After waiting the entire quarter for it, at last the much anticipated event had finally arrived: we got to watch Andrew play with plastic dinosaurs (I do have to wonder, which one of his children he took them from :)). Although this bit of humor was what I best remembered this presentation by, I found the subject matter very interesting as well.
I liked how the dinosaurs were used to represent Prodigy, CompuServ, Genie, AOL, and Delphi. They truly are dinosaurs, now extinct, existing only in our memories; relics of the past. Overall, it was a very appopriate example, despite the humor involved in it.
I found it amazing how the adoption of the Internet coincided in the absolute explosion of businesses, due to the Internet being a powerful e-commerce medium. The dot-com boom was literally a time when a company could see their stock price shoot through the roof, by simply adding an "e-" prefix to their name and/or adding a ".com" to the end of their name.
Venture capitalists were almost giving out money, only to have their investments go bust in early 2000. It's obsurd to think that a company that was showing absolutely no profit, but infact the exact opposite--enormous losses, would be able to go up for huge IPO, and that the venture capitalists would buy into this all. What were they thinking?!?!
Unfortunately, my family felt the full effect of the dot-com bubble busting as my mom, an Egghead.com manager at the time, was laid off, joining the "Fried Eggs" group as it was coined at the time.
Despite all of the depairity, there were some bright spots that survived the dot-com bubble bust, namely Amazon.com and Google, the latter of which seems bent on world domination. Muwhahaha!!!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Michele Armstrong - Vulcan Inc.
The interview is often an experience filled with much anxiety for me. As a matter of fact, I have to do an interview tomorrow. Having someone that works as a Human Resources manager come to talk to us really helped to clear some of the anxiety up, as well as one of the topics for my business plan.
I found it rather interesting that Vulcan Inc posted job advertisements on Craigslist. I have never really seen Craigslist as a very reputable site for job postings, but rather a place for sleazy dating advertisements. I suppose that it does make business sense to post job advertisements on Craigslist though; after all, it's free.
One of the things that Michele cleared up for me was the issue of employee benefits. I had always been kind of stumped when it came to what exactly employee benefits typically cost a start-up company. Michele told me that this number usually runs at about 20-22% of the company's expense for an employee.
We also talked about some of the things that company's check prior to employment. One of the controversial subjects that came up was that of credit checks on potential employees as part of the pre-employment screening. I must say that I'm a very thorough supporter of that. I think that you can tell a lot about a person by looking at their credit in most cases.
Overall, our visit with Michele was very informative, and I'm glad that she came to talk to us.
I found it rather interesting that Vulcan Inc posted job advertisements on Craigslist. I have never really seen Craigslist as a very reputable site for job postings, but rather a place for sleazy dating advertisements. I suppose that it does make business sense to post job advertisements on Craigslist though; after all, it's free.
One of the things that Michele cleared up for me was the issue of employee benefits. I had always been kind of stumped when it came to what exactly employee benefits typically cost a start-up company. Michele told me that this number usually runs at about 20-22% of the company's expense for an employee.
We also talked about some of the things that company's check prior to employment. One of the controversial subjects that came up was that of credit checks on potential employees as part of the pre-employment screening. I must say that I'm a very thorough supporter of that. I think that you can tell a lot about a person by looking at their credit in most cases.
Overall, our visit with Michele was very informative, and I'm glad that she came to talk to us.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Derek Young
Although cut short by a fire alarm, I enjoyed the speech given by our guest speaker, Derek Young. I thought it interesting that he co-founded Suite 133, which was much talked about by Andrew over the quarter. What I found to be most inspirational is that he helped to bootstrap not only Suite 133, but the two other businesses (Exit 133, and most recently, Seasonal View), with no outside monetary assistance, turning down even seven-figure dollar amounts.
I must admit that I'm still having a bit of a hard time understanding exactly what Suite 133's main purpose is however. This was one of the reasons I wish that we had a bit more time, but because of that inconvenient fire alarm, this was not possible. I was left thinking that Suite 133 is some sort of incubator for start-up businesses, but I could be wrong, as Derek did say that it was used by individual people as office space as well.
