One element that fuels and drives me everyday is having the entrepreneurial spirit pulsing through my veins, being surrounded by it in my clients, at networking events, and in my friends.
There is something unique and inspiring about people who thrive on risk, who will forgo the security of a regular paycheck that corporate life provides to live on the fringe, work well into the night on a daily basis (including weekends) to make their crazy idea and dream get off the ground in hopes that it becomes the next big thing.
I like how Michael Arrington, founder and co-editor of TechCrunch, put it in a recent post about tech entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley:
If you want a well balanced life, Silicon Valley is not for you. But if you want to change the world and are willing to do absolutely anything to achieve your dreams, there is no better place to be than here…And if you aren’t willing to take advantage of every possible advantage to make your crazy startup idea work, perhaps you shouldn’t be an entrepreneur.
He is 100 percent correct! And I couldn’t agree more that it truly takes that kind of drive, commitment and passion.
Coming from the performing arts world, passion has always been a driver for me, which is why when I left the dance world and ventured into communications I didn’t go work for a big established corporate company. I chose to work with startups. I love startup life because passion abounds. The energy is contagious. And the brilliant minds and ideas that flow from them are inspiring.
However, if I could change one thing, it would be having more women entrepreneurs in technology. I am a big believer in encouraging, supporting and fostering women entrepreneurs and the next generation of women entrepreneurs, so when I came across Golden Seeds, I knew I had to blog about them.
Golden Seeds, founded by Stephanie Hanbury-Brown, connects women entrepreneurs to angel funding. It is an angel investment group that supports, advises and funds women-led ventures that have the potential to grow into thriving multimillion dollar businesses. Its current portfolio includes companies that develop mainstream consumer products, biomedical products, entertainment properties, and marketing and business products.
Golden Seeds has a few portfolio companies that I'm definitely going to check out and probably blog about in the months ahead, such as gDiapers who make the world's first flushable diaper. I don't have a baby, but how cool is it that...a flushable diaper. Think about all those disposable diapers that are currently getting dumped in our landfills everyday, which is something that has always disturbed me. gDiapers is the solution to this problem. Brilliant idea!
The other portfolio companies that are of interest to me are Artemis Woman, sweetriot, and eJamming. Aretmis Woman was founded by Ann Buivid and Lisa Kable, two women after my own heart in that they, too, are very passionate about health and wellness, and professional-grade skin care products. Not to mention the two left the corporate world to pursue their dream!
If you have the entrepreneurial spirit pulsing through your veins, like Buivid and Kable, a brilliant idea and product in the works, need seed funding, you just may want to check out Golden Seeds. Who knows, you could be their next portfolio company.
What a great, informative post!
"Passion" is the word I'm hearing so much lately in regards to achieving goals and dreams. In the process of crafting a plan and thudding step by step toward the goal, it's easy to forget the most important part--the passion. The reason you began chasing your dream in the first place. The ideas that get your heart pumping. The "why."
Thank you for reminding me to "fan into a flame" the gift that is in me.
Posted by: mousewords | May 24, 2008 at 12:48 PM