Month: May 2026
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Acqui Hire Meaning: A Founder’s Guide to a Soft Landing
An acqui-hire is when a company buys another company mainly to recruit its employees, not to keep the business or use its products. In many deals, pricing gets discussed on a per-person basis, and practitioner guidance puts that range from a few hundred thousand dollars to about $2 million per retained person. If you're reading…
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Your First 3D Printing Hub Guide for Prototypes
You probably have a CAD file open right now and no clue what to do next. Maybe it's a product enclosure, a custom insert, a jewelry concept, a replacement part, or the first sketch of a hardware brand you want to build. On your screen, it looks done. In real life, it doesn't exist yet.…
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Entrepreneur in Residence: A Founder’s Guide
You might be in a weird spot right now. You built something. Maybe you sold it. Maybe you shut it down after giving it everything you had. Either way, you're not eager to jump straight into another all-out sprint. But you're also not built for coasting, middle management, or smiling through pointless meetings. That in-between…
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Your Facebook Retargeting Ad Playbook
You launch your first Facebook campaign. You pick interests, write a decent ad, and wait for sales. Then nothing happens. Or worse, clicks come in, spend goes out, and your dashboard gives you just enough hope to keep burning money. I've watched founders do this over and over. They try to win strangers before they've…
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What Is Machine Shop? A Founder’s Guide
You probably have a sketch, a rough CAD file, or a product idea bouncing around in your head. It feels real because you can see it. But until someone cuts material and makes the first part, it's still theory. That gap is where most first-time founders get stuck. I've seen it over and over. Someone…
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Balance Sheet of the Company: A Founder’s Guide
Your bookkeeper sends over a PDF called “balance sheet of the company,” and you do what most founders do. You skim it, see a bunch of line items, feel mildly guilty, and go back to marketing, product, or sales. I get it. The balance sheet looks like accountant territory. But if you run a brand,…
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E Commerce Investments: A Founder’s Guide
You're probably sitting with two tabs open. One tab has some story about a flashy e-commerce raise. The other tab is your actual business: product samples, shipping quotes, ad tests, maybe a Shopify draft store, maybe an inbox full of suppliers who still haven't answered your last question. You read about “e commerce investments” and…
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7 Actionable Hubs in Chicago for Founders in 2026
You're building something in Chicago, and you already know the hard part isn't only product. It's finding the right room. Go to the wrong room and you get fake enthusiasm, soft advice, and a stack of coffee chats that go nowhere. Go to the right one and somebody saves you six months of stupid mistakes.…
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How to Read a Balance Sheet: Founder’s 2026 Guide
You're probably doing what most early founders do. You check sales, stare at your bank balance, maybe look at ad spend, then hope the rest is fine. That works for a while. Then inventory piles up, a supplier wants payment, a loan hits your account, and suddenly you realize you don't know what your business…
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Starting a City of Chicago Small Business? Here’s Your Plan
You're probably doing what most Chicago founders do at the start. You have six tabs open, three city pages that seem written for lawyers, and one very specific question nobody answers plainly: what do I need to do first? I've been through that loop. The mistake is treating the city of chicago small business process…
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