tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-131313752024-03-14T04:22:06.779-07:00Rajiv Parikh - Take the PlungeCommentary on startups, search marketing, tech, politics, the Red Sox, Patriots and more...Rajiv Parikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003669749163309404noreply@blogger.comBlogger198125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13131375.post-16136773984250943612012-11-06T04:17:00.000-08:002012-11-06T04:19:21.639-08:00Last Day to Vote - Get Out There Florida!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I've been a political junkie for a long time. This year, I decided to do something about it beyond writing or donating. I had some free time after selling Brand Monitor, so I decided to spend a week in Florida, knocking on doors, urging Obama supporters to vote. I write this as I get ready for the last day of pounding the pavement - from 7 AM to whenever polls truly close. I believe that the ground game is going to win Obama the election - and Florida is going to make it an overwhelming one.<br />
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I still urge Floridians and voters everywhere - get out there and vote.<br />
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I came to Broward County, Ft Lauderdale, Pembroke Pines, the land of the hanging chad because I wanted to see it all first hand. The weather is nice and the people are too. The shenanigans are real: under-resourced voting locations creating 2-6 hour waits, police ticketing cars of early voters, people not receiving absentee ballots, shutting off early voting days on the Sunday and Monday right before. This will only serve to motivate more people to get out there. I've talked to them. They are resilient.<br />
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I want to thank all those folks who were friendly enough to answer my questions. Some of you even invited me into your homes, gave me a bottle of water and let me use your restroom. The door slams were few and far between. The visceral anger was limited as well - though there was some. I understand. I will be a little friendlier to those who come to my door. It's a lot of work. I really appreciate the amazing stories - like the Haitian woman who was proud to wait in line to cast her vote because in her country she had to fear for her life for this action.<br />
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The Obama volunteers and staff were great. I met a lot of young kids who are incredibly dedicated - from 7 AM to 1 AM almost every day. I enjoyed every day with you.<br />
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My feet ache but I'm going for a long day myself. That smile will be back in the next hour. <br />
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This time, I agree with Nate Silver's graph:<br />
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<img border="0" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKOMurbpmxR-IBUaZr5i7muL27GvifPFNWx_H3NrJvyJRda9zTh8KBmMoSMFfQbg2pm6taHEhV6Wiaed19nxtE2nYFTiS2bxABs6_j-fea3lKQ1p5GqUpWwx4nexS00ugT7ardnw/s320/Election+2012.jpg" width="320" /><a href="http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/?src=ehdr">Five Thirty Eight Blog</a></div>
The ground game along with all the air cover works. That's the first time Florida turned blue. More tonight... Yeah, and don't forget to vote!</div>
Rajiv Parikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003669749163309404noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13131375.post-5469002193396869472011-08-26T13:10:00.000-07:002011-08-26T19:21:03.295-07:00Facebook Marketing and Hurricane IreneAs Hurricane Irene sweeps up the East Coast, the only thing you think of all the losses and damage it would cause. There are friends, relatives and business that will be affected by this once in a lifetime natural disaster. Well... not everyone is thinking that way...
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<br />Check out these 2 businesses, they've seized the moment using Facebook:<div>
<br /><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU9Xs4pDtZmEHHhK_5uAl1dFbJw24HvNHJ1NwBKgcdMTFlpzEeN5GYzdi2A0FOpivH2xT8r5uiZByL5UAdLihI1MtLHhto71xXOW4G8NUbNoIIA0NFPnopksIaR5mR8qeFApb1FQ/s200/CJ+Construct+BM.png" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 41px;" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5645285063419434802" border="0" /><div>With <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/CJ-Construction-Maintenance-LLC/111056757718">CJ Construction</a>, you can get a pre-Hurricane damage assessment and prepare your home. Afterwards, you would be first in line for a repair.</div><div>
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<br /><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0nbP2GPK-e0V29IMvhzWAGYbzlEkhVT0_1v6fO__Ht0fdn7a4D6xYIDdzoZnMmwz2X6jn15mv461i8kyecTz-TIem4_ON-kNe1AKctV73osmFPb63PTcvTb6UsVVYfB-QPQBsUw/s200/Rick+Turner+Construct.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5645285317855907730" style="float: left; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 101px; " border="0" /></span></span></div><div>
<br /><a href="http://www.facebook.com/1583307399/posts/102737409830831">Rick Tucker Construction</a> will take care of your post Irene demolition needs.</div><div>
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<br /></div><div>Who says that construction is behind the times in social media?</div></div><div><div>
<br /></div><div>Of all the businesses, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/CVS">CVS</a> is doing this most tastefully, by discussing how people should get their pharmacy refills and how they are stocking up the best they can. They acknowledge that many of the stores will be closed because of evacuation procedures.</div></div><div>
<br /></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA09Ayw6PUfQU5_r8RpuwvjI1ZdH0_38ygqmjlYkMxGKAGYEjVcDRWGj3gP8cs6JSpLavjxoNSA72qhHXxQ3Gxdda0vbbRZisNaE4MNHf6x9pjAsLACdWEY0s-enGLKBLQHmHA_Q/s200/CVS.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5645302727911553906" style="float: left; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 60px; " border="0" /></span></div></div><div>In the comments to the post, there is a very favorable response from people appreciating the notice or discussing how CVS steps up in the community during these situations. You would think there might be some backlash given the press releases about how CVS is ready, but by engaging with their users, people are responding positively. On the other hand, competitor Rite Aid has normal promotions, but no acknowledgement of Irene that matches its press releases.
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<br /></div><div>Even in a natural disaster like Hurricane Irene, companies can be opportunistic in Facebook marketing just like the construction companies. At least they are making themselves available. In the case of CVS, they are leveraging their brand to create greater levels of engagement.</div><div>
<br /></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://brandmonitor.position2.com/">Position2 Brand Monitor</a> was used to cull through the displayed Facebook posts.</span></i></div>Rajiv Parikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003669749163309404noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13131375.post-54128226931365353372011-07-27T14:29:00.001-07:002011-07-27T23:17:47.212-07:00Hey Congress! Stop Messing Around!As I watch the Dow drop another 200 points today, I've gone from amused to very concerned. In the last few days that's 400 points. Every day, there's more back and forth - Boehner this, Cantor that, Obama Grand Bargain, etc. It's one thing to discuss a long term solution to a financial deficit issues, but it's quite another to renege on America's financial obligations.<br /><br />For a while it was sport watching the House get up into a lather over a crisis they <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/24/opinion/sunday/24sun4.html">created</a>. Most House Republicans <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2011/07/24/opinion/sunday/24editorial_graph2.html?ref=sunday">voted</a> on extending the debt ceiling every year as they cut taxes while spending more on wars, the prescription drug benefit and general discretionary spending on their districts. Democrats have been spending as well, but they are not creating a crisis over the debt ceiling. They are willing to approve the increase straight up.<br /><br />People seem to think that not increasing the debt ceiling will stop "excess" spending. They have been misinformed. The President cannot unilaterally impose cuts in spending. Nor can Congress. That "excess" is our defense and our grandparents Social Security check. It all stops when the government loses the ability to finances its obligations.<br /><br />This is an artificial crisis that is impacting people perceptions of US creditworthiness and ability of politicians to solve problems. The budget has already been voted on by both sides. In fact, they committed to a payroll tax cut, Bush tax extensions, and unemployment extensions that increased the deficit by over $600 billion/year. Where were those deficit complaints at that time? If the US cannot pay what it has committed to pay, why would you put your money here? It's like taking a loan out on your car, then saying that you are not going to pay for it afterwards and expecting to get a new loan on your house in the future. You will have to pay next time - just a lot more because you've increased risk of default to the creditor.<br /><br />Already, this is having an impact as long term bond rates are going up and the insurance on American debt has risen. This is a tax on all of us as mortgages, credit card rates and car loan rates have the Treasury bond rate as it's basis. All business decisions use have risk hurdle rates based on the risk free rate - US Treasury bonds. If rates rise or changes from AAA to AA+, that's a huge issue.<br /><br />Do we want another day where the Dow drops 700 points like we had in 2008? This would hurt all of our portfolios and pensions. It takes money out of our pockets. It increases the tendency to put money into cash or gold rather than invest in stocks or start-ups. I'm wondering whether I should just go to cash because the acrimony is disconcerting.<br /><br />Businesses thrive when there's certainty and consistency. When the rules of the game are not clear, people are more reluctant to invest. The budget crisis, backsliding on financial and environment rules, and the artificial debt crisis doing their damage. The risk premium is increasing. While that may reduce Obama's chances of winning re-election, it helps no one. It may boomerang.<br /><br />Everyone who looks at spending and tax revenue knows that spending increases and entitlement growth will have to slow and taxes will have to go up for everyone. There's no free ride here. I'd love to see both sides release their versions of a balanced budget by 2020. It's doable if our legislators have courage (go Coburn!). Work on it for the next budget cycle. But don't screw up the economy today.Rajiv Parikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003669749163309404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13131375.post-64514524627291678302011-05-13T21:21:00.000-07:002011-05-14T00:03:46.913-07:00TiEcon 2011: Touching the Entrepreneurial SunEvery year, The Indus Entrepreneur (TiE) throws the largest entrepreneurial conference of the world, <a href="http://tiecon.org">TiEcon</a>. Though the membership is primarily of Indian descent, the event is open to all. It brings great entrepreneurs, VCs, inspiring keynote speakers and aspiring entrepreneurs together to learn and network with each other. I like to go every year because it's my chance to touch the entrepreneurial sun and remember why I've spent so much of my career in starting and building companies. <br /><br />Sometimes, you get down on yourself because the process is always a lot longer and harder than you originally thought. The process of creating a new company, a new product, a new brand and a strong culture is always is always easier on paper than reality. The world is skeptical of what you are building because invariably you are going against the existing order. You have to be able to handle far more no's than yes' while keeping your confidence at an unshakable level.<br /><br />Today helped me reconnect with that energy and spirit. I really enjoyed the keynotes. <a href="http://www.revolution.com/our-team/steve-case">Steve Case</a> was great not only because of his amazing and well-known AOL experience, but more because of what he is doing to further entrepreneurship through <a href="http://www.startupamericapartnership.org/">StartUp America</a>. The organization is trying to replicate the Silicon Valley entrepreneurial infrastructure and ecosystem all around the country. New companies that have created all the new jobs in the US over the last 20 years. Large companies have been static or declining, so it's important to harness American creativity to build the next Google, Facebook or Genentech.<br /><br />Dr. David Ferrucci of IBM presented a detailed account of the Watson project where they built a computer system to beat Jeopardy Master Champions. I liked how they structured the problem and measured success. They knew this would come in iterations, however each iteration had to be designed in a modular fashion that had sufficient headroom to improve with experience. Given our efforts to improve sentiment analysis with Position2 <a href="http://brandmonitor.position2.com">Brand Monitor</a>, I could appreciate the difficulties that the IBM team had in trying to parse wide-ranging yet unstructured Jeopardy answers and quickly come up with the right answer. Natural Language Processing (NLP) is a hard problem to solve especially with analogies and allusions. Given the brevity of Jeopardy answers, it's like reading a tweet and understanding that "bad" sometimes is actually positive. Given the long tail of subjects, building a recognition engine that understands language and responds quickly not only is cool, but has a wide range of applications from medicine to education to... yes... call centers.