The May Report: 10/19/2010: Top 10 reasons to attend 4G world; Lee Abrams canned by Randy Michael at the Trib; Howerton very quick to write a blog post on his views of outsourcing; Dalka’s fifteen seconds of fame; Jim Eiden is a Roads Scholar; Michael Arrington on why Groupon is no eBay

Editor and publisher: ron@themayreport.com, ronaldmay@aol.com, www.themayreport.com , 773-525-3944.

Assistant editor: Melanie Adcock, iPHONE: 312-259-0610, melanie_adcock@msn.com

If you missed an article, go here: www.tmronline.com/A55951/tmrarticles.nsf/vwFullNewsletter
_________________________________
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________________________________
TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Scoop section:

– Briefly noted, by Ron May
– Bob Waldron: Chicago Innovators
– Michael Arrington of Tech Crunch: Why Groupon is no eBay
– Look at the timeline: A very quick response from Terry Howerton (on his blog) to Richard Buchner’s questions on outsourcing when a certain unnamed reporter threatened to publish Buchner’s note — and Terry, unlike your blog, comments are welcome at TMR
– Comings and goings, Deals (including an angel deal noted by midVentures); AutoTrader.com buys vAuto in Oakbrook; and a healthy IPO market this week
– Jim Eiden is a Roads Scholar, but Lundin told me he’s a Road Squatter
– Don Samuelson on Jim Farrell’s talk
– Gerald Murphy on the TIF panel at DePaul
– Mary Spaeth with a different perspective on U. S. and foreign jobs
– Darrell Dvorak: A message from your sponsor
– Jeff Neal: Motricity is doing well since the IPO
– Andy Kurcharski: General comments on TMR
– Rishi Agrawal: “Move the ball forward.” My Legal & Business Philosophy-Attorney At Law
– Tuesday, November 16 LES Chicago Chapter Meeting: Adam Rattray
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO); Russell Levine P.C., CLP; Kirkland & Ellis
– Wednesday, October 27: EDC Luncheon: The State of State and Local Government: (Hint – not good): Rick Mattoon, Senior Economist and Economic Advisor, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
– Lincoln Park Apple Store opens Saturday Oct. 23 at 10am
– Tuesday, October 26: ITA Women’s Roundtable
– Thursday, October 21: Saper Law Offices: Non-compete, Shmamcompete
– Join the conversation on the Signal/Interactive Mediums blog
– InvestMidwest Venture Capital Forum Heads to Kansas City; Applications Being Accepted NOW
– Top 10 reasons to attend 4G World
– Tuesday, Nov. 2: LinkedIn Event: First Tuesday @ ING DIRECT Café : Wired Branding for Women
– Wednesday, October 27: St. Charles Illinois Start Meetup
– Thursday, October 21: Troy Henikoff meetup
– Tuesday, Oct. 26: MEF in Wheaton: Barbara Rozgonyi: Topic: Intro to LinkedIn
– Metromix Partners with Chicago-based Tech Company Local Offer Network to announce Metromix Deals
_______________________________
*********************************************
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The Canright Calendar is a weekly email featuring
CHICAGO NETWORKING EVENTS and a regularly updated
calendar of the same.

It’s a compendium of networking opportunities for
executives, marketers, technology geeks, as well
as entrepreneurs and innovators.

It’s a selected digest of meetings sponsored by
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***********************************************
______________________________
The Scoop section:
______________________
Briefly noted, by Ron May

* If I smell a bit at two meetings tonight, the reason is that I have no time to shower. First of all, I would like to go for at least a half hour to Social Media Club Chicago at the Grand Ball Room at the Chicago Hilton. Then it is over to 322 S. Green Street for Tech Pitch at the Syncubator on the 3rd floor. Len Bland is moderating. He also moderated at MIT-EF last week. I guess he is on a roll.

* Lee Abrams was fired by the Tribune. I believe the firing was done by Randy Michael. Gerald Kohn (spelling?) in HR, I believe, was complaining. But they don’t seem to see the similarity between Abrams and @BrentDPayne who regularly says offensive things on Twitter.

* Here is an event at District Bar on Thursday, October 21st. I hear it is a lot of drinking but no actual content. I may go though.

www.chicagoisc.com/

* Venture-cap investments decline 7 percent in 3Q – Yahoo! News

news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101015/ap_on_bi_ge/us_tec_ventur_investments

* You may want to check out David Dalka’s fifteen seconds of fame and the highly flattering picture of him holding a beer at Tech Cocktail written by Steve Lundin. The article is called “This week’s: Who the H*ll are you and why should we care: D. Dalka”

tinyurl.com/2f3fk8q

______________________________________
Bob Waldron: Chicago Innovators

From: Bob Waldron
Subject: Chicago Innovators
Date: Tue, 19 Oct 2010 04:44:12 -0500
To: ron@themayreport.com

Hey Ron,

Here’s your chance to highlight Chicago innovators. Ford is doing an ‘innovation tour’ of the country, and Chicago is one of the five cities they’re visiting.

www.good.is/edgeofprogress?bannerid=1008145|53061246|230999314|0&referrer=N3106.Good

Regards,

Bob

Community Technology Evangelist

mydigitechnician.blogspot.com/

Appleton, Wisconsin, USA
_______________________________________
Michael Arrington of Tech Crunch: Why Groupon is no eBay

techcrunch.com/2010/10/17/why-groupon-is-no-ebay/

Why Groupon Is No Ebay

Michael Arrington
Oct 17, 2010

Chicago-based Groupon is certainly one heck of a startup. Like Zynga it sort of came out of nowhere in 2009. Even last December I was sort of only vaguely aware of how fast it was growing.

But it was clear by early 2010 to the whole world that Groupon was on a tear. First a round valuing it at $250 million. Then just a couple of months later it raised new money at a $1.35 billion valuation.

And then in the last few weeks Yahoo offered something even higher for the company – between $1.7 billion on the low side and probably $4 billion on the high side. And Groupon passed.

Revenues are in the $50 million per month range, and the company has roughly 50% gross margins. By some measures, Groupon is the fastest growing company, ever.

Groupon is often said to be the next eBay at Silicon Valley insider dinners and events. But Groupon isn’t going to have the same success eBay has had.

At first blush it seems like a valid comparison. Groupon’s revenues and profits blow the early Ebay results out of the water. When eBay was three years old and going public in 1998 it had revenues of just $4.7 million. Groupon does that much in revenue every three days or so right now.

Today eBay has revenues of a little over $2 billion every three months and is worth around $30 billion. It’s not at all unreasonable to think that Groupon could eventually grow its revenues way beyond $2 billion/quarter – the local products and services category would easily bear that kind of fruit.

But there’s a couple of problems with Groupon. The first is how it scales – it needs a lot of sales people for each market it handles and already probably has more than 2,000 of them on payroll. But the real problem is the complete lack of a network effect to protect its business.

Ebay is expensive. And it has a horrible user interface. Buying stuff is a pain compared with sites like Amazon that have put real effort into making buying painless. It’s also expensive. Everyone would love a better eBay, but after ten years of people trying to kill it, it just keeps going.

Why? Because everyone’s already on eBay. And every new buyer or seller makes eBay more valuable than it was before. Anyone competing with them has to find a way to counter that, and it’s nearly impossible. Even free listings from big companies like Amazon and Yahoo flailed dramatically.

In other words, eBay would have to really work at it to destroy its core business. And since it dominates the market it can continue to charge exorbitant fees and not worry about the user experience.

Groupon has none of that. When Groupon gets a new user that’s great. But that user will quickly leave to Living Social or One Kings Lane or any of thousands of other competing sites for better deals. And when Groupon gets a new “seller,” there’s no reason why that seller won’t also go try out the competitors, too.

There’s just no network effect in Groupon’s business model. Which means competitors can flourish and margins will get crushed.

At TechCrunch Disrupt, Benchmark Capital’s Matt Cohler said he wasn’t sure if Groupon would succeed over the long term. I asked him if he wished he was an investor in Groupon:

That question keeps me up at night. the question for me is…if you look at it from a purely academic point of view, there are neither barriers to entry nor are there switching costs in that product. Typically when a product has those characteristics margins tend to collapse over time. In theory the only thing stopping that from happening is Groupon’s brand…It may turn out that daily deals are ad units, and lots of different products can apply that ad unit.

