The 4th of July and the Entrepreneurial Spirit: Lessons from the Fireworks Stand

I recently crossed the border from Minnesota into South Dakota and didn’t need a road sign to know it. Every year, small-town sidewalks, empty parking lots, and even highway roadside corners transform into temporary centers of commerce – the fireworks stands. They seem to appear overnight: simple structures selling sparklers, rockets, and Roman candles, but behind them is a surprisingly familiar story to anyone in business.

The Fourth of July is more than a celebration of independence.

What Entrepreneurs Can Learn from the World Cup

Over the past few weeks, I’ve become World Cup obsessed (and, no, it isn’t about ranch dressing like some foreign fans…). As a fan and a former player, everything about this World Cup is interesting, and the splash of certain teams and fans have made it hard to stop engaging. I’ve watched the matches and social media posts. But, what is particularly interesting, is that some of the most talked-about teams are not necessarily the teams that will likely be lifting up the trophy in the championship game. Fans are drawn to teams (and their fans) that play (and root) with heart,

Shark Tank Deals That Fell Apart: The Importance of Due Diligence After the Handshake

Longtime entreVIEW readers will know that my colleague and fellow author, Dan Tenenbaum, has been an avid fan of “Shark Tank” since at least 2014 when he wrote this post. Fans of the show have seen it dozens (or even hundreds) of times: the entrepreneur and the shark shake hands and agree to a deal on national television. Deal done, right…not even close. 

Reportedly, roughly 40-50% of Shark Tank deals made on camera never actually close. A 2016 Forbes analysis found that 73% of deals from the show’s first seven seasons either fell apart or were renegotiated after filming—only 27% closed on the original terms. 

Purple Rain and Prince as Entrepreneur

Last night, I had the privilege to attend Opening Night of the world premiere of the Broadway Bound musical, “Purple Rain” at the Historic State Theatre in Minneapolis. You can see from the photo that I even “glammed up” my outfit a bit for the premiere and post-show party at First Avenue! I guess being the current Board Chair of Hennepin Arts made me want to fully embrace the opportunity!

A little background. Frequent readers of entreVIEW all know I am a musical theatre enthusiast. I’ve posted about musicals more than a dozen times over the year…even including this post back in 2012 about a musical that I have written. You may not know that I am also a huge Prince enthusiast!  Of course, as someone who grew up in the Twin Cities and witnessed the rise of the Purple One to superstardom, I would have been in the minority if I hadn’t been. The original “Purple Rain” movie was an iconic moment. I saw it opening night (and another time or two) and the album (yes, it was vinyl) and cassette (what else would one have listened to in your car?) were pretty much on repeat throughout the second half of 1984.

The Startup Hunger Games: Survival Tips for Entrepreneurs

In 2025, building a startup feels more like surviving The Hunger Games than building a business. Venture capital has been tight, interest rates are high, and only the most resourceful founders emerge from the arena with funding intact. But the tide may be turning, according to Crunchbase data: global venture funding climbed to $97 billion in Q3 2025, up from $92 billion in Q2 closing up 38% year over year. AI startups dominated, capturing over 46% of total funding, with just eighteen companies securing one-third of all capital deployed. This intense capital concentration favors founders who are disciplined, legally sound, and ready to scale. History backs them: Airbnb, Uber, and Slack were all born in downturns. The entrepreneurs who survive 2025’s volatility are not riding the wave —they are building enduring businesses that will thrive when the market rebounds.

Entering the Best “Season” of the Year

Calendars everywhere are about to turn over to October, meaning the country has officially entered, for my money at least, the best season of the year. Although light jackets, vests, and pumpkin spice lattes are certainly an added bonus, the best season of the year has little to do with the weather and the seasonal menu changes that come along with it and everything to do with sports, business transactions, and the jolt of excitement they inject into everyday life from mid-September through the ball drop at midnight on New Year’s Eve.

Labubus: The Toothy Toy That Took Over the World

In the ever-evolving world of collectibles, few phenomena have captured global attention quite like Labubus. What began as a quirky character in a storybook has transformed into a billion-dollar brand, a pop culture icon, and a symbol of modern collector culture. Labubus was born from the imagination of Kasing Lung, a Hong Kong-Belgian artist inspired by Nordic folklore. Originally featured in his illustrated series The Monsters, Labubu—the mischievous elf with sharp teeth and a scruffy charm—was brought to life as a vinyl figure in 2015. But it wasn’t until Lung partnered with Chinese toy giant Pop Mart in 2019 that Labubu truly found its audience.

