H E L P Pittsburgh

New Identity

2007-12-24T14:44:00.000-05:00

To anyone who may stumble upon this blog, please take a look at Help Startups. We have changed our organization name from Help to this one, and I will soon be starting a new blog to correspond with our web portal for entrepreneurs.

BTW - If you would like to have a Help Startups portal in your area, please contact me, and I'll be happy to talk with you!

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back?

2007-05-30T19:30:00.000-04:00

Sometimes Pittsburgh seems the perfect setting for that Bruce Springsteen song. Every time we take a step forward someone pops up to knock us back.

One day we're cited as one of the most liveable cities in America, the very next we're pointed out as one of the worst for particle pollutants! Announcements are made about new funding sources, and then the Kauffman Foundation announces that Pennsylvania ranks 49th in the nation in business-creation! Check out Cori Shropshire's article for the details.

And, of course, our good 'burghers ALWAYS fixate on the negatives - we ARE our own worst enemy on that front, but that's another story.

What's the truth? Pittsburgh is not perfect, but then again there isn't anywhere that is. This is a very good place for a lot of reasons. We have some of everything, although in some ways we're a mile wide and an inch deep, but, over all, we compare favorably with other cities and in some areas excel!

From the HELP standpoint our area is on the upswing. Entrepreneurial activity is on the rise, and maybe, just maybe, we may find our way back to the glory days of a century ago when Pittsburgh was the entrepreneurial hub of the US. Government, universities and non-profit organizations are coordinating their activities in ways that haven't been seen since the days of Pittsburgh's first Renaissance fifty years ago. Our rivers and air are cleaner than they've been since about the time that George Washington was here before the Revolution. The city is coming back to life with more and more people moving downtown all the time to take advantage of the great treasure we have in the Cultural District.

So, I think we need to rephrase the title of this post to "Two steps forward, one step back!" Watch out world, Pittsburgh is coming back!

Technorati Tags: Kauffman Foundation

HelpStartups.com

2007-05-14T10:25:00.000-04:00

The domain name (HelpStartups.com) is reserved, along with the .net and .org iterations and technical development is underway!

This week we're having a reality show type of event to select the members of our intern team. This team will research content for our portal and call non-profit organizations, universities, professional firms, etc. in our area to gather information for listings. If you are looking for something different to do, please join us on Thursday, May 17th at 6 pm at our normal meeting place, upstairs in Doc's on Walnut Street in Shadyside!

Also, put a hold on the evening of Tuesday, September 18th, because that's when HELP will be hosting one of the biggest launch events ever in Pittsburgh to formally "open" HelpStartups.com to the world at large.

Technorati Tags: helpstartups.com

The PTC Strikes Back!

2007-04-24T21:00:00.000-04:00

One of our HELP members recently got engaged in an escalting dialogue with the Pittsburgh Technology Council. Seems it was time to renew his membership and he wasn't interested in renewing, as he didn't perceive any value from it. Well, one thing led to another as the dialogue escalated. Bottom Line - he didn't renew and apparently the Tech Council doesn't really care.

He shared the email dialogue with me and one thing that LEAPT off the screen was a "promo" insert that the people at PTC put at the bottom of their signature.

"We Help Regional Technology Companies Succeed."

Last year, Council members saved $3.7 million dollars in recruiting costs by posting 7,747 jobs at the Council’s Career Center for Members

In 2006 Council members saved $450,000 in employee health care and life insurance costs

On behalf of members, the Council successfully derailed $170 million in proposed new state and local business tax burdens during the past several years

Allow me to offer line by line intrepretations of these statements - - -

"We Help Regional Technology Companies Succeed."

Regional Technology Companies help us be profitable!

Last year, Council members saved $3.7 million dollars in recruiting costs by posting 7,747 jobs at the Council’s Career Center for Members

Refer to an excellent book, “How to Lie with Statistics” – this is based on a wildly inaccurate assumption that every job they listed was ONLY posted on their web site and that is how the position was filled – not true. Plus who “made up” the almost $500 figure per job???

In 2006 Council members saved $450,000 in employee health care and life insurance costs

“How to Lie with Statistics”, Part II – based on WHAT? Some arbitrarily selected “other” slightly more expensive plan. $450k over thousands of participants is a very small number!

On behalf of members, the Council successfully derailed $170 million in proposed new state and local business tax burdens during the past several years

I will give them credit for participating in the lobbying process, but to take sole credit for this is beyond absurd!

Hopefully, the Board will select a new leader of PTC who will change attitudes there and refocus this important organization on its true mission to promote its members and improve the economic climate of our area.

Technorati Tags: Pittsburgh Technology Council

Entrepreneur's Growth Conference

2007-04-23T16:04:00.000-04:00

Just signed up for this year's Entrepreneur's Growth Conference. An annual event put on by the Duquesne University, Chrysler Corporation Small Business Development Center. This year it is on Thursday, June 7th and is only $99 for the all day conference and lunch, IF you register by May 11th!

HELP has signed up as a sponsor to promote our upcoming entrepreneurs' web portal, helpstartups.com, which will soon be appearing! This is the only event of its kind in our area and I urge you to attend.

Technorati Tags: Duquesne University Entrepreneur's Growth Conference helpstartups.com

Field Trip

2007-04-13T10:30:00.000-04:00

Last night I had the pleasure of attending the Illinois IT Association's annual CityLights award dinner. This was the ninth year of the event, which has grown to be the premier event in Chicagoland for the IT entrepreneurial community. Awards were presented in a number of categories with each of the nominees given their props before the award was announced. Although the logistics of the event left something to be desired (more later), I'm very impressed with the concept and will see if we can create a Pittsburgh version of this event.

Something that I found to be EXTREMELY interesting was how at least half of the speakers/award winners commented on how proud they were that they and the Illinois IT Association were disproving the myth that you couldn't start and make successful a tech business in Chicago. Does this sound just a little familiar to all of us in Pittsburgh? This lament has been heard for years and seems to make it sound like its a unique Pittsburgh problem, but, guess what, its not! Every metro area in the US that isn't Silicon Valley, Austin or Boston continually laments, "How can we be like them?"

The answer is that we can't, and we shouldn't try. We need to build on our own unique identity. Pittsburgh has a combination of things that other cities would die for, and its a long list, which Pittsburghers usually can't see. One thing we do need to do, and quickly, is adopt a positive attitude toward our area, and be proactive in letting everyone know about. Another thing that would be great is for all our leaders to realize that our region will grow by supporting entrepreneurship, not by spending time and money pursuing companies running an auction to see who can give the most to get their new facility that may employ a hundred or so people.

Lots of thoughts for further pursuit, but its time to go make some $$$, so back to what was wrong with last night's event. At the top of the list was holding the event in a ballroom with MASSIVE pillars that obstructed the view of about 40% of the audience. Second, the reception room felt like the inside of an old VW back in the 60's when students vied to see how many people they could pack inside. Third, the sound system was inadequate to the room and it was very difficult to understand a lot of what was being said.

All of those things are correctable, and I'm sure the association will get the logistics better in the future. In their defense, they were overwhelmed this year as the attendance jumped by about 65% over the prior year.

What's the Frequency, Kenneth?

2007-04-12T15:45:00.000-04:00

You might not remember the reference, but its supposedly what the guys said as they were beating up Dan Rather a number of years ago.

I'm using this for two reasons. First, I want to beat myself up, and second I'm hoping this post will be read by the right person.

On the morning of April 12th (Thursday), I received a VERY interesting email from a Kevin (?). He had just stumbled on to this blog and reached out to me for HELP. Seems he is a fledgling entrepreneur at Pitt, who has a Life Science product he's trying to develop, and has grown increasingly frustrated with the "run around" from multiple groups and wants to know where to go to actually get good information.

I quickly replied via my new toy, Blackberry Pearl, that I was traveling and would get back to him the next day. THEN I somehow managed to delete both his original message AND my reply from both my device AND my email server. So now I have no way of contacting him!!!

I've only had the Pearl for about a week and am still getting used to all its features and the sensitivity of its track ball. Kevin, if you see this, PLEASE send me another email, as I really do want to talk with you.

Pop City Recognition

2007-04-05T11:36:00.000-04:00

Thanks to Debra Smit of Pop City for the great article on our Entrepreneurs' Web Portal!

The word is getting around town about what we are doing, and EVERYONE is supportive of our initiative. Its sort of the Mr. Rogers Syndrome - everyone likes you!

Technorati Tags: Pop City Debra Smit

The times they are a changin'

2007-04-05T10:19:00.000-04:00

Opened my email and the paper this morning to good news - Steve Zylstra has "resigned" and, hopefully, a breath of fresh air will be blowing through the halls of the Pittsburgh Technology Council (PTC)!

Many of our HELP members don't belong to the PTC, as we, honestly, have much better things we could spend the money on. Many others belong only to pick up the healthcare insurance, but see no other value.

Steve Zylstra had taken on all the trappings of an old style Soviet leader, in that he had himself appointed the top person in a long list"non-profit" organizations, and was the sole arbitrator of what would or would not be done. He headed up so many organizations that he probably needed a double-sized business card!

Steve was also not a particularly friendly person to those who he deemed to be at his level or below in status. I'll never forget the time I met him and he asked me what I did. When I told him I was the President of a software startup. He didn't say a word, but just turned and left me talking to air!