What can Groupon do to avoid having their margins crushed by competitors? Establish generous revenue sharing relationships with distribution partners, fast. And that appears to be exactly what they’re doing. In the next several weeks the company will likely announce partnerships with Yahoo and CitySearch, we’ve learned.

Oh, and one more partner, too. And that partner will be…eBay.

Update: Great email comment from Alex Rampell:

I actually think Groupon is a “winner take most” market and not winner take all. Amazon has a plurality yet a distinct minority of ecommerce share ($25B in 2009 revenue out of WW ecommerce rev of $600B) yet has a market cap of $74B, 2.5X that of eBay. No barriers to entry.

There are no barriers to entry for online commerce companies – yet Amazon keeps decimating the competition. There are, however, economies of scale. I think Groupon can be the Amazon of Online2Offline commerce, and there’s no reason they can’t get to $25B in annualized revenue like Amazon, but at a much higher margin.

Whether they’ll command the same kind of earnings multiple as Amazon is another story.

get widgetminimize
CrunchBase Information
Groupon
Groupon image
Website: groupon.com
Location: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Founded: November 11, 2008
Funding: $173M

Groupon (www.groupon.com) features a daily deal on the best stuff to do, see, eat, and buy in more than 150 cities around the world. By promising businesses a minimum number of customers, Groupon can offer deals that aren’t available elsewhere.

… Learn More
eBay
eBay image
Website: ebay.com
Location: San Jose, California, United States
Founded: September 1, 1995
IPO: September 21, 1998

Founded in 1995 in San Jose, Calif., eBay connects millions of buyers and sellers globally in the world’s largest online marketplace, utilizing PayPal to ensure secure transactions. The company also operates specialized… Learn More
____________________________________
Look at the timeline: A very quick response from Terry Howerton (on his blog) to Richard Buchner’s questions on outsourcing when a certain unnamed reporter threatened to publish Buchner’s note — and Terry, unlike your blog, comments are welcome at TMR

Subject: Any answer from the ITA? If not, I think it’s trime to print the note you sent.
Date: 10/19/2010 1:48:39 P.M. Central Daylight Time
From: RONALDMAY@aol.com
To: richardbuchner@gmail.com
CC: ronaldmay@aol.com, terry@fastroot.com, fhoch@illinoistech.org
_______________________________
Subject: RE: Any answer from the ITA? If not, I think it’s trime to print the note you sent.
Date: 10/19/2010 2:21:50 P.M. Central Daylight Time
From: terry.howerton@fastroot.com
To: richardbuchner@gmail.com, RONALDMAY@aol.com
CC: fhoch@illinoistech.org

Richard – you asked for an ITA position on an outsourcing bill, and because you are a member company I quickly drafted my thoughts. As far as I am concerned, my response is not private (I’ll go ahead and post it to my blog)…

www.terryhowerton.com/2010/10/19/thoughts-on-outsourcing-bill/

—–Original Message—–
From: Richard Buchner [mailto:richardbuchner@gmail.com]
Sent: Tue 10/19/2010 1:58 PM
To: RONALDMAY@aol.com
Cc: Terry Howerton; Fred Hoch
Subject: Re: Any answer from the ITA? If not, I think it’s trime to print the note you sent.

Terry sent me a preliminary response, saying he and the ITA had not looked
at Durbin’s specific bill,
I will leave it to Terry to reply to you as he chooses

On Tue, Oct 19, 2010 at 1:48 PM, wrote:

>
>

–
RichardBuchner@gmail.com
Hyde Park Systems Group
www.hydeparksystems.com
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Thoughts on outsourcing bill before Congress

An ITA member company asked recently for the ITA’s position on an outsourcing bill proposed by Senator Durbin. My response below, for anyone that’s interested:

—–

ITA is not predominantly a lobbying organization; we exist to help our member companies grow and to impact economic development for the region. To that end, occasionally we have advocated on behalf of member companies. There have been times I’ve testified in Springfield, and trips where I’ve accompanied member companies to Washington.

We have not taken any specific position regarding Senator Durbin’s proposed legislation (nor have we been asked to study it carefully on behalf of any member company, and I have not personally read it).

That being said, I am happy to offer you a few random thoughts, with the caveat that these are not particularly researched, I am firing them off with a few moments break between other projects, and they should not be considered a definitive point of view.

Global outsourcing is a complex and easily misunderstood economic force. It is tempting (especially when America has high unemployment) to respond with emotion and knee jerk reactions, both for and against continued outsourcing. But I think the facts belie any sort of emotional or easy response:

1. Unemployment in America is not because of a lack of IT jobs today; the phone calls we get to ITA every day are from companies desperate to find high quality talent to hire, not from engineers looking for work. Unemployment is mostly from other sectors (i.e. manufacturing, etc); any public policy that conflates IT job outsourcing with manufacturing job outsourcing is not well considered.
2. Most experts predict a significant shortage of information technology candidates to fill demand over the coming decade. We simply aren’t educating enough kids in STEM education to fill the pipeline, and this country will face a far greater crisis when demand far outstrips supply of innovation workers. Much of my recent work with the ITA has been around this problem: we’ve helped launch a new high school focused on educating future tech entrepreneurs, and we’ve spent a great deal of time recruiting engineers from our local universities to join Chicago companies.
3. Outsourcing overseas is a completely different issue than offering visas to attract smart talent to this country to join our innovation economy; conflating the two and trying to discourage both as a “way to protect American jobs” is wrongheaded. The number of bright people who move here, get educated here and go on to create technology ventures and jobs is astounding, and we need more of that, not less.
4. Many (most?) entrepreneurial, small technology startups turn overseas to find talent today; this actually increases the number of jobs and the amount of wealth that is created in America, and in many cases those ventures wouldn’t have been able to launch without global partners. So it is also dangerous to create public policy that conflates “large companies sending jobs overseas” with smaller companies that use global development teams to create jobs.
5. More than most industries, software and technology companies tend to have customers throughout the world, and have a direct interest in the global marketplace. I am personally not a protectionist, and I’m not sure I’ve ever read a respected economist who advocates for protectionism, especially where global markets already exist.

So, you asked for a position on “tax breaks for US companies that outsource tech work to foreign countries”. Phrased the way you worded the question, I would have to say I’m against giving such companies tax breaks. But I don’t think the question is a fair one, nor, maybe, is the underlying public policy that is being considered very well thought out.

Government can and should use tax policy and regulation to discourage bad actors in the marketplace, but developing a public policy without considering the points above (and no doubt many, many more learned ones) only elicits emotional response and restrains our economy in ways we could probably all agree is bad.

At the end of the day, I fully understand why tech companies would oppose the proposed legislation, but I also understand some of the reasons the legislation was offered. I simply think this calls for a surgery with a scalpel instead of a bayonet, and more rational debate

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 19th, 2010 at 1:18 pm and is filed under Misc. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Comments are closed.

___________________________________

Comings and goings, Deals (including an angel deal noted by midVentures); AutoTrader.com buys vAuto in Oakbrook; and a healthy IPO market this week
++++++++++++++++++++++
Andrew Code is transitioning out of Code Hennessy & Simmons, the
Chicago-based private equity firm he co-founded in 1988, according to
Buyouts newsletter. The move comes as CDH prepares to raise its sixth fund,
which is expected next year.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
From the midVentures Newsletter:

NanoInk Secures $65 million in Funding

In a press release this week, NanoInk, whose CEO, Jim Hussey, led the BioTech Workshop at the midVenturesLAUNCH conference on September 27-28, recently disclosed that Lurie Investments, launched by philanthropist and investor Ann Lurie, will be financing NanoInk by $65 million. “This financing provides working capital to continue our commercial activities and support our growing sales base,” said James M. Hussey, Chief Executive Officer of NanoInk. “This financing also provides an opportunity for the company to convert substantially all of our debt to equity.”

mPayy Starts Pre-Paid Service

mPayy, one of our midVenturesLAUNCH COMPETE startups, is expanding to include pre-paid debit and payroll cards. According to their press release, “Members will now be able to load funds to, and fund payments from, their cards via the mPayy network.”

