Top of Mind with Thom Ruhe

Other Videos in Series

Top of Mind Episode 21

Thom Ruhe

5/15/2013

Summary: This week on Top of Mind, we ruminate on this idea of "community", a word we've been throwing around a lot lately. What does it mean to an entrepreneur? What can it provide for a company? How do we nurture entrepreneurship on a community level? Tune in to see what we think are the most important things.

Episode References:
"It Takes A Village" By Hillary Rodham Clinton
Top of Mind with Nate Olson, creator of 1 Million Cups

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Top of Mind Episode 20

Thom Ruhe

5/3/2013

Summary: For our 20th episode, Top of Mind takes a tour through the Kansas City Startup Village where local startups are building their own community of collaboration and support. Lead ambassador Brittain Kovac takes us through one of the houses where four startups are working away. We also sit down with the recent winners of the Brad Feld Fiber House, the Handprint team, who are making 3D printing another household necessity.

Episode References:
Kansas City Startup Village
Leap2
Feld Thoughts: The Feld Fiberhouse is Now the Handprint House
Handprint

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Top of Mind Episode 19

Thom Ruhe

4/19/2013

Summary: This week on Top of Mind, we are going to take a look at a brand new channel on Entrepreneurship.org called ID8 Nation. This channel will be showcasing different entrepreneurial ecosystems across the nation. We are kicking it off with Pittsburgh, illustrating how this traditional steel city is changing its image with a burgeoning entrepreneurial community. We will also talk to Dane Stangler, director of Research and Policy at the Kauffman Foundation, about the importance, for an entrepreneur, of knowing the support system in your community, and research Kauffman has done to discover the thriving geographical areas for entrepreneurship.

Episode References:
ID8 Nation
The Ascent of America's High Growth Companies
Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity
Defying Gravity: High-Growth Entrepreneurs Buck the Macroeconomic Factors Challenging Other Companies
1 Million Cups

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Top of Mind Episode 18

Thom Ruhe

4/12/2013

Summary: This week on Top of Mind, we sit down with Barnett Helzberg, Jr., former CEO of Helzberg Diamonds. Helzberg Diamonds has been a staple of Kansas City since Helzberg's grandfather opened the first one in 1915, and continues to be long after the chain was purchased by Warren Buffet and Berkshire Hathaway in 1995. Barnett talks about the obstacles faced during his entrepreneurial journey, and how the Kansas City community today has come to support entreprenuership.

Episode References:
Helzberg Diamonds
Helzberg Entrepreneurial Mentoring Program
What I Learned Before I Sold To Warren Buffet
Entrepreneurs + Mentors = Success

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Top of Mind Episode 17

Thom Ruhe

3/29/2013

Summary: This week on Top of Mind, we attend Silicon Prairie News' inaugural Big Kansas City conference at the Airline History Museum in Kansas City, Mo. Drawing attendees and speakers from all over the country, we'll listen to founders like Micah Baldwin of Graphicly and Jamie Wong of Vayable discuss the key factors in developing startup communities. We'll also hear about failures and mistakes from Dan Martel, founder of ventures such as Flowtown, Spheric Technologies and current CEO of Clarity.fm.

Episode References:
Silicon Prairie News - Big Kansas City
Micah Baldwin - Graphicly
Dhani Jones - BowTie Cause
Dan Martel - Clarity
Mike Macadaan - Science Inc
Rachel Brooks - CitizenMade
Jamie Wong - Vayable
Orbiting the Giant Hairball

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Top of Mind Episode 16

Thom Ruhe

3/14/2013

Summary: This week on Top of Mind, we sit down with entrepreneur Becky Blades to talk about the relationships between mentors and mentees in entrepreneurship, and how important it is to pick the right mentor.

Episode References:
Becky Blades



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Top of Mind Episode 15

Thom Ruhe

3/1/2013

Summary: This week on Top of Mind, we discuss the importance of workforce development in educational institutions, especially community colleges around the nation.


