A note from our editor, Elizabeth MacBride:
I spent last weekend at my favorite writing retreat, Shrinemont. It’s an old healing springs hotel in Southwest Virginia, now owned by the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia and kept as a place apart for anyone.
As I talked to the other people there, I realized we were feeling a profound need for some silence. We have spent 18 months receiving an overwhelming amount of information about the pandemic, the state of America, and our own vulnerability. We needed, not a break, not a workout, not a weekend away, though all those can be wonderful.
But there seems to be a profound need for something deeper now, for the hours-long stretches you get in walks and hikes, or in reading and contemplation, or, for spiritual and religious people, in prayer and meditation. By silence, I mean the near absence of physical noise, and the cessation of the kind of stimulation, usually coming in the form of information, that requires our rational minds to engage and evaluate. In fact, some scientists posit that when we move from a condition of being over-stimulated to a condition of quiet, the change itself triggers the neurons in our brains to regenerate.
“Freedom from nose and goal-directed tasks, it appears, unites the quiet without and within, allowing our conscious workspace to weave ourselves into the world, to discover where we fit,” wrote journalist Daniel A. Gross a few years ago.
Recognizing the latter – goal-directed tasks – is important. A lot of overachievers I know go away or take a break, commanding themselves to “Relax.” I think that doesn’t qualify as the kind of silence we need right now. Being silent helped me feel grateful for having the wherewithal to retreat for a weekend. There have been times in my life when I didn’t have the time and money to do so – and I remember that many people don’t, now.
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We are hosting the first-of-its kind gathering of university entrepreneurship professionals and professors on Jan. 26-28. Some of the topics we’re interested in: Higher education disruption. Is entrepreneurship inborn or taught? Overcoming eco-depression among students. How today’s entrepreneurs are different. If you have a suggestions or proposal for a panel or keynote topic, please drop it in here.
Times of Entrepreneurship Stories of the Week
Canvas CEO Steps Down after $50M Round Incites Racial Controversy about Who Gets Funded
The company’s two founders are White men in an industry where women and people of color have struggled to find financing.
Read the Story »
Problem Solved: Entrepreneurs Often Make This Myopic Mistake
Times of E reporter Skyler Rossi asks Lindsey Cox, the CEO at Chattanooga, Tenn.-based The Company Lab what mistake she often sees entrepreneurs at the accelerator make.
Read the Story »
The True Power Behind the NRA
The recent increase in gun violence calls for re-surfacing Times of E founder Elizabeth MacBride’s story about the NRA: “What I discovered undercover at one of the world’s largest weapons shows.”
Read the Story »
Changemakers: Two OKC Men Launched A Sales Community for Veterans
Their surprising idea earned a trip to see Donald Trump.
Read the Story »
VC Spotlight: A Top Angel Investor Turns to Venture, with a Lens Focused on Women Entrepreneurs
Mindshift Capital aims to raise $10 million. With a global scope, it’s betting on finding enough stellar opportunities.
Read the Story »
You may have missed: The Big Disconnect Between Workers and Bosses and What It Means for Entrepreneurship A survey offers insight to the value of flexibility and the surprising difference the virtual environment had for Black knowledge workers.
You may have missed: White Men Are Getting the Most Funding in the Diversity Recruitment Space The untold story of the evacuations: Many lives and deaths were decided on the old rubric of its-who-you-know.
Read it here.
You may have missed:The Yes People: Her friends said ‘No.’ But That Didn’t Hinder This West African’s Bissap Dream. How one entrepreneur got over the discouragement hump.
Read it here.
You may have missed: Changemakers: A Simple Startup Idea to Help People Remember CPR The idea for CPRWrap came to this Chattanooga entrepreneur in a dream. She quit her job to follow her business.
Living the Dream
Best Practices: If you haven’t sought funding outside of the VC world for your deep tech startup, maybe it’s time. Xipeng Shen–a professor at North Carolina State and co-founder of CoCoPIE, a startup aiming to solve the chip shortage–makes a compelling case for checking out Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer grants in Tech Crunch.
