On Saturday, September 10, 2016, I gave a TED Talk called “Innovation Everywhere” at TEDxUtica in Utica, NY. I will post my innovation TED talk video as soon as it’s available. [Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpT5gKWCKb0 added 10/10/16 dsm] But the big idea is that innovation isn’t about technology or money or being in the [...]
As mentioned last week, we formed Good People as a New York Benefit Corporation or B Corp. It’s a relatively new corporate form championed by B Labs that specifically provides for companies committed to a general public benefit in addition to creating value for shareholders. The big idea is that all stakeholders matter and shareholders’ [...]
I’ve dedicated my life to innovation, helping people start, protect, and build businesses around new ideas and products. But in my intellectual property practice, consulting, and teaching, I’ve always sidelined myself, choosing the role of service provider, mentor, or coach. I’ve half-joked about being a “meta-entrepreneur” and flitted from one supporting role to the next. [...]
On March 3, 2016 I was named Chairman of the Board of Otsego Now, which really means jointly chairing the boards of the County of Otsego Industrial Development Agency (COIDA) and Otsego County Capital Resource Corporation (OCCRC). Otsego Now is probably the most effective economic development resource in Otsego County, based on the tax incentive [...]
If you’ve followed Eat Drink Law for the past few years, then you know that I am a fan of Sixpoint Brewery in Brooklyn. To put it simply, I love craft beer. I love innovation. So a company that has built its brand around craft beer innovation is near and dear to my heart. Now, [...]
In the summer of 2015, Ethan and I headed out for a day on the Cooperstown Beverage Trail with Jim Donley of Doubleday Drivers and my niece, Anna, a SUNY Geneseo student studying video production. For Ethan and I, it was an act of food geekery to really experience the Cooperstown Beverage Trail in a [...]
What’s the biggest limiting factor in any small business? What causes the most failure? Is it access to capital? Small markets or lack of customers? Inability to find the right employees, suppliers, or other resources? These all suck and can certainly be business ending. But they aren’t the root cause of business failure. And this [...]
Do you make resolutions or set annual goals for your business and personal life? With the holidays past and a bit of New Year reflection, it’s the time of year when we think about how to make the coming year great. Or at least try to shed some pounds, yell less, or be more diligent [...]
Why write a blog? That’s what’s been bothering me. It bothered me so much last year, that I just dropped out of writing. To all of you who had been following my writing on the craft food movement and business and legal issues for food & beverage entrepreneurs, I’m sorry and I’m back. You’ve probably [...]
Perhaps you’ve heard of Mt. Wellington Market near the Glimmerglass Festival in Cooperstown. Perhaps you’re even lucky enough that you’ve gone there. Well if neither is true, I hope this will do you the favor of changing that. Mt. Wellington offers “breakfast, lunch, groceries, beer, NY State products, handmade gifts and much more,” and boy [...]
