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| | [Actually 4/20/2012]: The May Report: 4/20/2012: What a week! My estimate is that 1,200 people attended tech events in the last seven days; I've been at the computer since 6am, and it's now just before 7pm, so I'm too tired to write a long header, so I'll add that for the next report which I hope will be later tonight; 100 things to tell your mother, and I'm at #15 so far; Jared Steffes left Tap Me and is founding http://matadorapp.yellowcarstudios.com/; Craig Ulliott took a job as CTO 2 months ago at Logan LaHive's www.bellycard.com, like Craig's Where I've Been (which was sold to Trip Advisor) and now www.socialkaty.com (Katy Lynch is Craig's girlfriend), BellyCard is funded by Lightbank; kudos to Hope Bertram for being the first in Chicago to hold an event focused on the latest and greatest, Pinterest http://pinterest.com/; Lean Startup Circle kicks off last night at 1871 w/ 200 in attendance while Tech Cocktail, now in 25 cities (that requires some qualification and/or clarification) draws 400 last night; After blowing out of being a lawyer and a commercial real estate broker, Dan Fedor takes a taxi job :-); Chicago Micro's MBOD machine, assembled with parts from many vendors can enable wi-fi 40 feet below ground; Chicago-based Tech Moola, www.techmoola.com, offers Crowdfunding to startups, inventors and innovators
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| | April 20, 2012
The May Report: 4/20/2012: What a week! My estimate is that 1,200 people attended tech events in the last seven days; I've been at the computer since 6am, and it's now just before 7pm, so I'm too tired to write a long header, so I'll add that for the next report which I hope will be later tonight; 100 things to tell your mother, and I'm at #15 so far; Jared Steffes left Tap Me and is founding http://matadorapp.yellowcarstudios.com/; Craig Ulliott took a job as CTO 2 months ago at Logan LaHive's www.bellycard.com, like Craig's Where I've Been (which was sold to Trip Advisor) and now www.socialkaty.com (Katy Lynch is Craig's girlfriend), BellyCard is funded by Lightbank; kudos to Hope Bertram for being the first in Chicago to hold an event focused on the latest and greatest, Pinterest http://pinterest.com/; Lean Startup Circle kicks off last night at 1871 w/ 200 in attendance while Tech Cocktail, now in 25 cities (that requires some qualification and/or clarification) draws 400 last night; After blowing out of being a lawyer and a commercial real estate broker, Dan Fedor takes a taxi job :-); Chicago Micro's MBOD machine, assembled with parts from many vendors can enable wi-fi 40 feet below ground; Chicago-based Tech Moola, www.techmoola.com, offers Crowdfunding to startups, inventors and innovators
Editor and publisher: Ron May, ron@themayreport.com, ronaldmay@aol.com,www.themayreport.com, 773-525-3944.
If you missed an article, go here:
www.tmronline.com/A55951/tmrarticles.nsf/vwFullNewsletter
(ALL REPORTS HAVE NOW BEEN POSTED ON THE TMRONLINE.COM SITE AND THANKS TO PROMINIC FOR FIXING THE PROBLEM)
Otherwise, just go to www.themayreport.com where all the articles are archived and the search function on the new site is now working
Louis Brandeis: "Publicity is justly commended as a remedy for social and industrial diseases. Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants."
frequently attributed to Edmund Burke: "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." but the quote and its many variations have been the subject of dispute. See http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edmund_Burke for more.
"Larsen E. Whipsnade": You Can't Cheat an Honest Man (1939), a comedy film starring and scripted by W. C. Fields
Andre' Gide (1869 - 1951) in his "Les Nourritures Terrestres. Envoi:":
"What another would have done as well as you, do not do it. What another would have said as well as you, do not say it; written as well, do not write it. Be faithful to that which exists nowhere but in yourself --- and thus make yourself indispensable."
_____________________________
TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Scoop section:
-- Briefly noted, by Ron May
-- Crain's: IT startups snagged the most venture-capital in first quarter -- Lynne Marek, I now owe you either $21 or $28
_____________________________
The Scoop section:
_________________
Briefly noted, by Ron May
* 100 things to tell your mother:
1. Jared Steffes from Tap Me, http://tap.me games left in January, and is now starting a stock advisory site in closed beta called Matador. He is one of the co-founders of Tap Me. Jared was a co-founder of Tap Me and he was the biz dev. director. He also gave me a thumbs up on the hiring of Matt Spiegel as CEO.
I called the number on Jared's card (still his Tap Me card) to get the new URL and the receptionist told me that Josh Hernandez and Matt Spiegel were not there today -- hey guys, somebody invested more than $3MM in your firm so it must be nice to get Friday afternoon off!
