Quarter Life Crisis

Who wants to start a Red Lobster spin off with me on Christmas Island?  We’ll call it Red Crab Buffet.

The British journalists report that 10 Chinese workers have died during the construction of facilities for the Beijing Olympics.  The Chinese have countered by admitting that 2 workers have died in accidents.  Why don’t they just split the difference and say that 6 have died?

On getting some nice PR.

See the DeviceVM blog  if you’re interested in learning about this company and their innovative product, Splashtop.

Lots of excitement around these dollars and startups. Makes some sense that alternative investments such as VC would have more dollars to invest since the traditional ones we are used to, equities and real estate, are mighty scary in the short term. We’ll see if this was a good investment for LP’s in 4-5 years.

Cheers to all my colleagues at the von Liebig Center!

Kauffman Foundation Says von Liebig Center Fills Seed-Stage Funding Gap

Kansas City, MO, January 24, 2008 — An emerging approach to identifying, funding and commercializing university-based innovation is proving quite effective at seeding new companies, according to research conducted by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and the Max Planck Institute of Economics.

According to the Kauffman Foundation, “proof of concept centers” are an effective vehicle to help launch the commercialization of university innovation and to fill the seed-stage funding gap for new technologies.

(See full article here, Jacobs School of Engineering, UCSD)

According to the report, a successful proof of concept center benefits from locating at universities that produce innovative and marketable technology, are located within a strong external network of investors and innovators and have an administrative team and advisors with a depth of commercialization expertise. A unified approach of providing seed funding, advisory services with industry connections and educational initiatives also is vital to ensure the commercialization of university technology.A copy of the paper can be downloaded at www.kauffman.org/poc. In addition, an analysis of the Kauffman Foundation report will be published in the June 2008 issue of The Journal of Technology Transfer.

About the Kauffman Foundation

The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City is a private, nonpartisan foundation that works with partners to advance entrepreneurship in America and improve the education of children and youth. The Kauffman Foundation was established in the mid-1960s by the late entrepreneur and philanthropist Ewing Marion Kauffman. Information about the Kauffman Foundation is available at www.kauffman.org.

About the Max Planck Institute of Economics

The Max Planck Institute of Economics conducts research on a broad set of problems relating to change in modern economies, including experimental economics and entrepreneurial studies. Located in Jena, Germany, the Institute is part of the Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science, Germany’s largest research organization. The Max Planck Society employs some 4,200 researchers in some 80 institutes in both the sciences and the humanities.

Source: Jacobs School of Engineering, UCSD

Copy of the full paper: www.kauffman.org/poc.

Just had a phone call for an associate position with a VC in SD.  Like it usually is, I had to go through a referral to get this phone call.  Anyways, we spoke for about 30 minutes. I told them about myself, my interests, my goals, and what relevant VC experiences I have. Then I spent the next 15 minutes asking questions.  Until now, I’ve usually had a pretty hard time thinking of questions to ask (for my other interviews) but this time it was surprisingly easy to think of insightful questions.  I guess thats what happens when you interview for a position you’re actually interested in.  Anyways, we’ll see how it goes.

Lots of volatility. Lots of bad news. Here’s how to make money in this type of environment by short selling stocks.

Need a change of career? How about this one:

Title:
Assistant to “high level Chinese celebrity/philanthropist.”

Area of Focus:
film, non-profit (in order of work priority)

Location: Based in Asia

Job Description:
You are invited to explore the opportunity to learn and work with high
level Chinese celebrity/philanthropist and learn the inner workings of
the film industry in both the United States and China. The majority of
work will involve hands-on involvement in building a world-class
foundation from the grounds up. This will involve meetings with
numerous high-level business and government officials to build and
develop philanthropy in China and on a worldwide basis.

Employee will perform all the usual and customary duties of a personal
assistant, including, but not limited to, review and respond to
correspondence; scheduling appointments; translation of conversations
and correspondence; organizing personal matters; and other duties that
may be assigned.

Please visit one-foundation.com to better understand the world of this
high level Chinese celebrity/philanthropist.

Desired qualifications:
-Fluent in Mandarin Chinese and English
-Degree from top-tier university with high GPA
-At least 2 years of work experience in consulting, banking, a large
multinational, studio or equivalent experience
-Strong attention to detail
-Strong analytical ability
-Ability to follow through with projects and follow instructions as
given
-Ability to travel frequently (50%)

Let me know if you are interested and I’ll give you the contact info.

If you want to talk to the talk (walking the walk is a whole ‘nother issue. =D) for an interview. Learn to speak the lingo.  Here’s a VC vocabulary list for you.

Wall Street Journal has a good article on this –

When Fretting Is in Your DNA:
Overcoming the Worry Gene

On a side note, I have been consistently reading WSJ for more than a year now. I think it is a fantastic publication and completely worth the subscription price. It is a complete paper, with market information of course as well as current events, health topics, and other interesting ideas.