Hipmunk Lands Angel Investment

We were lucky enough to have Hipmunk founder Steve Huffman as one of our keynote speakers at midVenturesLAUNCH, and at the San Francisco-based flight-booking startup, it looks like things are taking off (no pun intended). Last week in an angel round, investors such as Ashton Kutcher, FriendFeed creator Paul Buchheit, Ron Conway’s SV Angel and WordPress Founder Matt Mullenweg backed Hipmunk by raising $1 million.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
AutoTrader.com, the Atlanta, Ga.-based online car marketplace, has acquired
vAuto of Oak Brook, Il., which sells software tools around vehicle
management, pricing, and inventory. AutoTrader.com is majority owned by Cox
Enterprises; other investors include Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and
Providence Equity Partners. Bain Capital Ventures is an investor in vAuto.
Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

PRESS RELEASE:

AutoTrader.com, the Internet’s leading automotive marketplace and consumer
information website, announced today the completion of its transaction to
acquire vAuto, the automotive retail industry’s leading provider of advanced
software tools for used vehicle management, pricing and inventory
optimization.

The finalized agreement, first announced on September 17, makes vAuto a
subsidiary of AutoTrader.com. AutoTrader.com is majority owned by Cox
Enterprises, Inc. with additional ownership stakes held by the venture
capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and the private equity firm
Providence Equity Partners.

About AutoTrader.com

Atlanta-based AutoTrader.com, created in 1997, is the Internet’s leading
automotive marketplace and consumer information website. AutoTrader.com
aggregates in a single location millions of new cars, used cars and
certified pre-owned cars from thousands of auto dealers and private sellers
and is a leading online resource for auto dealers, individuals and
manufacturers to advertise and market their vehicles to in-market shoppers.
The company also provides a robust suite of software tools for dealers and
manufacturers to help them manage and market their vehicle inventory and
display advertising on the Internet. AutoTrader.com continues to grow key
business metrics, including revenue, profitability and site traffic. Today,
AutoTrader.com attracts more than 15 million unique monthly visitors who
utilize the site to review descriptions, photos and videos of vehicles for
sale; research and compare vehicles; review pricing and specials; and read
auto-related content like buying and selling tips and editorial coverage of
major auto shows and automotive trends. AutoTrader.com operates two other
auto marketing brands, AutoTraderClassics.com and AutoTraderLatino.com.
AutoTrader.com also owns used vehicle management software company vAuto.
AutoTrader.com is a majority-owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises. The
venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and the private equity
firm Providence Equity Partners are also investors. For more information,
please visit www.autotrader.com.

About vAuto

Headquartered in the Chicago suburb of Oak Brook, Ill, vAuto also maintains
a research and development center in Austin, TX. vAuto’s innovative “Live
Market View” technology allows dealers to manage their used-vehicle
inventories based on actual supply-and-demand for their specific market.
Today, more than 3,000 dealerships across the country use vAuto’s pricing,
appraisal, stocking and merchandising systems. Dale Pollak, vAuto’s founder,
is the author of two books featuring best practices and strategies for the
used car department, Velocity: From the Front Line to the Bottom Line and
Velocity 2.0: Paint, Pixels & Profitability. vAuto is a wholly owned
subsidiary of AutoTrader.com. Additional information about vAuto is
available at www.vauto.com.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The US IPO market continued to see healthy levels of activity this week with
four companies completing their offerings and another five specifying terms
for their upcoming deals.

Fast fashion retailer Body Central (BODY) raised $65 million in its IPO by
offering 5 million shares at $13, below its proposed range of $14-$16. The
specialty retailer, which offers value-priced apparel to women in their
teens and twenties, plans to expand its current base of 204 stores by
roughly 15% annually over the next several years. Body Central was
originally founded in Jacksonville, Florida and run as a family business
until it was bought out by private equity firms WestView Capital and
PineBridge Investments in 2006. The stock climbed as much as 4% in morning
trading before closing flat after listing on the NASDAQ on Friday.

Auto supplier Tower International (TOWR) was also met with initial pricing
pressure, pricing its deal well below its original range of $15-$17 at $13
per share and raising $81 million. The company traded off slightly after
listing on the NYSE on Friday, with the cyclical nature of its business and
leveraged balance sheet likely contributing to lackluster demand. Tower
International, which manufactures structural metal components and assemblies
for automotive OEMs in Europe and North America, is also private-equity
backed with Cerberus owning a 61% post-IPO stake. Both Body Central and
Tower International closed on Friday at their IPO price.

Student housing REIT Campus Crest Communities (CCG) priced 28.3 million
shares at $12.50 per share on Wednesday after pushing its pricing date back
from late September. The REIT, which develops, builds, owns and manages
high-quality campus student housing properties, had originally set a range
of $12.50-$14.50 and saw its stock trade mostly flat during the week.

By comparison, REITs lacking operating histories have struggled recently
with their IPOs: newly formed senior housing facility REIT Legacy Healthcare
Properties Trust (LRP) and government properties REIT US Federal Properties
Trust (USFP) both shelved their IPO plans this week.

Special purpose acquisition company HICKS Acquisition II (HAC.U) raised $150
million this week. The SPAC offered 15 million units at $10 with each unit
consisting of one common share and one warrant with a $12 exercise price.
HICKS’ offering follows last week’s $40 million deal by Cazador Acquisition
Corporation, a blank check company organized by executives of Arco Capital
Management.

Upcoming IPO Calendar
Company Name/Ticker Underwriter Price Range Shares Pricing Date
US Federal Properties Trust / USFP Deutsche Bank Securitie UBS Investment
Bank $19 – $21 13.8 mil Postponed

Legacy Healthcare Properties Trust* / LRP Jefferies & Co.Stifel Nicolaus
Weisel $18 – $19 8.8 mil Postponed

NetSpend Holdings / NTSP Goldman, Sachs & Co. BofA Merrill Lynch $10 – $12
18.5 mil Week of 10/18

ShangPharma Corporation / SHP Citi J.P. Morgan $15 – $17 5.8 mil Week of
10/18

TAL Education Group / XRS Credit Suisse Morgan Stanley $8 – $10 12.0 mil
Week of 10/18

Bravo Brio Restaurant Group / BBRG Jefferies & Co.Piper Jaffray $14 – $16
8.3 mil Week of 10/18

Aegerion Pharmaceuticals* / AEGR Leerink Swann Lazard Capital Markets $14
- $16 4.7 mil Week of 10/18

Vera Bradley / VRA Baird Piper Jaffray $14 – $16 11.0 mil Week of 10/18

Mecox Lane Limited / MCOX Credit SuisseUBS Investment Bank $8 – $10 11.7
mil Week of 10/25

Pacific Biosciences of California / PACB J.P. Morgan Morgan Stanley $15 -
$17 12.5 mil Week of 10/25

ExamWorks Group / EXAM Goldman, Sachs & Co. Credit Suisse $16 – $18 10.3
mil Week of 10/25

First Wind Holdings / WIND Credit Suisse Morgan Stanley $24 – $26 12.0
mil Week of 10/25

SeaCube Container Leasing / BOX J.P. Morgan Citi $16 – $18 7.5 mil Week
of 10/25

Le Gaga Holdings Limited / GAGA BofA Merrill Lynch UBS Investment Bank $8
- $10 10.9 mil Week of 10/25

Notes:
Legacy Healthcare Properties Trust – *Updated terms: 8.75 million shares at
$18-$19 with contingent warrants. Postponed again on 10/15/10.

Aegerion Pharmaceuticals – *Previously filed in March 2007 before
withdrawing in June 2007; then filed again in November 2007 before
withdrawing in December 2008.
_______________________________________
Jim Eiden is a Roads Scholar, but Lundin told me he’s a Road Squatter

Subject: Jim Eiden is a Roads Scholar
Date: 10/17/2010 10:53:52 P.M. Central Daylight Time
From: adultstimuluspackage@gmail.com
To: melanie_adcock@msn.com, Ron@themayreport.com, ronaldmay@aol.com

Ron:

Your recent report mentioned Jim Eiden was a Rhodes Scholar compared to Ed Domain. I’m writing to correct your assertion. I have known Jim for decades and can tell you that he is in fact a Roads Scholar, not a Rhodes Scholar. As part of his Masters Thesis, Eiden spent time in Crewe, England resolving production line defect issues for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.