++++++++++++++++++++
Subject: Re: Jared, what's the website for Matador?
Date: 4/20/2012 3:19:09 P.M. Central Daylight Time
From: jsteffes@gmail.com
To: RONALDMAY@aol.com
right now it is a landing page and being built out.
http://matadorapp.yellowcarstudios.com/
Jared Steffes
On Fri, Apr 20, 2012 at 1:02 PM, <RONALDMAY@aol.com> wrote:
++++++++++++++++++++++++
May again. I'm sure we'll have much more and maybe I can pump Jared for info. on Tap Me.
2. Jennifer Pretto, who really runs Chicago Micro (www.chicagomicro.com) and more on that to come, let it slip that the HP guy working with them will be coming over to Chicago Micro. That's what I thought she said when we talked just one on one off in the corner of the room, and later in the evening in front of hubby Julian out on the sidewalk, they tried to back track on it. The HP guy works with them now, but my sense is he's being paid by HP.
Meanwhile, garnering parts from all the vendors they work with, they have developed a machine called MBOD which provides wi-fi capabilities even 30 or 40 feet below ground, as in the Chase Auditorium. As machines go, it was not too big, and fit fairly easily into the back of their SUV.
They do seem to have many new people, almost all of them in sales.
3. Jon Pasky is now writing for Technori (so he says as did his nametag) while he tries to decide what to do since he was canned at Techweek. He's still on the board and has co-founder's equity. He was all over the place at Tech Cocktail.
But I've now heard a complaint from a potential partner/customer of Techweek who wants to remain anonymous but that person worked with Pasky and was not happy with his follow-up and follow through. I was told that he did not do the things he said he would do, and this person said that "I'm happy that they now have new people to work with" and this person will be contacting Arabella soon.
4. Katy Lynch of Social Katy, www.socialkaty.com, told me last night at Tech Cocktail that Social Katy now has 21 employees and 50 clients and that it is not just a service firm. They are scalable, she explained, and went on to say that they do have technology that helps to automate the Twitter and Facebook, but as of 10:11am Friday, I am still waiting for details on what exactly the technology is.
They have now added Social Katy to the Lightbank portfolio website.
That took a while, but her's what the site says/ They had DraftDay up right away.
+++++++++++++++++++++
http://lightbank.com/portfolio
SocialKaty
Founded in August 2010, SocialKaty, Inc. is a social media marketing agency that manages online communities for small to mid-size businesses. SocialKaty is a team of highly skilled Community Managers that execute and maintain campaigns that spread awareness through conversation to targeted audiences and ultimately accelerate business growth. SocialKaty's services include day-to-day management of Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, LinkedIn and blogs for brands as well as social advertising, social contests, design and development.
++++++++++++++++++++
5. Katy would not tell me the amount of the funding they got, and I told her about the note I got from a reader stating that the reader had heard the funding was for $500K. Katy smiled but would neither confirm nor deny.
With respect to the other point raised in the reader's letter, namely that the reason Lightbank funded SocialKaty was CRAIG (as the reader's note put Craig's name in caps, so am I), to keep Craig around.
Here's the anonymous note.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Caroline Conference carolineconference@gmail.com
8:24 AM (15 hours ago)
to me
from: Caroline Conference carolineconference@gmail.com
to: ron@themayreport.com
date: Tue, Apr 17, 2012 at 8:24 AM
mailed-by: gmail.com
signed-by: gmail.com
: Important mainly because of the words in the message.
Of course SocialKaty is getting back hand deals with Lightbank. Of course they are - they want CRAIG. I heard $500k is what they got - it's not that difficult to get that information, Ron. Come on - you're better than that. Ask anyone at Lightbank - they're free with that information - if you're not a reporter, I suppose.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
May again. Well, Craig Ulliott was standing right there, and he handed me a business card from www.bellycard.com.
Craig said that he has been with Belly for two months and looking at the card, he's the CTO and VP of Product.
And founder and CEO Logan LaHive was also there standing nearby. BTW, Logan did not have a card, or at least he said he didn't have one.
He comes from RedBox where he worked under Mark Achler.
Katy and I also talked about the fact that she, as an attractive woman and as a female entrepreneur, is likely to come under attack from other women (I was the one who suggested that), but that's a hot potato, and we'll leave it for another day.
I still have not heard from her today, and it is now 6:30pm.
6. My information is that Stella Fayman and Tim Jahn were charging the speakers at their legal summit event on Saturday, April 14th at 1871 $1,500.00 to be on the panel and to speak. I am awaiting confirmation as of 10:25am Friday.
