Comments for TheMikeWalsh.com http://themikewalsh.com Not Just Any Mike Walsh.... BarCamp Boston / Startups / CleanTech Mon, 05 Apr 2010 00:22:35 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 Comment on Dave McClure making the most of ADD and Tourette Syndrome by Paul Geffen http://themikewalsh.com/?p=218&cpage=1#comment-3256 Paul Geffen Mon, 05 Apr 2010 00:22:35 +0000 http://themikewalsh.com/?p=218#comment-3256 Mike, you make a good point about the role of the business plan in the early life of a startup but I respectfully disagree with your view that Business Plan competitions are dead or a waste of time. The work and thought required to create an effective business plan is a useful exercise for any entrepreneur. The process will raise many important questions, and the answers will have value for enterprise. It's probably true that it won't help raise money these days. Mike, you make a good point about the role of the business plan in the early life of a startup but I respectfully disagree with your view that Business Plan competitions are dead or a waste of time. The work and thought required to create an effective business plan is a useful exercise for any entrepreneur. The process will raise many important questions, and the answers will have value for enterprise. It’s probably true that it won’t help raise money these days.

]]> Comment on Dave McClure making the most of ADD and Tourette Syndrome by Max Finder http://themikewalsh.com/?p=218&cpage=1#comment-3229 Max Finder Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:11:02 +0000 http://themikewalsh.com/?p=218#comment-3229 As a current student, I agree with you on the waste of time that are these business plan competitions at universities. It's old and tired entrepreneurship and it's not the way students are going to get involved any more. Instead, there should be competitions for designing iphone apps, or they should give students money, give them a chance to build a prototype, and then have the competition. As a current student, I agree with you on the waste of time that are these business plan competitions at universities. It’s old and tired entrepreneurship and it’s not the way students are going to get involved any more. Instead, there should be competitions for designing iphone apps, or they should give students money, give them a chance to build a prototype, and then have the competition.

]]> Comment on Drawbacks for Young Boston Geeks Considering a Move to San Fran by Carol http://themikewalsh.com/?p=179&cpage=1#comment-3223 Carol Sun, 07 Mar 2010 23:49:54 +0000 http://themikewalsh.com/?p=179#comment-3223 Oops---just saw #4: Yes, there is a quake fault line. I was in Mountain View when a 4.5-er shook the place for 5 seconds in January. No one else in the office seemed to care, although the UPS guy did. I would not buy a house anywhere on the San Andrea or Hayward fault lines. Earthquake risk is a dealbreaker. That said, I'm surrounded by houses built in the 1930s on former Silicon Valley orchards. They withstood a couple quakes. As far as relative risk, I think my car spinning on an icy highway in Mass. is a more acute, prevalent, and immediate risk. Oops—just saw #4:
Yes, there is a quake fault line. I was in Mountain View when a 4.5-er shook the place for 5 seconds in January. No one else in the office seemed to care, although the UPS guy did. I would not buy a house anywhere on the San Andrea or Hayward fault lines. Earthquake risk is a dealbreaker. That said, I’m surrounded by houses built in the 1930s on former Silicon Valley orchards. They withstood a couple quakes. As far as relative risk, I think my car spinning on an icy highway in Mass. is a more acute, prevalent, and immediate risk.

]]> Comment on Drawbacks for Young Boston Geeks Considering a Move to San Fran by Carol http://themikewalsh.com/?p=179&cpage=1#comment-3222 Carol Sun, 07 Mar 2010 23:39:56 +0000 http://themikewalsh.com/?p=179#comment-3222 Wow, you're mostly wrong on the first 4 points. 1. There are more women than men in the SF Bay area. They complain (read a recent article on this in SF Weekly) that there aren't enough men and the ones that are here are gay, nebulous or just reticent about dating and making moves. I, who am not circulating in that category, have also noted this phenomenon. Testosterone does not live here. 2. Rents in the greater SF Bay area are as obscenely high as Boston BUT you don't have a mega-heating bill. As far as buying something, the prices are plummeting here just as in Boston's overpriced real estate market. Just as in Boston, if you go one hour out, like to San Leandro, East Palo Alto (yes, there is a low-budget Palo Alto), and San Jose, and other places, you'll find more affordable real estate. 3. You do not need a car here. Mine is still in Mass. I'm thinking of leaving it there (anyone want to buy a 98 VW New Beetle diesel?) There's good public transportation (like, not like Boston's), and many folks ride bikes. I'm on the CalTrain platform with swarms of Yahoo, MS, and Google workers every day. 4. I don't remember what 4. is. 5. Yes, you won't have 4 seasons here. It's a drag, but it also means you won't be driving on snowy roads. You should replace your top 5 reasons with: California is bankrupt. However, this too shall pass. Or Mass. too shall be bankrupt. Wow, you’re mostly wrong on the first 4 points.
1. There are more women than men in the SF Bay area. They complain (read a recent article on this in SF Weekly) that there aren’t enough men and the ones that are here are gay, nebulous or just reticent about dating and making moves. I, who am not circulating in that category, have also noted this phenomenon. Testosterone does not live here.
2. Rents in the greater SF Bay area are as obscenely high as Boston BUT you don’t have a mega-heating bill. As far as buying something, the prices are plummeting here just as in Boston’s overpriced real estate market. Just as in Boston, if you go one hour out, like to San Leandro, East Palo Alto (yes, there is a low-budget Palo Alto), and San Jose, and other places, you’ll find more affordable real estate.
3. You do not need a car here. Mine is still in Mass. I’m thinking of leaving it there (anyone want to buy a 98 VW New Beetle diesel?) There’s good public transportation (like, not like Boston’s), and many folks ride bikes. I’m on the CalTrain platform with swarms of Yahoo, MS, and Google workers every day.
4. I don’t remember what 4. is.
5. Yes, you won’t have 4 seasons here. It’s a drag, but it also means you won’t be driving on snowy roads.
You should replace your top 5 reasons with: California is bankrupt.
However, this too shall pass. Or Mass. too shall be bankrupt.