Joy: The Musical: An Entrepreneurial Story

People who know me, even just a little bit, know that I’m a passionate fan and supporter of musical theatre. Truth is that my wife and I (two lawyers with a spreadsheet) have seen just under 800 unique musicals together in our adult lives. 

Even if you don’t know me but have been a regular reader of entreVIEW (are there any regular readers?), you’d also know this because I have frequently written about musical theatre for this blog, including my very first real post on this blog over 14 years ago, which was about the Spider-Man Musical. I’ve also written about other musicals, including "Finding Neverland," "Ernest Shackleton Loves Me," "Matilda," and couple of favorites, "Here Lies Love," and, of course "Hamilton." In case that isn’t enough to show my passion for musicals I’ve also written about the musical I wrote, "Pickle-Chiffon Pie: The Musical," which has now been produced three times!  

Another Review of Summertime Inventions

In this prior post in May 2023, I reviewed some interesting inventions and innovations evoking summertime fun, including a look at U.S. Design Patent No. D584,478 for a unique bun design that could accommodate inventor Mark Murray’s unique “hamdog,” comprising a hamburger split in half to allow a hot dog to be placed in between. Since we are officially moving into Summer 2025, I thought it might be time to take a closer look at some other “cool” inventions for cookouts and picnics.

The most essential item for a successful cookout is the grill.  In the early 1950s, George A. Stephen, anemployee of Weber Brothers Metal Works invented what is universally known today as the Weber Grill. At the time, Weber Brothers made metal buoys for the U.S. Coast Guard. Stephen invented his “George’s Barbecue Kettle” by cutting a metal buoy to form a bowl with a lid.  He added some vents, and the iconic dome-shaped grill design was created. The shape of Stephen’s design improved heat distribution while reducing flare-ups and protecting the food on the grill from windy weather and debris in the air.  Stephen received numerous patents for his grill deigns over the years, including U.S. Patent No. 3,330,266 in 1967 for “Barbecue Vessel.”

The 2024 Paralympic Games

“I will not be participating at the Paralympics. I will be competing.”

-Hunter Woodhall, Paralympic Gold Medalist in the Men’s 400M T62 Category

The 2024 Paris Olympics were a highlight of this past summer, with 30.6 million viewers tuning in across all NBC platforms, making it the most-streamed Olympics. Among many other highlights, Noah Lyles (USA) and Letsile Tebogo (Botswana) battled it out for the title of World’s Fastest Man, Katie Ledecky’s (USA) swimming prowess made her the most-decorated female American Olympian across all sports, Yusuf Dikeҫ (Turkey) stunned viewers with his nonchalant silver medal shot, and Cindy Ngamba won the Refugee Olympic Team their first ever medal with a bronze in Women’s Middleweight Boxing. My favorite event this year, by far, was the men’s 1500M. Cole Hocker and Yared Nuguse (USA) pulled off a huge upset and absolutely smoked Josh Kerr and Jakob Ingebrigtsen! Watch it here.

With all the excitement surrounding the Olympics this year, people were understandably disappointed when the Closing Ceremony wrapped up. A common sentiment I heard was, “Well, what do I do now?” I wanted to yell from the rooftops, “It’s not over yet!”

Fall, Football, and Figuring it Out.

I love September. When the calendar flips to September, it means a lot of things to a lot of people - it’s the arrival of Fall (Fall is the best season, by the way), students begrudgingly returning to school to the delight of their parents, and for a lot of Americans, its marks the return of their favorite sport, FOOTBALL.

About 72% of Americans identify as football fans, that’s more than 241 million people. Football is big business. The NFL generated roughly $20 billion of revenue in 2023 and during the Super Bowl, companies paid $7 million per 30-second commercial. College Football TV rights alone accounted for roughly $4 billion in 2023. That doesn’t include College Football’s merchandise, ticket sales, sponsorships, or any NIL deals, including the recent deal with EA Sports to use the Name Image and Likeness of current College Football players in their new videogame, “creatively” named (in a generic way my trademark colleagues would hate) “College Football 25.” Football is America’s favorite sport, but its also becoming the favorite business of many Americans too.

A Post for National Pickleball Day (August 8, 2024)!

As frequent entreVIEW readers know, I am among the legions of people who became pickleball enthusiasts over the last several years, many of us (present company included) spurred on by the global pandemic. The statistics show that pickleball remains the fastest growing sport in the US, with about 50 million people in the US having played in the last 12 months, an explosive annual growth rate (over 85% in 2022). Contrary to popular perception, the average age of these players is 35 years old.