Episode References:
Innovation Fund America Announcement (Thom's Speech)
Code.org


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Top of Mind Episode 14

Thom Ruhe

2/18/2013

Summary: This week on Top of Mind, we head to Independence, Mo. to check out the Ennovation Center Shared Kitchen, and talk to some up-and-coming "food-preneurs" who are revitalizing the markets in everything from ketchup to non-allergenic foods.


Episode References:
Ennovation Center
Frannie Franks Coffee Cakes
Hippie Chow
The Freedom Chef
Fine Foods of America

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Top of Mind Episode 13

Thom Ruhe

2/1/2013

Summary: This week on Top of Mind, we sit down with entrepreneur Chris Seper, founder of MedCity News--an online media startup that explores the latest breaking news in healthcare and life sciences. Seper takes us through his entrepreneurial journey and the obstacles he's faced transitioning from an employee to a managerial role.

Episode References:
MedCity News

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Top of Mind Episode 12

Thom Ruhe

1/25/2013

Summary: This week on Top of Mind, we talk with Ted Zoller, the Director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and a senior Kauffman Scholar, about what lies ahead for our academic institutions in today's changing world of education.

Episode References:
Ted Zoller, Director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies

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Top of Mind Episode 11

Thom Ruhe

1/18/2013

Summary: This week on Top of Mind, we talk the F-word in entrepreneurship--failure. We're joined by entrepreneur Diana Kander who talks about her recent series on Entrepreneurship.org, "Lessons in Failure".

Episode References:
Lessons in Failure

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Top of Mind Episode 10

Thom Ruhe

1/10/2013

Summary: This week on Top of Mind, we kick off the new year with three topics in entrepreneurship that you'll want to keep an eye on over the next 12 months.

Episode References:
The Crowdfunding Crowd is Anxious
As Companies Seek Tax Deals, Governments Pay High Price


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Top of Mind Episode 9

Thom Ruhe

12/3/2012

Summary: This week on Top of Mind, we talk digital media with Silicon Prairie News co-founder Jeff Slobotski.

Episode References:
The Daily Closes Shop
New York Times Offers Buyout to 30 Newsroom Employees
Silicon Prairie News
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Top of Mind Episode 8

Thom Ruhe

11/29/2012

Summary: This week on Top of Mind, we travel to Mentor, Ohio to visit the Entrepreneurial Learning Initiative. We sit down with co-founder Gary Shoeniger to discuss some of the myths surrounding entrepreneurship, and talk about their successful endeavor to foster entrepreneurship called The Ice House Program.

Episode References:
Who Owns the Ice House?
Entrepreneurial Learning Initiative

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Top of Mind Episode 7

Thom Ruhe

11/16/2012

Summary: This week on Top of Mind, we'll bring you news from Dubai where we participated in the World Economic Forum, and give you a recap of this year's Global Entrepreneurship Week.

Episode References:
World Economic Forum
Global Entrepreneurship Week Calendar of Events: Kansas City
Startup Weekend Kansas City: Closing Presentations

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Top of Mind Episode 6

Thom Ruhe

11/5/2012

Summary: This week on Top of Mind, we discuss the growing startup community in Chile--being nicknamed the Chilecon Valley, could an entrepreneur make a good president and how an entrepreneur manages two large responsibilities in life--work and family.

Episode References:
"The Lure of Chilecon Valley" (The Economist)
"Do Good C.E.O.'s Make Good Presidents?" (New York Times)

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Top of Mind Episode 5

Thom Ruhe

10/12/2012

Summary: This week on Top of Mind, follow us on our road trip as we give you a look inside some of the events we've attended lately. We'll pop into the Inc 500 conference in Phoenix, Ariz. with an entrepreneur looking to disrupt the baby food industry, and we'll stop by home base in Kansas City for the Reddit Internet 2012 bus tour. Finally, we'll take you to Des Moines, Iowa for Thinc Iowa, a conference put on by Silicon Prairie News.