]]> Comment on Some tips for effective networking at a WebInno event by Liz Carver http://themikewalsh.com/?p=207&cpage=1#comment-3215 Liz Carver Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:22:04 +0000 http://themikewalsh.com/?p=207#comment-3215 There's also something to be said for walking around with "penguin arms." It seems to have brought some attention my way at the March Web Inno! There’s also something to be said for walking around with “penguin arms.” It seems to have brought some attention my way at the March Web Inno!

]]> Comment on A Letter (ok rant) to Boston World Partnerships by mike http://themikewalsh.com/?p=191&cpage=1#comment-3205 mike Sat, 27 Feb 2010 10:44:34 +0000 http://themikewalsh.com/?p=191#comment-3205 Dave, Thanks for your timely response. Looks like I should reserve some judgments until after the case studies and white papers come out. Dave,

Thanks for your timely response. Looks like I should reserve some judgments until after the case studies and white papers come out.

]]> Comment on A Letter (ok rant) to Boston World Partnerships by Dave McLaughlin http://themikewalsh.com/?p=191&cpage=1#comment-3204 Dave McLaughlin Sat, 27 Feb 2010 09:57:05 +0000 http://themikewalsh.com/?p=191#comment-3204 Hi Mike, Thanks for your interest in Boston World Partnerships. Here are some facts relative to the contents of your letter/rant... Every single person on the BWP site was shot on the streets of Boston and Cambridge by Michael Piazza. Not the former Mets catcher. The Michael Piazza we used is a professional photographer in the area. No fake models there. Here's Michael's LinkedIn page... http://www.linkedin.com/profile?viewProfile=&key=37243528&authToken=GE3F&authType=name Sorry to hear you feel the site is an insult. We see it as an experiment. And one that's working relative to our goals. For instance, our weekly site traffic includes visits from as many as 30 countries a week. That's a good place for us to be in this first phase, given that we're focused on raising international awareness of Boston's economic assets. In terms of the diversity of the group, it's worth noting that Color Magazine, a publication that serves professionals of color, honored BWP as Boston's most important Change Agent for 2009 for our efforts in strengthening and celebrating the region's diversity. Their awards are decided by panels of minority professionals. Again, real people. No models. As far as the actual data points: 42% of Connectors are women, 31% are people of color, 21% are born in another country, representing 30 different countries. I'm pretty confident that this is a more inclusive mix than any other professional organization in Greater Boston. Certainly room to keep building on that, but we're proud of where we stand at this early stage in terms of the authentic diversity of the group we've engaged, and the recognition for that from groups like Color Magazine and The Commonwealth Compact. In terms of finances, this is a public-private partnership in which P&G and the BRA provided performance-based seed funding to launch the initiative. (I think you can find this information in lots of places on the web. We've been very open about it). That allowed us to build the Connector model, which is totally unique. The BRA's portion of that funding was a million dollars over three years. Not exorbitant, especially given the kind of results we're getting (more on that below). Those are the only public dollars in this venture, and that was a one-time commitment. BWP will have to live or die based on its ability to get the private sector and foundations to support the organization going forward, and its ability to find other ways to monetize network activity. Just like any other startup. In terms of the accomplishments, we have a whole slew of year one performance data coming out next month. That's still being compiled and case studies are still being reported and fact-checked, so I won't get ahead of that process for the sake of commenting on your blog. I will say that we will publish a white paper with that data and those case studies, and that it will include a case study showing how our work enabled Boston to retain 100 jobs and add another 100+, which translates to more than $10M in salary. For us, this first year really has been focused on understanding how the Connector model works and calibrating it to make it work better, so that we could start to build on it and use it in more and more ways as a vehicle to promote Boston and to connect investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs to the resources they need to locate and grow here. Again, that's happening and we'll include lots of data and case studies in our publication next month. Enjoy the weekend, Dave McLaughlin http://www.twitter.com/connectorsRus Hi Mike,

Thanks for your interest in Boston World Partnerships. Here are some facts relative to the contents of your letter/rant…

Every single person on the BWP site was shot on the streets of Boston and Cambridge by Michael Piazza. Not the former Mets catcher. The Michael Piazza we used is a professional photographer in the area. No fake models there. Here’s Michael’s LinkedIn page… http://www.linkedin.com/profile?viewProfile=&key=37243528&authToken=GE3F&authType=name

Sorry to hear you feel the site is an insult. We see it as an experiment. And one that’s working relative to our goals. For instance, our weekly site traffic includes visits from as many as 30 countries a week. That’s a good place for us to be in this first phase, given that we’re focused on raising international awareness of Boston’s economic assets.

