There is no shortage of similes, analogies and what-nots equating running a business with snow skiing.  Populist chef and restaurateur Guy Fieri, for example, says that in his business, like in skiing, if you don't fall at least 10 times, then you're not skiing hard enough.  (Maybe that's what was behind the recent closure of his 500-seat venture in Times Square:  too much time on the slopes and not enough laboring over the specialita' della casa, "donkey sauce").  That's not to say that these what-nots aren't good teaching tools.  Our guest, Roger Kahlon, thinks they can be perfect for conveying the mettle necessary to get a business off the ground.  And, he's got personal experience with one that didn't.  Join us in a discussion with Roger and learn why its necessary to prepare for, and get up from, a fall. 

Some view the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), held in Las Vegas every January, as a First World extravagance.  Others see it as a critical driver of the world economy.  Either way,  attending the show can be overwhelming.  Our co-host, Mark, took one for the team and did just that.  Come join Mark, Dave and Ziad in a discussion of CES, and learn what it reflects about the future of ... well ... consumer electronics. 

Winter in Vermont.  A gentleman farmer.  A stuck tractor.  Who would have thought you could pull a lesson about entrepreneurship from this?  Join your hosts in a New Year’s Eve story that’s sure to stir the entrepreneurial spirit.   

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is the home of not just great research but, also, of great industry/university collaborations. That’s not happenstance.  It is the result of efforts of a team of industrialists-turned-academics, like Randall Wright, who combine years of industry experience with encyclopedic knowledge of university research activities to build partnerships for commercialization of innovative products.  Join us in a discussion with Randall, program director of the MIT Industrial Liaison Program, and learn his unique view of creativity and innovation in business and research – and, of course, how failure plays into both.

The start-up CEO might think she’s on the verge of striking it rich, when the investment bankers come calling.  That’s not necessarily so.  First, there is the risk that potential buyers just aren’t buying — or that the ones that are don’t want to pay what the long-time investors are demanding.  Even if an investment banker does find a willing suitor, one that sees promise in the seller’s performance, the CEO can lose it all.  Unless she can keep the company’s performance on target, what began to look like hockey stick growth might turn the budding deal into a flat-liner.  Join us in a discussion with Jack Langworthy, of Covington Associates, as he looks at startups from an investment banker’s perspective.

A lot has been written about how the batting philosophy of the baseball greats applies to investing.  Much of that centers around the notion that, whether you are picking promising pitches, stocks or startups, it’s a numbers game.  The player has to take a lot of chances, knowing there’s a risk of striking out, yet, with the hope that by sticking with a winning strategy, it all works out.  Sure, they may pick up some stories along the way, but the greats of any numbers game have a philosophy.  Join your hosts in a discussion with Mic Williams, founder of Boston Harbor Angels and angel investor extraordinaire, on his winning philosophy of investing — and a few stories, too.

Polaroid was the Apple (Computer) of its day.  Founded by Edwin Land in the 1940’s, his genius propelled Polaroid to the height of the instant camera craze of the 1970’s.  Alas, change was coming.  The 1980’s brought with it not only competition from Kodak, the 800-pound gorilla of photography, but also the Internet and the rise of the digital era.  With the aid of the courts (and a dozen patents), Polaroid vanquished Kodak.  By the 2000’s, both succumbed to the Internet.  Join your hosts, Ziad Moukheiber, Mark Thirman and David Powsner, in a light-hearted, but content-rich discussion with Sam Liggero, a former Polaroid executive and, now, a professor at Tufts University.

In early 2000, AirPrint Networks set out to create a mobile printer market.  Backed by a supportive board of directors and funded by willing investors, AirPrint converted abandoned technology from the tech giant Polaroid into a product that would launch the company into a steep revenue growth curve.  But the Great Recession of 2007 hit with a vengeance.  The investors pulled out and pulled back.  In one fell swoop, Airprint Networks collapsed.  

Join your hosts, Ziad Moukheiber of Boston Harbor Angels and David Powsner of Nutter McClennen, in a light discussion with Airprint’s founder, Mark Thirman.