Author Archives: Mark McGuire

About Mark McGuire

Entrepreneur.

Biking Home

Posted on August 6, 2020

It takes me around 5 hours to drive the 295 miles between our home in Minneapolis and our cottage outside of Watersmeet, Michigan.  I’ve driven the route countless times.  It’s a chore. For years I’ve thought about making the trip … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

The Startup Maze

Posted on June 22, 2016

I recently gave a talk at UW-Madison.  The presentation–part of WARF’s Entrepreneurons Series–was about entrepreneurship generally, and more specifically, about what it’s like to think up, launch and scale a start up.  It’s something I’ve done four times, and I really … Continue reading →

Posted in Entrepreneurship, Start-Ups, Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Find the Experts-How to use Podcasts & Curated Lists to get Smarter/Faster/Better

Posted on October 13, 2015

In my last post announcing my EIR role at American Family Ventures, I mentioned how much I value working shoulder to shoulder with smart people. Today, I want to highlight another method to surround yourself with brilliant people that can … Continue reading →

Posted in Entrepreneurship, Start-Ups | 1 Comment

Why I’m Working at an Insurance Company

Posted on September 3, 2015

I just finished a year off. As I mentioned here (Why I’m Taking a Sabbatical), I set out to have an adventure with my family and to better answer the question “what am I on this earth to do?”  It was … Continue reading →

Posted in Entrepreneurship, Start-Ups | 6 Comments

What We Can Learn from Silicon Valley

Posted on July 14, 2015

I’ll admit it. As an entrepreneur working in Wisconsin, I’m jealous of Silicon Valley. Case in Point: A few weeks ago, a social planning app called Free (Ffrree.com) launched. It wasn’t much different than the dozens of other mobile apps … Continue reading →

Posted in Entrepreneurship | 2 Comments

Travel School. What I Learned Homeschooling my Son for Five Months

Posted on June 25, 2015

My wife, son and I just returned from a 5-month trip. We spent most of this time sailing a boat from Grenada to the Virgin Islands. Just the three of us—it was an amazing, inspiring, awesomely fun adventure. I had … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure, Entrepreneurship | 3 Comments

Re-Entry—It Isn’t Just Hard On Astronauts

Posted on June 2, 2015

We are back. Just a few short weeks ago Sarah, Jimmy and I stepped off the boat that had been our short term home and began a 22 hour journey from Tortola, B.V.I., that included a ridiculously dangerous taxi ride, … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure, Entrepreneurship | Leave a comment

New Friends & Sad Endings

Posted on May 24, 2015

“Welcome back,” the Cruz Bay Customs Official said to me as I stepped up to clear into the United States on the island of St John. After the longest absence of our lives, we were back on U.S. soil. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure | 8 Comments

Into the Dark

Posted on May 7, 2015

“I think I just saw an old colonial woman out there,” Sarah said to Jimmy and me as she rejoined us at the helm. Having not seen the movie Bridesmaids, I didn’t immediately get the joke, but quickly realized that I … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Up Island

Posted on April 24, 2015

Traveling the Caribbean by sailboat is something that I’ve dreamed about for years.  And I can now confirm that the actual experience is even better than I expected.  After saying goodbye to our college girls, Sarah, Jimmy and I departed Antigua and started heading … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure | 9 Comments