<br /><br />The capstone keynote was <a href="http://www.khoslaventures.com/khosla/people_vk.html">Vinod Khosla</a>, the entrepreneurial maven who not only got Sun off the ground but built so many successful firms at Kleiner Perkins and now his own fund. He discussed his research on the energy transformation. The experts are wrong, as Vinod offered years of expert forecasts that were completely wrong - as much as 5x for the price of oil. The world has a situation where 5.5 billion people want to live and consume like 500 million. China's oil consumption is expected to grow gradually, but if it follows Japan's or S. Korea's growth curve, oil consumption will be 3-4x today within a couple of decades. However, Khosla believes that oil prices will drop dramatically. He also believe as will electricity use will drop steeply as well. This will be done in a way that is not government support dependent. His thesis is based on the black swan theory where discontinuities are the norm rather than what typical probabilities represent. Linear thinking doesn't work for him - it's about exponents and discontinuities cause by new technologies and steep cuts in price. I took some notes on interesting energy companies in his deck:<br /><br />Kior - renewable, biofuel based oil that is less expensive than fossil oil<br />Ecomotor - an engine platform that double gas mileage<br />Ciris - driving methane from coal mines done with mining<br />Calera - converting CO2 emissions from power plants into mineral products<br />Soraa - 80% more efficient light that pays for itself in year 1<br />Lightsail - using compressed air storage to triple electric grid capacity<br /><br />Then there was some company that would make sugar from pine chips reducing the vast amount of corn production used primarily for high fructose corn syrup and animal feed.<br /><br />Khosla's belief is that technology innovation would rise to the challenge of energy, food and natural resource demand. After listening to him, some of the concern about $150 oil diminishes, because people will find a way to develop cheap energy. These technologies need to win in an unsubsidized market which can do to energy like Carnegie did to steel (cut the cost by 80%).<br /><br />As exciting as Khosla was, I enjoyed seeing some of the TiE50 winners in social media and mobile. Each firm had a different story, but they all had really unique ways of looking at the world. They had an intensity and energy that was contagious. Even the VC panel on social media indicated to me that we were on the right track of mining social media data to create actionable insights and engagement for brands. The key was to listen to people, learn from their ideas, but remember that you need to follow the beat of your own drum.<br /><br />I came away this Friday at TiEcon 2011 energized about the great things that entrepreneurs can do. It was fun to reconnect with many of the volunteers that put together this special event that highlights how people can go outside themselves and change the world in a positive way that also builds wealth. It's not a zero sum game. I'm sure my team is ready for the many new ideas I will hit them with on how to leverage our social media technology for growing brands, especially ones on reducing friction.<br /><br />Onwards to tomorrow, where I'm taking Arjun to expose him to this special Silicon Valley world.Rajiv Parikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003669749163309404noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13131375.post-52967267024312305682011-01-02T21:59:00.000-08:002011-01-03T11:16:33.906-08:00Dan the Tow Truck ManThere I was in town called American Canyon with my broken down Bimmer. The 10 year old 328i served me well but broke a belt and overheated about 70 miles from home. God knows how much this was going to cost - $500, $1,000, who knows with these cars. I was coming back from our Position2 Holiday party that Noelle so thoughtfully arranged up in Napa. After panicking about how I'd get my car fixed so far away from home, I got some help from AAA in the form of an extended towing upgrade. I just had to sit in a tow truck for a couple of hours, but at least I'd get it done with the mechanic I know.<div><br /></div><div>That's how I met Dan. He was an old man, probably in his 50's, though he looked in his 60's after years of hard work. One of those salt of the earth kind of guys, he had a mustache on his white weathered face and some spots on the sides of his jaws - either missing teeth or gaps. I thought I'd be spending some time with a classic blue collar guy. I brought some business magazine in case I'd get bored. When he started with, "You know, I never thought I'd drive a tow truck for 15 years," I thought I'd be listening to a tale of woe of someone who has been screwed over for this reason or by that person. </div><div><br /></div><div>It would be the little guy against the world deal. After touring the Chandon sparkling winery and eating a sumptuous meal Mustard's in Yountville, I guess I deserved some balance. Little did I know, I'd come away absolutely inspired.</div><div><br /></div><div>Dan started in with telling me that he was a tow truck mechanic before driving trucks. He had made a lot of mistakes in his life, before he settled on this job. The tow business is 24 hours on call. The pay is not particularly great, but it's consistent. Cars always broke down for one reason or another. With the right company, work would be steady. One thing Dan always did was take advice from his father, a man who started and owned his steel fabrication business. He told Dan to never spend more than you take in. It's better to be able to pay for a car that was functional over one where you had to overextend yourself. The same thing for your house. Get a 30 year fixed loan and do not take equity out like the neighbors. Because of those decisions, Dan worked hard but could provide for his 3 kids.</div><div><br /></div><div>So that's an easy opening. 3 kids? I have 4, so we had something to talk about. Little did I know that I'd have more fun listening to the story about his 3. So I asked, "How old?"</div><div><br /></div><div>"3 boys - 2 that are 18 and one that's 15," said Dan.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Oh, so you had twins."</div><div><br /></div><div>Not really, 1 of his 2 were adopted. I asked when he adopted him. Dan told me when he was 15. Apparently, his oldest son and the boy were best friends. His father was a rapper who decided with his wife to start touring locally. They apparently got caught up in the fast life and forgot about their son. The boy called Dan's son from a hotel room where he was left all alone and asked if he could stay with Dan's family. Most might take him in for a little while, but Dan really cared for the kid. Dan decided to not only take him in, but let the boy's family know that they would have to give him custody. Dan would adopt him. He knew how important it was for a boy to have a strong father figure and didn't want this boy messed up.</div><div><br /></div><div>It turns out that his new son loves to read, gets good grades and is looking at various colleges for scholarship opportunities. His oldest son is a top AAU basketball player and is being recruited by various colleges. Dan is pushing him to go to the best academic one. In my conversation, Dad never once differentiated the boys - they were all his sons.</div><div><br /></div><div>So here's a guy who single-handedly raised 3 boys. They are all college bound - full of hope for the future. Later I found out he has a daughter from another marriage who has 7 grandkids. It turns out she has a good guy she's married to and Dan brings the whole group together to play basketball together.</div><div><br /></div><div>Dan may have made some mistakes, but he's done something amazing. He not only provided for his family without taking anything but advice from his successful father, but he also took another kid in. He didn't just think about himself. He felt for others. Dan doesn't make a lot by any standard, but he not only lived within his means, he made a little extra and still brought up a whole family. He wasn't resentful. He was optimistic. Dan liked how he could work at night, so he could spend his days with the boys.</div><div><br /></div><div>After Dan dropped me off on Alma in Palo Alto, we shook hands and he said goodbye with a smile. He offered to drive me home, but I was meeting my wife at the Medical Center because my youngest was in urgent care over a tough fever. While my car might cost a few hundred dollars, I came away thankful for the experience - the inspiration of spending a couple of hours with Dan the Tow Truck Man.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Rajiv Parikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003669749163309404noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13131375.post-30168830272164996202010-12-08T22:26:00.000-08:002010-12-09T00:53:08.210-08:00Clinton & Wonder Inspire at Dreamforce '10Today was one of those days, you are thankful that work comes together with inspiration. As a last minute decision, I decided to go up to the <a href="http://www.salesforce.com/dreamforce/DF10/home/">Dreamforce</a> '10 event in San Francisco. I scheduled some client meetings and intended to walk the tradeshow flow before going to hear the scheduled President Clinton speech. Because of rain delays for the former President's flight, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff brought in an unexpected treat - Stevie Wonder. He talked about many stories from his life from how he decided to perform again mother's death to his early experiences in school, but I think the one thing I'll remember is how he deals with adversity. He is an optimistic person who believes that his passion for people and music transcends and particular issue. Benioff is right when he says that everything happens for a reason.<br /><br />Then President Clinton walked on the floor with an impromptu introduction by Stevie. Clinton made his opening comment about how as an amateur musician, this was the first time when a pro was the opening act. I've always admired Clinton's leadership skills and his desire to do good in the world. I've heard many speeches on TV, but nothing is like seeing him in person. He can go from the high level trends of interdependence to the detail of new discoveries in stem cells and disease recovery. After a successful Presidency where he left the country with 4 years of surplus, then making incredible money on the lecture circuit, he then chases big problems through the <a href="http://www.clintonglobalinitiative.org/">Clinton Global Initiative</a>.<br /><br />He is a master of making complex problems simple. In his mind, the central characteristic of nations is interdependence. What happens in halfway across the world is known instantly everywhere. Ideas, capital, and goods flow everywhere presenting all sorts of opportunities. However it creates 3 large issues: inequality, instability and unsustainability. <br /><br /><ul><li>Inequality is increasing concentration of wealth to a few whether it's in the US or around the world. This concentration impedes broad based wealth creation because consumers will not be able to afford the new products or act in the creation of new innovation.</li><li>Instability is caused by this free flow of capital where a bubble in the US can impact the whole world. Similarly, terrorists or a rogue nation can significantly destabilize the world order.</li><li>Unsustainability speaks to the environment and energy. We are emitting more than the world can handle. The US is the only country in the world that has recently elected officials that believe the overwhelming science on man-made climate change is wrong. Luckily, the US is the only industrialized nation that has this uncertainly. The key is what will happen if the ice on Greenland melts and Europe goes into a new Ice Age.</li></ul>So Clinton thinks about how his organization can address these issues in an economically advantageous way. As great as it is for the wealthy to give to NGO's, those firm should look for ways to serve while building the systems and institutions to put themselves out of business. People need to become self-reliant for help to be worthwhile.<br /><br />On the mid-term elections, Clinton believes Democrats erred by not advertising their accomplishments on tax cuts (16 for small business), health care or in financial reform where there is a process to prevent future bailouts of large financial institution. The ad budget was there, but they decided to make elections local when the sentiment was national.<br /><br />I love his thoughts about the history of society and how they fail by spending too much time in protecting the present. It goes to the notion of living beyond our means for this moment while not building for the future. For example, Germany and China have decided to dedicate significant resources to green energy whereas the US is potentially not renewing credits for green energy development. It is about not investing in education as US students fall behind the rest of the world in high school and college graduation rates. However, there is inspiration for the hi tech crowd. Unlike any of time in history, we can do work related to our interest, rather than needing to work to survive. There are great advances in hi tech, green energy and biotech that are making a new future. As long as we drive towards broad-based economic success, there is tremendous hope. The fact that we are in a place where becoming an entrepreneur is easier than ever before, means there is opportunity for disruptive innovation - the kind that creates new potential.<br /><br />I came away encouraged because it took me out of the day to day drive to serve clients, acquire new customers and run the business. At <a href="http://position2.com">Position2</a>, we have been driving the leading edge for some time where there's uncertainty and great potential. Listening to great people like Pres Clinton, Stevie Wonder, and Marc Benioff helps you understand that we are fortunate to be in a place where we have an opportunity to create change. Wealth, political and living conditions are unequal, but intelligence is more evenly distributed. We should be thankful that our condition gives us an opportunity to express our full potential.