The May Report: 5/18/2011: QuesTek, Payment Pathways, Tom R. Bennett running into some snags; the chemistry of beer, whiskey, and chocolate to be featured in three events in June; tonight is SpotHero and Infiniti Caribbean Wind; plus Tech Week makes announcement today and more…

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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Going Mobile – Web Content 2011 Conference – June 6 & 7
Gleacher Executive Conference Center – Downtown Chicago

Register here (Fewer than 35 seats remaining)

www.webcontent2011.com/

15 mobile-focused sessions over 2 full days featuring speakers including:

Gian Fulgoni, comScore, Inc. – Today’s Mobile Mainstream
Robert Rose, Big Blue Moose – Context Aware Everything!
Colleen Jones, Content Science – This Mobile Moment
Erin Scime, HUGE – Content Strategist & Designer Talk Mobile

Plus BONUS WORKSHOP:

“Smart from the Start” – Content Strategy ½ Day Workshop by Brain Traffic

“In the world of online content, mobile is the new black! Join national content experts, marketers, strategists, developers and other industry thinkers June 6th and 7th in sunny Chicago at WebContent 2011 www.webcontent2011.com/ .” – CMSWire

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Social Media Training Workshop

Seats are filling up fast for upcoming “Social Media for Business” Training Workshop starting on May 25. Join us for this interactive online training with live video streaming training for 5 weeks that includes 8 Strategy sessions + 5 How-to sessions with a stellar group of expert trainers.

Some of top Social Media Authors and thought leaders training includes:
Dan Zarrella, Author of Facebook Marketing and Social Media Marketing book
Ramon De Leon, Dominos Pizza
Greg Jarboe, Author of YouTube & Video Marketing: An Hour a Day
Hollis Thomases, Author of Twitter Marketing: An Hour a Day
Krista Neher, SXSW Speaker & Author Social Media Field Guide
Eric Enge, Author of The Art of SEO
Simon Salt, Author of Social Location Marketing
Fionn Downhill, Instructor & CEO, Elixir Interactive
Barbara Rozgonyi, Founder Social Media Club Chicago
Marshall Sponder, Author of Social Media Analytics
Bob Tripathi, Trainer & Industry Speaker
Nicole Duhoski, Social Media Manager
Early Bird Special of $299 through May 10th

Sign-up below:

instantetraining.go2cloud.org/SH6

After this workshop you will be able to…
Learn to create a successful Social Media Marketing Strategy for your business
Be able to put together an Online Reputation Management plan
Able to build community on Facebook in a very scientific manner
Have a clear communication strategy on Twitter
Be able to leverage Location based marketing tools like Foursquare and others
Become a power user LinkedIn expert
Learn to integrate Video marketing as part of your marketing strategy
Be able to understand the importance of Search Engine Optimization(SEO) for Social Media
Learn the future of Social Media Marketing for Marketing ROI
Hear case studies from leading experts and business owners
To sign up and learn more about this workshop please visit:

instantetraining.go2cloud.org/SH6

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REGISTER for the MIT Enterprise Forum Chicago
2011 Whiteboard Challenge Finals!

Final Presentations, Thursday, May 26

The premier event of the MIT Enterprise Forum Chicago season,
the Whiteboard Challenge is an exciting contest of ideas. This
is the essence of MIT: world-renowned for the number of businesses
that the university’s organizations incubate.

The preliminary judges are selecting the finalists now. Join us,
along with our sponsor Ungaretti & Harris, at 5:00 pm Thursday
May 26 at the IBM Innovation Center. Watch the finalists as
they get a set of markers and five minutes to “whiteboard” their
idea before a panel of judges.

For recognition.

For respect.

And for $5,000 in cash prizes.

REGISTER NOW

bitly.com/lTxiLA

Date and Time
Thursday, May 26th, 5:00 pm – 8:30 pm

Location
IBM Innovation Center
71 S. Wacker Drive, 6th Floor
Chicago

Cost
Individual Member No Fee
Pre-Registered Guests $30.00
Day of Event Registration $40.00

REGISTER NOW

bitly.com/lTxiLA

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Scoop section:

– Scott Starbuck of CitySoles.com gives some thoughts on what he learned at Funding Feeding Frenzy
– QuesTek Wins SBIR Phase II Award to Design and Develop a Tuned Low-Voltage Sacrificial Anode
– Brian Koles of GreenTechBuyer need help with recruitment
– Chicago Start-Up Payment Pathways Awarded Second Patent for Privacy Management Technology
– Michael Weiser: His MIT-EF WBC application and his advocacy for Delete the Seats
– Jon Pasky: Tech Week conference press release today
– Wednesday, May 25: Chicago Booth Marketing Roundtable – “Stories and Marketing”
– Startup BidMyWay.com ‘like eBay meets Groupon’ – Chicago Sun-Times
– Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition
– Chet Kolodziej: Motorola Sears, Next in line!
– Tom R. Bennett: Federal Witness Patrick Magoon Buries Team Blagojevich
– Tom R. Bennett: Public Access Denied: Morning Session
– Bob, tell Dawn there was another abandoned baby today
– John Katsantonis: “And now, for the punchline………”
– Wednesday, May 25: EDC Luncheon: Jim Keating of Illinois Ventures: Business and Innovation Cycles Luncheon
– Monica Metzler: Tuesday, June 7; Thursday, June 9 and Wednesday, June 15: Chemistry of beer, whiskey and chocolate, respectively
– Tuesday, June 7: BNC Venture Capital Group; Wednesday, May 18th (TONIGHT!), Tech Pitch with SpotHero and Infiniti Caribbean Wind along with an interview of Ross Kimbarovsky
– Those signed up for API Hack Day

[Editor's note: May here. I have a very long Briefly noted section along with a Public Service Message and a number of other emails from readers and from Melanie which I will work on getting out as soon as this goes out. But meanwhile, if you live in the Western burbs, Marty Cooper, the inventor of the cell phone who worked at Motorola years ago, is speaking at IIT -Wheaton tonight. The lecture is free but they may be filled up by now. If you want to go, contact Scott Pfeiffer, Director of Outreach / Illinois Institute of Technology, 630.682.6001 / pfeiffer@iit.edu ]
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The Scoop section:
_________________
Scott Starbuck of CitySoles.com gives some thoughts on what he learned at Funding Feeding Frenzy

Subject: RE: Scott, you’ve had a wk to digest the pretty strong critique you got. Thoughts?
Date: 5/16/2011 2:01:50 P.M. Central Daylight Time
From: scott@citysoles.com
To: RONALDMAY@aol.com
CC: steve@originventures.com, ggottfried@gentryprivatecap.com, bmaxwell@mkcapital.com, rish@newworldvc.com

Gentlemen,

Thank you all for your valued input on my business growth plan.

I am one that seems to think I have all the answers but in many occasions over the past 30 years it may take me a minute to overcome the latest issue. But as an entrepreneur that’s what we do.

However a few of the discussions we ran through I do feel I have an answer for.

1. Inventory exposure/ commitment . Most vendors we work on a guaranteed margin and maintained margin system. Their product performs to this standard or product is returned, discounts giving or a trade for performing patterns would happen. Leaving us profitable with vendors and never stuck with inventory.

2. We now have outsourced web partners that handle coding and manipulating of our site ( Modern retail), As well as an outsourced online marketing company (Hoply).

3. We have several leads and are in the second round interview process with CTO/CMO positions. As well as a dedicated head hunting service searching to fill such a seat.

I am not naive in the fact the online market place is a competitive arena. As we have evolved in three decades in a sea of mass shoe retailers both online and brick and mortar. We are evolving online.

I will keep you posted on our progress, and would gladly discuss over coming further hurdles as well.

Thank you,

Scott Starbuck,

City Soles & Niche footwear

773-489-2001

773-875-5951

Become a fan of Niche-City Soles on Facebook!