Also, under his leadership, it was well known around town that there could be no partnering with the PTC. Either they "owned" an initiative or an event, or they had no interest in participating. I and others I know learned the hard way about trying to "partner" with the PTC. The joke around town has been, "If you invite the PTC to the table, the next thing you know, they own the table and are charging you to sit at it!"

Innovation Works has undergone a stunning transformation under the able leadership of Rich Lunak; from their troubled past to a much more dynamic, responsive and open organization. We hope the same will prove to be true under the new leader of the PTC.

We wish the PTC Board of Directors well in this selection process, and trust they will find a dynamic leader who understands that the PTC mission is to work for its members and our community, not to search for new revenue streams to fund increasingly expensive internal operations.

Technorati Tags: Pittsburgh Technology Council Steve Zylstra

More Foundation Support

2007-03-19T19:09:00.000-04:00

Last week the Benedum Foundation agreed to join The Heinz Endowments in granting funds to help build out and launch our entrepreneurs' web portal. The funds from Benedum will allow us to assemble a project team of college interns to do content research and gather listing information from local public and private entrepreneurial resources.

The door is always open for anyone who would like to help us make the entrepreneurs' web portal a success, just email or call!

Technorati Tags: Benedum Foundation Heinz Endowments

Web Portal Progress

2007-03-04T13:07:00.000-05:00

We have been making good progress on the entrepreneurs' web portal; with a dedicated team putting together all aspects of the initiative - portal design, content research, community outreach and marketing. We are targeting September for a MAJOR launch event and are proud to announce the creation of an Advisory Board of noteworthy leaders in the entrepreneurial community. Currently our Board members are:

Joel Adams - Principal, Adams Capital Management
Jane Orie - Pennsylvania State Senator
Catherine Mott - Managing Partner, BlueTree Capital LLC
Bob Meeder - President, Pittsburgh Gateways
Mary McKinney - Director, Duquesne Univ. SBDC
John Manzetti - President & CEO, Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse
Harold Miller - President, Future Strategies (past President, Allegheny Conference
John Rodney - Partner, Thorp Reed & Armstrong, LLP, Chairman MIT Enterprise Forum
Kelly Szejko - Executive Director, Pittsburgh Venture Capital Association
Randy Eager - EIR, Innovation Works
Rich Ekstrom - CEO, Proteopure
Pam Selker Rak - President, CommuniTech

Our first Board meeting was held recently and provided us with a lot of good information and direction to guide our conduct of this important initiative. We especially want to thank John Rodney, for allowing us to use the main conference room at Thorp Reed & Armstrong, LLP.

Check out this VIP

2007-03-04T12:54:00.000-05:00

VIP in this case stands for Very Important Paper. The Kauffman Foundation just released a comprehensive yet to-the-point white paper on the state of entrepreneurism in the US - On the Road to an Entrepreneurial Economy: A Research and Policy Guide. Many of its points have been recognized by HELP and are part of our objectives to improve the entrepreneurial environment in Pittsburgh.

At least we know that Pittsburgh isn't the only place in the country experiencing a lot of these "roadblocks" to entrepreneurial innovation! If you have ANY involvement with entrepreneurial activities, I strongly urge to read this important paper.

Technorati Tags: Kauffman Foundation Entrepreneurial Economy

Good News / Bad News

2007-02-17T09:55:00.000-05:00

We previously offered cheers on learning of the new Angel Fund that was spearheaded by Innovation Works and includes Pitt and CMU. Although we are still pleased at this development, the waters are gettting muddy.

First, we hear that Bob Dickson dropped out of the triumvirate that was chosen to run the Angel Fund. Then we hear that Blue Treee is going to start up a similar fund, AND so is someone from the Erie area.

The Good News is that funds are being raised to address a critical need in our entrepreneurial community - seed capital. Having one fund is good, and having three must be great. Right? Well, maybe.

There is a limited amount of investment money that's open to higher risk, seed stage investing (particularly in Pittsburgh's risk averse climate). Will we end up with three funds with enough money to really make a difference with startup funding? Or perhaps, they will vie with each other for investor attention, ending up underfunded and unable to make many investments.

We certainly hope for the former, but are concerned the latter may be the result. One reason is that Bob Dickson decided not to participate because he thought there wasn't enough money available to properly capitalize all the funds. Stay tuned!

Technorati Tags: Pittsburgh Angel Funds Blue Tree

A Tale of Two City (organizations)

2007-02-05T09:01:00.000-05:00

Well, it seems that the Pittsburgh Technology Council and TiE Pittsburgh have decided to take on each other. Either that or they are clueless to the fact that they've scheduled important events at exactly the same time.

On February 15th, PTC, with the CIO Forum, is hosting the third annual CIO of the Year Dinner. This is THE event in the IT field in Pittsburgh, always playing to a packed house. And then along comes TiE Pittsburgh with an Open Source Summit at precisely the same time, AND they line up an all-star group, including Ray Lane, one of the premier global names in the VC field.

My problem is how do I clone myself so I can attend both events? The CIO dinner is very important to my company and provides fantastic networking opportunities, BUT the Open Source Summit is equally important, yet in a different context.

If only organizations like these could check and see what else may be scheduled. Oh wait, that's one of the many features that our new Entrepreneurs' Web Portal will provide - a comprehensive, on-line events calendar!

Technorati Tags: Pittsburgh Technology Council TiE Pittsburgh

Entrepreneurs' Web Portal - LIVES!

2007-02-04T13:44:00.000-05:00

I am so ticked at myself. I've barely made any posts to this important blog over the past six months. During that time I periodically said, "I'm going to start back again with regular posts." and then I didn't.

Well this time its for real! The HELP entrepreneurs' web portal has received foundation funding and HELP has become a subsidiary operation of Pittsburgh Gateways. There will be LOTS of ongoing news to impart on both of these issues and I WILL be making frequent posts to this blog. I don't want to promise anything remotely like daily posts, however, as I KNOW I'm not that dedicated!

Within the upcoming week I will be posting on various aspects of the web portal initiative and also on our alignment with Pittsburgh Gateways. I need to bring everyone up to date on a number of issues before I can start going forward.

Sorry for being away for so long!

Technorati Tags: Pittsburgh Gateways

Happy New Year!

2006-12-27T08:44:00.000-05:00

2007 looks to be a very happy new year for HELP. We're about to embark on building and launching the entrepreneurs' web portal that we have been championing for almost two years. This promises to be one of the most significant events in the history of entrepreneurism in Pittsburgh. Yeah, I know, that seems a little over the top, but it is true.

With this portal it will be possible for all "players" in the entrepreneurial area to know of and immediately link with everyone else. Also, it will provide MUCH needed assistance to budding entrepreneurs and will give the community at large a window into the entrepreneurial world.

We will be reaching out throughout southwestern Pennsylvania to gather information, link with support agencies and professional firms, encourage all entrepreneurs to participate and promote this service to the entire community.

I apologize for my "walk about", as my Aussie friends call it, over the second half of this year. I got caught up in a number of business activities and simply was completely negligent in keeping up this blog. Well, I have returned and will quickly do a year end wrap up and then give you a preview of upcoming HELP activities.

Thanks to everyone who has stepped up to help HELP advance our agenda!

Partnering with our Universities

2006-10-19T20:18:00.000-04:00

Another fun meeting! It was great to be back in the warm confines of Doc's private room.

Don Smith was a very interesting guest giving us a view into what the University Partnership (Pitt & CMU) he heads up is doing for the universities, the general Oakland area and our entire region to promote entrepreneurship. This partnership is unique in our country. There are a couple of other instances of universities working together on some specific initiative, but our schools are the only ones who have formed cooperative efforts across a wide range of initiatives.

This is another example of how our organizations and their leaders are starting to pull together to closely coordinate activities. This maximizes everyone's efforts and helps to ensure the highest degree of success possible. Pittsburgh is very fortunate to continue the long line of visionary leaders who have graced our region.

Now, if we could just get the general populace to stop being so negative about our city, and understand that entrepreneurship isn't a bad thing, we could REALLY take off!

Technorati Tags: Don Smith Pitt CMU University Partnership

No, I didn't disappear

2006-09-11T21:14:00.000-04:00

Hi one and all! Sorry about going "dark" for almost a month. I started a consulting engagement and it, along with ALL the other stuff I've got going has taken every second of my time for several weeks.

I have, however, been working diligently on HELP! We have a very exciting meeting tomorrow - doing a live TalkCast at the offices of a new, HOT startup, TalkShoe. I hope to announce within the next week two very exciting guests for our October and November meetings. Also, our entrepreneurial web portal is getting closer to reality. Unfortunately, I still can't say much, as "things" are in work.

My work is starting to get under control and I will resume regular posting with a recap of tomorrow night's meeting.

Pittsburgh - a "Slicker City"?

2006-08-21T20:13:00.000-04:00

". . . communities must go beyond tax breaks, cheap land, and convention centers. Successful ones are . . . amassing war chests to subsidize training, R&D projects, and even startup capital. Local agencies are breaking down silos among universities, corporations, and cities across entire regions to collaborate on development." BusinessWeek Aug. 21, 2006

As I read this article entitled "Slicker Cities" I was amazed at how closely Pittsburgh aligns with all the cities mentioned. However, we either don't see it, or, probably more to the point, don't believe it.