This makes him a Roads Scholar, not a Rhodes Scholar.

Sincerely:

Stimulus Package
@StimulusPackage
________________________________________
Don Samuelson on Jim Farrell’s talk

From: DSSA310@aol.com
Subject: Re: The May Report: 10/15/2010: The day of reckoning: W. James Farrell, Chair…
Date: Sat, 16 Oct 2010 01:32:52 EDT
To: ron@themayreport.com
Cc: LEO@HoweHutton.com, andrew@connectedliving.com

Ron:

Farrell’s comments were uber interesting.

Thanks.

Don

In a message dated 10/15/2010 11:16:08 P.M. Central Daylight Time, ron@themayreport.com writes:
_________________________________
Gerald Murphy on the TIF panel at DePaul

From: Gerald Murphy
Subject: Re: The May Report: 10/15/2010: The day of reckoning: W. James Farrell, Chairman of the Commercial Club of Chicago, says Gov. Pat Quinn is stalling off on the publication of an audit of the state’s finances which has been complete for several months now; IL has the worst pension system in the country; and he’s outta here… to Florida or Costa Rica; Melanie Adcock on government policies that pertain to tech workers; Tom Bennett on the TIF panel moderated by Andy Shaw and sponsored by the BGA which Bennett says dodged some key questions
Date: Sun, 17 Oct 2010 22:23:46 -0700 (PDT)
To: The May Report

Hi Ron:

I was at the recent BGA meeting (near the back row) where TIF practices in Chicago were discussed by a panel.

The story line was intriguing yet seemed descriptive of a set of unusual and looseley run practices in some Chicago-based projects. On the next day, I Googled “Best Practices” & “TIF’s”. Many of the projects on websites that turned up were descriptive of ways that the private sector works when developing shopping centers and office/industrial parks seek and obtain TIF funds from municipalities.

Jerry

Gerald L. Murphy
_________________________________
Mary Spaeth with a different perspective on U. S. and foreign jobs

From: Mary Spaeth
Subject: SV: The May Report: 10/15/2010: The day of reckoning: W. James Farrell, Chairman of the Commercial Club of Chicago, says Gov. Pat Quinn is stalling off on the publication of an audit of the state’s finances which has been complete for several months no…
Date: Sat, 16 Oct 2010 12:11:30 +0000
To: The May Report

Hello May Report.

Per Melanie’s inclusion of information related to foreign workers coming to America, I might add a few other perspectives.

The state department estimates that there are some 5.2 million Americans living abroad. At least 60% of these are working abroad. I am one of these. Whoever would like the “job” that I left in Chicago may use my space. I may want it back sometime however. There are Swedes here who probably think I have taken a job from someone too.

The point is that there are over 200,000,000 estimated people around the world living and working outside of their “homeland”. What is not often discussed openly and during elections is the actual balance or imbalance of human capital this creates. Immigrations offices are more aware of the statistics however and they try to make decisions about visa applications on the basis of education, industry and population trends and needs.

As always, nothing is as simple as it might seem. Jobs are scarce in the US in many sectors not just because foreigners are filling them but because the US and Britain in particular have turned a blind eye to embezzlement, graft, cartels, toxic loans, subprimes, organized crime, and now carbon off-set trading, all in the name (and to the detriment of) capitalism (free market). It is no wonder that joblessness is at 10% and the dollar is at a scandalous low against other currencies. (we could argue that the low is also being held down artificially in order to encourage other countries to “buy American” which may or may not help to stimulate the market again.

My recommendation to those who are worried about someone else taking your jobs—start a company, or travel awhile, or move to another country and work! Work ethically too and be happy. That’s what all this talk about innovation and creativity is about, isn’t it?

Cheers,
Mary

Mary Shepard Spaeth
___________
Forskningsingenjör
Institutionen för industriell ekonomi och organisation-INDEK
Kungliga Tekniska högskolan
Lindstedtsvägen 30, Rum 416
SE-100 44 Stockholm
___________

Research Engineer
Department of Industrial Management – INDEK
Royal Institute of Technology
Lindstedtsvägen 30, Room 416
SE-100 44 Stockholm
_____________________________________
Darrell Dvorak: A message from your sponsor

From: Darrell Dvorak
Subject: A message from your sponsor
Date: Sun, 17 Oct 2010 09:29:55 -0700 (PDT)
To: Ron May , RONALDMAY@aol.com

It’s time for your readers to put their votes where their values presumably are; to wit, supporting politicians who understand and promote entrepreneurs, the only folks who drive real job creation. Quoting from two studies released this year:

?There’s been a long, sometimes heated, debate on the role of firm size in employment growth? The widespread and repeated claim? is that most new jobs are created by small businesses? However, our main finding is that once we control for firm age there is no systematic relationship between firm size and growth. Our findings highlight the important role of business start-ups and young businesses in U.S. job creation. Business start-ups contribute substantially to both gross and net job creation.” [National Bureau of Economic Research]

“…without start-ups, there would be no net job growth in the U.S. economy. This fact is true on average, but also is true for all but seven years for which the United States has data going back to 1977.? [Kauffman Foundation]

Despite this evidence, politicians in one particular party want voters to believe that government creates jobs, so it doesn’t matter if entrepreneurial risk-taking is damaged by their tax and spend policies. The U.S. can no longer afford economically-ignorant politicians, and now is the time for the front line entrepreneurial troops to support those who really protect and promote their interests.v
________________________________
Jeff Neal: Motricity is doing well since the IPO

From: Jeff Neal
Subject: Motricity
Date: Mon, 18 Oct 2010 19:54:07 -0400
To: ron@themayreport.com

Ron – stock doing well since rough start at the IPO. New 52 week high of $21reached last week. Stock closed today at $18. You may recall the IPO pricing was $10. Stock has more than doubled from its July low of $6.55.

Motricity, Inc. (MOTR.OQ),USD17.42 Buy Price Target USD23 – Tgt $15 to $23. Flagship customer in an important region. Motricity this morning announced a contract win with Reliance Communications, one of India?s largest telecom operators with over 100m subscribers. Motricity is in the process of an accelerated launch of its full suite of content and storefront services across Reliance?s CDMA and GSM networks. The business model is a revenue share similar to Motricity’s contract with XL Axiata (Buy, IDR5500) announced last quarter, which tend to be higher margin as they scale up. Reiterate Buy.

Jeffrey Neal
____________________________________________________

Jeffrey Neal
Director – Client Advisor

Deutsche Bank Securities, Inc.
Private Wealth Management

222 S. Riverside, 26th Floor Chicago, IL 60606
phone: 312-537-3740 I fax: 312-537-3718

email: jeff.neal@db.com
______________________________________
Andy Kurcharski: General comments on TMR

From: Andrew Kucharski
Subject: Re: The May Report: 10/15/2010: The day of reckoning: W. James Farrell, Chairman of the Commercial Club of Chicago, says Gov. Pat Quinn is stalling off on the publication of an audit of the state’s finances which has been complete for several months
Date: Sun, 17 Oct 2010 22:00:10 -0500
To: The May Report

Ron – I love the reporting you and the team are doing. The subjects you guys cover are very important to the Chicago community and you produce some great articles. Unfortunately your site is not so great. After reading your James Farrell email I wanted to link to it, tweat it, and give it as much attention as I could, however the format of your site makes it incredibly difficult to do so.

You must realize having a link friendly site will increase your relevance, traffic and in turn help you monetize TMR.

Please, please have someone fix that site, if you still have problems we can offer some free help – but probably not until after New Years. Again, its your awesome, and unfortunately disturbing, content that is prompting me to write this message.

Thanks and keep up the good work.

Andy Kucharski

On Fri, Oct 15, 2010 at 11:08 PM, The May Report wrote:
________________________________________
Rishi Agrawal: “Move the ball forward.” My Legal & Business Philosophy-Attorney At Law

From: “Rishi Agrawal”
Sender: hellonri-bounces@hellonri.com
Subject: “Move the ball forward.” My Legal & Business Philosophy-Attorney At Law, Rishi Agrawal
Date: Tue, 19 Oct 2010 10:41:38 -0500
To:

THE AGRAWAL FIRM, LLC

SERVING YOUR EVERY DAY LEGAL NEEDS

I am Rishi Agrawal*. I became a lawyer to serve the community at large. After obtaining significant corporate and litigation experience in the private and public sector, I decided to open up my own law firm. My goal was to serve the Indian-American community. I have been proud to find that there is a thriving Indian business community in Chicago and throughout the country. I look forward to reaching out to the business and general Indian-American community and provide any and all services that I am able.

