The May Report: 2/17/2011: Melanie admitted to Stroger Cook County hospital on an emergency basis and faces surgery this morning for an enlarged and infected gall bladder with many stones; George Deeb, founder of iExplore, tells the story of ups and downs and how the company was re-born after 9/11 with nine volunteers and no employees down from a peak of 90; Also, Deeb says that the boys at Lightbank don’t just want to invest in your firm, they want to run it

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
_________________________

**********************************************************

The Backlinks Company Specials

NEW WEBSITE SPECIALS FROM $500

100% Custom Corporate Websites and Redesigns

Call John Triantos at 303-910-3018

SEO SERVICES STARTING AT $400

- Onsite, Offsite

SOCIAL MEDIA SERVICES

- Boost Your Twitter Followers, Start Today!

- Facebook Marketing and Development

PROGRAMMING SERVICES

- PHP, Ruby On Rails, JavaScript, HTML5

- AJAX, Payment Gateways, Facebook Integration,

- E-commerce, CMS

* Example Sites Available Now

The Backlinks Company is US Owned

Please call John Triantos at 303-910-3018

trio@blcompany.com

www.blcompany.com

**********************************************************
____________________________
TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Scoop section:

– Editor’s note, by Ron May
– David Cesareo: Needs a job in software
– Edward Domain: Ron and Melanie are banned again
– Jack Curley: Ron, PUH-lease! … wear your pants to the next event
– Thursday, February 24: Japan Investment Seminar
– Indiana University has been recognized as a force behind the state of Indiana’s climb up the Milken Institute’s State Technology and Science Index, specifically in a component of the index involving risk capital and entrepreneurial infrastructure, where the state moved to 19th place, up from 37th
– TechAmerica Reacts to FY 2012 Budget Proposal
__________________________________

******************************************
For those considering doing any kind of business with Affluence.org, AFFU or Momentum Capital, BEWARE!

Don’t consult for them if you want to be paid

Don’t sell them anything in exchange for stock

Don’t buy any stock

Don’t invest one nickel, wooden or otherwise

The May Report has never before done this

But the evidence has built up and it is not on the one hand, on the other hand type of evidence

For more details, call Ron May at 773-525-3844 and/or email him at ronaldmay@aol.com
***********************************************
____________________________
The Scoop section:
____________________
Editor’s note, by Ron May

* First of all, Melanie Adcock is in the hospital tonight. She is in Room 8511 at Stroger Cook County Hospital and she is expected to be operated on in the morning on an emergency basis. Melanie has been complaining for more than a week now that she was not feeling well. She had cramps and was throwing up, Wednesday morning so much so that she threw up ten or more times. She went to the hospital and did not even make it to the bathroom before she threw up in the sink. They took her right away and put her on IV antibiotics and medication to keep her from throwing up.

They also did a couple of CT scans with the contrast dye.

What they found was an enlarged gall bladder which was infected and full of stones. Melanie did not know when I talked to her about 2am whether there are stones in the bile duct.

Melanie has not been able to eat all day and they are giving her fluids intravenously.

She is still in pain. But they have scheduled her for being the second surgery today which should be before noon.

We chatted about what it is like to be in Stroger Hospital. Melanie was there back in 2004 for a skin graft.

The amenities are lacking. She had to ask three people for a bed pan; there is no hand cleanser in the hand cleanser dispenser; the phones don’t work, there is no wi-fi, etc.

But the doctors are actually good — once you get to see them.

The plan is for the surgeons to remove Melanie’s gall bladder laparoscopically.

I’ll say a prayer for Melanie’s surgery and for her smooth recovery.

The reason Melanie went to Stroger is that she does not have insurance yet in her new job at Duo Consulting where the insurance kicks in sometime in March.

Melanie is such a worrier and I yelled at her about this. She worries that they don’t believe that she is really sick; she worries that work is piling up at work; and she worries about a lot of things. If you talk to her, tell her to relax. Things will work out just fine.

Now, it is true that I showed up at the Tech Pitch event in my underwear. I cannot deny that. What happened was that I called Flash cab to get down there and I was going to get dressed in the five to ten minutes before the cab came. But that is when Melanie called at 6:20pm. I had no idea that she was in the ER or even in the hospital. And talking to her was quite obviously a higher priority than getting dressed.