<br /><br />Thanks to the people Salesforce.com for providing inspiration with an excellent event!Rajiv Parikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003669749163309404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13131375.post-76848848317527313072010-06-29T22:51:00.000-07:002010-06-30T10:31:20.891-07:00Tesla Unleashes Great Hope... and Doubt<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.thechicecologist.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/tesla_models_side.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 236px; height: 157px;" src="http://www.thechicecologist.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/tesla_models_side.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />June 29th was a momentous day for <a href="http://teslamotors.com/">Tesla </a>and the future of the electric automotive industry. The IPO was priced way above initial expectations of $14-16 a share at $17. After some fluctuation, the stock was up 40% to $23.89/share. The market value was over $2 billion driving up founder Elon Musk's portfolio value tremendously. This on a day where the Dow fell 268. As an entrepreneur, this was a day that filled me with hope, because here was an entrepreneur that put his heart, soul and money into a company and won. However, the press was having nothing of it. The day before many of the news articles were fairly negative. Most of them went something like this Wall Street Journal article, "Tesla Motors: IPO Fueled by Glamor":<br /><p>"So far the company has accumulated $290 million in total losses, on $148 million in sales. It expects net losses at least until 2012. Anyone betting on Tesla stock is gambling on the success of the forthcoming Model S. But Tesla itself warns that car "is at an early stage of development" and will not be in production until 2012. It adds that it has yet to finalize the design, or complete the engineering, manufacturing or component supply processes for the new car."</p>Many articles and comments said the same thing:<br /><br />-<a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/columns/ci_15402606">Tesla proof Wall Street still believes in fairy tales</a> - Oakland Tribune<br />-<a href="http://wallstreet.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2010/06/29/teslas-ipo-false-promises-for-clean-tech/?section=magazines_fortune">Tesla IPO: False promises for clean tech</a> - Fortune<br /><br />However, the investor community had a different response. The positive energy was palpable. The <a href="http://brandmonitor.position2.com/">Position2 Brand Monitor</a> graph on Tesla shows the massive spike and positive sentiment differential.<br /><img src="file:///C:/Users/RAJIV%7E1.POS/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot.png" alt="" /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSxYPoNSQ_KACRSiFQV7VM6_z7U1JrFUF7cbcdlqesTYT5cxnwg_mLPZrWebVODtE26Hc-cAUHGruT-eXx-YhY2XWWK0q__cY9TVzU7NcmTh-hosMBx7JvsmYI30imKJ6jN7awvA/s1600/P2+Tesla.png"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 285px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSxYPoNSQ_KACRSiFQV7VM6_z7U1JrFUF7cbcdlqesTYT5cxnwg_mLPZrWebVODtE26Hc-cAUHGruT-eXx-YhY2XWWK0q__cY9TVzU7NcmTh-hosMBx7JvsmYI30imKJ6jN7awvA/s320/P2+Tesla.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5488452699751102434" border="0" /></a><br />The number of posts (tweets, news articles and blog posts) on the company exploded to over 2,700 today from an average of 25-30/day. There was a 4:1 difference in positive vs. negative sentiment. While much of it positivity in the sentiment algorithm related to the increase in share price, there were tweets and posts like this:<br /><br />- The Future of Luxury - Tesla Model S http://tinyurl.com/2flua9l beautiful design, 0 emissions, nearly affordable - <a href="http://twitter.com/ThomasOhhh">@ThomasOhhh</a><br />- Something else that helped Tesla was having major strategic investments from Daimler Chrysler and a commitment from Toyota - <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2010/06/29/why-tesla-succeeded-with-its-ipo-and-solyndra-failed/">WSJ Blog</a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">An Entrepreneur's Take...</span><br />As an entrepreneur and technology geek, I find the IPO to be heartening. Elon Musk, successful PayPal founder, is a longtime entrepreneur who bet it all to bring Tesla to market. Previously, electric cars were considered doudy - for the granola set. They suffered from high costs, poor driving performance, long charge times and short driving range. The conventional thinking was that a car would have to be available for the masses first, so companies tried to shoehorn a high cost vehicle into a mass market or weird platform (GM EV1). Tesla, by contrast, utilized the typical technology lifecycle model. Original founders, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Eberhard" title="Martin Eberhard">Martin Eberhard</a> and Marc Tarpenning understood that expensive technology needs to be sold to a premium market to move down the learning curve of product development and manufacturing efficiencies. So they built a sexy sports car on the Lotus platform that took advantage of the high torque range of electric motors, the low cost of electric car operation, strong lightweight materials like carbon fiber and a unique powertrain that gave a first-of-its-kind 200+ mile range.<br /><br />While there are many sides of the Elon Musk story, he focused on building a great car. He focused on high quality materials, production quality and service. He did not compromise in creating a great brand experience from vehicle to showroom to post-purchase service. At the previous TiEcon, I remember my when Musk drove into the room with the Tesla Roadster. The car was stunning. Even more inspiring to me was that Musk was willing to bet it all to make Tesla and SpaceX successful.<br /><br />The Model S has the potential to reach a wider market than the Roadster. With federal stimulus loan money for the factory and powertrain facility, Silicon Valley now has a new technology development and manufacturing opportunity.<br /><br />There is more to the car than the actual vehicle. There is the technology behind it. There's an electric powertrain that has the interest of Daimler-Benz and Toyota. There's all the experience that Tesla has gone through to build the vehicle. All of these technologies have value beyond the economics of building a vehicle. Like Amazon's Z shops, the licensing of electric motor, battery and powertrain technology can provide a tremendous margin boost to the company.<br /><br />It's my hope that the desolate winter of new IPOs is ending. Up until recently, the only way to get an exit event was to be acquired. This reduced valuations for entrepreneurs and made start-up investment more difficult because of the increased uncertainty. While risk adjusted rewards are still not entrepreneur-friedly, IPOs like Tesla, OpenTable and ReachLocal move the needle in the right direction.<br /><br />So let's celebrate Tesla, Musk and his team. Let's hope the stock rises in value so that VantagePoint Partners and other investors can see a significant return. We want them to cycle their money into new innovative start-ups. We should want them to be the next Google. If Silicon Valley and America wants to lead the way in new job-creating, game-changing innovation, we want companies like Tesla to succeed.Rajiv Parikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003669749163309404noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13131375.post-53296120977242369942010-02-01T17:01:00.000-08:002010-02-01T19:12:39.853-08:00Position2 Wins Lenovo Most Valued Partner Award<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB2eqVOu9Qih8O-GNXI-IeO1SI66xD6LCAX5TD1nsqvJ-4wHEmlOO8pmfEO-28G03ZPjpZMxXZdePKWrCDPsnT0_Piv_40bV1t1J3aHat7K9qSwwYlNr72B3tvrluIfEViHJ4afg/s1600-h/Lenovo+Globe+1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 152px; height: 203px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB2eqVOu9Qih8O-GNXI-IeO1SI66xD6LCAX5TD1nsqvJ-4wHEmlOO8pmfEO-28G03ZPjpZMxXZdePKWrCDPsnT0_Piv_40bV1t1J3aHat7K9qSwwYlNr72B3tvrluIfEViHJ4afg/s320/Lenovo+Globe+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433446544842739458" border="0" /></a>I just learned today that Lenovo granted our team their coveted "Most Valued Partner Globe" for our creativity and quality in supporting their online advertising campaigns. One of our top creatives received a special honor as well.<br /><br />Take a look at the trophy. Our team is especially gratified by this honor. We look forward to a continued partnership and success between our firms. Great job!Rajiv Parikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003669749163309404noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13131375.post-57639667677893773962010-01-19T21:22:00.000-08:002010-01-20T13:17:20.487-08:00Is Health Care Reform Over?The Scott Brown win over Coakley in Massachusetts portends the end of the health care reform. The Senate is unlikely to play the game of delaying certification (though Republicans would with a straight face). Election year politics would make further delay difficult. Using the reconciliation process would mean another long perilous set of activities where the bill would have to be re-cut. Democrats are unlikely to end the filibuster rule. From a healthcare executive who has met with members of the House, there is significant opposition to the Senate bill.<br /><br />That means more acrimony and indecision leading to a likely end of the move to fix an out of control system. The Democrats method of self-flagellation and delay hurts their ability to push things through. Republicans simply see blood and are playing the role of the opposition, regardless of logic.<br /><br />Watch any of the Sunday news shows and what do you see? Republicans criticizing the President. That's become their job in this highly partisan environment. It's almost understandable. The Democrats are the surprising ones. They attack the bill for not doing enough here or there. They call it a flawed bill that's "better than nothing." They find a hundred holes rather than understanding that no one cares about their little nit or nat. It's hardly confidence building. People do not want a "passable" bill that reorders a huge system that brings a level of certainty for 80+% of Americans. They want to know they are getting huge significant value.<br /><br />The battle over the public option was a play towards single payer - something that people were not ready for. Obama had very little time to push through the change agenda. The mandarins in Senate allowed delay to upend their ability to get things done.<br /><br />Meanwhile, costs will keep exploding. My company saw 2 years of 40% quote increases even though we went the high deductible, HSA route. This was the consumer-driven healthcare initiative that leading experts were recommending. If I had a whole bunch of blue collar workers, it would have destroyed our cost structure. Health reform should be a Republican issues as well as a Democratic one. It is about American competitive and greater certainty for our population.<br /><br />Meanwhile, the hidden secret is that there is universal healthcare in pockets of America. In San Francisco, for example, <a href="http://bayarea.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/19/middle-class-angst-and-san-franciscos-health-plan/">SF Health Plans</a> integrates federal, state, local, and small business funds to provide universal healthcare to children and low income adults in a high quality, cost-effective way. They contract with local providers on a capitation or per person basis. The incentive is to provide quality care without upselling unnecessary tests or care. The more people are covered, the greater that can be treated in a preventative manner, and the fewer people going for emergency care. This reduces the need for health providers to drive up costs for commercial insurance.<br /><br />The Senate healthcare bill would enable plans like San Francisco's to grow and make American competitive. The real question is whether Obama and Democrats will accede to Republican demands on a do-over or will they try to push this bill through the House. Already, Republicans have delayed or taken illogical positions over the bill. For example, last year the Grassley and Snowe group delayed negotiations. McCain started railing against cutting Medicare a year after he discussed "Medicare reform." <br /><br />There's a great section in Winik's book, The Great Upheaval, about the French revolution. During that time King Louis XVI introduced a whole set of reforms that gave property rights and freedom of speech and representation to the Third Estate. He tried hard to compromise between what was an absolute monarchy and the growing movement towards representative democracy. Many times, decisions took a long time, exacerbating mistrust and tension between the haves and have-nots. Instead of being hailed as a great king, it was seen as a sign of weakness. Times were tough with bread shortages and repression of the populace. Revenue collection was problematic at a time when France was up to its eyeballs in debt over funding the American Revolution.<br /><br />While no one is saying that there will be riots in the streets, there is palpable anger on the far right and left. With partisanship during tough economic times, the type of rapid change that Obama would like to make is difficult. While a number of Republicans would have voted for with a few Democrats voting against the Senate package, compromise in this environment is seen as weakness. Obama has already indicated that they need to <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100120/ap_on_bi_ge/us_health_care_overhaul">start over</a>. This means the status quo will remain.