A First: A Reader Who Has Inspired Not One But Two Stories

Posted by: John A. Byrne on June 11

On our home page today you’ll see a nod to BusinessWeek reader Marcia McLean (left), a high-tech entrepreneur based in Cape Cod, Mass., for suggesting a story idea on this blog that one of our small biz writers, Stacy Perman, reported: “Seniors as Entrepreneurs: Their Time Has Come.”

This marks Marcia’s second successful story pitch (a first for us), as one of our innovation writers, Damian Joseph, last month reported another of Marcia’s story ideas, which resulted in: “An Explosion in Women-Owned Companies.”

We contacted Marcia to thank her for another smart idea, and asked her if the stories lived up to her expectations. Of the two, she told us she related to the story on boomer entrepreneurs.

“I thought Stacy Perman’s piece on seniors was superb - exactly the tone and positioning I’d hoped for, lots of great statistics. Her realization that this is a very under-investigated area was an excellent insight, too. I was also delighted to learn about the Purpose Prize and the great number of entries.”

She also found Stacy’s story inspiring. “It was really positive and upbeat, portraying seniors as people with valuable business experience and insights. It’s the kind of article that makes you proud of your fellow entrepreneurs and happy for their success.”

Marcia, we appreciate not only your smart story ideas, but your frank assessment of whether we lived up to your expectations. Thanks again and I’ll be sharing your feedback.