Articles & Videos

What Happens to the Wealthy if Latest Estate Tax Proposals Pass?

What Happens to the Wealthy if Latest Estate Tax Proposals Pass? If you haven’t heard by now, there is a chance that wealthy business owners could be taking a big hit thanks to a proposal announced last month by the U.S. Treasury Department. We discussed this proposal in a previous blog: “Is Obama Secretly Trying…

Which Taxes Do Taxpayers Hate the Most?

Which Taxes Do Taxpayers Hate the Most? How many different taxes can you think of? Chances are there are too many for the average person to count. While not all taxes are the same, for the most part people don’t enjoy handing over their money to the government for any reason. So, of all the…

Learning to Innovate

Learning to Innovate Despite popular belief, learning to innovate and ideation can be taught in a systematic way. Just as easily, business ideas can be vetted in a systematic way. Rob Ryan took his career into orbit when we discovered a business development model which he calls the sunflower model. He built his company- Ascend…

The Inspiration Behind the One Minute Manager

The Inspiration Behind the One Minute Manager “As John Lennon said, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans” I met Spencer Johnson at a cocktail party in San Diego- he was a children’s book writer. I don’t know if you remember the the value tale series, the value of honesty,…

TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2016- Koder

TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2016- Koder Alan: Hi, I’m here today with Elmer Morales and he is the co-founder or founder of Koder. Elmer: Founder, yes. That’s right. Alan: Welcome to today’s show. Elmer: Thank you. Thanks for having me. Alan: So Elmer, is this your first company? Elmer: It’s actually my fourth, I’ve had a few others before and you know…

TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2016- Lyra

TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2016- Lyra Alan: Hi, this is Alan Olsen, and I’m here today with Dilun Ho. He is one of the co-founders of Lyra. Dilun, welcome to today’s show. Dilun: Thank you. Alan: So Dilun, give us the inspiration behind Lyra and what you see as the vision for your future here. Dilun: So Lyra basically is…

TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2016- Netaround

TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2016- Netaround Alan: Hi, this is Alan Olsen’s American Dreams and I’m here today with Yiqiu Gao and Sijia who are the co-founders of Netaround. Welcome to today’s show. Yiqiu: Hi, American Dreams. Alan: So can you tell me about your company Netaround? Yiqiu: Yeah, so we are actually autonomous social networking. Autonomous social networking means…

TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2016- Gripp

TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2016- Gripp Alan: Hi This is Alan Olsen. I’m here today with Calvin Henderson. He’s the CEO and Co-Founder of Gripp. Calvin Welcome to today’s show. Calvin: Hey Alan thanks a lot Alan: So this is really a new type of technology you got here. Calvin: We essentially created…

TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2016 Prov

TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2016 Prov Alan: Hi, this is Alan Olsen and I’m here today with the CEO, Toby Olshanetsky, and Alexey Sapozhnikov. They are the CEO and CTO of prooV. Welcome to today’s show. Toby: Thank you very much. Alexey: Thanks a lot. Alan: Okay, I’m gonna start with Toby. First of all, you’re…

TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2016- Rolik

TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2016- Rolik Alan: I’m here today with Sergei Gritsenko and he’s the co-founder of Rolik. Sergei, welcome to today’s show. Sergei: Thank you. Nice to meet you as well. Alan: So Sergei, tell me about your company. You currently are doing the world’s first digital video ad in the market place. Sergei:…

TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2016- SAP Hybris

TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2016- SAP Hybris Alan: Hi, this is Alan Olsen, and I’m here today with Samuel Schneider and he is with SAP Hybrid labs. Samuel, welcome to today’s show. Samuel: Hi, thanks. Yeah that was Hybris and Hybris is an SAP company and we are here offering our API market place. Alan: So…

TechCrunch Disrupt 2016- Spherica

TechCrunch Disrupt 2016- Spherica Alan: Hi, this is Alan Olsen. I’m here at TechCrunch and I’m here with Alina Mikhaleva she is the managing partner of a company called Spherica. Welcome to today’s show. Alina: Thank you so much. Thank you for having us. Alan: And also, this is Nick back here and Nick is…

The Biggest Challenge Entrepreneurs Face

The Biggest Challenge Entrepreneurs Face Alan: Running a company is never easy and you know, this show at American Dreams talks about pathways in life. And I had a guest come on once and say “In life there is no path, but it’s really the path is created by the series of choices that we…

Collecting Classic Cars with Ardel Brown

Collecting Classic Cars with Ardel Brown Alan: I’m here today with Ardel Brown and we’re going to be looking at his car collection today. Alan: Ardel this is quite the man cave that you have here Ardel: Well it’s taken a little while to get it developed and fill it up, but it’s pretty full…

Study Shows Benefit of Lower Corporate Taxes

Study Shows Benefit of Lower Corporate Taxes Raise taxes on big business! That’s the cry of democratic lawmakers. Democrats argue that keeping the corporate tax rate high will help increase income for workers. While it’s true that wages have basically remained stagnant over the last decade, and the cost of living has gone up, increasing…

Costly Tax Mistakes Entrepreneurs Have to Avoid

Costly Tax Mistakes Entrepreneurs Have to Avoid Anyone can get into trouble with the IRS, including businesses. It seems as though entrepreneurs are especially susceptible to tax troubles, many times because they simply aren’t aware of all the tax pitfalls that lay ahead. However, many of these mistakes can be easily avoided. The key is…

Will the Wealthy Start Exiting California if Tax Hikes Are Extended?

Will the Wealthy Start Exiting California if Tax Hikes Are Extended? Just about everyone is aware that California has one of the highest tax rates in the country. So it wasn’t much of a surprise when voters passed a temporary tax increase back in 2012 that raised the state’s marginal income tax rate to 13.3…

Do You Still Have Outstanding Business Tax Returns?

Do You Still Have Outstanding Business Tax Returns? Entrepreneurs have a lot on their plate, as do all business owners. However, whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been in business for years, you need to makes sure that you stay up to date on your taxes. Missing taxes returns or filing them late can…

IRS Will Get its Share From Olympic Medalists, Too

IRS Will Get its Share From Olympic Medalists, Too If you’re like most people in the country, and many others around the world, then you’ve been watching the Summer Olympics over the last 10 days or so. After all, they only happen once every four years. There have been many exciting storylines, like Michael Phelps’s…