I have also asked Stella how many of the 200 tickets for their event were sold for $99 vs. the official price of $150.
7. Kevin Willer claims that they "sold out" for the 1871 Grand Opening event on May 2, 2012 in one hour.
He told me that Wednesday at the ACG event when I questioned him on why they are limiting attendance to 500 people.
Willer said that there are fire code considerations.
I was wait listed, even though I ran the notice in the report and a lot of people probably clicked through and got on the wait list long before I tried to register later in the day.
Remember that registering for a free event does not mean will show up.
8. Willer showed up about 8pm at Tech Cocktail last night, and he had come from the meeting of the Lean Start-up Circle held at 1871. He said that they had about 200 people.
And he said he really likes Bernard Kappe and Todd Wyder, the organizers, and he knows Kappe better than Wyder.
They had three presenters, including John Pytel from www.GoSoapBox.com who won the $25,000 in cash last December.
I believe Kevin said that Jason Goodrich and www.getshortlist.com also presented.
Yes, I heard correctly.
++++++++++++++++
Subject: Re: Jason, did you present last night at Lean Startup Circle at 1871?
Date: 4/20/2012 2:30:14 P.M. Central Daylight Time
From: jason@getshortlist.com
To: RONALDMAY@aol.com
Yes, I did. Great crowd and space.
On Fri, Apr 20, 2012 at 12:21 PM, <RONALDMAY@aol.com> wrote:
--
Jason Goodrich
CEO, Shortlist
getshortlist.com
(773) 931-6885
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The subject of the meeting was the Lean Startup Circle process.
Here's more detail on the meeting just sent by Jason Goodrich.
++++++++++++++++
Subject: Re: Jason, did you present last night at Lean Startup Circle at 1871?
Date: 4/20/2012 2:58:40 P.M. Central Daylight Time
From: jason@getshortlist.com
To: RONALDMAY@aol.com
Here's the agenda:
Agenda
We'll start promptly at 5:30 with announcements and a five minute intro to lean startup, and then each company will present for 15 minutes. Afterwards, they'll take questions from the audience, followed by Beer, Pizza and networking.
Talks
Flintstoning Your MVP
eSpark Learning's David Vinca will share how his 10 month old individualized learning startup "flintstoned" their first minimum viable product (MVP) using paper, and how tackling their biggest risks early with minimal experiments helped them prove their value proposition, get into Dave McClure's 500 Startups Accelerator, raise a first round of funding, and gain 28 school districts and charters as as customers in seven states in the US and Canada.
Experiments, Metrics and Tools
GoSoapBox is used during class to break down participation barriers, keeping students engaged, and giving teachers insight into student comprehension that was never before possible. Students and teachers join a GoSoapBox event through their laptops, smartphones, or tablets, and interact during class. GoSoapBox is anonymous among students, so teachers will hear questions and opinions that they never would have otherwise.
GoSoapBox is the winner of the 2011 Lean Startup Challenge, has been incubating at Pathfinder Software since January, and have moved from beta users to paying customers.
GoSoapBox Founder and CEO John Pytel will talk about the experiments they've run, metrics they use and the tools they use to measure.
The Pivot
Shortlist started out as A Space Apart, was accepted into Excelerate Labs 2011 class, and emerged 12 weeks later as Shortlist, which helps you make more meaningful connections at professional events.
Shortlist Founder and CEO Jason Goodrich will talk about how Shortlist pivoted to their current customer segment where they started to gain traction.
Have a good weekend,
Jason
On Fri, Apr 20, 2012 at 2:32 PM, <RONALDMAY@aol.com> wrote:
John Pytel from www.GoSoapBox.com also presented.
Who was the third presenter?
In a message dated 4/20/2012 2:30:14 P.M. Central Daylight Time, jason@getshortlist.com writes:
Yes, I did. Great crowd and space.
On Fri, Apr 20, 2012 at 12:21 PM, <RONALDMAY@aol.com> wrote:
--
Jason Goodrich
CEO, Shortlist
getshortlist.com
(773) 931-6885
--
Jason Goodrich
CEO, Shortlist
getshortlist.com
(773) 931-6885
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
9. Just off the top of my head, 30 people out of the 350 to 400 who attended Tech Cocktail #???, and btw, John Barleycorn's has a brand new elevator, used Thursday for the first time, and I was one of the first people to be transported. My info. is that the elevator cost $60K plus.
Attendance was good, quite solid, but we have to remember that www.cars.com had at least 15 people, and www.chicagomicro.com had about 10 people, and Daliah Saper seemed to have a flock at her booth, plus the guys from .
