A note from our editor, Elizabeth MacBride:
I had to sit in a quiet place, away from the hurly-burly of this crazy summer, to write this editor’s note. This week, we learned of the death of Mick Cheff, the patriarch of a Montana ranching and outfitting company that I have gotten to know over the past decade or more.
Mick’s son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren are featured in The New Builders, as small business owners who have devoted their lives to a passion and a cause, the wilderness. But before I knew the younger generation, I interviewed Karen and Mick. I’ve included that original interview, below. Yes, there really are still cowboys and cowgirls in the world, and yes, there really are people who will tell a rich developer waving a blank check to get off the porch.
I loved doing that interview in part because I recognized that Mick Cheff had embraced the wisdom of time. The way you feel today is not always the way you’ll feel tomorrow, and a family business that sustains people over generations is has a higher value than a million dollars in the bank.
The audio version of The New Builders is out today!
Times of Entrepreneurship Stories of the Week
Post-Pandemic Future: A Bakery In Evanston Emerged Stronger and More Bonded To Its Town
This North Shore bread bakery persevered the Pandemic, but now it faces a new challenge: The national worker shortage
A California Developer Said “Name Your Price”
Here’s what this Montana outfitter told him.
THE HUB: World Expo Back On In Dubai, Cannabis Scholarships, And $10 Million For Entrepreneurship At Tufts
The first World Expo taking place in the Middle East will host top innovators from around the world. Plus: 5 minority entrepreneurs in New Jersey will be eligible for $20,000 grants for cannabis businesses. And Jack Derby, former director of the Tufts Entrepreneurship Center, and his wife Jan have donated $10 million to the center.
You may have missed: Commentary: Editor’s Note: Deconstructing Robinhood Robinhood’s IPO inspires our editor Elizabeth MacBride to republish the column she wrote when the Silicon Valley company stopped GameStop trading.
You may have missed: Commentary: Venture Capital Returns Are More Skewed Than People Realize 65% of investment rounds fail to return 1x capital, and only 4% fail to return greater than 10x capital.
Read it here.
You may have missed: Older Entrepreneurs Are The Fastest Growing Segment of New Business Owners They’re people like Fred Sachs, who founded and eventually sold a lumber company before turning to a new passion: selling flour to bakers in his region.
Read it here.
Living the Dream
Best practices: Looking to take your writing to the next level? Sam Apple, author of the new book Ravenous: Otto Warburg, the Nazis and the search for the cancer-diet connection, says it’s all about improving your noticing powers in “How to become a better writer by becoming a better noticer.”
Best practices: The Sackler family’s pharma business Purdue made it through three generations, turning the Sacklers into of the wealthiest families in the world and famous philanthropists. There was one problem: The source of their wealth was a painkiller that sparked the opioid crisis. In Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty, author Patrick Radden Keefe reveals how it all unfolded.
Rathskeller
The 4.5 hour workweek : A productivity hack
Nothing improves productivity more on a hot summer day than homemade, no-churn ice cream. Here are some recipes.
Made in the U.S.A.
Every home gardener needs the right gear, like Duluth trading’s Women’s Heirloom Gardening Shorts Overalls ($79.50) and the Fox Gardening Knife, dubbed “the sharpest new tool in your shed.”
Wanderlust : a restaurant or activity from our Top Ecosystems list
Next time you’re in Austin and hankering for Indian food, book a reservation with Graj Mahal. You can feast on vegetarian favorites like the roasted eggplant dish baingan aloo and bindi masala, made with fresh okra; as well as lamb marinated in ginger, cage-free chicken tandoori and rechaad masala, a red chile seafood specialty.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR ADDING US TO YOUR EMAILS
For Gmail users (desktop instructions)
Move us to the Primary Tab:
Click into the Inbox Tab where our email shows (possibly “Promotions”)
Drag and drop our email into the “Primary” tab
OR add our email address to your Google Contacts
Hover over our sender name on the email
Click “Add to Contacts”
Mail for iPhone users – add us to VIP
1. Open the email
2. Click our email address at the top of this email
3. Click “Add to VIP”
For other email users, add us to your contact list.
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.
