Month: January 2009

Hooray! Here comes a tech IPO

/ Robert Pease / Leave a comment

OpenTablestndLogo

Out of the storm of negativity comes a ray of sunshine.  OpenTable has filed and will be going public. It has been so long since a venture backed company has done this that you may have forgotten what this is all about. 

Essentially, a company with a business model and growth sells a part of its self to the public equity market (institutional and individual investors).  I didn't necessarily say profitable as OpenTable didn't quite make money on revenues of $41.3 million through September 2008.

Good to see this happening as well as a service that I have used and found value in over the years positioned to make the leap into the public markets.  If you've never used OpenTable to make a restaurant reservation, you should check it out.

The email cloud goes local

/ Robert Pease / Leave a comment

News out from the Google folks at Gmail that there is now an offline capability being offered through Labs.  Interesting move to enable the client when not connected utilizing Gears.  Just checked my various Gmail accounts and it is not available there yet but do look forward to using it.

UPDATE:  Am now set up on both personal and biz Gmail accounts

Just because you think it doesn’t mean you need to say it

/ Robert Pease / Leave a comment

I thought we were all taught this growing up. Part of good manners or at the very least part of being tactful. Apparently, not everyone and the plethora of new tools to share what you are thinking (ie, status updates) makes this even more visible. Tools that allow you to broadcast (blogs, Twitter, etc.) must be used consciously meaning you need to think about what you share and be aware when you may step on toes. It is your prerogative to do so but understand the world could be listening.

Take the story of James Andrews of Ketchum as an example (thanks to my brother Greg for forwarding this along). Ketchum is a pretty substantial PR firm and one I have worked with in the past. James was headed to FedEx to do a presentation on social media and decided to share his thoughts about Memphis via Twitter when he landed.

"True confession but I’m in one of those towns where I scratch my head and say, ‘I would die if I had to live here."


Turns out he was already being followed by someone at FedEx and they shared this observation among the executive ranks there kicking off a bit of a firestorm.
The irony is overflowing here including the fact that he is an executive at a public relations firm and that he was there to share his expertise on social media.

If you don't have something nice to say…

No love from Agape

/ Robert Pease / 1 Comment

You just can't make this stuff up (via Dealbreaker).

Here's the pitch:

  • The "firm" is Agape World, Inc. where they provide "the bridge to your future"
  • You invest between $5,000 to $3 million in short-term high yield loans to developers and builders
  • The terms of these loans range from 10 to 12 weeks
  • You earn as much as 14% in as little as 72 days
  • The company was named one of America's fastest growing companies by Entrepreneur Magazine

Wow!  Sign me up!

But:

  • The founder of the firm is a convicted felon and served 21 months in FEDERAL PRISON for previously defrauding investors through a securities firm.
  • Part of his sentence included undergoing therapy for a gambling problem.

What's wrong with you people?  Are you so blinded by greed that you forget how a search engine works?  Ever heard of the Internet?  How about checking with FINRA or the SEC about the firm?

Oh wait, it must be the government's fault.

The scams and schemes continue to reveal themselves as we exit this period of absurdity and, yes, stronger regulatory oversight could have helped but a little common sense goes a long way. 

If it sounds to good to be true, it is (especially when a convicted felon with a gambling problem is the one telling you).

Not quite being deputized but…

/ Robert Pease / Leave a comment

I'm very excited to share that I have been selected to be part of the the Kirkland Police Department's Citizens Academy for 2009.  For the next 12 weeks, I will be getting a behind the scenes view of what our local police department does while making some great new friends along the way.  Sort of a Kirkland version of CSI complete with ride alongs (not in back, I hope) and firearms instruction.

I write often about Kirkland and really like this community.  We are just across Lake Washington from downtown Seattle and this city is truly unique in the region by having its downtown situated on the water.  My involvement with the Parking Advisory Board has given me a broad new perspective on the issues and opportunities facing the city and I look forward to continuing to expand my knowledge by being part of this program.

I'll be sure to share my thoughts and experiences in the weeks ahead and suggest you keep your eye on the application process for next year if you live here.

Should you blog?

/ Robert Pease / Leave a comment

This question has been hashed to death over the past many years including who, how, how often, why, etc. and I definitely have my opinions on the matter illustrated by my own efforts.

Regardless of where you come down on this question, I suggest checking out the new WhiteHouse.gov and the Obama administration's blog featured prominently on the home page.  Here's the WSJ's take on it.

Let's hope it is not just a posting board for talking points and press releases and truly an opportunity for dialogue.  The absence of comments makes me wonder how effective this will really be and I'd hate to see it go the way of misguided corporate blogging efforts.