BELIEVE IT PEOPLE! Repeat after me, "Pittsburgh is a GREAT city, with lots to offer EVERYONE from EVERYWHERE!" Please take a few minutes to read this article and let me know how YOU feel about our home town. From my vantage point the ONLY thing we need is an attitude adjustment. We have to "accentuate the positive" instead of belittling our city.

Let's get the bandwagon rolling! Let everybody know how you feel about Pittsburgh. Oh, and don't forget to invite whomever you're speaking with to join us - let them know we would LOVE to share this fantastic place with them!

Maybe Money DOES Grow on Trees!

2006-08-15T12:04:00.000-04:00

The last two weeks have seen what qualifies in Pittsburgh as "The Blizzard of the Century" for funding of startup companies. I've had to check and make sure we somehow haven't been picked up like Dorothy's house in the Wizard of Oz and deposited in the middle of Silicon Valley!

Here's a recap of the deals as reported in the Post-Gazette, the Business Times and the DowJones VentureWire Alert.

1. Cohera Medical - $6.79M Angel round
2. Plextronics - $13.1M Series A
3. Logical Therapeutics - (not disclosed)

Rumored to be "in play" for funding are:

1. mSpoke
2. Netronome
3. Renal Solutions
4. ProteoPure
5. Fluorous Technologies

All I can say is, "Keep up the good work!" It would be fantastic to see this level of activity continue through the rest of this year and set the stage for an unbelievable 2007. Maybe the upcoming 3 Rivers Venture Fair will add to the momentum!

Technorati Tags: Cohera Medical Plextronics Logical Therapeutics 3 Rivers Venture Fair

Fireworks II

2006-08-07T08:11:00.000-04:00

A month ago in my Fireworks post I talked about the undercurrent swirling around town that "things" needed to change cause the existing way wasn't working regarding support of entrepreneurial activities. I'm seeing more evidence of that and have had discussions with some of the people who are actually in a position to facilitate these changes. They have universally agreed that new directions are needed and want HELP to play a role in achieving these objectives.

I'm sorry, but it's still too early to be able to divulge any details, but be assured that forward movement has occurred and will continue to occur. My meetings have been informative and revealing, and have lead to referrals to other VIP's in town to appraise them of HELP's agenda. This week there are several meetings that are of major importance to the advance of entrepreneurial activities in Pittsburgh, and I promise that I WILL keep you informed as I can release information.

One thing I am very excited about is that it looks like the HELP proposed web portal (AKA, One Stop Shop) for Pittsburgh Entrepreneurs is getting closer to reality. There's still a long way to go, but as the old cliche' states, "The stars are aligning!" Keep your fingers crossed!

BTW - did you note Cori Shropshire's article about the two economic development organization's from Cleveland, JumpStart and BioEnterprise, visiting here to discuss collaboration? Perhaps my message in the Sibling Rivalry post is resonating!

Technorati Tags: Pittsburgh Cleveland JumpStart BioEnterprise

A Tale of Two Cities

2006-07-31T10:08:00.000-04:00

Actually, it's a tale of one city, Pittsburgh, but if you read two articles published one day apart last week, you would swear they were talking about two different cities.

In Patty Tascarella's article in the current edition of the Pittsburgh Business Times, "Region's VC deals slow after after strong start to the year" she states:

"Second-quarter venture capital investments in Pittsburgh totaled a dismal $11.44 million, spread among three companies, according to a report issued this week.

That was down from the $71.5 million given to 20 companies during the same three-month period in 2005, as well as from the combined $21.2 million raised by 12 companies during the same quarter in 2004. "

While in Cori Shropshire's Bits&Bytes column from Saturday's Post Gazette she states:

"If keeping up with the Joneses, or in this case Austin, Texas, or Denver -- is important, then Pittsburgh should do just fine. . . . . . . Innovation Works [figures] show that 11 tech start-ups landed venture capital money in the first half of this year -- putting the region on pace to top last year's 14 venture capital deals.

"Even more exciting is the fact that six of the companies were first-time VC deals -- which already equals the average number of first-time VC deals that we would expect to see in the region based on the past 10 years' data," M[att] Harbaugh [of IW] said."

OK, so is our glass half-full or half empty? I believe it's actually 3/4 empty. No matter how you interpret these numbers (reference How to Lie With Statistics) they point out that very little money, $11.44M (.0018 % of the national total), was given out to only three companies during the second quarter of this year. This is an 84% drop from the same quarter last year, and almost 50% below the same time two years ago.

Pittsburgh has an abundance of entrepreneurial talent and world-class universities generating lots of commercially viable ideas for companies and products. However, our funding for these activities is on a par with the homeless people who sit beside the interstate ramps.

We CAN Change the World

2006-07-27T17:25:00.000-04:00

"We can change the world - rearrange the world." Graham Nash

As entrepreneurs we know how to s-t-r-e-t-c-h each dollar to its ripping point, and understand how to get a lot from a little. Also, we don't have a lot of money to "throw around", but are always ready to help fellow entrepreneurs. Well, have I got the perfect program for you.

How would you like to literally change someone's life by helping them become a successful entrepreneur - for less money than taking your family out to the ballpark!

That's right, if you are able to loan $50 or $100 dollars you can, truly, make a difference. You may have heard of microloans whereby a person in a developing country is given a tiny loan to get going. Now there is an organization, Kiva, that provides you the ability to put up a VERY small amount AND pick who you want to loan it to. You don't have to cover the entire loan request, just whatever you can afford. Kiva aggregates the loans until they reach the required amount needed by each individual.

FYI - banks would kill to achieve a payoff record as spotless as Kiva (zero defaults), so not only do you help someone, but you get the money back (with interest) to do it again! BusinessWeek has an interesting article describing how this works in their July 31st issue.

If you can spare a few bucks you can be part of changing the world!

Technorati Tags: Graham Nash Kiva BusinessWeek

Sibling Rivalry

2006-07-26T14:25:00.000-04:00

I spoke with a friend from Cleveland and we shared some laughs over how incredibly similar our cities are in almost all ways other than topography and NFL football success! We are, indeed, siblings - blue-collar, Midwestern industrial cities with salt-of-the-earth, hard-working people. Both cities have seen the old, benevolent corporate "parents" cease to exist over the last twenty or so years. Although we've both made moves to reinvent ourselves, but just can't seem to make major strides or shake off the negativism.

Cleveland and Pittsburgh are both dominated by the top-down, chain-of-command thinking that came out of our corporate industry pasts. What we desperately need is some paradigm shifting, bottom-up approaches to address our weaknesses.

Along with this it would be FANTASTIC if we could just forget about the football rivalry (other than two Sundays a year!) and join forces to move forward. We continue to harm ourselves by being barely willing to acknowledge that the other city exists. I don't know if you've driven to Cleveland, but, here's a news flash, you can get there quicker (and easier) than you can to Harrisburg or State College. I've made it from my garage to downtown Cleveland in about 2 1/4 hours.

I've taken a personal pledge to see what I can do to get some activities coordinated between our cities, and encourage you to consider the possibilities.

Technorati Tags: Pittsburgh Cleveland

Google - Innovator par excellence'

2006-07-19T17:15:00.000-04:00

We all know Google - as a company AND a verb! Did you think it's "talent" was the search software? Well, that's but one of many, and you wouldn't be Googling if they also didn't "roll their own" hardware and operating software infrastructure. They have actually created their own file management, data base management and internal program management tools - the commercial ones just aren't up to their needs or fail-safe standards.

Baseline magazine features this talent in their current issue, "How Google Works", which I found to be amazing and eye opening. If only more companies would adopt their resourcefulness and innovation! Read about how they, quite literally, built there own servers out of cheap parts and cork board, when they were starting out!

There is a HUGE lesson in this for all entreprenuers.

IPv6 - Be afraid, be very afraid

2006-07-18T08:36:00.000-04:00

Well, don't be afraid of IPv6, but be afraid of what will happen to your company and our country if we don't get better prepared for this new Internet paradigm.

Quick primer - today we all use the Internet under IPv4, which has worked well, but is rapidly running out of room. You see its the protocol that controls Internet addresses. It was proposed and adopted 30 years ago as an experiment, but it became the standard with, unfortunately, not enough room to grow. Although 4.3 billion seems like a lot of addresses, it ain't! Not near enough.

However, with IPv6, the addresses get so bountiful that every person on the earth could have their own 50 octillion IP addresses. Why would we possibly want this abundance? Because where we are rapidly heading is a place where every computer, cell phone, appliance, vehicle, RFID chip, etc., has it's own, unique IP address. Believe it or not, this is a good thing, as it will enable us to do "magical" things and will make it MUCH easier to secure your data.

OK, so back to being afraid. Seems the US is seriously lagging in our approach to and adoption of this exploding technology, but NOT the Chinese. The cover story in this month's CIO magazine, China Builds a better Internet, really opened my eyes to this. The Chinese (along with the Japanese and Koreans) have mounted huge offensives to colonize the IPv6 space and shift control of the Internet away from the US.

As you read this article you see that our underlying infrastructure (hardware, operating system software, communications) is being converted, BUT the new technology has not been implemented by anyone. Even the Federal Government, with the possible exception of DOD, is lagging in shifting to this new opportunity.

I know many of you are thinking, "This doesn't effect me." Oh, but it does! The Internet, like it or not, is being inextricably woven into the fabric of our lives. There are actually Internet enabled clothes being tried out, so that is a literal statement.