<br /><br />Will this lead to the end of Obama's ability to make great change? After one year, is his ability to govern over? I'd love to hear what you think.Rajiv Parikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003669749163309404noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13131375.post-2704448800131539672009-11-08T20:11:00.000-08:002009-11-08T20:35:23.019-08:00Wall St Keeps Paying OutIn previous <a href="http://rajiv-parikh.blogspot.com/2009/01/time-to-bring-financial-wizards-back-to.html">blog posts</a>, I discussed my disappointment at how banks and Wall Street were continuing to pay themselves excessively. Bonuses keep getting paid at super high levels - there are articles in Time, The NY Times, Newsweek and BusinessWeek. All of this because of the need to retain talent. I'm sorry, I went to school with a lot of these folks. They are good, but not worth millions more than execs in companies large and small who have cut salaries across the board to prevent layoffs.<br /><br />It is clear that the taxpayers saved the hide of these folks. Currently cheap money is keeping these companies profitable. Yes, there is taxpayer self interest because we want to be paid back, but large bonuses take away from paying us back. <br /><br />George Will had it right when he said that no financial institution with taxpayer support should make more than the equivalent government position - about $150k. And yes, that includes firms like Goldman Sachs that have a Federal Reserve backstop. So if they can't police themselves, it is time for the people to step in. I hate to say this, but it is time for a massive tax increase on the wealthy. This kind of stupidity creates massive inequality - the kind of stuff that starts revolutions. <br /><br />Anyone making above $1 million in salary should have to pay a total of 50% in income taxes with no deductions. It comes right off the top with no income tax refund or return. Capital gains are excluded with the exception of anyone who profits off of carried interest (like hedge funds). On top of this, we should have a transaction tax on all financial transaction. This should go into a G20 global financial stability fund to prevent further excesses from bringing down the system.<br /><br />I understand that many may call this liberal, but that's a silly label. Entrepreneurs and legitimate businesspeople are taking real risks, while these financial folks are not showing the kind of restraint and forbearance that they should after almost destroying our financial system. Many of these folks are fighting tooth and nail against regulatory reform which harmonizes rules in a way that benefits consumers and create a level playing field It's time to rebalance the system of risk and reward. A privileged few not be allowed to control our system to their sole benefit.<br /><br />So fix yourselves or the people will fix you.Rajiv Parikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003669749163309404noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13131375.post-16605371469737454962009-08-16T13:19:00.000-07:002009-08-21T23:00:19.501-07:00Healthcare: Where's the Obama Marketing Machine?The news reports discuss boisterous town halls and death panels. "Government is taking over healthcare," say those who peddle fear. There's the 35 year old middle class woman who worries about fairness for the insurance company. Healthcare, an issue that Obama and Clinton ran on, has gotten away from him.<br /><br />As much as the disinformation campaign has wore on, Obama's campaign machine has not shown much luster. Sure, he's doing well on his Facebook and Twitter page, but his folks are not reaching out. Obama acts like he has a coherent message. He is one of the best communicators ever, but his answers are long and complex. Rarely does he break it down as well as he did with his campaign about <span style="font-style: italic;">Change</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Hope</span>. The <span style="font-style: italic;">Yes We Can </span>slogan on every bumper in California.<br /><br />Here's a response from the Smerconish interview on August 2oth on the whether Secretary Sebelius misspoke on the public option. First, Obama addressed her statement. Then, he began to discuss his plan:<br /><br /><blockquote style="font-style: italic;">"We have consistently talked about the need for health care reform because family premiums are going up three times faster than inflation and wages. The costs of Medicare and Medicaid will bankrupt this country if we don't reduce the cost inflation of health care. You've got families who can't get health care because of preexisting conditions or they bump up against some lifetime cap if a family member gets really ill.<br /><br />So what we've said is there are a number of components of health care. One is that for people who already have health insurance, they can keep their health insurance, but we're going to have some consumer protections to regulate how insurers operate. For example, they can't prohibit people from getting it, health insurance, because of a preexisting condition. They can't have lifetime caps or yearly caps that prevent people from getting the care that they need.<br /><br />We're also going -- for people who don't have health insurance -- to set up a system similar to what Congress has, where you can buy into a bigger pool, get better rates, have better protections around you. You would be buying that insurance from private insurers."</blockquote><br />Wow, that's a mouthful, and I'm just quoting a section of the response. President Obama clearly knows what he's talking about, but there are far too many messages. There are far too many words. There are no human interest stories. Too few questions and answers. Then there's no repetition of a few key slogans.<br /><br />There's just no marketing.<br /><br />Imagine if Obama broke down his American Healthcare Security Program into 3 components: Access for All, Lower Costs, High Quality. He could deliver a message that is appealing to the needs of each group and then overall to everyone:<br /><br /><ul><li>Access for All: Everyone gets healthcare. No one is left out in the cold, forced to fend for themselves when emergencies strike or when diseases take their toll. Tell a story about the underemployed family at risk of losing healthcare for their sick kid. The breadwinner is working his out, but is scared of layoffs and not having enough money to pay for his family. If every advanced country in the world can get healthcare, so can we.</li><li>Lower Costs: Americans aren't getting raises because rising costs are forcing businesses to put your raising into exploding healthcare costs. That's money out of your pocket. If everyone has it, then we can get care at a lower cost. Right now, Americans with healthcare are subsidizing those without care. Those who don't have care go to the emergency room for smaller problems that could have been taken care of with a doctor's visit - like a fever or back pain. Or they have an expensive heart surgery when they could have been treated earlier with cholesterol medication and a change in diet. Imagine putting $2,500 in every families pocket because everyone is covered.</li><li>High Quality: America has the best medical technology in the world. We have the best trained doctors and nurses. We have the best information technology. People all around the world come here. Then how come people around the world are living longer than us? Some of you have choices. Most of you don't. You have to take one of a few plans offered by your employer. Many times, you can't go outside your designated provider network. This plan delivers high quality by opening up choice for plans. You can choose one that makes sense for you.<br /></li></ul>Then you can get into details like greater choices through healthcare exchanges, a public option backstop, keeping your current plan, electronic records, saving Medicare, etc. But keep using the benefits over and over. Keep talking about healthcare security and the need for change.<br /><br />Use real people, not policy wonks. Americans were captivated by "Joe the Plumber." Find people who represent real stories and bring them with you. Use their stories and videos to create an emotional connection to the need for reform. Create novellas on each problem and how they would be solved by the 3 features of the Healthcare Security Plan.<br /><br />Right now on <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/">Whitehouse.gov</a>, Obama has a cool Reality Check section. However, the problem is that the answers are by policy wonks in the White House staff. Why not have Obama Ambassadors who look like the people asking the questions, answering questions via video? Go a step further, and have a 24 hour chat response line. I'm sure many of the questions would be repetitious, but imagine the how comforted people would feel by getting their individual questions answered.<br /><br />Then, there would be button to press to inform your Senator or Representative of your support. They would be overwhelmed.<br /><br />President Obama, this is a game you could win. Just go back to those marketing principles you mastered during your successful campaign. And go back to the 3 features and benefits. And pound it until you drown out the din.Rajiv Parikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003669749163309404noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13131375.post-49733355793544409892009-07-04T00:02:00.000-07:002009-07-05T22:42:58.419-07:00California Budget CrisisEvery day I find myself captivated over the California Budget Crisis. It is an incredible showdown. 3 parties going at each other - the governor, the Democrats and the Republicans. They are tied in a knot over this with no compromise or reform in sight. $26 billion and growing caused by a $20 bil+ drop in income and sales tax revenues. When you rely on stock wealth to drive a majority of finances, there's a price to pay. When the rich lose money on the stock market and have their salaries cut, the state suffers. It is supposed to be about progressivity, but instead it creates boom and bust cycles. People say Proposition 13 is the culprit with the essential freeze on property taxes: the need for a 2/3rds vote in 2 house for a budget to make it's way to a government, and the same 2/3rd vote required for tax increase. The idea was to limit fast growing government. Instead it has caused paralysis. Critical reforms never get made. Proposition 13 had great wisdom at the time. It needs to be changed, but it's not the only reason the California budget is a mess.<br /><br />There are gerrymandered districts that ensure the most liberal Democrats and most conservative Republicans get elected. There are term limits that essentially prevent legislators from getting experience in government. Special interests get stronger.<br /><br />Voters then throw in propositions to carve out more and more of the budget. They throw in one to force the state to carve out a % for education. Of course, we love that cause. Then there's one for after school programs to get underprivileged kids off the street. We love that, too. Well then there's tougher sentencing. We got to be safe, so let's build more prisons. Then transportation related fees can only go for transportation projects. That makes sense, doesn't it? Then there's bonds for affordable housing, water projects, hospitals, roads, community colleges, universities and more. All of them are advertised as not requiring more taxes.<br /><br />At some point, we need to make choices. When the rich aren't making as much. When people are losing their jobs and not spending as much, it affects people. Schwarzenegger has made choices - education, cut welfare, child healthcare, elderly homecare and, of course, our parks. He and the legislature did throw those propositions out there to pay for the budget deal - the one with the $15 bil deficit - but no one could understand them, so we voted no.<br /><br />Democrats have tried to put a budget together which cuts $11 billion, raises some taxes, and uses some accounting gimmicks to balance the budget.<br /><br />Republicans refuse to raise taxes saying, well, get $26 billion from the budget. That's a 25% decrease over last year's budget. There may be waste, but is there that much? It's hardly responsible.<br /><br />Now California is issuing IOU's so it doesn't run out of money. In a recession, this is going to hurt more and result in higher interest on future bonds. We end up paying for 0 benefit.<br /><br />The Federal government, acting all cocky and responsible, says it will not help. "Get your act together," they say as they create a $1.7 trillion deficit. So much for the stimulus. What the Feds giveth, the state taketh away.<br /><br />This sounds like a mess with everyone playing a high stakes game of chicken. Someone's going to blink, just not me. They discuss having a Constitutional Convention, but what will they decide on then. Where will the courage come? If it's not here, then where will it come.<br /><br />Well, in my own <a href="http://bit.ly/gDStx">budget game</a> on the LA Times site, I got to balance with $14 bil in cuts and $12 bil in tax increases. I spared much of the poor for more than sympathy - a desperate person can cause harm to himself and others. But there are real cuts across the board. They will hurt. I'm against taxes solely on the wealthy. If people think something is worth paying for, everyone should pay even if the wealthiest ones pay more. With climate change and the need for more efficient cars, we should be taxing gas a lot more. If people want better education, they should let property taxes rise to pay for it. If we want to get out of the constant LA gridlock, we should pay for usage and build mass transit. However, most people run away when they learn there's a cost for what they want.<br /><br />In tough times, governments are supposed to live off their reserve budgets. Operating deficits enable those who are having tough times from going desperate. They keep schools operating and highways humming. However, that's not reality. In flush times, people spend more or offer tax cuts. They don't use the extra revenue to pay down debt or build a savings.