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January 11th, 2007 | Author: Brock Blake | Permalink
I have to tell you that I’m not that into politics. Should I be? Yes. Do I wish that I was? Yes. In fact, I’m going to have that be a small goal of mine this year — pay more attention to what’s happening with our local and national government officials.
 I guess that this week will be a good first step. If you didn’t know, Mitt Romney announced on Monday the formation of the “Romney for President Exploratory Committee” (which basically means that he has officially filed his papers with the Federal Election Commission to run for the President of the United States). I received about 6 emails on Monday from various people asking for my support through a financial donation (each person can donate up to $2100 or $4200 per couple) — I even had an email (via a friend) come from Mitt’s son Craig.
Here is what the email from Criag Romney said:
As you may know, my dad filed papers to form an exploratory committee earlier today to test the waters to run for President in 2008.
One of the keys to be able to do this is to raise a significant amount of money over the next 12 months. Candidates will need to raise about $100 million over that period to be considered serious contenders for the Presidency. The first few weeks after announcing the formation of an exploratory committee are critical in that they demonstrate the candidates ability to raise this kind of money.
As a result, I am asking you to help me raise money for my dad’s exploratory committee. On January 8th, he will be hold a National Call Day in Boston during which time many of his supporters will gather to call friends and family to request them to make donations to the committee.
Please let me know if you have any questions and feel free to take a look at my dad’s positions at www.thecommonwealthpac.com.
From the sounds of it, it appears that Mitt is already well on his way to raising the $100 million necessary. Here is an excerpt from an email that I received Monday night:
As you may have heard through the many news reports, we had a very successful day today in Boston! Governor Romney and the national finance team conducted a National Call Day, raising in excess of $6.5 million towards the Romney for President Exploratory Committee. A record day which illustrates and validates the depth of the grass roots effort that has begun in support of Mitt and Ann Romney and their presidential aspirations. It was an amazing thing to witness the success of the day through so many contributions from so many people, especially recognizing that no one contribution could exceed $2,100. Never before has any presidential aspirant raised so much in so little time. Governor Romney has established his leadership through past successes, and further evidences his position as a top tier candidate for the Presidency of the United States by his positions on issues before us, his personal character and integrity, and in his capacity to garner substantial grass roots support.
I am intentionally excluding personal opinions regarding Mitt and the 2008 election until I have formalized a more concrete opinion. Early on, I do like Mitt and have been impressed with his successes as Governor of Massachusetts and President of the Salt Lake Olympic Committee.
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January 11th, 2007 | Author: Chris Knudsen | Permalink
Last night it really dawned on me how revolutionary Apple TV is going to be. In the grand scheme of thing, Apple TV is much more revolutionary than the iPhone. Here’s the way it is…
What does Apple TV mean for the Consumer?
For the consumer Apple TV represents a revolutionary change in the way you view TV. It is now possible to download only the shows you want to watch, have them wirelessly transmitted to your Apple TV consul and then watch them whenever you want. It means completely customizable programming. It means I don’t have to pay for stations I don’t want. It means I don’t need a costly and under capacitated DVR. It means I can watch TV without commercials whenever I want - not when the networks tell me it going to be on. It also means turning my TV into a vehicle for listening to podcasts, music and viewing of my digital photos whenever I want. The TV is now released from the constraints of traditional networks, cable and satellite programming.
Think about the impact. I can download an entire season of The Office to iTunes and then wirelessly transmit it to my Apple TV consul. I can then watch it whenever I want - not on Thursday’s at 8 pm. If I want to do that right now I have to download the episode and watch it on my iPod, which isn’t as great as watching it on my awesome 40″ Sony 1080p HDMI flat panel.
What does this mean for the TV networks?
These guys are screwed. Unless they figure out how to compete, Rockefeller Center is going to have a “for lease” sign on the side of it in under five years. If you ask me, Apple is going to become their own network and take all the business away from these guys just like they are doing in the music industry right now. TV is the next step. The networks are going to have to work with the providers to figure out a way to make money without commercials and to offer on demand and completely customizable programming if they are going to remain relevant.
What does this mean for movies?
If I’m running a movie studio I think I would love this device. If I owned a movie theater, I would put it on the market and get out. There’s been a dramatic drop off at movie theaters because of cost, the crowed and the crap content. Furthermore, TV technology is getting so good that you can get theater quality viewing in your home for only a couple of thousands of dollars. If there is anything I want to see I usually wait for it to come out on DVD and then watch it in the comfort of my own home. Let’s use the example of Pirates of the Caribbean 2. The first one was a big hit. Why not distribute POTC2 through Apple and allow people to download it directly to their Apple TV consul? You would bypass the theater distribution costs (which are very high) going direct to the customer; However, Apple would take their cut. Still, if I could get POTC2 download to my Apple TV on opening night and not fight the theater crowds - I’m all in.