Follow our twitter page@citysoles

From: RONALDMAY@aol.com [mailto:RONALDMAY@aol.com]
Sent: Thursday, May 12, 2011 2:32 PM
To: Scott Starbuck
Cc: steve@originventures.com; ggottfried@gentryprivatecap.com; bmaxwell@mkcapital.com; rish@newworldvc.com; ronaldmay@aol.com
Subject: Scott, you’ve had a wk to digest the pretty strong critique you got. Thoughts?
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QuesTek Wins SBIR Phase II Award to Design and Develop a Tuned Low-Voltage Sacrificial Anode

Ron, News Release – QuesTek Wins SBIR Phase II Award to Design and Develop a Tuned Low-Voltage Sacrificial Anode

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Rich Kooy to ronaldmay, me

show details May 11 (2 days ago)

from Rich Kooy rkooy@questek.com
to “ronaldmay@aol.com” ,
“ron@themayreport.com”
date Wed, May 11, 2011 at 3:26 PM
subject Ron, News Release – QuesTek Wins SBIR Phase II Award to Design and Develop a Tuned Low-Voltage Sacrificial Anode

hide details May 11 (2 days ago)

Hi Ron,

This news today from QuesTek Innovations LLC (www.questek.com) may interest you or your readers. Best Wishes from your friends at QuesTek!

Regards,

Rich

Rich Kooy, P.E.

Director of Sales and Marketing

QuesTek Innovations LLC

1820 Ridge Avenue, Evanston, IL USA 60201

Office Tel 847-425-8213 | Cell 847-528-5016

rkooy@questek.com | www.questek.com

QUESTEK WINS SBIR PHASE II AWARD TO DESIGN AND DEVELOP A TUNED LOW-VOLTAGE SACRIFICIAL ANODE ALUMINUM ALLOY

New Aluminum Alloy Expected to Have Applications in Defense, Marine and Energy Sectors

EVANSTON, IL, May 11, 2011 – QuesTek Innovations LLC has been awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project from the U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) to apply QuesTek’s Materials by Design® technology to design and develop a new low-voltage sacrificial anode alloy. The 2-year contract is valued at $598,794.

During this project QuesTek will computationally design a sacrificial anode aluminum alloy to have an open circuit potential (OCP) tuned to about -0.8V (relative to Ag/AgCl reference electrode), provide high current-carrying capacity, and use economical manufacturing processes. Production of the alloy will be demonstrated at commercial-scale levels, and long-term performance tests in seawater will be performed. It is also anticipated that an initial domestic producer of this alloy will be established and qualified, and that performance data generated during this project will be sufficient to include the new alloy in the MIL-DTL-24779 specification.

While the use of sacrificial anodes to reduce general corrosion in steel ships and structures is widespread, most conventional aluminum- or zinc-based sacrificial anodes provide an OCP of about -1.0V (relative to Ag/AgCl). By being tuned to an OCP of about -0.8V, QuesTek’s new alloy is expected to reduce hydrogen charging, hydrogen embrittlement (HE) and stress corrosion cracking (SCC) in high-strength steels used in some ships and structures, thus reducing equipment maintenance costs. In addition, this SBIR project is expected to increase U.S. manufacturing output of sacrificial anode materials.

Potential applications for QuesTek’s new low-voltage sacrificial anode aluminum alloy beyond Navy ships may include vessels, structures and devices that expose high-strength steels to marine or corrosive environments, such as off-shore drilling platforms, pipelines and process equipment.

Charlie Kuehmann, President and CEO of QuesTek, commented: “We thank the Navy for this SBIR Phase II award, and the opportunity to meet this important need by rapidly designing and developing a new tuned sacrificial anode. This project builds upon our past successes such as Ferrium® C61™, C64™, M54™ and S53® alloys, developed in part with Department of Defense funding and now sold to commercial, industrial and governmental customers worldwide by U.S.-based alloy producers under their licenses from QuesTek.”

ABOUT QUESTEK

QuesTek Innovations LLC (www.questek.com) is a global leader in computational materials design, serving commercial and governmental clients. QuesTek uses its proprietary Materials by Design® expertise to rapidly develop new materials that reduce capital, processing, operating or maintenance costs, or improve environmental protection or competitive supply. QuesTek has been highlighted in many leading business and technical publications, and has more than 30 patents awarded or pending worldwide. For more information, contact Rich Kooy at 1-847-425-8213 or rkooy@questek.com.
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Brian Koles of GreenTechBuyer need help with recruitment

Subject: help with recruitment
Date: 5/16/2011 12:21:15 P.M. Central Daylight Time
From: brian@GreenTechBuyer.org
To: ronaldmay@aol.com

Hi Ron,

We spoke briefly at the FFF event, and you indicated that you wouldn’t mind helping me spread the word about recruiting a technical/development leader for a company I am working with called sharkzoo. We’ll be coming out of semi-stealth mode in coming weeks once the site gets some finishing polish.

The job description is attached, and here is a link to a craigslist post for the position: bit.ly/lxQ3FA. If you could run a blurb that we’re looking for a technical member of the team, I’d really appreciate it.

Thanks so much.
–
Brian Koles

GreenTechBuyer
TF: 877-334-1433 x 301
Direct: 312-239-6725
brian@GreenTechBuyer.org
www.GreenTechBuyer.org
___________________________________
Chicago Start-Up Payment Pathways Awarded Second Patent for Privacy Management Technology

Subject: Chicago Start-Up Payment Pathways Awarded Second Patent for Privacy Management Technology Date: 5/17/2011 1:36:21 P.M. Central Daylight Time
From: collin@canrightcommunications.com
To: ronaldmay@aol.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Chicago Start-Up Payment Pathways Awarded Second Patent for Privacy Management Technology

Identity verification patent extends the scope of financial services protection to include transfers of valuable information assets as wells as funds

Chicago, Illinois – May 17, 2011. Payment Pathways, Inc. (PPI), a pioneer in privacy management solutions, today announced its award of Patent Number 7,945,511 by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. The primary innovation permits financial services or other firms to offer their customers a safe “virtual address” within the Greenlist®.

Payment Pathways is the developer of the Greenlist registry, which elegantly makes epayments safe and secure without requiring consumers to disclose any actual account or bankcard information whatsoever. This is the second patent the company has received in the last nine months to forward its mission of providing open solutions for privacy protection and identity verification in payment and confidential information transfers over the Internet.

“Payment Pathways is yet another example of the innovative thinking and technology development fostered in Chicago’s technology and entrepreneurial community,” said Terry Howerton, a managing partner in TechNexus and Chairman of the Illinois Technology Association. Payment Pathways is housed in TechNexus, developed in partnership with the ITA to serve as a ‘clubhouse’ and co-working facility to bring technology professionals together, foster relationships, and promote a sense of community in Chicago.

The first Payment Pathways patent ensured that Greenlisted Personal Account Numbers (PANs) could be sent irrevocably over an electronic funds transfer network, which allows recipient financial institutions to post ‘good funds’ the moment payment transactions arrive from the network, ahead of actual settlement. This new patent provides the same protection for account identifiers tied to information assets like music, movies, securities, healthcare records, or other nonfinancial assets.

“This patent strengthens our competitive position and offers additional protection to Payment Pathways’ clients and partners,” said Richard O’Brien, President & CEO of Payment Pathways.

The Greenlist registry provides a way to locate a listing of safe virtual addresses for the transfer of informational and monetary assets, just as “white pages” provide phone numbers and physical addresses for individuals. Unlike current delivery mechanisms for money – such as PayPal – Greenlist allows people and businesses to move money from their bank account without divulging their private financial information.

PPI’s latest invention extends Greenlist registration to include unique identifiers for any community of interest, even those representing things. Now, digital assets (objects or credentials) and permissions to access information can be linked to public payment addresses for certifiably transferring ownership of digital assets, without having to expose sensitive, personal account data. Actual account numbers, masked by Greenlist, never have to be divulged to merchants, supply chain participants, or payment processing networks.

