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| | The May Report: 12/16/2009: Gimme calcium, gimme omega 3, gimme pro-biotics; The brand Gimme owned by BrightSpot to sell Fri. for a half mil in structured deal; Executive's Club gets 300 for panel on stimulus & gov. plans; peer to patent review; MIT-EF draws 80+ to zany Catalyst Ranch
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| | December 16, 2009
The May Report: 12/16/2009: Gimme calcium, gimme omega 3, gimme pro-biotics; The brand Gimme owned by BrightSpot to sell Fri. for a half mil in structured deal; Executive's Club gets 300 for panel on stimulus & gov. plans; peer to patent review; MIT-EF draws 80+ to zany Catalyst Ranch
Editor and publisher: ron@themayreport.com, ronaldmay@aol.com, www.themayreport.com, 773-525-3944.
If you missed an article, go here: http://www.tmronline.com/A55951/tmrarticles.nsf/vwFullNewsletter
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Scoop section:
-- Briefly noted, by Ron May
-- FCC hearing on broadband and small business on Monday, December 21st at Gleacher Center
-- Central Sleep Diagnostics has grown at an incredible rate
-- Coop's coming back to Chicago...
-- Bob Krohn on Harvey Daniels
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The Scoop section:
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Briefly noted, by Ron May
* Despite the cold, MIT-EF had about 80 people at its party last night. The most notable thing about the party was the location, Catalyst Ranch, which is similar to Gerald Haman's old space. It is fun and zany. It is basically meeting space for rent. Nancy Munro negotiated the space for free.
www.catal;ystranch.com
www.catalystranchmeetings.com
Much more on that party to come.
Most of the usual suspects were there but absent was Lepkowski, Fricke, Swibel, Maus who has out of town friends in, and a few others like Avery Cohen and Lanny Feder, and Praveen Gupta who were not there. Len Bland and Dave Carman were absent, but Len attended the meeting Monday night headed by Tim O'Connor. Whatever happened to Sam Fallenbaum, Robert Harney, Art Mertes, and Charles Wu?
Just off the top of my head, twenty or so regulars who were there included Art Brown, Monica Metzler, Rachel Patterson, Collin Canright, Nancy Munro, Ted Wallhaus, Bob Brill, Bill McDonald, Chris Rollyson, Preston Urka, Josh Kuretz, Bruce Montgomery, Nik Rokop, Sheldon Rosenfield, Rachel Kaberon, Roy Klein, Jessica Lybeck who is fairly new but you can't miss her (OK, she is cute) and she sponsored Tech The Halls, Peg Conway, Philippe Lavie, Linda Framingham, Richard Cross, Dave Culver, and a new person, Deb Hawkins; plus the 23 year old daughters of Bruce Montgomery and Nancy Munro; two MIT grads who have a texting business; Terry Flanagan, and I could go on, but Anna has promised me the cards tonight.
Those two MIT grads Steven Yarger and Jeffrey Stern from http://www.tripzipr.com/. New blood is always good to see. TripZipr texts you your top
travel deals fast. Free*!
Tripzipr travel deals save you money. We send top travel deals you request
direct to your phone so you can grab the savings immediately.
http://www.tripzipr.com/about/
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Steven Yarger is the Co-Founder of TripZipr, an innovative new travel information provider. Prior to co-founding TripZipr, he led teams across a variety of functions including marketing, technology, business development and product management at several leading technology and travel organizations including Goldman Sachs, Adobe Systems and Orbitz Worldwide. Steven holds an undergraduate degree in Computer Science from Duke University and an MBA from the University of Michigan.
Jeffrey Stern is the Co-Founder of TripZipr. Prior to founding TripZipr, he worked at Morgan Stanley and E*Trade (Vice President of Financial Strategy) and at Orbitz (Online Marketing and Business Development). He has more than a decade of experience at internet companies working primarily in Strategy, Finance, and Marketing roles. He holds an undergraduate degree in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an MBA from MIT Sloan.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
May again. Steven snd Jeffrey told me they have few sign-ups at this point and have only been operating six weeks but they have some deals in the works.
* I attended the Technology Conference put on the Executive's Club of Chicago this morning. The room was full, my estimate is that they had about 300 people.
It was a good panel moderated by Bryan Gruley, Chicago Bureau Chief, Wall Street Journal; and the four panelists were Aneesh Chopra, Assistant to the President and Chief Technology Officer, White House; Stephen F. Hamman, Vice President, Network Management, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois; Gerard M. Mooney, General Manager, Global Government and Education, IBM Corporation; and Gregory Wass, Chief Information Officer, State of Illinois.
