tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109503002012-02-01T22:37:03.459-05:00A Gathering Place for Entrepreneurial EngineersJack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.comBlogger3181100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-69677114507259799552012-01-14T12:49:00.001-05:002012-01-14T12:49:47.471-05:00<DIV dir=ltr> <DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> <DIV>I've been poking at the edges of technology and business opportunities for software agent technology for quite a number of years now, but have been very hesitant to pull the trigger and actually try to do something to realize the potential of all of the grand visions of agents. Initially it had all seemed so promising, and that remains true, but so much of it has been more of a research program with tangible results always tantalyzingly out of reach. But, now, I'm finally at the point where I am seriously considering whether enough of the requisite technology components may be in place to at least start to move forward. I'm still not convinced or decided, but it at least feels a lot more encouraging than at any point in the past 15 years, other than the initial euphoria I had back in 1997.</DIV> <DIV>&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV>When I step back and look at all of the pieces of technology that would be required to come together to implement true intelligent agents or at least functional, industrial-strength software agents, the view is breathtaking and quite daunting. There is still tons of hard-core research needed and a lot of the technology is simply not ready for prime time.</DIV> <DIV>&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV>But lately I've been taking a slightly different perspective, and trying to focus on identifying a realistic subset of the vision and technology that I actually could make very real progress on in the here and now. I've made some great progress and this approach looks promising, but there is still too much that is still vague and foggy.</DIV> <DIV>&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV>There are two critical questions that I face: 1) have I identified a small enough subset of the problem that I can actually implement in fairly short order, and 2) will that subset have the critical mass needed to be successful from both a technology and marketing perspective.</DIV> <DIV>&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV>Unfortunately, this whole area is still highly speculative and even if I can and do build a product, it would be more of "a solution in search of a problem" than a clear market need that I can simply plug in to fill. That is probably the biggest concern holding me back on the business side of the equation.</DIV> <DIV>&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV>Ultimately, I may simply decide that I could build something, but then decide not to.</DIV> <DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Or, I may decide that I will learn enough from the experience and accumulate enough valuable technology buzz words to put on my resume that the technology effort may be more than worth the business risk.</DIV> <DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Right now, my bias is towards starting to write some code next week.</DIV> <DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">I'm also currently looking around for some new consulting or contracting work and struggling with the question of whether I'd rather have the certainty of a decent income versus the risk of pursuing a new technology venture. I really would prefer the latter, but I simply do not yet have a solid fix on success in that direction that I would be willing to bet the farm on.</DIV> <DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><BR>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@BaseTechnology.com">Jack Krupansky</A></DIV></DIV></DIV><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-6967711450725979955?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-71125378407822723392011-12-03T13:25:00.001-05:002011-12-03T13:25:13.849-05:00<DIV dir=ltr> <DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> <DIV>There was an interesting commentary by Jena McGregor on Barney Frank's management/leadership style in <EM>The Washington Post</EM> entitled "<A href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-leadership/post/barney-frank-and-the-cult-of-brash-bosses/2011/04/01/gIQAKR8CHO_blog.html">Barney Frank and the cult of brash bosses</A>."</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px" dir=ltr> <DIV><EM>Must leaders be nice to be noteworthy?</EM></DIV> <DIV><EM></EM>&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV><EM>We don't have to look much further than Steve Jobs to see they don't have to. The former Apple CEO could be, as we all know by now, a grade-A jerk who threw tantrums, parked in handicapped spots, and was fully capable of so-called gratuitous nastiness. Some are even worried that "with the death and canonization of Steve Jobs and the emergence of the Jobs biography as a kind of sacred text for managers," writes Tom McNichol over at the Atlantic, "the ranks of bosses who see Bad Steve's nastier traits as something to imitate is liable to swell." Jobs, he writes, is considered by too many people in Silicon Valley to be "living proof" that being an ass was a big part of leading a good company.</EM></DIV> <DIV><EM></EM>&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV><EM>Of course, Steve Jobs was not a phenomenal innovator because of his leadership style; he was wildly successful in spite of it. And no, I'm not going to draw some pained parallel between the brilliance of Steve Jobs and the ornery intelligence of Barney Frank. But it's worth considering when being a nasty boss can help and when it hurts. In a world in which extreme attention to detail is needed—like, say, technology development—or when there's a real need for motivation, there could be some virtues to having a controlling jerk in the top chair. Because many such managers are equally good at turning on the charm when needed, McNichol writes, their salesmanship could outweigh their bad sides. And occasionally, brash thinking (and unfortunately, brash behavior) goes hand-in-hand with an appetite for innovation and risk that other more measured leaders can't really summon from themselves.</EM></DIV> <DIV><EM></EM>&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV><EM>But in most cases, it's obvious that over-the-top petulance stands in the way of accomplishment. That's especially so in a place like Congress where negotiating skills and relationship building are supposedly the keys to success. Sure, a combative and abrasive style might win leaders points in the highly polarized dysfunction that is today's Congress. But it could also cause them to lose the most accomplished legacy possible.</EM></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE> <DIV>Maybe bosses are like (removing) band-aids, "fast or slow", choose your style of pain.</DIV> <DIV>&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@BaseTechnology.com">Jack Krupansky</A></DIV></DIV></DIV><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-7112537840782272339?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-24596059854432893962011-11-28T19:59:00.000-05:002011-11-28T20:00:12.378-05:00<DIV dir=ltr> <DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> <DIV>From ABC News "<A href="http://abcnews.go.com/Business/20-2020-billionaires-20-keys-success/story?id=14821206#.TtQskmNFu7s">Who Wants to be a Billionaire? 20 Keys to Success from the Superrich</A>" here are their 20 keys to success:</DIV> <OL> <LI>Figure out what you're so passionate about that you'd be happy doing it for 10 years, even if you never made any money from it. That's what you should be doing. <LI>Always be true to yourself. <LI>Figure out what your values are and live by them, in business and in life. <LI>Rather than focus on work-life separation, focus on work-life integration. <LI>Don't network. Focus on building real relationships and friendships where the relationship itself is its own reward, instead of trying to get something out of the relationship to benefit your business or yourself. <LI>Remember to maximize for happiness, not money or status. <LI>Think about what your definition of success really is. Is it externally driven or internally driven? <LI>Get ready for rejection. <LI>Success unshared is failure. Give back -- share your wealth. <LI>Successful people do all the things unsuccessful people don't want to do. <LI>Values and ethics always come first. <LI>Don't lie, cheat or steal for one penny or one dollar -- ever. <LI>Business with bad people is always bad business. <LI>You have to learn that you can walk away from someone that you care about for the greater good. <LI>When my management teams come into the room, I hug them, I give them truth and "harsh speak" when they're in, and then I hug them on the way out. <LI>The truth is cold and hard, but it's the first point on the path to hope and salvation. <LI>Don't do what you do for the money. Whatever path you choose, do it because it makes your heart beat fast. <LI>If you do good, good will come back to you. <LI>You have to be fundamentally engaged and honest toward yourself. <LI>Live your life full throttle. Take risks!</LI></OL> <DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">I suspect that you can just focus on the first of those keys and do quite well. Or at least a lot of them will follow from the first.</DIV> <DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><BR>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@BaseTechnology.com">Jack Krupansky</A></DIV></DIV></DIV><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-2459605985443289396?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-63586018925089094762011-11-25T19:28:00.001-05:002011-11-25T19:28:41.314-05:00<DIV dir=ltr> <DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> <DIV>The Gallup Management Journal has a piece entitled "<A href="http://gmj.gallup.com/content/150707/Why-Entrepreneurs-Matter-Innovators.aspx">Why Entrepreneurs Matter More Than Innovators</A>" which tells us:</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px" dir=ltr> <DIV><EM>In his book <STRONG>The Coming Jobs War</STRONG>, Gallup Chairman Jim Clifton makes the bold claim that political and business leaders pay far <STRONG>too much attention to innovation</STRONG> and <STRONG>far too little to cultivating talented entrepreneurs</STRONG>. They've got it backward, Clifton says. To create jobs, leaders must understand that great, thriving businesspeople matter far more than great ideas, which are a dime a dozen.</EM></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE> <DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">In short, great ideas still matter, but building a successful business is the real name of the game.</DIV> <DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">This book excerpt delves into the successes of Wayne Huizenga and Ted Turner, among others. To some, their ideas were "bad", not "great", but somehow they were great business successes anyway.</DIV> <DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">This notion of what makes an idea "great" vs. "bad" is interesting and worth contemplating, but not at the expense of building a great business.</DIV> <DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><BR>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@BaseTechnology.com">Jack Krupansky</A></DIV></DIV></DIV><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-6358601892508909476?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-45053689146037599802011-11-16T18:07:00.001-05:002011-11-16T18:07:22.003-05:00<DIV dir=ltr> <DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> <DIV>Many moons ago, years before smart phones, handheld computers, and even the Web, I had this conceptual idea for an imaginary device that I called my "remote control for the world." This was around 1985 or so. It wasn't intended to be a full-blown computer with a fancy GUI, but just a simple device to control just about everything you could imagine remotely. More of a scrolling list of devices and objects and a bunch of specific function buttons. Things like turning your home A/C or sprinklers on and off or checking the temperature in your home. Maybe even starting your car or checking its gas gauge. And your bank balance. Just about any setting or indicator that you have a personal interest in. I never bothered to write it up. I'm not sure why. But recently I was reminded of it (wanting to do something remotely) and I realized that even today its still isn't quite feasible with off-the-shelf technology.</DIV> <DIV>&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV>The biggest breakthrough has been the Internet and Web, which provides a lot of the communications infrastructure that is needed. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth as well.</DIV> <DIV>&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV>Small, hi-res graphical displays make the UI much more practical, but ultimately that was never really a major obstacle. A simple, hierarchical scrolling list and some tactile push buttons would work reasonably well.