Down with the Politicians

Another great example why the U.S. political system is broken.  However, the inability of the American people to see through the rhetoric will allow it to continue.  Just like Rome, we are subject to downfall through apathy.

Staying the Course

Read a great article in Fortune magazine based on the most recent book by management guru Jim Collins.  Excellent discourse on what differentiates effective long-term leaders from their peers: the ability to set steady, achievable goals that can be replicated year over year.

Zombieland NOLA

Check out this really cool site exhibiting creepy photos taken at the abandoned Six Flags theme park in New Orleans.

Particularly love the clown photos and this first one:

What Wall Street 2 Should Have Been

Excited.

After the disaster that was Wall Street 2, I'm looking forward to a good finance movie.  And with Margin Call, I'm hoping I've found one.

Looks they actually tried to make it realistic, got a fantastic cast, and it doesn't have Shia LeBouf riding a motorcycle on back roads in upstate NY.  Kudos, Hollywood.

Concert Posters

Anyone who ever visited my dorm room in college knows that I am not only a huge music fan, but also a huge fan of concert posters.  I think a great concert poster is a true work of art.  My dream is to one day have a private studio covered in awesome posters.

Anyway, I was blown away by the posters I found on this site.  Some of my favorite bands, and some incredible art.

IWNY

I attended Internet Week New York last week here in the city and it was an interesting array of seminars and forums.  Wanted to mention it because IWNY just posted videos of all the content...some great stuff in there.

SaaS Entrepreneur Lessons Learned

Great post by Dharmesh Shah over at OnStartups.com about the lessons he has learned through his recent $32 million VC funding by some top dogs, including Salesforce, Sequoia, and Google Ventures.  Great analysis of the SaaS world and how to focus on the development of a business in the space.

NYC Time Lapse Video

Gawker just posted another cool time lapse video of NYC.

Groupon Discussion

About six months ago, little known Groupon was put on the map by a massive bid from none other than the web behemoth Google.  The offer?  Six.  Billion.  Dollars.

Yes, that's US dollars.  Six billion of them.

So what did they do?  Turn it down, of course.

Today, they file an S-1...and for the unveil...net loss of nearly half a million dollars last year and operating loss alone of more than $100 million in the first quarter this year.

And now, to make their life more difficult, Google has simply launched its own clone, Google Offers.

Now, for those who don't pay attention to these things, Google is the undisputed King of Search and has the local ad market as its cornerstone.  Their reach is immense, they possess a massive cash warchest (nearly $35 billion), and their infrastructure is difficult to rival.  After studying the errors Groupon has made and having had time to perfect their own version of the daily deal site, I'm pretty sure Google will be a player.  And quickly.

Interesting timing here...Google Offers launches its first offer on the same day that Groupon files to go public.  Coincidence or subtle kick in the face from Larry Page?

Since When Do We Hate Teachers?

I'm all for snarky writing, which is why I, and most readers, enjoy Esquire.  However, being married to a teacher, and having consulted for the NYC Dept. of Education, I was appalled by the magazine's recent article "Harry Potter and the Hatred of Teachers" by Stephen Marche.  Instead of taking the opportunity to address a serious issue - the problems with our current public education system and the impending disaster facing it due to budget constraints - the author instead decided to grossly mischaracterize the issue and instead write a pithy article with the intent of leveling a few generalized and stereotypical shots.

Good teachers (read: well-compensated and motivated) are the answer to this country's education woes, and we need to provide them with the proper resources.  I don't think any intelligent person would dispute this thesis.  However, our leaders are not able to institute the changes necessary to make this a reality.  Why is that?  How about addressing the crux of the issue, which is how to counter the unions and alleviate the burden of poorly performing teachers, how to monitor and eliminate wasteful spending, how to address under-qualified administrators, and how to turn around Departments of Education across the country that are unable and/or too apathetic to enact change in a broken system.

There is a problem, and it must be fixed; otherwise, this country may well find itself on the decline.  I am abhorred by the flagrant bashing of "Republican governors" in the Esquire article and the claim that they "hate teachers."  Suffice it to say I do not claim to know the substance of the various proposals or comments made by governors and other politicians and therefore will not stand behind any specific groups or initiatives, so there may be several Republic governors with counterproductive platforms.  But from my interaction with the education system, I can positively assert that a) not all teachers are good, and b) the good ones are severely undercompensated. 

The solution to the problem is not Republican or Democrat, it's people coming together with ideas and actions to create change that betters the system for all.  There's a reason that Obama's message of crossing aisles and creating change resonated last election; unfortunately, articles like this clearly explain exactly why the rhetoric hasn't become resolution in this country.  Too often we grab hold of the author of an idea or whose lips impart the words and unnecessarily cast aspersions and muddy the issue.

So here's my idea: What if everyone submitted ideas on how to fix the education and budget crises on an anonymous basis; would we be able to objectively analyze the situation and make real change?  Or would we instead demonize everyone for trying to implement change?



p.s.  If you have not read Joel Klein's editorial from the Wall Street Journal, I suggest you give it a read here.

Exerpt:
As [former head of the UFT Albert] Shanker put it in a surprisingly candid speech in 1993: "We are at the point that the auto industry was at a few years ago. They could see they were losing market share every year and still not believe that it really had anything to do with the quality of the product. . . . I think we will get—and deserve—the end of public education through some sort of privatization scheme if we don't behave differently. Unfortunately, very few people really believe that yet. They talk about it, and they don't like it, but they're not ready to change and stop doing the things that brought us to this point."

What Makes Startups Successful?

Everyone knows that most startups fail.  And yet some, like Color, raise $41 million and then get blown away by competition such as the new startup, Sonar, launched at this year's TechCrunch Disrupt.  So how do you determine if your idea is going to make it?

Thanks to Startup Genome for this research study.

Geosocial Universe

Cool graphic on the current geosocial universe

Tech Bubble

A lot of discussion has been taking place on the current tech investment landscape and whether a bubble is forming.  I've seen a lot of arguments for and a lot of arguments against.

However, my answer is more moderate.  While I do agree that valuations are getting ridiculous for startups with little or no long-term market prospects or viability (go back and read that Color article), I also believe that there is significant opportunity in the market for great solutions to big problems and that there remain substantial businesses amid the startup fodder.

I believe that the key is sustainability and a strong value proposition.  Mark Suster discusses (brilliantly, I might add) the need to capture share of mind and find a sustainable value proposition.  Those that create more than a short-term virality (for a definition, see the presentation by Jonah Peretti of Buzzfeed) will be able to grow and survive.

Above all, I think the focus must be on reality and not hysteria.

Founder's Workbench

Goodwin Procter, a great law firm (through my experience as an investment banker), provides one of the greatest resources I've found on the web for startups.  Check out their Founder's Workbench to get advice, pertinent articles, legal documents, and checklists.

WriteMinds in Startup Competition!

So my buddy Will (I call him Bill; for some reason when he entered adulthood he felt Will was better) has posted several times on our project, WriteMinds.  It is basically a new cloud application that makes the process of writing on your computer better.  We launch beta in several weeks, then will seek to improve the product and add social networking, tracking and metrics, self-publishing, and other functionality to turn it into the premiere writing application on the web.  Cool stuff.

Anyway, we are entered into the MassChallenge competition to win recognition, money, and incubation.  We can use your help!  Go to this link to vote for WriteMinds LLC and read more about the application and what exactly it is that we are trying to accomplish.  Hope you like it!

Ideas?

11 big ideas to watch in 2011...

Great post on trends for this year.  The next big idea could be waiting on this page...