Archives
Open Mic Night is Thursday night!
January 12, 2010 | Filed under Blog
One of my favorite things about entrepreneurs is that they are always usually working on cool stuff. One of the misconceptions some entrepreneurs have is they feel like they have to keep their ideas a secret. But sharing your ideas with others is one of the best things you can do to help test your [...]
Internet Programming and My Attempt at being a Professor
January 11, 2010 | Filed under Blog, Tools
Last Fall, I was fortunate enough to be an adjunct professor at a local university, McMurry University. The Dean of Business gave me a call asking if I knew anyone with a masters at Milsoft who would be interested in teaching, and those I asked didn’t seem to be interested, so I thought I’d [...]
Database Courses in Universities
January 11, 2010 | Filed under Blog
After going through the Computer Science degree plan at Abilene Christian University and being an adjunct professor at McMurry University, I think a slight change in how we teach databases at universities would make a big difference. I give credit to Dr. Barton, who taught Database Theory when I was a sophomore at ACU (nearly [...]
ReInvent Abilene is Tomorrow Night!
December 9, 2009 | Filed under Blog
If you haven’t been to a ReInvent Abilene yet, you really need to carve out a couple hours of your time tomorrow night and check it out. Tom Dolan does some great work with the event by bringing in some really cool speakers.
So… here’s the info from Tom Dolan for tomorrow night’s ReInvent Abilene:
Larry [...]
Open Coffee Followup
December 4, 2009 | Filed under Events
Yesterday’s Open Coffee Event was a success. With over 20 people in attendance throughout the day, a lot of networking, learning and co-working went on. I was able to meet a lot of new people and learn about the cool businesses and projects they are working on.
Garrett Winder and I spoke about Marketing in the [...]
Open Coffee - Free Lunch - Tomorrow!
December 2, 2009 | Filed under Blog
Read about what happened at the event in the followup post.
Here are the details from the Facebook Event:
On Thursday Dec. 3rd, ACU’s College of Business Administration is hosting an Open Coffee (i.e. bring your laptops and work, hangout, study, network, etc.) from 9am-4pm in the SpringBoard Accelerator (corner of Washington & 16th).
Lunch provided and guest [...]
Open Coffee this Thursday!
November 18, 2009 | Filed under Blog
UPDATE: No Open Coffee tomorrow. It will be rescheduled for the week after Thanksgiving. More details to come.
It has been a few months since the last open coffee in Abilene. We’ve abused the Open Coffee event to be several things here in Abilene: co-working, networking, showcasing, etc. etc. The cool thing about it is [...]
Blogging Your Way Into Your Niche
October 20, 2009 | Filed under Blog
Yesterday, I ran across a great article from a blogger who has been working hard at building his blog for the past two years. If you are new to blogging, you should check out his great post he wrote about the 25 things he wish he knew when he started blogging.
There is no easy way [...]
James Lentz of Toyota to Speak at Abilene Christian University Tomorrow
October 19, 2009 | Filed under Blog
On Tuesday, October 20th, Abilene Christian University will be hosting James Lentz, president and board member of Toyota USA, at their latest Distinguished Speakers event. The event starts at 11:45 and lunch will be served. Tickets are $15 but should be well worth it. Visit ACU’s website to buy your tickets now.
It is really [...]
Perspectives from Inside the Organization
October 7, 2009 | Filed under Blog, Guest Post
This is a guest post written by Haley D. Dilling. Haley is a freelance graphic designer and marketing consultant, currently living and working in Abilene, Texas. You can learn more of her marketing perspective on her blog and by following her on Twitter.
“A house divided against itself cannot stand.” ***
Why do so many organizations try [...]
I’ll do whatever It takes. Will you?
October 6, 2009 | Filed under Blog
Every Tuesday night, fellow Milsoft employees and I play softball in a corporate softball league. And every Tuesday night, I come home with new bruises or strawberrys on my legs and arms from sliding or diving on the field trying to make a play. I’ll come home from the game and show my wife that [...]
Abilene Christian University Launches Business Incubator
October 5, 2009 | Filed under Blog
Some days it doesn’t feel like it, but the Abilene community is full of entrepreneurs. They may be young or old, experienced or inexperienced, but they are out there creating businesses and adding value to the Abilene community and surrounding areas. Abilene is a very unique city, especially for it’s size and population of 110,000ish. [...]
