David LaPlante

Notes from Silver & Gold Venture Capital Conference and Investor Dinner...Investors Hungry for Deals

Last night was the welcoming reception for the Silver Gold Venture Capital Conference. My oh my! What a difference two years makes in investor confidence! The conference is packed and full of energy. It's BACK ON BABY!

Right up front here's the statistic that matters: Northern Nevada has 13 companies on the roster of 30 presenting companies.

That's up from 5 last year and almost 50% of the field. This is very very good news.

Presenting companies like Rudi Wiedemann's Biodiesel Solutions and Arthur Neumann's Free Water are not only killer concepts, but up-and-operating, clean, renewable energy-oriented businesses that will have global impact. I wish I was on the Board for these businesses!

Chuck Alvey of EDAWN did a wonderful job of kicking off the event by highlighting how well northern Nevada is performing in diversifying our economy...and yet not glossing over the challenges we face to continue that growth. The Target 2010 study they've released with Angelou Economics DEAD ON.(Of special note: Susan Voyles' article in today's RGJ on median-income buyers in the Reno area being priced out of the market is one of the better articles to grace the front page in weeks.)

Bob Goff of the Sierra Angels and the founder/former Chairman of Nevada's Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology kicked off a private investor dinner later on in the evening in which I was lucky to attend.

The "keynote" presentation was from Susan Preston of Seraph Capital Forum, and Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Kauffman Foundation for Entrepreneurial Leadership on new proposed Federal tax legislation for private equity investing.

Susan talked about her work on the The Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs (ACE) Act of 2006 (HR 5198) which she was the main architect. The ACE Act fills a TREMENDOUS gap in current equity funding between venture capitalists and angel investors. This bill addresses that gap by encouraging accredited investors to increase equity investments in certain qualified small businesses through the creation of a 25% tax credit for accredited investors and certain partnerships (including angel investment pools if all are accredited investors) that invest cash or cash equivalents at an arm's length in a qualified small business (as defined by the Small Business Act).

Please write to our Senators (particularly Harry Reid and John Ensign) and support this Act.

What does it mean to local entrepreneurs? It means that all these wealthy Californians that relocate to Nevada for our tax benefits are incentives to take a chance on us entrepreneurs instead of sticking it in stocks and mutual funds. (Sorry to be blunt, but that's what counts.)

That means more small businesses get funded in this state through experienced private equity, and that's a VERY GOOD THING. Banks, despite their prolific full-page ads of their CEOs smiling and touting how "small business friendly" they are actually SUCK when it comes to start-up capital. Credit cards are better sources of start-up capital than you local bank. Angels are better, but they need an incentive like this.

The Dinner Panel topic was Venture Capital Fund-of-Funds: Insights for Emerging Fund Managers.

While I thought I was in for a real snoozer, it was actually a fairly insightful discussion of how well California's pension fund managers are performing and their secrets to success. (Note: CalPERS and CalSTRS are in good hands.) Panelists included Jesus Arguelles, Investment Officer II, CalPERS Solange Brooks, Investment Officer, CalSTRS Guillermo Borda, Managing Director, Banc of America Capital Access Funds Charles Merritt, Parish Capital Jeff Mills, Probitas Partners Amit Tiwari, INVESCO.

Perhaps the strongest message I heard repeated was that "fund managers invest in people". While everyone wants to methodologize the formula of success in to track records, years of experience, business plans, etc., PEOPLE trusting and investing in PEOPLE was the consensus. So what does that mean for any entrepreneur out there: focus on your poeple skills.

You can have a better technology, a better education, a better business plan, a better business plan and still lose to the guy who can work a room.

  Technorati : ACE, ACE Act of 2006, Biodiesel, Bob Goff, EDAWN, HR 5198, Target 2010, angel, angel investing, entrepreneurs, investors, nevada, reno, vc, venture capital

Time-lapse video of Reno Balloon Races on Front Page of You Tube

renobaloonraces
Originally uploaded by dave_laplante.

There's a very cool video time lapse video of the Reno Balloon Races on the front page of You Tube this morning. Put up by a user called tlapse, the video is time-lapse photography of what appears to be Sunday's race. With over 110,000 views, ~700 comments and a 4.5 star rating, this is a Reno marketer's dream come true. Somebody give this man a free weekend at the Siena!

The Reno Balloon Races is one of Reno's best events...not that we have a shortage of them. You simply can't go wrong with hundreds of brightly colored balloons and kids. (Side note: the front cover of this week's Business Week Magazine is hot air balloons. Josh & Robert blog about it here.)

While we as a family didn't make it to dawn patrol this year (getting up at 5am on a Sunday is hard!!!), we made it there in time to watch the whole gaggle go off while we kicked back and drank hot chocolate and coffee.

renoballoonraces_family
Originally uploaded by dave_laplante.

