The 2X CEO BLOG
SPACs are Back
By Bernie Dixon SPACs came out in 2020 like a unicorn tech stock bounding toward success with momentous growth and unimagined adoption rates. With a previously spotty reputation as a kind of substitute for an IPO, SPACs were relegated to the fringes of...
Employee Happiness and Engagement in the New Normal
By Bernie Dixon Trend Series Blogs We all inherently know that employee happiness is crucial for our business. We know that the business gauge has evolved from the old measuring system for employee satisfaction to the new data dashboard for employee happiness....
The CEO Mindset for 2021
What to Watch and What it Can Mean for Your Company By Bernie Dixon I am so ready to end 2020, the year of the pandemic. I am experiencing Zoom fatigue, coronavirus fatigue, and an undying desire for things to return to something resembling normalcy. We all...
Why Women Veterans make great Entrepreneurs
The number of firms owned by women veterans grew nearly 300 percent in a five-year period—and Georgia ranks among the top states for women "vetrepreneurs".This month, America celebrates current and former military service members during Veterans Day. There are plenty...
The M Word Angst
By Bernie Dixon There is still a lot of talk about it. Since going viral in 2018 and hitting Wikipedia about the same time, mansplaining, the so-called incompetence assuming, maybe patronizing, always condescending act of a man (hence the word mansplaining) going to...
5 Things My Pre-Entrepreneur Self Didn’t Know or Truly Understand
It was nearly four years ago when I had a major problem and didn’t have a solution. My husband and I were visiting my parents for the winter holidays and needed to share a room with our then 18-month-old daughter. Because the room wasn’t as dark as her bedroom at...
How to sleep when you’re an Entrepreneur
Why is it hard for me to get a good night’s sleep? It should not come as a shock as to why sleep eludes me; I am a busy entrepreneur with my mind going round the clock. However, the problem for me isn’t falling asleep but waking up during the night. In an effort to...
How to Work an Entrepreneur’s Conference
Venture Atlanta is next week, October 16 & 17, 2018—and it offers entrepreneurs and investors a great forum to meet, establish relationships, and perhaps find some opportunities. You don't have to be on stage or in the showcase to walk away with great ROI for your...
The Power of Showing Up: How Launchpad2X Helped Us Break the Million Dollar Glass Ceiling
According to the Eighth Annual State of Women-Owned Business Report by American Express, only 1.7% of all female-founded businesses will break $1M in annual revenue. If we have the pleasure to meet in person then you’ve heard this statistic because I repeat it to...
Launchpad2X Leads to Cooling Face Mask Partnership for brrr° & MacBick
When Bevin Carter and Mary-Cathryn Kolb met a few years ago as part of a cohort class for Launchpad2X, the pair of mid-career serial entrepreneurs had a lot to talk about. Carter shared her vision for pivoting the business model of a company she acquired, ,,MacBick,...
The Importance of Being Important to Your Clients
In a recent podcast, I heard Seth Godin (entrepreneur, speaker, and writer of 18 books) say something that intrigued me. Paraphrased: "The goal should not be to become big fast, but rather to become important soon." In an entrepreneurial world that talks endlessly...
Mixtroz Combats Video Conference Fatigue in 2020
Fatigue is defined as “extreme tiredness resulting from mental or physical exertion or illness; weakness in materials, especially metal, caused by repeated variations of stress.” In today’s world, we are experiencing fatigue in the form of constant video calls and...
Awkward! You Just Said ‘I Love You’ to a Colleague
So…that actually happened to me last week. I was going over some menus with a chef we work with and I ended the call saying, “Well that all sounds great. Love you. 'Bye!” Cue the awkward pause where my brain caught up to my mouth. Usually I am fairly calm in strange...
How to expand into a new market: Introducing a new product
I started La Belle Bump a few years ago to help women feel both confident and beautiful during pregnancy. During that time, I’ve learned a lot about market trends, consumer needs, and available products. I also started to understand the gaps in the maternity and...
How to shape your startup’s culture
There’s a lot in the media about startup culture that makes it sound both miserable and enviable: the entrepreneurs who work hours so long, they have no other life, but, hey, there’s complimentary shuttle service to work, a company barista who creates art in your...