Even more vexing to me was Seasonal View for which Derek is President. Derek claimed that this is his greatest source of income. He said that their goal is to "bridge and supplement organizations," however I had kind of a hard time knowing what exactly that meant. What I do know is that they do call center consulting and help to set up call centers, but most of their time is spent on privacy law. Ask me how these two things go together, and I wouldn't be able to tell you. Also, I do know that Seasonal View has some pretty lofty clients, namely Pierce County, Alaska Airlines (no pun intended), as well as a global marketing company.
Aside from these three businesses of Derek's, he also talked about a web-based apartment management system that he was involved in, as well as a sports team management system, which still exists to some extent.
To answer Andrew's question about how many questions that I have asked our guest speakers to date, I would have to say that I have not really kept track, but I have asked a lot of them. If I had to make a guess though, I would say that this number lies around 25. Had the fire alarm not gone off halfway through Derek's speech, I'm sure that I would have had many more questions for Derek, but none-the-less, that is fate.
I must admit that I'm still having a bit of a hard time understanding exactly what Suite 133's main purpose is however. This was one of the reasons I wish that we had a bit more time, but because of that inconvenient fire alarm, this was not possible. I was left thinking that Suite 133 is some sort of incubator for start-up businesses, but I could be wrong, as Derek did say that it was used by individual people as office space as well.
Even more vexing to me was Seasonal View for which Derek is President. Derek claimed that this is his greatest source of income. He said that their goal is to "bridge and supplement organizations," however I had kind of a hard time knowing what exactly that meant. What I do know is that they do call center consulting and help to set up call centers, but most of their time is spent on privacy law. Ask me how these two things go together, and I wouldn't be able to tell you. Also, I do know that Seasonal View has some pretty lofty clients, namely Pierce County, Alaska Airlines (no pun intended), as well as a global marketing company.
Aside from these three businesses of Derek's, he also talked about a web-based apartment management system that he was involved in, as well as a sports team management system, which still exists to some extent.
To answer Andrew's question about how many questions that I have asked our guest speakers to date, I would have to say that I have not really kept track, but I have asked a lot of them. If I had to make a guess though, I would say that this number lies around 25. Had the fire alarm not gone off halfway through Derek's speech, I'm sure that I would have had many more questions for Derek, but none-the-less, that is fate.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Bruce Kendall, CEO and President ~ Board of Economic Development for Tacoma/Pierce County
It has always intrigued me when I look out the windows of the Link Light Rail, how much of Tacoma seems frozen in time and forgotten. It seems to me as comparable to the cities that had sprung up along Route 66, feeding on the traffic that the thoroughfare provided them with, only to be left in decay when the Interstate Highway System came about in the late fifties; mere shadows of their pasts.
Tacoma was much the same up until recently, with its fifties and sixties-style architecture in much of the older parts of the city, a stark reminder of its past, perhaps the best example being Bandstand Music, along Pacific Avenue. For whatever reason, Tacoma as a city stopped growing, and while I still don't exactly know the reason why this was the case, Bruce Kendall our guest speaker did an excellent job at explaining why it has been revitalized in recent times.
He explained to me that the University of Washington, Tacoma and the Link Light Rail were were two very large factors that fostered this urban development in downtown Tacoma. That made sense to me, for having a source of future employees in your own backyard, along with the transportation needed get them to work would be enticing to any company. However, I couldn't help but wonder why Tacoma wasn't another Bellevue; business seems to flock there, and the city has an iron-clad grasp on the high tech industry. Why could Tacoma do that? What is missing in order to attract that businesses like those present in Bellevue?
