The third issue of our newsletter, Kaizen, has been published.

It features news about some of the Center’s faculty, last semester’s student prize-winners in Business Ethics—and a feature interview with Anil Singh-Molares, Founder and CEO of EchoMundi and former Senior Director of Vendor Relations at Microsoft.

Mr. Singh-Molares will be visiting Rockford College on September 29th to speak about Entrepreneurship and the Liberal Arts. Further details will be announced as they arise and will be posted at our website.

In the meantime, one can download a PDF version of Kaizen here. Also, we will be posting the full version of the interview with Mr. Singh-Molares soon.

If you would like to receive a complimentary issue of the print version of Kaizen, please email your name and postal address to CEE [at] Rockford.edu.

Here is a great article about a book series that teaches the values of entrepreneurship to children. The first two books are Tyler & His Solve-a-Matic Machine, which won the 2007 iParenting Media Hot Product Award, and Tyler Passes The Golden Key. Their plots “interweave the characters as they become suppliers, customers and referrals for one another, emphasizing the power of networking and its influence on one’s business success.” The author, Jennifer Boudani, actually became an entrepreneur herself, establishing her own publishing company Bouje Publishing after unsuccessfully pitching the series to other publishers.

Meanwhile, FranChild offers children the opportunity to learn first-hand about what it takes to run a business. The company offers four ”franchise-like” business models for kids to choose from: beeswax candles, organic soap, jewelry or apparel. FranChild’s founder was inspired to start the company by his two young sons, who sold hand-rolled beeswax candles as a way to supplement their allowance.

Inc Magazine released its annual top 500/5000 list of fastest growing companies. Taking the top spot is Senior Whole Health, a managed care company based in Massachusetts, with a three-year growth rate of 31,525.4%! Here are some other interesting facts (PDF) derived from the ranking:

Top three industries represented: IT (11.6%), business services (10.6%) and construction (9.2%)

Top three industries by growth rate: energy (298%), government services (220%), security (200%)

Median growth rate: 147%

Top three metro areas by median revenue: Grand Rapids, MI (16 companies and $26.2 million revenue); San Antonio, TX (25 companies and $21.3 million); Baton Rouge, LA (14 companies and $18.8 million)

Start-up funding methods: self-funded (87%), loans from family and friends (19%), bank loans (17%), venture capital (3%)

Median amount of capital used for launch: $25,000

Top three locations of companies: New York metro area (255 companies), Washington, D.C. and suburbs (300), Los Angeles (244)

Median number of employees: 50

Political affiliation: 32% Republican, 10% Democrat, 13% Independent