Episode References:
Plum Organics
reddit Internet Bus Tour
Thinc Iowa: Steve Case
Thinc Iowa: Brad Feld

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Top of Mind Episode 4

Thom Ruhe

10/5/2012

Summary: This week on Top of Mind, we are on location at the Inc 500 conference in Phoenix, Ariz. We sit down with entrepreneur Blake Hall to talk about his new venture TroopSwap, a e-commerce platform for veterans.

Episode References:
TroopSwap
TroopID

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Top of Mind Episode 3

Thom Ruhe Nate Olson

9/27/2012

Summary: This week on Top of Mind, we tackle the age-old question: Entrepreneurs, are they born or bred? We also preview Brad Feld's new book Startup Communities, and introduce you to a program we started, called 1 Million Cups, that aims to build the startup community here in Kansas City.

Episode References:
"Peter Thiel’s Fellows: Forgoing College to Pursue Dreams" (NYT)
"AgLocal founder, Naithan Jones"(NPR story)

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Top of Mind Episode 2

Thom Ruhe

9/19/2012

Summary: This week Top of Mind discusses the weighty topics of immigration, manufacturing and healthcare. Thom takes a look at a new study that illustrates the drive to succeed demonstrated by immigrants and discusses what this has to do with the entrepreneurship. We take a look at America's decrease in workers in the skilled trades, and how the health care world is the next industry headed for disruption. Finally, Top of Mind brings it on home with the Top 10 Reasons Every College Student Should Intern at a Startup.

Episode References:
"Children of immigrants come out ahead of peers"(Science Blog)
"The Immigrant Force/Immigrant Entrepreneurship Data" (Kauffman Foundation)
"The Big Jobs Myth: American Workers Aren't Ready for American Jobs" (The Atlantic)
"Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value of Work" (Matthew B. Crawford)
"Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs asks Congress to support more “dirty jobs”"
"Schumpeter’s gale or “Creative Destruction”"
"Vital Signs by Phone, Then, With a Click, a Doctor’s Appointment" (NYT)
"Top 10 Reasons Every College Student Should Intern at a Startup" (Venture Beat)

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Top of Mind Episode 1

Thom Ruhe

9/13/2012

Summary: This week Top of Mind focuses on the increasing availability of crowdfunding — Web-based fundraising, in which people put money into business ideas, disaster relief programs, and other types of campaigns they see worthy. Thom gives the lowdown on Google Fiber, and unveils Google's plans to roll out the service. He also looks at the issue of scalability of retail enterprises, the tech world and the real world. Finally, Top of Mind looks at data from the last 30 years of Inc 500 companies: What city has produced the most fast-growing businesses, and which of those cities is able to retain the most entrepreneurs after college?

Episode References:
"Everything you ever wanted to know about Kickstarter funding stats"(Venture Beat)
"Crowdfunding Platforms: Watsi Allows Donors To Pay For Medical Treatments Abroad" (Huffington Post)
"Google Fiber construction schedule" (google.com/fiber)
"What’s a $4,000 Suit Worth?" (NYT)
"Fitiquette: Online Clothing Measurement Never Looked So Good" (TechCrunch)
"Inc 500 company data" (Kauffman Foundation research)

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6 Comments

RE: Top of Mind

Silver said...

This week on "Top of Mind," Kauffman Foundation vice president of Entrepreneurship Thom Ruhe discusses the importance of workforce. Silver

RE: Top of Mind

NEO said...

I was searching for something like this for quite a long time and at last I've found it on your blog.

RE: Top of Mind

Brenda said...

Enjoying the podcasts. I am an entrepreneur in Washington, DC and looking for knowledge and growth. Getting a lot of it from working in an non-profit organization and volunteering at some churches. Hoping to get grants or contracts and follow my vision.

RE: Top of Mind

How To Write A Book said...

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RE: Top of Mind

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RE: Top of Mind

Zane Winfield Taylor said...

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