Beyond my inquires about Tacoma in general, the class discussed a lot about the aerospace industry, which managed to get me very involved, as I'm a huge fan of the aircraft that come out of that industry. He also discussed DaVita, which houses their Central Business Office (however, not their headquarters, which resides in Lakewood, CO), in Tacoma. I of course found that to be an especially interesting considering the fact that both my mother and stepfather work in their Tacoma business office. All things considered, Bruce did an admirable job at explaining my myriad of questions regarding all of these topics.
Not to discredit the speeches of our previous guest speakers, whose contributions to my education were received with much gratitude, but this had to have been my favorite guest speaker to date. Bruce talked about all the things that I was interested about Tacoma, but never had asked up to this date. The next guest speaker will certainly have a lot to look up to.
Tacoma was much the same up until recently, with its fifties and sixties-style architecture in much of the older parts of the city, a stark reminder of its past, perhaps the best example being Bandstand Music, along Pacific Avenue. For whatever reason, Tacoma as a city stopped growing, and while I still don't exactly know the reason why this was the case, Bruce Kendall our guest speaker did an excellent job at explaining why it has been revitalized in recent times.
He explained to me that the University of Washington, Tacoma and the Link Light Rail were were two very large factors that fostered this urban development in downtown Tacoma. That made sense to me, for having a source of future employees in your own backyard, along with the transportation needed get them to work would be enticing to any company. However, I couldn't help but wonder why Tacoma wasn't another Bellevue; business seems to flock there, and the city has an iron-clad grasp on the high tech industry. Why could Tacoma do that? What is missing in order to attract that businesses like those present in Bellevue?
Beyond my inquires about Tacoma in general, the class discussed a lot about the aerospace industry, which managed to get me very involved, as I'm a huge fan of the aircraft that come out of that industry. He also discussed DaVita, which houses their Central Business Office (however, not their headquarters, which resides in Lakewood, CO), in Tacoma. I of course found that to be an especially interesting considering the fact that both my mother and stepfather work in their Tacoma business office. All things considered, Bruce did an admirable job at explaining my myriad of questions regarding all of these topics.
Not to discredit the speeches of our previous guest speakers, whose contributions to my education were received with much gratitude, but this had to have been my favorite guest speaker to date. Bruce talked about all the things that I was interested about Tacoma, but never had asked up to this date. The next guest speaker will certainly have a lot to look up to.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Growing My Business
Planning for the growth of my business is something that I've been slightly uneasy about due to my inherent lack of knowledge and experience in business. From what I have experienced from my talks with Tim Hoover, the founder of Auto Claim Solutions, it is best to start small with minimal staffing, and then work your way up in size and hire more people. I still don't understand how some people are able to start a business with 60 people on their payroll, and not go belly-up. Tim has told me that in his business, he has himself and only three other employees. He has yet to elaborate on what the roles of each of his employees are, but I can make an educated guess that he farms out a majority of the work to other firms.
Knowing this, I think that my staffing would be minimal to begin with, and that I would have to hire a multitude of different firms to do a majority of the development and marketing work, so that I could concentrate on growing my business. Once my business has reached a reasonable size and I have been able to obtain a positive cash flow (probably within three years), I would begin to increase my staffing. I would however probably hire a few information technology guys to maintain the website and the software.
When I did this start increasing my staffing, I would likely start by hiring four salesmen and then strategically place them around the country. This way, I would be able to start increasing the expansion of my business across the country. I could see a large amount of my business coming from referrals between auto repair shops. If you have a good idea, and it works for people, it will spread like wildfire.
Knowing this, I think that my staffing would be minimal to begin with, and that I would have to hire a multitude of different firms to do a majority of the development and marketing work, so that I could concentrate on growing my business. Once my business has reached a reasonable size and I have been able to obtain a positive cash flow (probably within three years), I would begin to increase my staffing. I would however probably hire a few information technology guys to maintain the website and the software.