So, when the cab came, I decided not to take a chance that the guy would leave so I grabbed my pants and jacket and downstairs I went.

No wheelchair. And the cabbie was kind enough to walk me upstairs.

Andy Nadler pointed out that I could have put my pants on in the lobby or outside the room where the meeting was being held. Too bad I did not think of that.

But some people pick on anything. Jean Pickering was ticked off and told me that people left when they saw me. Really? Jack Curley probably had to catch a train.

And Ed Domain was on the other side of the space and he could hardly wait to write me that Melanie and I are now banned from yet another venue. That is the epitome of guilt by association. Tell me Ed, what did Melanie do to be banned here?

This issue came up a week or so ago when the MobileApEx committee met and got the bad news that Koelnmesse, Inc. was pulling the plug on the conference — at least for this year. BTW, Melanie and I misspelled Koelnmesse, Inc. as Kolenmesse. Sorry about that. We should have checked.

Bruce Montgomery suggested — and I have to believe that he was not being serious — that maybe the ITA could step in and fill in as a sponsor. Melanie was irked by this suggestion and said openly, “What about me? They will probably try to keep me out of it,” she said somewhat skeptical and definitely irked. Bruce said something that set her off about how she has had issues with the ITA and later he did tell her that there would be no problem.

Darrin Stern defended Fred Hoch on the grounds that he had made a few calls.

My perspective on this is that the ITA is just slapping its name on events as a sponsor and it expects a standing ovation in exchange. Nothing like that is going to happen. First of all, if real money is required, the ITA will be conveniently MIA.

And if real work is involved, ditto.

Note that and don’t forget that the ITA was missing from the debate on the so-called Amazon tax, sometimes called the Groupon tax. Ed Longenecker was working his butt off but Fred and Terry were hiding in their offices. Did Fred not want to miss the 6:22 train?

And when Ed Longanecker, Maura O’Hara, Matt Summy, and David Miller wanted to form an alliance to deal with such issues, did they invite Fred and Terry to be a part of it???

No, you bet your life they did not! That fact alone says it all and don’t think that someone close to Rahm won’t tell him all of this.

Terry Howerton scurried like a rat fleeing a sinking ship over to press the flesh with Rahm at the offices of Google recently.

Terry and Fred are trying, desperately trying, to establish their relevance in a new administration, presumably a Rahm Emanuel administration.

They were blocked months ago from being on the Mayor’s Council of Technology Advisors which was rejuvenated at some level last fall.

Who blocked them from membership?

My information is that the kibash was put on their membership on that committee by Hardy Bhatt and Michael Krauss.

And get this. Hardy was on their board!

No offense to anyone intended, but have you noticed how many useless advisory committees are now sprouting up since Groupon has become a household word?

Every government body, local or state, wants in on the action.

And have you also noticed that foundations are funding more and more research these days? The Knight Foundation put up $4.2MM to help journalists. Kris Hammond explained to me that it is about the problems with advertising in publications these days. No revenue model anymore.

There were only about 25 people at Tech Pitch Wednesday night but hearing George Deeb who founded iExplore was interesting.

He put in $500K of his own money in 1999 and then got $3MM from the Tribune.

George was candid about the mistakes he made, not the least of which was hiring people from big corporate environments who had no idea how a small start-up works. the one guy on the board who kept warning them that they were on the wrong track was right, George said.

He had a bloated org structure with 90 people at the peak and then cut it down to 30 but the real change happened when 9/11 hit and he was down to no employees and nine volunteers.

That was the start of the second life of iExplore and George was able to sell the firm along the lines of venture capital where the buyers got 100% of the equity and George was paid off in a kind of buy out if I understood correctly.

Next time I will tell you how iExplore modified its marketing strategy and its demographic strategy. At one point they were spending megabucks on ads in Conde Nast.

The big shift was from people who wanted danger and excitement to people who wanted the overall aura of the experience. In other words, no Mt. Everest climbers or deep sea divers. The real demo was people who wanted the African safari, a vacation built around different cuisines, etc. The more passive travelers took the place of the more hard core risk seekers. Climbing is not intrinsically risky, but mountain climbing can be.

The demo ended up being women between the ages of 35 and 50 with incomes of $200K or more.

George had a few interesting remarks about the local start-up and investment scene. I did not know this, but the boys at Lightbank don’t just want to put in money, they want to run the companies they invest in, so if you’re an entrepreneur who gets dollars from them, that is part of the deal.