You might want to check out the state of your technology infrastructure. Is it IPv6 capable? Does your software understand (and more importantly) take advantage of IPv6?

Some in Congress are trying to institute action to make sure the US doesn't lose it's lead in the Internet. So, when you hear about some obscure legislation promoting IPv6, be sure to let your representatives know that you support it!

Technorati Tags: IPv6 CIO

Panera's or Starbucks? Where do you meet?

2006-07-14T17:43:00.000-04:00

Since it's late on Friday I thought I'd have a little fun. Setting up meetings for next week made me think about how we all now meet at, primarily, these two places for numerous business meetings anymore. So I thought I would list the ones that I frequent, and see who else meets at those locations, or if there are other popular ones.

For Panera's my main meeting locations are, in no particular order:

Wexford, Rt 19
Oakland, Blvd. of the Allies
Waterworks
Monroeville, Miracle Mile
Robinson, The Pointe
Mt. Lebanon, Galleria

For Starbucks the locations, again in no order, are:

Greentree, by the Olive Garden
Oakland, Forbes & Craig
Sewickley
Heidelberg
Market Square
Shadyside ( I prefer Roasters on Walnut, however)

So, where are your business hangouts?

Technorati Tags: Panera Starbucks

When will they ever learn!

2006-07-12T09:52:00.000-04:00

Had lunch yesterday with an entrepreneurial friend. They're closing down their office and looking for jobs/consulting work, because there are bills to be paid. They are keeping the company alive as they believe in their product and still do have some "irons in the fire." However, they are not "holding their breath" that any of them will turn into what's needed to move forward.

They've been through the Pittsburgh Entrepreneurial Wringer. You know, the one that showcases ALL the organizations around town that are "busting their hump" to promote entrepreneurial activities. The general public is lead to believe that our "powers that be" are doing everything possible to nourish a cornucopia of startup companies, but it just isn't true.

Unfortunately the reality is that many of these organizations primarily exist to support their own infrastructure - high-paying positions and expensive offices (with perks like luxury boxes at the sports venues). Others are more interested in academic pursuits and being recognized by the community for their good intentions.

My friend is a life-long Pittsburgher who looked forward to growing a successful company for himself and our region. He had zero desire to leave town. To paraphrase what he said to me yesterday, "Why should I stay here? This town turns its back on entrepreneurs. I might as well move to some other city, where they encourage entrepreneurs."

Now this was incredibly reminiscent of what another friend, Hooman Radfar, said when he had to relocate his company, Clearspring Technologies, to the DC area. He loves it here and was striving mightily to not only get his company launched here, but was working with HELP to promote entrepreneurial activities; having attended several meetings we had last year with the Allegheny Conference.

Check out this recent post excerpted from Business Week online - -

"For those cities on life support, the ones that many have given up hopes of reviving as thriving hubs of entrepreneurial activity, CEOs for Cities, a nonprofit organization of mayors, university presidents, corporate executives, and foundation officials -- says think again. The Chicago-based group has decided to apply business-innovation strategies to ailing urban centers like Memphis, Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Columbus to resuscitate their city "brands" and attract new residents and businesses."

So we continue to ignore the local entrepreneurs who love this city, want to stay here and are enthusiastic about helping to grow our economy. Instead, let's try to attract outsiders to move here! And we wonder why we have the national reputation as stated above.

If you were an entrepreneur would you want to relocate to a city that seems to go out of its way to actively deter the entrepreneurial spirit???

Technorati Tags: Pittsburgh Business Week

Fireworks

2006-07-05T11:33:00.000-04:00

It's so easy to forget to post, especially in the summer time. But, I'm back from the long holiday weekend and feel the need to catch up, so back to my headline - Fireworks.

Yes, we have had fireworks in town over the past few weeks and I'm not talking about the Fourth or the Pirates. There have been fireworks in that a major upheaval took place at the Allegheny Conference. Several people are out including our HELP champion, Kit Needham. We are waiting to see who will be stepping into the roles she had, as Kit was working on coordinating entrepreneurial access to our major companies and organizations.

Also, there is a decided undercurrent of discussion amongst the "major players" on the topic of "This isn't working." in regard to organizational and institutional support of entrepreneurial activities. In the last month I've spoken with a number of key people who have collaborated that there are high-level discussions ongoing in the vein of "Does the emperor have any clothes?" Seems that things we have been mentioning (along with other people and groups) are starting to get noticed at the top.

One never knows what twists and turns will manifest themselves, but don't be surprised if more "changes" happen. And the "word" I'm hearing is that these will be driven by a desire to truly improve things. I'll keep you up to date as I'm able to put the word out.

Technorati Tags: Allegheny Conference

HELP Member Speaks Out

2006-06-21T18:23:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to Kevin Orzechhwski, President of Learning Point, on the publication of his Letter to the Editor, Get organized, take risks, in the Post-Gazette in yesterday's Business section. Kevin was writing (very eloquently) to support the stand that Harold Miller had taken in his June 4th article (see prior post below).

Kevin's letter was included in The Private Sector portion of the Business section, which also contained two articles of interest to Pittsburgh's entrepreneurial community. The first, All signs point to RoboBurgh, was written by Dan Kara, President of Robotics Trends, a media firm serving the robotics technology marketplace. In his article Dan presented many, many reasons why Pittsburgh is absolutely positioned to become a global hub of robotics activity.

The second article, Rand finds Pittsburgh grand, was written by James A. Thomson, President of the Rand Corp., and Barry Balmat, Director of their Pittsburgh office. In their article they present the many reasons why Rand selected our town, why they are very happy with that decision and the many local projects they are involved with.

Technorati Tags: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Robotics Trends Rand Corp

Major Bill in Congress for Entrepreneurs

2006-06-16T15:18:00.000-04:00

I just found out about a bill with MAJOR impact on entrepreneurs that's been introduced into the House of Representatives. PLEASE contact your representative and express your support for this important legislation!

Newswise — Federal legislation that would provide a tax credit to angel investors could substantially help entrepreneurs secure much needed seed capital for their ventures and stimulate growth in moving ideas from the laboratory to the marketplace, according to Jeffrey Sohl, professor of entrepreneurship and decision sciences, and director of the Center for Venture Research at the University of New Hampshire.

Sohl recently was invited to testify in support of HR 5198, The Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs Act of 2006, authored by U.S. House Small Business Committee Chairman Don Manzullo (R-IL) and U.S. Rep Earl Pomeroy (D-ND). The legislation would create a 25 percent tax credit for individuals and groups that make equity investments in small early-stage companies.

Full Article

Complete Text

Technorati Tags: House of Representatives legislation entrepreneurs

Holding the Press Accountable

2006-06-12T20:02:00.000-04:00

I took Corilyn (Cori) Shropshire to task on the article, "For local tech startups, timing, luck are everything", she had in last Thursday's Post-Gazette. The article was inspired by Hooman Radfar's company Clearspring Technologies, which finally corralled the funding they needed, BUT had to move to Arlington, VA, to get it.

Cori's article made it sound like we had only two startup technology companies in Pittsburgh, with one being funded here and one elsewhere. I pointed out to her that she ignored the many, many companies that did NOT receive any funding.

Instead of a "win one, lose one" proposition, what we have is a win a very occasional one and lose a LOT scenario. We need more startup and early stage funding here. We've got great ideas and dedicated entrepreneurs but no money to bring the concepts to fruition.

He's Back!

2006-06-04T13:56:00.000-04:00

Hi there,

I'm back physically and almost mentally from my Excellent Adventure (2,200 mile road trip in the '67 Tempest). I wanted to let all our HELP friends know about the fine column Harold Miller had in the Business section of today's Post-Gazette.

Remember that Harold was our guest at our April meeting, and then see what he has to say about entrepreneurs and how our community reacts to them!

"Is Anybody Out There . . . . Anybody Care?"

2006-05-18T14:07:00.000-04:00

With apologies to Def Leppard.

I'm about to embark on a good old fashioned ROAD TRIP! It won't be long, about a week, but it WILL be an adventure! In case there is anyone "listening" out there I'm going to create a separate blog to initially document the journey and then build out from there as I "express ma self", as an old R&B song stated. If you're interested, join me on my journey!

Pittsburgh Blogging

2006-05-15T09:48:00.000-04:00

I wanted to thank the Pittsburgh Bloggers organization for accepting our HELP blog as a member of their roster. You'll notice the Black 'n Gold (what else!) link to Pittsburgh Bloggers. You may also notice that a link has been removed. One of our friends has "taken his show on the road" and won't be blogging about Pittsburgh any more. Hopefully, I'll be able to give you that story soon.

When Will They Ever Learn?

2006-05-13T11:12:00.000-04:00

Cori Shropshire had front page coverage of her story, "The Pittsburgh Region Studies and Studies, but does it Learn?" Then on last night's Off Q program on WQED the panel picked up on her story and agreed with her premise - we've spent tons of money on study after study, but never do anything! Her story concerns all the almost innumerable studies done over the last generation on what should be done to promote economic development in Pittsburgh.

We would have been WAY better off if the money had been doled out to some promising entrepreneurs. They would actually have created economic development with the funding, instead of enriching another research institute!

Another interesting sideline is that, once again, the people conducting the study restricted their fact finding to the universities, non-profits and the same old entrepreneurial "war horses" that always are consulted. I didn't hear about them reaching out to any true startups to get their input!