My legal and business philosophy is to “move the ball forward”. There are too many attorneys and law firms that take far too much time to resolve legal matters. I believe in efficiency, cost effectiveness, and of course obtaining top-notch results.

I also understand, being an entrepreneur myself, the nature of business. I respect the fact that my clients have a business to run and expenses to consider. In fact, I encourage clients to understand that when they are involved in litigation they must make the best business decision on how to move forward.

*Rishi Agrawal is an attorney and owner of The Agrawal Firm, LLC. He graduated from Northwestern University in 1995 and Loyola University Law School in 1998. He is a past President of the Asian American Bar Association of Chicago, former Executive Director for the National South Asian Bar Association, and on the Advisory Council for the Indian American Bar Association of Chicago.

Rishi’s practice areas are business/corporate law and litigation, criminal law, family law, and general civil litigation. He can be reached at Rishi@Agrawalfirm.com or (312)399-1697.
________________________________________
Tuesday, November 16 LES Chicago Chapter Meeting: Adam Rattray
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO); Russell Levine P.C., CLP; Kirkland & Ellis
From: “LES Chicago Chapter”
Sender: “LES Chicago Chapter”
Subject: November 16 LES Chicago Chapter Meeting
Date: Thu, 14 Oct 2010 14:35:44 -0400
To: “Ron”

LES (USA & Canada) Chicago Chapter

LES Chicago Chapter Meeting
DATE & TIME
Tuesday, November 16
11:45 AM

SPEAKERS
Adam Rattray
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

Russell Levine P.C., CLP™
Kirkland & Ellis

DESCRIPTION
Adam Rattray, Head, Information and External Relations Section of the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Arbitration and Mediation Center, will discuss potential advantages of dispute resolution clauses in licensing agreements, including key considerations for optimizing these advantages. These points will be presented in the context of arbitration and mediation cases filed with the WIPO Center.

Russell Levine P.C., CLP™, Partner, Kirkland & Ellis, will discuss the International Survey on Dispute Resolution in Technology Transactions being conducted by the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center, which he assisted in the development of, coordinating the support of the Licensing Executives Society International (LESI). The Survey will provide a fact-based assessment of the use of ADR in technology related disputes and inform party dispute resolution strategy and discussions on best practices. Mr. Levine will also address court enforcement of ADR provisions.

LOCATION
Maggiano’s Little Italy
(Banquet Facilities)
111 W. Grand Avenue
Chicago, Illinois
(312) 644-7700
_____________________________________
Wednesday, October 27: EDC Luncheon: The State of State and Local Government: (Hint – not good): Rick Mattoon, Senior Economist and Economic Advisor, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago

From: “EDC Chicago”
Subject: The State of State and Local Government Luncheon
Date: Thu, 14 Oct 2010 13:01:50 -0500
To: “EDC Chicago”

The State of State and Local Government:
(Hint – not good)

Rick Mattoon, Senior Economist and Economic Advisor

Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

The Tower Club
20 North Wacker Drive, 39th Floor

Chicago, Illinois

State and local governments throughout the US are facing revenue shortfalls and expenditure pressures. Few analysts suggest that fiscal strains will be reduced any time soon. Illinois in particular has acute fiscal problems including significant underfunding of public pensions and a tax base that has failed to keep up with government expenditure patterns. The Commercial Club of Chicago estimated that Illinois debt per household exceeds $25,000.

The question is there options for improving the fiscal solvency for state and local governments both here in Illinois and across the country? What are the implications of continued deficits for future economic development and business climate? Rick will discuss some on going research at the Chicago Fed along with findings from a June conference that examined Illinois’s Fiscal future.

Rick Mattoon is a senior economist and economic advisor in the economic research department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. His primary research focuses on issues that face the Midwest regional economy. His analysis of electricity restructuring and energy issues, higher education policy, regional economic development and state and local government finance has appeared in many publications. Rick also is a lecturer at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He received a B.A. from Kenyon College and an M.A. from the University of Chicago.

The luncheon is at noon at the Tower Club, 39th floor, 20 North Wacker Drive, Chicago. The cost of the lunch and program is $40 for EDC members and $65 for non-members. There is no charge for EDC Corporate and Sustaining Members.

Reservations are mandatory. Reply to this email to make your reservation,
call our office at (773) 279-8787 or prepay online via our website.

Click here to prepay online for the October 27, 2010 luncheon.

Our recent 30th Anniversary Celebration and Gala Dinner was a huge success.

Thank you to the Planning Committee – Yolanda Deen, Ed and Colleen Mayes for organizing and implementing a wonderful evening. A special thank you to all of those EDC supporters old and new who were able to attend and to the entire EDC Board for their tireless efforts and commitment to the Economic Development Council.

The EDC would also like to thank our Gala sponsors for their generous contributions:

Telefonix, Inc.

[http://www.telefonixinc.com]

[http://draperandkramer.com/index.php]

Economic Development Council
4064 N. Lincoln Avenue, Suite 251
Chicago, Illinois 60618
773-279-8787
www.edcchicago.org
___________________________________
Lincoln Park Apple Store opens Saturday Oct. 23 at 10am
From: Melanie Adcock
Subject: Lincoln Park Apple Store opens Saturday Oct. 23 at 10am
Date: Sat, 16 Oct 2010 20:13:51 +0000
To: ,
Lincoln Park Apple Store opens Saturday Oct. 23 at 10am
Store Information
Address:
801 W. North Avenue
Chicago, IL 60642
Driving Directions & Map Store hours:
Address:

801 W. North Avenue
Chicago, IL 60642
Store hours:
Mon – Sat:9:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. Sun:11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. How to get here:
The Apple Store is located about a mile east of Interstate 90/94 in Lincoln Park, at the intersection of W. North Avenue and Halsted Street.
Traveling on I-94, take exit 48B for State Route 64/North Avenue. Travel east on W. North Avenue for three quarters of a mile. The Apple Store will be ahead on the right, just past North Clybourn Avenue. Closest parking is off Halsted Street, in the Parking Center behind Borders bookstore.
On public transit, the closest Subway station is North/Clybourn on the Red Line. The area is also served by Transit Chicago bus lines 8, 9, 33, and 72, disembarking at W. North Avenue & Halsted.

Mon – Sat:9:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. Sun:11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Shopping tips from the Apple Store
Tip 1. Shop early. Shop late. The store tends to be busiest in the middle of the day. Shopping early in the morning or late in the evening helps you avoid the crowds.
Tip 2. Make an appointment. Test-drive new products and learn all about them by making a Personal Shopping appointment.
Tip 3. Check out anywhere. When you use your credit card for purchases, any Specialist can check you out on the spot.
Tip 4. Don?t be afraid to ask for help. If you have any questions, just ask. Any of our Specialists can point you in the right direction.

Melanie Adcock
iPHONE: 312-259-0610
DROID: 312-833-1825
E-Mail: melanie_adcock@msn.com
Facebook Fan Page: bit.ly/MelanieAdcockFacebookFanPage
Bio: bit.ly/MelanieAdcockARC
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/melanieadcock
Twitter: twitter.com/melanie_adcock
Facebook Profile: www.facebook.com/melanie.a.adcock
________________________________________
Tuesday, October 26: ITA Women’s Roundtable

From: Melanie Adcock
Subject: FW: ITA Women’s Roundtable – October 26th
Date: Mon, 18 Oct 2010 19:06:34 +0000
To: ,

Ron, I met Valerie late last year and think her presentation is going to be outstanding. -Melanie
Subject: ITA Women’s Roundtable – October 26th
Date: Mon, 18 Oct 2010 10:27:24 -0500
From: mpmcglynn@illinoistech.org
To: mpmcglynn@illinoistech.org
CC: elong@springsmart.com; tfranke@fitzhewlaw.com

Please join us at ITA’s Women’s Roundtable, Tuesday, October 26, 2010
ITA Women’s Roundtable
Presenter: Valerie Shuman, Principal at SCG
TOPIC: Breaking New Ground ? Practical Strategies for Technology Business Growth
Valerie will kick off our year focused on the theme of growth. Her focus will be a pragmatic approach to market intelligence and insight, vision management, and strategy execution to break new ground in growing technology businesses. Valerie has been on the front lines of technology innovation and development of new markets and industries for over twenty years. She will bring perspective from both her own experience and the larger market space.