<br /><br />The state is ungovernable with all the issues described. It is too diverse. Northern California is far more liberal than the rest of the state. Inland Empire is very conservative. The LA and Orange county area is a mix. Central Valley is a different region altogether. The reason for all these crazy paralyzing rules is because no one trusts each other. In Palo Alto, we can get parcel money for schools and a bond passed for the library. It's because we see the impact. County-wide transportation taxes have passed, because we drive these roads. However, people don't see the personal and collective impact of a lifting of Prop 13, something that would bring greater financial stability.<br /><br />So the showdown continues. Schwarzenneger has until 2010. While there probably are more skillful legislative executive, we chose him. He's decided to push for reform with this crisis. Here are some of my thoughts:<br /><br />This Year's Budget<br />- Go for balancing the budget with no gimmicks or clever accounting tricks<br />- Cut half of the $13 billion across programs, sparing the poor and elderly<br />- Increase taxes to make up the difference: especially gas taxes and auto fees, whatever taxes are raised should be across the Board with progressivity towards the wealthy<br /><br />Future Reforms<br />- Benchmark against other states: California should have economies of scale that others do not have. We should not have the 6th larget tax burden in the country.<br />- End Prop 13, let money raised go directly to school districts. Let locals their own show. Drop the crazy 2/3rds vote. There are 2 houses and an executive veto for a reason.<br />- Every proposition must be paid for through taxes or cutting something. Even better would be to eliminate mandated carve outs for programs regardless of how much we love them<br />- Enact tolls throughout the highway system to pay for mass transit infrastructure. I love my car but I'd love to get around with better transit.<br />- Create a $1 gas tax with 25 cents phased in every year over a 4 year period. Have it improve infrastructure. Long term this drives new business to the state<br />- Push for a better balance of Fed money vs. today's outflow. There's always the threat to break the state into pieces to get more Senate pull. A break up would enable more responsive government.<br /><br />It's unlikely that compromise will be reached. More likely are IOU's, potential bond default, and a Constitutional Convention. It would not be beyond the pale for California to break into multiple states to enable more responsive government. This may be the best solution of all...Rajiv Parikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003669749163309404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13131375.post-62211536156338847252009-06-14T01:12:00.001-07:002009-06-14T01:23:41.427-07:00Position2 - New Logo, New Site, New SolutionsOn Monday June 15, we will be releasing the new Position2 logo, site and solution set. We've been working hard on our technology development and will release a new suite of products based on our Surround and Intent Marketing methodology. These offerings grouped as Online Brand Solutions, Customer Acquisition Solutions and Technology Solutions. <br /><br />Thanks to our current clients who helped us get to this point. Thanks to the Position2 team for burning the midnight oil to put all this together while taking good care of our clients.<br /><br />From Brand Defender to Performance Leads to our Autobid Engine, our suite of products will encompass everything a marketer needs to enable continuous growth in a flat economy. Our offerings are data driven and encompass best-in-class technology developed through real life customer experience. Social Media Marketing, SEO, PPC, media planning & buying, creative and technology are all ingredients to these customer focused solutions. They are baked in together rather than separate activities.<br /><br />So this Monday, feel free to let us know what you think.<br /><br />Best,<br /><br />RajivRajiv Parikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003669749163309404noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13131375.post-47558564541957861262009-06-12T16:05:00.000-07:002009-06-15T08:09:12.116-07:00Preview - Lyris Social Media Marketing Webinar: CPR for Email MarketingThis Wednesday, June 17th, I will be speaking at a Lyris sponsored <a href="https://lyris.webex.com/mw0305l/mywebex/default.do?nomenu=true&siteurl=lyris&service=6&main_url=https%3A%2F%2Flyris.webex.com%2Fec0600l%2Feventcenter%2Fevent%2FeventAction.do%3FtheAction%3Ddetail%26confViewID%3D537594498%26siteurl%3Dlyris%26%26%26">webinar</a>: Social Media Marketing: CPR for Email Marketers in a Challenging Economy<span style="font-style: italic;">. </span>For all those interested in viewing the webinar, I thought I'd give you a preview of the talk. We will focus on the integration of Email Marketing and Social Media Marketing (SMM) in a flat economy. Email marketing is a powerful tool to drive customer acquisition, however there's been a significant impact by increased mailbox sizes, spam filters and the explosion of messaging. We will go beyond the typical examples of how Twitter or a Facebook app can drive people to your site. Rather, the discussion will center around the phenomena of social networks, the rapidly expanding usage, and how email and social media can work together. No, social media will not replace email. With all the different types of messaging, email usage keeps increasing. And it works... how many newsletters do you subscribe to?<br /><br />There will be specific steps, guidance and case examples of this integration in 4 areas: brand building, customer acquisition, customer retention and product launches. The idea is to demonstrate how business of all sizes can achieve continuous growth using both as a means of building and enhancing customer relationships. As customers delay decision cycles, it enhances the brand to surround them with your messaging wherever they goWe will not just discuss the big brands, rather how any business can use this cost effectively to get ahead of their competition. At <a href="http://position2.com/">Position2</a>, we enjoy sharing some of the techniques we've seen and integrated into our solutions.<br /><br />Erick Mott of <a href="http://www.lyris.com/">Lyris </a>will discuss how the Lyris uses social media to enhance their email marketing efforts. He gives an excellent behind-the-scenes look on how Lyris got this webinar to have the largest registration size ever. Let's just say in the thousands. Any company would be happy with that result.<br /><br />Karen McNaughton of <a href="http://www.intouchsurvey.com/">In-Touch Survey Systems</a> will describe how her company uses the Lyris platform to manage her email and social media efforts. It's pretty interesting on how it comes together.<br /><br />We'll take questions as well, so feel free to ask away. As long as you don't ask about how Twitter and Facebook will monetize their efforts, we are happy to answer :). Our objective is to show you how your company can deal with challenging times and dramatically improve their email marketing with SMM to achieve continuous growth. So <a href="https://lyris.webex.com/mw0305l/mywebex/default.do?nomenu=true&siteurl=lyris&service=6&main_url=https%3A%2F%2Flyris.webex.com%2Fec0600l%2Feventcenter%2Fevent%2FeventAction.do%3FtheAction%3Ddetail%26confViewID%3D537594498%26siteurl%3Dlyris%26%26%26">sign up</a> - the hour will be well worth it.Rajiv Parikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003669749163309404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13131375.post-14662156459977037042009-05-09T12:00:00.000-07:002009-05-10T13:25:04.316-07:002009 Running The Relay for Literacy in IndiaThis was my second year in running <a href="http://therelay.com/re_new.htm">The Relay</a>, a 200 relay marathon from Calistoga to Santa Cruz. I ran it on May 2-3 to raise money for the India Literacy Project, an organization that funds literacy and social development programs in India. Given my current job, I did not have the time to raise money like last year, but my friends and family came through in the last minute. We beat my goal. They were incredibly generous. Thanks to them before the run and some after (yes, you still can <a href="http://ilprelay.ning.com/profile/RajivParikh">donate</a>), it made the whole weekend even more fulfilling.<br /><br />18 miles may feel like a lot to most people. For a person who considers that a marathon training run, it doesn't seem all that hard. The difference is the hills. There are lots of them, some fairly steep. Then there's the element of time. You want to run it quickly. You want to pass people. You want to help your team win. You may may say, how can you win at 192nd place. Well, we were in a friendly competition with the other ILP teams. And if we were ahead on time, then we wanted to actually pass them at the finish (they had earlier starts). There's very little sleep over the 33 hour period and there's lot of time spent supporting your team and driving from place to place.<br /><br />We were in Van #2 of Literally Running, so we did not have to drive up Friday night. We got together at 7am at Rina's house. She was our team organizer. Luckily for us, she is uber organized. We didn't have to worry about anything - van, food, water, sleeping arrangement, pain relievers - Rina had it all set up. Plus, she brought her laptop with projected finish times for all of us. Interestingly enough, we were within 15 minutes of her 33 hour projection.<br /><br />Kumar and I knew each other. Other than Rina from last year, I never met the other guys - Raj, Hari and Vinay. It turned out that everyone got along well. It didn't hurt that we had plenty of space in a 15 person van. We were all into the fun of the run and camaraderie of the cause. In 30 short hours, we would get to know each other really well.<br /><br />We got to the First Baptist Church in Napa where we would make the exchange with our Van #1 group. We learned that they were running ahead of schedule. We were as well. We got there at 10 for a 1 pm exchange. That left us with lots of time to hang out, eat cookie and have a spaghetti lunch. I even took a short 15 minute nap on the floor mats.<br /><br />Here's a shot of some of us inside the church with all those delicious donated cookies in the background:<br /><p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://api.ning.com/files/kT6RNKJrhWZC4c91iu9QT7FxP-3oa703bCtbQp2-cM1Ktg8QveC0JMNiC0F5eNyRyMUz5g8Fy*hmeiUskje4fEuD1Imn2qVT/IMG_1115.JPG" alt="" width="400" height="300"/></p><br /><br />It was fun to get going, but I was running <a href="http://www.therelay.com/co_maps_12.htm">leg 12</a>. That means I would get to finish the race, but it also meant a long wait. It was raining all morning and into the day, so I was hoping for a light rain. Luckily the time passed quickly as we would stop and root for our team members. It kept it interesting - stopping every couple of miles, taking pictures and handing off drinks.<br /><br />I got lucky in running <a href="http://www.therelay.com/co_maps_12.htm">leg 12</a> in Petaluma. It was around sunset, so I got the rolling vineyards of Napa Valley just as the rain cleared. Since I was concerned about the wind and relative chilliness, I went with the long sleeve shirt. This leg was considered hard. Not as hard as leg 10 for Hari - very hard, but it had climbs up to 500 feet over the 5 mile leg. I enjoy hills. I love the burn as you grind up a hill. For some reason, there's a sense of fulfillment when you can power up without walking or stopping. I'm more torque than speed - not the fastest in the flats, but give me a good hill any day, and I'm game.<br /><br />Here are a few shots of my first leg - leg 12:<br /><br /><p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://api.ning.com/files/kT6RNKJrhWbaPerJH3qtY3J8eyLyMvvbtEYdELgafwxpEKBYMsqPCs5IIUlWDCqO9S3S0vU4EUCD*XHnAOlqegxGP3DXuKOO/IMG_1150.JPG" alt="" width="400" height="300"/></p><br /><br /><p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://api.ning.com/files/9Q9gZIVP29F2lQRHcaX5-IHFvwjqTn*lqjjg980d9m8*CLrCREX7UsSEvIzoDD1BD*8LMPmJbzXwc0eha7UHSKeSfVWMy3QR/IMG_1168.JPG" alt="" width="400" height="300"/></p><br /><br /><p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://api.ning.com/files/9Q9gZIVP29GO6M*Otv-OxM-Y0MlEQPCd0e7ixCjPiVjL4W3U3hoqbMakW2uJR*7fZueBI116wvxD7ZYfVyfgBm0PGUecPUS9/IMG_1158.JPG" alt="" width="400" height="300"/></p><br /><br />After the handoff at the Marin French Cheese Company, we got out of there quickly to grab dinner at San Francisco. We had a few hours until 12:30 am to get the hand off from Van #1 on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge for our am run. Here's a picture of our team with the Van #2 team of the 3 R's team at the Pasta Pomodoro in SF:<br /><br /><p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://api.ning.com/files/9Q9gZIVP29G3gyzMxO5q2j9cIOcfGP8Mh6*ws*PuTYGl3I7ggLM8n1VLCNSZjsOV12uX0g2H*US5Ie9x6g-6kNvj7kjp7lyg/IMG_1172.JPG" alt="" width="400" height="550"/></p><br /><br />We then went to the Golden Gate bridge to run our next leg. For some reason, I couldn't sleep, so I ended up doing some driving and a lot of support for my teammates. Here's a shot of a handoff between Vinay and Raj at Ocean Beach in SF:<br /><br /><p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://api.ning.com/files/9Q9gZIVP29G*bCXICRWtW5Uh3Er9FEs1ful41YRLfEXdVD8HZCja3CCQnUjCIl*EReFxNw*Kz6PXx4Nk0QVJ*FPgSFQZ8yEK/IMG_1177.JPG" alt="" width="400" height="300"/></p><br /><br />I got to make my run right around sunrise. I couldn't see any sun as it was a fogged in, cloudy, misty morning. But I was fired up to run the 6 miles of <a href="http://www.therelay.com/co_maps_24.htm">leg 24</a>. This was a moderate course that ran along Crystal Lake around the San Mateo area. Even though the wind was blowing, I was fairly warm and just ready to go. I really enjoyed the rolling hills of this one to Canada College. There a great team of women who rooted for me every mile. They were following one of their runners and went to town for me. It's one thing for your team to pull for you. It's another when its just a random group doing it out of the goodness of their heart.