That said, I'm excited that it's part of the plan and hope we see the execution live up to the potential.  I have the same high expectations (see previous post) about the President on Twitter (for real) – http://twitter.com/TheWhiteHouse

Check out LiveOffice

/ Robert Pease / Leave a comment

I'm excited to have the chance to help out Nick Mehta and the LiveOffice team a bit.  They provide a solution that combines a couple of my favorite topics – email and SaaS.  If you are looking for a better way to handle the costs and effort related to managing MS Exchange, compliance, or archiving and retention, check them out (here's their blog).

Great Expectations

/ Robert Pease / 5 Comments

January 20th, 2009 marks one of the most amazing events in the modern world.  No, not just the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States of America but the peaceful transition of power from one President to the next in the world's most powerful country.  No tanks in the streets, no riots, no (real) drama.  This in itself is truly amazing.  Obama's election and ascendancy to President demonstrates all that is good and hopeful about America and it is indeed a proud moment for us all.

President Obama is OUR President.  Regardless of who you voted for, wanted to see win, or campaigned for, we now have a new President of the United States of America.  We get to decide again in four years whether or not we like the job he has done.

We are exiting a presidency that built resentment and contempt across the board but also managed to strengthen the Office of the President, go on the offensive against those who seek to harm us (right or wrong), and govern based on the long view vs. popularity polls.  History really will judge whether or not the last eight years were truly as bad as the common belief holds. 

I tend to try to look at things in a historical context and that extreme positions of one President are then moderated by the next – regardless of party or person.

So why the title of the post?  Yes, I read this book some time ago and believe it is truly what the world, not just America, has for President Obama.  For that, I am truly concerned as it dramatically increases the already heavy burdens of the office.

If you have ever had to manage expectations or reset them, you know how difficult and draining the process can be.  Our modern political process is  a game of marketing, branding, and messaging with the hope that the most qualified and competent person is victorious.  What is said to win is not always put into practice while governing.

You are already seeing expectations being managed and policies that seemed draconian and tyrannical according to colorful journalism are now being embraced by this Administration.  Are they all being reviewed and reconsidered?  Absolutely.  But what we will see are more similarities than differences on major policy positions and a slow moderation of many of the extreme positions taken over the past eight years. 

The same people that hate our way of life today will hate our way of life tomorrow.  Hugo Chavez has already begun to shift his rhetoric from Bush to Obama.  Even everyone's favorite cave dwelling terrorist Osama bin Laden had to weigh in that he still hated us every bit as much.

I look forward to the future and truly hope the hater class here at home looks inward and realizes that it is much easier to criticize than to act.  We have a great number of challenges as a country and there is a surge of optimism that must be tapped.  Hesitate and we will miss a once in a generation opportunity.

Leadership is a lonely road and there are no harder decisions to make that those as President of the United States. 

Congratulations Mr. President.  Now, let's get to work

Meeting new people

/ Robert Pease / Leave a comment

I suppose you either like to do this or not.  I believe we all can carry and support 10-20 really close personal relationships with the balance being casual/professional acquaintances.  Beyond these casual/professional acquaintances are those with whom we would like to build a relationship.  Someone we admire, someone we are trying to sell to, or generally seeking some benefit from having a relationship.

I have always been interested in meeting new people and the older I get the more this interests me.  I have overcome whatever shyness I had a long time ago as I realized that being proactive and tenacious will create more opportunities plus you will always learn something from these encounters. 

Asking for someone's time is a bit intrusive.  After all, I am asking for something that you have a finite amount of and unless you too are interested in meeting new people for the sake of it, then you see these opportunities as a waste of time.

"Networking" is a overused word and you don't just start contacting people when you need something.  My goal is to always ask what I can do for the person with whom I am meeting and try to make these meetings part of my regular schedule.  One great benefit of blogging is meeting new people be it through a comment, an email, or a face to face.  Believe it or not, the more you do for others, the more will be done for you.

I am sharing all of this as I was recently rebuffed after asking for someone's time.  I did so at the recommendation of a friend and without a clear agenda or "ask" in mind because I really didn't have either.  Yes, you can fault me for that as it is different than my approach to formal meetings but this was not a formal meeting request. 

Twenty minutes to shake hands, put a face with a name, and add someone new to my professional acquaintance list was my goal and I believed this person was open to these types of connections.

Clearly, he was not.  As I thought more about it and reflected on the lengthy response to my inquiry (which actually probably took more than 20 minutes to write) which laid out his frustration and, quite frankly, resentment of being approached without a specific reason relevant to him, it became clear that either he didn't like to meet new people or his interest in such meetings had been tapped out long ago. 

From my perspective, 20 minutes is not a great deal of time in the big picture and you never know where a new relationship will lead but keep in mind this perspective must be shared by the person from whom you are requesting time