I’m happy to add RemixGalaxy.com to our portfolio. Development has begun, and 1 month from now you can all visit the actual site.

My mission with midVentures is to enable and develop more tech startups.

With that said, does anyone have an idea they were tossing around? Or perhaps you know someone starting a new project?  Email us!

As time goes on- I want midVentures to be an entrepreneurial lightning rod for ideas and motivated people.

But for now, I think a stroll around Millennium Park is in order. Enjoy your Labor Day.

Entrepreneurship is one of the few career choices where no one can tell you what you are supposed to do. That gives you the freedom to explore new opportunities; but it also forces you to grow up fast- since you are completely responsible for the success of your venture.

I know a lot of leisure-preneurs; people who take up entrepreneurship because it can be a more relaxed and leisurely career choice. I also know many ‘latte-preneurs’ whose entrepreneurial careers center around drinking lattes in quaint coffee shops, discussing mythical ideas.

This blog post is about intentionality- focusing on a goal and executing it- as if the rise or fall of your company and your life depended on your self-discipline. Because it does.

One thing I see as lacking in my college entrepreneurial career is intentionality- the discipline and resolve to act on your conclusions quickly and efficiently. I and my friends would tend to drift along and wait for success to happen to us; as if creating the idea was ambitious enough.

If I were an investor; I would rather invest in a team that displayed conviction in their intentions- even if their idea wasn’t stellar. Self-disciplined people find methods for succeeding; and often recognize that the first method out of the door is not the right one.

In any case; most plans are never executed in any venture- or company, progress breaks down into brainstorming and in-fighting.

So if you are calling yourself an entrepreneur- be intentional about your venture. This is not ‘venture class’, there are no grades; you’re here to execute plans.

Are there too many start-ups in the world? Do we really need another craigslist or facebook knock-off? 

Sometimes it is hard to decipher which of the 200 twitter clones are going to survive the year; and which ones were destined to end as a weekend basement project. It is easy to produce a shoddy website clone as you stay up late nights coding away with some friends. And admittedly, there are too many half-hearted clones floating around the internet.

Yes, there are too many start-ups; but there are also not enough start-ups that have planned every stage of their growth. Not enough start-ups anticipate success- contemplating the legal, managerial, technical, and lifestyle demands that running a company will impose on them.

So a better question might be: are there too many start-ups that have not actually considered turning into real businesses? Would you ever quit your job and run your start-up full-time? Do you have a management team, a legal adviser, a possible investor, a friend who can secure bank loans- as your idea turns into a real company?

Optimistically, I would state confidently that there are many opportunities for start-ups that actually understand the rigors of running a business. Spend a day in the office of a tech start-up; and you will get a glimpse into the hectic maelstrom that is a real start-up; and there are not enough people willing to take on the burden of truly starting a new venture.

How much does it cost to start a company? Everyone has read the magazine articles about the newest millionaire who started his business with $5 and a roll of duct tape. It makes for good airplane reading. But in reality the amount of money you need to start a business highly depends on what type of business you are looking to build.

Service-based Businesses: $0. All you need is a dress shirt and maybe a printer. If you want to start a consulting business, a concierge business, a logo design or web development business, a housecleaning, staffing, accounting, or legal practice business, all you need to do is be qualified to start selling your services. You will probably also need a computer.

Web Business: $1000 – $20,000. The cost of creating a website or web-based business will continue to drop as developers create cheaper and cheaper applications that enable you to start selling something. You can develop a personal brand and an online shopping cart for around $1,000 – $2,000. You can start a networking site like facebook or linkedin for around $5k – $10k. You can even begin selling web-based software for $20k – $50k; if you find a strong niche. And prices will continue to fall.

Storefront Business: $40k – $200k. Franchises, Cafes, and Retail Outlets are a more concrete type of start-up (compared to web businesses or R&D operations). I know some people that started the right type of franchise; and expanded to dozens of locations in 2-3 years- if their finances look good.

Real Estate: $50k – $1m. Buying and selling real estate; and renting that space to tenants- is an accessible way to start a business and earn passive income, without needing to reinvent the wheel. Real Estate is a proven tactic for passive income and occasionally a way to double your money in less than a year.

Software and IT: $50k – $20m. Software, IT, Science, Medicine- these industries demand large-scale innovation; and now you start running into venture capitalists that will invest $30 million in your company; and expect your company to earn over $300 million within 10 years. At this stage; you better have an all-star team, idea, financial projections; and hopefully revenues.

Finance: I have some friends who are starting hedge funds; and I have no idea how much this costs or how they do it. Many finance start-ups are just service-based start-ups; like accounting of financial planning. But hedge funds, banks, stock brokerage firms- I have a feeling you need some real financial muscle.

All things said; there are thousands of multi-million-dollar companies you can start now for less than $5k. At least, that’s my philosophy.

How valuable is a good idea? Whenever someone tells me they would rather invest in the ‘B’ Team with a ‘C’ idea than the ‘C’ team with an ‘A’ idea; I get a bit disillusioned; since I like ‘A’ ideas. Those are the ones that keep me up at night pondering.

The value of a good idea is paradoxical. In one sense; a company only needs a good idea in order to get its foot in the door. A new marketing company might only need a single starter idea to launch it into fame; a software company might only need a single good product to keep rolling out improvements horizontally and vertically.

Yet- an idea might only materialize over the long term of a company. Often- during the first few years; a company with a good idea is indistinguishable from every other operation;and yet at year 5 or 6 its vision or strategic advantage might be manifest in reality.

I have seen the importance of a solid team, an accommodating marketplace, a good economy, a strong support network- in the creation of a new venture. Yet in order to build the next big thing; your idea must bear the bulk of the merit. 

I once read- view that which is closest farthest away, and view that which is farthest as if it were close to you. I think that is good advice for the value of an idea; sometimes it is only a matter of getting your foot in the door; and other times your idea is the backbone of your entire campaign.

Send me all your ‘A’ ideas- even if you are the ‘C’ team.