Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Bernard Lunn on the New Economy (excellent commentary)


Some really wonderful thoughts and top-notch commentary on the new Internet methods (aka Web 1.0 & Web 2.0) and how they affect traditional & new businesses in the economy.

Best discussion I've seen yet.

From Bernard Lunn's ReadWriteWeb blog:
Part 1 - Post-Recession Phase Transition (4/27/08)
Part 2 - The Emerging Main Street Web (4/29/08)

- Mitchell Tsai (Harvard '86) - CEO, Spiritual Business Companions : FriendFeed, LinkedIn, Facebook

Monday, April 28, 2008

xxfactor: WOMEN+LEADERSHIP (Stanford, Sat 5/17/08, Free)

Austin Lin posted an update about this on Facebook.
xxfactor WOMEN+LEADERSHIP conference


Keynote Speaker: Trae Vassallo (Stanford MBA 2000) - Partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers

WHEN: Saturday, 17 May 2008 (8:00 AM - 6:00 PM)
WHERE: Stanford Graduate School of Business
COST: There is no charge for this event. Meals are included.

REGISTER: Register by 5 May 2008 (5:00 PM) to reserve your place. ...

"This sounds like a great event if you've even considered going to business school and want an excuse to go to Palo Alto May 17th."

- Mitchell Tsai (Harvard '86) - CEO, Spiritual Business Companions : FriendFeed, LinkedIn, Facebook

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Describe your business in 7 words (or less)

UPDATED: Wed 5/7/08 2 PM PT

The scenario I like to give entrepreneurs is
a) You are stuck in elevator with Bill Gates or Melinda Gates, who's in a conversation.
b) Can you give Bill/Melinda your business card with "7 words" on the back, and attract their attention?

What will make Bill/Melinda?
1) Ask you for a 15-sec pitch
2) Then ask you for a 60-sec description
3) ...and for a few minutes off the elevator
4) ...and lunch the next week

Your chances of getting LOTS of FREE ADVICE from people who charge $1,000+/hr....is much better when they don't feel like they have to "do work" in order to help you; e.g.

[in 5 seconds] "My idea is X. Can you help connect me with Person-Y and Organization-Z? No, sorry to bother you."

Practice this 5 second approach at networking events.

---------------------------------------------
*** MULTIPLE SETS of 7 WORDS ***
---------------------------------------------

The "7 words" may depend on who you're pitching -
Stakeholders, Stockholders, Customers, VCs, Funders, Tech, Media, Bloggers, Possible employees, Possible Business Associates, Family, Public

It's a combination of marketing & technology showing insight into your products & insight into your audience (Customers, Possible Employees, etc...)

In the new Twitter world, pitch your stuff in 140 chars (including someone's Twitter address and some other words), so concise marketing is key.

For techies, perhaps a 15-sec YouTube!

---------------------------------------------------------
*** Faster Top-down approach to Business Plans: ***
---------------------------------------------------------

1) 7-words
2) Executive Summary - 1 paragraph
3) 1-Page with Marketing Plan, Tech Overview, Financials, Market Analysis, and anything important.

Oh yeah. I'm going to read the 1 page in 5-10 seconds. Good visual layout. Both your strengths and your WEAKNESSES (I want to know if I and my network are a good fit for your problems...)

...then you can use the traditional 2-10-100+ page business plans. A traditional business plan helps me see that an amateur businessperson can cover the bases. What impresses more is someone who can distill the important DISTINGUISHING features into 1 or 2 pages. If that's present, business plans always change.

Inc 500's study showed that businesses who stick to their business plans actually fail at a FASTER rate!

This exercise is not mine. It's a personal variation of one I learned when first working in Venture Capital in the 1990s.

When you're pitching me (or any VC or possible advisor/mentor), don't make me feel like I'm going to the dentist.

Ideally, I'd like to be very relaxed, and truly interested in what you're saying.

If you've lost me after 15 seconds, it's going to be tough to hear a convoluted 15-min idea.

P.S. It can take months & years to get the 7 words...so don't get discouraged!

- Mitchell Tsai (Harvard '86) - CEO, Spiritual Business Companions : FriendFeed, LinkedIn, Facebook

Monday, February 25, 2008

Social Entrepreneurs at Stanford - Sun 2/24/08



The Center for Social Innovation at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Stanford Digital Vision Fellowship Program (sponsored by the Reuters Foundation) cohosted Social Entrepreneurship Day on Sunday, February 24, at the Wallenberg Learning Theatre from 3-5 PM.

