Adventures from the Entrepreneurial Edge

Welcome to the first edition of the Startup Stories blog carnival. No lists, no opinion pieces - just first-hand accounts of people living the entrepreneurial dream.

Inside the Green Room - Internet marketer extraordinaire Donna Fox shares her experience as the only woman (not counting staff and spouses) at a conference of 100 top internet marketers. Sexism is alive and well.

Chef Jeremy Smith of T2 Nutrition Shares His 3-Sheet Story (video) - The creator of prepared gourmet meals for athletes tells how he got the idea for his business, the challenges he's faced and lessons he's learned. Very funny and insightful.

The Startup Depression - The buzz in the business blogosphere this week was Jason Calacanis' look at what the current economic crisis means for companies. In it he shares the story of "the worst year of his life", the crash of Silicon Alley Reporter, his first business. While somewhat dark at times, he ends optimistically with 10 suggestions for winning in a down market. And this is why I love stories -- without his story, that list wouldn't be half as powerful. Context creates meaning.

What Was Your Defining Moment in Your Business? - A collection of 7 mini-stories from entrepreneurs in response to the question, "Did you ever reach a defining moment in your business when you just knew it was going to be a success?" Just goes to show good stories don't have to be long.

Are We Products of Our Entrepreneurial Environments? - John Jantsch shares the story of his entrepreneurial upbringing and asks readers to do the same. Be sure to read the comments and maybe share your own story.

Still Blogging - Entrepreneurship professor Jeff Cornwall reflects on five years of blogging and tells the story of how he started.

Patricia Barber, Danny Meyer, art and you - Seth Godin provides another example that stories don't have to be long to be deep. Attending a musical performance reminds Seth that "in an increasingly commodified world, it turns out that genuine expressions of kindness and art are valued more than ever."

I hope you've enjoyed this first edition of Startup Stories. If you'd like to have your own story included in a future edition, please review the posting guidelines and then submit your post.

Adventures from the Entrepreneurial Edge

In this attention-starved day and age, the fine art of storytelling is drowning in a tidal wave of bullet lists, opinion pieces, how-tos and links to more of the same.

Hey - I have nothing against a good list post, but good stories are endlessly engaging. They provide depth and nuance, context and clarity, where other forms fall short. Large organizations have embraced corporate storytelling as a way to convey information, because they connect an emotional level, not just intellectual.

In an effort to promote more storytelling by small business bloggers, I'm starting a new blog carnival, Startup Stories. In case you're not familiar with blog carnivals, it's a periodic collection of links to blog posts by various authors on a common theme.

Mike McDerment is the founder of FreshBooks, an online invoicing and time-tracking service. FreshBooks is a great post-bubble success story: started in 2003, FreshBooks now serves over 400,000 users in over 100 countries with staff of just 17 people.

FreshBooks also provides a great example of the power of a well-done corporate blog. In it, Mike and his team post relevant company news, but also talk very openly about the process of starting and growing a company. This week, Mike has a great post entitled 7 ways I've almost killed FreshBooks, in which he debunks many popular startup myths regarding things like speed of growth, business plans, capital requirements, word of mouth marketing and more.

While many of us may best remember Paul Newman for his classic movie roles as Butch Cassidy, Fast Eddie Felson or Cool Hand Luke, Newman also left a legacy of entrepreneurship and philanthropy that serves as a role model for the growing number of social entrepreneurs who want to change the world through their business.

Newman's Own, his namesake company that made salad dressings, salsa, popcorn, spaghetti sauce and more, has donated more than $200 million in profits to charities since 1982. Far more than just a face on the label, Newman was heavily involved in the day-to-day operations of the company.

Check out the full story in the Hartford Courant:

Paul Newman: The Food Entrepreneur

Related on About.com:

• Paul Newman Passes On at Age 83
• Paul Newman: Race Car Driver and Enthusiast
• Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward Marriage Profile
• Paul Newman Movies, News and Links