SUCCESS!!

2006-05-10T12:10:00.000-04:00

Last night's Entrepreneurial Mash-Up was an unqualified success thanks to all the attendees and the outstanding work of the PUMP committee! There was lots of valuable networking going on from the beginning of the event until after the food and bar tables were being taken down.

Andrew Moore, Engineering Director of Google's new lab at CMU, was a big hit with the crowd and made everyone realize that an entrepreneurial "buzz" is building in Pittsburgh.

The Heinz 57 Conference Center is a fantastic facility and I highly recommend organizations and companies consider it for their conferences and business meetings.

Special thanks go out to the following committee members who were instrumental in making the event an success. W.M. Nzambi, Steven Paul, Adrienne Garber and Erin Molchany. A special "award" is bestowed on Jess Nauman, who really took our event on his shoulders about two weeks ago and carried it to the finish line.

Everyone I spoke with last night thought it was an outstanding event - great networking, facility, food and drink. We've proven the concept and now have to turn to seeing how we can make our Mash-Ups a sustainable, semi-annual event. IF we can pull it off, I'm looking for the next event to be sometime in October.

I'm Ready for my Close-up, Mr. DeMille

2006-05-06T08:04:00.000-04:00

Yesterday afternoon I visited the studios of WPXI to tape the Friday night PCNC Night Talk show. Now I know why the station is building a new studio, but that's another story!

The topic of the show was entrepreneurism in Pittsburgh and it was hosted by P.J. Maloney. On the panel with me were Frank Demmler of Innovation Works and Jerry Paytas from CMU. We had a lively discussion on a full range of entrepreneurial issues and hopefully a couple of people were watching! Most importantly I was able to put forth the points that are important to HELP such as lack of investment funds, inability to gain access to the corporate community, the need for coordination among the various organizations and agencies, more availability of mentors and seasoned management, and finally, the need for the community to be supportive.

My wife, Anita, sat in on the taping and said she thought I did a good job. All of you who are married will understand that to be an HONEST assessment, as your spouse is always your worst critic! I will have to catch myself on tape to judge my "performance", but it WAS fun!

Register for the Mash-Up

2006-04-25T16:53:00.000-04:00

The word is swirling around town about the Mash-Up coming up on Tuesday, May 9th, which normally would be our HELP meeting night. If you haven't registered already (it's FREE!) then Register Now!

PUMP is doing a super job of getting the event organized and kudos to Erin Molchany their Executive Director for lining up such a splendid facility, the Heinz 57 Conference Center. I've distributed information on the event to ALL the entrepreneurial "players" in town, and we're hoping to have more than 200 people in attendance. This will be one of the last business events until next fall, so make sure to attend.

Did I mention that it's FREE!

HELP & The Allegheny Conference

2006-04-20T10:53:00.000-04:00

On Tuesday Jake Witherall and I had lunch with Mike Langley, President of the Allegheny Conference and Kit Needham, their Senior Vice President and the leader of the Conference's entrepreneurial efforts.

Jake and I were very pleased to learn that Mike has an entrepreneurial background and was, prior to his current role, heading up an organization promoting entrepreneurial activities in south Florida. Both Mike and Kit are very attuned to helping to promote entrepreneurs in our area and were pleased at the opportunity to meet with us and discuss how our organizations can compliment each others activities in this important area.

Totally coincidentally, we ran into Sunil Wadhani on our way to lunch and brought him into our conversation for awhile. Sunil is the CEO of iGate, AND the chairman of The Allegheny Conference committee on promoting entrepreneurial activities.

I continue to be encouraged that attitudes and, more importantly, actions are moving in the right direction for entrepreneurs in Pittsburgh!

What a Meeting!

2006-04-17T14:56:00.000-04:00

I'm (as usual) running a little late with my postings.

Last week's HELP meeting was our best ever! Our guest, Harold Miller, now heads up his own organization Pittsburgh's Future and, for many years, was President of the Allegheny Conference. Harold, led the discussion almost like a graduate school discussion on entrepreneurial issues in Pittsburgh.

We HAD to move out on to the deck (under a tent) to accomodate the overflow crowd. Everyone was so engaged with the discussion that we ran past our normal end time, and no one was even thinking of leaving!

Harold followed up the next day by entering a post on his blog supporting HELP's proposal to create an entrepreneurs web portal. Thanks, Harold, for a GREAT meeting!

Entrepreneurial Luncheon

2006-04-06T18:16:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to eLifelines and M2 Technology (with minor assistance from HELP) for hosting an excellent luncheon on the past, present and future of entrepreneurism in Pittsburgh. The event was held at the Engineers Society, which is a very old line group, but a new location for yours truly!

The lunch was very good and the speakers and panelists were great! Tim Paluka offered some interesting vignettes on Andrew Carnegie, H.J. Heinz, and Charles Hall the founder of Alcoa. It must have been incredibly exciting to live in Pittsburgh from 1880 through the early 1900's! Next Frank Demmler, reviewed entrepreneurial events over the last 25 years, and concluded that we are moving in the right direction, but have further to go.

Finally, Karl Schnieneman convened the panel consisting of Sunil Wadhani, Glenn Meakem and Carl Cohen. These gentlemen had numerous extremely valid insights into what it takes to be an entrepreneur and what needs to be done to improve Pittsburgh's entrepreneurial environment.

I'm happy to say that at least ten HELP members attended this fine event!

New Blood in Town!

2006-04-06T18:07:00.000-04:00

I had the pleasure of meeting with Mary Reibe yesterday. Mary recently relocated from the Twin Cities area in Minnesota. Along with several other things, she is the Director, Chatham Center for Women's Entrepreneurship at Chatham College.

Mary held a similar position in MN and has a LOT of background in entrepreneurial activities. She wants to become very active in promoting women's entrepreneurial activities in Pittsburgh and is looking forward to meeting the "movers and shakers."

HELP welcomes Mary to our town and encourages you to link up with her!

100,000 AttaBoys to the Life Sciences Greenhouse!

2006-03-22T20:17:00.000-05:00

Cori Shropshire's article in today's Post-Gazette presents the story of the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse (PLSG) providing $100,000 or more to eight local companies to provide some bridge funding. Now I know that in the Life Sciences $100k is sort of like "lunch money" yet every little bit helps!

I greatly applaud this move and sincerely hope to see something like it for entrepreneurs in all the other fields. Looks like the PLSG "gets it" and is really working to fulfill its mission. I was impressed when I heard their President, Doros Platika, speak at an MIT Enterprise Forum event back in early 2004. I thought to myself, "He understands the needs, and, not being from Pittsburgh, doesn't know that things can't be done. I hope he can achieve his goals."

Congratulations, Doros! You are making a difference!

Another Voice on the Scene

2006-03-20T12:47:00.000-05:00

I just expanded my link list to include BizzBangBuzz, a blog by Anthony Cerminaro who recently opened his own law firm to service startup and emerging businesses. Anthony's blog revolves around legal issues of interest to entrepreneurs.

I welcome Anthony to the "fray" and look forward to meeting with him later this week!

Some of What We're Missing

2006-03-15T16:04:00.000-05:00

I just got notice of an outstanding FREE event being held in the Philadelphia area next week, and felt compelled to share it with you. Check out the Capital4 High Growth Companies event being held at Farliegh Dickinson University.

Bet you've never seen anything remotely like this in Pittsburgh! Making it worse is that this is just one of an ongoing series of such events occurring in the Philadelphia area.

Mashup Anyone?

2006-03-09T20:38:00.000-05:00

Hey Pittsburgh Wanna Mashup???

Those of you "plugged in" with HELP know we have been working on pulling together an entrepreneurial meetup event. The intention is to provide a venue for EVERYONE associated with entrepreneurial activities in Pittsburgh to get meet to foster closer cooperation, enhanced networking AND deal making! The concept came out of a lunch I shared with Mike Madison last Fall, as both of us felt our town needed to replicate these events that occur regularly in places like the Valley, Boston, Austin, etc.

I am overjoyed to announce our first MASHUP will be held on Tuesday, May 9th, thanks to PUMP taking a lead role in facilitating the event. We have a lot of things still to do, but I'm expecting this to be one of the most exciting events in a long time regarding entrepreneurial activities in our area!

A number of other organizations have already indicated their willingness to help us promote this fun event such as:

MIT Enterprise Forum
eLifelines
Product Strategy Network
NAWBO
Pittsburgh's Future
Pitt Tech News

And more will be joining in the next few weeks. By the time we are done, it will be all but impossible for someone to NOT know about this event. Hold the evening of Tuesday, May 9th open and look for more exciting news to come!

Has HELP Helped?

2006-03-06T19:58:00.000-05:00

Maybe I'm too close to the subject, but it certainly seems that a strong undercurrent is growing around town to improve the lot of entrepreneurs. Presented in no particular order:

1. Innovation Works is morphing into an organization that touches a much broader swath of startup companies.
2. Harold Miller leaves the Allegheny Conference and starts a new organization, Pittsburgh's Future.
3. Karl Schnieneman found eLifelines to link experienced entrepreneur mentors with startups.
4. Mike Madison's blog channels general assumptions and is widely read.
5. Christina Gabriel moves from CMU to head the Heinz Endowments Innovation Economy Program.
6. Cori Shropshire's writing continues to illuminate the entrepreneurial happenings around town.

