Entrepreneur Journeys Book Review: For Entrepreneurs And More

Here’s a review of Sramana Mitra’s Positioning: How To Test, Validate, And Bring Your Idea To Market by Irina Patterson, posted on Amazon.com:

“I have been Sramana’s fan for about a year, since I came across her website.  Sramana is passionate about entrepreneurship. She is a tireless entrepreneur, advocate and coach through her writing and online strategy roundtables.

This book rocks, as do her two previous books.  And although this book is intended for entrepreneurs, I see at least five groups of people who should read this book. Here they are: >>>

Another Take At Zero-Energy Buildings: Optimum Energy’s Nathan Rothman (Part 3)

SM: What exactly was the technology that you licensed?

NR: Large buildings that are 100,000 square feet or greater have boilers in their basements that produce hot water, which is circulated around the building. There are radiators and fans that use the hot water to heat the air. That is how those buildings are heated. There are 110,000 buildings in the United States that are that size or larger. >>>

Forbes Column 2010: India’s Rising Tech Stars

Zero In this week features some entrepreneurs building product companies in India. You may have already read about them here on Deal Radar 2009. Read India’s Rising Tech Stars to find out more.

I would love to see more examples like these to feature on Deal Radar and on Forbes. Also, there are two companies: Clearpath and Wirkle, that we featured on Deal Radar, but not on this Forbes story. Both are service companies, but have crossed $1 million in revenue. For both companies, my suggestion is to take a small team and start building products within your core competency areas (For Clearpath, it is SEO, for Wirkle it is mobile applications). This is a very effective way to bootstrap product companies by staying close to your customers and leveraging your expertise to develop products, while bringing in revenues through services. Good luck!

Another Take At Zero-Energy Buildings: Optimum Energy’s Nathan Rothman (Part 2)

SM: What did you do after you closed down that business?

NR: I took some time to recalibrate what I wanted to do next. As a sailor and hiker, I have always been interested in the environment. I saw oil prices going through the roof. >>>

January 7 Roundtable Recording

Just in case you missed all or part of today’s session, here is the recording:

Businesses discussed include a platform for connecting college students to social work, a knowledge management company that needs a viable go to market strategy, an online social marketplace for children’s picture books and merchandise, and a hotel owner looking to open several more hotels in other locations. Here is the chat transcript.

Roundtable Starting at 8 a.m. Pacific

Please come directly in by clicking here.

Singularity

Here’s an interesting post from Brad Feld on The Lights in the Tunnel: Automation, Accelerating Technology and the Economy of the Future by Martin Ford.

Ford’s basic premise is as follows:

“At some point in the future – it might be many years or decades from now – machines will be able to do the jobs of a large percentage of the ‘average’ people in our population, and these people will not be able to find new jobs.”

Readers, I invite you to reflect on this thought-provoking question: what happens to these people then?

Another Take At Zero-Energy Buildings: Optimum Energy’s Nathan Rothman (Part 1)

Nathan Rothman is the president and CEO of Optimum Energy. He has spent the past 20 years as the president of a privately held company which structured, financed, built, and managed “green field” manufacturing plants for its clients around the world. Prior to that, Nathan founded Valiant Yacht Corporation, which was awarded the “Product of the Decade” by the pleasure boat industry. Nathan is an alumnus of Northwestern University and the Illinois Institute of Technology and is a Certified Business Energy Professional.

SM: Nathan, I would like to start with your personal story. Where are you from and what kind of environment did you grow up in?

NR: I was born and raised in the Bronx. I am a Yankees fan and am happy that they won the World Series. I went to school in Chicago at Northwestern University and the Illinois Institute of Technology. I grew up in a lower middle class family and was always entrepreneurial, even when I was a little kid. >>>