“The primary advantage of such a certifiably trusted registry for asset transfer addresses is that it provides corporations with valuable consumer demand data, using digital constructs such as RFID tags and UPC codes. Corporations can then use the data to sponsor registry extensions, which will result in positively adjusted supply chains,” said Dr. Sebastien Gay an economist at the University of Chicago.

“This new feature in Greenlist adds the critical dimension of trusted identity because banks are the registrars. Now, for the first time, there can be a registry where inspection documents pertaining to food products for traceability purposes can be associated with an economic owner at every stage in the supply chain,” said Steve Holcombe, President of Pardalis, Inc. Stillwater, Oklahoma.

As another example, real estate is the farthest thing from an instant transaction. The typical transaction takes weeks or months to document, with loans and title, and days to document, review, record, and resolve of “close.” There is a “gap” from the time of the exchange, to the time of the settlement and transfer of funds. Title insurance insures that gap between the time it takes to record the payment and record the deed.

“This patent path and privacy protection of certified documents is like next-generation title insurance that can use electronic registration of certified documents and deposits. ‘Sneaker-net’ methods today from trading floors, across the street or around the world can become obsolete,” said Bruce Fogelson, president of ZMAChina.com , AdBook.org, and Paramount Homes.

“These examples show that PPI understands how to leverage the resources of the ITA and TechNexus to realize the global implications of its innovative architecture,” said Fred Hoch, president of the ITA. “We are honored to have them as part of TechNexus which is a platform for launching companies with global innovations.”

The company also trademarked “Positive Pay for eCommerce” and is completing development of extensions to the existing Greenlist technology in order to reduce payments fraud. The new Positive Pay for eCommerce technology provided a needed safeguard for consumers, merchants, and banks, who face increasing losses for fraudulent debit-card payments.

About Payment Pathways
Founded in 2003, Payment Pathways has developed the Greenlist directory, which elegantly makes epayments safe and secure without requiring consumers to disclose any actual account or bankcard information whatsoever. We help all parties in the payments ecosystem with payments privacy, service profitability, and identity authentication and protection.

Visit www.paymentpathways.com or call +1 312.346.9400 for more information.

Contact at Payment Pathways:
Richard O’Brien
President & CEO
robrien@paymentpathways.com
Tel: +1.312.346.9400
__________________________________
Michael Weiser: His MIT-EF WBC application and his advocacy for Delete the Seats

RE: The May Report: 5/17/2011: Social Media Training – May Report Special

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michael@deletetheseats.org to me

show details 7:58 AM (7 hours ago)

from michael@deletetheseats.org
to The May Report
date Wed, May 18, 2011 at 7:58 AM
subject RE: The May Report: 5/17/2011: Social Media Training – May Report Special

hide details 7:58 AM (7 hours ago)

Images are not displayed.
Display images below – Always display images from michael@deletetheseats.org
Ron,

Nice talking with you this morning.

Here’s my application to the Whiteboard Challenge (with added website references):

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Traffic congestion is a man-made problem with a solution. Simply put, side by side seating in cars is what is jamming up our roads and bridges. Even worse, since over 90% of people commute alone, and 99% of all people commute with only the driver and one passenger, the passenger sides of cars are just taking up space with no real value added to drivers during commuting.

The solution is clear: build and drive narrow cars that have in line seating. Then, twice as many cars can fit on the roads and bridges.
To illustrate it further, imagine building a car twice as wide as cars are right now. No one would stand for it because it would block possible passing lanes. Sadly, with the innovation of narrow cars, that is exactly what regular cars are right now; too wide.
Car manufacturers are putting serious effort into this type of solution. The two types of cars that have currently been built for this are ballasted and tilting.
The Tango (www.commutercars.com) is the patented electric ultra-narrow car that, like a sailboat, stays upright using ballast. Cleverly, it’s ballasted by its power source, the batteries.
The Lumeno Smera (lumeneo.fr/) , designed and built in France, uses tilting technology to stay upright. Other tilting ultra-narrow cars include Nissan’s Land Glider and the Persu Hybrid.
For these types of cars to have the most audience appeal, they would be driven in places where lane-splitting – driving in the spaces between current lanes – is permitted. Currently, California is the only state in the US where it is legal, but, generally, European and Asian countries allow this as well.
With the support of road enforcement entities and television and radio public service announcements, new “congestion passing” lanes could be drawn in the middle of highways overlapping existing lanes with known congestion problems without widening roads. Then, when congestion hits, it would be understood that ultra-narrow cars and motorcycles would be splitting lanes in the middle of the roads and, thus, people would be responsible for careful lane changing at that time.
Watching cars pass them using the middle congestion passing lane, drivers would see the value added of driving the narrow cars, and soon, like people switching from wide suitcases to narrow ones, more and more people would drive narrow cars.
To resolve traffic congestion, we could narrow the cars and widen the roads.
== = = = = = ==
I look forward to staying in touch with you and hopefully seeing you at the Whiteboard Challenge.

- Michael Weiser
www.deletetheseats.org
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Jon Pasky: Tech Week conference press release today

Re: The May Report: 5/17/2011: Social Media Training – May Report Special

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Jonathan Pasky to me

show details 6:30 PM (20 hours ago)

from Jonathan Pasky jon@midventures.com
to The May Report
date Tue, May 17, 2011 at 6:30 PM
subject Re: The May Report: 5/17/2011: Social Media Training – May Report Special

hide details 6:30 PM (20 hours ago)

Ron,

I wanted to make sure you saw our release today: www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/premiere-techweek-conference–expo-to-highlight-innovation-121996083.html

-Jon

Jonathan R. Pasky | President

midVentures | 333 N Michigan Ave, Suite 1022 | Chicago, IL 60601 | o 312.624.9214 | m 219.331.1794

www.midventures.com | @midventures | www.facebook.com/midventures
___________________________________
Wednesday, May 25: Chicago Booth Marketing Roundtable – “Stories and Marketing”

Subject: Chicago Booth Marketing Roundtable – “Stories and Marketing” – Wednesday, May 25, 2011, 6:00 p.m.
Date: 5/15/2011 7:49:04 P.M. Central Daylight Time
From: smcg@am3inc.net
Reply To: smcg@chicagobooth.edu
To: marketing-roundtable@lists.chicagobooth.edu

Topic: Stories and Marketing

Speaker: Craig Wortmann, Clinical Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship, Chicago Booth School of Business

Date: Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Time: 6:00 Registration
6:30 – 8:00 Program
8:00 – Networking and Cash Bar

Location: Gleacher Center – Room 100

To RSVP: Register Online

Questions? Please contact Les Stern at les@lsternmktg.com.

Session Overview

Stories are one of the most important tools that marketers need because they help solve the three biggest challenges we face:
1. Getting attention
2. Influencing others to act
3. Framing a roadmap for people to get results

Getting attention is a function of our pace, our technology, and our focus, and we are competing daily with a barrage of information and people who rival us for attention. By crafting our information into a story, we cut through the noise and give people a more tangible reason to listen. And because stories are not “transactional” like facts, our stories engage our audience in a discussion of the subject, allowing us to be heard.

Influencing others takes many forms, including engaging others’ imaginations, role-modeling, inspiring, and just creating a “buzz” that other people want to be around. Stories are a marketer’s main tool for influence, since it is the tool that calls upon people to imagine the action in the story while simultaneously engaging their emotions. As we impact imagination and emotion, we build stronger and richer connections to people and we are thus better able to influence them to act.

Stories frame a roadmap for results by giving a clear picture of how, for example, a client project succeeded and the key steps taken along the way. When we share these experiences in the form of a story people are better able to remember the key points because the context relates to something meaningful in their own experience. A story, unlike a bulleted list, shows the factors big and small that contributed to a goal, while also showing the context for how these decisions were made and acknowledging the difficulties faced along the way. In short, stories acknowledge the challenges we face in driving results while simultaneously showing us the way.