He said that the big problem is going from angel funding of say $500K to Series A funding of about $5MM, let’s say. As Wally Cornett pointed out years ago, the trapeze bar did not connect.

George said that in his new capacity of being an advisor to start-ups, lots of folks are trying to get his help and attention.

In his day, back in 1999, that Series A funding was not likely to come from a local source, but even today, it is slim pickens, he seemed to be saying. OCA Ventures, New World, MK Capital, Apex, Origin, Illinois Ventures, Lightbank, and maybe one or two more firms are in that space. George said that Sandbox is not there yet, doing mostly early stage or seed stage investing and Sandbox is doing a good job of expanding its portfolio outside of in-house investing, he said.

George can be reached at 312-560-0096 or at george@redrocketvc.com.

There is more. But let me get this out.

Again, I know that Melanie has no internet access on her iPhone at Stroger. But you can call her at 312-259-0610 and even post something on her Facebook page. Ed Domain, leave the lady alone here, OK, Ed. Don’t be mean to someone who is truly sick.
_____________________________________
David Cesareo: Needs a job in software

The May Report

David Cesareo
to me

show details 6:49 PM (4 hours ago)

from David Cesareo
to ron@themayreport.com
date Wed, Feb 16, 2011 at 6:49 PM
subject The May Report
mailed-by gmail.com
signed-by gmail.com

hide details 6:49 PM (4 hours ago)

Hello,

I recently moved back to Chicago from the East coast and have worked in software; I am requesting access to your site’s Job Center, which requires a user name and password. Is it possible to get one?

David Cesareo

773-620-6518
________________________________
Ron May here. Dave, that job site is not working on the TMR site anymore. But maybe someone will contact you and ask what your skill set is.
________________________________
Edward Domain: Ron and Melanie are banned again

Subject: Banned again
Date: 2/16/2011 11:06:04 P.M. Central Standard Time
From: edward.domain@gmail.com
To: ronaldmay@aol.com, melanie_adcock@msn.com

Since you both felt the need to email me for no reason:

Allow me to congratulate Ron for making a fool of himself and getting you both banned from yet.another Chicago venue.

Ron walked into the BNC event in his underwear and started getting dressed in the middle of the event.

And then he started yelling at people and calling.them assholes.

I know this because the BNC organizers told me.

You two are poison- congratulations on being banned from yet another venue! It is well deserved
_________________________________
Jack Curley: Ron, PUH-lease! … wear your pants to the next event

Subject: Ron, PUH-lease! … wear your pants to the next event
Date: 2/16/2011 9:47:18 P.M. Central Standard Time
From: jackcurley@sbcglobal.net
To: ronaldmay@aol.com

Your entrance at the Sync Center tonight in your boxer shorts was a show stopper … you looked like a walking advertisement for Band-Aids! … but not for BVDs.
On a more relevent note, I talked with Adian from IfByPhone … sounds like they’re doing great and hiring. Worth getting an update on.
_______________________________
Thursday, February 24: Japan Investment Seminar

Subject: Japan Investment Seminar February 24th
Date: 2/15/2011 1:41:48 P.M. Central Standard Time
From: debendevan@hotmail.com
To: ronaldmay@aol.com

Ron,

I know it has been awhile. I am not sure this is of any interest to you but if you did decide to come I can assure you that at least there would be some interesting people, free coffee, soda, and munchies, and perhaps a topic that has been neglected for some time. Oh, and I will pick up your tab (see below) if you do decide to come. Just let me know.

- Dave

If you can’t view this email please click here

www.jaschicago.org/en/events/Default.aspx?eventid=156

cordially invites you to a panel discussion

Where to Invest in Japan in 2011

Thursday, February 24, 2011

5:30-7:30p.m.

