Different Kind Of Entrepreneurship

The following is a little story about encounter with the amazing entrepreneurial spirit of homeschoolers and the great company they built, Wakeside.com.
John Hellweg was a normal homeschool guy who had a big vision: start a company. Everyone knows homeschoolers are great at academics, but what about being “cool?” Or, what’s even more dubious, what about building and running a company that makes its bread and butter on being totally awsome?
John was about eighteen years old when he founded Wakeside.com with his father. They took some big risks, like a second mortgage on their house. Building the company was a long, arduous task, and took time away from other activities, such as sleep and college. Mark took the college route, and would prove his talents in the company later on.

I met John’s brother Mark, a bright young sophomore at Patrick Henry College, when I arrived in Purcellville, Virginia as a freshman. This school was a place where 98% of the student body was homeschooled. We had a lot of fun, but I am afraid to say that we were a little too eager to prove that we were not like “the others.” But hey, what young male in the prime of life could resist that agonizing itch? That virulent urge to be different at a place where you were all the same, and all homeschooled? It was beyond me. And I was not alone. We both ended up leaving PHC that year with outstanding academic records, of course (…and no police records).

I reaquainted myself with Mark in my junior year at Hillsdale College, when Mark transferred there after taking a year to work for Wakeside. Mark has been one of my best friends since that time, and we graduated from Hillsdale together.
After getting his degree, Mark joined his brother’s company again as the director of finance. He also got married to a beatiful woman and has a beautiful baby girl.
If you want to meet some cool, bright, entrepreneurial people who haven’t wasted their youth playing video games and doing drugs, you will want to hang out with homeschoolers like John and Mark Hellweg, and the rest of their family.


Go to www.wakeside.com to see this incredible Web site, straight from the minds of homeschoolers. Buy some great towers, incredible boards, and if you are a female rider (and you’re tired of all the boarding stuff being made for guys) you need to check out the section made exclusively for you.

Don’t wakeboard? Then maybe you snowboard and you can see their new Web site, www.TruSnow.com. If you don’t do any of these things, well, you’re a big loser!
Finally, I am a happy customer, not just a friend trying to bring business to another friend. I bought my Nixon rotolog watch (see photo in bamboo wood, check out the walnut also) at Wakeside.com and it was a great experience. They send you little handwritten notes from the guy or girl who packaged the thing. Very cool.

Wakeside.com is beyond cool. What’s cooler than being cool? ICE COLD. No, really. How about being real? Wakeside customer service is out of this world, fusing local-feeling, boutique service with the power of the Internet. Check out the ingenuity of homeschoolers at Wakeside.com.

GOOG411

Fed up with fees? A new bevy of free software-based directories could make you hang up on Ma Bell's operators for good
Related Items
911 for 411
Who isn't tired of paying $2 a pop—or more—for a simple number look-up over the phone? Google (GOOG) and other info providers feel your fatigue. Here's an annotated list of alternatives to the traditional paid-for 411. Just remember: You generally get what you pay for, and these services aren't always speedy. Did we leave any off? Drop us a note in the reader comments section.

GOOG 411
1-800 GOOG 411
labs.google.com/goog411
A nimble product, even in beta mode. Google Voice Local Search uses voice-recognition software that is generally up to the task of finding your information, and the service is quick. You can also get your info in a text message. One caveat: Business categories still seem to have some kinks: Goog 411's computers had better luck finding movie theaters than wine shops in our test drive. That's why the company says Google is still in its "experimental stage" and may not work for all callers.

Tellme
1-800-555-TELL
www.tellme.com
Tellme is the slickest of the new offerings, essentially offering an audio version of an online portal, and possibly one reason Microsoft (MSFT) was keen to buy the company. The voice-recognition software worked flawlessly, but Tellme doesn't connect you to caller-requested search results. (It will for businesses in its system.) Beyond business numbers, there's an array of choices: stock quotes, weather data, travel, top news stories, etc. The service incorporates jingle-style music, chimes, and soft jazz.
For more;http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/apr2007/tc20070411_801392.htm

Best Article From Other Business Sites At One Place

Check Out.
www.gongol.com/cb/

Imagine If We Could Sell What We Say

Skype's latest software release includes a beta version of Skype Prime. The service is very similar to Ether: sellers set a price, fixed or per minute, find buyers for their service, and Skype handles the rest. Of course, instead of using phone lines, both sellers and buyers use Skype's voice over IP platform.

While Skype charges 'call providers' more than Ether does—30% commission versus 15%—Skype's obvious benefit is its existing global user base. Skype has over 171 million registered users, is available in 28 languages and is used in almost every country around the world. Which means a very large reach for minipreneurs who'd like to sell their services, whether they're offering Spanish lessons, tax advice or something saucier. (Note that Skype's guidelines state that call providers cannot offer any content or service that is adult, sexual, pornographic or paedophiliac.)

Other alternatives include BitWine and Wengo.
Website: www.skype.com/share/skypeprime

Is Personality Type Matter In Venture Captial?

I’ll never forget Mitch Mumma of Intersouth telling an assembled group of newly initiated venture capitalists that a degree in psychology would probably be a stronger indicator of success in the industry than a degree in economics. One’s ability to intuit the capabilities of a team, to build trust, and manage bumps in the road are key skills for a VC, and only likely to become more so as investment opportunities become more competitive. Consider the kind of relationship building the Outside.in investment required.

It’s worth noting, then, that venture investors do occasionally bring to bear an analytical method of peering beneath the shiny personality veneer of management pitches and diligence visits when considering a new investment. At Chrysalis we use a tool called the Predictive Index (or PI), one of many options on the market, but one we’ve seen a lot of success with and something many of our portfolio companies have decided to use internally to foster more effective teamwork and as an aid in recruiting efforts. In fact, the Wall Street Journal covered our usage in a 2004 article on the topic:

David Jones Jr., chairman and managing director of Chrysalis, based in Louisville, Ky., said PI has helped his firm gain insight into the companies it considers funding. Before Chrysalis began incorporating PI, Mr. Jones said, “I felt we spent an immense amount of time on people issues, but there was no predictability.”

It was easy enough to look at a resume and see if someone had been a success, he said, but it was hard to tell whether a leadership team at a new company would work well together…

“We made an investment in a company last year where we’d gotten some resistance from the CEO,” Mr. Jones said. “He was probably the most experienced and mature CEO in our portfolio, and had run a number of companies. He went along with [PI], but I don’t think he was thrilled.”

When Chrysalis asked the CEO to bring his team together to go over the results, the CEO brought with him another investor, who immediately took out his Blackberry as if to say he had no interest in the proceedings.

“Their body language was tense,” Mr. Jones said. “The perception of the other investor was that he felt this was an utter waste of time. Within 20 minutes, the BlackBerry was on the table and everyone was leaning forward. When it was over, the CEO said, `You must have been listening in on our management meetings. This is a very accurate assessment of how we get along and what we’re like to work with.’ Now they’re incorporating PI into their business.”
For more:http://www.augurinc.com/art-investors.html