</DIV> <DIV>&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV>We also have RFID for random objects, bad that is more passive and not interactive, yet.</DIV> <DIV>&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV>And some household objects and "devices" are intelligent, but we are still in the "dark ages" for most devices and objects that we encounter in our daily lives. Did I lock my door? Sure, some "intelligent homes" can tell you that and control it remotely, but my vintage 1926 apartment door doesn't seem to have an Internet-ready interface.</DIV> <DIV>&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV>Sure, you can now finally start your car remotely, but that is still more of a specialized app than a general feature of all devices and objects.</DIV> <DIV>&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV>Thinking about my vision in today's world, I would like to "see" in my refrigerator and "see" in the relevant sections of the supermarket, or any store. Sure, we now have web cameras and other cheap cameras, but they still are not ubiquitous enough to make my vision a reality. And most cameras are still relatively low res and not even HD, lot alone photo-quality high-definition.</DIV> <DIV>&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV>Yes, some cars now have rear cameras, but I'd like the same for when I'm simply walking down the street. Sure, you could "hack" that, but it's still not quite "there" in terms of a consumer-friendly handheld remote control device.</DIV> <DIV>&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV>And I'd like to trivially (without some complicated and messy UI) be able to look around corners and even "through" buildings and walls. Sure, we have a lot of elements of the requisite technology, but we're still not even close to having enough of it off-the-shelf and readily packageable to satisfy my interests.</DIV> <DIV>&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV>Right now, right this moment, I'd like to see where the sun is and check the temperature right outside my building. I can sort of do that with a bunch of browser clicks, but not quite and not as easily as with my original vision for my "remote control for the world." In other words, we can roughly approximate a subset of my vision, but not in any full-featured sense.</DIV> <DIV>&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV>Maybe a rudimentary version of my remote control might be available in another five years, or ten years, but somehow all of our technological advances over the past 30 years have still not done a great job of integrating our physical environment and everyday devices and objects into one "seamless" network.</DIV> <DIV><BR>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@BaseTechnology.com">Jack Krupansky</A></DIV></DIV></DIV><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-4505368914603759980?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-84587625518772161912011-11-09T10:19:00.000-05:002011-11-09T10:20:13.451-05:00<DIV dir=ltr> <DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> <DIV>To be honest, I understand very little about what makes any of today's web-based startups "hot", but today I ran across two lists.</DIV> <DIV>&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV>The first is "<A href="http://www.businessinsider.com/20-silicon-valley-startups-to-watch">The 20 Hot Silicon Valley Startups You Need To Watch</A>".</DIV> <DIV>&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV>The second is "<A href="http://www.businessinsider.com/20-innovative-startups-2011-11">The 20 Most Innovative Startups In Tech</A>".</DIV> <DIV>&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV>What makes them the "hottest" or the "most innovative"? Hard to say. My hunch is that it is simply their investors touting them.</DIV> <DIV>&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV>My concern is that we may be back into the "flip it" mode of investment where there is little concern about long-term viability and long-term profit generation, but simply whether the initial investors can flip the startup off to some unsuspecting bigger fish in the pond. A lot of these ventures really do seem to fit the bill for the old Silicon Valley adage of "That's a feature, not a product." except that most of them are web-based services rather than "in a box" products anyway. OTOH, maybe being a "feature" is a better (or at least easier) path to success than a full-blown "product." On that angle, here's an interesting commentary about <A href="http://www.macrumors.com/2011/10/18/dropbox-indeed-balked-at-major-acquisition-offer-from-apple/">Dropbox turning down an offer from Apple</A>.</DIV> <DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><BR>-- Jack Krupansky</DIV></DIV></DIV><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-8458762551877216191?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-15220442611322453442011-11-08T14:02:00.001-05:002011-11-08T14:02:30.328-05:00<DIV dir=ltr> <DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> <DIV style="FONT-STYLE: normal; DISPLAY: inline; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: small; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none"> <DIV dir=ltr> <DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> <DIV>There were actually a couple of short periods of time back in 2000 when I was technically a "millionaire", at least on paper (plus one time when a broker error made me a millionaire for a weekend!) But, as they say, "easy come, easy go." And back in 2005 I was doing so poorly financially that I actually filed for bankruptcy. Since November 30, 2005 (the day my bankruptcy was discharged) I have gradually been slowly climbing back up the lower rungs of the wealth ladder out of the pit of gloom, primarily through regular retirement contributions but also cutting spending and saving when possible, so that now I actually have a modest amount of "investments." I'm certainly not a millionaire or in the top 1% or even the top 10%, but I'm somewhere in the top 20% now. I won't disclose my exact "wealth", but it's very loosely north of $50,000 and south of $250,000, so lets pretend that it is $100,000 for the sake of argument and to have a nice round number. So, the question of the day is:</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px" dir=ltr> <DIV><EM>How can I become a millionaire?</EM></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE> <DIV>Seriously. It's a legitimate question. How likely I am to become a millionaire again is an open and essentially unanswerable question, but what options or paths to that end are available is a reasonable question.</DIV> <DIV>&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV>Here are the practical paths that I have identified in just a few minutes today:</DIV> <OL> <LI>Buy a winning lottery ticket. Hey, sometimes it actually does payoff, but I won't bet on it. <LI>Marry a wealthy woman. Ditto. <LI>Start a successful business. Ditto, except that it actually still is a (semi-remote) possibility. <LI>Join a hot startup. Ditto, but a little more possible. (Seriously, send me leads on this!) <LI>A short string of wildly-successful option trades. Hey, I actually did this in 1998 and 1999, but... a long story... and not likely to be repeated. <LI>Invest in a hot stock that rises 40% a year for 7 years. Technically possible, but the odds remain long. <LI>Investments that rise 20% a year for 13 years. More doable, but still quite difficult. <LI>Investments that rise 15% a year for 17 years. On the fringe of being practical, but too long to wait. <LI>Investments that rise 10% a year for 24 years. Starting to sound within reach technically, but not within reach time-wise. <LI>Investments that rise 8% a year for 30 years. Great, something I might actually have a shot at achieving, but only if my goal is to leave a million in my will rather than enjoy it during retirement. <LI>Investments that rise 5% a year for 48 years. Ditto. I could reasonably expect to do this, but again not for my personal use. <LI>Investments that rise 4% a year for 59 years. That rate of return is reasonable and achievable for an average investor, but won't achieve the end goal within my expected lifetime.</LI></OL> <DIV>And then there is inflation, taxes, bad years, etc. And presuming that you have a reasonable income stream while your wealth is growing.</DIV> <DIV>&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV>And then there is a bigger pair of questions. Once you have accumulated $1 million:</DIV> <OL> <LI>How do you keep it? <LI>How can you live off of it in a sustainable manner?</LI></OL> <DIV>It may seem obvious that you save $1 million for retirement and then spend it all in retirement, but that is a risky expectation due to uncertainty about the future. Better to define an allocation of money that you will be spending and money that remains dedicated to further investment. That's a topic for future discussion. Here we're just concerned with getting to $1 million (ASAP) in the first place.</DIV> <DIV>&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV>Where do I do from here? The only things I can say with certainty are that I will continue making my retirement contributions and hopefully see some compound returns over the years. I guess I can also safely say that unless I manage to achieve 20% annual returns I won't hit $1 million when I retire in 13 years. That is at least a good starting point for thinking about where I am, what I could achieve, and what my options are.</DIV> <DIV>&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Finaxyz.com">Jack Krupansky</A></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-1522044261132245344?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-42771293620612804012011-03-22T20:06:00.001-04:002011-03-22T20:06:53.753-04:00<DIV dir=ltr> <DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> <DIV style="FONT-STYLE: normal; DISPLAY: inline; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: small; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none"> <DIV dir=ltr> <DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> <DIV>The annual <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">Entrepreneurial Connections (<STRONG>EntConnect</STRONG>) conference</A> is just a couple of days away, from Thursday, March 24, 2011 through Sunday, March 27, 2011. Traditionally the conference consists primarily of a reunion of former readers of <STRONG>Midnight Engineering</STRONG> magazine and a few newbies who have gotten suckered into trying it out, but each year we try to figure out new ways to attract fresh blood from both ends and the middle of the age and experience and interests spectrums. The "official" conference kicks off with dinner on Friday evening, but there are also a day or two of optional activities before the official start.</DIV> <DIV>&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV>Just to give you a rough idea of what the conference is like:</DIV> <UL> <LI>Formal sessions -- speakers share ideas and spark discussion <LI>Informal/open sessions -- a chance for you to network with new friends and share ideas in small groups <LI>After hours events -- both informative and fun; some held at the hotel bar and some in the meeting room <LI>Relaxing encounters -- structured, optional events that provide fun and chill time</LI></UL> <DIV>Here's a quick summary of the tentative conference schedule:</DIV> <UL> <LI>Wednesday March 23rd: <UL> <LI>6:00 PM Beer and good company at the hotel bar.&nbsp; John Gaudio will buy the first round. </LI></UL> <LI>Thursday March 24th: <UL> <LI>7:15 AM Optional ski outing <LI>7:30 PM Après-ski</LI></UL> <LI>Friday March 25th: <UL> <LI>Optional activities <LI>7:00 p.m. dinner at The Yard House, just two blocks from our hotel. (Cost will be around $25-$35 per person.)</LI></UL> <LI>Saturday March 26th: <UL> <LI>Conference presentations and mini trade show from 9am - 6pm <LI>6pm-8:00pm: Form up into like-minded groups and head out to dinner at a nearby restaurant <LI>Conference presentation 8:00pm - 9:30pm <LI>Saturday 9:30pm-?: Texas Hold 'em poker tournament -- back by popular demand! Assorted beers and great conversations until the last of us head off to bed.</LI></UL> <LI>Sunday March 27th: <UL> <LI>Conference 9am - 2pm <LI>Optional: Late, informal lunch 2pm-4pm</LI></UL></LI></UL> <DIV>Check out the <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">official conference Web page</A> for an idea of what the conference was like last year. Once again the conference will be held at the <STRONG>Crowne Plaza Downtown Denver</STRONG>, which is actually in downtown Denver, with rooms available at the EntConnect 2011 rate of $89. We hope to have a notable keynote speaker, but as usual the primary focus will be sessions led by your fellow entrepreneurs.