Everything’s Up to Date in Kansas City

With the temperature in Kansas City lately being from 90° to 100°, it is no surprise that families are trying to find ways to keep their little ones busy during the summer months that does not involve being outside. This past weekend, my husband and I decided to take a stroll through our very own backyard and head to Crown Center.

Recognizing Athletic Innovation at the Olympics

In just about a month’s time, the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad, also known as the 2024 Summer Olympics, will begin in Paris, France. From July 26th through August 11th, about 10,500 athletes from 206 different countries will compete for medals in 329 events over 32 sports. The Olympics have been of great interest to me since my early childhood, grabbing my attention every four years growing up and now every two years (ever since the Winter Olympics shifted in 1994 to offset the Summer and Winter Games every two years).

Full disclosure, I own a complete set of videotapes of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics that I forced my dad to record for me while I was away working at summer camp, so my love for the Olympics, like a lot of other interests of mine, could easily be labeled an obsession. For me, every event is appointment viewing, from the crowning of the Fastest Man Alive in the 100 Meter Sprint, to the repechage races in the Lightweight Women’s Doubles Sculls, to the Preliminary Round Handball match between Hungary and Denmark (set your calendar for August 2nd).

“MoviePass, MovieCrash,” an Interesting Exploration of the Entrepreneurial Roller Coaster

Stuck with a rainy Sunday afternoon this past weekend, I found myself landing on the just released HBO documentary “MoviePass, MovieCrash.” I didn’t really know much about the story in advance of my viewing, although I did recall a company that had launched a moviegoing subscription service about a decade ago. Maybe it’s my interest in the entrepreneurial experience, honed by a few decades of helping entrepreneurs build companies, but I found the movie quite interesting. Spoiler alert—if you want to watch the film (which I think it is worth your time), don’t read any further!

Kansas City Celebrating Women’s History Month

As many of you know, March is Women’s History Month. It seems very fitting that the CPKC Stadium opened its doors for its first home match on March 16, 2024. The Stadium is the first privately financed stadium purpose-built exclusively for a professional women’s soccer team, the Kansas City Current. The Current were founded in December 2020 as Kansas City’s National Women’s Soccer League team and are owned by Angie Long, Chris Long and our very own Brittany Mahomes, wife to three-time Super Bowl winner and Quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes.

The Entrepreneur’s Hero Arc

Mythology, particularly of the Greek variety, has always enraptured the masses. There is something captivating about heroes and monsters, gods and ghosts, and the inevitable triumph of good over evil that creates the perfect story. The myths have an even greater impact when they center on a lone hero embarking on an epic quest (e.g. Jason and the Argonauts; The Ramayana). This plotline hits closer to home because we regularly hear about everyday people achieving amazing things with the odds stacked against them.

The Economic Impact of a Perennial Winner

On Sunday, February 11th, all of Kansas City celebrated as the Kansas City Chiefs found victory in Super Bowl 58.

As a lifelong Chiefs fan, the last few years have been beyond anything I ever could have imagined. When I was growing up, the Chiefs did not compete for championships. The team had a seemingly never-ending conveyor belt of quarterbacks, none of whom could lead the Chiefs far into the playoffs.

Happy National Trivia Day 2024!

Happy New Year, entrepreneurs! As we enter 2024, with Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, New Years, and all the other minor holidays behind us, we can celebrate the start of 2024 with National Trivia Day, which was yesterday! To commemorate this most auspicious occasion (and a little fun as we get back into the grind of working after so many holidays), here’s a quick Trivia Quiz with, of course, an entrepreneurial spin – enjoy, and good luck! (Answers follow the quiz)

Tom Hanks, The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece (Albert A. Knopf, 2023)

Until I read this book, while I’m a fan of movies, I hadn’t thought about the movie business much. On a regular basis, new movies appear fully formed and ready for consumption at our local theater or through our favorite streaming service. Two hours (give or take) of entertainment emerge from a black box called the “industry” in, for better or worse, final form. I’d heard the dark allusions to funky accounting relating to measuring the profitability of the product, but had no real idea as to how it is manufactured.

Turns out that each film is the product of entrepreneurism on steroids. Conceiving the idea for the story, evaluating the market for the product, arranging financing, and assembling a team to realize the filmmaker’s vision are steps any entrepreneur will readily recognize and can likely translate to their own business opportunities.