Is the Recession a Good Time for a Start-Up?

Innovation & The Recession

“chaos creates opportunity and leaner times bring focus”

Re: The Silver Lining, MIT Tech Review, http://www.technologyreview.com/business/22477/

We face the ultimate question if a recession is really the best time to be starting a new company.  There are two ways to see it: Resources are cheap and there is practically free-labor available, but on the flip side there is no money to support  these start-ups and your consumers are not looking to spend money.

It is not surprise that most companies that have emerged are tech firms where their success is based upon their user base.  People are able to take their skills that may seem simple to them (Blogging, Twittering, Social Media) and using it to develop innovative yet simple ideas that cater to their consumers.  People are curious beings and  are generally accepting to new ideas especially when they view it as a “novel” idea.

-          Mobclix – Krishna Subramanian – Helps iPhone developers monitor and profit from their apps

-          Pownce – Leah Culver – now-defunct microblogging site, now she is working with social technologies at the bloggigng site Six Apart

-          12seconds – Sol Lipman – creating “Twitter” for Video

POSITIVES: People have passion, There is talent, Large companies fall & new openings are made, Cheap resources, VCs actually like writing smaller checks to internet companies vs. one big check to a large company

NEGATIVES: Everyone wants to do it, Most Star-ups flop, Hard to force a sale, Hard to recruit people by providing stock options – not as appealing, Difficult to predict the next success

HOT AREAS: Social Media, iPhone/Mobile space, Open-Source software

When it comes down to it, you’ll never know if you’ll succeed until you try.  This is the time to take the risk, if you can motivate yourself to take the leap.

What is Pho?

Pho 32 & Shabu

2 W 32nd St # 3
New York, NY 10001
(212) 695-0888

Sometimes all you need is a nice big bowl of soup noodles.  What better way than casual, inexpensive, and tasty?

I went to “Linner” (Lunch/Dinner) with a good friend Ben yesterday. Pho32 is a small place in Korea-Town New York that is right across from Pinkberry. It is a great place if you are looking for some great soup noodles or Shabu Shabu. It is an unconventional mixtaure of two different types of cuisine: Pho, which is a Viatnamese noodle soup, and Shabu Shabu, which is a Japanese hot pot dish.

We had the Pho. It is ~$7 for a Medium bowl or $8 for a Large bowl of noodle soup. It is a large bowl of soup noodles with some beef and tendon in it. The soup has been cooked for hours so it is full of flavor. It is a ncie simple noodle dish that hits just the right spot!

Pho32 is a great place to go for someone who has never had Pho before as well. The menu has “instructions” on how to eat Pho in the best way! It describes what all the extra sauces are for and how to add the cilantro, bean sprouts and lime to make the soup perfect! Go try it out!

Inspiration.

“Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy.”- Khalil Gibran

“Happiness is like a butterfly: the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder.” – Henry David Thoreau

Tweet Tweet

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/14/technology/internet/14twitter.html?hp

Recruiting vs. Immigration Rules?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/12/business/12immig.html?_r=3&pagewanted=4&hp

Fame through the Internet

Technology has changed the way that everyone view the world. Whether or not you are willing to admit it – imagine your life without:

1) Cellphones

2) Laptops

3) Interne

These have become vital elements to our everyday life, for better or for worse. Now when you walk into a restaurant about 1/4 of the people are looking down at their “crack-berry”.  A phenomenon called youtube has provided “everyday” people the opportunity to become famous without every leaving their apartment.

Here is someone that become an internet phenomenon in 2006, but his videos are still being watched today

Living in NYC can make you cocky

A: she loves me

A: they all do, really

And he used to never date…..

Best Breakup Ever

—–Original Message—–
From:
Sent: Thursday, June 16, 2005 4:44 PM
To:
Subject: FW: Davey Neal and Sarah Watson (Best Break Up Ever)

Friends, Some of you may remember by ex-girlfriend Sarah. I recently
recieved a letter from her. I would appreciate it if you would take the
time to read it and review my response. I hope all of
you are well.

May 23, 2005

Dear Davey:

I have had a difficult time, over the past few years, achieving closure
of our relationship. It is time for me to seek
this. I have gone through the appropriate stages of anger, remorse,
sadness. It is now time for me to close this chapter of my life. I am
trying to recapture my life and gain a sense of identity back. In my
professional life I have done this, but my personal life struggles. For
so long I/We were “Sarah and Davey”,
that it is hard to gain my own identity back. I am not worried about
my career; I will soon succeed even my wildest dreams. I am just
stunted by my personal life.

I am ready to release you from my life. I also on a weekly basis
encounter people who want to tell me about you or have a discussion
about you. I do not want to deal with this anymore. I
do have a proposal on how to handle this.

I am ready to no longer be forced to deal with your presence. As to how
to deal with it, I propose the following:

1. I’ve heard you have an apartment on the West side. You
need to move out of the West side of Indianapolis, this has
always been my side of town, I own a house here, and do not rent like
you. I grew up here, and always want to live here. I would prefer if you were
to leave Indianapolis all together, but I know this is more than I
can ask.I do not want to risk running into you at any store.

2. We should officially divide our friends. Particularly
Jim, Jillian, Amy, and Ed. You should write them, thanking them
for the opportunity to be their friend and explain why you can no longer
be in contact with them. I can provide you with addresses, if you need.