[Photo is from a photo album by Tatyana Kanzaveli (LinkedIn, Facebook), CEO, Global Learning Foundation]

Kriss Deiglmeier, Executive Director for the Center for Social Innovation (CSI) at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, introduces the panelists.

Kriss was Chief Operating Officer (COO) for Juma Ventures, Director of Operations at Larkin Street Youth Center, and worked at the United Way of King County.

She has presented nationally and internationally on topics including asset development, social enterprise, and public private partnerships.

[Photo is from a photo album by Tatyana Kanzaveli]

John Kuner's ProjectView Blog has a great summary of the panelists' talks and summarizes their advice for prospective social entrepreneurs.

(1) Jenny Shilling Stein, Executive Director of the Draper Richards Foundation

(2) Jessica Jackley Flannery, Co-Founder and Director of Business Development of Kiva.org

(3) Amy Clark, Ashoka, Global Fellows Program Leader

(4) Suzanne McKechnie Klahr, Ashoka Fellow and Founder of BUILD

Stanford Digital Vision Fellows Class of 2007

Greg Wolff, president of UnaMesa Association, "an open association of people dedicated to improving the tools and information that help educators, healthcare providers, and communities around the world deliver better services with fewer costs. The organization functions as a virtual research and development lab with projects focused on creating practical solutions to problems, such as sharing medical records, that cut across individual services." (UnaMesa Wiki)

International Education and Resource Network (iEARN) is the world's largest non-profit global network that enables teachers and youth to use the Internet and other technologies to collaborate on projects that enhance learning and make a difference in the world.

Shashank Garg is developing an open-source, sustainable, and efficient disease surveillance system that will detect and respond to outbreaks in a timely manner. This system will utilize a mobile device to accurately collect data, validate it at the source, and immediately transmit it to a server where resident experts can identify trends and make informed decisions.

Garg won India’s Dewang Mehta Award for Innovation in Information Technology for being one of the seven co-developers of the Simputer.



Adam Tolnay runs the Y-Fi (Youth Financial Literacy) program, which aims to communicate the basics of personal financial management to youth in marginal areas via the use of fun, interactive, multi-player, multiple-turn simulation games delivered on mobile devices.

Adam will be working with inner city high school students in the U.S. to design and pilot Yi-Fi before rolling it out in his native Romania and his adopted homeland, India.

He has run educational programs in 14 countries - Learning Enterprises , The Learning Foundation India, The Educated Consumer Project

The "Ahimsa Center for Social Equity" proposes a 3-step support mechanism of "AWAKE" (Raise Awareness), "ARISE" (Build Capacity), and "ALIVE" (Investment) to provide a wider net and Ecosystem for entrepreneurs and communities involved in Social Issues.

Netika Raval has been developing a "Big Game" on water issues for children that will be relevant, interactive, useful for geo-spatial learning.

A byproduct of this game will be the collection of reliable, people centered information that will be accessible via a GIS map and community call centers. The objective is to track the resulting reduced dropout rates in 900,000 government schools, as well as to reduce the time and cost of information access for government and people.

Ahmad Atif Mumtaz leads Tele-Health-Care for Disaster Relief.

Whenever a major disaster hits a region, the basic infrastructure, including healthcare facilities, are severely damaged. Atif proposes to develop rapidly deployable and portable tele-health facilities in disaster hit areas so doctors can start treating patients quickly.

Ahmad Atif Mumtaz (LinkedIn) is a Pakistani entrepreneur promoting ICT technologies in the developing countries. Mr. Mumtaz has previously worked with social development organizations, including COMSATS and United Nations IDO.

In 2002, Mr. Mumtaz successfully launched an Internet startup, Cogilent Solutions which currently manages and runs the largest job hunt portal in Pakistan called, BrightSpyre. In 2004, he received the "Young Entrepreneur of the Year" Award for his services through Shell Corporation

Marvin Hall uses robotics competitions to capture the imagination of at-risk youth in inner cities in small, developing countries.

Marvin is the founder of the Halls of Learning robotics training center, has provided scholarships for 150 youth to attend his robotics courses, and has brought a Jamaican robotic team to an international competition. Go Marvin!

He has been improving the math, science, and creative thinking skills of youth in the United States for more than a decade.

