On Feb.14, Dutch Bros. Coffee's company-wide food drive collected 487,966 pounds of nonperishable items for food banks across seven states, a 109 percent increase over last year’s total. Dutch Bros. Arizona served as a drop site for cash donations and canned goods. For every dollar Dutch Bros. Arizona donated, five meals were provided. Surpassing its goal of raising enough … [More]
Incubating Business: Are Startups Accelerating Our Economy?
Apple and Intel may capture the headlines, but entrepreneurs are the drivers of the economy. A focused effort to foster an entrepreneurial culture in Arizona, which has generated a tremendous number of business incubators and accelerators, has been building in just the past several years. “State development folks realized we were overly dependent on defense, construction and … [More]
MaryAnn Guerra, BioAccel
Arizona has been recognized by Fast Company as the top state for entrepreneurial activity. And small business is a significant economic driver for our state, as it is for the country as a whole, powered in large part by technology. Technology development is moving at great speed, emanating from many diverse sources and a variety of fields of study. The problem is not in … [More]
Venturing in Today’s Age of the Entrepreneur
Now is the age of the entrepreneur, and today’s entrepreneur operates in a sphere where changes follow each other in rapid succession. In the coming years, the interests of the consumer will once again become a focal point in business. Entrepreneurs are advised to seek a personal relationship with their clients by taking account of their individual needs and desires. Social … [More]
Underestimating the Value of an MBA: The Latest Fad
Why go back to a university after all these years just to incur mounds of student debt? Why learn finance, marketing and leadership skills when there are numerous examples of successful entrepreneurs who founded businesses without getting advanced degrees? Why try to learn business content in a world where ever-changing technology creates dinosaurs faster than Steven … [More]
Working Out Equity and Ownership Issues
“One of the most important things for startups to know is how precious their equity is; the ownership in their company is,” says Peter Wand, a partner with the law firm Lewis Roca Rothgerber, noting that in some incubators and almost all accelerators there is an aspect of investment in exchange for a share in the company. All incubators and accelerators operate differently, … [More]
P3s: Partnering for the Future
A $600-million convention center expansion. Scientific, medical, research and educational collaborations in the heart of the city. A state-of-the-art automated Sky Train … Indeed, today’s downtown Phoenix is markedly different from what it was even a decade earlier. So how did this transformation take place in such a short span of time? It was due, in part, to public-private … [More]
Trish McCarty: Innovating Education
As founder and CEO of StarShine Academy, a K-12 charter school in Phoenix, Trish McCarty feels strongly that her most important customers are the students, some of whom are just 5 years old. “Our main customers are our children, and the second-most important customers are our teachers,” she says. McCarty was inspired to open StarShine Academy in 2002 because she was deeply … [More]
Walmart Tests Grocery Pickup
Walmart is testing a new initiative in three East Valley locations that allows customers to order groceries online and pick up their order for free at the store. The Valley locations (in Mesa and Chandler) are the first in the Southwest to offer the new service and Metro Phoenix is only the fourth market nationally in which the retail giant is testing its Walmart Grocery Pickup … [More]
Innovation for Travel Gifting
Valley resident Marianne Kunkin built TravelHugg as a gift card specifically for travel and travel-related expenses so that the giver could know its recipient would use the gift card for travel rather than general use. An avid gift-card user, she saw this as a void that personal need inspired her to fill. When she relocated to Phoenix, she says it was with the expectation that … [More]
Chicagoans Launch Beer Distribution in Phoenix
Tapping Phoenix as an up-and-coming beer market, brothers Jason and Jim Ebel — founders of Two Brothers Brewing Co. and Windy City Distributing in Chicago — recently launched Arizona Beer & Cider Company. “We see Arizona like Chicago was five or seven years ago, in terms of being a burgeoning beer market that is poised to do really well,” Jason says. He shares that personal … [More]
2015 Audi S3
Sporty and agile, this smallest of the Audi sedans is powerful and accomplishes the Euro-centric needs that many Americans admire in an Audi. As the sporty version, the Audi S3 is the Audi A3 supercharged. This little car is worth every dollar spent and will engage drivers, meet the latest economic needs in this class, and intrigue those who may be looking at larger sedans from … [More]
DIY Taxes
Small-Business Tax Software may be the way to go. Through technology, there are some great programs that small-business owners can purchase to do-it-yourself if you dare. Here are our pics for the top trusted software programs. H&R Block Deluxe Improved user interface over last year’s version. There is support for major forms and schedules, and solid assistance and help … [More]
In the Barrio Queen Scottsdale
With restaurants popping up everywhere, it is easy to forget about some of the local classics. Barrio Queen in Scottsdale (and soon in Gilbert) is one of those great local legends that cannot be missed for lunch. Although no longer under the direction of Chef Silvana Salcido Esparza, who founded the original concept, Barrio Café, its menu still reflects the creativity of the … [More]
St. Paddy’s Month
March 17th is St. Patrick’s Day and includes some very serious lore — although most Americans know St. Patrick’s Day as the day of the year to drink at an Irish Pub. Here are our picks for eats, drinks and a St. Paddy’s Day celebration. Rosie McCaffrey’s Irish Pub & Restaurant The local classic, hands down. Rosie’s is the place to go for anything authentically Irish … [More]
Changing Your Company from the Inside Out
You’re ambitious. You’re not afraid to take risks. You want to bring about positive social change. And while your peers have left a trail of failed startups in their wake, you want to initiate change from within an established company, where you can have a more far-reaching, even global impact. Welcome to the club — you’re a social intrapreneur. But how do you get started and … [More]
Data-ism
New York Times reporter Steve Lohr explores revolutionary changes being ushered in by big-data technology as vast Internet-scale data sets are used for discovery and prediction in virtually every field. Focusing on young entrepreneurs at the forefront of data science as well as on giant companies such as IBM that are making big bets on data science for the future of their … [More]
Feedback: March 2015
Question: How does your co-working space fit in the ecosystem for economic development of startup businesses and what was the attraction of the Greater Phoenix area? Francisco Aguirre Founder The Office Pile Sector: Economic Development The Office Pile is the first culturally diverse co-working space in the nation. Along with its not-for-profit arm, The TOP … [More]