<br /><br />Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of that run. I'm sure some of the guys were taking naps. The support was still great. As usual, I got to sprint the finish and hand off to Smita from Van #1.<br /><br />After that, we were close enough to home to eat and sleep at Kumar's house. I got to take my first shower in 24 hours and 2 runs. Then, I took a nap for an hour before we left to the next handoff point up by Skyline for the run through the Santa Cruz mountains.<br /><br />At this point, we were ahead of all the other teams in time, but not in terms of finish. Due to Vinay's amazing run down the hill, we actually had a shot of passing Chai Latte. That would mean beating them by 30 minutes. That became the challenge. To a group that liked having something to shoot for, we now had our goal. As Rina was running, Kumar and I decided we could catch them. Given that Hari was fast, he would set it up. Kumar had leg 35, a hard course through the hills, while I had leg 36 a mostly downhill chase to the finish. Since I enjoy running up hills and have run with Ajit (my friendly competitor at Chai Latte), I felt I could come close. We figured he would run all the way through the first 4 miles, then walk up the last couple where the hills were steep. Then Kumar could close the deal.<br /><br />I did as much as I could. I did well on the first hill. After that, I was surprised at how steep down it went. I passed a number of folks, but I became uncomfortable. I don't usually like to go that fast because I don't want to burn out too early. It's all about conserving energy. Still I let gravity guide me. Maybe it was the rain or some other glitch, but my running meter was off. This time on the low side. I had no idea how much longer I would go down or what my real speed was. I use this typically to slow myself down and prepare for the hills. These sorts of things play with your head, but I tried my best to put it out of my mind. I finally hit the hills, and it was even harder than I thought. I tried to run all the way up, but had to walk. It was simply too steep. My team was very supportive all the way through. They told me everyone was walking up. In the past, I would still want to run up, but this time, I just said to myself to do what I could do and conserve energy. Don't get overly obsessed. There was a ways to go and it was more important to enjoy the ride rather than beat some silly time. So I walked as long as it made sense and took in the amazing scene. It was like walking the misty woods in New Hampshire - only with redwoods instead of pine. Then I ran after I caught my breath. And I was able to make my normal sprint to the finish to hand off to Kumar. Here are some shots.<br /><br /><p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://api.ning.com/files/WJZi8NpgkDpabb*Li83h*NaeUtOYIznB55R19JaHjJYzCJ7vIf5uVQI0Ggqpnd8i6Fh-ADQjkVgx2r1c*FtchLVwwoMA5meK/IMG_1192.JPG" alt="" width="400" height="300"/></p><br /><br /><p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://api.ning.com/files/WJZi8NpgkDrOTKcuW44BgilHdvYPUMr-dMgz8MZ0qOh9VA3MOGyJrfGBt2w8yQPGdcR44AurswItSgEuIIWomTDfeQRm8lEt/IMG_1217.JPG" alt="" width="400" height="300"/></p><br /><br /><p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://api.ning.com/files/WJZi8NpgkDpyEo313TwwLzJ4-0Vx8-Xm34V-Wo2U3Mqv21I3OygaNWC2v76Y4VsO5CtUHIUT2m6MFYdNktpcPhLPhqWh3BVT/IMG_1209.JPG" alt="" width="400" height="300"/></p><br /><br />After the handoff to Kumar, we made our way to the finish. The excitement of the race overtook him. As a fellow overachiever, Kumar ran way too hard on the downhill, and fought his way to the finish. Hari and I ran with him for the last half mile to cross the finish line.<br /><br /><p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://api.ning.com/files/WJZi8NpgkDpU6en6KmmUo2VJ1kiD4LPsR6X4THIDmWa4DdSJS1Qqv7pI1SQn12-bU2VVjzcfCqQbsmB4Ogfb65cUa5NGU5OD/IMG_1227.JPG" alt="" width="400" height="300"/></p><br /><br />After 33 hours, we finished. It was an amazing adventure. It was full of all kinds of challenges. We met all sorts of folks and enjoyed ourselves. Doing something like this is always fun with a dedicated group of people. You train harder and get to know interesting people. Most of all, you get to help a great cause.<br /><br />Here are some finish line pics of Van #2 and the whole Literally Running Team. Someone else got the whole group.<br /><br /><p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://api.ning.com/files/WJZi8NpgkDrMInV9ZlPqZEx*GzKi*tqSv1QoDb3y4DkAE4FTj5bAb6V0P8pfuUmu0DBMGIoIyyiAWyraJfv2rJD34MRGF6iF/IMG_1235.JPG" alt="" width="400" height="300"/></p><br /><br /><p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://api.ning.com/files/WJZi8NpgkDrOmN4B8i2IIuNwleC2mmlszT4cB3VyWuGLy5Cmq74daEY*-2m4RByL4TQGoCeQJUNkqrEpLiB1Kq*viTUr*j2E/IMG_1236.JPG" alt="" width="400" height="300"/></p><br /><br />If anyone wants to join us next year, let us know. And yes, you can still <a href="http://ilprelay.ning.com/profile/RajivParikh">donate.</a>Rajiv Parikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003669749163309404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13131375.post-68319376417656700012009-04-27T22:24:00.000-07:002009-04-27T23:10:06.025-07:00Sponsor Rajiv's Run for LiteracyThis is my second year running the <a href="http://www.therelay.com/">The Relay</a>, a 199 mile, 12 member team run from Calistoga to Santa Cruz. My cause is literacy, specifically the India Literacy Project. I had such an amazing time last year running 18 miles that I just had to do it again - along with 59 of my running friends. Please help me make a difference.<br /><b><br />Why am I doing this?</b><br />Beyond being a glutton for punishment, I am volunteering for the <a href="http://www.ilpnet.org/">India Literacy Project (ILP)</a>, an organization that promotes literacy in India. My goal is to raise more than we did last year because the need is greater and impact is tremendous.<br /><br />Literacy is a powerful tool of personal and community development. If you can take one child and teach them to read and write, you can change their world. That child does not have to live a life of hard labor or be blind to all the amazing books that he or she can read. She can learn on her own, teach her kids and make her life better than her parents. She may even be the next great scientist or entrepreneur.<br /><br />Look at this <a href="http://www.ilpnet.org/Bellary">ILP sponsored project</a>. ILP is funding a mass scale literacy project touching thousands of children in 225 villages. This will be done for $40k or $200 per village! How often can you have so much leverage to make a big difference? It truly shows how every contribution helps - large or small.<br /><br />The literacy rate in India is less than 60%. Projects supported by ILP include: educating kids forced into child labor, providing vocational training to unskilled youth and building functional skills for illiterate adults. Over the last eighteen years, ILP has distributed over $1.5 million benefiting 100,000 women & children.<br /><br /><b>Make a difference</b><br />Please join me in helping the India Literacy Project. So drop in that credit card and pour your heart out. When you do, I'll even go out of my way to thank you publicly :).<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://ilprelay.ning.com/profile/RajivParikh">Click here to sponsor</a>. </span><span>Scroll down when you reach the page.</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /></span><span>And yes, your donation is 100% tax deductible.</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><br /><br />Thank you!Rajiv Parikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003669749163309404noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13131375.post-81217567942280200092009-04-20T00:01:00.000-07:002009-07-09T00:12:40.981-07:00Taking the PlungeIn honor of the title of my blog, I've decided to quote every article that has "take the plunge" or a close derivative. Think of this like a drinking game. If you find an article, send it to me and take a shot of Petrone.<br /><br />First, the definition from <a href="http://www.thefreedictionary.com/take+the+plunge">thefreedictionary.com</a>:<br /><br /><div class="idmseg"> <b><i>take the plunge</i></b> <i>Informal</i> <div class="ds-single"> To begin an unfamiliar venture, especially after hesitating: <span class="illustration">After a three-year engagement, they're finally taking the plunge.<br /><br />Now the articles:<br />* <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/09/opinion/09thur1.html">The Governor's Mr. Fix-It </a>- NY Times editorial - July 9, 2009<br /></span>"We don’t know yet whether it was legal, but Gov. David Paterson of New York was right to <span style="font-style: italic;">take the plunge</span> and name a lieutenant governor in an effort to break the increasingly damaging stalemate in Albany."<br /><span class="illustration"><br />* <a href="http://www.freep.com/article/20090517/FEATURES07/905170303">Take the plunge at amusement parks</a> - Detroit Free-Press - May 17, 2009<br /></span>"Beware the Diamondback, the new steel roller coaster <a itxtdid="7898028" target="_blank" href="http://www.freep.com/article/20090517/FEATURES07/905170303#" style="border-bottom: 1px solid black ! important; font-weight: normal ! important; font-size: 100% ! important; text-decoration: none ! important; padding-bottom: 0px ! important; color: black ! important; background-color: transparent ! important; background-image: none; padding-top: 0pt; padding-right: 0pt; padding-left: 0pt;" classname="iAs" class="iAs"><nobr style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%;" id="itxt_nobr_0_0"></nobr></a>at Kings Island that plunges at 80 miles per hour into the Lagoon of Doom." Almost literal.<br /><span class="illustration"><br />* <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/space/04/27/falling.into.black.hole/">Astronomers take virtual plunge into black hole</a> - CNN.com - April 27, 2009<br />New word - "spaghettification." That's what happens if you fall in one, seriously.<br /></span></div></div><br />* <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090419/pl_nm/us_summit_americas_30">Obama sees signs of better Cuba and Venezuela ties</a> - April 19, 2009<br />"Obama took a plunge into Latin America ... We created a new way of viewing each other and of overcoming our differences by debating them," Lula (Brazilian President) told reporters."<br /><br />* <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102333325">Despite Challenges, Doctors Take Digital Plunge</a> - npr.org - March 25, 2009<br />Despite these concerns, she (Dr. Fishman) and her partners have decided to take the plunge. "As of May," she says, "we will no longer have paper. If anything is on paper, it will go on computer."Rajiv Parikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003669749163309404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13131375.post-6154542571025432762009-04-12T12:23:00.000-07:002009-04-12T13:25:18.065-07:007 Steps to Wealth While Killing StartupsI know this entrepreneur who has made himself wealthy while his companies have never caught fire. In fact most have or will die - not necessarily because the idea is bad, but because this entrepreneur unconsciously kills the company. People live their lives in patterns and this person is no different. So for my friend who asked me to send this as an email, I will instead put it into a post:<br /><br />7 Steps:<br /><br />1. Ideation: come up with an idea that matches some current or emerging trend. Talk it up with the network. Get a bunch of people excited.<br />2. Pre-funding: get angels in or put some of your money in. This is critical for the next step.<br />3. Funding: get friends and angels to push a fund to put significant money in. Critical to this transaction is to take "some" of your money off the table to "allow" the fund to buy in.<br />4. Buildup: hire management, build up the product or service. In fact, keep hiring "better" because it keeps existing people literally on their toes.<br />5. Slash back: as soon as the concept is ready in beta form, slash back - cut people and spending. The buildup was excessive, the released product is not ready or the pricing needs to be slashed - pick one or multiple - even use the "economy." Then, put in significant constraints on whoever is left in the company. Definitely do not invest in any significant marketing.<br />6. New Ideation: the previous idea did not take hold, not enough people are using it, the trend has passed. Kill it while talking up the new new idea.<br />7. Rinse and repeat, but do it fast enough so people don't wonder what happened to your previous concepts. Each time you are making money, so judging success or is difficult.<br /><br />Do you know anyone like this? This person is always into the new thing. His or her superbright mind is always churning. They are uber salespeople and networkers, but not necessarily ones that can create successes. Since we all tend to stay within existing patterns, I'm sure there are many. Please share your story.Rajiv Parikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003669749163309404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13131375.post-7415528136254144672009-04-02T09:35:00.000-07:002009-04-08T19:12:03.009-07:00G20 Adopts Obama Marketing<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_-AChKUxURtcs9yhq1-prBbnKZYM4hO9DLLLXcKl4AWglvA6UCJaIeKTVXY6CIWEL8B-2eesW2B22GAuUzlokZa9qaBznDLuEI0gxsbVEX1pK_59zzkdInb6W4t0bADDYEMoFLA/s1600-h/G20.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 231px; height: 173px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_-AChKUxURtcs9yhq1-prBbnKZYM4hO9DLLLXcKl4AWglvA6UCJaIeKTVXY6CIWEL8B-2eesW2B22GAuUzlokZa9qaBznDLuEI0gxsbVEX1pK_59zzkdInb6W4t0bADDYEMoFLA/s320/G20.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320183909699412146" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/209374-treasury-secretary-timothy-geithner.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 254px; height: 165px;" src="http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/209374-treasury-secretary-timothy-geithner.