At SCG, Valerie specializes in translating market-level vision into business initiatives based on her broad experience in working with emerging industries. Over the last two decades she has partnered with global leaders to deliver groundbreaking new products and ventures in the automotive, call center, telecommunications, quick service restaurant, IT services, location-based services, telematics, and online content arenas. Her prior roles include leadership positions at SEI, NAVTEQ, Verety and Ygomi. Valerie is a published author, patented inventor and dynamic public speaker.
Date: Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Time: 8:30am ? 10:30am
Location: ITA/TechNexus ? Conference Room A/B, 200 South Wacker 15th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606
Register: www.illinoistech.org/event.aspx/2915

We hope to see you there!

Best Regards,

Mary Pat

Mary Pat McGlynn ? Manager, Membership

Illinois Technology Association (ITA) | www.illinoistech.org
ITA | TechNexus | 200 South Wacker Drive, 15th Floor | Chicago, Illinois 60606

+1.312.924.1061 | mpmcglynn@illinoistech.org

ITA: Growing the Illinois Technology Community
______________________________________
Thursday, October 21: Saper Law Offices: Non-compete, Shmamcompete
From: Melanie Adcock
Subject: FW: Non-compete, Shmamcompete
Date: Mon, 18 Oct 2010 19:04:52 +0000
To: ,

Mark your Calendars!
Dear Melanie ,

Register Now for October?s Seminar at Saper Law: Non-compete, Shmamcompete—those contract terms aren?t enforceable anyway?.right?

Saper Law attorneys regularly draft non-compete, non solicitation, and non disclosure agreements. At the same time, they are in court litigating the enforceability and applicability of these agreements. October?s Seminar at Saper Law focuses on all things ?non compete.?

During the hour long seminar, Daliah Saper, Principal Attorney at Saper Law, will address the following commonly asked questions:
What do the provisions of a non-compete really mean?
How is a non-compete different from a non solicitation clause and from an NDA (Non-disclosure or confidentiality agreement?)
When do I need to present a non-compete agreement to my employees or vendors?
As an employee, how does a non-compete limit my activities outside of work?
Are covenants not to compete really enforceable?
At the conclusion of Daliah’s Presentation, Lee Neubecker of Forensicon will explain the role computer forensics play in non-compete cases.
RSVP today!

Details:
Thursday, October21, 2010
Saper Law Offices, LLC
505 N Lasalle, Suite350
Chicago, IL60654
Time: 11:30 am ? 1:00 pm
Cost $15 with online registration: noncompeteseminar.eventbrite.com
$25 at the door
Lunch will be provided

Melanie Adcock
iPHONE: 312-259-0610
DROID: 312-833-1825
E-Mail: melanie_adcock@msn.com
Facebook Fan Page: bit.ly/MelanieAdcockFacebookFanPage
Bio: bit.ly/MelanieAdcockARC
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/melanieadcock
Twitter: twitter.com/melanie_adcock
Facebook Profile: www.facebook.com/melanie.a.adcock
____________________________________
Join the conversation on the Signal/Interactive Mediums blog

From: Melanie Adcock
Subject: FW: Join the conversation on the Signal/Interactive Mediums blog
Date: Mon, 18 Oct 2010 19:03:27 +0000
To: ,

From: gib@signalhq.com
To: melanie_adcock@msn.com
Subject: Join the conversation on the Signal/Interactive Mediums blog
Date: Mon, 18 Oct 2010 13:16:08 -0500

Hello,

I wanted to personally invite you to opt in to receive updates to the Signal blog here: ix.ly/d5ir

You only need submit your email address. In case you didn’t know, Interactive Mediums recently changed its name to Signal. We frequency update our blog with news, ideas and analysis you may find interesting or helpful. Also, if you have ideas for our service or topics you would like to see us cover please let me know. I’d love to have your participation in the ongoing conversation we have on our blog.

Thank you, and here again is the link to submit your permission — ix.ly/d5ir

Sincerely,

-Gib

Gib Bassett, Director of Marketing

Signal – Cross Channel Marketing Simplified

www.signalhq.com

[ Office: 312-268-6039 ] [ Mobile: 312-952-0476 ]

Email – gib@signalhq.com

Blog – blog.signalhq.com/author/gbassett
_____________________________________________
InvestMidwest Venture Capital Forum Heads to Kansas City; Applications Being Accepted NOW

From: Marna
Subject: InvestMidwest Venture Capital Forum Heads to Kansas City; Applications Being Accepted NOW
Date: Mon, 18 Oct 2010 14:01:10 -0500
Cc: “‘Marna’” ,

InvestMidwest Venture Capital Forum, which brings together the cream of Midwest high-growth companies with venture capitalists and other potential investors, will be in the Kansas City area in the Spring. Applications are being accepted now for companies seeking to present at the region’s premier venture capital forum so they can attract investment to help move them to the next level. Details are in the attached PDF formatted news release.

Please call if you have questions.

Thank you!

Cheers-

m/

Marna Courson

816.985.4432
________________________________________
Top 10 reasons to attend 4G World

From: Yankee Group
To: tatvshow@yahoo.com
Sent: Tue, October 12, 2010 3:23:44 PM
Subject: Top 10 reasons to attend 4G World

Register today for the world’s largest event focused on the 4G evolution.

4G WORLD 2010
Empowering Mobile Networks, Applications and Services
October 18 – 21, 2010

tinyurl.com/28amoz5

4G and the mobile Internet are together the fastest growing technology markets in the world. Tens of billions of dollars are now being invested by hundreds of operators around the globe to deliver next-generation mobile networks and applications to billions of users.

Top 10 reasons to attend 4G World 2010:

Discover the latest 4G business and technology strategies and how mobile network operators are accelerating their deployment of 4G networks and applications.
Hear more than 17 keynotes, including executives from all major U.S. mobile operators, totaling more than 30 4G operators from around the world (see below for details).
Learn from 220+ thought leaders covering the full spectrum of 4G ecosystem players, including mobile operators, software developers, e-commerce providers, device manufacturers, backhaul suppliers, IP and core convergence solution providers, mobile Internet innovators, technology trainers and more!
Experience a conference program endorsed by all major industry associations, including 4G Americas, TM Forum, LiMo Foundation, WiFi Alliance, WCAI, GSM, Femto Forum, WiMAX Forum, Telecom Council, IEEE and dozens of others, all of which are participating.
Network with more than 10,000 attendees and 250+ sponsors and exhibitors.
Take advantage of an open industry forum incorporating the opinions of a multitude of independent industry analysts including Yankee Group, Light Reading/Heavy Reading, RCR Wireless, Maravedis, Senza Fili, Rethink Research and many more.
Meet with hundreds of companies through more than 80 interactive sessions and many social networking opportunities.
Hear directly from more than two dozen suppliers providing in-depth technology briefs at the 4G World Technology Solutions Theater.
Enjoy many networking opportunities, including Executive Power Breakfasts (from AT&T, Alvarion and FierceWireless), 4G World Supersessions, the 4G World Awards Ceremony, 4G World Exposition, Internet Café, Technology Training programs, Press Luncheons and more.
Meet directly with the high C-level business leaders who are making the decisions and shaping the future of 4G and the mobile Internet.
Detailed information on the four-day conference program can be found at:

tinyurl.com/2dxrjsx

More than 9,000 professionals from more than 150 countries have already registered!

