The Savvy Entrepreneur: Leadership with John Casey

Effective leadership is critical for business growth.  But the term is often misunderstood and misused, according to John Casey, President of Shamrock Consultants.

John's been at the business of leadership assessment and coaching for 26 years.  He shares what leadership is and isn't.  He also talks about how his firm methodically assesses leadership capabilities, as well as how people can get better at being good leaders.

Click on the arrow to take a listen — it'll be well worth your time!

The Savvy Entrepreneur: Guest Michael Rosen & Helix 51 Incubator

Many people, even in Chicago, don't know about Rosalind Franklin University.  It's probably the least well-known of Chicagoland's 6 medical schools.  But nestled in the northern suburbs of Chicago, it sits close to Illinois huge cluster of biotech and pharmaceutical companies.  Abbott, Baxter, Astellas, and Abbvie are the largest.  But there are many smaller companies, as well as divisions of several other large healthcare companies. 

Hoping to spur university-industry collaboration on new concepts and products, Rosalind Franklin in just 4 short years built a new science park.  The park includes a new healthcare incubator, called Helix 51.

Michael Rosen, Managing Director of Research and Innovation at the University also heads up Helix 51.  He joined The Savvy Entrepreneur Radio Show recently to discuss some of the challenges and opportunities of building a new incubator.  He explains the difference between an accelerator and an incubator. He also talks about how the University is planning to expand shared services for incubator companies.

Click on the arrow to listen!

The Savvy Entrepreneur: NovoMoto

Dr. Aaron Olson

Dr. Mehrdad Arjmand

NovoMoto co-founders Aaron & Mehrdad Arjmand join The Savvy Entrepreneur Radio Show to talk about how they are growing their company.  Starting from a student entrepreneur project at The Weinert Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Wisconsin Madison, NovoMoto has already improved the lives of tens of thousands in The People's Republic of the Congo.

NovoMoto provides economical solar-powered generators and appliances there, where many users are “off the grid” and have no regular access to electricity.  Solar-powered generators are less expensive to use and are much better for the environment than diesel generators or other alternatives.

Their goal?  To help 1 million families by 2026!

Click on the arrow below to listen to their fascinating story!

 

Running a Non-Profit with Ty Rohrer

Ty Rohrer knows a thing or two about nonprofits.  He's currently Director of Cultural Arts for the Waukegan Park District (which includes managing the Waukegan Symphony Orchestra), Director of the Waukegan Arts Council, and a Board Member for the Illinois State Historical Society.

You may wonder what running or being a board member on a nonprofit has to do with entrepreneurship.  Ty articulates the many entrepreneurial skills needed to effectively steer a nonprofit — maybe it's a way for you to test your entrepreneurship skills, or maybe even to put them to use!

Click on the arrow to take a listen!