These three items are the main challenges of any learning organization, marketing organization, sales team, consulting project team, and business unit leader…we all struggle with attention, influence and results. This talk will help professionals of all kinds capture and tell their most important stories to their most important constituencies.

About Our Speaker

Craig Wortmann is Clinical Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship at the Chicago Booth School of Business and is the Founder and CEO of Sales Engine, a firm that helps companies build and tune their sales engine.

Craig has been a sales person and entrepreneur for over 20 years. He spent his early career with IBM Corporation and Dean Witter, completed business school at Kellogg, and then joined a midsize consulting firm called the Forum Corporation, where he quickly became the firm’s new product launch and client recovery specialist. In 2000, Craig was recruited to join a start-up company called WisdomTools as its CEO. Craig ran and grew WisdomTools and then successfully sold the company to a larger firm in 2008. After founding Sales Engine, Craig was recruited by venture backers as interim CEO of an interactive marketing and web strategy firm called ClearGauge, where he executed a turnaround of the company by immediately building a sales engine and developing a new web presence as well as cutting significant costs. Craig then sold the company at a high valuation to a much larger agency. From $250,000 computer systems to $1,500,000 consulting projects and from $20 books to entire companies, Craig has been a consistent high-performer selling products and services across the B2B and B2C spectrum.

Another of Craig’s personalities (one is not enough) is that of professor. He designed and developed a course that he teaches called Entrepreneurial Selling for the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. This course was recognized my Inc. Magazine as one of the Top Ten courses in the country. He also teaches one of the core entrepreneurship courses for Chicago Booth called Building the New Venture.

Craig’s final personality is that of author. His recent book, “What’s Your Story?” looks at how leaders and sales professionals use stories to connect, inspire, and overachieve. He is co-authoring his next book with Dr. Waverly Deutsch PhD., a former venture capitalist and professor of entrepreneurship at Chicago Booth. The book provides entrepreneurs and sales people the knowledge, skills and discipline it takes to succeed in the toughest, best job there is.

* * * * *
Special Note

Once again, we’ll set up a Literature Table in the front registration area before the meeting. You may use the table to distribute copies of anything (within reason) that communicates your business, your capabilities, and/or career interests. This would include a brochure, a fact sheet, a resume, or other items of interest. This will give us all an opportunity to share our interests and find ways to help each other achieve goals.

* * *

Discounted Parking

Chicago Booth has arranged with the AMC Theater-River East Self parking Garage to provide discounted parking:

300 East Illinois Street (AMC Theater-River East Self Park Garage)
$6.00 after 3:00pm
Garage: Self Park Facility
Payment: Automated; at pay-stations by cash or credit card or upon exit pay by credit card only.
To receive discounted rate: There is a card validator at the first floor security desk of the Gleacher Center. The new system for the AMC Theater- River East Self Park Garage is automated. You will only need to insert your parking card in the validator and the new price will be automatically applied. You can validate your parking ticket at any time between your arrival at and departure from the Gleacher Center. When you leave the lot you will be charged for the lower $6.00 fee.

Detailed Directions :
Garage is located next to PJ Clarks and below the AMC Theater.
a) When traveling east on Illinois cross over Columbus and enter the Garage on the left (north) side of the street.
b) If driving west on Grand (north of Theater), you can enter the garage ½ block before Columbus on the left (south) side of the street.

* * *

CHECK YOUR CHICAGO WEEKLY FOR OTHER CHICAGO BOOTH ALUMNI EVENTS OF INTEREST:

For information on other coming Chicago Booth Roundtable meetings, Chicago Booth Alumni Club events, and other alumni events of interest, visit www.chicagobooth.edu/chicagoweekly/. The Chicago Weekly is updated every Thursday.

* * * * *
ABOUT THE MARKETING ROUNDTABLE

Our mission: The mission of the Chicago Booth Marketing Roundtable is to help Chicago alumni and a broader community of marketing professionals learn more, meet other colleagues, and solve marketing issues. Our vision is to be the first choice for learning and sharing new marketing ideas.

About our meetings: Chicago Booth Marketing Roundtable meetings are typically scheduled at the downtown campus (Gleacher Center), on the last Wednesday of each month (with some variation), from 6:30 p.m.- 8:00 p.m. They are free of charge, and no food is served. (Food is available, if you wish, in the cafeteria.) Room location is posted each month at the front desk. Please note date is subject to change – check calendar listing for details.

Guests: Your guests who have an active interest in marketing are always welcome via your personal invitation. Please RSVP and let us know how many to expect! (But please don’t post this or any Chicago Booth Marketing Roundtable announcement in any public forum.)

Got a topic idea? If you have a topic idea, a presenter to recommend, or any questions or suggestions, please contact any Chicago Booth Marketing Roundtable Steering Team member:

Kyle Akerman, 847-414-1426, kyle.akerman@gmail.com
Bijoy Chacko, 847 598 7016, chackobe@yahoo.com
Santanu DasGupta, 312.961.4866, sdasgupt@chicagobooth.edu
Dan Drake, 630.212.2314, Ddrake1@chicagobooth.edu
Jordan Katz, 312-288-2422, Jordan_Katz@gallup.com
Scott McGarvey, 312.648.6275, smcg@chicagobooth.edu
Vivek Prabhu, (312) 493 4987, vivek.r.prabhu@gmail.com
Les Stern, 847.205.1936, les@lsternmktg.com
Jim Steuer, 773-935-7208, JSEChicago@aol.com
Galen Williams, 312.810.1300, gwmw@sbcglobal.net
____________________________________
Startup BidMyWay.com ‘like eBay meets Groupon’ – Chicago Sun-Times

Subject: Startup BidMyWay.com ‘like eBay meets Groupon’ – Chicago Sun-Times
Date: 5/14/2011 8:21:19 A.M. Central Daylight Time
From: bconnolly@furthermore.com
To: RONALDMAY@aol.com

www.suntimes.com/5345225-417/startup-bidmyway.com-like-ebay-meets-groupon

_________________________________
Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition

Subject: Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition
Date: 5/4/2011 4:46:19 P.M. Central Daylight Time
From: ckolodziej1@comcast.net
To: RONALDMAY@aol.com

www.acceleratemichigan.org/main.cfm?cid=2235

_____________________________

Chet Kolodziej: Motorola Sears, Next in line!

Subject: Motorola Sears, Next in line!
Date: 5/10/2011 6:48:52 A.M. Central Daylight Time
From: ckolodziej1@comcast.net
To: RONALDMAY@aol.com

Ron

I don’t think the State has a real choice in these matters of turning down these demands from our leading high visibility corporations. On their side, they owe it to their stockholders, most of are not in Illinois anyway, a duty to grab as much loot as they can whenever they can. The words public good and corporation are separate dictionaries of most businesses today.

Illinois is hollowed out and has squandered its wealth, and what is left is in jeopardy. So get with the program and move on and give in without question.
One thing though that the State should do now is write iron clad performance contracts with teeth. Drive up thru Harvard I see what Motorola can “not” do if they want to.

It is reputed that small and medium sized businesses are the jobs creators in this county. I have a suggestion if you believe that this is true.

Illinois should create an independent “Responsible Growth Fund” out of 50 % of all tax revenues at all levels that are generated from these decisions to give in to these companies. This Fund should be managed with Public/ Private partnerships and external peer review in reasonably open forums. I have pointed out a couple of successful models in previous comments. These funds should be given out only to companies less than 3-7 years old based on the characteristic of their Industry cluster. Currently when a company “agrees” to stay and grow, the increased tax benefits just go into the same bottomless pit that created the problem in the first place.

I can reasonably guess with access to patient capital there are a lot of executives and aggressive technicians that would love to create start-ups that compete with their old employers rather than move with them. We need to create a system of alternatives, which we do not have today.