</DIV> <DIV>&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV>Here is my traditional 30-second elevator pitch blurb for the converence:</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px" dir=ltr> <DIV><EM>Whether you are an entrepreneur or thinking about starting your own business or simply need a good excuse to go skiing in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, the </EM><A href="http://www.entconnect.org/"><EM>Entrepreneurial Connections conference (<STRONG>EntConnect</STRONG>)</EM></A><EM> may be just the conference you have been waiting for. Targeted primarily at engineers (hardware, software, and other) and others with a strong technical interest, it is more of a loosely-structured "unconference", with plenty of opportunities for a relatively small group of participants (15 to 40) to network or even give their own presentations on a very wide range of topics from technology, business strategy, intellectual property and legal issues, accounting issues, finance, marketing, sales, and even selling your business. With plenty of time to ski or otherwise enjoy the mountains and Denver area (great time to visit Boulder or Colorado Springs as well), the conference is a great opportunity to "learn and share" and otherwise have an "out of box" experience. Participants and speakers range over the full spectrum from wannabes and newcomers to successful young entrepreneurs and seasoned veterans. The conference is an excellent opportunity to meet up with former readers (and possibly even the publisher) of Midnight Engineering magazine as well. The conference runs from Thursday, March 24, 2011 through Sunday, March 27, 2011.</EM></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE> <DIV>Visit the <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">official conference Web site</A>, <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">EntConnect.org</A>.</DIV> <DIV>&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV>I have been attending the conference since it first started in 1992 as ME SKI '92 and then evolved into ENTCON and then <STRONG>Entrepreneurial Connections</STRONG> or <STRONG>EntConnect</STRONG>. Yikes!!! That means that this is the <EM><STRONG>20th year of the conference</STRONG></EM>.</DIV> <DIV>&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV>I will be attending another conference in New York on Friday morning, so I won't get into Denver until sometime in the evening. If my flight and bus are on time and I don't miss my flight rushing from my morning conference I should get to downtown Denver between 7:30 PM and 8:00 PM, just in time for the usual Friday evening group dinner at <STRONG>The Yard</STRONG> in downtown Denver, two blocks from the conference hotel.</DIV> <DIV>&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV>For a little nostalgia, check out the <A href="http://www.opixia.com/EntEng/ME-SKI-92.htm">original ME SKI '92 conference announcement</A>.</DIV> <DIV>&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV>Oh, and please feel free to join the <A href="http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/midnightengineers/">Midnight Engineers Yahoo discussion forum</A>.</DIV> <DIV>&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Opixia.com">Jack Krupansky</A></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-4277129362061280401?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-82558092499727510782011-03-19T08:17:00.001-04:002011-03-19T08:17:09.132-04:00<DIV dir=ltr> <DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> <DIV>The annual <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">Entrepreneurial Connections (<STRONG>EntConnect</STRONG>) conference</A> is now less than a week away, from Thursday, March 24, 2011 through Sunday, March 27, 2011. Traditionally the conference consists primarily of a reunion of former readers of <STRONG>Midnight Engineering</STRONG> magazine and a few newbies who have gotten suckered into trying it out, but each year we try to figure out new ways to attract fresh blood from both ends and the middle of the age and experience and interests spectrums.</DIV> <DIV>&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV>Check out the <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">official conference Web page</A> for an idea of what the conference was like last year. Once again the conference will be held at the <STRONG>Crowne Plaza Downtown Denver</STRONG>, which is actually in downtown Denver, with rooms available at the EntConnect 2011 rate of $89. We hope to have a notable keynote speaker, but as usual the primary focus will be sessions led by your fellow entrepreneurs.</DIV> <DIV>&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV>Here is my traditional 30-second elevator pitch blurb for the converence:</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px" dir=ltr> <DIV><EM>Whether you are an entrepreneur or thinking about starting your own business or simply need a good excuse to go skiing in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, the </EM><A href="http://www.entconnect.org/"><EM>Entrepreneurial Connections conference (<STRONG>EntConnect</STRONG>)</EM></A><EM> may be just the conference you have been waiting for. Targeted primarily at engineers (hardware, software, and other) and others with a strong technical interest, it is more of a loosely-structured "unconference", with plenty of opportunities for a relatively small group of participants (15 to 40) to network or even give their own presentations on a very wide range of topics from technology, business strategy, intellectual property and legal issues, accounting issues, finance, marketing, sales, and even selling your business. With plenty of time to ski or otherwise enjoy the mountains and Denver area (great time to visit Boulder or Colorado Springs as well), the conference is a great opportunity to "learn and share" and otherwise have an "out of box" experience. Participants and speakers range over the full spectrum from wannabes and newcomers to successful young entrepreneurs and seasoned veterans. The conference is an excellent opportunity to meet up with former readers (and possibly even the publisher) of Midnight Engineering magazine as well. The conference runs from Thursday, March 24, 2011 through Sunday, March 27, 2011.</EM></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE> <DIV>Visit the <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">official conference Web site</A>, <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">EntConnect.org</A>.</DIV> <DIV>&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV>I have been attending the conference since it first started in 1992 as ME SKI '92 and then evolved into ENTCON and then <STRONG>Entrepreneurial Connections</STRONG> or <STRONG>EntConnect</STRONG>. Yikes!!! That means that this is the <EM><STRONG>20th year of the conference</STRONG></EM>.</DIV> <DIV>&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV>I will be attending another conference in New York on Friday morning, so I won't get into Denver until sometime in the evening. If my flight and bus are on time and I don't miss my flight rushing from my morning conference I should get to downtown Denver between 7:30 PM and 8:00 PM, just in time for the usual Friday evening group dinner. I'm not sure about this year yet, but last year the dinner was at <STRONG>Magianno's Little Italy</STRONG>, just a block from the conference hotel.</DIV> <DIV>&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV>For a little nostalgia, check out the <A href="http://www.opixia.com/EntEng/ME-SKI-92.htm">original ME SKI '92 conference announcement</A>.</DIV> <DIV>&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV>Oh, and please feel free to join the <A href="http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/midnightengineers/">Midnight Engineers Yahoo discussion forum</A>.</DIV> <DIV>&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Opixia.com">Jack Krupansky</A></DIV></DIV></DIV><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-8255809249972751078?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-40805436101597376572011-03-06T19:16:00.001-05:002011-03-06T19:16:25.936-05:00<DIV dir=ltr> <DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> <DIV style="FONT-STYLE: normal; DISPLAY: inline; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: small; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none"> <DIV dir=ltr> <DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> <DIV style="FONT-STYLE: normal; DISPLAY: inline; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: small; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none"> <DIV dir=ltr> <DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> <DIV style="FONT-STYLE: normal; DISPLAY: inline; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: small; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none"> <DIV dir=ltr> <DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> <DIV style="FONT-STYLE: normal; DISPLAY: inline; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: small; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none"> <DIV dir=ltr> <DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> <DIV style="FONT-STYLE: normal; DISPLAY: inline; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: small; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none"> <DIV dir=ltr> <DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> <DIV style="FONT-STYLE: normal; DISPLAY: inline; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: small; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none"> <DIV dir=ltr> <DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> <DIV>Read the Forbes blog post entitled "<A href="http://blogs.forbes.com/ciocentral/2011/02/07/engineers-ignore-the-critics-follow-your-dreams-change-the-world/">Engineers: Ignore Critics, Follow Your Dreams, Change The World</A>" by John Cioffi, the entrepreneurial engineer who pioneered broadband DSL. He says:</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px" dir=ltr> <DIV><EM>Entrepreneurial success requires passion, patience and thick skin. Entrepreneurs who also happen to be an engineers need a triple dose of all of those qualities, because no matter what the venture, real entrepreneurs often face long odds and loud critics.</EM></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE> <DIV>He goes on to say:</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px" dir=ltr> <DIV><EM>As a 23-year-old engineer at Bell Laboratories in 1979, I came to believe that high-speed, high-volume transmissions were feasible via copper telephone lines. A lot of people thought I was star-struck with the projection of arcane theories that could not be practically realized. The prevailing contrary belief was that phone lines could never carry video. The prevailing conventional wisdom was that the whole network would have to be replaced with optical fiber to enable video transmission. Nonetheless, I could not see any reason why high-bandwidth video and other data signals could not be carried on the existing copper, and became fascinated with how to do it.</EM></DIV> <DIV><EM></EM>&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV><EM>My efforts were often ridiculed and criticized, but since no one provided me a technically sound reason to the contrary, I continued. A big motivation beyond the technical challenge was that the economics of wide-scale replacement of copper with fiber was staggering, thus suggesting that this very interesting technical problem would also have large economic value. In the end, copper-based DSL technology did become a reality. The pioneering work we began twenty years ago at a company I founded, Amati Communications, now accounts for approximately 98 percent of the nearly 400 million DSL connections in the world today.</EM></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE> <DIV>So much for conventional wisdom.</DIV> <DIV>&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV>An interesting story.</DIV> <DIV>&nbsp;</DIV> <DIV>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@BaseTechnology.com">Jack Krupansky</A></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-4080543610159737657?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-33749346944897375722011-02-17T19:12:00.002-05:002011-02-22T13:06:22.527-05:00<div dir="ltr"> <div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "> <div> <span class="Apple-style-span" ><div style="font-style: normal; display: inline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; ">It is only five weeks until the annual <a href="http://www.entconnect.org/"><strong>Entrepreneurial Connections (EntConnect)</strong> conference</a>, from Thursday, March 24, 2011 through Sunday, March 27, 2011. Traditionally the conference consists primarily of a reunion of former readers of <strong><em>Midnight Engineering</em></strong> magazine and a few newbies who have gotten suckered into trying it out, but each year we try to figure out new ways to attract fresh blood from both ends and the middle of the age and experience spectrums.</div> </span><p><span class="Apple-style-span" >Check out the <a href="http://www.entconnect.org/">official conference Web page</a> for an idea of what the conference was like last year. Once again the conference will be held at the <strong>Crowne Plaza Downtown Denver</strong>, which is actually in downtown Denver, with rooms available at the EntConnect 2011 rate of $89. We hope to have a notable keynote speaker, but as usual the primary focus will be sessions led by your fellow entrepeneurs.