The boys and I enjoying some hot chocolate at the Reno Balloon Races.

Technorati : balloon, cgm, marketing, races, reno, rscva, screenshot, social, youtube
Del.icio.us : balloon, cgm, marketing, races, reno, rscva, screenshot, social, youtube
Flickr : balloon, cgm, marketing, races, reno, rscva, screenshot, social, youtube

Personal Branding Makeover Winner of the Century...Al Gore? Plus: Why Nevada Made the Internet

As I am writing this post, this video (below) starring Bender of Futurama with Al Gore promoting Gore's new movie -- An Inconvenient Truth -- has been viewed ~800,000 times on YouTube. I bet it will surpass a million by Friday. It's hilarious.

Asides from the fact that Bender is in (my opinion) his better-than-the-Simpsons-near-perfect-post-modern-sarcastic-humorous form ripping on Al Gore is that Al Gore is a willing participant. And this, my friends, leads me to the primary purpose of this post:

Despite your political leanings (folks this ain't about R vs D which is too 1.0 for my taste anymore), if you look at what Al " I invented the Internet" Gore has accomplished and recovered from since his stoic Veep days, he has absolutely and without a doubt won my vote as the Personal Brand Makeover winner thus far this century. (I know...too soon to call and I won't be around to call it in 94 years!)

He's absolutely been a brilliant example of diligence and recovery. [Update: Shortly after I posted this I quite by accident stumbled on a wonderful story posted only a few moments a go by Renee Blodgett. Seems we're thinking real similar tonite!]

[Side note: Unfortunately I predict that too many folks who will read this post will have their default (R) or (D) glasses on and it will distort the merit of this post and miss my point entirely. So if you think with your Partisan, click away now!]

While we all know Al Gore didn't invent the Internet, he sure knows how to use it to market himself! Releasing this video is brilliant. Self-depreciating humor is the #1 way to gain trust. Entertainment is the best form of maintaining attention. And surrounding the whole concept with a near perfect (almost wrote text book LOL!) Web 2.0 marketing initiative is brilliant. The Web site is great purely from an execution perspective.

One of the reasons I blog is this Web 2.0 initiated environment of "connecting" with people by being honest, forthcoming and personal. As a CEO of a business, a 1.0 attitude would be for me to take excruciating pains to build a personal brand that is perhaps "not who I am" by diverting people's attention from "the real me" and building an alter-ego.

Today, however, I am quite comfortable being a CEO that leverages his personal blog to publish my honest and forthright dialog (uncensored by my PR agency) in the public blogoshpere and display proudly my affinity for cheap beer, fat skis and thin expensive Tablet PCs. The 1.0 expectation of old is that I would minimally fake a rant and rave about my wine cellar, Lexus or my golf game! In fact, I prefer to rant and rave about a lot of very non 1.0 CEO things like publicly adoration and prioritizations of my family over my business (shudder!) and even go as far as to admit to playing hooky on a powder day!

But that's really better left for another post on personal branding in the 2.0...back to Al Gore:

It's unfortunate that the R's get branded as being environmentally unfriendly all the time and that the D's are by default all tree hugging hippies. I certainly hope that Al Gore rises above the typical (and expected) R vs. D slam-fest cycle and keeps this dialog above "partisan politics". I don't think that the R vs. D debates of old will survive the online social communities of the 2.0 world. R vs. D is a very "binary" dialog and ultimately a dead end. The reality is that the world is very gray and that the MySpace Generation may be the first generation to become adept at Fuzzy Thinking.

I often joke that " Nevada made the Internet". The fact is that 87% of the US's gold production comes from here and pretty much every mineral necessary or essential to make a motherboard, cell phone, router, laptop or PDA comes out of the ground here. Demonizing the mining industry for supporting the demands of the technology industry is -- and always has been -- lame.

Nevada is a mining state and we unfortunately bear the burden of being depicted as an "environmentally unfriendly state" because of that. Making the Internet is a mineral and natural resources intensive business and if you're reading this then you owe a bit of thanks to Nevada.

Mining IS dirty. 'Them 'thar minerals are in the dirt. But my recent experience is that nothing could be further from the truth at this point with regards to the motivations of the mining industry. I don't think that there isn't a mining company in this state that isn't eyeballing the opportunities to participate in the alternative energies/fuels/resources business in some fashion. In fact, I bet more-than-our-fair-share of investment capital and federal incentives ( Reid/ Ensign) raised/appropriated on alternative energies, fuels and resources ends up being directed here to-wards the "Silver State". In other words, there's gold in 'them 'thar hills and it's in the form of Al Gore driven demand for keeping this planet alive and healthy and the Adam Smith-loving investors seeking returns on their dollars. (I liken the Biodieselmania to the Moonshine economy of the Prohibition.)