Over time, and it took time to get into this mess, a growing tech based economy will give pause to companies that currently just grab what they can get, because their employees and suppliers have someplace else to go, to new and expanding businesses. This will create some hard choices, and lots of mistakes, but they are at least choices. Questions of who will manage this, and what the goals of this agency are, are subject to political pressure, but what is the situation now?

These current companies who will continue to force no win situations on our people will in effect pay for the bullets that will shoot them later when we can say no, ………….have a nice life somewhere else. And oh, your best and brightest really like it here, and there is plenty of opportunity.

I find it incredible that we give $5,000 Entrepreneur grants, and $100 MM dinosaur grants thru the same people.
Our $50,000 Renewable Energy grants are used up in 6 weeks, so where did this money come from?
Which would create and retain more jobs?

Chet Kolodziej
Rockford
_____________________________
Tom R. Bennett: Federal Witness Patrick Magoon Buries Team Blagojevich

Subject: Federal Witness Patrick Magoon Buries Team Blagojevich
Date: 5/16/2011 9:38:32 P.M. Central Daylight Time
From: tomrbennett@yahoo.com
To: ronaldmay@aol.com

Ron:

Another incredible day at USA v. Milorad Blagojevich Retrial. Further, the Prosecution (and Judge Zagel) is using best efforts to “sanitize” any and all references to Antoin “Tony” Rezko.

In many respects, the continued highly surgical cleansing of “all-things-Rezko” is yet another disturbing example of U.S. Attorney-sponsored political interference on behalf of Barack Obama & Associates.

I will continue to keep you posted.

TRB

—–
Thomas R. Bennett
Thomas Bennett Limited
Bennett Real Estate Partners
Mobile Money 360°: The Next Generation Commerce Pipeline
NUCLEAR | CHICAGO: Exposing The Real Chicago
312.636.3662

www.nuclearchicago.com/2011/05/nuclear-chicago-federal-witness-patrick-magoon-buries-team-blagojevich-usa-v-blagojevich-retrial-may-16-2011-evening-edition/

Federal Witness Patrick Magoon Buries Team Blagojevich: USA v. Blagojevich Retrial – May 16, 2011 – Evening Edition

By Thomas R. Bennett, Special Reporter / Journalist covering the USA v. Milorad Blagojevich retrial for The May Report, and Publisher for NUCLEAR | CHICAGO

May 16, 2011 (5:25p CT)

CHICAGO – As an update to my continuing effort to construct a biography of U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald as well as provide special reporting related to the retrial of Milorad Blagojevich, I am writing this evening to officially report upon and inform The May Report and NuclearChicago readership of the following:

The conclusion of John Wyma’s testimony this afternoon trended very well for the Prosecution, however, there are still of plenty of unanswered questions related to John Wyma’s involvement with Antoin “Tony” Rezko and Stuart Levine related to the Provena Medical Center subpoena. We will explore the issues with the Provena subpoena in subsequent reporting and analysis as John Wyma’s cooperation was “the” catalyst for the U.S. Attorney to procure Federal Wiretaps on Governor Blagojevich. The Government called its next witness – Patrick Magoon, President and Chief Executive Officer of Children’s Memorial Hospital. Another relevant perspective related to Magoon’s testimony is that Magoon was not operating under a grant of immunity – unlike both John Wyma and other Government witnesses.

Magoon is “the” most damaging witness to Team Blagojevich to date. In fact, I will further state that any empathy that’s been building for Rod and Patti Blagojevich was eviscerated with Magoon’s testimony. Upon returning home this evening, I will expand into greater detail related to the step-by-step damaging testimony that Magoon provided in this afternoon’s retrial. The bottom-line is that Magoon’s testimony buried Blagojevich. Further, after listening to Magoon’s testimony – Robert Blagojevich is very, very fortunate that he was not retried in the ongoing USA v. Blagojevich retrial, as Robert Blagojevich is clearly ‘caught-in-the-switches’ with his solicitation of campaign funds as Magoon reported Robert Blagojevich’s solicitations to the authorities.

Stay tuned for a more thorough and updated report of today’s proceedings.

God Bless America.

–

Thomas R. Bennett is a Citizen Journalist and Reporter for The May Report and Publisher of NUCLEAR | CHICAGO.
___________________________________

Tom R. Bennett: Public Access Denied: Morning Session

Subject: Public Access Denied: Morning Session
Date: 5/18/2011 1:12:42 P.M. Central Daylight Time
From: tomrbennett@yahoo.com
To: michael_dobbins@ilnd.uscourts.gov
CC: vermontaigne@gmail.com, ronaldmay@aol.com, Randall.Samborn@usdoj.gov, Michael.Woods-Hawkins@usdoj.gov

Dear Clerk of Court Dobbins:

I hope this email finds you doing well.

I was once again denied access to the USA v. Blagojevich Courtroom earlier this morning.

Specifically, while listening to same Trial in the 2nd floor Live Audio Room – the live audio indicated that there was an apparent recess or break. Upon same break in action, I headed-up to 25th floor to gain access to courtroom. There was also a female who headed-up to 25th floor from 2nd floor Live Audio Room to gain access to courtroom.

The Deputy U.S. Marshall on duty allowed same female into courtroom, but denied me access. Same Deputy U.S. Marshall claimed that there was no more room and encouraged me to head down to 2nd floor Live Audio Room. While Deputy U.S. Marshall was making this representation, another female exited USA v. Blagojevich courtroom and headed to the elevator bank. Same female informed me that there were plenty of “open” seats in courtroom.

The ongoing issues with Public Access to Courtroom is incredibly ridiculous.

To this end, I ask that you please remedy this situation re: public access to USA v. Blagojevich Courtroom as the USA v. Blagojevich Trial is a “public” trial, and as such, the public (and citizen journalists) should not be subjected to continued interference with respect to gaining access.

As you are aware, this is not the first time that I’ve been subjected to access issues in my coverage of same trial.

Thank you for your urgent attention to the above request, and I do appreciate your assistance.

Sincerely,

Tom Bennett

—–
Thomas R. Bennett
Thomas Bennett Limited
Bennett Real Estate Partners
Mobile Money 360°: The Next Generation Commerce Pipeline
NUCLEAR | CHICAGO: Exposing The Real Chicago
312.636.3662

— On Wed, 5/4/11, tomrbennett@yahoo.com wrote:

From: tomrbennett@yahoo.com
Subject: Public Access: Thank you
To: michael_dobbins@ilnd.uscourts.gov
Cc: “Dan Collins” , matt@sunant.com, “Ron May” , “Samborn, Randall (USAILN)”
Date: Wednesday, May 4, 2011, 1:26 PM

Dear Clerk of Court Dobbins:

Thank you for providing me with your business card as well as addressing my concerns related to unrestricted public access for Live Audio Broadcast of USA vs. Milorad Blagojevich.

Most importantly, thank you for providing me with permitted access to Room 1420 even though I’m not a credentialed member of media.

I sincerely appreciate your assistance and cooperation.

Please keep us posted related to logistics for Live Audio Broadcasts.

I truly appreciate.

Respectfully,

Tom Bennett

312.636.3662

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
__________________________________
Bob, tell Dawn there was another abandoned baby today

Subject: Re: Bob, tell Dawn there was another abandoned baby today.
Date: 5/13/2011 5:17:21 P.M. Central Daylight Time
From: Dawn@SaveAbandonedBabies.org
To: bob@vcbob.com
CC: RONALDMAY@aol.com

Just got back from filming with Ch 2 which may run at 10PM tonight. Never know with the media & they said it’s a busy news day. Baby girl about 9 months old, African-American.

And, Ron, June 18th is our Texas Holdem!