In terms of the diversity of the group, it’s worth noting that Color Magazine, a publication that serves professionals of color, honored BWP as Boston’s most important Change Agent for 2009 for our efforts in strengthening and celebrating the region’s diversity. Their awards are decided by panels of minority professionals. Again, real people. No models. As far as the actual data points: 42% of Connectors are women, 31% are people of color, 21% are born in another country, representing 30 different countries. I’m pretty confident that this is a more inclusive mix than any other professional organization in Greater Boston. Certainly room to keep building on that, but we’re proud of where we stand at this early stage in terms of the authentic diversity of the group we’ve engaged, and the recognition for that from groups like Color Magazine and The Commonwealth Compact.

In terms of finances, this is a public-private partnership in which P&G and the BRA provided performance-based seed funding to launch the initiative. (I think you can find this information in lots of places on the web. We’ve been very open about it). That allowed us to build the Connector model, which is totally unique. The BRA’s portion of that funding was a million dollars over three years. Not exorbitant, especially given the kind of results we’re getting (more on that below). Those are the only public dollars in this venture, and that was a one-time commitment. BWP will have to live or die based on its ability to get the private sector and foundations to support the organization going forward, and its ability to find other ways to monetize network activity. Just like any other startup.

In terms of the accomplishments, we have a whole slew of year one performance data coming out next month. That’s still being compiled and case studies are still being reported and fact-checked, so I won’t get ahead of that process for the sake of commenting on your blog. I will say that we will publish a white paper with that data and those case studies, and that it will include a case study showing how our work enabled Boston to retain 100 jobs and add another 100+, which translates to more than $10M in salary.

For us, this first year really has been focused on understanding how the Connector model works and calibrating it to make it work better, so that we could start to build on it and use it in more and more ways as a vehicle to promote Boston and to connect investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs to the resources they need to locate and grow here. Again, that’s happening and we’ll include lots of data and case studies in our publication next month.

Enjoy the weekend,
Dave McLaughlin
http://www.twitter.com/connectorsRus

]]> Comment on Drawbacks for Young Boston Geeks Considering a Move to San Fran by Mike Walsh http://themikewalsh.com/?p=179&cpage=1#comment-3197 Mike Walsh Thu, 25 Feb 2010 19:27:12 +0000 http://themikewalsh.com/?p=179#comment-3197 Tom, it's always nice to have one's casual observations backed up by hard scientific facts. See you at OpenCoffee and/or BarCampBoston5. Tom, it’s always nice to have one’s casual observations backed up by hard scientific facts.

See you at OpenCoffee and/or BarCampBoston5.

]]> Comment on Drawbacks for Young Boston Geeks Considering a Move to San Fran by Tom Summit http://themikewalsh.com/?p=179&cpage=1#comment-3196 Tom Summit Thu, 25 Feb 2010 18:45:34 +0000 http://themikewalsh.com/?p=179#comment-3196 Hey Mike, Haven't seen you in a while, hope to make it to Open Coffee again soon. Great minds think alike! http://blog.bos.genotrope.com/2009/12/16/the-real-reason-youre-wanted-in-silicon-valleysf/ Hey Mike, Haven’t seen you in a while, hope to make it to Open Coffee again soon.

Great minds think alike!

http://blog.bos.genotrope.com/2009/12/16/the-real-reason-youre-wanted-in-silicon-valleysf/

]]> Comment on Drawbacks for Young Boston Geeks Considering a Move to San Fran by Jason Evanish http://themikewalsh.com/?p=179&cpage=1#comment-3193 Jason Evanish Fri, 19 Feb 2010 22:54:10 +0000 http://themikewalsh.com/?p=179#comment-3193 Mike, Great points, if not a bit crass/blunt. Hopefully some of the cultural shifts occurring right now can continue and lead to an ecosystem here that takes away any benefits existing in Silicon Valley. Thanks, Jason ps: Shameless plug...my site, GreenhornConnect.com is focused on helping young entrepreneurs make it here by discovering all the resources, events and more that are in the Boston region. Mike,

Great points, if not a bit crass/blunt. Hopefully some of the cultural shifts occurring right now can continue and lead to an ecosystem here that takes away any benefits existing in Silicon Valley.

Thanks,
Jason

ps: Shameless plug…my site, GreenhornConnect.com is focused on helping young entrepreneurs make it here by discovering all the resources, events and more that are in the Boston region.

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