Here's my prediction: from a state branding perspective, expect Nevada to emerge over the next five years as the the most environmentally relevant state in the nation! As long as the mining companies don't think like Amtrak and think more like Microsoft we'll see some interesting innovation soon...

Your thoughts?

Technorati : Al Gore, An+Inconvenient+Truth, entertainment, humor, movies, personal branding, youtube
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On Executive Interviewing: Some Do's & Don'ts; A Few Reflections on Interviewing a Batch of Highly Successful Candidates

A short while back I had the unique and rewarding experience to participate in panel interviews to assist in the selection of a new CEO to head up a large public enterprise. Finalist candidates from all over the nation were brought in and plunked down in front of a bunch of us “community folk” and slow-roasted about until cooked medium-well.

It was interesting, amusing, maddening, informative, creative and above all – educational -- to say the least. Unfortunately I am bound by an NDA which prevents me from disclosing anything really juicy! [Side note on this process: Actually – there’s not much to tell despite what the mainstream media trying to sell papers may want you to believe. And despite what the hyperbole-mongrels of community conspiracy theory would have you believe, there isn’t anything going on behind closed doors other than giving some decent folks from out of town a little privacy, respect and comfort.]

Since I am a student of the “personal branding” and “relationship marketing”, I enjoyed dissecting relationship development under the stress of an executive interview. I managed to keep some notes in the margins of these interviews that are “general enough” that they should be of assistance to any executive in the hotseat interviewing for a leadership position:

1. Understand the rules and expectations of the “game”. Understand how much time you have for the interview and establish the goals of the interviewees. Only one candidate out the gate asked up front what I hoped to accomplish in the interview and that stood out positively.
2. Pay attention to the time. Take the time available and divide it in to 4 parts and query the interviewer “how am I doing, how’s the pace?” If given an hour, query at 15 minute intervals. Two reasons: One, this ensures that the pace is correct and that everyone will get to ask the questions that are most important to them. Second, this gives you an opportunity to get some feedback on how you’re doing. Forcing an interviewer to say, “You’re doing great!” reinforces that you are doing just that…great!
3. Answer in thirds. Give a 33% condensed and to the point answer. Solicit feedback on whether that covers it. If favorable, then proceed to embellish the answer with a STORY or EXPERIENCE for the next 33%. If the panel/interviewers are still interested in more, give additional perspective or dialog or extend to hypothetical situations you may encounter.
4. Tell stories. (Here we go again, David LaPlante wanting you to use stories!) Entertain. But know the moral of the story you tell. Anyone who knows me knows that I believe life is about making and telling stories. The best answers to questions are told from a story.
5. Be conversant. Be humble. Speak from EXPERIENCE not OPINION. OPINION = BAD: “I think this community should pave the parks!.” EXPERIENCE = GOOD: “It’s been my experience that when we paved our community park we enjoyed a substantial cost reduction lawn trimming services.”
6. Dress for success and don’t be afraid to stand out. But don’t go overboard. MEN: A loud pinstripe suit may be OK if it’s New York and you’re interviewing at Goldman Sachs. Once you get the job, the pinstripe is a good thing. Pinstripes have ego. This can be dangerous. Someone with a very strong and overpowering personality may actually want to choose for something more subtle. The opposite is true. Wear sharp solid suit and embellish it with bright colors in the short – not the tie. If you’re interviewing for a job that pays over $100,000 a year, you can afford to wear a suit made in the last freakin’ decade! In fact, it would be your best bet to buy a new suit.
7. Stage presence. Practice your stage presence.
8. Hedge your criticisms with your reasoning and explore the other alternatives. Example: “From the knowledge and experience I have, this is my observation. It’s not an effective campaign. However, I’ve been a leader long enough to know that in any organization with smart folks that my observation may not be drawn hastily. There’s reasoning for everything and usually more to the story than what meets the eye.”
9. Body language does not lie! Make frequent eye contact. Say people’s names. Get their attention and keep it. I kept chickenscratch notes on eye contact alone. My “strongest” candidate made eye contact with me almost 3x more than the second. The worst interviewee ranked only made eye contact 6 times. That’s only 10% of the “average”. Crazy yet amazing and true!
10. AND FOR GOD’S SAKE SMILE! 8-)

Do you have any items/thoughts to add? I’d really like to get a thread going on this one!

Reminder: CET's Tech Thursday June 15

Please join us on June 15th for Northern Nevada's premier technology and entrepreneurial networking event!

June's Tech Thursday is sponsored by the Siena Hotel Spa Casino. Hark back to the days of Cocktails.com in the Siena's spacious ballroom overlooking the Truckee River!

Chuck Alvey, EDAWN’s president/CEO, will provide a brief update on the Target2010 economic planning initiative underway in northern Nevada, and will preview the preliminary target industries identified as having the greatest potential for growth in the region.