Dawn Geras
President
www.SaveAbandonedBabies.org
www.facebook.com/SaveAbandonedBabies
Phone: 312-440-0229 Fax: 312-440-0805
55 E. Erie St., #2905
Chicago, IL 60611-2255

On Fri, May 13, 2011 at 5:12 PM, Bob Geras wrote:

Thanks, Ron. She knew it before the press did. It was a year old baby left just a couple a couple of blocks North of our condo around Chicago and Rush. The baby was actually a year old.
Bob

On Fri, May 13, 2011 at 5:05 PM, wrote:
–
Bob Geras
LASALLE INVESTMENTS
Venturing Since 1968
_____________________________

John Katsantonis: “And now, for the punchline………”

Subject: “And now, for the punchline………”
Date: 5/4/2011 10:45:25 A.M. Central Daylight Time
From: jpkattt@att.net
To: RONALDMAY@aol.com

Hi John,
Thanks for your interest in School of WOM! Unfortunately, we have reached our press credential limit. I will let you know if this changes.

Thanks and have a good day,

Jill Lowthian
Marketing & Communications Coordinator
WOMMA
65 E. Wacker Place, Suite 500
Chicago, IL 60601
p 312-853-4400
@WOMMA @JillWOMMA
_____________________________________
Wednesday, May 25: EDC Luncheon: Jim Keating of Illinois Ventures: Business and Innovation Cycles Luncheon

Business and Innovation Cycles Luncheon

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date Tue, May 17, 2011 at 1:51 PM
subject Business and Innovation Cycles Luncheon

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Business and Innovation Cycles -

Past, Present and Future

and Implications for the Midwest Economy

Jim Keating,

Associate, IllinoisVENTURES, LLC

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

The Tower Club
20 North Wacker Drive, 39th Floor

Chicago, Illinois

Are business and economic cycles real or imagined? Are they, “real” to the extent that we can use them to better understand the past, as well as use them as a preview of things to come?

In Jim Keating’s presentation, he will review several theories on cycles from noted economists and will utilize the cycle theories with an emphasis on innovations dealing with today’s energy issues. Jim will provide an examination of energy and its use from 7000BC to the present. This will include an overview of global energy supply and demand.

Jim will particularly emphasize energy resources and uses within the United States and on Illinois and the Midwest. Jim will conclude with his suggestions on where to place our energy development resources, where to place our bets, business and investment opportunities, in the Midwest.

Jim Keating is an Associate at IllinoisVENTURES, LLC, primarily focused on physical science. He brings to the firm a combination of chemistry and material science expertise. He assists the firm in assessing new investment opportunities, as well as managing existing portfolio companies.

Prior to Illinois VENTURES, Jim was an Analytical Chemist at Abbott Laboratories, working with R&D and new product development. From there he served as an Analytical Consultant to a trust management partnership contributing grant monies for cancer research to worldwide organizations. He then joined a startup consulting firm providing design and analysis services for companies looking to bring the latest technology into their design and manufacturing processes. Jim holds dual bachelor’s degrees in Biology and Chemistry from Valparaiso University, a master of science in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Texas and an MBA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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 and can be made by prepaying online (www.EDCChicago.org),

by calling the EDC at (773) 279-8787,

or emailing Kathleen Matuszewich at edcchicago@ameritech,net

Support the EDC

We believe that quality programs are the key to building our membership base. Our members support our efforts and enable us to develop programs that explore issues, questions and problems that affect business, community and economic development. Consider joining the EDC, as a member you will support our efforts to offer a broad range of programs relevant to the Chicagoland area.

We offer three levels of membership:

· Individual (which offers discounted monthly luncheons);

· Sustaining (which includes prepaid luncheons for a year and discounted registration for our breakfast programs); and

· Corporate (you and a guest are pre-paid for monthly lunches and discounted registration for breakfast programs).

·

The Individual membership is $75 annually, Sustaining is $425 and the Corporate is $750. Becoming a member is a click away. Join now!

Economic Development Council
4064 N. Lincoln Avenue, Suite 251
Chicago, Illinois 60618
773-279-8787
www.edcchicago.org
____________________________________
Monica Metzler: Tuesday, June 7; Thursday, June 9 and Wednesday, June 15: Chemistry of beer, whiskey and chocolate, respectively

Subject: Chemistry of Beer, Whiskey, Chocolate and more
Date: 5/15/2011 10:41:14 P.M. Central Daylight Time
From: mmetzler@illinoisscience.org
To: ronaldmay@aol.com

May
2011
ISC

Dear Ron,

2011 is the International Year of Chemistry celebrating the achievements of chemistry and its contribution to the well-being of humankind. Honest. There’s even an official website for it.

Illinois Science Council is using the occasion to explore chemistry in our daily lives. (Even if, perhaps, you don’t consume whiskey daily.) You know you’re curious about this stuff. So go ahead, sign up for one – or all – of our Chemistry for Adults programs on beer, whiskey and chocolate this spring with others on coffee and cosmetics to follow in the fall.

Chemistry of Beer with Metropolitan Brewery

www.metrobrewing.com/main/index.html

You drink beer (we won’t ask how much), but do you ever think about beer? You should. Now is your chance to really understand the chemical reactions in beer in a way they never taught you in high school chemistry!

What affects a beer’s alcohol content?

Why is there huge variety in beer flavors?

Most importantly, what makes a good beer go bad? Beer comes in colored bottles because light affects the taste. What exactly happens when beer gets skunked and when it does, what can you do about it?

ISC brings you a unique workshop on the Chemistry of Beer led by Dr. Shelby Hatch, chemistry faculty at Northwestern University, along with the impressive folks at Chicago’s own Metropolitan Brewery.

Register now — space is very limited! You will get an insider’s view of the craft beer brewing process at Metropolitan. No science prerequisites necessary but you must be 21 or older. The people at Metropolitan are fun and low-key, but they are serious about craft beer. You’ll learn about your beloved beverage in whole new ways so you can impress your friends this summer with your beer knowledge.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

7:00 – 9:00pm

Metropolitan Brewery

5121 N. Ravenswood (entrance on Winona St.), Chicago

$15 Register here

chemistryofbeer.eventbrite.com/

Chemistry of Whiskey with Koval Distillery

Perhaps you enjoy the occasional (or frequent) glass of whiskey. But do you know making that delicious, aromatic beverage requires proper operation of the dephlegmator, the condenser and the whiskey helmet? Of course you don’t. But you should. You should also know there are precise chemical reactions taking place to distill that lovely liquid that they did not teach you in high school chemistry. (If they did teach you, we want to know where you went to high school!)

So think and drink responsibly! Get your head in the game, your heart in the right place and your tail over to Koval Distillery (those were subliminal whiskey terms, fyi). ISC is offering a unique workshop on the Chemistry of Whiskey led by Dr. Shelby Hatch, chemistry faculty at Northwestern University, with the good folks at Koval Distillery, the first boutique distillery located in Chicago.

Register now — space is very limited! chemistryofwhiskey.eventbrite.com/ You’ll learn about the first (legal) whiskey distilled in Chicago since Prohibition and the entire distilling process. No science prerequisites necessary, or whiskey drinking experience, but you must be 21 or older.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

7:00 – 9:00pm

Koval Distillery

5121 N. Ravenswood, Chicago

$15 Register here

chemistryofwhiskey.eventbrite.com

Koval Inc. is the first boutique distillery located in Chicago. Its founders, Robert and Sonat Birnecker, gave up academic careers to bring the distilling traditions and techniques of Robert’s Austrian grandfather to America. Certified both organic and kosher, Koval holds itself to the highest standards of purity and craftsmanship. Koval avoids the common industry practice of outsourcing the production of neutral grain spirits for rectification, making all of its products from scratch. Each step of the distilling process, from the “mashing” to the bottling, is carefully monitored to insure that only the best spirit reaches your lips.

Chemistry of Chocolate with Blommer Chocolate Company

Whether you consider it a daily necessity, an indulgence, or a drug of choice, chocolate is a marvel. You love it. But to fully appreciate it you should understand its amazing chemical properties. Here is your chance to learn more about your beloved sweet treat.