When I did this start increasing my staffing, I would likely start by hiring four salesmen and then strategically place them around the country. This way, I would be able to start increasing the expansion of my business across the country. I could see a large amount of my business coming from referrals between auto repair shops. If you have a good idea, and it works for people, it will spread like wildfire.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
John Dimmer/The Term Sheet Article
After reading the article "How to Negotiate a Term Sheet," given to us by our guest speaker, John Dimmer, I must say that the term sheet is a document that I could see it confusing a great many people with complex legal jargon, however I felt that the article did a decent job dialing down the rhetoric. If I was an entrepreneur, this document would make me extremely nervous, while it was in its negotiating phase. I can certainly see the benefit of legal consultation in this case.
I must say that I didn't quite care for the concept of reverse vesting. The entrepreneur puts a lot of his or her time into the development of the business, just as the VC has put a lot of money into it, and should have the same ownership rights as the VC, albeit at a somewhat different scale. The founder's shares should not have to earned back.
One of the terms that I had a problem in understanding was that of anti-dilution. It should have made since to me if I had seriously taken the time to consider the term itself, but the way the article explained it made it more confusing, forcing me to look to outside sources that did a better job of explaining it. After I understood what anti-dilution meant, I can certainly see why someone would want that protection. Why should someone's originally negotiated ownership in the company be decrease because of a decision made by management to sell more shares of stock in the company?
After all is said and done, the term sheet is not a document that should be taken lightly, as it can seriously impact the rights that you have to control your business. It is not something that the individual investor should negotiate themselves, without an attorney.
I must say that I didn't quite care for the concept of reverse vesting. The entrepreneur puts a lot of his or her time into the development of the business, just as the VC has put a lot of money into it, and should have the same ownership rights as the VC, albeit at a somewhat different scale. The founder's shares should not have to earned back.
One of the terms that I had a problem in understanding was that of anti-dilution. It should have made since to me if I had seriously taken the time to consider the term itself, but the way the article explained it made it more confusing, forcing me to look to outside sources that did a better job of explaining it. After I understood what anti-dilution meant, I can certainly see why someone would want that protection. Why should someone's originally negotiated ownership in the company be decrease because of a decision made by management to sell more shares of stock in the company?
After all is said and done, the term sheet is not a document that should be taken lightly, as it can seriously impact the rights that you have to control your business. It is not something that the individual investor should negotiate themselves, without an attorney.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Guest Speaker: Jon Goodman
I must admit that I was quite impressed by the discussion that we had with Jon Goodman; she brought some very valuable information to the table. I found that the best part of the discussion came after the formal discussion, when I was able to talk with Jon face-to-face rather than having to compete with the entire class for her attention.
Go into my scheduled interview that I had with Tim Hoover, the owner of Auto Claim Solutions, I felt much more adequately prepared than before I talked with Jon. The question that I had asked Jon was regarding what questions I should ask to get the best value for my time, as well as Tim's.
One of the most helpful suggestions that Jon gave me was to ask follow-up questions to the questions that I ask. In other words, after getting an explanation to a question that you have asked, clarify what you have heard so that you fully understand what was conveyed to you, and to show that you are actively listening to them, and that you are interested in what they have to say. This made the conversation much more active from both sides.
I liked her suggestion of stocking away 20% of what you earn so that you have that financial freedom to go off and be an entrepreneur. I often times have a hard time saving; the money always seems to burn a hole in my pocket. Obviously, this is an area that I need some more discipline in.
Go into my scheduled interview that I had with Tim Hoover, the owner of Auto Claim Solutions, I felt much more adequately prepared than before I talked with Jon. The question that I had asked Jon was regarding what questions I should ask to get the best value for my time, as well as Tim's.
One of the most helpful suggestions that Jon gave me was to ask follow-up questions to the questions that I ask. In other words, after getting an explanation to a question that you have asked, clarify what you have heard so that you fully understand what was conveyed to you, and to show that you are actively listening to them, and that you are interested in what they have to say. This made the conversation much more active from both sides.
I liked her suggestion of stocking away 20% of what you earn so that you have that financial freedom to go off and be an entrepreneur. I often times have a hard time saving; the money always seems to burn a hole in my pocket. Obviously, this is an area that I need some more discipline in.
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