</span></p> <p><span class="Apple-style-span" >Here is my traditional 30-second elevator pitch blurb for the converence:</span></p> <blockquote style="margin-right: 0px; " dir="ltr"> <p><span class="Apple-style-span" ><em>Whether you are an entrepreneur or thinking about starting your own business or simply need a good excuse to go skiing in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, the </em><a href="http://www.entconnect.org/"><em><strong>Entrepreneurial Connections</strong> conference (<strong>EntConnect</strong>)</em></a><em> may be just the conference you have been waiting for. Targeted primarily at engineers (hardware, software, and other) and others with a strong technical interest, it is more of a loosely-structured "unconference", with plenty of opportunities for a relatively small group of participants (15 to 40) to network or even give their own presentations on a very wide range of topics from technology, business strategy, intellectual property and legal issues, accounting issues, finance, marketing, sales, and even selling your business. With plenty of time to ski or otherwise enjoy the mountains and Denver area (great time to visit Boulder or Colorado Springs as well), the conference is a great opportunity to "learn and share" and otherwise have an "out of box" experience. Participants and speakers range over the full spectrum from wannabes and newcomers to successful young entrepreneurs and seasoned veterans. The conference is an excellent opportunity to meet up with former readers (and possibly even the publisher) of <strong>Midnight Engineering</strong> magazine as well. The conference runs from Thursday, March 24, 2011 through Sunday, March 27, 2011.</em></span></p></blockquote> <p><span class="Apple-style-span" >Visit the <a href="http://www.entconnect.org/">official conference Web site</a>, <a href="http://www.entconnect.org/">EntConnect.org</a>.</span></p> <p><span class="Apple-style-span" >I have been attending the conference since it first started in 1992 as <a href="http://www.opixia.com/EntEng/ME-SKI-92.htm">ME SKI '92</a> and then evolved into ENTCON and then Entrepreneurial Connections or EntConnect. Yikes!!! That means that this is the <strong><em>20th year of the conference</em>.</strong></span></p> <p><span class="Apple-style-span" >I will be attending another conference in New York on Friday morning, so I won't get into Denver until sometime in the evening. If my flight and bus are on time and I don't miss my flight rushing from my morning conference I should get to downtown Denver between 7:30 PM and 8:00 PM, just in time for the usual Friday evening group dinner. I'm not sure about this year yet, but last year the dinner was at <strong>Magianno's Little Italy</strong>, just a block from the conference hotel.</span></p> <p><span class="Apple-style-span" >For a little nostalgia, check out the <a href="http://www.opixia.com/EntEng/ME-SKI-92.htm">original ME SKI '92 conference announcement</a>.</span></p> <p><span class="Apple-style-span" >Oh, and please feel free to join the <a href="http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/midnightengineers/">Midnight Engineers Yahoo discussion forum</a>.</span></p> <p><span class="Apple-style-span" >-- <a href="mailto:Jack@Opixia.com">Jack Krupansky</a></span></p></div></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-3374934694489737572?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-82149995526785377812010-08-17T18:34:00.001-04:002010-08-17T18:34:05.085-04:00<P>From a <EM>Wall Street Journal</EM> article entitled "<A title="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703720504575376664285510930.html&#10;CTRL + Click to follow link" href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703720504575376664285510930.html">Start-Ups on a Shoestring - The tales of three entrepreneurs who launched companies - for less than $150</A>":</P> <BLOCKQUOTE style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px" dir=ltr> <P><EM>"Making a mistake -- or a string of mistakes -- doesn't mean you're a failure; it's part of the learning process," he says. "There's no magic formula for building a business, you just need a willingness to do lots of hard work and a high tolerance for agita."</EM></P></BLOCKQUOTE> <P>Agita. Ugh. Not exactly something that I want to want to tolerate.</P> <P>See:<BR><A href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703720504575376664285510930.html">http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703720504575376664285510930.html</A></P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Opixia.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-8214999552678537781?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-19965968329250642010-08-15T12:43:00.001-04:002010-08-15T12:43:56.895-04:00<P>Check out <A title="http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/richard_st_john_success_is_a_continuous_journey.html&#10;CTRL + Click to follow link" href="http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/richard_st_john_success_is_a_continuous_journey.html">Richard St. John's TED talk on "Success is a continuous journey"</A>, summarized as:</P> <BLOCKQUOTE style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px" dir=ltr> <P><EM>Richard St. John reminds us that success is not a one-way street, but a constant journey. He uses the story of his business' rise and fall to illustrate a valuable lesson -- when we stop trying, we fail.</EM></P></BLOCKQUOTE> <P>-- Jack Krupansky<A title="mailto:Jack@Opixia.com&#10;CTRL + Click to follow link" href="mailto:Jack@BaseTechnology.com"></A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-1996596832925064?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-42039446860649723702010-08-15T12:34:00.001-04:002010-08-15T12:34:51.831-04:00<P><A title="http://www.richardstjohn.com/blog/timeless-success-principles/2009/01/23/&#10;CTRL + Click to follow link" href="http://www.richardstjohn.com/blog/timeless-success-principles/2009/01/23/">Richard St. John lists eight Timeless Success Principles</A> that have been the most important factors for success since Michelangelo in the 16th century:</P> <OL> <LI>Passion <LI>Work <LI>Focus <LI>Push <LI>Ideas <LI>Improve <LI>Serve <LI>Persist</LI></OL> <P>And most importantly, this is an endless cycle, not a one-way street. Once you achieve success, you have to keep the process going, otherwise the success will dissipate.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Opixia.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-4203944686064972370?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-19221954531489352792010-06-16T15:04:00.001-04:002010-06-16T15:04:14.232-04:00<P>It had to happen eventually, but for a year now I have managed to avoid any of my <A title="https://www.lendingclub.com/&#10;CTRL + Click to follow link" href="https://www.lendingclub.com/">Lending Club</A>&nbsp;investment loans ("notes") getting&nbsp;hit with a missed payment or default. Sometime over the past week one of the loans went into&nbsp;"Late (16-30 days)" status. No big deal yet and that loan share is less than 2% of my portfolio, but I had gotten so used to a perfect record for so long. There is no action for me to take, other than to simple watch the loan from a distance to see whether or when the borrower makes up for the missed payment. Lending Club takes care of all of the communication with the borrower. The good news is that if the borrower does catch up, they will have to pay a late fee, which will increase my return. This loan was rated E2, which is moderately risky and has a nominal interest rate of 16%.</P> <P>-- <A title="mailto:Jack@Finaxyz.com&#10;CTRL + Click to follow link" href="mailto:Jack@Finaxyz.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-1922195453148935279?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-77129015163335285072010-05-26T18:14:00.001-04:002010-05-26T18:14:37.655-04:00<P>Cash flow from my portfolio of <A title="https://www.lendingclub.com/&#10;CTRL + Click to follow link" href="https://www.lendingclub.com/">Lending Club</A>&nbsp;investment loans ("notes")&nbsp;over the past&nbsp;two weeks has given&nbsp;me enough cash to invest in yet another consumer loan. My current Net Annualized Return is&nbsp;now at&nbsp;15.57%, which is&nbsp;finally above&nbsp;my goal of 15.5%, but only by a little, so on Monday afternoon I picked a pre-approved loan at 18.67% that was already 68% funded&nbsp;but with only 22 hours&nbsp;left in the two-week funding period. I was concerned that it might not get fully funded in less than a day, but by Tuesday morning I got the email message from Lending Club confirming that it had in fact gotten fully funded and was issued.</P> <P>The <EM>loan grade </EM>for this loan is&nbsp;F2 (on an "A" to "G" scale), which is moderately risky. Lending club turns down 90% of loan applications, which eliminates all of the truly risky loans, so even a "risky" Lending Club loan is not necessarily all that risky.&nbsp;Lending Club says that the <EM>historical default rate</EM> for loans such as this one is about 6.56%, so that my&nbsp;<EM>projected return</EM> is about 11.39%. That includes Lending Club taking 0.72% as a servicing fee.&nbsp;My goal of 15.5% should factor in a default rate of about 3.5% or so, giving an expected return of about 12%. That is still quite respectable, especially in this economic and financial environment.</P> <P>My Net Annualized Return of 15.57% puts me at the 91% percentile, so only 9% of Lending Club investors are earning more than me. I'd like to get that to 95%.</P> <P>My goal is really a 15% return, but I figure I need a little buffer so that repayments (and maybe even defaults) don't push me below my goal too frequently. I may in fact keep pushing upwards&nbsp;with loans in the 16% to 18% range until I get my return up to 16% and then gradually work the average back to 15.5%.</P> <P>So far, my Lending Club portfolio has been <EM><STRONG>perfect</STRONG></EM>, with no delinquencies or even late payments. I started investing with Lending Club back in June 2009.</P> <P>This is still just an experiment for me since I have no prior experience with this type of investment, but so far in has been very encouraging. I intend to double the size of the experiment in&nbsp;July (assuming my work income continues.) I was going to try to double it in June, but I just ordered a new notebook computer (and am currently getting all of my work moved over to it.)</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Finaxyz.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-7712901516333528507?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-86640498668419595832010-05-14T10:52:00.000-04:002010-05-14T10:53:28.107-04:00<P>Sometime yesterday evening my latest <A href="https://www.lendingclub.com/">Lending Club</A>&nbsp;investment loan, using&nbsp;money from only&nbsp;cash flow over the past two weeks, was fully funded and issued. This was for a pre-approved 3-year loan at 19.04%.</P> <P>I'll probably have enough cash flow in my Lending Club account over the next two weeks or so to fund yet another loan.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Finaxyz.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-8664049866841959583?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-45238355428150376632010-05-13T07:29:00.001-04:002010-05-13T07:29:41.450-04:00<P>Cashflow from my portfolio of <A href="https://www.lendingclub.com/">Lending Club</A>&nbsp;investment loans ("notes")&nbsp;over the past&nbsp;two weeks has given&nbsp;me enough cash to invest in yet another consumer loan. My current Net Annualized Return is&nbsp;now at&nbsp;15.36%, which is still a bit short of my goal of 15.5%, so I picked a pre-approved loan at 19.04% that is already 94% funded with five days left in the two-week funding period. I expect that this loan is likely to reach full funding today or overnight.</P> <P>The <EM>loan grade </EM>for this loan is&nbsp;F3 (on an "A" to "G" scale), which is moderately risky. Lending club turns down 90% of loan applications, which eliminates all of the truly risky loans, so even a "risky" Lending Club loan is not necessarily all that risky.&nbsp;Lending Club says that the <EM>historical default rate</EM> for loans such as this one is about 6.83%, so that my&nbsp;<EM>projected return</EM> is about 11.48%. That includes Lending Club taking 0.73% as a servicing fee.&nbsp;My goal of 15.5% should factor in a default rate of about 3.5% or so, giving an expected return of about 12%. That is still quite respectable, especially in this economic and financial environment.</P> <P>My goal is really a 15% return, but I figure I need a little buffer so that repayments (and maybe even defaults) don't push me below my goal too frequently. I may in fact keep pushing upwards&nbsp;with loans in the 16% to 18% range until I get my return up to 16% and then gradually work the average back to 15.5%.</P> <P>So far, my Lending Club portfolio has been <EM><STRONG>perfect</STRONG></EM>, with no delinquencies or even late payments. I started investing with Lending Club back in June.</P> <P>This is still just an experiment for me since I have no prior experience with this type of investment, but so far in has been very encouraging. I intend to double the size of the experiment in&nbsp;July (assuming my work income continues.) I was going to try to double it in June, but I just ordered a new notebook computer.