What does this mean for the cable and satellite providers?
In order for the satellite and cable providers to remain relevant they are going to have to stream on demand programming and they are going to have to allow their customers to completely customize their programming. Frankly, I think they are going to have to dump the subscription model and rev share with the networks as well. This means a complete departure from their current business model, which for most large companies is a very hard thing to change. Given this, if I were a cable provider I would start thinking heavily about my future as a VOiP provider and wireless ISP. TV is not in their future.
What does this mean for Apple?
In 10 years Apple will dominate the music, movie and TV space. They will own the majority of the market. That means you should buy Apple stock right now. Last year, I read a lot about the idea that TV networks would be irrelevant in 10 years time. Apple TV represents the beginning of a revolution in TV and movie distribution that, in my opinion, will eventually mean the end of traditional TV networks as we know them today. Its going to hit the industry like a tidal wave. Look at what’s happening to the music industry right now. That’s the TV industry in three years.
The bottom line…
This is very exciting. TV, movies and music are now becoming fully mass customizable through Apple. It’s something I’ve been waiting to see for a long time. Even though Apple has been doing this for years in the music industry I finally see where they intend to really go.
I’ve got to admit - I’m starting to sip the cool aid.
Posted in Entrepreneurship | Comments Off
January 10th, 2007 | Author: Brock Blake | Permalink
I’m totally stoked. Trent got our company histories back up on our website and I’ve had a great time learning; I spent about 30 minutes reading the histories of Berkshire Hathaway and Big O Tires tonight.
While it was obviously edifying to read about Warren Buffet and his long career of successful investing, it was even more fun for me to read about a local businessman named Steve Cloward. Steve spent most of his career as the President of Big O Tires. Now, he is the Director of the Davis Business Alliance which includes the Grow Utah Venture’s sponsored Davis eStation. Here is an excerpt from the Big O Tire Company history that talks about Steve:
By 1984 Big O recognized the need to change with the times and turned the company leadership position over to Steven P. Cloward, who had begun his career as a territorial sales representative for Michelin based in northern California. Big O had been one of his accounts and he soon became assistant to the Area Director of Big O Tires of Northern California. Cloward also accepted the position as president of William B. Thomas Enterprises, the largest of the area tire distributors, and shortly thereafter he orchestrated the merging of “his” two companies.
According to company records, Cloward reasoned that “The better job you do at conveying your genuine interest in a customer, the more customer inventory base you’re going to build, the more repeat business you’re going to get, the more positive word of mouth–the net result is a more successful business. The times may change, but the basic needs to satisfy customers will not.”
Steve attended our last SpeedPitching event here in Utah and enjoyed the experience. He’s a great guy and someone that I respect.
If you haven’t had a chance to check out the 10,000 company histories, I recommend that you do. Not only does it provide a great learning experience, you might read about someone you know!
Posted in Entrepreneurship | Comments Off
January 10th, 2007 | Author: JeremyNeilson | Permalink
Part 2.
Due to the factors that surround the VC decision makers an entrepreneur must know what VC money is and is not – or should or should not be. VC money is meant to take a company that needs a healthy portion of capital in order to grow very large very fast. For instance: a typical VC worth tech company is one that has $2 million or more in revenue, notable customers purchasing the product or service, the market the company is competing in or living in is very large, like $1 billion (if you captured the entire market you would bring in $1 billion in annual revenue) and the entrepreneur wants to grow quickly so it can get large enough to fight off inevitable competition (if you think there is no competition looming in the shadows you are wrong).
Hence, an entrepreneur thinking about taking VC money must have the mind set: if I received $5 million today and gave up 50% of my company (maybe 75% or more before the end) and this money and the individuals that invested in me helped my company grow from $2 million in sales to $45 million in sales, my remaining 50% or 25% is worth more than if I did not take VC money and grew my company slowly and was eventually pushed out by a bigger provider. An entrepreneur must realize that a $45 million annual revenue company can battle other larger companies for customers and can be an attractive acquisition target or IPO candidate where such a company can be worth 3x revenue. But a small $2 - $8 million company cannot battle is not often attractive and might not demand large multiples. There is nothing wrong with a small company and $2 million in revenue is great but if you want VC money you have to look at your business and growth in a particular way.
Posted in Funding | Add Comment
January 10th, 2007 | Author: Jeff Barson | Permalink
 One of the businesses I own is Surface Medical.
A perk of being a owner is that you can do stuff for your buddies.
So, if there's anyone (even lurkers) who would like to get in good with your wife, even it it's getting laser hair removal on your back, let me know and I'll hook you up.
This is kind of an ongoing offer so if you bump into me at Fight Club or Market Street (where it seems everyone eats in down town Salt Lake) mention something to me and you're set. You could also email me.