How is chocolate actually made?
What’s the real distinction between dark and milk chocolate? And what’s up with white chocolate?
Why does it sometimes turn a grayish color?
What’s the role of emulsifiers and incompatible fats?
What are the findings of all those health studies done on chocolate?

ISC brings you a unique workshop on the Chemistry of Chocolate led by Dr. Shelby Hatch, chemistry faculty at Northwestern University, with the Melissa Tisoncik, R&D Specialist with Blommer Chocolate Company.

www.blommer.com/default.htm

Register now — space is very limited! No science prerequisites necessary but you must be 21 or older. For only $15 you will develop a blissfully heightened appreciation for chocolate, the nectar of the gods.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

6:00 – 8:00pm

O’Callaghan’s Pub, 2nd floor

29 W. Hubbard St., Chicago

$15 Register here

chemistryofchocolate.eventbrite.com/

Blommer Chocolate is a fully integrated chocolate and cocoa manufacturer serving customers around the world. A family tradition, the company was founded in 1939 in Chicago, Illinois by Henry Blommer, Sr., along with his brothers Al and Bernard. Today, with four generations of chocolate makers behind it, Blommer is still family-run and has grown to become one of the largest chocolate manufacturers in North America. Their success is a direct result of dedication to the Blommer brothers’ founding principles – quality, consistency and concern for the customer.

More science events you should know about. And attend!

Fermilab’s Lecture Series presents Dark Energy & The Runaway Universe with Dr. Alexei Filippenko, Professor of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley. Friday, May 20, 2011 at 8:00pm. Click here for tickets and more info.

Observations of very distant exploding stars show that the expansion of the Universe is now speeding up, rather than slowing down due to gravity as expected. Over the largest distances, our Universe seems to be dominated by a repulsive “dark energy” — an idea Einstein had suggested in 1917, but renounced in 1929. Dark energy stretches the very fabric of space itself faster and faster with time. But the physical origin of dark energy is unknown, and is often considered to be the most important unsolved problem in physics.

The National Museum of Health and Medicine, a Department of Defense museum, established in 1862, inspires interest in and promotes understanding of medicine – past, present and future – with a special emphasis on tri-service American military medicine. NMHM Chicago, to be sited in the Loop, will take advantage of 21st century technology to create a museum experience unlike that of any other museum advancing areas of education, museum design, information science, community outreach and architecture. The Museum, with the help of the Buonacorsi Foundation, is undertaking efforts to raise sufficient funding to complete this unique museum in Chicago. Click here for tickets and information on their Chicago Gala Fundraiser event Saturday, May 21, 6:30pm at the Art Institute of Chicago and featuring the works of Beethoven performed by Camerata Chicago and the Beethoven Project Trio.

Night Lab is a science outreach effort from the creative mind of Stephanie Levi, Coordinator for the Student Center for Science Engagement at Northeastern Illinois University. An upcoming Night Lab will present the science of coffee, tracing the life of coffee from tree to your cup with Sarah Kluth, coffee buyer for Intelligentsia Coffee. Illinois Science Council will partner with Sarah and Intelligentsia for a Chemistry of Coffee workshop in the fall, so this can be your preview for ISC’s fall program. (Check back with ISC for date and time.) Night Lab is Sunday, June 12, 7-9pm at Schuba’s Tavern-Upstairs, 3159 N. Southport, Chicago.
____________________________________
Tuesday, June 7: BNC Venture Capital Group; Wednesday, May 18th (TONIGHT!), Tech Pitch with SpotHero and Infiniti Caribbean Wind along with an interview of Ross Kimbarovsky

Sign up here: bit.ly/bncvc0607
6/7/2011, 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM 111 S. Wacker Drive, 41st Floor
Please do not arrive before 5:00 PM

Join the BNC VC Group on LinkedIn

Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell, LLP is a national law firm with extensive experience representing emerging growth businesses and venture capital funds through formation, initial financing, protection of intellectual property, and other legal and regulatory hurdles that face such businesses.

When the time comes, Locke Lord has the necessary practical experience to advise entrepreneurs and investors regarding initial public offerings, mergers, acquisitions and divestitures.

Locke Lord attorneys assist emerging growth businesses with choosing the proper entity and initial financing arrangements, as well as other possible legal issues and regulatory hurdles that growing businesses face. We advise venture capital firms and private equity funds concerning their formation and operation, including initial investments in small and start-up businesses.

Entrepreneurs, send your executive summary to len_bland@conceptequity.com to be considered to present at the BNC Venture Capital Group.

How does Business Network Chicago choose their 3 monthly presenters?

Events

BNC Event Calendar

BNC Tech Ptich – 5/18

MIT Enterprise Forum Whiteboard Challenge -5/26

News and Articles

BNC VC Group presenter M-Dot is purchased

Creating a Company Vision

5 uncommon ways to pitch potential investors

How does a VC value a business? « The Equity Kicker

Ideas from the Capital Matchmaker: Illinois Angel Investment Credit

Advice for Entrepreneurs Pitching a VC

Starting with the Why. Where Inspiration and Possibility Meet

SCOR – Use the Internet to Raise Startup Money

The Top 10 Lies Entrepreneurs Tell VCs – Tech Europe – WSJ

Angels act: 100 percent exemption for gains made in Qualified Small Business Stock

“We all know that business plans are a sub-genre of science fiction”

11 Ways to Lose Investors Before You Finish Speaking

The 5 biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make
Know Your Numbers Cold

Series AA Equity Financing Documents

Business method patents preserved for software entrepreneurs.

Concept Equity Blog: What goes into the PPM? How to generate a Term Sheet?

Inc: An Insider’s Guide to Venture Capital Financing

When should entrepreneurs use an NDA?

Inc Magazine: How to Read a Term Sheet
Why You Should Start a Company in Chicago

Entrepreneurs have trouble crafting a simple, emotional message because they suffer from the curse of knowledge.
Audio Sample from Made to Stick

Perfecting Your Pitch – what goes into a good investor presentation?

How does the investor make money? Modeling the answer to one of our four questions. Stories connect to emotions, where decisions are made

Angels take an average of 67 days to close a deal.

Why It’s So Difficult to Find Angel Capital

Len Bland Funding Interview on SmallBiz America

Startup Valuation: Top Ten Techniques

Investor Presentation – 10 Slides is Just Right

Must see from 2006, Guy Kawasaki’s The Art of the Start presentation

Why Business Plans Don’t Deliver – The five most common flaws-and how to fix them

Study Disputes The Value of VCs “Buying Local”

In Pitching to Angel Investors, Preparation Tops Zeal

I Love Executive Summaries

Three entrepreneurs make their pitch for capital.

The BNC Venture Capital Group introduces exciting investment opportunities to professional investors (angels, early stage venture capitalists, and private equity firms seeking add-ons) and fosters the growth of entrepreneurial activity.

Len Bland, CEO of Concept Equity, and David Carman, CEO of Business Network Chicago, lead the BNC Venture Capital Group. Each presentation lasts 10 minutes, followed by a 10 minute Q&A.
Effective presentations answer 5 questions:

·What is the product or service?
-Why will customers buy it?
·Why is this management team the best one to run the business?
-How does the company make money?
·How will the investor make money?

5:00 PM – Networking
5:30 PM – Introductions
5:45 PM – presenter
6:15 PM – presenter
6:45 PM – Break
7:00 PM – Presenter 7:30 PM – Results

Locke Lord Bissell
111 South Wacker Drive, 41st Floor
Chicago, Illinois 60606

Sign up at123Signup – Event cost $25 (late $30)

Evening Meeting includes food and beverages
Call Len Bland at 847-317-0656 or write len_bland@conceptequity.com with questions or if you have any difficulty registering. Other investors welcome.

If you have a scheduling conflict, please join us for the next meeting set for the first Tuesday of each month.

DISCLAIMER: ….