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Finaxyz.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-4523835542815037663?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-8765730029956784632010-04-27T16:12:00.001-04:002010-04-27T16:12:40.309-04:00<P>Overnight my latest <A href="https://www.lendingclub.com/">Lending Club</A>&nbsp;investment loan reached 100% funding and&nbsp;was issued. I now have no loan orders outstanding. This loan was funded with cash flow (interest and return of principle) from my existing portfolio of loans.&nbsp; Within a week or so my account will accumulate enough additional cash from interest and return of principle to fund yet another loan.</P> <P>This is still just an experiment for me (less than a year)&nbsp;since I have no prior experience with this type of investment, but so far in has been very encouraging.-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Finaxyz.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-876573002995678463?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-17248052345055777192010-04-23T18:53:00.000-04:002010-04-23T18:54:02.912-04:00<P>Overnight the last loan in my latest batch of <A href="https://www.lendingclub.com/">Lending Club</A>&nbsp;investment loans reached 100% funding and&nbsp;was issued. My new order to reinvest accumulated interest and return of principal in yet another investment loan note is&nbsp;now 47% funded with a little less than seven days to get fully funded.</P> <P>Meanwhile, my Net Annualized Return has moved up to 15.34%, which puts me up at the 89% percentile with only 11% of Lending Club investors earning a higher return than me. I'd like to get that up into the low 90's.&nbsp;I have a total of 52 notes, plus the new one from yesterday that&nbsp;is still in funding.</P> <P>Even with this doubling of my total portfolio size,&nbsp;my Lending Club investment is still a modest size experiment. Even doubled again it would still be modest size. If all goes according to plan (not that I actually have a plan), by the end of the year I should finally have a <EM>real</EM> investment in Lending Club loans.</P> <P>My goal continues to be a 15% return, but I figure I need a little buffer so that repayments (and maybe even defaults) don't push me below my goal too frequently. I may in fact keep pushing upwards&nbsp;with loans in the 16% to 18% range until I get my return up to 16% and then gradually work the average back to 15.5%.</P> <P>So far, my Lending Club portfolio has been <EM><STRONG>perfect</STRONG></EM>, with no delinquencies or even late payments. I started investing with Lending Club back in June 2009.</P> <P>This is still just an experiment for me since I have no prior experience with this type of investment, but so far in has been very encouraging. I intend to double the size of the experiment in&nbsp;June or July&nbsp;(assuming my work income continues.)</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Finaxyz.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-1724805234505577719?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-8479779671927779682010-04-21T16:36:00.001-04:002010-04-21T16:36:49.144-04:00<P>All but one of my latest batch of <A href="https://www.lendingclub.com/">Lending Club</A>&nbsp;investment loans were issued as of Monday. Somehow I had made a mistake and inadvertently selected a loan that was not already "Approved", which means that although it had reached full funding, it failed to be issued due to a lack of final documentation from the borrower. I was out for a few days, but I just placed a new order for a new "Approved" investment loan.</P> <P>I also had accumulated enough interest and return of principal to make yet another new loan investment.</P> <P>Together, the two new loans average 18.67% return, with a&nbsp;historical default rate of 5.95% and a service&nbsp;charge of 0.73%, resulting in a projected return of 12%.</P> <P>Meanwhile, my Net Annualized Return has inched up to 15.19%. I have a total of 51 notes, pus the two new ones from today that are still in funding.</P> <P>Even with this doubling of my total porfolio size,&nbsp;my Lending Club investment is still a modest size experiment. Even doubled again it would still be modest size. If all goes according to plan (not that I actually have a plan), by the end of the year I should finally have a <EM>real</EM> investment in Lending Club loans.</P> <P>My goal continues to be a 15% return, but I figure I need a little buffer so that repayments (and maybe even defaults) don't push me below my goal too frequently. I may in fact keep pushing upwards&nbsp;with loans in the 16% to 18% range until I get my return up to 16% and then gradually work the average back to 15.5%.</P> <P>So far, my Lending Club portfolio has been <EM><STRONG>perfect</STRONG></EM>, with no delinquencies or even late payments. I started investing with Lending Club back in June 2009.</P> <P>This is still just an experiment for me since I have no prior experience with this type of investment, but so far in has been very encouraging. I intend to double the size of the experiment in&nbsp;June or July&nbsp;(assuming my work income continues.)</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Finaxyz.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-847977967192777968?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-84887393565129715492010-04-15T17:58:00.001-04:002010-04-15T17:58:56.051-04:00<P>Just a week ago I placed orders to invest in a new batch of <A href="https://www.lendingclub.com/">Lending Club</A>&nbsp;investment loans and already 75% of them have been fully funded and issued. And of the remaining five, two have reached full funding and are awaiting final review. The remaining three are about 75% to 80% funded and likely to be funded and issued by Monday.</P> <P>Somehow I made a mistake and inadvertently selected a loan that was not already "Approved", which means that although it has reached full funding, it could still be declined if the borrower does not finalize proof of income. I should be okay on this one (as I have been for most such loans in the past), but it does add some uncertainty.</P> <P>It has been ten days since I started this investment batch by initiated a transfer of funds to my Lending Club account from within the Lending Club web site. Assuming the remaining loans are issued on Monday, that will have been a two-week investment cycle, which is about what I would expect with a moderate size batch of loans, a bunch of which were less than 50% funded when I selected them, and includes the time for the transfer of funds from my bank account to settle in my Lending Club account.</P> <P>Meanwhile, my Net Annualized Return has inched back up to 15.08%. I have a total of 52 notes (assuming the latest batch all get funded.)</P> <P>Even with this doubling of my total porfolio size,&nbsp;my Lending Club investment is still a modest size experiment. Even doubled again it would still be modest size. If all goes according to plan (not that I actually have a plan), by the end of the year I should finally have a <EM>real</EM> investment in Lending Club loans.</P> <P>My goal continues to be a 15% return, but I figure I need a little buffer so that repayments (and maybe even defaults) don't push me below my goal too frequently. I may in fact keep pushing upwards&nbsp;with loans in the 16% to 18% range until I get my return up to 16% and then gradually work the average back to 15.5%.</P> <P>So far, my Lending Club portfolio has been <EM><STRONG>perfect</STRONG></EM>, with no delinquencies or even late payments. I started investing with Lending Club back in June 2009.</P> <P>This is still just an experiment for me since I have no prior experience with this type of investment, but so far in has been very encouraging. I intend to double the size of the experiment in&nbsp;June or July&nbsp;(assuming my work income continues.)</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Finaxyz.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-8488739356512971549?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-64744513227535153722010-04-09T17:39:00.001-04:002010-04-09T17:39:44.524-04:00<P>This morning and this afternoon I invested in the last two investment loans (notes) to complete the investment of my latest infusion of money into my <A href="https://www.lendingclub.com/">Lending Club</A>&nbsp;account. One was at 18.30% and the other at 17.56%, so I think my average for the new batch should be roughly at 15%, give or take. I had hoped to be up at 15.5% or even 16%, but 15% is fine.</P> <P>Two of the batch of 20 loans have already been fully funded and issued. Three more have reached full funding and should be issued on Monday. The rest are all "Approved" but in various stages of funding. A couple of them might not reach full funding by the two-week deadline, but overall they are in great shape to get issued within the next week to ten days. My work is done (unless some of them fail to get fully funded). I'll check up on their funding status every couple of days (just&nbsp;for fun, actually), but otherwise my account is on auto-pilot.</P> <P>It was only Monday that I initiated the transfer from my bank account in Lending Club. I didn't even expect to be starting the&nbsp;loan selection process until Monday. being ahead of the game is quite satisfying.</P> <P>The only other comment I would make is that I would have been done yesterday if I had doubled or somewhat increased my loan slice size to minimize the number of loans I needed to select. Twenty is a lot to do all at one. Sure, the Lending Match feature can be used to do a batch of automatically selected notes all at once, but I prefer to carefully vet each note and to select only those that are already "Approved."</P> <P>Meanwhile, my Net Annualized Return has moved back up to 15.07%. I have a total of 52 notes (assuming the latest batch all get funded.)</P> <P>Even with this doubling of my total porfolio size,&nbsp;my Lending Club investment is still a modest size experiment. Even doubled again it would still be modest size. If all goes according to plan (not that I actually have a plan), by the end of the year I should finally have a <EM>real</EM> investment in Lending Club loans.</P> <P>My goal continues to be a 15% return, but I figure I need a little buffer so that repayments (and maybe even defaults) don't push me below my goal too frequently. I may in fact keep pushing upwards&nbsp;with loans in the 16% to 18% range until I get my return up to 16% and then gradually work the average back to 15.5%.</P> <P>So far, my Lending Club portfolio has been <EM><STRONG>perfect</STRONG></EM>, with no delinquencies or even late payments. I started investing with Lending Club back in June 2009.</P> <P>This is still just an experiment for me since I have no prior experience with this type of investment, but so far in has been very encouraging. I intend to double the size of the experiment in&nbsp;June or July&nbsp;(assuming my work income continues.)</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Finaxyz.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-6474451322753515372?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-27123459951434272892010-04-09T16:23:00.001-04:002010-04-09T16:23:45.949-04:00<P dir=ltr>Here's an interesting article that posits that our true rate of innovation is declining:</P> <BLOCKQUOTE style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px" dir=ltr> <P><EM>One of the strangest portents of the <STRONG>end of progress</STRONG> is the recent discovery that humans are losing their ability to come up with new ideas.</EM></P> <P><EM>... "The number of advances wasn't increasing exponentially, I hadn't seen as many as I had expected — not in any particular area, just generally."</EM></P> <P><EM>... the rate of innovation peaked in 1873 and has been declining ever since. In fact, our current rate of innovation — which Huebner puts at seven important technological developments per billion people per year — is about the same as it was in 1600. By 2024 it will have slumped to the same level as it was in the Dark Ages, the period between the end of the Roman empire and the start of the Middle Ages.</EM></P> <P><EM>Huebner's insight has caused some outrage. The influential scientist Ray Kurzweil has criticised his sample of innovations as "arbitrary"; K Eric Drexler, prophet of nanotechnology, has argued that we should be measuring capabilities, not innovations. Thus we may travel faster or access more information at greater speeds without significant innovations as such.</EM></P> <P><EM>Huebner has so far successfully responded to all these criticisms. Moreover, he is supported by the work of Ben Jones, a management professor at Northwestern University in Illinois. Jones has found that we are currently in a quandary comparable to that of the Red Queen in Through the Looking Glass: we have to run faster and faster just to stay in the same place. Basically, two centuries of economic growth in the industrialised world has been driven by scientific and technological innovation. We don't get richer unaided or simply by working harder: we get richer because smart people invent steam engines, antibiotics and the internet. What Jones has discovered is that we have to work harder and harder to sustain growth through innovation. More and more money has to be poured into research and development and we have to deploy more people in these areas just to keep up. "The result is," says Jones, "that the average individual innovator is having a smaller and smaller impact."