Keep in mind that Tech Cocktail is now one of the longest running tech networking events. It started in July 2006.
I've lost track of what number Tech Cocktail last night's event was, but Jen Consalvo tells me that they are now in 25 cities.
I don't know if that is 25 cities times four events per year for a total of 100 events per year, or if the 25 cities is just a cumulative total number of cities in which they've held events, but I'm sure I'll find out.
Let's start with an awful lot of regulars who were NOT there:
Jeff Willinger, David Dalka, Eric Olson, Mark Lawrence, Sarah Habansky, and I'm pretty convinced now that Mary Pat McGlynn is gone from the ITA since Sarah and Mary Pat tended to travel as a pack; Terry Howerton, Harvey Daniels, Mike McGinity, Elliot Hirsch, Mike McCune, Jon Morris, Tim Courtney,
John Dallas, Todd Allen, Robert Jacobi, Lou Calamaris, Brad Spirrison, Dan Lyne, Jim Figliulo, Mike Maddaloni, David Carman, Ray Markman, Paul Davidovich, Jim Eiden, Kris Hammond, Larry Birnbaum, Doug Hart, Erika Blackwell, Andy Angelos, Pek Pongpaet, Sean Corbett, Scott Miller, John McCreary, Phil McKrone, Jason Jacobsohn, Mark Glennon, Tim Saylor, Kevin Harriss, John McCreary, Jason Kalish, Bruce Montgomery, Monica Metzler, Harper Reed, David Flint, Todd Allen, Terry Flanagan, Mike Topoalovich, Steve Gareeb, Steve Fisher, Sonny Cohen, Christy Carter, Irv Michaels, Chris Hill, Frank Lucchese, Bob Krohn, Brian Crummy, Robert Sansome, Raman Chadha from DePaul, Brian Crummy, Joe Jablonski, Karan Goel, Andrew Huff, Tom Lemanski, Kevin Harriss, Bob Krohn, Chris Hill, Ron Kirschner, Theresa Carter, and many others.
I'm not even listing Jason Rexilius, Rob Lambert, Matt Smith, Nik Rokop, Matt McCall and Andrew Mason since we have not seen them in ages. One of them has a really good excuse. :-)
All events go through an evolution, and Tech Cocktail is no exception.
I'll have to study the many cards I collected to get a sense of the trends.
More or fewer marketing people?
More or fewer programmers/developers?
Service providers? Lawyers?, Headhunters?, Consulting firms?
Large companies vs. start-ups?
I could be wrong, but I don't think GrubHub, Groupon, or Accenture were there.
Who WAS there?
Fred Hoch, Kevin Willer, Phil Tadros, Chris Sweis, Chris Rollyson, Logan LaHive, Katy Lynch, Craig Ulliott, Daliah Saper, Julian Pretto, Jennifer Pretto, Aaron Cox, Bob Brill, Jon Pasky, Jeremy Smith, Richard Cross, Dan Verakis and his girlfriend, Dan Hess, Amy Wunderlich, David Culver, Howard Avner, Tom Sherman, Troy Henikoff, Brittany from Zealous Good, Nural Eusufzai, Bob Brill, Frank Gruber, Jen Consalvo, Chris Maloney and many more.
I would not be Ron May if I did not mention the gorgeous young ladies in red dresses who were distributing on nice platters a new Diet Coke bottle which is narrow and tall.
They come from the L. A. based marketing agency called Ascent Talent (and modeling). The women live here.
http://tinyurl.com/cp23x6a
10. Several interesting companies had demo tables.
One was Chicago-based Tech Moola.com, www.techmoola.com, which has already gotten tons of press because they're in the hot, hot area of Crowdfunding.
Here are some of their latest projects.
+++++++++++++++++++
http://www.techmoola.com/
Latest Projects
New Cervical Cancer Test for Women
Make cervical cancer history with a new test that is low-cost, accurate and easy to use.
Funded
Pledged
Days left
2 %
$548
47
Zyppages Personal Internet Posting System
With Zyppages, you can publish content straight from your computer and your mobile number becomes your web address. Opens the Intenet to millions of n
Funded
Pledged
Days left
0 %
$212
30
Display Your Computer on your TV in HD!!
Instantly connect and control your Computer/Laptop straight from your TV!!
Funded
Pledged
Days left
1 %
$160
47
New FittleBug Online Service Booking System
Fund a new online tool for real-time booking of everyday services that make our lives better.
Funded
Pledged
Days left
0 %
$110
17
MobiTheater - Mobile Movie Theater & Online Cinema
MobiTheater lets you watch hit new movies, on your computer, tablet, or phone, without having to visit the movie theater!
