Capital Connections Survey

Last night was the third Capital Connections event put on by the guys from Startup Lounge.  Another great event.  The only problem was that there were so many people there it was a bit crowded.   But that is a good problem to have.  Personally my only compliant is the constant ribbing I took for having "Observer" on my badge.  I never just observe anything.  Does anybody?  What about the observer effect?

Regardless, I saw some new companies that I had not seen before and some that have been around for awhile.  One of the companies that showed up for the first time was dNeero.  I have been helping the Joes out for a while and it was good to see them bringing the company out in the light.  dNeero gets my award for the best promotion, edging the guy holding the light bulb on the pole ala a music festival that I did not get a chance to meet 

dNeero gave out flyers encouraging attendee's to take a survey and post it on their blog.  Mine is below.  If you attended take CapCon last night take the time to fill it out.  It will make for a better event next time.

Mentors Wanted

Lots of folks have asked what Tony leaving ATDC means for me.  Not much really.  I suppose I get to do more interesting activities.  One of those is taking Tony's place on the GRA/TAG Business Launch Competition Task Force. 

In this role Tino Mantellla has asked me to recruit a number of mentors to help the applicants.  Mentors are successful high tech entrepreneurs who are interested in giving back to the community by helping other entrepreneurs be successful.  Mentors essentially help entrants refine their business plans and presentations before the final application is submitted.  The specific role of the mentor is determined between the mentor and entrant.   

So if you are a successful entrepreneur that knows what a business plan and presentation needs to convey, understands the Internet space, and has a little time to devote between mid February and mid April to help other entrepreneurs, I would love to hear from you.

You can reach me at lance at weatherby.net.

Super Vote Tuesday

I am going to go vote today as I ususally do when given the privilege.  It makes me feel proud to live in this great country of ours.  And despite the challenges we face this election year this country is great.

 I came into work real early this morning, have a series of meetings, and then am going to the polling place to vote before heading home to take care of Kate and Jack who remain sick.

Last night Abby and I discussed the election over dinner.  I had not made up my mind on who I was going to vote for.  Last election I voted for the guy that lost.  My vote was driven by social issues.  This year fiscal issues are driving my decision.  Which made me state pretty early on that I won't vote for any candidate that wants to raise taxes.  I admire the leadership that Hillary and Obama are displaying, but I can't vote for them.

And while I am not a staunch died in the wool Republican (remember, I voted for the other guy last time) this leaves me with McCain and Romney.  They both scare me in some way, mostly over social issues, but if they win my taxes are not going up.  But McCain seems too old, too inside, and too pandering for the conservative vote.  Mitt won my vote in the California debate.  He seems to be the only person that understands and willing to address that we have to stop treating entitlement spending as a fixed cost.  He wants to do this via private retirements accounts.  He wants to offer tax breaks to people making less then $200,000 eliminating capital gains tax (thus spurring innovation), interest, and dividends for most.  He wants to pay for this by cutting government spending.  Sounds good to me.

On another level Mitt seems the most executive like to me of all the candidates. And I want an executive to run the executive branch.  So Mitt gets my vote today.  Like the Giants, he is the dog.  Like the Giants, I hope he wins.  If he does not I don't know what I am going to do come November.

If you want to find out where to vote and get a summary of the issues go to this article by Tessa.  And if you are looking for some motivation to vote go read this by Seth.

Super Bowl Sunday

Sunday started with a bang for me with a flag football game partially played in Piedmont Park (site of the first Auburn/Georgia football game played in 1892 that kicked off the oldest football rivalry in the South.)  The black team beat the red team 77 - 56.  Like most football games the outcome was determined by turnovers.

Now I am starting feel the effects of two and a half hours of football and starting to think about the Super Bowl.  This year is not as exciting for me as last when I was cheering on the Bears.  But it is an interesting game with history on the line.

While I was hoping to see the Packers in this one so that Favre could ride off into the sunset, I am going to be cheering for the underdog Giants.  Not because they are dogs.  I have cheered for them from my Hoboken days when I was lucky enough to make it out to Giants Stadium once or twice to see the great LT play.  That man was scary fast.  Regardless, I was rooting for them from a Hoboken bar in Super Bowl XXV when they beat the Bills.  I was in the stadium looking for some O when the Ravens defense shut them down in Super Bowl XXXV.  Tonight I am going to be cheering them on from my couch with two sick kids.

Their are some interesting technical innovations that will be happening during the game.  There is going to be the first Twitter Bowl, where twitter users can send tweets to @superbowlads rating commercials.  Those following will have a pretty good idea of the ad scorecard as the game progresses.

The NFL is going to let fans help pick the game's MVP.  During the fourth quarter fans can vote at Super Bowl web site or by texting to 99777.  The fans vote counts for 20% with media getting 80%.

So I am going to be rooting for the Giants, watching the ads, playing with some tech stuff, and taking care of the kids. 

My prediction?  Plaxico almost has it right.  Add ten points to his call of 23-17 and switch the winner.  The Giants cover, but lose 33 - 27.  I hope I am wrong, because I really want the 85 Bears to remain the 2nd greatest team to play in my lifetime.

Double Quote of the Week

“Social networking inventory is not monetizing as well as expected.”

George Reyes

"While Google management insisted on the call that the company beat its internal growth estimates, that's like your kid getting a C grade versus your B+ expectation, and then attempting to explain it away by saying that he/she had thought they were going to do worse."

Paul Kedrosky