Segall, Bryant & Hamill
10 S. Wacker Drive, 35th floor
Chicago, IL 60606

*(Due to building security restrictions, we will be unable to escort visitors in after 5:55 pm)

$20 JASC Members/$30 Non-Members

Japan may no longer be the second largest economy in the world, but it continues to be the second largest market for investors to place their money. Given the vastness and diversity of the Japanese economy, the positive prospects are not uniform across all sectors of the economy. So what are the best industries, companies, funds, and types of investment that will yield the best return in 2011? We will hear from the following Chicago-based experts on Japanese investments

Dave Baeckelandt, Director, Sales & Marketing, Segall Bryant & Hamill

Dave Baeckelandt is Director, Sales & Marketing, at $7 billion AUM investment management firm Segall Bryant & Hamill. He is responsible for SBH’s non-US business development including Japan. Prior to his current position, Dave was the U.S. Business Leader for the Analytics & Research Group at Mercer Investment Consulting. Earlier he raised money for pan-Pacific private placements as President of Chicago Pacific Capital Advisors. It is in that capacity that Dave was one of the very early investors in Tully’s Coffee Japan, when it had only a few stores in Tokyo (today it has more than 300). From 1994 until 2002, Dave was the Chief Representative and then Country Manager (and Tokyo Branch Manager) for William Blair & Co., LLC’s Japan business. In that role he set up and ran the first foreign, dual-licensed investment advisory/broker-dealer in Japan. Still earlier, Dave spent 6 years at the predecessor banks of Mitsubishi UFJ Bank, selling investment products to the U.S. subsidiaries of Japanese multinationals.

Drew Edwards, Vice President, Advisory Research Inc.

Drew Edwards is an International Portfolio Manager at Advisory Research Inc, a Chicago-based investment management firm with $7 billion in assets under management. Drew’s responsibilities at Advisory Research include managing investments in Japanese equities. Prior to joining Advisory Research Inc, Drew was an investment management professional at a Japan-only activist hedge fund – Taiyo Pacific Partners. Earlier in Drew’s career, he was an investment banker at Lehman Brothers’ Tokyo office and a finance professional at Pfizer Pharmaceuticals in Tokyo.

Nick Ronalds, Executive Director, FIA Asia

Nick Ronalds is Executive Director, FIA Asia, responsible for managing the Asian affiliate of the Futures Industry Association. Nick’s career in the futures industry spans over 20 years and has included senior positions at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the futures brokerage units of several global futures brokerage firms. From 1987 to 1994 he was Managing Director of the joint Asian Representative office of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), based in Tokyo, Japan. Over the years he has advised a wide range of institutional investors, including central banks, mutual funds, and other financial intermediaries, on the effective use of exchange -traded derivatives to enhance their portfolio management strategies.

Special thanks to our corporate sponsor:

For more information or to make a reservation click here

Special thanks to our 80th Anniversary Sponsors:

Anonymous Donor

Japan America Society of Chicago
20 N. Clark Street, Suite 750

Chicago, IL 60602
Tel (312) 263-3049

Fax (312) 263-6120

www.jaschicago.org

David Baeckelandt
Director, Sales & Marketing
Segall Bryant & Hamill
10 South Wacker Drive
Suite 3500
Chicago, IL 60606
(312) 596-0216 (direct)
(312) 543-7221 (cell)
(312) 596-0217 (fax)
_____________________________________
Indiana University has been recognized as a force behind the state of Indiana’s climb up the Milken Institute’s State Technology and Science Index, specifically in a component of the index involving risk capital and entrepreneurial infrastructure, where the state moved to 19th place, up from 37th

News Release

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana University has been recognized as a force behind the state of Indiana’s climb up the Milken Institute’s State Technology and Science Index, specifically in a component of the index involving risk capital and entrepreneurial infrastructure, where the state moved to 19th place, up from 37th.

Overall, Indiana moved to 28th place in the 2010 State Technology and Science Index, up from 33rd place two years ago. The index tracks and evaluates each state’s technology and science capabilities and its success converting these assets into companies and high-paying jobs. The Milken Institute is a nonprofit, independent economic think tank based in Santa Monica, Calif.

The report noted that Indiana gained across several categories but credited the risk capital and entrepreneurial component for the bulk of the overall improvement. This component includes different measures of venture capital as well as patenting activity, new businesses formed and initial public offerings, which combined, according to the institute, determine a state’s success at turning research into services and products.

According to the “Biggest Gainers” section of the report, “Indiana University has grown more aggressive in supporting new firm birth, launching a venture capital fund to invest in technology start-ups and dedicating a new Innovation Center in late 2009.” The state ranked fourth in venture capital growth in 2010, gaining ground in both venture capital relative to GSP (from 26th to 17th) and business start-up rates (also 26th to 17th).

