Dot Com to Dot Bomb

We finally got Andrew Fry's side of the dot com bust in which he has been referencing all quarter. I finally understand what happened. It turns out venture capitalists were investing into these dot com companies because the internet was the new hot thing, so everyone wanted in on it. They were investing into companies that had profit, even companies that were showing no profit at all, they just wanted in on it. Of course with all this investment and little return it was bound to collapse. The lucky companies got bought out, and the no so lucky companies went bankrupt and their employees laid off.
This presentation was the most interesting for me, because I have always heard about the dot com bust, but never researched it or was given information about it.

Michele Armstrong

Michele Armstrong from Vulcan was a guest speaker. Michele is a Sr. Manager of Corporate Recruiting. Michele talked to us about recruiting employees, she made a few main points on hiring. She said you need to have job descriptions for each career path within each area. Employees need a growth path. If employees are to receive stock options this needs to be set up early. I found it very interesting that companies use Craigslist as a primary hiring front, I have used Craigslist to find a job, but I figured businesses go straight to things like Monster.com.
She also spoke to us about interviews. I have heard most of this information before, but she clarified a few things. Such as the phone interview, I thought a phone interview was an alternative to an in person interview, but it is supplementary. They verify your resume and get a feel for you before they invite you for an in person interview. Another thing that stood out was the tie. She said it is better not to wear a tie to an interview, when I thought it was a requirement.

Guest Speaker Derek Young

Derek Young came to our class to talk about his businesses. Derek worked at R.E.I. for 10 years, then left to focus on the businesses he created. Derek liked to start small niche companies that did something well, mostly web based companies. Derek runs a blog called Exit 133, a website which focuses on articles about local businesses and the local economy. Derek was also the founder of Suite 133. Suite 133 provides office space for start up companies who need immediate temporary office space. It is a great place for start-ups to get on their feet. Derek's presentation was cut short because of a fire alarm, although I believe he would have kept our attention until the end of class.
Mr. Fry told us to write how many question we have asked our guest speakers. I have asked zero questions to our guest speakers. I usually only have basic questions in which the speaker answers in their presentation.

Guest Speaker Bruce Kendall

Bruce Kendall dropped by the University of Washington Tacoma's entrepreneurship class. Bruce is the president and CEO of the Economic Development Board for the Tacoma Pierce County area. The board helps bring in companies into the area, by promoting work space, and the area in general. The board also gathers statistics about local industries and how they are growing or shrinking. The statistics are a little old, I would like to see the the updated graphs to see how the current economy has affected local industries. I found it interesting that 31% of Pierce County's employment are in 15 clusters. At the end of the presentation Bruce showed us buildings in the area that the board has helped moved businesses into, and buildings they hope to have businesses moved into. Bruce was also nice enough to invite us all to the economic horizons forecast luncheon wich is a very generous thing to do.

John Dimmer

John Dimmer visited our class to talk about financing our buisnesses. I found his stories more interesting than his actual presentation. He talked about how he owns a range of different businesses. He came to us to explain where to get your money for your company. The places you get your money are first from your pocket, then friends and family, then angel investors, and finally venture capital. When your business gets to the point when you need to get money from angel investors, John told us you need to have a very good description of how much money you think you will be making, as to look good for the investors. Also, like the guest speakers before him, he said he would deny someone if they don't have the right personality or attitude. This doesn't mean they'll deny them because they don't like the same music, but if they don't seem to have genuine goals.
Overall, John Dimmer answered the questions on how to finance my company, when to go to investors, and what approach i should take.

Jon Goodman

Last Wednesday Jon Goodman came to talk to our class. First off I have never been in the Tacoma room, that was cool. Also there was Cutter's Point coffee, and other free food that was there, which was pretty cool as well. Jon Goodman was a very good speaker, she was glowing with personality.
She had a lot to say about market research. She said "take it with a grain of salt", what she is talking about is you shouldn't take other peoples market research literally. Another one of her big points was to surround yourself with seasoned experts, they will help you to start your business, because they've done it before. Jon said "Steal from one its plagiarism, steal from many it's research". I like this statement, because it applied to students in general, and also it applies to her words on seasoned experts.
Jon had a lot to say about learning. Jon said "have no shame", she said we should take advantage of being students and try to get ourselves into businesses to learn what we can from them.
Overall, I really enjoyed listening to what Jon had to say. She seemed very enthusiastic about talking to us and kept our attention from start to finish.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths.
- Interpersonal relations
- Written communications
- Problem solver
- Follow directions well
- Adapt to change well

Weaknesses.
- Lack confidence
- Bored easily
- Introverted
- Lack focus
- Procrastinator

Guest Speaker Ron Kornfeld

On Wednesday we had a guest speaker named Rob Kornfeld. He talked to us about business plans. His presentation was on his 5 step program to business plans. He is the author of the template in which we will base our business plans on. He knew his material very well it seemed like he’s an expert on this stuff (he is). The part that most stood out to me was when he said “Any brilliant business plan can be explained in a tweet”. I think what he is trying to say with that is you just have to be concise and not fill the plan up with useless garbage. Another main point I found is prepare your business plan for a specific audience. If you’re showing the plan to engineers, make it more technical, if you’re showing it off to a financial institution, make sure to have the finance section in detail. Overall, I thought Mr. Kornfeld gave a professional presentation, was very informative.

Five business ideas

1. Corporate Virtualization. This business would own high performance servers that can be rented out to companies who can't afford to upgrade their computers. Instead they can rent server space and run virtual computers on their current computers, which simulate faster hardware.


2. Only textbooks. A website only for trading and selling textbooks, operated like ebay where the user is responsible for shipping.

3. Iphone/Ipod touch developers. A business that would build Iphone/Ipod touch applications for a customer or company.

4. PC parts truck. Much like a Snap-On tool truck, this PC parts truck would deliver parts, in a van.

5. An online service for setting up golf course tee times. Most courses don't offer this service, I think it would help golfers out when planning for a tee time.

Entrepreneurship

The 3 page chapter on Entrepreneurship in the Technology Entrepreneur's Guidebook was a good intro as to what it is to be an entrepreneur. It's almost intimidating, the chapter explains how entrepreneurs do not have it easy. The chapter said "60 percent of high tech companies that are funded by VCs go bankrupt" that is alot of failed businesses. It just shows entrepreneurs have to be very prepared when they want to start up a business or product.