Funded
Pledged
Days left
0 %
$0
94
Make your plants live healthy and green with Plantpal!
Never worry about watering your plants & flowers. With PlantPal, it's all made easy!
Funded
Pledged
Days left
0 %
$0
49
++++++++++++++++++++
May again. They sure have gotten a lot of press.
++++++++++++++++
http://www.techmoola.com/InTheNews.php
In the News
4/4/2012
5 Reasons to Build Your Business with Crowdsourcing; TechMoola featured on The Daily Crowdsource (to read, click here)
4/4/2012
TechMoola: Kickstarter for Technology; TechMoola featured on Tech Cocktail (to read, click here)
3/30/12
Chicago Startup TechMoola Helping Startups Make Money And Loving The Chicago Tech Scene.
TechMoola.com featured on Nibletz.com (to read, click here)
3/20/12
A Crowdfunding Site for Tech Startups TechMoola.com featured on Crain's Chicago Business (to read, click here)
2/15/12
'TechMoola.com FittleBug project featured on the Huffington Post. (to read, click here)
2/14/12
'Crowdfunding' Can Provide Avenue for Driven Entrepreneurs TechMoola.com FittleBug project featured on the St. Charles Patch Post (to read, click here)
02/08/12
TechMoola Offers Five Valuable Tips for Crowdfunding Success. TechMoola.com Featured on The Daily CrowdSource. (to read, click here)
02/04/12
TechMoola featured as Early Adapter of Crowdfunding. TechMoola.com featured on The Daily Crowdsource. (to read, click here)
12/23/11
5 Reasons Why Crowdfunding Helps Tech Startups. TechMoola.com featured on Techgyo.com (to read, click here)
12/20/11
Finding Support for Inspiration in the Herd. TechMoola.com featured on CrowdSourcing.org (to read, click here)
12/19/11
Cash Cow Crowdfunding for Small Tech Startups. TechMoola.com featured on ManagementDirect.com (to read, click here)
12/15/11
TechMoola: Crowdfunding for Technological Innovation. TechMoola.com featured on DailyCrowdsource.com (to read, click here)
12/10/11
The Greener Pastures of Crowdfunding. TechMoola.com featured on SecretaryOfInnovation.com (to read, click here)
12/10/11
Crowdsourcing Spotlight: TechMoola.com | Crowdfunding on SecretaryOfInnovation.com (to read, click here)
12/5/11
TechMoola.com featured on Crowdsourcing.org (to read, click here)
Depending on how you call it, crowdfunding (or crowdsourcing as some know it) involves a group of people with similar interests in a cause or product each contributing funds to collectively reach a common goal. For a basic primer on the process, a little bit of Wikipedia is in order.
(to read, click here)
With the economy getting slower and traditional investors like angels and venture capital funds becoming more cautious and frugal, crowdfunding steps in to fill the gap and help innovators and their business to get into first gear. Let's face it, investors are fickle and hard to please. But if you have a great invention and product, crowdfunding is the only way to directly appeal to the public to get their support and launch your enterprise and make it happen for real.
(to read, click here)
Did you know that throughout the world, 40% of individual entrepreneurs and start-up companies are using crowdfunding mechanisms to jump-start projects and kick-their companies into full gear. Industries as diverse as biotechnology, manufacturing, green technology and internet companies are getting on board. Shouldn't you?
(to read, click here)
Are you a scientist and have a big discovery of yours to turn into an amazing project? How about advancing your current scientific project to the point of a breakthrough that will allow the next latest and greatest in the technology world? Well, here's an article where scientists used Crowdfunding for just this.
(to read, click here)
+++++++++++++++++++
May again. Another interesting firm I talked to was a company that allows golfers to check tee times and schedule them online, www.back9booking.com, and so far they have 38 courses (I believe all public courses) signed up.
++++++++++++++++
http://www.suntimes.com/technology/guy/11585083-452/mastering-tee-times-online.html
Mastering tee times online
SANDRA GUY sguy@suntimes.com March 30, 2012 8:35PM
Reprints
Updated: March 31, 2012 7:00AM
Three brothers who run their family’s construction equipment business are aiming to reinvent what critics consider a flawed business model for golfers to book tee-times online.
The Robertsons — Glenn, Struan and Brent, whose father, Alastair, founded Universal Equipment in Glen Ellyn — are launching back9booking.com on Saturday with two unique properties: The online booking service will be free to golfers, and will charge a flat commission per booking to golf-course owners.
Back9booking, based in the West Loop, has agreements with 45 golf course operators now, and expects to have 70 by year’s end.
