Inspiration – What is your calling?

I believe that we all have something special to offer this world. No matter who you are… No matter what skills you possess or don’t possess, you have something special to contribute. Scientists have not yet succeeded with cloning a person. Each one of us really is unique. Totally unique....

Why are you an Entrepreneur – really?

What motives you as an entrepreneur? What is the real reason that you are willing to work long hours 7 days a week with low pay, few colleagues, no flashy benefits, no fancy office, no job security, and the constant risk of failure staring you right in the eyes? Are...

Fall in Love with your Market, not with your Technology

Why do so many early-stage technology companies struggle? One reason is that they fall in love with their technology. Many entrepreneurs are great engineers or scientists. They create all sorts of inventions and smart new technologies. They write algorithms, file patents and then they march out to search for markets,...

Being an Entrepreneur – Curse or Blessing?

I have been away from my writing for quite some time. I have struggled to find the time. I have struggled to find the words. I have struggled to find the inspiration because I am in the middle of starting a new business and it is tough. Really tough. There...

How Can Entrepreneurs Keep Faith?

Something that all entrepreneurs will face sooner or later are setbacks, delays and rejection.  It goes with the territory, yet one of the hardest things is keeping faith and energy in your project, regardless what comes your way. How do others do it? How do they keep their belief in...

Why Do Dyslexics Make Great Entrepreneurs?

I spend a lot of time being curious about what makes some people great entrepreneurs. I recently found an article in BusinessWeek that discusses the fact that an abnormally high percentage of entrepreneurs are dyslexics. They raised the question - Does the struggle that is required to overcome dyslexia prepare...

Kill the Cow

What will Norway live from when the North Sea oil wells run dry? I believe that some answers lie in empowering young entrepreneurs. The following cow story made me think about the fact that sometimes we get very creative when we are forced to do so. What are your cows?...

Entrepreneur Self Sabotage

We all have 2 different minds. One is logical, the other is emotional and they don’t always agree with each other. Sometimes they will do whatever they can to sabotage each other. Consider the following entrepreneur story: Gauri Nanda was a graduate student at MIT who got an $80K loan...

If there is no struggle, then there is no progress

"If there is no struggle, then there is no progress" The title of this blog is a quote from Fredrick Douglass. He was born a slave in America in 1818. After two failed attempts to flee from a brutal slave owner, he finally succeeded in escaping to freedom and went...

Great Networking Trick

Last week I accidentally discovered a great new networking trick. I was attending a lecture on Entrepreneurship in Norway. I walked into the auditorium where there were 100-150 chairs setup. I was early, so I went to the front of the room and sat in the chair that was nearest...