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Have you noticed the signs Obama administration talks? When Treasury Secretary Geithner presents anything there's the blue banners with words like "Reform," "Recovery," "Stability." Check out the recent G20 meeting. Not only do they want you to know about the subject of the meeting, but they also want you to know that they are about "Stability," "Growth," and "Jobs."<br /><br />You have to love how good our President is in marketing himself when the world adopts his methods. You have to love a marketing oriented president.<br /><br />I think I'm going to have a placard when I speak at events - Rajiv Parikh, CEO - Amazing, Sharp, Buy.Rajiv Parikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003669749163309404noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13131375.post-47063743329261411032009-03-28T19:24:00.000-07:002009-03-28T19:52:40.872-07:00VC Saga: A New BeginningIn an entrepreneur's life every day is truly a new day. Yesterday may have been a disaster, but today can bring a new high. Well, for my friendly entrepreneur, yesterday was a fabulous day (see article <a href="http://rajiv-parikh.blogspot.com/2008/12/trust-me-said-vc.html">one</a> and <a href="http://rajiv-parikh.blogspot.com/2008/12/vc-saga-part-2.html">two</a> of this saga). Though rejected when the groom did not show at the altar, this entrepreneur kept right on pitching. She was rewarded with a new term sheet - a new lease on life! It was a time to celebrate anew, especially in a tight credit market where investors are scared to touch anything new (we're celebrating tonight).<br /><br />It is a credit to my friend and her team that they found a way to draw inside themselves to keep moving on. The engineers and scientists did whatever they could, working in garages and donated laboratories to move the technology along. She had done this before. There was a whole group of folks that weren't going to give up because one VC acted like an idiot. If virtual paper pitch was not good enough, at least they could show technical progress. The more progress, the more likely things would work out. Not only did they make progress, some of the new discoveries are brand new to science. Yeah, it's that cool. It will solve a significant medical testing issue that can impact every budding family.<br /><br />It's a new VC this time. This one is truly early stage that is associated with a much larger one. They have a strong, supportive track record. Given that the entrepreneur shamed the previous VC to pay legal costs for not coming through (a first), there's even a little upside in the process.<br /><br />Now, this is not over yet. A term sheet does not mean money in the bank, and lightning can strike. However, if you truly believe and make the right connections, eventually you're company will get off the ground. It won't be the fairy tale that the press likes to dream up (like the silly pez dispenser stuff), but you'll get there. Even in a down economy!Rajiv Parikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003669749163309404noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13131375.post-63511255313878951892009-03-09T22:42:00.000-07:002009-03-10T00:10:47.297-07:00Optimism and the EconomyFor those who are looking for some good news, this is a great little opinion piece on the bright side of the economy by Justin Fox of Time Magazine. It's called <a href="http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1883384_1883403_1883401,00.html">"Call Me Mr. Sunshine." </a> Since the magazine has sliced up the article to force you to look at 6 pages of ads, here's a little summary below (with some of my thoughts)<br /><br />1. The stock market is no longer overpriced.<br />Justin says that because stocks are way down, they have essentially priced in the ugliest economic scenario. Stocks are fairly priced or "downright cheap." He's right there are stocks like Cisco with a P/E ratio of 10 or GE at 4.8. They may fall, but the prospect for a turnaround is great now than ever. Having the falling knives dulled? You might want to play with modest amounts priced in over time, or wait. I like the idea of wedging in.<br /><br />2. The government is on the case.<br />"Don't laugh." Compared to the Great Depression or Japan's Lost Decade, the US authorities are taking action. Depending on how you look at it, there's over $2 trillion on stimulus from the US alone. That does not include lower gas prices and the diplomacy dividend from being friendly to rogue governments.<br /><br />3. Consumers are adjusting to the new economic reality - and fast.<br />Americans are adjusting quickly. Savings rates have gone from negative to 5% in January. Eventually, people will buy things. When you go from buying 16 million cars a year to 10 million, eventually your car will break and you'll have to buy a new one. The bottom line is when a contraction is rapid, there's a greater chance of a bounceback. Having a savings rate is actually a good thing in the long term as is staying within your means. Now, I've heard many arguments about how because of the credit and foreclosure crises, that somehow this one is different. I also remember hearing in 2000 how the internet was the end of the business cycle. <br /><br />4. Reinvention and change are what the US is all about.<br />This is a distinctly American strength - the flexibility of people and the economy. Americans are willing to be retrained, to relocate, to try something new. We have moved from manufacturing to services. While real estate and financial services were prominent before, it does not mean success comes only through those fields. Something new always springs forth. Fox points out that the unfair advantage of the US is the strength of the dollar as a reserve currency.<br /><br />5. OK, so I couldn't think of a fifth reason. Maybe you have one to spare?<br />Fox doesn't have a fifth, other than to say he was a pessimist in 2007 and 2008. I would say there are some other encouraging signs - the reemergence of commercial paper, GE's ability to issue bonds, WalMart same store sales going up, and the support of the new administration. For the latter, it shows that Americans are optimistic about their new leader. The value of one party in power is that the rules tend to be known. From a policy and regulatory standpoint, there is less of the normal back-and-forth. When there's certainty, businesses will find a way to make money.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">And optimism is what gets money flowing again...</span>.Rajiv Parikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003669749163309404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13131375.post-53700136892699305222009-02-26T03:43:00.000-08:002009-03-04T14:42:30.044-08:00Creating a Culture of ResponsibilityAfter listening to years of happy talk, it is great to see that Pres. Obama is confronting America's <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/27/us/politics/27web-budget.html?hp">problems</a> in a straightforward way with honest solutions to address them. I especially appreciate his 10 year budget which includes costs for wars, health care and bailout money. He includes the sunset of tax cuts for those families over $250k and additional increases. The Bush administration loved to have it both ways - have a tax cut with all sorts of "unanticipated" expenses like the continual supplementary authorizations for the war in Iraq or spending on hurricane relief while lowering the overall perceived deficit even though they wanted the tax cuts to go on forever. It was a mirage designed to fool Wall Street and Main Street.<br /><br />At the same time, there is still a ways to go. Social Security tax surpluses are still included in the budget "reducing" the perceived deficit by over $100 billion. This trick was put in during the Johnson administration and needs to be removed. We also need to account for all the risks taken on with things like the Medicare, bank, pension and farm insurance. If we expect companies to account for future liabilities today, we should be honest with ourselves of the cost of them and account for them appropriately. If we plan to put execs in jail for deceptive accounting, our government officials should be accountable as well.<br /><br />Americans want universal health care, infrastructure spending, and carbon caps to reduce greenhouse gases. We want the best military in the world with presence all over the world to promote our agenda. We want the best educational system as well as investments in cutting edge R&D. We want to get out from foreign oil dependence and we want to build new transmission lines to remotely sourced renewable energy.<br /><br />At the same time we want to reduce taxes on working Americans while taxing wealthy Americans and corporations. This may make sense as a balancing act, but it still produces massive deficits. We need to bring in a new culture of responsibility. There's no such thing as something for nothing.<br /><br />If we want to spend on infrastructure while improving efficiency, we need to increase taxes on oil. CAFE limits are interesting but they are really a dodge. Nothing works better than higher gas prices to push people to buy more fuel efficient cars or use mass transit.<br /><br />If we want renewable energy, we need to tax carbon emissions and push for renewable energy minimums. That will cost more for users of energy now to build solar and wind farms as well as the transmission capacity. However, it will incent us for energy efficiency now, net future reduction in foreign oil imports and slow the impact of climate change.<br /><br />If you want universal health care and be more competitive as a nation, saddling businesses with the cost of health care only pushes companies to go to lower cost countries. And yes, that includes Canada where businesses do not have to worry about that burden. Americans pay for healthcare one way or another - in the form of lower wages, higher product costs and higher taxes to cover those who use "free" emergency care. The money has to come from somewhere. If we increased our personal taxes and eliminated this cost to companies, more companies would set up operations in the US. They may pay workers more. With health insurance costing $8k per family, if a worker makes $40k per year, that's 20% on top of at least 10% in Social Security, Medicare and other benefits. Simply because it is "hidden" to the worker does not mean it is not there. All businesses factor that into decision-making on personnel compensation cost and in terms of where to locate. We know we need more preventative care to reduce overall costs and the only way to get there is to make it universal. It will cost more now, but will pay off in the future. We just need to make it more transparent because there is no such thing as free care. Not only that, the current system confers advantages to large companies over small ones because their health care cost per worker is lower. It is nothing to do with product or service innovation. If we want to encourage entrepreneurship because it is the greatest source of new jobs, we need to equalize some of the advantages of scale.<br /><br />If you want free universal preschools, lower class sizes, better teachers, then we all should pay for it. We want college for all those who can afford it. We know that in the long term we all win by having a more educated and innovative workforce, so we should be willing to pay. This would also encourage knowledge intensive companies to locate here because they want to access clusters of well-educated workers. And we should be open to giving visas to immigrants who get higher education degrees here. They help to raise the bar for all of us.<br /><br />We are spending over $500 billion on base defense costs in 2009. This does not include another $140 billion for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. We spend far more on defense than the world combined. Our troops and ships are in over 100 countries and in every sea. This an invaluable contribution to world peace and commerce. But isn't it time for other countries to pay their fair share. We should be the best in technology and ability to fight, but do we really need to be buying F22 fighter jets at $350 mil a piece? Especially since they require so much maintenance that they are only available 60% of the time.<br /><br />Obama has been offering Americans straight talk, but we need to pay for the things we want. A $8 reduction in weekly tax per worker reduced taxes by $250 billion. $8 a week is not a lot of money. Maybe, it buys a couple unhealthy meals at McDonalds. Do we really change our spending behavior based on this? Wouldn't we be better off in increasing our taxes by the $8, so we can pay for all of these initiatives. Aren't these investments going to net us great benefits for the future?<br /><br />As I travel the world, I see other countries ahead of the US in infrastructure and education. In Europe, mass transit is a dream - it's clean and efficient, no need for a car. In Singapore and Thailand, you should see the roads and buildings in big cities. The airports in China, Japan and Korea are awe-inspiring. In India, there are gleaming corporate centers filled with super smart hard working people willing to work all day and night.<br /><br />If we want to continue as a prosperous nation, we need to get out of the something for nothing mentality and start realistically investing in our future. Obama has taken an amazing first step. He has the gift of speaking in a way that is realistic while inspiring hope. Now, I hope he will now take us all the way.Rajiv Parikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003669749163309404noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13131375.post-66792659397203090912009-01-31T20:41:00.000-08:002009-01-31T22:43:39.550-08:00Time to Bring Financial Wizards Back to EarthWhen you read today's Wall Street Journal about the <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123336341862935387.html">outrage over Wall Street bonuses,</a> there's a telling quote at the end:<br /><br />"From 2002 to 2008, the five biggest Wall Street securities firms paid an estimated $190 billion in bonuses. Those companies churned out $76 billion in combined profits during the same period. Last year, the companies had a combined net loss of $25.3 billion, yet paid bonuses of roughly $26 billion."