John Kuner of MobileStoryTelling.org smiling at the camera. Perhaps I'll be on one of his mobile stories? :-)

In this project, camera phones are used to create and share personal stories. Young people from various cultures learn more about each other as they connect with their counterparts in an online community. They also gain skills through the story creation process, such as communications, editing, and production.

His powerpoint presentation on "Mobile Storytelling and Video Sharing for Inter-Cultural Communication: How Personal Expression Leads to Job Skills".

Neerja Raman's Blog is called Digital Provide: From Good to Gold

Neerja Raman is a former Director, Strategic Planning and Imaging Systems Lab, Hewlett Packard Labs. She was inducted into the prestigious Hall of Fame, Women in Technology International (WITI).

She pioneered corporate recognition of diversity as a business value, and acquired skills to successfully navigate the pitfalls of being the only female in high pressure environments.

Lessons from her upbringing in India are articulated in a management book “The Practice and Philosophy of Decision Making: A Seven Step Spiritual Guide.” It was featured at the authors' expo "Books that Empower Women" by WITI.

Neerja has been a United Way Chair at HP. She serves on the advisory board of Maitri, a women’s self empowerment organization, is a member of the Indian Business and Professional Women support network, and is executive director of Indian American Women Empowered (IWE).

Invincibelle blog is a "community blog where experts share columns and articles in categories like business entrepreneurship, culture and communication," of which Neerja Raman is one of the authors.

Steve Vosloo runs the "The Digital Hero Book Project." A hero book is a low-cost, simple and effective form of psychosocial support (PSS) where a child is the author, illustrator, main character (hero) and editor of a paper-based book that is designed to help them deal with life's challenges.

The Digital Hero Book Project (DHBP) builds on the success of this Memory Work by introducing information and communication technologies (ICTs) that enable authors to digitise their hero books and publish them on a community-based website.

HIV/Aids, poverty, violence and unemployment affect a large proportion of youth in Southern and Eastern Africa. An indication of this is an estimated orphan population of 12 million in 2001. To help address these issues, REPSSI (Regional Psychosocial Support Initiative) provides psychosocial (social and emotional) technical support to over 60 implementing partners, including those in the Western Cape province of South Africa (SA).

Cathy Healy was at National Geographic for 16 years. She was also editor of AMÉRICAS magazine, published by the Organization of American States.

Cathy has been a newspaper reporter, novelist, magazine and Intranet editor, and collaborates with Digital Vision fellows to help turn their projects a reality.

- Mitchell Tsai (Harvard '86) - CEO, Spiritual Business Companions : FriendFeed, LinkedIn, Facebook

Bill Gates visit to Stanford - Tue 2/19/08


[Photo is by Megan McCarthy (or her photographer) at Wired]

Bill Gates showed a hilarious video clip imagining his upcoming last day in office. Wired said a similar video was shown at this year's CES, but this one had extra guest appearances - Venture Capitalist John Doerr and Berkshire Hathaway founder Warren Buffet.


He carefully avoided mentioning any competitors (Yahoo, Google, etc...) and even went his entire speech without saying the word "Internet" until an audience member used "Internet" in a question, instead emphasizing the impact of "software" on the world. Very old-school! Brought back memories...

I started on 1960s-era mainframes, and it is interesting to see when the "software" buzzword transitioned into "Internet"". When I graduated college in 1986, a lot of us were trying to make money by selling "software". Then came the 1991 easy-to-use browser which blended Hypercard, pictures, and ARPANET...and Poof! Al Gore's "Information Superhighway" buzzword turned into the "Internet".


The 3-D medical imaging demo was neat to see, but he basically pitched some of the ideas of his Microsoft Research teams. Very "PC" speech giving nothing "cool away". He's a great businessman!


He spent the last 1/4 of his talk on giving back to the world, and most of the Q & A session was focused on "doing good."


Hadn't seen Bill for 10 years since visiting his house in 1998, when he had awesome flat-screens on the walls displaying artwork. I've been out of "Tech", and concentrating on non-profits in arts, dance, and spirituality for the past 6 years.

It was good to see him in person again.

- Mitchell Tsai (Harvard '86) - CEO, Spiritual Business Companions : FriendFeed, LinkedIn, Facebook

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Finding Mentors: Leveraging your Business & Social Networks

With all the emphasis on Web 2.0 (2003-2008) Social Networks, it's surprising how people are shy about using their flesh-and-blood networks.

Here's a simple exercise I teach called
"Strategically Extending Your Network":
------------------------------
[Easy Version - 2 Steps]
------------------------------
(1) In each of the following 21 business areas, try listing the 1-2 people you admire the most. If you can't think of any that's ok.

