Entrepreneurs are the famous personalities of the future (if they’re lucky), not the present. But this week brought plenty of news from bold-faced names.
Diana Nyad fans reveled in her story of grit and perseverance in the face of the oft-thwarted goal of swimming without a shark cage from Cuba to Florida, telling Amina Elahi how her team stayed motivated and how she pushed through the dark hours to the tune of Neil Young’s “Needle and the Damage Done.”
She even sang a few bars.
Check out the full-length interview in our video or sample a quick take.
No one loves a meme more than me, and now Derrick Rose’s toddler son is one, too, with his own merchandise and everything. The Bulls star’s appearance in a ZipTank T-shirt featuring the boy drove a quick burst in sales, reports Haley Hinkle; the apparel line is designed by PJ’s mother, Mieka Reese, and Chicago “Shark Tank” alum Kaeya Majmundar.
In other celebrepreneur news: Sarah Michelle Gellar talked at BlogHer about helping us slay in the kitchen, reports Cheryl Jackson, and Marcus Lemonis brought “The Profit” to Chicago’s Blues Jean Bar.
With the season of giving almost upon us, Blue Sky turns its spotlight to philanthropy and other ventures seeking social good. Kate MacArthur spoke with Daniel Rogers of Chicago-based Moneythink, which brings a social media spirit to teaching kids about wise money management, and Natalia Oberti Noguera, whose Pipeline Angels has inspired women to look for ways beyond charitable donations to make change.
“Whenever a woman said she wanted to change the world, people assumed she was going to launch a nonprofit,” Oberti Noguera said. “When a guy says he’s going to change the world, people are generally not assuming that he’s going to launch a nonprofit. That was a big aha for me.”
Customers of Chicago startup Everpurse fumed as they saw Kate Spade bags using Everpurse technology go on sale. The deal with Kate Spade was supposed to mean orders fulfilled for customers who have been waiting for smartphone-charging wristlets for more than a year. But so far, they’re still waiting.
The Museum of Contemporary Art unveiled a new website that drew both admiration for its boundary pushing and almost theatrical displays of outrage at the offense against UX and eyeballs. The design from Amsterdam-based Mevis & Van Duersen, employing a grid pattern and an eye-twisting font, wasn’t intended to just fit in.
“We would rather provoke a reaction and be in a conversation” than be dull, said Susan Chun, the MCA’s chief content officer.
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Groupon shares sank to an all-time low Friday, closing at $2.57 after touching $2.54 during the day. It’s previous bottom was $2.60 three years ago.
Fast-growing startup Raise settled a lawsuit filed by a former employee who claimed it had violated state and federal wage laws, notes Meg Graham.
Office Tours hit the Hancock, checking out the FCB offices above the Mag Mile where the advertising agency has a coffee bar with an interesting twist and a theater for showing off its work.
And just as Chicago weather dropped into the 30s and we prepared to take to our beds until June, GrubHub introduced a free Apple TV app. Because sometimes reaching for your smartphone is just.too.hard. Now, how do they save us from having to get up and answer the door?
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