Despite the economic slow down, the creative, innovative thinking of today’s entrepreneurs is still going full steam ahead. In every industry from technology to music to books to crafts, today’s entrepreneurs are coming out with the most inspired new products, new ventures, and pursuing their dreams. Rather than focusing on stock market investments, these creative entrepreneurs are investing in themselves.
Above: Clever "Salad Dressing" greeting card from my own innovative start-up, She's SO Creative. Photo Courtesy, Stephanie Orma / She's SO Creative
Ankesh Kumar, an entrepreneur from Palo Alto, CA has come up with the next big idea in social media. He’s the creative genius behind the start-up,Grouptivity, a Web 2.0 sharing network that enables web publishers to keep track of what content their users are sharing via email, as well as all the social media sites. Hearst, Chronicle and other big players in the web publishing industry have already signed on to use Grouptivity’s exciting new application.
Marin Magazine, a thriving start-up in its own right, came up with the original idea to produce the cookbook, Organic Marin, a celebration of Marin County farmers, artisans, and cooks.
Teresa Joy of Reidsville, NC, just this past month launched Doxie Crafts, one of the first ecommerce sites providing unique American hand-made dachshund only crafts from artisans all across the country.
And after being the first in her doctorate psychology program to complete her dissertation, new mom Karly Kaplan was innovative enough to see how her thorough understanding of the dissertation mental process could be of real service to others. Thus, she launched the San Francisco-based start-up, My Dissertation Coach.
So how have these folks been able to forge ahead despite the “sky is falling” mentality that we’re constantly bombarded with on daily basis?
According to one entrepreneur, Alymar Eugenio, who launched the Napa, CA start-up recording studio, Backstage Recording and the band Eye Eighty, “as an artist, recording engineer, business owner…what drives me is my love for music and the whole creative process, being involved with other musicians and having a final product to share with the world. There is no other feeling like it…”
The media presents us with a world full of doom and gloom on a daily basis and we can choose to either get sucked into it or we can put our attention on our dreams and forge ahead. And that’s exactly what the American Entrepreneurs of today are doing. They’re not letting the economy stop them. With nothing but their brilliant, creative ideas and the drive and determination to see them come to fruition, they’re moving forward and in the process, moving our world forward too. Frankly, I can’t think of anything more inspiring or exciting.
(originally appeared in SF Examiner 3/30/09)