The Art of the Start
September 29, 2009 | Filed under Blog
If think you want to get into the business of entrepreneurship or are already cranking away at the next big thing, I highly recommend that you take the time to read “The Art of the Start” by Guy Kawasaki. I have a copy of the book. Hit me up on Facebook or Twitter if you [...]
Encouraging Intrapreneurship
August 11, 2009 | Filed under Blog
As companies grow older and larger, it becomes increasingly difficult to develop new and innovative products and services. When you aren’t Apple, Microsoft, [insert other giant company here], you don’t have the luxury of a dedicated new research and development department. So how do you stay competitive and innovative in your market? I think it [...]
The Second-Mover Advantage
August 7, 2009 | Filed under Startups
As an entrepreneur, it seems a lot of focus is placed on finding that unique, fresh and innovative new product or service. It’s a daily battle coming up with new ideas only to find with a quick Google search someone else is already way ahead of you on the idea. When I find my idea [...]
The Truth Hurts
August 3, 2009 | Filed under Blog, Resources, Tools
Since June 2007, my productivity has increased a good deal simply because of my iPhone purchase. I rely on my iPhone daily for my email, calendar, directions, alarm, Twitter, Facebook, games, texting, etc. etc.
BUT as time continues to pass and other cell phone (T-Mobile) and software (Google) providers close the gap on the iPhone’s technologies, [...]
Are Newspapers Dead Meat?
July 7, 2009 | Filed under Blog
Tom Dolan, the organizer of ReInvent Abilene invites you all this Thu Jul 9, 2009 to attend this week’s event. They will have free refreshments and beverages starting at 5pm and at about 5:45pm Doug Williamson of Abilene Biz business news magazine will talk about opportunities and threats of newspaper publishing. This is important because… [...]
Free Lunch at Open Coffee #3
June 16, 2009 | Filed under Blog
We will be hosting another open coffee event on Tuesday June 23 starting at 9am and ending at 4pm. A big thanks, to Abilene Christian University who will be sponsoring the event with free lunches and coffee. The open coffee events are a great way to meet local entrepreneurs, freelancers and many others. Being a [...]
ReInvent Abilene is Tonight
June 11, 2009 | Filed under Blog
If you haven’t been to a ReInvent Abilene, tonight would be a great night to start. ReInvent Abilene is monthly gathering of Research & Development inventors, researchers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalist. Guest speakers are brought in to speak about entrepreneurship, technology and other topics. Tonight’s session is called “ReInvent in 60 Seconds”. All of the attendees [...]
DandyID - Organize, Track and Analyze your Social Network
June 5, 2009 | Filed under Blog
Over a year ago, I had the opportunity to hang out with some young startups when visiting TechStars. One of the guys was Arron Kallenberg of DandyID.org, and he let me have a test run last week of their new pro accounts. DandyID is a simple web application that allows you to organize, track and [...]
The History of Social Media
June 3, 2009 | Filed under Blog
Do you find yourself wondering how social media got to the point it is today? I know I do. It has been a fun phenomenon to be a part of.
The following article from the Social Media Rockstar blog gives a great breakdown of the history of social media, leading up to where we are today.
Thanks [...]
Need a summer job?
June 1, 2009 | Filed under Blog
Things in Abilene have definitely seemed to quiet down as the local universities and colleges have let out for summer, but at the same time there are all kinds of opportunities. The economy may be slow, but the entrepreneurship opportunities are abundant.
I really enjoy working on software development projects, but unfortunately I can’t pick [...]
… And The Springboard Winners Are
April 27, 2009 | Filed under Blog
The Springboard Challenge was once again a success; with many student and community participants, over 50 business plans were submitted, $40,000 in prize money was handed out, an excellent array of judges, a fantastic speaker, and a large crowd for the awards dinner.
Jody Walker won first place in the student category, with Tape Trade. [...]
Staying Informed without Spending Lots of Time
April 24, 2009 | Filed under Blog
I’ve had a few people ask me, “How can I be informed when you post new posts on the Abilene Startups Blog?”. We all already have enough noise during the day to deal with and we don’t have time during the day to go to each individual site we want to keep up with. The [...]
Springboard Challenge Finalists Notified
April 23, 2009 | Filed under Blog
I just received an email from the Springboard team saying the finalists have been notified. Best of luck to all of you who have made it to the final round. Finalists will be giving their verbal business pitches to the judges Saturday morning, in hopes of winning some of the $40,000 in prize money.
Whether or [...]