Previous Presenters

Click Here for Information on Previous Presenters.

For More Information Contact:
Len Bland, Concept Equity Group, Inc.

Follow Len Bland and Concept Equity on twitter @conceptlen
See Len Bland’s latest blog

Need funding to grow your business?

Looking for meaningful, exciting investments?

Concept Equity Group helps close the funding gap between entrepreneurs and investors.

We prepare entrepreneurs by:

Introducing vendors, customers, talent, and investors

Preparing investor communications
Providing strategic insight
We engage investors by:

Learning their creativity and passion
Leveraging their experience
Qualifying entrepreneurs
We match successful business people with entrepreneurs. Contact len_bland@conceptequity.com if you would like to be included in a list of recommended business people.

More about our services

BNC “TechPitch”

Two startups pitch to an audience of angel investors, venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, bloggers and other tech enthusiasts.

If you are an early-stage tech company and want to present at “TechPitch”, contact David Carman at: 312-943-6376 or dcarman@BNChicago.com

Presenters:

SpotHero (www.spothero.com) has created an online marketplace for the renting of parking spaces. Buyers can reserve a spot ahead of time and park in previously unavailable spots with prepaid reservations. Sellers can earn extra income by renting indoor or outdoor parking spaces and driveways. The company has attracted attention from Javier Monllor (professor of entrepreneurship at Depaul U.), Chicago blogger and parking expert Mike Brockway (www.theexpiredmeter.com), and startup accelerators Capital Factory, Excelerate Lab, and Tech Stars. SpotHero has also received interest from a Chicago parking garage owner and a prospective investor who is the CIO of a major online B2C company.

2. Infiniti Caribbean Wind (ICW) owns the exclusive license in the Caribbean for the Unique Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT). The VAWT has been certified by the California Institute of Technology as the most efficient turbine for micro-utility electricity production on the market. In addition to the exclusive license, ICW (www.infiniticaribbeanwind.com) owns 7.5% of the parent company, CEP. These turbines have been purchased by Lockheed-Martin, Turtle Bay Resorts, and Benton Harbor Energy, and integrated into micro-grid installations designed by Honeywell and Parsons Engineering. ICW is targeting the annual $20 – $30 billion electricity market in the 40 Caribbean islands.

Interview:

In 2007, Ross Kimbarovsky and his partner, Michael Samson, co-founded crowdSPRING, the “World’s Best Creative Department.” CrowdSPRING (www.crowdspring.com) has created a global marketplace for crowdsourced creative services by bringing together more than 22,000 buyers from 100 countries ( including entrepreneurs, small businesses and the world’s best brands and agencies) and more than 92,000 designers and writers from 200 countries (including graphic designers, web designers, industrial designers, illustrators, and writers).

Prior to founding crowdSPRING, Ross had a successful 13-year career as an intellectual property attorney representing clients ranging from small Internet startups to Fortune 100 companies before state and federal courts and the World Intellectual Property Organization.

Ross speaks frequently at business conferences, discusses entrepreneurial issues on his personal blog (rosskimbarovsky.com/) and writes on the crowdSPRING blog (blog.crowdspring.com/) which is ranked among the top blogs in the world by AdAge.

Details:

Date: Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Time: 5:30 – 8 p.m.

Location: Perkins Coie, 131 S. Dearborn, Suite 1600

Admission price: $20 online, $30 at the door. (Price includes appetizers & drinks.)

Registration link: may2011bnctechpitch.eventbrite.com

(Online registration ends at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, May 17, 2011. Price does not include registration fee.)

Evening Agenda:

5:30 – 6:00 p.m. Registration & Open Networking

6:00 – 6:30 p.m. 2 companies pitch their ideas

6:30 – 7:00 p.m. Interview

7:00 – 8:00 p.m. Open Networking

“TechPitch” is hosted by the law firm of Perkins Coie (www.perkinscoie.com). Perkins Coie represents great companies across a wide range of industries and stages of growth from start-ups to Fortune 100 corporations.

For more information about BNC, visit our website at: www.BNChicago.com

Become one of our Fans: www.Facebook.com/BusinessNetworkChicago
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Those signed up for API Hack Day

API Hack Day – Chicago
Saturday, May 28, 2011 from 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM (CT)
Chicago, IL

Ticket Information
Type Ends Quantity
Hacker May 28, 2011 Free 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Media May 28, 2011 Free 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Volunteer May 28, 2011 Free 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

Register

Event Details
API Hack Day brings developers together for an all-day coding fest focused on building apps and mashups with APIs. Developers of all experience levels can share ideas, collaborate on existing projects, start new ventures and find out about great tools and new APIs to play with.

Free admission, food and drink provided!

API Hack Day attendees will receive a discount code for $50 off admission to PHP Tek, taking place Tuesday, May 24 – Friday, May 27 in Chicago.

Hackers will also hear from some of the country’s top API-focused companies on tips, tricks and tools for building the next big app. At the end of the day, teams and/or individuals get a chance to present their work to a panel of judges and win great prizes.

API Hack Day Chicago will be held at the offices of event sponsor Morningstar, home of the Morningstar Tech Talks.

Brought to you by SimpleGeo, Twilio, SendGrid, Apigee & Mashery.

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Tentative schedule:

8:00 – 9:00 Registration / Breakfast
9:00 – 9:15 Intro / Welcome / Kick-off
9:30 – 10:00 API Workshops
12:30 – 1:30 Lunch
6:00 Submission Deadline
6:30 – 7:15 Presentations
7:15-7:30 Judging
7:30 – 7:45 Awards
Attendee List Sort by: Date | First Name | Last Name

Mark Ferry

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JC Grubbs

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Eric Horn

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Randy Burgess

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Musannif Zahir

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Michael Welburn

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An Hand

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Chad Pry

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Scott Parker

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Robert Lockhart

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tyler masterson

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cathryn lee

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Robert Walker

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Dinesh (Dino) Ganesarajah

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Stan Metcalf

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Dave Lyon

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Jeff Alstadt

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Pavel Timofeev

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julie wang

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Peter Kartashov

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Kaizer P

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Griffin Caprio

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David Allen

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Bodaniel Jeanes

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Alexis Finch

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Young-Jin Kim

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Leon Chism

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Matt Gornick

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Timothy Houston

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Roshan Choxi

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KRystal Marquez

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Mitch Posada

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Yu Jiang

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Scott Krieder

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Chris Lubinski

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Jeff Alstadt

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Yi Ding

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Ziad Hussain

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Chris Courtney

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Paul Sudol

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Ryan Lelek

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Ricardo Macias

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David Portnoy

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Eli Gratz

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Matt Albiniak

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Pat Carolan

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Brian Pautsch

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Bill Nega

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Peter Morano

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Chuck Lorenz

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Frank Nicolia

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Jonathan Baltz

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Matthew Berends

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Tom Wesson

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Jeff Jirsa

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Michael Uzquiano

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Param Rengaiah

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Jonathan Mumm

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Maria Scileppi

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Colin Young

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Sandeep Murusupalli

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Jed Wood

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Tom Sublewski

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Daniel Zarick

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Rahim Sonawalla

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Matt Jones

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Ryan Kolak

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Don Pinkus

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JonaThan Yankovich

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Eric Cooper

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Neil Mansilla

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Monsur Hossain

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Keith Casey

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Dylan Richard

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Thomas DiSessa

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Jerry Cattell

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Aaron Salmon

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harper Reed

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Michael Leinartas

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Jonathan Ozeran

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Kevin McMahon

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Ravi & Jaya Singh

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Brad Hintze

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Steven Mendoza

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Ji Lucas

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Veronica Ludwig

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Peter Christensen

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Matthew Wojtowicz

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Matt O’Keefe

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Bob Raz

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Pete Haas

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Arthur Christoph

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Agam Patel

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Patrick Algrim

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Chad Paulson

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Colin Young

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Christopher Kusek
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END OF REPORT