Five Insights from Greg Thomsen, Renowned Founder and Mountaineer.
My conversation with legendary designer and creative entrepreneur Greg Thomsen about his track record in building outdoor recreation companies began on-point:
This is how I started: I was a climber.
In 1970 Greg Thomsen came back from an expedition to Mt. Everest and realized he needed a job. Being an avid outdoorsman and mountaineer, he looked for a job that would allow him to head into the Sierras whenever possible. …
Thanks Tech for great work done! For what comes next; you need creatives!
Dear Tech Entrepreneurs and all of you who tirelessly support them,
We are so grateful for everything you give to the world — social media platforms, exceptional gadgets, and new ways of experiences games, friendship, and — maybe — life itself. We know it has taken a lot of time, experiences in coding, manufacturing, and your creations of GUI is above and beyond. We urge you to keep going. But from now on; keep creatives in the loop! Creative entrepreneurs are not starving artists, they are the new breed of entrepreneurs. Creatives have what it takes to bring all the amazing things you have built forward. How will they do it? We know how, because we know them! We spend a lot of time with creatives, all over the globe and we truly enjoyed the time spent. We design programs with them, for them, we have a network of mentors who “gets what creatives do” that are ready to get to work when creative entrepreneurs need support. We are amazed by the creative entrepreneurs’ drive for exploring, for thinking about what comes next, and to make it happen by — among other things — using tech. …
What’s the first thing you meet in a book? It’s not the first sentence. Chances are it’s not one of those awesome blurbs on the back telling you how great the book is. Nope — even in our contemporary age of the endless Amazon scroll, the first thing you meet on a book is the cover!
People tell you not to judge a book by this cover, but it’s hard not to. The cover is basically the face the book brings to the world. …
Creative Startups has big news: our Co-Founders, Alice Loy and Tom Aageson, wrote a book!
2018 is off to a bang and we’re proud to announce the awarding of two national grants to support our work in New Mexico, specifically in Zuni Pueblo. Creative Startups has been awarded a 2017 Ovation Foundation Creative Economy Innovation Grant and a 2017 National Endowment for the Arts OurTown Grant! Haven’t heard of our work in Zuni or the ArtWalk? We’ll fill ya in…
About 2.5 hours West of Albuquerque, New Mexico lies Zuni Pueblo. Zuni, the largest of New Mexico’s nineteen pueblos, has been inhabited for roughly 3000 to 4000 years, with a deep tradition of creative production. The people of Zuni include both fine artists and creative entrepreneurs known around the world for their amazing and unique work with pottery, silver, precious stones, and fetish carvings. In fact, 80% of the Zuni workforce is involved in the creative industries. Perhaps you even own one of these pieces of pottery or jewelry. …
Look around and you’ll see startups everywhere. Or, at least startups that are all grown up.
Facebook, Google, Uber, and The Weinstein Company, all started out as ideas and then were shaped, by their founders, into the mega companies they are today. Today’s startups are tomorrow’s behemoths. And, we reap what we sow, so…let’s come back to that observation in a minute.
The current tidal wave of voices sharing their #metoo experiences on social media highlight the epidemic of sexual harassment and assault faced in our workplaces, schools, and yes, startups.
That chorus is calling out the imbalance of power that shapes our institutions, shutting doors for some while opening opportunities for a few select others. …
As powerful forces try to drive the US into isolation and antiquated businesses, Creative Startups, the leading accelerator for the Creative Economy, is fighting back: All US based startups in the creative industries, who have raised less than $1 million and with a founder over the age of 18 who holds a valid passport, are invited to apply to Team USA to compete in the global Creative Business Cup.
Founded in 2010, the “United Nations of Creative Entrepreneurs” is a global competition taking the winners from over 60 different countries and bringing them to Copenhagen for the marquee premier pitching event. Past judges include founders of Angry Birds, Stylus, and Middle Eastern royalty. …
Described as the “United Nations of creative entrepreneurs,” this summer the United States will launch a nationwide open call for founders and their teams to compete in the global Creative Business Cup (CBC). Hosted by Creative Startups, the CBC USA Finals will take place in Albuquerque, New Mexico, September 14 & 15, 2017. Applications are open now through August 13, 2017—www.creativestartups.org/cbc-usa
Interested in applying? Want to know more? Read on!
KEY DATES:
The Center for Creative Economy in Winston-Salem will host a business accelerator program for companies to compete for their share of $75,000.
This will be the second year of Creative Startups Winston-Salem. Creative Startups, based in New Mexico, offers programs that focus on teaching and mentoring entrepreneurs in creative industries. Businesses in the United States and overseas can enter the competition, but the Winston-Salem location is set up to make it easier for startups in the Southeast to participate.
The deadline for applications is June 11.
The eight-week online accelerator program will start Aug. 7. It will be followed by a “deep dive” on Sept. 24 at the Creative Community Lab in Winston-Salem and will allow the teams to showcase their projects to funding prospects and businesses. …
Alice Loy has a message for young entrepreneurs who might have spiked hair, a tattoo and a business idea nobody understands: Get in touch.
Loy is co-founder along with Tom Aageson of Creative Startups, perhaps the first business accelerator program in the world devoted to commercializing artistic passion.
When Loy talks with many new artists, she may not understand what they are trying to do. But that’s OK, “Most creative people are building something we don’t get,” said Loy.
Loy spoke at a forum on “Creative Startups and Capital,” sponsored by Coronado Ventures Forum, last week at Meow Wolf. Other panelists were Vince Kadlubek, co-founder of Meow Wolf, and Amanda Solosky, co-founder of Rival Theory, a gaming and artificial intelligence business in Albuquerque. …
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