The Robertsons — Brent, 26, the chief executive officer; Struan, 28, chief financial officer, and Glenn, 32, chief operating officer — say they aim to work with golf course operators as partners, and they started their company out of frustration with their own inability to quickly find a variety of courses.
The brothers faced a conundrum: Most golf courses permanently reserve tee-times on Saturday and Sunday mornings. The brothers couldn’t easily find a variety of courses within an hour’s drive where they could play four to five hours and come home.
“We ended up playing the same course over and over, missing other opportunities because we didn’t want to call all of these courses,” said Brent, who played in the Illinois Junior Golf Association as a teenager and worked at the Village Links of Glen Ellyn throughout high school and his early college years.
They started their business after they had spent a year and a half calling 40 to 50 golf course operators to see what the operators wanted in an online tee-booking system. Their startup focuses on making the interactive experience as simple as possible.
“The golf courses allow our company to incorporate our tee-reservation system with their back-end software so the reservations are made in real time and immediately posted online,” said Glenn.
The booking startup will go up against the biggest player in the industry, GolfNow, which is owned by the Golf Channel. GolfNow entered the industry four years ago by acquiring several independent companies, including GolfSwitch and Active Network.
GolfNow.com offers on-line tee times 24/7 at more than 120 Chicago-area golf courses and at 3,700 courses throughout North America, Ireland and the U.K.
GolfNow.com charges each golfer who books a tee-time online a $1.99 transaction fee for each booking. GolfNow receives one tee-time per day in revenue from each golf course in exchange for providing the booking service.
GolfNow.com also offers a weekly promotion via email during the golf season through its Deal Caddy (Dealcaddy.com) marketing arm. The weekly deals range from tee-times at certain courses to a weekend golf package to a deal on a subscription to Golf Digest magazine.
GolfNow spokesman Jeremy Friedman says the system, which drives nationwide publicity through the Golf Channel and GolfChannel.com, makes it easier for golfers to reserve tee times, helps the golf courses gain publicity in the growing social-media space and increases revenues at a rate the market will bear during down times.
Yet Jim Koppenhaver, president of golf-industry information provider Pullucid Corp., based in Buffalo Grove, says GolfNow’s method of selling select tee times at 50-percent discounts from the prevailing rate cards has driven down golf-course operators’ revenues, even though the operators agreed to those terms from the start.
A “dynamic tension” has emerged between GolfNow and other websites that list discounted tee times and the golf course operators because the discounters list low tee-time rates of, say $20, next to full $40 rates, which can confuse golfers, forcing golf-course operators into a race to the bottom, Koppenhaver said.
The result is that golf course operators, already clobbered by the recession, have cut back their spending on maintenance and labor, he said.
“This is a place where the golf industry shot itself in the foot,” Koppenhaver said.
“If a tee-time reservations site would operate on a commission or fixed-fee service, the courses would have recourse against the barter game,” Koppenhaver said.
Despite the latest innovations, the golf industry still must overcome a shrinking customer base, which Koppenhaver also blames on the industry.
Nationwide, golf courses lost 10 percent of their golfers between 2001 and 2010, now numbering 26.3 million, and 10 percent of their booked rounds from 2001 to 2011, according to Pellucid Corp.’s surveys.
Koppenhaver believes the USGA, which sets golfing rules nationwide, should loosen its playing rules, dress code and golf-club requirements to let more people play recreationally.
“People don’t like to play recreational activities they’re not very good at,” he said. “The golf industry should allow equipment that would make it easier for someone to hit the ball and get it in the air, hit a couple good shots and have a good time without having to take 100 lessons.”
Tom Denklau, PGA director of golf for Hilton-Chicago Indian Lakes Resort in west suburban Bloomingdale, said he welcomes Back9Booking as a way to reach new golfers.
Denklau said 30 percent of the resort’s golf-course bookings are done online, and he expects the numbers to keep growing along with the course’s revenues.
Though Indian Lakes was hit by the recession and a pullback in business outings, Denklau said the resort is rebounding as it leverages its website and social media to tout its 27-hole golf course, unlimited-golf memberships, range-membership rates for late-afternoon and tween and teen golfers, 18-hole miniature golf course and non-golf options such as swimming pools, tennis courts, horseshoe pits, volleyball courts and restaurants and conference center.
“Golf courses no longer survive as corporate destinations where John Smith brings three of his clients,” Denklau said. “We’re trying to be as many things to as many people as possible.”
12. Another well attended event this week was organized by Hope Bertram, and to her credit, she has jumped on the Pinterest trend early.
There were 200 people in attendance at Rockit on Hubbard, the same place that they hold the Built in Chicago monthly gatherings.