I believe we are coming up on the dawn of a new era in Pittsburgh. Well, actually a return to what Pittsburgh was 100 years ago - a world-class center of entrepreneurial activities. Now, it ain't gonna happen overnight or even next year, but "the game's afoot!"

Has HELP had a hand in this? I strongly believe we have, if for no other reason than not backing down from our commitment to creating positive change in the entrepreneurial environment in Pittsburgh. We are reaching throughout the community to engage people and organizations who are beginning to take action. As Mao said, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." We are several steps into our journey!

What Makes a Great Entrepreneur?

2006-02-23T14:55:00.000-05:00

I must be getting soft - I've got more praise to dole out!

The Pittsburgh chapter of the MIT Enterprise Forum has been consistently presenting excellent programs for many years, but last night's was, as they say on TV, a VERY SPECIAL EVENT!

I got enjoyment and enlightenment from listening to the short presentations from one of the most stellar entrepreneurial panels ever assembled in Pittsburgh. Each entrepreneur was asked by Jack Roseman, of the Roseman Institute, to present one entrepreneurial trait they believe to be important and provide personal stories of how that came to play in their rise. They talked about perseverance, humor, integrity, interpersonal relations, adaptability and negotiating skills. Each had humorous anecdotes relating those traits to their lives.

I want to thank the MIT Enterprise Forum, Jack Roseman for assembling and moderating the panel, and the following entrepreneurs for participating:

Ken Gabriel: Co-founder, Chairman & CTO, Akustica
Roger Byford: Founder, Chairman & CTO, VoCollect
Raul Valdes-Perez: Co-founder, President & CEO, Vivisimo
Rob Cochran: Chairman, President & CEO, #1 Cochran, Inc.
Astro Teller: Co-founder, President & CEO, BodyMedia
Ron Bianchini: Co-founder Spinnaker Networks; Sr. VP Network Appliance

Yesterday was one of those many "why am I doing this" day's for me, and these gentlemen brought back to me why I do keep on fighting!

Our February Meeting

2006-02-22T10:17:00.000-05:00

If you weren't there, you missed another enjoyable and informative gathering of the HELP "tribe" last night. Once again Doc's provided us with a cozy pub atmosphere in the upstairs room with Happy Hour priced drinks and excellent pizza!

Mike Madison spurred a lot of conversation around improving the entrepreneurial community in Pittsburgh. We got into a detailed discussion on how the Pittsburgh legal community, with a handful of individual attorney exceptions, just doesn't "get it" regarding entrepreneurial needs. Mike felt that there are maybe five or six lawyers in Pittsburgh who truly understand the requirements of serving entrepreneurs. Interestingly, the only firm with more than one representative on his short list was Morgan Lewis, which is a branch office of their Philadelphia headquarters.

Mike had a lot of good pointers on what to look for and NOT look for in an attorney to serve your startup company. This honest assessments of things entrepreneurial is only available at our HELP meetings. If you REALLY want to know what's going on - come to our meetings!

FIghting the Good Fight

2006-02-14T11:40:00.000-05:00

Harold Miller is continuing his valiant efforts to improve southwestern Pennsylvania. Upon leaving his post as President of the Allegheny Conference, Harold formed PittsburghFuture, LLC. The goal of his new organization is to help focus attention and action on the priorities that will have maximum impact on the region's future economy and quality of life.

Prior to his service with the Conference, Harold was the Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Economy League of Southwestern Pennsylvania, and Director of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Growth Alliance. If ANYONE is dedicted to improving our region's future it's certainly Harold Miller.

I'm going to have the honor of meeting with Harold for lunch later this week to discuss how HELP can coordinate our activities with Pittsburgh's Future. AND I've added his web site to my "exclusive" link list! :)

Partnering with eLifelines

2006-02-09T20:29:00.000-05:00

I'm happy to announce that HELP is linking up with eLifelines to work jointly on a number of initiatives. A prime one being that eLifelines is going to expand their web site to include some of the features HELP has proposed for a Pittsburgh Entrepreneurial portal. Another is working together on the entrepreneurial meetups HELP has championed.

I met last night with Karl Schieneman, the founder of eLifelines and a successful entrepreneur. Karl is a breath of fresh air in Pittsburgh. He simply wants to do everything he can to promote entrepreneurial activities, simply because he loves our town and wants everyone to succeed!

He founded eLifelines to match up entrepreneurs with mentors who have lived through the startup struggles. Having had a successful startup, Karl is well aware of the never ending "things" every entrepreneur has to deal with. Now he's striving to give back.

Thanks, Karl! Pittsburgh can use many more like you.

February Meeting

2006-02-03T15:25:00.000-05:00

We're excited about meeting with Michael Madison this month. Michael has become the "rabble rouser" within the Pittsburgh entrepreneurial community through his blog (link at right). When he took the Allegheny Conference to task a few months ago his post was republished in the Post-Gazette and caused a lot of discussion around town.

Our meeting has been pushed back a week to avoid conflicting with Valentine's Day. We're meeting on Tuesday, February 21st, 5:30 pm at Doc's in Shadyside.

He's Back!

2006-01-20T13:52:00.000-05:00

Hello to anyone still listening. Yes I'm back and will be getting much more active.

Last night I attended an outstanding event co-hosted by the Tech Council and TiEPGH - Blogging & Podcasting - A New Marketing Tool." The panel was moderated by John Soat who is an editor of InformationWeek and does a daily webcast for CMPMedia. On the panel were:

- Rob Scoble, Technology Evangelist, Microsoft
- John Moran, Director, Schwartz Communications (Boston office)
- Mike Woycheck, founder Pittsburgh Bloggers
- Jim Singer, Attorney, Pepper Hamilton

Rob Scoble is one of THE top bloggers in the world, actually being part of the unofficial group that kicked off the trend in the late '90's in Silicon Valley. Rob title possibly should be blogging evangelist, as he really believes in their power, and repeatedly encouraged everyone to join the fray.

One of the MAJOR points that came out of the evening was the absolute necessity for companies to monitor the blogosphere to a) make sure their reputations are not being ruined and b) keep up on what people are saying about them and their products.

To say there was stunned disbelief amongst the audience regarding the very existence of this (to Pittsburgh) brave new world would NOT be an understatement. Many were "Shocked, shocked" to learn of what is happening in the "outside" world. And the strange thing was that you have to assume the attendees were, for the most part, "in the know" about this or they wouldn't be sitting there.

Since I have taken shots at existing organizations, I want to acknowledge the Tech Council and TiEPGH for putting on this outstanding event. I hope we will see more such up-to-the-minute topics at other events around town!

2005-12-20T18:07:00.000-05:00

Since every writer does it, I feel compelled to write a "year-end review." I considered doing the Best & Worst of, but realized the latter would be a MUCH longer list than the former, at least concerning entrepreneurial activities in Pittsburgh. Also, the few Best Of entries are somewhat lame; not anything to get excited about.

HOWEVER - - - -

The Best Of for the year is the potential turnaround of Innovation Works (is this the third or fourth this-time-we'll-get-it-right iteration?). I say potential as I'm waiting to see if 2006 will bring the promised NEW IW. Second place goes to the various consolidations of entrepreneurial organizations that have occurred or are being discussed. This can only help.

The Worst Of for the year is shared by so many that it's virtually impossible to distinguish - the continued shrinkage of VC firms; the continued inability of all the dukedoms and fiefdoms to work together; the disdain by corporate Pittsburgh of all local entrepreneurs; a tax structure that screams out to businesses to "GO AWAY!", and on and on.

My personal Worst Of is the Three Rivers Venture Fair, which was a total waste of time and money for my company. We put a lot of effort into polishing a prototype, preparing marketing materials, and setting up a booth, only to talk to the other exhibitors, as the event was structured to actively drive people out of the exhibit hall!

On an up note, though, 2005 was the year HELP got rolling and we have, at least, moved the dialogue into new territory. Entrepreneurs are now being asked for their input on things that directly effect them - what a new concept! Work is starting, albeit slowly and limited, but still it's starting, on the entrepreneurial web portal we want to provide Pittsburgh.

It seems like "things" may be moving in the right direction going into 2006, so I guess I'll give 2005 a C+, which is better than the D- from prior years!

The Truth is Out There

2005-12-12T15:54:00.000-05:00

Did you see the mention in Cori Shropshire's column on Saturday that the Heinz Endowment has engaged a consultant to see what impact their largese is having on entrepreneurial activities in Pittsburgh?

I was fortunate enough to be one of the people who was asked to comment on the state of things around here. Since I was asked, I let them know what we at HELP have been talking about for sometime - the "out of touch with reality" and "good old boy network" mentality of almost all the groups supposedly promoting entrepreneurism.

Being that the Heinz Endowment is a MAJOR contributor to many of these groups, I'm hoping that some changes will be forthcoming. Nothing gets you focused like the loss of major funding! Let's hope for the best!

The Stealth Venture Fair

2005-12-05T14:34:00.000-05:00

Rumor has it that Innovation Works is holding an Angel Venture Fair. I say rumor, as I've only heard about it in a very brief mention in the Post-Gazette, and from an entrepreneur friend who said he was personally contacted about it.

The PG mention about a week ago said that entrepeneurs had until December 8th to submit an application. Until recently there wasn't even any mention of it on the Innovation Works web site. Anyone who has participated in such a fair, knows that the application process is open for usually a couple of months and then you go through a comprehensive vetting process to get selected to participate. Further you start the process online, by downloading or filling out the application. This isn't how this Stealth fair works, however.

