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Bipartisan Policy Center
We can all agree… that we can all agree on some things sometimes–even when it comes to politics. I tend to like when the disagreement between the two parties locks things up because it means that the...
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Camping World
I am an outdoorsman. I fish, I hunt, and try to spend as much time in the wilderness as I can. Ok, that’s not completely true. I tend to stay in hotels/motels on my fishing trips, but I know a lot of...
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Friends of the Forest Preserves
Living in a city can be hard when you love nature and the outdoors, but there’s usually a way to get a fix. Here in Chicago we have Lake Michigan and Forest Preserves. The forest preserves are run by...
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Vitamix
About 10 years ago I bought a Magic Bullet (in a store, not through the infomercial). I don’t often need a blender, so it has served me well for making the occasional smoothie, pureeing veggies for...
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GoPro
Do any of you remember Flip cameras? They were all the rage for a few years, and then they got completely crushed by smartphones. Who would buy a standalone consumer level point and shoot or video...
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Tri-State Transportation Campaign
I grew up about 45 miles outside of New York City. While my parents always worked within five minutes of our house, a lot of my friends’ parents commuted in to the city. Most took the train, but some...
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Kellen Company
When a group of people or businesses have a shared interest, they often form an association. Even in extremely competitive markets, it can make sense to come together and work towards common goals. As...
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Digital Promise
I’ve heard that the way math is taught in schools has completely changed since I learned to add, subtract, multiply, and divide. That seems crazy to me, but I know that there is a ton of room for...
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RocksBox
A year or two ago subscription boxes were the hot business model. Startups were finding anything they could to shove in a box and send to customers once a month for 20 bucks. Lately, I’ve been seeing...
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Groundspeak
I love GPS. I have the technology in my phone (like most people these days), my camera, and even a dog collar. It’s great to know exactly where you are, where you’ve been, and where you’re...
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Global Financial Integrity
I love shows like The Wire, Breaking Bad, and The Sopranos. One common theme in all of those shows is money laundering. When you earn a lot of money illegally, you have to find a way to make it...
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K2M
There’s an episode of Saved by the Bell where Zack Morris convinces Mr. Tuttle (the head of the teacher’s union) that Mr. Belding called him a “spineless jellyfish.” That’s a pretty big insult to...
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Amazon Watch
It’s easy to forget how important certain ecosystems have been to the development of human civilization. With agriculture, industry, and transportation, we can make any place on this earth habitable....
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Liferay
It used to be that most websites were the same for everybody, but today almost everything seems to be personalized. Whether I log into Facebook, search on Google, or visit a jobs website, there’s a...
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Emmi Solutions
When we talk about healthcare, we talk about doctors, hospitals, biotech companies, insurers, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and even the government. We often forget that we’re the most important part...
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RealMassive
I’ve worked in two real offices in my life (I’ve mostly worked from home). The first was in an old tide mill on a bridge in an estuary. The second was a beautiful building located on 377 acres of...
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Triggit
Have you ever thought that you accidentally liked something on Facebook because a post suddenly showed up in your feed from a site that you recently visited? It’s creepy, right? It’s called...
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Room to Grow
Becoming a new parent is hard no matter what your situation (at least that’s what I hear), but it’s typically much harder for someone living in poverty. While finances are a big part of it, there are...
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Justice Policy Institute
One of the core functions of nearly every government is to provide a justice system. While one would think that justice and fairness go hand in hand, that often doesn’t seem to be the case. Our...
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Local Initiatives Support Corporation
From what I’ve seen, the non-profits that work at the community level often have the most impact. They may be smaller, but they’re in touch with the most pressing needs and able to react quickly to...
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HDMZ
The key to effective marketing and advertising is distilling a brand, product, or service into a simple message that the target customers can relate to. For some products that’s really easy, but there...
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Small Business Majority
Think about your favorite small business. If you like it enough for it to be your favorite, they’re probably doing a lot of things right–but chances are that they still face a lot of serious...
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RelayRides
The last time that Amy and I reserved a rental car, they didn’t have a car for us when we showed up. It was straight out of Seinfeld’s The Car Reservation, except the agent didn’t even try to help us....
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Team Detroit
I have a soft spot for Detroit, the entire state of Michigan, and Vernor’s Ginger Ale. My Dad’s entire family is from the Detroit area (including a former mayor going way back), but now I only have...
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Spatial
We live in a 3D world, but we’ve often been constrained by two-dimensional mediums. For a long time it was pencil and paper, but then it became computers. They brought the hope of real 3D...
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Goodweave
For some people a rug is a functional thing, for others it’s art. A handmade carpet can drastically improve the way a room looks–it can bring an exotic flair to an otherwise muted decor. The problem...
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GuideSpark
Chances are that most of your communications with employers at this point are your submitting applications and their not responding. If you’re lucky, you may get a rejection letter… or even an...
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Vayable
I come up with a lot of business ideas. More often than not I find that someone is already doing it–and usually I’m fine with that. It’s cool to see someone putting the idea to the test since I can’t...
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Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition
Bikes have to be one of the most versatile inventions of all time. They’re transportation, entertainment, and exercise all in one. You can even rig one to turn human power into electricity if you...
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Juvenile Law Center
Have any of you seen the movie North? Roger Ebert said, “North is a bad film – one of the worst movies ever made” (and Siskel agreed). I sheepishly admit that I liked it. It’s about a kid who sues his...
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