<br /><br />That means securities firms would have broken even had they done what most responsible firms would do - rein in controllable expenses. When you are burning investor cash, you need to find a way to make a profit, not overpay people who are losing money for you. However, Wall Street doesn't work that way, they think they actually deserve multi-million dollar bonuses for their work. They say they work a tremendous amount of work and have specialized knowledge. Well, given the unbelievable damage they have caused the world economy, that specialized knowledge was not so valuable after all.<br /><br />I know I'm going to get in trouble here as a number of my friends have made fortunes on Wall Street. I have a lot of respect for those in the investment banking and financial field, but it's about time the field gets called out for its abuses.<br /><br />In one of his famous letters to shareholders, Warren Buffett discussed how financial executives were not creating value with derivatives and hedge funds as much as they were simply moving money around and taking more for themselves. First came the financial advisor, then the mutual fund manager, then the hedge fund manager. At at stage, the financial manager, would move around the same investments, continually taking more for himself. Derivatives were extreme forms of this practice as they were highly leveraged to supercharged returns with little clarity of the underlying risk.<br /><br />I will acknowledge that efficiency reduces interest rates by providing greater transparency and assessment of risk. However, as an electrical engineer who used to take electives like multidimensional calculus of imaginary number for fun, even I had a hard time understanding the models. I have a feeling that these folks used complex spreadsheets that spit a decision without knowing what they were doing.<br /><br />There was so much money to be made that instead of going into electrical engineering, our top minds went into financial engineering. When I heard that 1st year Harvard MBA's were going paid $350k to go into hedge funds, you knew there was a problem. Real engineers create new products and technologies that transform our lives. Financial engineers move money around - valuable - but its not like creating the next generation solar array or the Dreamliner. For a while there, people thought that becoming the financial and retail center of the world was the way to go. The last year has shown us how dangerous that is.<br /><br />Financial supermarkets like Citibank and Bank of America have been widely discredited. Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, and Bear Stern has shown the disaster of overleverage. AIG - that's $150 billion of taxpayer money - and still going.<br /><br />Obama labelled executive bonuses as, "Outrageous!" It is my hope that this is the beginning of a new era. We will reconsider our devotion to these financial gods who create exotic ways of manufacturing money out of whole cloth.<br /><br />My message to you: No, you do not deserve extraordinary compensation when you need a taxpayer bailout. You failed and must be held accountable. Saying that, "Nobody saw this coming," is a lame excuse. For years, you've been claiming millions of dollars in wealth for working for brand names while shifting money around. You've demanded accountability from the companies you invest in. It's time to take some of your own message. You too, Robert Rubin. I love your service for the Clinton administration, but you sat by at Citibank allowing the firm to use diversification to create even greater risk.<br /><br />I love Sen McCaskill's new bill limiting bailout executive compensation to beneath Pres Obama's pay. That's no more than $400k in overall comp. As mentioned in my previous blog, it should be lower - like $200k. These corporations are riskless. They have the US government as a backstop. It's hard to argue that the CEO of Bank of America is worth more than the Defense Secretary. Robert Gates is responsible for America's security. Kenneth Lewis runs one of many big banks. It's a bank that needs to be broken up. One bad decision and we all pay. Maybe we should use the bailout money to seed fund the start-up of new banks. Maybe they will actually lend with reasonable underwriting standards.<br /><br />John Thain is a true fraud. Earlier, he saved the NYSE, but decided to cash in at Merrill. He attempted to ensure traders and execs got bonuses while Merrill lost $15 bil in a quarter. Let's not even talk about the $1 million in furnishing his office. And who is backstopping these losses - not Bank of America - it's the United States of America.<br /><br />Since Obama did not take money from corporations and PACs, he can truly lead a change of culture. Move away from crony capitalism where the richer can lobby and pay their way to get richer. Move to a culture where real innovation is rewarded and excessive pay is diminished. Rather than putting limit on compensation, bring back high marginal tax rates. For income over $1 mil/year bring back the 50% marginal tax rate. You made that money because the US system gave you an advantage. There are soldiers around the world protecting your ability to make wealth. Your access to government officials enable you to get special tax and business breaks. You have a legal framework to ensure that contracts are actually enforced. It's your responsibility to pay for the system that provides you that benefit. I'm not talking about capital gains on a startup - those investors and management create real value without government officials bailing them out. I'm talking about the proponents of the supposed death tax.<br /><br />The free ride is over - it's time to change.Rajiv Parikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003669749163309404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13131375.post-30544130258212324122009-01-27T16:00:00.001-08:002009-01-27T16:52:40.989-08:00Update to the Position2 TeamIn the spirit of openness, I wanted to share an email I sent to the Position2 team. It's been edited a little to protect confidentiality and add context. Given the market uncertainty, I wanted my team to understand my thoughts. We have realigned our focus and have made cuts. And the same time we are adding business and people. Sound confusing? Well, read on.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Position2 Team,</span><br />Many of you heard from your manager about the recent changes at Position2. I wanted to update you on what is occurring in the company, especially in terms of what we see in the market.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Market Storm</span><br />Everywhere you read, everywhere you look, the news is ugly. Banks in trouble, companies laying off or slashing payrolls, consumers not buying, foreclosures up, venerable auto and retail firms at risk of bankruptcy or liquidation. It does not matter if it’s in the US, Europe, India, Russia or the Bahamas – it’s everywhere. The global economy has not diversified risks. It has only magnified them. It used to be fun every morning to read the Wall Street Journal. Now, I read a book about something else as every news article is a rehash the same thing. We discussed this when I was in Bangalore. It has definitely impacted Silicon Valley. Companies are not getting funded. Many are just being cut off by their backers. You can go to my blog to read about a personal saga of an entrepreneur I know well. There are storms and there are storms. This one is one of those once every century ones.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Impact on Us</span><br />Our market is impacted. Online ad spend has been projected to slow its growth, however the reality has been quite different. Even those who have successful campaigns have cut back (with some notable exceptions). The constant stream of bad news has caused businesses to pause and cut back in one of the easiest (though not smartest) places – marketing and vendors. We have been in various talks with firms looking to break their arrangement with us. Luckily, our agreements were well written enough and performance strong enough to provide a strong defense and favorable resolution. Many of the deals we were going after either slowed or stopped decision-making altogether. We are not out of the woods completely, but it is stabilizing. We do have a strong client base that is mixed across a variety of industries, because of our performance, there are growth opportunities with them especially as the market stabilizes.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Aligning our Cost Base</span><br />In this market with limited funding opportunities and uncertainties in the market, we needed to be solidly in cash flow positive. To get there we have instituted an x% pay cut with a new bonus program. In this program, for every cash flow positive quarter our team will receive y% of the net positive cash flow in a proportionate manner. This will be paid on a quarterly basis and replaces all other bonus programs. While many companies have simply cut at greater levels, we believe that this will allow us the ability to work together to not only earn back our pay, but exceed it.<br /><br />We have also realigned our sales and marketing effort. The team is a little leaner, but more effective. Our team has identified and are pursuing a number of significant opportunities.<br /><br />These moves keep us solidly in cash flow positive territory. This is a shift from our previous focus on faster growth through direct clients. That does not mean will not hire or spend money – we definitely will. We need certain hires to support client or company development initiatives. We need to improve our infrastructure to increase productivity and communications internally and externally. It simply means we all need to be careful about how we spend our money and aligns all of our collective interests.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Future Outlook – We Will Flourish</span><br />Because of our cost base and our diversification, we have excellent prospects for the future. With a strong investor in Accel, we are getting excellent leads. We continue to market across our network. Given our search and social media marketing experience and company infrastructure, we are focusing more strongly towards agencies. In the past, many of the agencies we worked with too small and unsophisticated about this space. Now, we are reaching larger players who know this space, have hiring freezes and margin pressure. Recently we closed major internet brand for search marketing services. We also closed on a major project with a significant search marketing agency. We are also engaged with other large agency players. Online advertising and marketing services is a relationship-based sale. You cannot simply advertise reputation, features and prices as in traditional marketing, people need to know you. It’s our job to enhance that through programs that help people understand who we are and how we think. That’s where Position2 marketing comes in – we all need to be engaged in it: blogging, social networking, speaking at conferences, participating in industry forums, etc. One person can’t do it all, we all have to help.<br /><br />The best news now is the US has a President who has broad support the world. The best thing Obama can do is instill confidence in the future, so that decisions can finally be made. There are some signs of a turn in a stabilizing stock market, increases in home sales and a large worldwide stimulus package. I personally have raised money during the 2000 tech bust and have seen recessions where US unemployment, interest rates and inflation were at double digits - even worse than today. Just as oil prices could not go up linearly forever, nor will people and businesses continue to withhold purchasing and stop innovation. Great companies were started in previous downturns – GE, Cisco, Microsoft, HP and Disney. There's no reason to believe that this recession will be different<br /><br />We certainly can flourish – and we will.<br /><br />Go Position2!<br /><br />-RajivRajiv Parikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003669749163309404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13131375.post-26310142660883272562008-12-11T23:51:00.000-08:002008-12-12T00:10:18.980-08:00VC Saga - Part 2The other day, I wrote about the entrepreneur that had the funding pulled after final docs were done. The saga continues. She called the partner on the deal and requested legal expense reimbursement. The VC kept talking about "trust" and their long list of satisfied entrepreneurs. The least they could do is pay for legal expenses incurred for deal negotiation and IP diligence. Since every VC attorney needs to run up fees on a "standard" deal negotiating all kinds of "critical items," this entrepreneur had a $75k bill. She had to either had to pay, shut the company down/restart, or negotiate to have the next funder pay for it (ha-ha).<br /><br />The VC responded with a whole bunch of excuses like this was against their "corporate" policy and that the next VC could move through the deal faster. However, this entrepreneur had been around the block a few times and called him out on it. Every VC's counsel has all sorts of issues in every supposedly standard document. And IP diligence is completely custom. People embarrassed themselves by quitting then coming back to their jobs because they were assured that diligence was completed and the wire was ready.<br /><br />At this point the entrepreneur was waiting for a further discussion with the senior partner...<br /><br />Till next time....<br /><br />Here's some other related items I will blog about:<br /><br />- My friend who just did an inside round that washed out founders and previous investors.<br />- My view on the big business vs entrepreneurial risk<br />- Why these Preferred terms need to be eliminated<br />- Some positive outcomes of this recessionRajiv Parikhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003669749163309404noreply@blogger.com0