Hope says that she charged anywhere from $20 to $50 per ticket, and she gave the $20 deal to those who came off her list of 5,000 people.
She says that $20 group was about 10% of the attendees, in other words, about 20 people.
I did not even know about that event, and I was at MIT-EF Tuesday night.
Daliah Saper was one of the people on Hope's panel.
Pinterest has 19 million users, up from 3.3 million in 6 months.
85% of page views are from women between 21 and 34, mostly in the Midwest, and the Palo Alto based firm has only 30 employees, plus it's third now after Facebook and Twitter. That's NBC News, but where is Google + ?
I just got that information minutes ago from NBC Nightly News, so cheers to Hope Bertram who has been on the cutting edge on this one.
++++++++++++++++++++++++
From: Hope Bertram <hope@digitalmegaphone.com>
Date: Wed, Apr 18, 2012 at 11:42 PM
Subject: event info
To: The May Report <ron@themayreport.com>
Ron:
Here's info about our event last evening...
Leveraging Pinterest & Facebook’s New Business Timeline
Tuesday, April 17th
6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Rockit
22 W. Hubbard
Drive Traffic and Maximizing Exposure for your Brand on Pinterest
Scott Kleinberg, Social Media Specialist, Chicago Tribune will give you the latest information on:
Brands who are winning with Pinterest and why
Most effective ways to drive traffic via Pinterest
Practices to avoid when Pinning
How to build your Pinterest following
Tips on finding people and brands to follow
Legal Implications of Pinning
Daliah Saper, Saper Law Offices
Overview of the new Terms of Service
Valuable information on rules related to pinning copyrighted material
Tips on protecting your blog or business from violating copyright laws
Master Your Brand Strategy on the new Facebook Timeline for Business Pages
Carla Furca, Social Media Manager, Sears Holdings will share:
General overview of the benefits and hurdles of Facebook fan pages
Valuable information on marketing implications of the new timeline
Tips on leveraging the new timeline for your marketing efforts
-
Hope Bertram
Founder & CEO
Digital Megaphone (formally Windy City Social)
www.digitalmegaphone.com
773-234-6731
@windycitysocial
Interested in learning more about Pinterest & the new Facebook Timeline: Check out our latest event on Tuesday, April 17th
Hope Bertram
Founder & CEO
Digital Megaphone (formally Windy City Social)
www.digitalmegaphone.com
773-234-6731
@windycitysocial
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14. Let me end with this for now.
And I'll probably be up all night to get the rest of my 100 things done.
I attended these events:
CCEA networking event on 4/9/12. 120 in attendance.
Chicago Booth Energy Junction on 4/13 with about 110 people.
MIT-EF Fair Pair on 4/17/12 with about 100 people.
ACG Technology Growth panel, luncheon, on 4/18/12 with about 120 in attendance, and I knew only about 6 people other than Fred Hoch, Kevin Willer, and Craig Miller and they were Michael Rosenthal, Art Mertes, Michael Feldman, and one or two others. It is a corporate crowd.
Tech Cocktail # ??, 4/19/2012 with about 400 attendees
Other recent events I did not attend:
EntrepreneursUnpluggd, www.entrepreneursunpluggd.com, 4/14/12, with 200 attendees
Hope Bertram's Pinterest panel at Rockit on 4/17/12, 200 attendees
BNC Startup, 4/18/12, and I don't know the attendance yet
VentureSHOT brown bag lunch, 4/19/12, and I don't know the attendance yet.
Lean Startup Circle, 4/19/12, with 200 attendees
Let's figure 35 people at BNC Startup and 20 people at the VentureSHOT brown bag lunch.
That is a total of 600 people at tech related events last night alone.
I just found out that BNC Startup had 23 people in attendance.
+++++++++++++++++++
Subject: RE: David, what was the attendance at BNC Startup? I'm tallying events for the wk.
Date: 4/20/2012 6:56:06 P.M. Central Daylight Time
From: davidcarman@sbcglobal.net
To: RONALDMAY@aol.com
23 people attended. Matt Moog gave a great interview.
From: RONALDMAY@aol.com [mailto:RONALDMAY@aol.com]
Sent: Friday, April 20, 2012 5:32 PM
To: dcarman@bnchicago.org
Cc: ronaldmay@aol.com
Subject: David, what was the attendance at BNC Startup? I'm tallying events for the wk.
+++++++++++++++++++++
Since last Friday, 4/13/12, by my count, which is certainly leaving plenty of things out, we've had 110 (Gleacher) + 200 (1871) +100 IBM Innovation Center) + 200 (Rockit) + 120 (Standard Club) 23 (BNC Startup) + 400 (John Barleycorn's) + 20 (estimate for VentureSHOT at 744 N Wells) for a total of 1,173 for a seven day period.