Key 4G operators and thought leaders presenting at 4G World from around the globe:

Bob Azzi, senior VP, Network, Sprint
Phoebe L. Yang, senior advisor to the chairman on broadband, FCC
Bruce Brda, senior VP, general manager, Networks, Motorola
Ashraf M. Dahod, senior VP and general manager, Mobile Internet Technology Group, Cisco
Håkan Eriksson, senior VP, CTO, head of Group Function Technology and Portfolio Management and head of Ericsson in Silicon Valley, Ericsson
Eran Gorev, president and CEO, Alvarion
Youngky Kim, executive VP, New Product R&D Team, Telecommunication Systems Business, Samsung Electronics
Mike Lanman, president-Enterprise and Government Markets, Verizon Wireless
Roger Lindquist, chairman, president and CEO, MetroPCS Communications
Glenn Lurie, president-Emerging Devices, National Resale and Partnerships, AT&T
Dr. Hideo Okinaka, VP and general manager of Emerging Technologies and Spectrum Division, KDDI Corp.
Steve Pazol, president, nPhase
Ken Wirth, president, 4G/LTE Wireless Networks, Alcatel-Lucent
Sanjay Beri, VP and general manager, Access & Acceleration Business Unit, Juniper Networks
Sue Spradley, head of CMO North America, Nokia Siemens Networks
William (Bill) Morrow, CEO, Clearwire
Julius Knapp, Chief, Office of Engineering and Technology, FCC
Matt Bross, CTO, vice chairman, Huawei USA
Full speaker details can be found at: bit.ly/b8yrKy

Click here to register today!

bit.ly/a3r3LF

___________________________________
Tuesday, Nov. 2: LinkedIn Event: First Tuesday @ ING DIRECT Café : Wired Branding for Women

Subject: First Tuesday @ ING DIRECT Café : Wired Branding for Women
Date: 10/18/2010 3:48:22 P.M. Central Daylight Time
From: melanie_adcock@msn.com
To: ron@themayreport.com, ronaldmay@aol.com

Subject: LinkedIn Event: First Tuesday @ ING DIRECT Café : Wired Branding for Women
First Tuesday @ ING DIRECT Café : Wired Branding for Women on LinkedIn Events you might be interested in attending!

events.linkedin.com/First-Tuesday-ING-DIRECT-Cafe-Wired/pub/458418

First Tuesday @ ING DIRECT Café : Wired Branding for Women
Tue, Nov 02 at the ING DIRECT Café , Chicago, IL,
WITI Chicago invites you to join in the conversation at First Thing Tuesday at the ING DIRECT Café for an informal discussion and meeting. Our speaker, Barbara Rozgonyi (Owner, CoryWest Media, LLC) topic is ‘Wired Branding for Women’.
Informal networking starts at 7:30am. **
Discussion starts promptly at 8:00am.
** For your convenience ING DIRECT Café does offer morning beverages and pastries.

Melanie Adcock
iPHONE: 312-259-0610
DROID: 312-833-1825
E-Mail: melanie_adcock@msn.com
Facebook Fan Page: bit.ly/MelanieAdcockFacebookFanPage
Bio: bit.ly/MelanieAdcockARC
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/melanieadcock
Twitter: twitter.com/melanie_adcock
Facebook Profile: www.facebook.com/melanie.a.adcock
________________________________________
Wednesday, October 27: Flyover Geeks: St. Charles Illinois Start Meetup

St. Charles Illinois Start Meetup!!!!

Come join the suburban technorati on Wednesday, Oct. 27th and meet some of the exciting entrepreneurs and their startups in the Suburbs!

Flyover Geeks will be in St. Charles, Illinois and will introduce you to these entrepreneurs:

Jack Eisenberg, Mapding

Karly Kirkpatrick, Author/Entrepreneur

Jack Eisenberg recently launched his new app Mapding for iPhone and Android and will introduce it to the St. Charles crowd.

Karly Kirkpatrick is the entrepreneur that created #ebooklitchat on Twitter and is an authority on getting books published in the New Media ecosystem whether you are writing fiction or non-fiction.

Details:

Where: Beehive Bar & Grill (204 W. Main Street, St. Charles IL.)

When: Oct. 27th, Wednesday 6:30 – 8:30p.m.

Cost: $10 (Beehive will have drink special for group)
___________________________________
Thursday, October 21: Troy Henikoff meetup

Subject: RE: Reminder: October Meetup – Troy Henikoff, 25 Years Of Startups is in one week.
Date: 10/14/2010 2:03:22 P.M. Central Daylight Time
From: melanie_adcock@msn.com
To: tatvshow@yahoo.com, ronaldmay@aol.com

Thanks, Bruce! I’ve registered to go to this. If you will be there, I hope to see you. Hope you are having a great week and will look forward to running into you soon. -Melanie

Melanie Adcock
iPHONE: 312-259-0610
DROID: 312-833-1825
E-Mail: melanie_adcock@msn.com
Facebook Fan Page: bit.ly/MelanieAdcockFacebookFanPage
Bio: bit.ly/MelanieAdcockARC
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/melanieadcock
Twitter: twitter.com/melanie_adcock
Facebook Profile: www.facebook.com/melanie.a.adcock

Date: Thu, 14 Oct 2010 11:48:02 -0700
From: tatvshow@yahoo.com
Subject: Fw: Reminder: October Meetup – Troy Henikoff, 25 Years Of Startups is in one week.
To: melanie_adcock@msn.com
CC: RONALDMAY@aol.com

—– Forwarded Message —-
From: Meetup Reminder
To: tatvshow@yahoo.com
Sent: Thu, October 14, 2010 1:43:11 PM
Subject: Reminder: October Meetup – Troy Henikoff, 25 Years Of Startups is in one week.

Meetup Reminder
Chicago Lean Startup Circle
Your group has a Meetup Thursday, October 21, 2010 6:30 PM!
You RSVPed Yes.
What
October Meetup – Troy Henikoff, 25 Years Of Startups

When

Thursday, October 21, 2010 6:30 PM

Who
180 Yes
This Meetup is full. There are 10 people on the waiting list.

Where
ITA
200 S. Wacker 15th Floor
Chicago IL 60606
3123713869

This Meetup is full, and there are people on the waiting list. If you cannot make it, please change your RSVP to “No” so that someone else has a chance to take your place. Update your RSVP
180 Members RSVPed Yes, including…

see all

Meetup Description
Troy’s Topic
According to the US Small Business Administration, the majority of the net job growth in the US over the last 15 years has come from small businesses. We, the people in the trenches building these businesses, have both an opportunity and an obligation to continue this trend and be the primary driver for job growth going forward. The historical perception has been that Chicago is not one of the top cities in this country for technology startups, but that is changing and changing rapidly. As the entrepreneurial community comes together we get stronger and stronger. Troy will talk about his personal experience with launching Excelerate this summer and how it is but one of many exciting things happening as Chicago’s startup ecosystem is taking off.

About Troy
Troy Henikoff has almost 25 years of running early stage businesses under his belt, has been an advisor to dozens of startups and has made a handful of seed stage investments as well. Additionally he teaches Entrepreneurship at Northwestern University, is on the board of the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center and is a founder and director of Chicago’s new incubator, Excelerate. Below are just 2 of his successful startups….
As CEO of OneWed, Troy lead the re-launch of OneWed.com, a wedding website that provides the largest online database of wedding vendors, detailed ratings and reviews and a smart, unique voice for wedding planning tips and advice.
Troy co-founded SurePayroll.com, an Internet-based payroll service bureau focused on companies with fewer than 100 employees. Under his leadership as President, SurePayroll grew from an idea on paper to a nationally recognized payroll service bureau in less than three years. Today, SurePayroll is the largest Internet payroll provider and the fifth largest payroll company in the country, managing billions of payroll dollars annually. A two-time Inc. 500 honoree, SurePayroll is one of the fastest-growing companies in the country.
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Tuesday, Oct. 26: MEF in Wheaton: Barbara Rozgonyi: Topic: Intro to LinkedIn

From: MEF@mail-list.com
Sender: mef@mail-list.com
Subject: The Midwest Entrepreneurs Forum
Date: Mon, 18 Oct 2010 15:17:56 -0500
To: ron@themayreport.com

Cost: Free to members, $20.00 for non-members (reservations are not
required) IIT Students with valid student ID Free. Students from other
Universities with a valid student ID $5.00 Register on line
www.MidwestEntrepreneursForum.Org/CalendarEvents.aspx you will need to
select either Chicago or Wheaton

You can pay by credit card on line or you can pay at the door with cash,
check, or credit card.