Buzzworthy: What makes historians go “Wait, wut?” Evan Smith, a research fellow in history at Flinders University, posed that question to fellow historians on his Twitter feed recently. One colleague reported, “300 love letters from woman to woman, around 1760, partly written with blood.” Read on for the rest of the tweets.
Rathskeller
The 4.5 hour workweek: A productivity hack Many people stressed out by the pandemic (or life in general) have turned to mindfulness at some point or another. But studies show that sometimes, mindlessness is more helpful, as Scientific American reports.
Wanderlust : a restaurant or activity from our Top Ecosystems list Sometimes, there’s no substitute for comfort food. If you’re in the mood to live dangerously, check out the list of “Unhealthiest Restaurant Orders in Every State that Eat This, Not That published, where you can choose from fare like the “Bypass Burgers” at The Vortex in Atlanta (estimated at 3,000+ calories).
Made in the USA As you know if you’re a regular yoga student, it’s not easy to find a yoga mat that’s made in the U.S. Pravacana Mats has simplified the hunt with its non-slip, eco-friendly yoga mat, which happens to be extra-long and BPA & phthalate free ($48.25).
Upcoming Opportunities
To list an opportunity in our newsletter, check out our rates here. We cover the emerging economy of diverse founders:
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1. Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship
The Women’s Economic Empowerment Accelerator is a six-month program for social enterprises that are intentional about supporting women — the founder is a woman, the company employs mostly women, it creates business opportunities for women or its customers are primarily women. The program aims to help its cohort scale up, to support women in social entrepreneurship. Applicants must be senior leaders (such as a CEO, executive director or managing director) with at least three, paid full-time employees and a revenue of at least $20,000 but less than $2 million, according to its website.
📅 Date: January 2022 ~ July 2022
📝 Registration Deadline: October 22
🔗 Link: https://www.millersocent.org/wee-accelerator/
2. Say Hi Columbus: An exploration of human ingenuity
Part of the Say Hi to the Future platform, Say Hi Columbus! is a day-long conference that celebrates the human side of human ingenuity, bringing together curious individuals from various walks of life to learn about clever, inventive, and original ideas. It’s not about the title that you carry, but the savage curiosity that drives you. Regardless of your field, education or role, Say Hi Columbus will provide you insights on thinking, engaging and commercializing ideas that will move your organization forward and you upward!
📅 Date: November 12
🏢 Location: Columbus College of Art & Design (CCAD), Columbus, Ohio
🔗 Link: https://bit.ly/3tJKg7X
3.Lewis and Clark College
The Bates Center for Entrepreneurship and Leadership at Lewis and Clark College is seeking a visiting, full-time assistant professor to teach 5 semester-long courses each academic year. The role is for two years, but renewal for the second year is based on the first year’s performance. Candidates must have a Masters Degree and be able to teach introduction to entrepreneurship, financial modeling for startups and a topical course such as personal finance or social entrepreneurship.
📅 Date: January 2022 or February 2022
🏢 Location: Portland, Oregon
🔗 Link: https://apply.interfolio.com/95699
4.Techstars: VP of Network
Boulder, Colorado-based Techstars is searching for a new VP of Network, who will support its global accelerators’ founders, mentors and network, according to the listing. The position also recruits and maintain’s Techstars’ mentor network and manages the network team. The global accelerator is seeking someone with at least six years of management experience, who knows about the needs of early to late-stage startups and fits Techstars’ culture of being people-oriented, adaptable, creative and supportive.
🏢 Location: Boulder, Colorado, though the listing notes this is a remote position.
💰 Compensation Range: $175,000 – $220,000 + 10% Bonus
🔗 Link: https://boards.greenhouse.io/techstars57/jobs/5600465002
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This story and others on Times of E are made possible by a sponsorship from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is a private, nonpartisan foundation that provides access to opportunities that help people achieve financial stability, upward mobility, and economic prosperity – regardless of race, gender, or geography. The Kansas City, Mo.-based foundation uses its grantmaking, research, programs, and initiatives to support the start and growth of new businesses, a more prepared workforce, and stronger communities. For more information, visit www.kauffman.org and connect with www.twitter.com/kauffmanfdn and www.facebook.com/kauffmanfdn.
