posted in Commentary, Entrepreneurship, Global Business | Comments Off
Wednesday, January 2nd, 2013
Could meetings in your workplace be material for writers of The Office? Do they jump from topic to topic with no real agenda, start to late and/or run too long, have no conclusions or decisions and encourage distracting side conversations? If so, what about setting an officewide New Year’s resolution to make some changes in 2013?
Whether you work for a small start-up or a multi-national corporation, here are some ideas to help get your resolution started:
- “Every meeting should have a clear decision-maker, and if it doesn’t, the meeting shouldn’t happen.” – thinkwithgoogle.com
- Set a clear agenda. Nearly every article I read to put together this list references setting an agenda. Doing so should help to keep everyone on track and assign responsibility for action items.
- Leave meetings with clear next steps or action items.
- Seriously consider who to invite to the meeting. Google suggests no more than 10 people at the meeting stating, “attending meetings isn’t a badge of honor.” – thinkwithgoogle.com
- Encourage creativity and discourage negativity. “The answer is always ‘yes, and…’ and never ‘no, but…’ in a brainstorming meeting. Debbie Downer and Mr. No aren’t invited. NO has no place at the table. Ever.” -Brad Lomenick, Catalyst
- Question whether an email or voicemail would have the same effect as a meeting. If so, consider making use of those alternatives. 99u.com Measure Meetings with Action
- Consider stand-up meetings to encourage quick discussion. Robert Sutton, professor of management at Stanford School of Engineering and author of Good Boss, Bad Boss writes about his experience with stand-up meetings on his blog. One blog comment on his blog mentioned a solution to too much talking. When meetings would go long due to people who talked too long, a project manager brought in a large bowling ball. When speaking, the bowling ball had to be held.
- Effective organizations constantly tweak processes to improve. Don’t be afraid to change your meeting culture, if it leads to more productivity. (more…)
Tags: Apple Meeting Culture, Catalyst, Effective Meetings, Good Boss Bad Boss, Google Meeting Culture, Think With Google
Posted in Commentary, Entrepreneurship, leadership | Comments Off
Friday, December 21st, 2012
Looking for a super-local gift idea this season? Maybe you can find a something from the artist sitting next to you in class. UST MBC student Dave Dougherty’s follow-up to his first album, Sometimes, All Time, is here.
Destinations is the first album to feature Dougherty’s vocals on top of his guitar playing. It continues down the same harmonic vein of his first album, blending elements of classical, jazz and rock with the singer-songwriter style.
Destinations was released online on sites including iTunes, Google Play, Amazon, Rhapsody and others, on Black Friday, November 23, 2012. The release will be supported with performances in the Twin Cities and western Wisconsin throughout the Fall and into 2013.
Dave is currently pursuing a Masters of Business Communications at the University of St. Thomas and expects to complete the degree by the Spring of 2014.
Currently, Destinations, as well as Dougherty’s first album, can be streamed on SoundCloud.com. The albums will be also available on online radio sites such as Last.fm and Spotify.
Check out the album and learn more about Dave at DaveDoughertyMusic.com, facebook.com/davedoughertymusic and twitter.com/davedougherty.
Tags: Dave Dougherty, entertainment, itunes, music, soundcloud.com
Posted in Entrepreneurship, Media, UST MBC | Comments Off
Tuesday, December 18th, 2012
By Dr. Mark Spriggs, from the Schulze School of Entrepreneurship newsletter
About 10 years ago, I felt like an NFL player when Dean Puto told me I had been traded from the Marketing Department to the Entrepreneurship Department. My first and most daunting challenge was learning to spell entrepreneurship. Is that “per” or “pre;” “eu” or “ue?” I imagine some of you went through the same transition when you discovered, or were told, that you were a social entrepreneur. You thought you were running a nonprofit. You knew your organization was attempting to solve the problems of poverty, disease and hunger, or provide literacy training or medical care to people, all to help resolve the social inequities we see every day in the world, and someone said “What you are doing is social entrepreneurship” and you had to figure how to spell it, too.
But proper spelling was just the beginning, wasn’t it? Next you asked yourself and those around you “What exactly is a social entrepreneur?” I avoided the question until St. Thomas announced we were hosting the 2009 Opus Prize. One of the principles of the Opus Prize is social entrepreneurship, and people were asking me about the social entrepreneurship activities of the Schulze School of Entrepreneurship and the Opus College of Business. So I did some investigating, and found that social entrepreneurship includes a number of exciting and worthwhile activities. (more…)
Tags: opus prize, social entrepreneurship
Posted in Centers, Entrepreneurship, Faculty, Jargon Genesis | Comments Off
How are “Fun” Companies Created: Google
Wednesday, January 30th, 2013Photo Source: Google.com
Remember when Netscape, Buena Vista and Excite were our options for internet searches and we had to dial up to get to the internet? Then, we were introduced to the Yahoo yodeler and heard from a talking dolphin in the 2002 Superbowl ad touting the fact he learned to talk using Yahoo. Yahoo grew through acquisition but much of that growth was in response to the more rapid growth of a company called Google.
While giving you the history of Google isn’t the focus of this post, I think it is important to know a few facts about the company in order to understand how it grew to be, in my opinion, a fun company. Here are a few historical highlights:
1995: Larry Page and Sergey Brin begin working on a search engine called BackRub which was housed on Stanford servers.
1997: It was decided that the name BackRub didn’t quite fit the vision of Page and Brin. Their brainstorming resulted in the name Google – a play on words using the term googol, a mathematical term used to described the number 1 followed by 100 zeros. (Perhaps googol also stands for the ultimate goal of Page and Brin in terms of identifying the value of their company.)
1998: Google files for incorporation in California They also receive $100,000 in funding from Sun co-founder Andy Bechtolsheim which they use to set up work space in a garage in Menlo Park. Page and Brin hire their first employee.
1999: Google moves from their garage office to Palo Alto with a total of eight employees. Yoshka, the company dog, regularly came to work with the senior vice president of operations. The first chef was hired – he previously catered for the Grateful Dead. (more…)
Tags: android, Blogger, Eric Schmidt, Frommer's, Fun Company, google, Google glass, Google History, Google self driving car, Larry Page, Picassa, Sergey Brin, youtube, Zagat
Posted in Commentary, Entrepreneurship, Global Business | Comments Off