Facts and Figures

Thursday, June 15 > 5:30 – 7:30 pm Siena Hotel Spa Casino [Map]

1 S Lake Street, Reno

$10 donation at door Appetizers and no-host bar

RSVP by Tuesday, June 13th to Emily Lowe at RSVP@CETNv.com.

A person who is nice to you but rude to the waiter, or to others, is not a nice person.

A wonderful article in USA Today on how CEOs look at how others treat waiters as a guage of character. This is true. And we all know it. I've made many mental notes on people based on this.

Growing up at a ski resort where Texans flush with oil money came to town by the hundreds taught me this lesson early in life. Working in my parent's ski shops getting mistreated by folks every night made quite an impression on me.

The article talks about Swanson's Rules. This is the first time I've heard of these but they are awesome. I see people blowing #18 every day in my email Inbox.

SWANSON'S UNWRITTEN RULES

1: Learn to say, "I don't know." If used when appropriate, it will be used often.
2: It is easier to get into something than to get out of it.
3: If you are not criticized, you may not be doing much
4: Look for what is missing. Many know how to improve what's there; few can see what isn't there.
5: Presentation rule: When something appears on a slide presentation, assume the world knows about it and deal with it accordingly.
6. Work for a boss to whom you can tell it like it is. Remember, you can't pick your family, but you can pick your boss.
7: Constantly review developments to make sure that the actual benefits are what they were supposed to be. Avoid Newton's Law.
8: However menial and trivial your early assignments may appear, give them your best effort.
9: Persistence or tenacity is the disposition to persevere in spite of difficulties, discouragement or indifference. Don't be known as a good starter but a poor finisher!
10: In doing your project, don't wait for others; go after them and make sure it gets done.
11: Confirm the instructions you give others, and their commitments, in writing. Don't assume it will get done.
12: Don't be timid: Speak up, express yourself and promote your ideas.
13: Practice shows that those who speak the most knowingly and confidently often end up with the assignment to get the job done.
14: Strive for brevity and clarity in oral and written reports.
15: Be extremely careful in the accuracy of your statements.
16: Don't overlook the fact that you are working for a boss. Keep him or her informed. Whatever the boss wants, within the bounds of integrity, takes top priority.
17: Promises, schedules and estimates are important instruments in a well-run business. You must make promises — don't lean on the often-used phrase: "I can't estimate it because it depends on many uncertain factors."
18: Never direct a complaint to the top; a serious offense is to "cc" a person's boss on a copy of a complaint before the person has a chance to respond to the complaint.
19: When interacting with people outside the company, remember that you are always representing the company. Be especially careful of your commitments.
20: Cultivate the habit of boiling matters down to the simplest terms: the proverbial "elevator speech" is the best way.
21: Don't get excited in engineering emergencies: Keep your feet on the ground.
22: Cultivate the habit of making quick, clean-cut decisions.
23: When making decisions, the "pros" are much easier to deal with than the "cons." Your boss wants to see both.
24: Don't ever lose your sense of humor.
25: Have fun at what you do. It will be reflected in you work. No one likes a grump except another grump!
26: Treat the name of you company as if it were your own.
27: Beg for the bad news.
28: You remember 1/3 of what you read, 1/2 of what people tell you, but 100% of what you feel.
29: You can't polish a sneaker.
30: When facing issues or problems that are becoming drawn-out, "short them to the ground."
31: When faced with decisions, try to look at them as if you were one level up in the organization. Your perspective will change quickly.
32: A person who is nice to you but rude to the waiter, or to others, is not a nice person. (This rule never fails).
33: Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, an amateur built an ark that survived a flood while a large group of professionals built the Titanic!
Postscript: The qualities of leadership boil down to confidence, dedication, integrity and love.

Drinking & Debauchery in Reno-Tahoe with #1 Podcast Diggnation

The boys from Diggnation -- Kevin Rose, Alex Albrecht, Keith Harrison and David Prager -- came to Reno-Tahoe for the first ever/annual Diggnation fan appreciation / skiing / snowboarding / drinking / blackjack / overeating / hungover party.

I think pretty much everyone left with either damaged livers or sore legs or both from all the partying and skiing/snowboarding. A sign of a truly good time.

I've posted a Flickr photo set here.

The Diggnation Episode #38 podcast is posted here. It will go down in history as a classic. Just watch this episode and you will realize why podcasting is such a "real medium". It doesn't get any more real than this!

Diggnation promo's Reno-Tahoe

Gotta download and listen to Diggnation Episode #30 whereby we (Diggnation, Twelve Horses and the Reno-Tahoe destination) make Podcasting history. The first technology podcast to promote a vacation destination is in the iTunes can! Listen to the last 5 minutes...

What will be interesting here is the response rate...stay tuned!