Our meeting will be held at: Daniel L. & Ada F. Rice Campus of Illinois
Institute of Technology 201 East Loop Road, Wheaton IL (directions below)

Time: 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.
Date: Tuesday October 26, 2010

In an ongoing effort to provide our members with the tools they need to
successfully develop their businesses, we are presenting another educational
presentation, entitled: How to Leverage a LinkedIn Network into Dynamic
Business Connections.

Looking for ways to ramp up your company’s presence on LinkedIn?

Is your LinkedIn account mostly sitting idle?

Do you want to increase your network, boost your productivity and develop
your book of business by getting familiar with LinkedIn and using this in
your everyday interactions with colleagues and clients?

If you are an executive, business leader, entrepreneur, consultant or
business coach who wants to ensure that you leverage your personal
professional profile on LinkedIn then you won’t want to miss this program.

This program will give you actions you can take to start to differentiate
your online presence, manage your reputation online and attract more
business leads through LinkedIn and is especially useful for any business
leader who wants to ensure that they leverage LinkedIn (working with even
the free subscription) to win new business and use it as a relationship
marketing tool to keep in touch with past clients.

Tonight Barbara Rozgonyi will explain how small and mid-sized businesses can
quickly and easily get started on LinkedIn, as well as provides advanced
tips and techniques for using LinkedIn to grow and improve your business.

In conclusion, while LinkedIn isn’t the largest social network, it is the
network with the
most business-focused members and mission. It arguably is the best social
network to freely market your company; however, it does require some work on
your end to ensure that you’re leveraging the right techniques.

Biography

A digital communications strategist, Barbara Rozgonyi wires branding,
marketing, social media and public relationstogether to build businesses,
engage customers and connect communities. Founder of CoryWest Media, LLC
and Social Media Club’s Chicago chapter, Barbara shares her enthusiasm and
expertise online at www.wiredPRworks.com.

About The Midwest Entrepreneurs Forum

The Midwest Entrepreneurs’ Forum (MEF) promotes and strengthens the process
of starting and growing companies by providing services, which educate and
inform entrepreneurs. MEF meets the second Monday of March, April,October
and November at the Downtown Campus of the Illinois Institute of Technology,
565 W. Adams Street, Chicago, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. A suburban meeting is
held the last Tuesday of each month (except July and August) from 7 p.m. to
9 p.m. at the Daniel L. and Ada F. Rice Campus of the Illinois Institute
of Technology, 201 East Loop Road, Wheaton, IL (directions listed). Each MEF
meeting normally features a case presentation/panel discussion that
spotlights a single company in a critical stage of development. We also
feature speakers that bring timely knowledge of current solutions that may
make a difference in how you run your business.

MEF membership is $60 per year or $20.00 to attend a single meeting to see
if membership is something you think would benefit you. If you decide you
want to become a member bring your receipt for $20.00 within 30 days to the
next meeting and you will only be required to pay an additional $40.00 to
become a member for the year. Year is from your payment to the next year.
Students with a valid ID pay $5.00. IIT students with a valid id get in
free.
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Metromix Partners with Chicago-based Tech Company Local Offer Network to announce Metromix Deals
From: “Lauren Russ”
Subject: Metromix Partners with Chicago-based Tech Company Local Offer Network to announce Metromix Deals
Date: Fri, 15 Oct 2010 14:14:00 -0500
To:
Hi Ron-

I’m not sure if you saw that Metromix partnered with Chicago-based tech company Local Offer Network to announce Metromix Deals, a suite of third-party deals aggregated from dozens of deal-of-the-day websites as well as the new Metromix-branded Deals. The products are available to local and national advertisers. Consumers can search deals by city, neighborhood, or category, view the day’s top deals on a map, and even plan far ahead by using the Metromix Deals calendar.

Let me know if you would be interested in speaking with Metromix or Local Offer Network on this new suite of products or covering the trend of publishing companies turning to deal distribution. Also, if you are not familiar with Local Offer Network, they are the company behind the popular Dealradar.com.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts. The announcement is below.

Thanks, Lauren

METROMIX INTRODUCES ONE-STOP DESTINATION FOR DEALS-FOCUSED SOCIAL PLANNING

METROMIX DEALS LAUNCHED ON CITY SITES NATIONWIDE

Metromix LLC, a joint venture between two of the nation’s largest media companies – Gannett Co., Inc. and Tribune Company – today announced Metromix Deals, a suite of new features on its websites that showcase exceptional deals and specials to its visitors who use the sites to plan nights out in their cities. The new features include both third-party deals aggregated from dozens of deal-of-the-day websites and other sources, as well as a new Metromix-branded Deals product available directly to local and national advertisers.

Metromix Deals (www.metromix.com/deals) provides young, social adults with a one-stop shop in a dedicated deals section, plus deals-related features integrated throughout the Metromix sites. Metromix Deals enables its users to discover new experiences and take advantage of great savings while planning their social calendars. Consumers can search deals by city, neighborhood, or category, view the day’s top deals on a map, and even plan far ahead by using the Metromix Deals calendar. For example, a group planning an after-work happy hour can identify which bars and restaurants offer the best deals at a particular time and location.

“Today consumers have to keep track of an overwhelming number of deal emails, deal-of-the-day websites and social media accounts , in order to ensure they are getting all the best deals offered in their city,” said Kara Walsh, Metromix CEO. “By aggregating deals from a variety of sources as well as our own, and making them a core part of the social planning experience, Metromix has added a hugely convenient feature set for its community of users. Our audience has always looked to us for information on local deals, so the new Metromix Deals destination is the natural extension of our ever-growing site.”

For advertisers, Metromix Deals offers a unique, integrated platform that presents their targeted consumers with relevant, time-sensitive deals right as they are making decisions about where to go and what to do. For additional impact, advertisers can take over the Deals section homepage and other components throughout the site by “re-skinning” them with their brand images and roadblocking the ad units. The comprehensive Metromix Deals platform gives advertisers the benefit of the powerful and trusted Metromix brand.

To develop the Deals offering, Metromix partnered with Chicago-based Local Offer Network (LON). LON facilitates the aggregation and distribution of deals from specialized deal-of-the-day and other offer sources, ensuring the Metromix community is informed of timely, relevant deals. LON’s VoucherPro™ technology and service platform will process and fulfill deals sourced directly by Metromix sales teams. These Metromix-branded deals will be syndicated across the web through LON, to other online publisher sites, extending the reach of Metromix Deals advertisers.

“Our goal was to provide Metromix users with the best deals while allowing our advertisers to reach a highly desirable audience in a content rich and engaging forum, at the exact time they are initiating purchase intent,” noted Jim Marzullo, Metromix VP of Operations and Business Development. “The partnership with Local Offer Network made that a reality. Our teams worked hand-in-hand to combine our vast coverage of venues and events with the most extensive, timely and relevant deals nationwide.”

“Metromix and Local Offer Network share a vision of giving consumers the right deals when they want them, and bringing advertisers the right consumers when they need them,” said Dan Hess, CEO and co-founder of Local Offer Network. “Metromix Deals is the realization of that vision, a major advance in multi-channel marketing, and the product of a true partnership between our companies.”

Metromix also partnered with FindMeSpecials.com to further enhance the offering in the new Deals section which is available on over fifty Metromix sites. New features will continue to be added over the coming months, including a Metromix Daily Deals email, geo-targeted mobile deals for the Metromix iPhone app and mobile sites, deals on event tickets, and enhanced social media functionality.

ABOUT METROMIX

Metromix is a national network of local entertainment Web sites targeting 21- to 34-year-olds with information on where to go and what to do. Metromix was formed through a joint venture between Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI) and Tribune Company, two of the country’s largest media companies with newspapers, TV stations and Web sites in many of the nation’s top markets. In late 2009 Metromix expanded into 27 new cities extending its reach to more than 50 top U.S. markets.

Metromix has received a number of awards, including an EPpy Award for Best Entertainment Site and the Digital Edge Award for Best Advertising Program. The Metromix network currently attracts over 4 million monthly unique visitors and generates almost 70 million monthly page views.

Lauren E. Russ, CMP

Connect Communications, Inc.

3704 N. Kostner Avenue

Chicago, IL 60641

Phone: 773.972.7060

Email: lauren@connectcomsinc.com
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END OF REPORT