As usual, there were some familiar faces: Layton Olson, Charles Benton, Bruce Montgomery, Dan Lyne, Nik Rokop, David Baker, Adam Boris, Linda Darragh, Russell Betts and Bob Carlson from IIT, Jim Hanekamp of www.myfitbrain.com who tells me that he is shifting focus the Canadian government just gave $10MM to a firm in his space; and I thought I saw Tom Kunkel from what used to be called R3 Systems Group and is now called Nextend, I believe.
Charles Benton of the Benton Foundation http://www.benton.org/ told me that a must attend event is this coming Monday from 1:30pm to 3:30pm when the chairman of the FCC is speaking on the subject of small business and broadband at the Gleacher Center.
I have included the notice for that hearing below in this report.
The deadline for the report to Congress is February 17, 2010.
The topics covered spanned the entire gamut:
Public safety
Smart grid
Health care IT
Clean tech
Interoperability and efficiencies
Cyber Security
Privacy
Cloud computing
Broadband
Patents and an innovation called peer to patent review
Greg Wass, the state's CIO, said that recently the state of Illinois has started financing IT costs with long term debt. He mentioned 30 year bonds at 4.5% which he said was high but it is my understanding that Illinois has been downgraded a few times in the last year and may be close to junk bond status.
There were many interesting things like that mentioned. Charles Benton told me he is impressed by Greg Wass.
One person who seemed to get high marks from the panelists was Dave Kappos of the USPTO. http://www.uspto.gov/main/homepagenews/2009jun19.htm
Aneesh Chopra mentioned an innovative method in processing patents called peer to patent championed by Beth Noveck, Director, Community Patent Review project, New York Law School. Aneesh feels that Beth Simone Noveck is a star. The idea of peer to patent is that often the examiners for patents are besieged and don't have the expertise to evaluate patent applications so she has started opening up the process to input on prior art from people in the industry who often know more than the examiners.
http://cairns.typepad.com/peertopatent/workshops/
http://cairns.typepad.com/peertopatent/press_releases/
And the administration has expanded the peer patent review process.
Here is an article which refers to collective intelligence.
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=898840
Aneesh said that the method has dramatically reduced examination times.
Another big theme in general was interoperability.
And a big trend coming soon to your local hospital is bundling. I have heard this mentioned at my dialysis clinic several times now.
The idea is this: the hospital gets the carrot or incentive of more money up-front but it has strings attached. It ties the results from the first visit to the hospital to subsequent future visits. So, if a patient is re-admitted within 30 days after a visit, the hospital takes it on the chin for the second and subsequent visits. The focus on the 90 days folowing a hospital admission.
What this comes down to is that hospitals can't just be task oriented and discharge a patient when it looks like they fixed the problem. What they need to do is better post hospital stay follow-up and telemedicine was mentioned several times which brings us to broadband and rural broadband. I suppose home nursing visits would help too.
The Veteran's Administration hospital system was used as a closed ecosystem to illustrate and one panelist noted the statistic that readmissions dropped by 19% when they applied some of the bundling concepts.
Cyber security and privacy protection will be of paramount importance, one panelist pointed out.
An example was given for how technology can be used to cut down on crime.
BTW, one hot woman I met who reads (and likes) TMR is Georgina Fine -- or is it Georgiana Fine? -- who works at Qwest
Let me get this out.
A few so-called news items -- or trivia.
1. Anna Belyaev is now married. I heard that from Nancy Munro at MIT-EF last night. I did not find out about her marriage, but I did find this and it seems interesting.
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/article.pl?portal_id=47&mpid=47&article_id=21949
2. A company whose brand name is "Gimme" is selling the brand this Friday in a structured sale for about $500K to be paid out over four years. I heard this at MIT-EF last night from David Culver, Vice President of Marketing, Forward Momentum and he and Richard Cross were telling me about a group that meets at an office in the 1600 block of North Wells Street. The guy who runs it is the founder of BrightSpot which is a candy firm making candies with pro-biotics.
The company's origins can be traced to the turn of the 20th century.
http://candyaddict.com/blog/2009/07/07/candy-review-brightspot-gimme-chocolate-candies/
"Today, Tim and John O'Connor, Grandsons of the original Brightspots, have created a new team and a new enterprise that will barnstorm the candy and snack world with brash ideas, an evangelist's zeal and an eye on the next big thing."