I hooked up Ryan Money. You'll have to ask him yourself if he's in better with his wife or not.
Here's a partial list of services we provide (before and after pictures) so you can see what your wife will look like after you do the good deed:
I copied the code for the before and after pictures off of the Surface web site so don't hold the navigation troubles against me.
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January 10th, 2007 | Author: Jeff Barson | Permalink
One of the businesses I own is Surface Medical.
A perk of being a owner is that you can do stuff for your buddies. (If they're good buddies and you like them.)
So, if there's anyone (even lurkers) who would like to get in good with your wife, even it it's getting laser hair removal on your back, let me know and I'll hook you up.
This is kind of an ongoing offer so if you bump into me at Fight Club or Market Street (where it seems everyone eats in down town Salt Lake) mention something to me and you're set. You could also email me.
I hooked up Ryan Money. You'll have to ask him yourself if he's in better with his wife or not.
Here's a partial list of services we provide (before and after pictures) so you can see what your wife will look like after you do the good deed:
I copied the code for the before and after pictures off of the Surface web site so don't hold the navigation troubles against me.
Posted in Entrepreneurship | Comments Off
January 10th, 2007 | Author: Chris Knudsen | Permalink
I’m here at Mac World in San Francisco having a great time. I’m blogging from the Microsoft Bloggers Lounge. There’s one other person in “the lounge” blogging with me. Needless to say, MS isn’t too popular here. Their booth is virtually empty. They even have a guy looking over my shoulder to make sure that I am blogging and not reading my email. Lame!
Here are a couple of observations from the show:
- Google is obviously positioning themselves to make a play in the graphic design arena. Not a good move if you ask me. The Adobe booth is packed - its one of the busiest booths at this show and they are launching some very cool products.
- iPhone is cool; however, I think it will have some drawbacks. You can only use Cingular as your service provider and Cingular sucks in Utah. As a matter of fact, the cingular service dropped a call and then the phone couldn’t get Internet access in front of a demo group of about 500 people. I also heard that the Cingular CEO blew the keynote yesterday. The phone/PDA/iPod is completely touch screen, which means that if you want to use it to view video or pictures you’re going to be constantly wiping finger prints and facial oil off the screen. I am concerned by the amount of technology packed into this tiny device. I’m not sure if I would recommend buying version 1.0 of this device but we’ll see what happens. Overall, I was impressed. People in the demo were clapping and cheering at some of the functionality (like proximity detection). I’ve learned being here that its not too hard to impress a Mac fanatic.
- Apple TV is amazing. I was taken back by the product and I think it could be huge. In my opinion, Apple should be giving this equal or more attention than the iPhone.
- The Canon booth is nuts - they have some amazing products. HP’s digital photo products are getting a ton of attention as well.
- I stopped by the Shieldzone booth earlier and they were very busy. This is a great venue for them.
More to come…
Posted in Entrepreneurship | Comments Off
January 10th, 2007 | Author: AlexKoritz | Permalink
2006 was ripe with classic PR blunders. Here’s my list of the top 5 PR blunders of the last year. My list includes business, sports, celebrities, and politics—thanks to the Bush Administration, which provided plenty of political PR blunders to choose from. Here we go:
1. Dick Cheney Shoots His Buddy: the Vice President’s hunting incident, the accidental shooting of friend Harry Whittington, was a classic, case-in-point PR blunder. The mistake? The delay in immediately telling the public what happened. If you ignore the media and there’s a vacuum to be filled, guaranteed they will fill it! And when the administration finally responded, they had the audacity to suggest that Whittington was at fault. I’m not sure if Vice President Cheney’s Press Secretary was absent, incompetent, or just shut out of the loop (most likely scenario), but the PR blunder is obvious.
The lesson: provide the public/media immediate and accurate information and take responsibility for your actions.
2. The OJ Book Controversy: This just amazed me. The book, discussing how he would have killed his wife “If I Did It,” is being published by ReganBooks, a division of HarperCollins, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. That’s bad enough for Rupert, but to make things worse, Fox planned on airing an interview with OJ discussing the book! Fox then would not even comment on the interview. How could Fox not have predicted the public’s reaction to this?
The Lesson: look ahead, how are your actions going to be perceived by the public?
3. Michael “Kramer” Richards Rant: this racial outburst at an L.A. comedy club went on for several minutes. Richards did end up apologizing, but this type of blunder is tough to recover from.
The Lesson: for Richards, at least, stick to comedy shows and not live standup. That will make it much easier to control what comes out of your mouth.
4. HP Spying Scandal: I’ve already written about this, so I’ll be short. HP chairwoman, Patricia Dunn, wanted to know who was leaking information to the press and implemented the now infamous data-mining spying campaign by hiring a team of security experts to spy on 10 directors, the media and other influencers. The question everyone is asking? Where was PR?
