Speaker Articles

5 Smart Steps For Future Entrepreneurs

Ann Miura-Ko, a founding partner of Floodgate

So you have a great idea for a business. What’s your next move?

First, take an honest assessment of your personality. Claire Lee, head of early stage banking at Silicon Valley Bank, has noticed three traits in successful entrepreneurs.

“Number one is adaptability: the ability to pivot, really be open to feedback and advice, knowing which to take and which to ignore,” Lee says. “Number two, and perhaps as important, is resilience and grit—you’ve really got to develop a thick skin. And third is resourcefulness—being able to leverage your network, know where to get help and not be afraid to ask for help, is critical.”

Did you check all three boxes? Great! Here are five more starter steps to help you forge a path forward: Read More →

Posted in Speaker Articles, Marketing Yourself & Your Small Business, Financial Fitness, Small Business Tagged , , , , |

9 Mantras to Help You Turn Your Idea into a Business

 

Nathalie Molina Niño, CEO of BRAVA Investments

While starting a business, you’ll find yourself talking yourself into, and out of, a lot of choices. From idea to full-fledged enterprise, these mantras from real founders and executives will help you stay strong along the way. Pick and repeat the ones that speak to you the most.

#1. Corner yourself with courage—and go. Read More →

Posted in Speaker Articles, Life on Your Terms, Career Choices, Small Business, Success & Leadership Tagged , , , , |

Helping You Talk the Talk on Trademarks and Copyrights

By Alison D. Frey, Member, Dickinson Wright PLLC

Whether you have launched a startup or are working your way up in your company’s marketing department, this easy-to-follow article will have you feeling more competent and conversant on the topics of trademarks and copyrights by providing a roadmap to trademark and copyright protection and dispelling some common misunderstandings along the way.    Read More →

Posted in Speaker Articles, Small Business Tagged , |

‘The 4 Pledges That Have Helped Me Find Balance’

Dipti VachaniBy Dipti Vachani, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Automotive and Embedded Line of Business, Arm

Several years ago, at bedtime one night, I was cuddling with one of my daughters when she said something that broke my heart. “Mom,” she said, “I think I am ugly.” She was just seven at the time. 

I was working then as a general manager at Texas Instruments, running a multi-national business, and it was a rare night that I was home. I had been traveling internationally, quite extensively, leaving my kids with my very loving and committed husband. I was running myself into the ground traveling multiple weeks in a row, stressed out and sleep deprived from the multiple time zones.

And now I was failing at my most important job: teaching my children self-confidence, self-respect and self-reliance. Read More →

Posted in Speaker Articles, Life on Your Terms, Life Balance, Goals & Priorities, Success & Leadership Tagged , |

The Mindset That Wins: Strategies of an Elite Champion Runner

Desiree LindenIf anyone knows persistence and how to stay motivated, it’s Desiree Linden, last year’s winner of the Boston Marathon in the women’s category and the first American to win in 33 years.

Here’s a peek into Linden’s winning mindset.

It starts with a no-regrets attitude.

Linden had success as a college athlete, but she wasn’t one of those stars that everyone was watching. Still, she decided to pursue her dream of going pro.

“For me, it was worth the risk of answering that ‘what if’ question,” Linden explains. “I felt like I had the ability, and if I just put in a little bit more time, maybe I could do something special. There were no guarantees that I could even make a living, but I didn’t want to look back in 10 years and go, ‘What if?’” Read More →

Posted in Speaker Articles, Embrace the Unknown, Goals & Priorities, Success & Leadership, Job Advancement Tagged , |