It is a clever name and the brand may be worth more than the candies.
http://www.brightspotbrands.com/blog/
I met the guy from BrightSpot, Tim O'Connor, President & CEO, Brightspot Brands, LLC, toc@brightspotbrands.com at the BNC Capital Group. If my memory is right, Tim told me they are doing about $50K in sales and are in 40 to 50 stores so far. That was three months ago.
Richard Cross has also presented to this group, I believe about a month ago.
3. Sachin Agarwal of Dawdle has moved to Boston, I think, and is Dawdle shut down? I heard that at Tech The Halls last Friday night. http://www.dawdle.com/
4. Linda Darragh told me this morning at the Executive's Club meeting that the guys from both Bump Technologies and ReTel Technologies which both came out of ChicagoBooth and the Polsky Center and the New Venture Challenge were not lured to California where those firms now reside. She told me that they are from California so it is just a matter of returning home, Linda said. BTW, Linda was talking to a woman named Jill who would not give me her last name who works for DCEO.
5. Digital penetration of cell phones is now 80-90% which is higher than the penetration of dishwashers. I heard that today at the Executive's Club. I heard last week on C/NBC that 3% of smart phone users consume 40% of AT&T's network capacity.
6. The ITA party last week was attended by some members of The Big Idea Forum. The ITA provided TBIF members with a special registration code so that they would not have to pay. I wonder if the TechNexus tenants got the same deal.
7. Small world story. A cabbie picked me up last week from Cafe Iberico near Chicago and LaSalle. My waitress had been from Romania and the cabbie was too. The cabbie knew her. The cabbie is from Transylvania, a small town called Zalau
http://www.restromania.com/Geografie/AboutZalau.htm
I have never seen a Wikipedia entry with this admonition:
+++++++++++++++++++
Please read:
A personal appeal from
Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales [Hide]
++++++++++++++++
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zal%C4%83u
Here's the most interesting part of the story.
The cabbie is 31 years old. There were 37 students in his high school class and they stay together all four years.
Of the 37 students in Mehi's high school class, 13 of them are now living in Chicago!!
The economy is so bad in Romania that there is mass emigration to America and in particular to Chicago.
Chicago now has 200,000 Romanian and New York has 300,000 the cabbie told me.
8. Garnet Steen of Rely Data has 8 people now, the same number he has had in the last few years and the firm is entirely bootstrapped. www.relydata.com, http://www.relydata.com/controlyourid/web/
Happy birthday, Ludwig van, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_van_Beethoven
________________________________
FCC hearing on broadband and small business on Monday, December 21st at Gleacher Center
NEWS
Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street, S.W.
Washington, D. C. 20554
This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action. Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action.
See MCI v. FCC. 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Circ 1974).
News Media Information 202 / 418-0500
Internet: http://www.fcc.gov
TTY: 1-888-835-5322
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NEWS MEDIA CONTACT:
December 14, 2009 Mark Wigfield, (202) 418-0253
Email: mark.wigfield@fcc.gov
FCC TO HOLD DEC. 21 FIELD HEARING AT UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO ON
BROADBAND & SMALL BUSINESS
The Federal Communications Commission will hold a field hearing at the University of
Chicago's Booth School of Business focusing on how broadband technology can help small
businesses spur growth and reach new markets. The public is encouraged to attend and
participate. The agenda will be announced shortly.
WHAT: FCC Broadband Field Hearing on Small Business
WHEN: Monday December 21, 2009, 1:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
WHERE: Gleacher Center, University of Chicago
450 North Cityfront Plaza Drive
Chicago, Illinois 60611
ONLINE: http://www.fcc.gov/live/
The Federal Communications Commission is convening a series of hearings to promote an open
dialogue with the public on the development of a National Broadband Plan. The American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 directed the FCC to submit a National Broadband Plan
to Congress by February 17, 2010 that addresses broadband deployment, adoption, affordability,
and the use of broadband to advance solutions to national priorities, including health care,
education, energy, public safety, job creation, investment, and others.
Reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities are available upon request. Include a
description of the accommodation you will need with as much detail as possible. Also include a
way we can contact you if we need more information. Please provide as much advance notice as
possible; last minute requests will be accepted, but may be impossible to fill. Send an e-mail to
fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530 (voice),
202-418-0432 (TTY).
-FCC-
Updates about the Federal Communications Commission's development of the National
Broadband Plan can be found at www.broadband.gov. You can also follow us on Twitter at
http://twitter.com/FCC.