</EM></P></BLOCKQUOTE> <P>See: <A href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/article575370.ece">http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/article575370.ece</A></P> <P>I would summarize the problem as that our main focus is to be extremely good at repackaging and repurposing old wine in new bottles.</P> <P>In my view, we have far too much "fake innovation". Even worse, we place far to great a value on fake over true innovation.</P> <P>To make my point: Here we are a whole decade into the 21st century and <EM><STRONG>NOBODY</STRONG></EM> is knocking on my door or accosting me on the street and demanding that I should do some <EM><STRONG>true innovation</STRONG></EM>. Nobody. Oh, sure, some people want to cure cancer or prevent climate change and such, but nobody wants to pursue, for example, ... "<EM><STRONG>progress of the human mind</STRONG></EM>" (Kurzweil seems to want to eliminate it as if it were a form of cancer.)</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@BaseTechnology.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-2712345995143427289?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-55047704516346378662010-04-08T15:18:00.001-04:002010-04-08T15:18:50.809-04:00<P>My latest infusion of money into my <A href="https://www.lendingclub.com/">Lending Club</A>&nbsp;account became available today, a day earlier than I expected. It was only Monday that I initiated the transfer from my bank account in Lending Club. I was pleasantly surprised to see the email message from Lending Club in my inbox when I&nbsp;got back from my noon walk.</P> <P>I decided to keep the size of each slice of investment in any individual loan relatively small, at $50. I started out with the goal of shooting for a return of about 16% on these loans, but there simply weren't enough of them that were already "Approved" which is a personal criteria that I use to assure quality and increase the odds that the loans will be issued and in a timely manner. About half of my new loans are above 15% and half below 15%, averaging 14.88%. That is below my ultimate goal of 15%, but I actually held back 10% of the new money so that I could try on another day to get a couple of loans up in the 18% range to see if I could move the average above 15%. After all, new loans are appearing on Lending Club every day.</P> <P>Some of these loans were mostly funded so I should see them issued within the next couple of days. Others were fairly new and may take a week or more to become fully funded.</P> <P>Here's a hoot: One is for debt consolidation for an investment banker at Citigroup here in NYC who has a six-digit salary. Excellent! Competing with Wall Street on Wall Street -- that's the way to stick it to the banks for all of the pain they caused so many of us. Yeah!</P> <P>Even with this doubling of my total porfolio size,&nbsp;my Lending Club investment is still a modest size experiment. Even doubled again it would still be modest size. If all goes according to plan (not that I actually have a plan), by the end of the year I should finally have a <EM>real</EM> investment in Lending Club loans.</P> <P>My goal continues to be a 15% return, but I figure I need a little buffer so that repayments (and maybe even defaults) don't push me below my goal too frequently. I may in fact keep pushing upwards&nbsp;with loans in the 16% to 18% range until I get my return up to 16% and then gradually work the average back to 15.5%. I was briefly above 15% a couple of weeks ago, but then I fell back to 14.88%. Yesterday I finally crept back up to 14.99%.</P> <P>So far, my Lending Club portfolio has been <EM><STRONG>perfect</STRONG></EM>, with no delinquencies or even late payments. I started investing with Lending Club back in June 2009.</P> <P>This is still just an experiment for me since I have no prior experience with this type of investment, but so far in has been very encouraging. I intend to double the size of the experiment in&nbsp;June or July&nbsp;(assuming my work income continues.)</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Finaxyz.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-5504770451634637866?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-34023048870860427122010-04-07T15:56:00.001-04:002010-04-07T15:56:14.510-04:00<P>As I had been hinting in recent posts about <A href="https://www.lendingclub.com/">Lending Club</A>, I am going ahead and doubling the size of my investment loan portfolio since my work started up again at the beginning of April. I also switched banks, so I had to wait to verify the new bank before initiating the funds transfer on Monday. According to Lending Club the money should be available for investment sometime on Friday or Monday. I am actually using money from my federal tax refund.</P> <P>I still need to decide whether to invest in $50 or $100 loan slices. The larger amount means fewer loans which is easier to vet and manage but greater exposure to risk of any loan, while the smaller amount means more effort but less risk. Or, I could pick a number in the middle. What I really need to do is think about what investment activity I expect in the future so that these investments are consistent with that goal. I'll probably double my portfolio again within three or four months, so I am leaning towards the larger loan size.</P> <P>Even with this doubling my Lending Club investment is still a modest size experiment. Even doubled again it would still be modest size. If all goes according to plan (not that I actually have a plan), by the end of the year I should finally have a <EM>real</EM> investment in Lending Club loans.</P> <P>My goal continues to be a 15% return, but I figure I need a little buffer so that repayments (and maybe even defaults) don't push me below my goal too frequently. I may in fact keep pushing upwards&nbsp;with loans in the 16% to 18% range until I get my return up to 16% and then gradually work the average back to 15.5%. I was briefly above 15% a couple of weeks ago, but then I fell back to 14.88%. Yesterday I finally crept back up to 14.99%.</P> <P>So far, my Lending Club portfolio has been <EM><STRONG>perfect</STRONG></EM>, with no delinquencies or even late payments. I started investing with Lending Club back in June 2009.</P> <P>This is still just an experiment for me since I have no prior experience with this type of investment, but so far in has been very encouraging. I intend to double the size of the experiment in&nbsp;June or July&nbsp;(assuming my work income continues.)</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Finaxyz.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-3402304887086042712?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-16008360491012074542010-03-30T16:08:00.000-04:002010-03-30T16:09:15.158-04:00<P>The <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">EntConnect 2010 Entrepreneurial Connections conference</A>&nbsp;is now history, as technical entrepreneurs now look forward to EntConnect 2011. EntConnect 2010 ran from Thursday, March 25, 2010 through Sunday, March 28, 2010. I didn't&nbsp;blog or twitter or wiki about it since my notebook PC screen&nbsp;died as the conference was about to get underway (I bought an external monitor at BestBuy last night when I got back to NYC), but&nbsp;new attendee and presenter Jeff Duntemann,&nbsp;former publisher of <EM>PC TECHNIQUES</EM> magazine, has posted an outstanding write-up at <A href="http://www.contrapositivediary.com/?p=1169">Report: EntConnect 2010</A>. Old-time attendees and <EM>Midnight Engineering</EM> writers Matt Trask and Bruce Boyes came back to the conference and recounted their adventures over recent years. Newcomer, keynote speaker,&nbsp;and retireed entrepreneur (that's an oxymoron, by the way) Dave Grenewetzki, former President of game publisher <SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">Sierra On-Line, definitely added a lot of adventurous tales to the proceedings.</SPAN></P> <P>I don't have an exact attendee count, especially since not everyone was there at all times, but I counted about 26 people on several different occasions. Small, but very focused and very interactive.</P> <P>Some of us enjoyed getting rides in a Tesla all-electric sports car after the formal conference on Sunday. Others had more fun driving their own go-karts on Friday.</P> <P>Hotel details for EntConnect 2011 -- <STRONG><EM>the 20th Anniversity of the conference</EM></STRONG> -- are still up in the air, but the anticipated dates are Thursday, March 24, 2011 through Sunday, March 27, 2011.</P> <P>Oh, I almost forgot, there is a <STRONG><EM>special reduced price</EM></STRONG> for those who register for <STRONG>EntConnect 2011</STRONG> by the end of this week.</P> <P>Check out <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">the official conference web site</A>, but here is my 37-second elevator pitch for the conference:</P> <BLOCKQUOTE style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px" dir=ltr> <P><EM>Whether you are an entrepreneur or thinking about starting your own business or simply need a good excuse to go skiing in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, the </EM><A href="http://www.entconnect.org/"><EM><STRONG>Entrepreneurial Connections</STRONG> conference (<STRONG>EntConnect</STRONG>)</EM></A><EM> may be just the conference you have been waiting for. Targeted primarily at engineers (hardware, software, and other)&nbsp;and others with a strong technical interest, it is more of a loosely-structured "unconference", with plenty of opportunities for a relatively small group of participants (15 to 40) to network or even give their own presentations on a very wide range of topics from technology, business strategy, intellectual property and legal issues, accounting issues, finance, marketing, sales, and even selling your business.&nbsp;With plenty of time to ski or otherwise enjoy the mountains and Denver area (great time to visit Boulder or Colorado Springs as well), the conference is&nbsp;a great&nbsp;opportunity to "learn and share" and otherwise&nbsp;have an "out of box" experience. Participants and speakers range over the full spectrum from wannabes and newcomers to successful young entrepreneurs and seasoned veterans. The conference is an excellent opportunity to meet up with former readers (and possibly even the publisher)&nbsp;of <STRONG>Midnight Engineering</STRONG> magazine as well. The conference runs from Thursday, March 24, 2011&nbsp;through Sunday, March 27, 2011.</EM></P></BLOCKQUOTE> <P>I have been attending the conference since it first started in 1992 as <A href="http://www.opixia.com/EntEng/ME-SKI-92.htm">ME SKI '92</A>&nbsp;and then&nbsp;evolved into&nbsp;ENTCON and then Entrepreneurial Connections or EntConnect.</P> <P>For a little nostalgia, check out the <A href="http://www.opixia.com/EntEng/ME-SKI-92.htm">original ME SKI '92 conference announcement</A>.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Opixia.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-1600836049101207454?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-48467311105619083202010-03-24T18:11:00.001-04:002010-03-24T18:11:46.917-04:00<P>24 hours from now I will out in Denver for the <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">EntConnect 2010 Entrepreneurial Connections conference</A>, which runs&nbsp;this week from Thursday, March 25, 2010 through Sunday, March 28, 2010. The main conference is on the weekend with activities, including skiing on Thursday and Friday. The weather looks fine for Thursday, Friday, and Sunday.</P> <P>Here is the <A href="http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/USCO0105">current weather forecast</A>:</P> <UL> <LI>Thursday, March 25: Mostly Sunny, high 48F. <LI>Friday, March 26: Mostly Cloudy, high 52F. <LI>Saturday, March 27: 40% chance of Rain/Snow Showers, high of 45F. <LI>Sunday, March 28: Sunny, high of 55F <LI>Monday, March 29: Mostly Sunny, high of 61F.</LI></UL> <P>Check out <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">the official conference web site</A>, but here is my 37-second elevator pitch for the conference:</P> <BLOCKQUOTE style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px" dir=ltr> <P><EM>Whether you are an entrepreneur or thinking about starting your own business or simply need a good excuse to go skiing in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, the </EM><A href="http://www.entconnect.org/"><EM><STRONG>Entrepreneurial Connections</STRONG> conference (<STRONG>EntConnect</STRONG>)</EM></A><EM> may be just the conference you have been waiting for. Targeted primarily at engineers (hardware, software, and other)&nbsp;and others with a strong technical interest, it is more of a loosely-structured "unconference", with plenty of opportunities for a relatively small group of participants (15 to 40) to network or even give their own presentations on a very wide range of topics from technology, business strategy, intellectual property and legal issues, accounting issues, finance, marketing, sales, and even selling your business.