High time for a high colonic

Yes, Erin Burnett, the hot biz news talking head on CNBC (also known as Warren Buffett's number one groupie) referred to today's market gyrations as a colonic. Great image, but methinks we may need to shove another finger down our throats. We will feel better. Even the mighty can choke on indigestible gristle.

Who'd have thought "moral hazard" and "too-big-to-fail" would enter the vernacular?

And don't forget, this great country came into being as a debtor nation.

Let's get the politicians out of the banking business; require transparent disclosure; make 'em mark everything to the market and if they can't value something, make 'em mark it to ZERO.

Words you can't say in the newspaper

So...I'm trying to get some traction with this blogging concept; so I volunteered to blog about small biz ventures, entrepreneurship and the like for the Des Moines Register. Lynn Hicks , the Executive Business Editor, is a cool guy, and he is all for it. So I say, "hey Lynn, I'll write about the class I'm teaching and get students to read and comment." "Cool" he says (or words to that effect). So I do that. Today I wrote about the second guest entrepreneur to visit. He mentioned how he remembers me as the guy who swore at a business gathering his firm sponsored. Specifically, I said "we need more bullshit around here" in commenting on the state of the deal environment in Des Moines. Well, the Register's blog system kicked back the post and told me to revise the word "bullshit." So, I changed it to "Bulls**t." So I guess it's now safe for the kids to read. George Carlin, forgive me.

25 Connections and building on

Adam Steen visited my Drake University Entrepreneurial Leadership class this morning and hit one out of the park. I'm 2-for-2 in signing up all-star guest speakers (IMHO...god, I can't believe I just used that IM lingo).

Adam is the type of enterprising young person (i.e., younger than me) that Central Iowa, Des Moines in particular, strives to attract. He grew up here; went off to college; played a little baseball in the Phillies system, got cut, parlayed a contact into a job selling insurance in Minneapolis (yuck); got fired (yahoo!), and badgered his way into a spot with a new private investment banking firm with his dad (who refused to hire him at first). Now he has his own business, 25Connections (25 players on a major league roster), a unique take on marketing and networking for success.

Tenacious? You bet. Obnoxious? No way. He is so damn nice and enthusiastic I wasn't sure I could like him. He connected with me after I suggested that we needed a little more bullshit and deal commotion in Des Moines. Geez, you'da thought he'd never heard the word uttered in public before. But I now consider him a mentor to me; he brings me fresh insight and a completely different perspective to looking at deals and networking.

"Enthusiastic?" you ask? "Prove it" you say. Well watch the video where he tries his hand at bull riding:

Ya gotta love it when he demands a do-over. Way to go Adam.

Here are the Five Steps* to becoming an effective entrepreneurial leader he shared with us:

+Learn how to fail.
We all get cut from the team now and then.
One must accept the inevitable defeats, build on them, and then accept success.

+Be an Active Thinker.
Think critically.

+Be Curious
Read everything you can.
You never know where you might find the next opportunity.

+Be skeptical.
Don't believe everything you read.
Question assumptions

+Have no fear.
Ride the bull.
Get in the game.

Adam's mission is to create success for others. He's on his way.

*I added the links to jazz things up a bit and to expand the network. I'm sure Adam won't mind.

Party Bus Driver

Wow. I'm "teaching" Entrepreneurial Leadership at Drake University in Des Moines. I put "teaching" in quotes because it feels more like I am guiding students to discover on their own what makes and what it takes to be lead an entrepreneurial venture.

Anyway, why the "Wow!" Well, yesterday, my first guest presenter, Alexander Grgurich, provided a terrific guide to how to drive an entrepreneurial venture. While an undergrad, Alexander bootstrapped some $, bought a bus and turned it into a party bus. Half a dozen buses and a couple of acquisitions later he has built a solid little company, all at the ripe old age of 22, and is looking for new opportunities. Also while an undergrad, he ran for mayor of Norwalk, a small town near Des Moines, and came within 6 votes of winning the election; he turned that bump in the road into a successful run for Norwalk's city council. (hmmm, do I see a trend of small town politics leading to bigger and better things? I did not ask him if he can field dress a moose, but I'd bet he could learn if he had to).

Alexander and I share an interest in co-working; we also believe in giving back to the community. I thought he'd bring a unique perspective to the 40 students in my class, and he graciously agreed to talk to them early yesterday morning. Here are some highlights from his excellent presentation:

+You never really know where the next big thing* will come from, but you must keep an eye on what is going on in the world. Alexander recommends Springwise, a very cool business trends site.

*Tom Davenport discusses this in his blog at Harvard Business Publishing. Thanks to CrowdSourcing Directory for the eye image.

+Entrepreneurial Leadership involves innovation, risk and persistence.

Without innovation progress will grind to a halt.
It doesn't require a new product or gizmo;
it can be a new, better way of doing something
Life is hard; it involves risks.
The key is to protect your downside; try not to lose if all if you fail
If you fail, try again, and again, and again.
He was elected only after 2 failed tries.

+He closed with 3 tips; I'll call them Grgurich's Guide to Successful Entrepreneurship:

1. Understand who you are
Put aside all distractions and identify your strengths and weaknesses (he drew pictures).
2. Admit you don't know everything, and ask for help when you need it.
3. Find mentors.

Great stuff. Keep an eye on this guy.

My Entrepreneurial Philosophy

I love Wordle. Here is what I got when I plugged a statement of my entrepreneurial philosophy into this little word cloud generator. Pretty cool; but I realize that I need to emphasize other words and concepts to really drive home my belief that entrepreneurs make things happen.

I think this one by Jackson Miller is a better image of what the author was trying to say (and what entrepreneurship involves):

I am going to have my Drake University Entrepreneurial Leadership class use this delightful tool to develop their own views of what it takes and what it means to lead an entrepreneurial venture. Kudos to Mike Sansone for introducing me to Wordle.

Adam Steen Gets It

Had a couple cups o' joe with young Adam Steen, founder and principal of 25Connections yesterday. 25C is "a highly networked business development firm that matches the right resource at the right time..." Adam is all about collaborating; his effort is founded on the concept that the right connections can and will improve anyone's business. I refer to him as younger because he insists on referring to me as an experienced executive; true enough, but I like to think that I've got the energy and juice of somebody like him. But I wanted to get with him because I need the fresh eyes and insights he can bring to the deal business. Some, like Andy Headworth at Sirona Consulting, call it reverse mentoring; whatever it is, I value his input and his listening. And not only has he realized the power of the network, he has figured out how to make networking mutually lucrative for him and his clients by helping them make the right connections. Iowa should hire him as the poster "child" for recruiting young professionals.

American Food Venture Forum Gets It Too

Des Moines will be host to a new forum in October: The American Food Venture Forum. The brainchild of Jude Conway and Hopewell Ventures, a venture fund focused on innovative mid-west companies, the Forum will bring together innovative food and ag-tech companies, venture funds, investment bankers, like yours truly, and other parties interested in emerging food tech opportunities. It is not limited to Midwest companies or investors. IT IS NOT LIMITED TO MIDWEST COMPANIES OR INVESTORS. Did you hear me? That is key. There are only 3 million people in Iowa. A significant number of them work for the State; another big chunk work on the farm, and many still live and work in small towns. Iowa may lack the critical mass to support the Forum on its own, BUT it is in the perfect place in time and geography to host such a gathering. AND instead of trying to go it alone, Jude and his colleagues have coordinated their kick-off to lead into the $1 million World Food Prize festivities. That's collaboration.
That's what I'm talkin' about.