The Lesson: PR needs to be present in the decision making process.
5. For Local Flair, Larry H. Miller and the EnergySolutions Arena: Just about every Utahn was a little disappointed to have their arena renamed after a waste management company. Linda Luchetti, vice president of communications for Larry H. Miller Sports and Entertainment, provided this statement, “We approached EnergySolutions because of their involvement in the community and the values we hold in common. They fit with what we’re trying to do. We both emphasize education and the importance of giving back to the community.” The same values? Okay, I’m going to avoid the politics of this, but Larry Miller should have better anticipated the community’s reaction to this.
The Lesson: Again, look ahead; anticipate the public’s reaction.
Common themes:
• Organizations need to better anticipate the public’s reaction to their actions.
• PR needs to participate in the decision making process.
• When a crises hits, immediately respond to the media and the public.
• Take responsibility for your mistakes
Alex Koritz
Posted in Public Relations | 2 Comments
January 10th, 2007 | Author: AubreyCichelli | Permalink
It happens to the best of us, and certainly many of the clients I have worked with. We become so caught up in our company, our product, ourselves, that we can’t see the bigger picture or the real story.
Because we dedicate the majority of our time to our job, it’s difficult not to drink the corporate kool-aid. We become convinced that the story we have to share is the best story out there, and certainly one that Oprah would be interested in.
And unfortunately, I see more and more companies trying to promote themselves to media outlets in such a fashion that they end up getting no love from the media at all. They go to journalists looking for a story about the company or about themselves, when really they should be going to the journalist with information on how that specific company or product fits within a bigger picture that both the journalist and the journalist’s readers will care about.
So what is the bigger picture? It’s the world outside your office walls. What you need to start looking for is the bigger trend, the bigger story, that affects a lot of people, and how does your company fit into that picture.
For example, let’s say you are a preparing to launch a new Web site. The fact that you have a new Web site may be huge news to you, but there are hundreds of thousands of new Web sites launching daily and so to get a journalist’s attention you have to prove that it should be huge news to them and their readers.
So how do you fit into a bigger trend, or the big picture? Is your new site providing a new way to shop online? Research the percentage increase of online shoppers from 2005’s holiday season to this past holiday season. Identify 2-3 differentiating figures about the way you provide online shopping versus your closest competitors and research to make sure those elements are unique. You’ll be surprised at how many people are already doing what you may think is unique about you. If you take something that’s old news to a journalist you will instantly lose credibility. Finally, provide the journalist with information and statistics about the trends of online shopping. Journalists love, and will use, valid statistics.
Essentially, help the journalist see how you – your company, your product, your CEO, whatever you want to promote – fit into the realms of a bigger story. By identifying the bigger picture, you will become part of that bigger story.
And the brutal truth is, unless you’re Tom Cruise or another A-list celebrity who wants to jump up and down on her couch, Oprah is most likely not interested.
Posted in Public Relations, Marketing | Add Comment
January 10th, 2007 | Author: Brock Blake | Permalink
A few weeks ago, Chris Knudsen wrote a blog entry on the lack of value he has seen from his membership at LinkedIn. I guess he wasn’t really saying that there is not value, he was just commenting that he hasn’t seen much personal value.
 I have always liked LinkedIn, but his post did make me think about the benefits that I have seen because of my membership. Though I haven’t used LinkedIn as much as I should, I really believe that it can be very beneficial to your business networking — you just need to take advantage.
To be honest, I don’t think that I’ve ever denied a LinkedIn introduction — I’ve always passed them on. I’m guessing that others would do the same if I were to ask for introductions or favors.
Guy Kawasaki wrote an entry this week on 10 Ways to use LinkedIn and I believe that it provides valuable tips. I love networking and believe that it is an important part of business. Hopefully, I can transfer the networking into an online environment to take advantage of LinkedIn and other technology advances. Here are his 10 tips summarized:
- Increase your visibility
- Improve your connectability
- Improve your Google Page Rank
- Enhance your search engine results
- Perform blind, “reverse,” and company reference checks
- Increase the relevancy of your job search
- Make your interview go smoother
- Gauge the health of a company
- Gauge the health of an industry
- Track startups
- (Bonus) Ask for advice
That being said… if you are a member of LinkedIn and we are not connected, feel free to send me the invite. (Don’t get me wrong…I’m not trying to be a LinkedIn spammer or enter into a LinkedIn popularity contest — I don’t think that it’s valuable to connect to strangers.) But if we have had some interaction, let’s get connected! If we haven’t had any interaction, I’d prefer to meet you or get to know you before connecting up.
Feel free to send me an email at bblake at fundinguniverse.com.
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