&nbsp;With plenty of time to ski or otherwise enjoy the mountains and Denver area (great time to visit Boulder or Colorado Springs as well), the conference is&nbsp;a great&nbsp;opportunity to "learn and share" and otherwise&nbsp;have an "out of box" experience. Participants and speakers range over the full spectrum from wannabes and newcomers to successful young entrepreneurs and seasoned veterans. The conference is an excellent opportunity to meet up with former readers (and possibly even the publisher)&nbsp;of <STRONG>Midnight Engineering</STRONG> magazine as well. The conference runs from Thursday, March 25, 2010&nbsp;through Sunday, March 28, 2010.</EM></P></BLOCKQUOTE> <P>I have been attending the conference since it first started in 1992 as <A href="http://www.opixia.com/EntEng/ME-SKI-92.htm">ME SKI '92</A>&nbsp;and then&nbsp;evolved into&nbsp;ENTCON and then Entrepreneurial Connections or EntConnect.</P> <P>For a little nostalgia, check out the <A href="http://www.opixia.com/EntEng/ME-SKI-92.htm">original ME SKI '92 conference announcement</A>.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Opixia.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-4846731110561908320?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-17342169555871861432010-03-24T16:43:00.001-04:002010-03-24T16:43:44.372-04:00<P>Microlending is a great concept. <A href="http://www.kiva.org/">Kiva</A> provides a way for average American consumers to participate and fund microloans for the working poor around the world. But, Kiva does not offer <EM>any</EM> financial return to investors. Zero. Zilch. Zip. Nada. Nothing. Sure, as a charity, Kiva is great. But it doesn't fit into any investment strategy. <A href="https://www.lendingclub.com/">Lending Club</A>&nbsp;and <A href="http://www.prosper.com/">Prosper</A> do provide decent investment returns, but focus on lending to creditworthy consumers in America who are a number of rungs higher on the economic ladder than the working poor in third-world countries. What was missing was something in the middle, offering a modest return for microloans for the working poor. Enter <A href="http://www.kiva.org/">MicroPlace</A>, which does exactly that. I do not know a lot about it yet, but I just got an email from PayPal alerting me to its existence. PayPal is part of eBay and MicroPlace is part of PayPal. So, it is not some fly-by-night operation. I will be checking into them over the next few weeks.</P> <P>From their web site:</P> <BLOCKQUOTE style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px" dir=ltr> <P><STRONG><EM>MicroPlace Mission</EM></STRONG></P> <P><EM>MicroPlace's mission is to help alleviate global poverty by enabling everyday people to make investments in the world's working poor.</EM></P> <P><EM>Our idea is simple.</EM></P> <P><EM>Microfinance institutions around the world have discovered an effective way to help the world's working poor lift themselves out of poverty. These organizations need capital to expand and reach more of the working poor. At the same time, millions of everyday people here in the United States are looking for ways to make investments that yield a financial return while making a positive impact on the world. MicroPlace simply connects investors with microfinance institutions looking for funds.</EM></P> <P><EM>The result: more microfinance in the world, satisfied investors, and above all, fewer people living in poverty.</EM></P></BLOCKQUOTE> <P>Also, this is another <STRONG><EM>GREAT</EM></STRONG> way to thumb your nose at all of those big Wall Street banks with their giga-billion bailouts. You don't need their 1% interest while they use your money to make speculative bets that churn the stock market and push commodities prices higher. Put the same money in MicroPlace, get a <EM>higher</EM> rate of return, and actually <STRONG><EM>do some good in the world</EM></STRONG>! At least that's the theory. Stay tuned for details.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Finaxyz.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-1734216955587186143?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-6178414255038145522010-03-24T07:28:00.001-04:002010-03-24T07:28:46.073-04:00<P>Cashflow from my portfolio of <A href="https://www.lendingclub.com/">Lending Club</A>&nbsp;investment loans ("notes")&nbsp;over the past&nbsp;eleven days has given&nbsp;me enough cash this morning to invest in yet another consumer loan. My current Net Annualized Return is&nbsp;now at&nbsp;15.02%, which is still a bit short of my goal of 15.5%, so I picked a pre-approved loan at 17.19% that is already 78% funded with nine days left in the two-week funding period. I expect that this loan is likely to reach full funding within a couple of days.</P> <P>The <EM>loan grade </EM>for this loan is E3 (on an "A" to "G" scale), which is moderately risky. Lending Club says that the <EM>historical default rate</EM> for loans such as this one is about 3.74%, so that my&nbsp;<EM>projected return</EM> is about 12.73%. That includes Lending Club taking 0.72% as a servicing fee.&nbsp;In truth, my goal of 15.5% should factor in a default rate of about 3.5% or so, giving an expected return of about 12%. That is still quite respectable, especially in this economic and financial environment.</P> <P>My goal is really a 15% return, but I figure I need a little buffer so that repayments (and maybe even defaults) don't push me below my goal too frequently. I may in fact keep pushing upwards&nbsp;with loans in the 16% to 18% range until I get my return up to 16% and then gradually work the average back to 15.5%.</P> <P>So far, my Lending Club portfolio has been <EM><STRONG>perfect</STRONG></EM>, with no delinquencies or even late payments. I started investing with Lending Club back in June.</P> <P>This is still just an experiment for me since I have no prior experience with this type of investment, but so far in has been very encouraging. I intend to double the size of the experiment in April (assuming my work income continues.)</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Finaxyz.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-617841425503814552?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-18618313526248609132010-03-22T19:01:00.001-04:002010-03-22T19:01:54.642-04:00<P>One of the annoying "traditions" of the <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">EntConnect Entrepreneurial Connections conference</A> in Denver is that somehow the weather has managed to be uncooperative half of the time. Last year there was a major winter storm the Thursday a lot of us were arriving. So, maybe this will be the half of the time when the weather is more cooperative. The <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">EntConnect 2010 Entrepreneurial Connections conference</A> is in Denver this week from Thursday, March 25, 2010 through Sunday, March 28, 2010. The main conference is on the weekend with activities, including skiing in the days before. The weather looks fine for Thursday and the weekend, but there is currently a <EM>Winter Storm Warning</EM> in effect for Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday afternoon. I'll be arriving from New York (Newark, actually) on Thursday, so I should be okay, unless there is some major air traffic disruption on Wednesday.</P> <P>Here is the <A href="http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/USCO0105">current weather forecast</A>:</P> <UL> <LI>Wednesday, March 24: 60% chance of Snow Shower, high of 35F.</LI> <LI>Thursday, March 25: Sunny, high 50F.</LI> <LI>Friday, March 26: Partly Cloudy, high 58F.</LI> <LI>Saturday, March 27: 40% chance of Showers, high of 41F.</LI> <LI>Sunday, March 28: Partly Cloudy, high of 52F</LI> <LI>Monday, March 29: Partly Cloudy, high of 56F.</LI></UL> <P>Check out <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">the official conference web site</A>, but here is my 37-second elevator pitch for the conference:</P> <BLOCKQUOTE style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px" dir=ltr> <P><EM>Whether you are an entrepreneur or thinking about starting your own business or simply need a good excuse to go skiing in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, the </EM><A href="http://www.entconnect.org/"><EM><STRONG>Entrepreneurial Connections</STRONG> conference (<STRONG>EntConnect</STRONG>)</EM></A><EM> may be just the conference you have been waiting for. Targeted primarily at engineers (hardware, software, and other)&nbsp;and others with a strong technical interest, it is more of a loosely-structured "unconference", with plenty of opportunities for a relatively small group of participants (15 to 40) to network or even give their own presentations on a very wide range of topics from technology, business strategy, intellectual property and legal issues, accounting issues, finance, marketing, sales, and even selling your business.&nbsp;With plenty of time to ski or otherwise enjoy the mountains and Denver area (great time to visit Boulder or Colorado Springs as well), the conference is&nbsp;a great&nbsp;opportunity to "learn and share" and otherwise&nbsp;have an "out of box" experience. Participants and speakers range over the full spectrum from wannabes and newcomers to successful young entrepreneurs and seasoned veterans. The conference is an excellent opportunity to meet up with former readers (and possibly even the publisher)&nbsp;of <STRONG>Midnight Engineering</STRONG> magazine as well. The conference runs from Thursday, March 25, 2010&nbsp;through Sunday, March 28, 2010.</EM></P></BLOCKQUOTE> <P>I have been attending the conference since it first started in 1992 as <A href="http://www.opixia.com/EntEng/ME-SKI-92.htm">ME SKI '92</A>&nbsp;and then&nbsp;evolved into&nbsp;ENTCON and then Entrepreneurial Connections or EntConnect.</P> <P>For a little nostalgia, check out the <A href="http://www.opixia.com/EntEng/ME-SKI-92.htm">original ME SKI '92 conference announcement</A>.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Opixia.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-1861831352624860913?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-62863994270497494292010-03-16T18:46:00.001-04:002010-03-16T18:46:18.769-04:00<P>I have been so busy on other things that the upcoming <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">EntConnect 2010 Entrepreneurial Connections conference</A> in Denver&nbsp;at the end of the&nbsp;month (Thursday, March 25, 2010 through Sunday, March 28, 2010) has started to sneak up on me and is now barely a week away. I don't&nbsp;have any additional details since my last post. At&nbsp;this stage it is mostly a matter of finalizing preparations for traveling to the conference <EM>next week</EM>.</P> <P>Check out <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">the official conference web site</A>, but here is my 37-second elevator pitch for the conference:</P> <BLOCKQUOTE style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px" dir=ltr> <P><EM>Whether you are an entrepreneur or thinking about starting your own business or simply need a good excuse to go skiing in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, the </EM><A href="http://www.entconnect.org/"><EM><STRONG>Entrepreneurial Connections</STRONG> conference (<STRONG>EntConnect</STRONG>)</EM></A><EM> may be just the conference you have been waiting for. Targeted primarily at engineers (hardware, software, and other)&nbsp;and others with a strong technical interest, it is more of a loosely-structured "unconference", with plenty of opportunities for a relatively small group of participants (15 to 40) to network or even give their own presentations on a very wide range of topics from technology, business strategy, intellectual property and legal issues, accounting issues, finance, marketing, sales, and even selling your business.&nbsp;With plenty of time to ski or otherwise enjoy the mountains and Denver area (great time to visit Boulder or Colorado Springs as well), the conference is&nbsp;a great&nbsp;opportunity to "learn and share" and otherwise&nbsp;have an "out of box" experience. Participants and speakers range over the full spectrum from wannabes and newcomers to successful young entrepreneurs and seasoned veterans. The conference is an excellent opportunity to meet up with former readers (and possibly even the publisher)&nbsp;of <STRONG>Midnight Engineering</STRONG> magazine as well. The conference runs from Thursday, March 25, 2010&nbsp;through Sunday, March 28, 2010.</EM></P></BLOCKQUOTE> <P>I have been attending the conference since it first started in 1992 as <A href="http://www.opixia.com/EntEng/ME-SKI-92.htm">ME SKI '92</A>&nbsp;and then&nbsp;evolved into&nbsp;ENTCON and then Entrepreneurial Connections or EntConnect.</P> <P>For a little nostalgia, check out the <A href="http://www.opixia.com/EntEng/ME-SKI-92.htm">original ME SKI '92 conference announcement</A>.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Opixia.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-6286399427049749429?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-42482937052436331842010-03-15T08:58:00.001-04:002010-03-15T08:58:36.310-04:00<P>Only Friday morning I put in an order to use recent cashflow (and an early repayment)&nbsp;from my portfolio of <A href="https://www.lendingclub.com/">Lending Club</A>&nbsp;investment loans to invest in a new loan. Over the weekend that loan reaching full funding and early this morning Lending Club issued the loan. Wow, that was fast!