________________________________________
Central Sleep Diagnostics has grown at an incredible rate
Subject: Financing of diagnostic machines
Date: 12/16/2009 11:59:20 A.M. Central Standard Time
From: scott@centralsleepdx.com
To: ronaldmay@aol.com
Dear Ron,
It's been a year but Central Sleep Diagnostics has grown at an incredible rate.One thing hasn't changed...financing for firms under 2 years old.Central Sleep (www.centralsleepdx.com ) performs type 1 attended PSG's to detect disorders such as Obstructive Sleep Aopnea in the comfort and convienience of a persons home.The company is in 4 states and needs financing for the machines in $22k increments(3-5 a month).CSD is willing to pay and service monthly at an incredible 22% yearly for 2-3 year debt.
Please contact Scott Wolf,Director of Investor Relations for more details.
Thanks Ron,
Scott
Scott A. Wolf
Director of Investor Relations
Main +1-847-412-0400 Ext 0413
Direct +1-773-697-9865
Mobile +1-312-479-7315
Fax +1-773-697-9976
www.centralsleepdx.com
"Sleep Science Comes Home"
__________________________________________
Coop's coming back to Chicago...
From: Mike Coop (blog) blog@heycoop.com
Subject: Coop's coming back to Chicago...
Date: Sun, 13 Dec 2009 17:42:15 -0800
To: Ron May ron@themayreport.com
Ron,
Apologies for the prolonged radio silence from my end...my diatribes have been on my blog over the past few years, rather than via TMR. I'll work to change that in 2010.
Three quickies for you...
First, speaking of 2010, I'm leaving Silicon Valley to move back to Chicago in Q1. After 16 years in the valley, I'm looking forward to putting lessons learned to good use in the Chicago tech community. Most of my efforts these days relate to smart grid and green energy--I chair the IEEE 1680.3 TV Energy Conservation subgroup, and am active in UPnP Forum's, NIST's, U.S.-China Green Energy Council's, and IEEE's smart grid efforts. UPnP is working diligently to integrate their standards-based technology (which is also the basis of DLNA) with automated metering, demand response, and other relevant infrastructure. NIST's Home-to-Grid and Cyber Security Coordination Task Group are also aggressively working to make the smart grid a reality in a manner useful to all. UCGEC is working to bridge the gap between the U.S. and China; and IEEE is working on smart grid interoperability standards for worldwide use.
While I'm moving back to Chicago to be nearer my family, I'm definitely looking forward to catching up with folks in Chicago tech whom I haven't seen in ages, in many cases since 1993. I'm keeping a place in San Jose, so I'll still be in the valley quite a bit.
Second, the first Chicago Tech Meetup Mixer (http://www.meetup.com/Chicago-Tech-Meetup/calendar/11972445/ ) is this Thursday night at Bar Deville. I'm stoked that I'll be able to attend the initial meetup in person. I was at the December Silicon Valley Tech Meetup on 12/1, where we had nearly 200 folks talking about new services and products. The SV NewTech Meetup just finished its third year; they started with six people at Coupa Cafe in Palo Alto, and now burst at the seams each month at a Palo Alto law firm. With 4500 people on the SV NewTech Meetup mailing list, the meetings are attended by some of the valley's more innovative thinkers; I'm hopeful that the Chicago Tech Meetup will achieve a fraction of this success.
Third, as always, I'll be at the Consumer Electronics show for the duration, heading to Vegas on 1/5, departing on 1/11. If anyone from the Chicago tech community will be there and would like to catch up, feel free to drop me a note.
Get/stay healthy. You've been my (and many others') link to Chicago tech for a lot of years. Keep it going...
Coop
Mike Coop
heyCoop, LLC
blog@heycoop.com
Blog: www.heycoop.com
Follow me on Twitter: @heycoop
Profile: www.linkedin.com/in/mikecoop
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Bob Krohn on Harvey Daniels
Subject: Harvey Daniels
Date: 12/16/2009 12:04:22 P.M. Central Standard Time
From: bob@makropartners.com
To: RONALDMAY@aol.com
Ron,
I was appalled to see your derogatory comments about Harvey Daniels in your 12/14/09 May Report. Harvey is very professional, the world's greatest networker and all around great guy. I'm not sure if your comments were an attempt at humor or not, but either way, I felt them to be very inappropriate.
Bob Krohn
-------------------------------------------------------
Bob Krohn
Principal
MaKro Partners
(847) 989-9005 (voice)
(708) 532-7951 (fax)
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