Start with just 5 business areas - CEO, COO, CMO, CFO, CTO.

(2) Ask each person, who they would recommend as a mentor. I call this the "2nd-level ask". Don't ask them to be a mentor. Ask who THEIR mentors are and why they liked their mentor. It's a good time to hear their stories about what really helped them...

- Executive (CEO)
- Vision (CVO)
- Strategy (CSO)
- Risk (CRO)
- Innovation (CIO)
- Networking (CNO)
- Business Development
- Operations (COO)
- Finance (CFO)
- Marketing (CMO)
- Sales (CSO)
- Technology (CTO)
- Creative (CCO)
- Human Resources (Corporate Culture)
- Legal
- Fund-raising - Equity (Angel, VC, Investment Bank, Commercial Bank)
- Fund-raising - Non-Profit Development (CDO)
- Project Management
- Corporate Governance
- Board Members (Directors/Advisors)
- Entrepreneurs

----------------------
[Medium Version]
----------------------
Before you talk to the people on your list:

(3) Write down "why" you admire them? What makes your COO or VP of Operations friend, an operations person that you admire?

(3A) ....if you have no clue what an "operations" person does, this could be a could conversation to have...

(4) Do some research on each person before you talk to them. Google them and find a bio/resume, or look at their LinkedIn Resume & Connections. Find out which companies/organizations they worked for. Which schools did they attend? What are their interests in life?

(5) In each business area, list the 1-2 famous people you admire in each area.

(6) Do some research on each "famous person" and try to find connections with your friends. Any similar companies, schools, interests, etc...

------------------
[Hard Version]
------------------
(7) Sit down with your business partners and try to extend your networks as a group.
(8) Sit down with other experts and ...

This could potentially be a LOT of exploring.

Tip #1: For most busy people, 1 or 2 questions might be all you should start with....unless you find "traction" and they are finding it fun to share stories.

It's REALLY easy to get help, if you make it FUN, and help people feel like they are improving the world.

It's VERY difficult to get help, if you insist on telling the 15-minute version of your company mission. Especially if helping you is going to be like a trip to the dentist (Apologies to the nice dentists out there...) VALUE THEIR TIME... Don't waste it.

Tip #2: Ask specific questions! No open-ended stuff...

Don't ask "Which CEO's do you admire?"

Ask "How did you like Jack Welch's style as a CEO?"

"I really admire Person X who was XYZ position at your old company ABC. Did you like them as a person? I was looking for possible mentors, and was wondering if you could recommend them."

- Mitchell Tsai (Harvard '86) - CEO, Spiritual Business Companions : FriendFeed, LinkedIn, Facebook

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Imagine it! - Stanford 2007 Entrepreneur Week Competition



Saw a very inspirational video Imagine It! at Stanford's Entrepreneur Week (Fri 2/22/08 - Fri 2/29/08). If you're in the Stanford area, check out their other entrepreneurial events this week.

Richard Tavener, Executive Producer of iLoop Media, did a fantastic job making an edgy "fun" video with good camera angles on a lively, funny narrator.

In 2007, students from around the world had 5 days to "create value" from a "mystery item". Very creative solutions. Good way to learn about (1) team-building (2) rapid-prototyping (3) "doing something" and not getting stuck in the idea phase (4) dealing with limited time, money, and people (5) contacting professors and companies that people might be too shy to consider.


The mystery item for the 2008 competition is "RUBBER BANDS".


Stanford President, John Hennessy kicks off Stanford Entrepreneur Week.


Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Silicon Valley Managing Partner, Teresa Briggs talks about the consulting arm of Deloitte.


Stanford Technology Ventures Program (STVP) Executive Director Tina Seelig introduces the major events of Stanford Entrepreneur Week.

Tina Seelig (MS&E) is responsible for strategic planning, operations, and outreach efforts of the Stanford Technology Ventures Program (STVP), is Director of the Stanford Entrepreneurship Network (SEN), and is co-Director of the Mayfield Fellows program.

Tina teaches a Creativity and Innovation course (Material Science & Engineering 277), and writes the Creativity Rulz blog.

Some related websites she suggests are the Roundtable of Enterpreneurship Education (REE) Conferences and the Educators Corner.

- Mitchell Tsai (Harvard '86) - CEO, Spiritual Business Companions : FriendFeed, LinkedIn, Facebook