Monday the 20th, I plan to attend MoMo.
15. Oh heck, one more thing now.
Dan Fedor was a lawyer from 1996 to 2000, then tried his hand at commercial real estate brokerage until that market tanked when he went back to law.
Now, he's taking a taxi job.
that's supposed to be funny.
He's not a cab driver, but an executive at Boston-based Taxi Magic.
Dan is also a founder of the CCEA.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Subject: Re: Dan, I left you a message. Did you send your answers?
Date: 4/20/2012 7:47:14 A.M. Central Daylight Time
From: dfedor@taximagic.com
To: RONALDMAY@aol.com
I sent them to you to this email address on Tuesday, here they are again my friend:
Ron,
Apologies for the delay in getting back to you.
Great to see you last Monday night!
Okay, here are the answers to your questions:
What is Taxi Magic - Taxi Magic is the No. 1 taxi booking smart phone application in the nation. In short, the app lets you book and pay for your cab with your smart phone (iPhone, Android, Blackberry). It also has great features like letting you know the name of your cab driver, cab number and when they have been dispatched. You can also see your cab on its way to you via a map/GPS feature. Here is the website -
How did I meet them - I was pitching Taxi Share at the Taxi, Limousine and Para transit Conference last year in Chicago and that is when we met. The formal name of the company is RideCharge, Inc. and they make the Taxi Magic app.
How did I come to work for them - I asked. No guts no glory. We were discussing integrating the Taxi Magic app into Taxi Share when I asked if they were looking for Sales Reps in the Midwest. Taxi Magic has been growing fast and given my experience with cab fleets I was a great fit.
While every app developer dreams of being the next Instagram, I like to say that there are more subtle ways to capitalize on a good idea for an app. I was able to leverage my app idea into a fantastic opportunity to join a rapidly growing mobile technology company with unlimited potential for growth during one of the worst economies in the nation's history mind you.
Future of Taxi Share - As you know, I own Taxi Share with my partner Uki Lucas as well as another investor (Ryan Bahrke @ Auslander Creative). Taxi Magic did not buy Taxi Share from us. We are still independent.
"Sharing" is a growing concept, i.e. Zipcar, I-Go, etc., we hope that the space will continue to grow and that Taxi Share will continue to grow with it.
Sincerely,
Dan Fedor
Regional Sales Manager
Taxi Magic
(312) 476-9196 Mobile
(312) 276-4030 eFax
dfedor@taximagic.com
Click Here for a Demo of the # 1 Taxi App in the Nation: “How Taxi Magic Works” by Heineken
From: "RONALDMAY@aol.com" <RONALDMAY@aol.com>
Date: Fri, 20 Apr 2012 04:44:05 -0700
To: Daniel Fedor <dfedor@taximagic.com>
Cc: "ronaldmay@aol.com" <ronaldmay@aol.com>
Subject: Dan, I left you a message. Did you send your answers?
____________________________
Crain's: IT startups snagged the most venture-capital in first quarter -- Lynne Marek, I now owe you either $21 or $28
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20120420/NEWS01/120429997/it-startups-snagged-the-most-venture-capital-in-first-quarter
IT startups snagged the most venture-capital in first quarter
By Lynne Marek
April 20, 2012
Today's Headlines 4/20/2012
Trading Technologies cuts about 100 workers
Walgreen pays $7.9M to end Justice Department investigation
McDonald's says U.S. sales gains boost profits
Satellite TV industry fights crackdown on dish installations
Despite questions, Quinn's Medicaid proposal winning some praise
US Airways wins support from 3 American unions for possible merger
View All of Today's News Headlines
(Crain's) — Chicago startup companies raised more money during the first quarter compared with last year, but fewer shared in the largesse, according to Dow Jones VentureSource.
Thirteen Chicago-area companies raised $104.5 million in the first quarter, compared with 21 companies that raised $81 million in the first quarter of 2011, the data provider said.
There was a lull in activity across the country, with both the amount of capital raised and the number of deals completed declining for the quarter compared with last year. U.S. companies raised $6.3 billion in 717 venture-capital deals, a decline of 18 percent in money raised and a 9 percent drop in deals, VentureSource said.
Information technology companies attracted the most capital in the Chicago area, taking in nearly $65 million, while business and financial services firms snagged the second-most, raking in $36.65 million.
The consumer information services category, including online entertainment and social media companies, saw the biggest decline in money raised in the quarter, compared with first-quarter 2011.
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