It's up to the entrepreneur to figure out who to contact and what must be done to apply - AND you better do it quickly! My friend was asked to participate about a week ago, but told them there was NO WAY he could drop everything to pull together whatever it is they wanted in such a short time frame.

So the bottom line is that Innovation Works is hosting another "dog & pony" show for its portfolio companies (perhaps the "pony" part should be dropped). The last such "show" was the 3 Rivers Venture fair (refer to my prior blog). My friend was asked so it would at least appear that they opened the doors to other participants.

He Lives, but might be taxed to death soon!

2005-11-28T20:32:00.000-05:00

I was amazed at how long I had been away from my blog. Funny how family and holiday obligations can make time seem to disappear.

I noticed some minor entrepreneurial activities over the last couple of weeks, but nothing of major consequence. However, I did note a potentially ominous development in that our "business-friendly" state government has once again made a totally bone headed decision - to apply sales tax to software!

I worked for a software startup ten years ago and our offices were literally a stones throw across the state line in the basement of a dry cleaner in Weirton, West Virginia. Why were we there? To avoid having to charge our customers sales tax. We were providing a combination of licensed software and customized development to big-ticket customers and each of our projects ran into the upper six figures. Having to add a 6% sales tax on top of that put us at a competitive disadvantage, so had our headquarters out of state. When the tax was rescinded we moved back to the Pittsburgh area.

If the state pushes through with this latest effort, don't stand in the road at the state line. You'll get run over by ALL the software companies fleeing the state. You have to wonder if ANY of our state legislators have a clue concerning what it takes to have a viable business.

Let's Market Ourselves as a College Town

2005-11-17T08:33:00.000-05:00

I was struck this morning while reading the current column of Rich Karlgaard, the publisher of Forbes magazine. His column is entitled "Live Rich in College Towns." I would provide a link to the article, but Forbes does everything possible to discourage this, by making you go through multiple screens with constantly appearing (and incredibly annoying) Intro pages, and having to register on their site to finally gain access to articles. Well enough of THAT rant!

What struck me was that EVERYTHING he's suggesting about what makes college towns (think State College, Madison, Blacksburg, College Station, etc.) THE place to be applies to Pittsburgh and we trump ALL of them since we have the added bonus of actually being a major city with all the good "stuff" that provides. Since I can't link you to the article I will insert some excerpts below.

"College towns are the best bargain in U.S. real estate--the ideal mix of low prices, culture, fun and high-tech growth. - - - - - Were I fresh out of college, newly married or with young mouths to feed, I'd look hard at the Bozemans, Blacksburgs and Baton Rouges. Why attempt to raise a family in a small apartment in New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles or San Francisco? Try Ames, Athens or Austin.

If I were an entrepreneur hoping to rub technology and talent together to start a company, I'd do it in a college town. - - - - if I wanted to own my company, I'd found it in a cheaper community to keep my burn rate low. This could be done in Fort Collins, Columbia, Columbus or College Station.

Youth and technology will inherit the world. College towns are a likely place to find this potent combination. Now let's be truthful about this--and maybe even politically incorrect. Colleges that are big on research and engineering will be the stars of tomorrow.

The real estate bet is good because college towns will grow faster than the U.S. population in the coming decades. The U.S. population is expected to grow about 1% a year between now and 2050, but towns and cities with large universities will grow at three times that rate. ------ Because of high metro-coastal house prices, heartland college towns are in a good position."
If you can look at the current issue of Forbes or want to go through the BS to get this column online, I encourage you to read the entire piece, as you may be amazed at the startup activities he describes around several college towns.

The main point I want you leave with today is - THIS ARTICLE IS DESCRIBING PITTSBURGH!!

How MANY times have you heard the refrain about the great universities we have in town (which IS true), but no one has ever PLAYED to this as a major marketing point in regard to the issues Rich presents in his column. I bet a lot of you have seen news reports and articles in the last few years about how people are flocking to college towns. Particularly new retirees who like the peaceful setting, low cost of living, access to cultural activities AND high energy. OK, so we've got all that and MUCH more!

What do you think? Have I stumbled on "THE" thing we should rally around in marketing Pittsburgh to the rest of the world?

Allegheny Conference Annual Meeting - Reflections

2005-11-10T22:19:00.000-05:00

Now that 24 hours have passed and I've talked about the meeting with a few people, I think I'm ready to pass judgement.

Something that "smacked me in the face" was the realization that "I wasn't in Kansas anymore." I happened to run into Jim Berardone the Executive Director of the Pittsburgh Product Strategy Network. Jim and I have known each other for a few years and often see each other at events around town. We asked each other the same question, "Do you know many people here?" Now keep in mind we said this standing in the middle of a reception hall CROWDED with over a thousand people. The answer was that each of us knew MAYBE six other people in the room.

It quickly was apparent why entrepreneurs have so much trouble getting things to change in Pittsburgh - none of us are allowed to eat at the "big people" table. We're all told to eat at the card table in the living room with the other children.

I have been attending MIT Enterprise Forum, TiEPGH, Pittsburgh Product Strategy Network, Pittsburgh Technology Council and other organization events for the last several years on a steady basis, but have rarely, if ever, seen any of the people who were attending this event. I know, I know, there's always an "A" list in every town, but can't we do something to at least OCCASIONALLY have an event where us "great, unwashed masses" can interact with the royalty?

This really hightlighted an issue HELP has raised about entrepreneurs being completely shut out of the planning and process of doing things to help entrepreneurs. Hopefully this will change, since one of the recommendations from the recent "invasion" of Boston sponsored by the Allegheny Conference was, "Help more groups get involved in decision making." I'll assume they weren't talking about the Country Club social committee.

I'll give the Conference credit in that their heart is in the right place, and they truly have identified the critical issues facing our region. The problem is that while the "royalty" of our area have to be in on the process, they can't facilitate the necessary changes without engaging the masses, and that's the part that seems to missing. A handlful of us were allowed to "visit" for this meeting, but we aren't in on the planning or the execution.

While those at the top have to be "on board," the changes we need have to start at the bottom.

I'll admit it, I applauded at just about everything that was presented by the (seemingly) hundreds of speakers. In a sense it was like being in favor of motherhood, apple pie and the American flag, because they were basically saying, "Here's a problem we MUST do something about!" Looking back on it, however, I realize that, with one exception, there were no concrete solutions being put forth, just abstract generalities. The one exception was the Superintendent of South Fayette School District, who did present real actions they took to improve the quality of eduation in their district.

The one question that was primarily left unanswered throughout the evening was, "How?" How will we lower business taxes? How will we consolidate government? How will we improve transportation? And on, and on.

You want to know how? By engaging the general population in the process. Pittsburghers are great people. We're intelligent, friendly, caring, hard working and ACHING for leaders who will bring us together to make our area better for us, our families, our neighbors, our communities and everyone throughout the region.

Open up the doors, invite the people in. I am proud to call myself a Pittsburgher and so are most of our residents, even though they can't seem to let go of negative thoughts. Scratch the surface and you'll find a deep pride in being part of Pittsburgh. I believe, with all my heart, that if we would reach out and truly engage all of the community, Pittsburgh would become a place that other areas would strive to emulate.

Allegheny Conference Annual Meeting - Snapshots

2005-11-10T18:45:00.000-05:00

Well, not really pics - didn't want to look like a geek taking pictures with my phone cam. However, here's some vignettes from last night's meeting. I'll follow up later with more in-depth commentary.

1. Every time I enter the Carnegie Music Hall I feel like I've been transported back to the height of Victorian London. The reception hall is WAY over the top with all the details typical of that era, but just absolutely magnificent. Can't wait for the day when I can host an event there!

2. Geez, they're spending a couple of hundred G's on this event, you'd think they wouldn't ask the "movers & shakers" of town to use a magic marker to write their name on peel off labels.

3. "Peel Off" an the apt description, as that's what they almost immediately do!

4. What do you mean the bar's not open until AFTER the presentation? Guess they don't want people to go to sleep.

5. Whoops, that may not have been the case, cause the presentation goes SO long that one of the innumerable speakers suggests we all stand up and "shake it out" so our butts don't go numb.

6. Very slick and well coordinated multi-media presentation. Now if there were only about 20 less speakers.

7. GREAT opening video showing HOW much the Bassmasters people really loved our town.

8. Man our business taxes in PA are REALLY ridiculous.

9. We've got a LONG way to go to improve primary education in our area. Fortunately, we ARE heading in the right direction.

10. I know it's sappy, but I LOVED the video UPMC created on Pittsburgh. I think it should be shown on EVERY TV station in town and available for viewing on the Conference web site. It really drives home what a great town this is, and the need for us to drop the negativity!

11. Having worked in the entertainment industry for a decade, I picked up the jargon. So, here's your "establishing shot" - 15 minutes before kick-off and fans are trying to get through security at Heinz Field and into their seats. Now change the people in the crowd to the Who's Who of Pittsburgh dressed in their best business attire, and you'll have an idea of the scene as the presentation ended and we swarmed through the few doorways for something to eat and drink.

12. If I'm invited back next year, I'll eat a LATE lunch, cause I was getting very hungry by the time the presentation finally ended. Then it took me 20 minutes to work my way to the hors d'ouevres to grab two tiny pieces of chicken on a stick! That made one piece per glass of wine.