3. I will stay out of Republican politics. I promise not to get involved
with any Republican politics, unless my father runs for judge, and than
I reserve the right to work on his campaign.

4. I would like you to not have anything to do with all things
Cathedral. I feel I should have ownership of the school since my mother
works there and my brother and sisters went there. You are more tied to
Wabash. This should be where you dedicate your alumni
status. I will be involved in Cathedral. When the time of reunions
comes up, I am willing to say that you can have the reunions ending in “0″
years and I will take the”5″ years. So you can have 10 years and I will take 25 years.

5. I will avoid Wabash contacts. The few guys from the
house I still speak to on a rare basis, I will not. I will also
discourage any male offspring I have from attending Wabash.

I know some of these things seem a bit harsh, but I feel they are for
the best. I do not ever really wish to see you again. I
know that this will of course happen beyond my control, but I think we
should do our best to avoid what we can.

It is my sincere hope that you understand, and do take the time to
respond. This is my last request of you.

With fondness,

Sarah

May 31, 2005

Dear Sarah,

Thanks for your letter. We broke up 3 years ago. Knowing that and
taking into consideration you believe me to be a cold, career focused,
ego-maniac, what on earth makes you think I would take
the time to think about you or agree to your proposal? But since I
clearly have taken the time to respond, please take a moment to review some
comments and counterproposals I have crafted.

1. First, I will have to resist the burning urge to move RIGHT NEXT
DOOR TO YOU. After that deep desire subsides, I will vacate the
Westside and return to my roots: The Snooty Northside, as you used to
call it. However, since I was born on the Northside and I have
Northside in my veins you must abdicate all ties to the North. This
includes: Living on the Northside, living on the Northeastside, walking
down North Street, being a fan of the Dallas Stars (formerly the
Minnesota North Stars), wearing North Face apparel or telling
your children that Santa lives at the North Pole.

1 (B). I was born in Indianapolis before you were so I should really
get to determine who stays and who goes. In my benevolence I will let you exist here
only within the St. Michael’s Parish boundary (MLK Dr. to High School
Rd. and 56th Street to 10th St.) We will call this the SarahZone. This
should be acceptable for you as your family lives across the street and there is a gas station, grocery, convenience store, your place of employment and a fire station. Exceptions can be made with my expressed written consent. You will be required to display a large tag in your windshield giving you permission to travel beyond the SarahZone.

2. I haven’t talked to your friends since we broke up. I think they got
the message. However since we apparently are still in fourth grade,
please have your friends meet me by the playground at recess so that I can tell them they have big fat heads and they
aren’t my friends anymore.

Do you agree? _______Yes ________No________Maybe

2 (B). One of the few times you let us do something fun, we visited
some of my family friends on Geist. It was about eight years ago.
We enjoyed their boat and home for several hours during a pre-500
party. Please jot them a note saying you are going to forget that ever
happened. Please also offer to reimburse them for the boat gas,
pool chlorine, air conditioning Freon, Dr. Pepper and anything else
you consumed while you were there. I don’t have their address
anymore, you can look it up.

3. Please let me know when your father runs for anything.
I’m going to run against him.

3 (B). Thanks for staying out of Republican politics. Your heavyweight
presence in the party will be sorely missed. I am very involved in ice
hockey. I play recreationally and coach a youth team in the winter. I
would prefer it if you could stop being involved in all things related
to ice and ice hockey . You can use those instant first aid coldpaks to
cool your drinks from
now on. Also, my parents have been very involved with the Indianapolis
500 Festival for nearly 20 years. The month of May is really a big
month for us. While I am not able to honor your request of moving out
of Indianapolis, I would ask that you just leave town during May.
With 250,000 fans going to the race and 35,000 runners in the
Mini-Marathon, I don’t want to run the risk of bumping into you. I know
your
birthday is in May, but man, I just don’t care.

4. Christ, I don’t have the energy for this one.

5. If any of my friends from Wabash actually still talk to you, they
are fucking fired as friends.

5 (B). I’m not going to tell my kids anything about you. But speaking
of kids, it would be okay
with me if my son was a crack addict, just as long as he got your kids
hooked on it and became their dealer.

In closing, I will never make decisions about my life or my family
based on whether I might run into you at the store. I am now convinced
that if we ever do bump into each other, you will spontaneously
combust. I wish you the best of luck find a spouse. Seriously. It won’t
be easy to find a person who is willing to
spend the rest of his life raising children and making decisions based
on your crazy-ass proposal to an ex-boyfriend and your inability to act

like a rational human being.

All my best,

Davey

Technology’s Influence on Society

YouTube has been a phenomenon that has taken our society by storm. With groups such as soldier boy becoming famous through the internet, it seems as if anyone can become famous by uploading their own video onto the internet.

Connie Talbots

Bianca Ryan

Baby Asian

Some people do not understand how people can waste so much time on the internet, but with websites like YouTube, endless hours can be spent surfing merely one website in addition to checking your email 30 times a day.

Obese at 8 months…

The rapidly increasing problem of obesity has hit the world at a storm.  How could a mother let this happen to her child? He was born at a “normal” and healthy weight of 7pounds and 4oz, but due to his 20 meals a day has rapidly become severely obese.

Click here for more information.