“Indiana University has put a lot of effort into strengthening our culture of innovation and entrepreneurship. It’s rewarding to see that these efforts over the past few years have been recognized as helping to significantly improve Indiana’s ranking in the Milken index,” said Tony Armstrong, associate vice president for engagement at IU and president and CEO of IU Research and Technology Corp. “As we implement plans for new facilities and programs, I hope these contributions will help Indiana’s rankings grow further.”

The index looks at 79 unique indicators that are categorized into five components: risk capital and entrepreneurial infrastructure (Indiana ranked 19th, up from 37th), research and development inputs (29th, up from 30th), human capital investment (30th, up from 35th), technology and science work force (39th, down from 31st), and technology concentration and dynamism (29th, down from 27th).

The index considers top-ranked states to be “engines of economic growth in the knowledge economy.” The overall top 10 states, beginning with the best ranked, are Massachusetts, Maryland, Colorado, California, Utah, Washington, New Hampshire, Virginia, Connecticut and Delaware.

The 2010 State Technology and Science Index can be viewed here.

Source: Indiana University
______________________________
TechAmerica Reacts to FY 2012 Budget Proposal

Subject: Press Release: TechAmerica Reacts to FY 2012 Budget Proposal
Date: 2/14/2011 4:14:17 P.M. Central Standard Time
From: ed.longanecker@techamerica.org
To: RONALDMAY@aol.com, melanie_adcock@msn.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 14, 2011

Contact: Charlie Greenwald at 202.682.4443 or charlie.greenwald@techamerica.org

TechAmerica Reacts to FY 2012 Budget Proposal

Washington, DC – TechAmerica President and CEO Phil Bond issued the following statement in response to the President’s FY 2012 budget proposal.

“The technology industry sees the President’s proposal as a strong start for innovation in the FY 2012 budget process. If our economy is to reach robust recovery, the ultimate outcome must include strong support and innovation incentives for research and development and government technology, as well as improvements to education and smart broadband policies, as proposed today.

“We’re hopeful that any final budget compromise with Congress will harness 21st century technology in order to help promote the fiscal responsibility and restraint that is needed to address the overall budget deficit. Increased investments in innovation will only serve to enhance government efficiency, savings, performance, productivity, transparency and effectiveness for all citizens.

“Specifically, we support funding in the proposal that promotes innovation investment. We commend the President for his interest in lowering the corporate tax rate. Congress and the Administration should enact comprehensive tax reform. A pro-innovation, competitive tax system is needed to level the playing field for U.S. firms that compete globally. We strongly discourage any piecemeal proposals that would raise taxes on U.S.-based firms that do business overseas. Such tax hikes will only hinder job creation, act as a disincentive to business investment and undermine U.S. competitiveness.

“Additionally, the industry particularly welcomes the innovation funding proposed in sections of the President’s budget that would support:

A stronger, permanent R&D tax credit
Wireless broadband for public safety and rural areas
A new program office to lead the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace
The use of smart technology in energy efficiency
Recruitment and training of 10,000 science, technology, engineering and math teachers
Improve speed and quality of patent examinations by U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Increase investment in R&D towards transformational technologies; and
Assistance for our small businesses in obtaining early-stage funding.

“We call upon Congress to support the these proposed innovation investments and take the concrete steps proposed here for improving government technology acquisitions and management.”

- # # # -

About TechAmerica

TechAmerica is the leading voice for the U.S. technology industry – the driving force behind productivity growth and jobs creation in the United States and the foundation of the global innovation economy. Representing approximately 1,200 member companies of all sizes from the public and commercial sectors of the economy, it is the industry’s largest advocacy organization and is dedicated to helping members’ top and bottom lines. TechAmerica is also the technology industry’s only grassroots-to-global advocacy network, with offices in state capitals around the United States, Washington, D.C., Europe (Brussels) and Asia (Beijing).It was formed by the merger of AeA (formerly the American Electronics Association), the Cyber Security Industry Alliance (CSIA), the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) and the Government Electronics & Information Technology Association (GEIA).Learn more about TechAmerica at www.techamerica.org.

Best regards,

Ed Longanecker
Executive Director, Regional Vice President
TechAmerica
630-282-4332
ed.longanecker@techamerica.org
www.techamerica.org

AeA & ITAA have merged to form TechAmerica

Where the future begins
________________________________
END OF REPORT