Thanks TiEPGH

2005-11-09T14:07:00.000-05:00

Last night I attended the November meeting of TiePGH, which was held in the Home Plate club at PNC Park. It was my first time at that venue and it was VERY nice - hope other groups meet there in the future!

TiEPGH consistently has informative and enjoyable events and last night was one of the best - their annual Entrepreneurs Round Table. Instead of a speaker there were nine tables set up to discuss different aspects of startup life - VC's, Intellectual Property, Organizational Issues, PR/Marketing, Angel Investing, etc. Each table had an experienced entrepreneur and a "provider" to moderate the discussion. There were two time slots, so half way through we played musical chairs and moved to another group.

There were lively discussions occurring all around the room, and it was obvious a lot of people got a lot of good information and contacts. Personally, I was pleased to renew business friendships with a couple of people I hadn't seen for some time - one for almost 11 years!

I also met a very interesting guy, Robert Emmert, who is starting up a company to commercialize technology licensed back from the corporation, Mercury Interactive, who acquired his previous company, BeatBox. Seems Mercury was only interested in embedding BeatBox technology within their existing processes and was happy to let Robert go after unrelated markets via a licensing arrangement. Sounds like he has he has an opportunity to realize success twice with the same base technology. You go Robert!

For those of you who aren't familiar with TiEPGH I encourage you to attend future events. For example the January meeting is going to have a super panel from Microsoft, BusinessWeek and InformationWeek discussing blogging and podcasting.

Michael Madison Stirs the Pot

2005-11-06T16:45:00.000-05:00

Michael Madison said in his Post-Gazette article today, what many of our HELP members have been saying for some time. I guess I have to give a nod to the Post-Gazette for being part of the solution in that they picked this up from Michaels BLOG! The gist of his thoughts remind me of the old statement, "Either lead, follow or get out of the way."

For those of you who are keeping score, you'll note that I've added Micheal's blog to my link list, as it's important for all the "let's move forward" voices to unite - strength in numbers!

I've asked Michael for a meeting and invited him to both attend and speak to HELP. Could it be that the "bandwagon" for change is finally getting rolling in Pittsburgh?

Let's Do the Time Warp Again

2005-11-01T22:20:00.000-05:00

Halloween reminded of the song from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and how it might be adopted as a theme for the Pittsburgh region - since most people desperately want to cling to the past. You know the "good ole days" when our city was a corporate mecca and there were lots of good and steady jobs that everyone could occupy and retire from.

Jim Roddy said it best while (unsuccessfully) campaigning for reelection. I heard him speak to a packed room one day and he posed the rhetorical question, "Do you know why people live here?" After a well-timed pause he said, "It's because people know that when the end of the world comes, we'll have 15 more years to live here!"

As an aside, I want to thank Jim Roddy, because history will shine its light on him as a MAJOR factor in starting the turn-around of our region.

I met today with a good friend, Deirdra Gross, owner of Makk Strategies, and President of the Pittsburgh chapter of NAWBO. Deirdra has been energizing NAWBO and working to make it a more dynamic and relevant organization. Along the way she has encountered many of the "demons" that also plague entrepreneurs in our area. Prime among them is an overwhelming reluctance to change.

Here's the deal Pittsburgh, we HAVE to change. Our area has a wealth of resources to draw on with our outstanding educational institutions, world-class medical care, strong foundation support, excellent work force, and just plain friendliness. However, we MUST drop the negativity. Acentuate the Positive, fellow burghers!

Clueless in Pittsburgh

2005-10-27T23:10:00.000-04:00

I never cease to be amazed at how absolutely, totally, positively CLUELESS so many Pittsburghers are when it comes to entrepreneurism. And the ones who really drive me up the wall, are the people who are in positions where they are charged with promoting and helping entreprenuers! I'm talking about people who are pulling down good salaries from government and foundation grants.

Before going further, I must say there are many people in these positions who ARE doing everything possible to advance the entrepreneurial agenda. Yet there is a large number who run around town proclaiming to anyone who will listen how important they and their initiatives are, while what they're really promoting is themself. They have to do that to ensure a continued flow of funding to get paid.

There are too many people in important to the entrepreneurial community positions who have NEVER BEEN ENTREPRENEURS or even worked in a startup company! Yet despite their lack of "on the ground" experience, they are the first to jump in and tell the entrepreneur what they are doing wrong. Which is bad enough, but they compound that by being "the voice of entrepreneurs" to the community at large. RrrriiigghhT!

My rant comes about from two meetings I had with entrepreneur friends today. The first was a couple of guys who are just getting their company launched and the other was an old friend whose company progress has paralled my own in many ways. In the first meeting I listened as they told me some of the "advice" they had been given by local "experts" in startups - to say it was painful to hear is an understatement. I wanted to run out with a 2 x 4 and do some "whacking!"

The second conversation was about how an unnamed local group was trying to control every aspect of my friends business, because they had a little "skin in the game." Even though they have no real understanding of what the company is doing or who the market is, they are trying to be Gheppeto to his Pinnochio. I have no doubt that if he would follow their direction (which fortunately he is smart enough not to) his company would go under.

As Charlie Brown used to say, "AAAAaaaarrrrgggghhhh!!!"

Entrepreneurs Portal

2005-10-25T23:45:00.000-04:00

I've been VERY busy, so I missed a LOT of days with my postings. This will be a quick one, but I wanted to bring everyone up to date on where things stand with our "mission" to create a comprehensive web portal for Pittsburgh entrepreneurs.

We met again with reps of The Allegheny Conference, Pittsburgh Technology Council, Innovation Works and Duquesne University. It was determined that The Allegheny Conference could handle several of the items we need within their existing web site and look to have these features available by January.

We also found out that PTC is working with a new group of life sciences entrepreneurs who call themselves the Bio Buds to create a web site for their specific area. Since a major part of this, company profiles, aligns very closely with a feature we are seeking, we've asked PTC to introduce us to the group. Hopefully, we will find a way to collaborate and avoid any "wheel reinventions."

The bottom line is that we are working closely with all these organizations to realize our objective, BUT there are major features of the envisioned portal that we will have to create on our own. One prime example of this is the forum, where entrepreneurs can post questions on a wide variety of topics, and others in the entrepreneurial community will post responses.

Oh well, got to go collapse for the evening. More soon!

Why Do Pittsburgher's Hate Entrepreneurs?

2005-10-14T21:05:00.000-04:00

Well, its not that they HATE us, per se, but they sure act like they do! I feel like we're the old Socialist Workers party - a fringe movement that's barely tolerated and mostly ignored.

Most of the people here are stuck in the all but dead "womb" of corporate America that used to dominate this city. Even though the days of Pittsburgh being the, "Third Largest Corporate Headquarters City in America" are long gone, the people here act like they are still a cog in that big machine (think Charlie Chaplin in the movie Modern Times). This corporate mindset is based on two primary themes - "Don't rock the boat!", and "Take no risks!"

If an entrepreneurs dare to poke their head out, the people beat him/her down, "You need the security of a job." Yeah, like ANY job has security today. They react like the entrepreneur has lost their senses and has chosen a path to ruin.

In spite of this overwhelming majority opinion, we persevere. We believe in our ideas and KNOW we will achieve success. However, we do long for the kind of environment our colleagues in other places (Silicon Valley, Austin, Boston and other places to certain degrees) encounter. There people ENCOURAGE entrepreneurs to push forward and do what they can to help them. Instead of what seems to be the norm for people here, "Oh well, they will fail, and then come back to their senses!"

It is one of the prime frustrations expressed in our HELP meetings - Why are Pittsburghers so negative, and why do they wish us failure? We've actually decided one of our secondary missions has to be to do whatever we can to wake up the community to the reality of current times. The old corporate Pittsburgh is gone, and our future success is totally dependent on doing everything possible to foster a thriving entrepreneurial community in Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh Entreprenuers Unite!

2005-10-12T23:05:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the first of, hopefully, many posts that HELP improve the Pittsburgh entrepreneurial environment. For those who don't know, HELP was started a year ago by myself and Eric Bono the President of StartGardening. As we "cried on each other's shoulder" about the challenges we were facing, it occurred to us that it would be great to be able to get together with other startup CEO's on a regular basis.

In November of 2004 we brought together around 20 fellow entrepreneurs for an exploratory meeting at the Hot Metal Grille. Everyone was enthusiastic about our concept and HELP was born, with our first meeting occuring in January 2005, at Doc's in Shadyside. Since then we've moved to Mitchell's restaurant in town.

Each month we gather to receive and give HELP with our fellow entrepreneurial leaders. We've had a number of "success" stories from advice and referrals provided in our round table discussions.

While HELPing ourselves, we are also working on improving the overall entrepreneurial environment in southwestern PA. In this regard, we are making "noise" in the community so entrepreneurs are actually included in discussions and planning on initiatives targeted at us. Until now all the various government agencies, non-profit institutions and foundations had talked amongst themselves about what should be done for entrepreneurs - no one ever asked us!

Our first initiative in this area is getting a web site portal built to provide one-stop shopping for all current and prospective entrepreneurs. A place where entrpreneurs can get immediate access to whatever information they need.

I'll be posting more on what we're doing, the challenges we face and how we believe our community needs to evolve. Please feel free to post your thoughts in response.

This is my single step beginning the journey of a thousand miles!