</P> <P>My current Net Annualized Return&nbsp;remains at&nbsp;14.47%, but it should rise as I start to receive payments from the new batch of loans I made in February. My goal is to hit 15% (or maybe 15.5% to keep the average above 15%.)</P> <P>So far, my Lending Club portfolio has been perfect, with no delinquencies or even late payments. I started investing with Lending Club back in June.</P> <P>This is still just an experiment for me since I have no prior experience with this type of investment, but so far in has been very encouraging. I intend to double the size of the experiment in April (assuming my work income continues.)</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Finaxyz.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-4248293705243633184?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-30571165138577239042010-03-13T12:22:00.001-05:002010-03-13T12:22:51.745-05:00<P>There was an insightful blog post on <EM>The New York Times</EM> by business owner Jay Goltz entitled "<A href="http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/09/the-secret-to-having-happy-employees/">The Secret to Having Happy Employees</A>". Thankfully, he provides the answer without forcing to buy a book or read a long-winded essay. Put simply, "<EM>I fired the unhappy people.</EM>" And he's not joking. He offers impeccable reasoning for this harsh approach and I have to agree with him.</P> <P>Personally, I have not spent much time as a manager and thankfully never had to fire anybody, but I have had plenty of experience as an unhappy worker. Nobody ever fired me, but I can't say they did me any great favor by keeping me on as unhappy as I was. Maybe I have just always had the good sense to move on before my unhappiness interfered with my work. Managers may not like having unhappy workers, but managers really love people who get the job done. Still, I partially feel that managers would have done me a big favor by either outright firing me or at least "counseling" me that if I couldn't find a way to get over my unhappiness then I should move on of my own volition.</P> <P>I have always remembered from years ago reading about the founder of Marriott encountering a waitress in one of his Hot Shoppes restaurants who was unhappy or providing bad service to a customer and he basically told her that if she could not be happy working there then she shouldn't be working there. That made perfect sense to me. I wish I could have personally taken that advice on many occasions or at least&nbsp;if people could have reminded me of that philosophy, but somehow performance and my desire for income have always trumped happiness, for me.</P> <P>In any case, I heartily endorse Mr. Goltz' and Marriott's&nbsp;philosophy. Specific implementation details can and should vary from organization to organization and even person to person, but ultimately unhappy employees have to go.</P> <P>Mr. Goltz has a follow-up post entitled "<A href="http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/11/more-on-happy-employees/">More on Happy Employees</A>" to clarify that when he refers to unhappy employees he is not simply referring to their level of cheerfulness: "<EM>Perhaps I could have been clearer when I said that I fire unhappy people. Instead of unhappy, I probably should have said disrespectful (to others, not me), incompetent, unreasonable, undependable, irresponsible, unproductive, dysfunctional (I did say that one), angry, whiny or mean&nbsp;-- and beyond a manager's ability to repair (actually, I said that, too).</EM>"</P> <P>The real point is that employees need to do their jobs without having a significantly negative emotional impact on those around them, whether they are other workers or customers.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Finaxyz.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-3057116513857723904?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-44562527027943856242010-03-12T10:37:00.000-05:002010-03-12T10:38:06.152-05:00<P>Recent cashflow from my portfolio of <A href="https://www.lendingclub.com/">Lending Club</A>&nbsp;investment loans coupled with early repayment of one of the loans gave me enough cash this morning to invest in yet another consumer loan. My current Net Annualized Return is only 14.47% (it dropped with that early repayment), below my goal of 15%, so I picked a pre-approved loan at 16.45% that is already 76% funded with five days left in the two-week funding period. I expect that this loan is likely to reach full funding within a couple of days.</P> <P>Lending Club says that the historical default rate for loans such as this one is about 3.78%, so that my&nbsp;<EM>projected return</EM> is about 11.94%. That includes Lending Club taking 0.72% as a servicing fee.&nbsp;In truth, my goal of 15% should factor in a default rate of about 3.5% or so, giving an expected return of about 11.5%. That is still quite respectable, especially in this economic and financial environment.</P> <P>So far, my Lending Club portfolio has been perfect, with no delinquencies or even late payments. I started investing with Lending Club back in June.</P> <P>This is still just an experiment for me since I have no prior experience with this type of investment, but so far in has been very encouraging. I intend to double the size of the experiment in April (assuming my work income continues.)</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Finaxyz.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-4456252702794385624?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-64689529816935235472010-03-03T07:09:00.001-05:002010-03-03T07:09:47.763-05:00<P>Dave Grenewetzki, former President of game publisher <SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">Sierra On-Line and most-recently President of <SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">the interactive fitness <SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">pioneer <SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">Expresso Fitness, will be the keynote speaker at the upcoming</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN> <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">EntConnect 2010 Entrepreneurial Connections conference</A> in Denver&nbsp;at the end of the&nbsp;month (Thursday, March 25, 2010 through Sunday, March 28, 2010.) His talk is titled "<EM><STRONG>Following the fun... career planning through serendipity</STRONG></EM>." As Dave puts it,</P> <BLOCKQUOTE style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px" dir=ltr> <P><EM>I'll walk people through my approach to career planning which boils down to doing no formal planning other than being prepared, nimble and ready to make major diversions at any moment to maximize the fun in your working life.</EM></P></BLOCKQUOTE> <P>Check out&nbsp;<A href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/dgreno">Dave's LinkedIn profile</A>. In addition to his leadership at Sierra Online, he is a former senior executive of <SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">Palladium Interactive, <SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">Accolade, and <SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">Mindscape.</SPAN>&nbsp;</SPAN></SPAN>&nbsp;Dave's current interests, from his bio:</P> <BLOCKQUOTE style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px" dir=ltr> <P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><EM>Since retiring from Sierra in 2001, Mr. Grenewetzki has been: an advisor and/or board member to a number of technology-related companies; a board member of public broadcaster KRCB; an expert witness in matters involving software development and industry practices; a speaker at game industry conferences; and a mentor for high school students in robotics. He has also traveled the world SCUBA diving with his family.</EM></P></BLOCKQUOTE> <P>Check out <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">the official conference web site</A>, but here is my 37-second elevator pitch for the conference:</P> <BLOCKQUOTE style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px" dir=ltr> <P><EM>Whether you are an entrepreneur or thinking about starting your own business or simply need a good excuse to go skiing in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, the </EM><A href="http://www.entconnect.org/"><EM><STRONG>Entrepreneurial Connections</STRONG> conference (<STRONG>EntConnect</STRONG>)</EM></A><EM> may be just the conference you have been waiting for. Targeted primarily at engineers (hardware, software, and other)&nbsp;and others with a strong technical interest, it is more of a loosely-structured "unconference", with plenty of opportunities for a relatively small group of participants (15 to 40) to network or even give their own presentations on a very wide range of topics from technology, business strategy, intellectual property and legal issues, accounting issues, finance, marketing, sales, and even selling your business.&nbsp;With plenty of time to ski or otherwise enjoy the mountains and Denver area (great time to visit Boulder or Colorado Springs as well), the conference is&nbsp;a great&nbsp;opportunity to "learn and share" and otherwise&nbsp;have an "out of box" experience. Participants and speakers range over the full spectrum from wannabes and newcomers to successful young entrepreneurs and seasoned veterans. The conference is an excellent opportunity to meet up with former readers (and possibly even the publisher)&nbsp;of <STRONG>Midnight Engineering</STRONG> magazine as well. The conference runs from Thursday, March 25, 2010&nbsp;through Sunday, March 28, 2010.</EM></P></BLOCKQUOTE> <P>I have been attending the conference since it first started in 1992 as <A href="http://www.opixia.com/EntEng/ME-SKI-92.htm">ME SKI '92</A>&nbsp;and then&nbsp;evolved into&nbsp;ENTCON and then Entrepreneurial Connections or EntConnect.</P> <P>For a little nostalgia, check out the <A href="http://www.opixia.com/EntEng/ME-SKI-92.htm">original ME SKI '92 conference announcement</A>.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Opixia.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-6468952981693523547?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-40847886377492744662010-02-28T08:49:00.001-05:002010-02-28T08:49:59.521-05:00<P>One of the downsides of investing in any loan is that the borrower might decide to pay off the entire loan much earlier that the end of the term. Then you, the investor, are "stuck" with a pile of cash to reinvest. (Life can be tough sometimes.) One of my <A href="https://www.lendingclub.com/">Lending Club</A>&nbsp;investment loans was just repaid in full after just&nbsp;eight months. I will simply turn around and reinvest the money in a new investment loan, probably at a somewhat higher rate of interest. Unfortunately, the remaining principal (my slice, that is) was less than the minimum loan amount, so I must wait a week or so until I have enough interest flow in from other loans to make a minimum loan investment.</P> <P>Coincidently, my Net Annualized Return dropped to 14.37%, which is not shabby, but moved in the opposite direction of my goal.</P> <P>The repaid loan was at 12.21% interest. I'll target 16.5% interest for the new loan to try to boost my return closer to my 15% goal.</P> <P>This is one of the annoying "housekeeping" chores of investing in loans, but I suppose I should be gratful that this surprise was "paid in full" rather than a delinquency.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Finaxyz.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-4084788637749274466?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-31575931372511667442010-02-25T07:27:00.001-05:002010-02-25T07:27:36.229-05:00<P>Wow, that was fast. Less than twelve hours after I placed my order for a small slice of a new investment loan&nbsp;with <A href="https://www.lendingclub.com/">Lending Club</A>, the loan went from 74% funded to&nbsp;fully funded. Shortly after 6:00 a.m. I got the status email that informed me that the loan was fully funded and issued.</P> <P>I am now invested in a portfolio of 31 consumer loans.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Finaxyz.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-3157593137251166744?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-20007779144886350942010-02-24T19:52:00.000-05:002010-02-24T19:53:24.873-05:00<P>It has only been a few weeks since my last <A href="https://www.lendingclub.com/">Lending Club</A>&nbsp;investment, but already I have received enough interest and principal repayment from my portfolio of <A href="https://www.lendingclub.com/">Lending Club</A>&nbsp;investment loans to invest in another loan. My current Net Annualized Return is still only 14.55%, below my goal of 15%, so I picked a pre-approved loan at 16.48% that is already 74% funded with more than half of the funding period remaining. I expect that this loan is likely to reach full funding within a couple of days.</P> <P>Lending Club says that the historical default rate for loans such as this one is about 3.9%, so that my <EM>expected return</EM> is about 11.83%. In truth, my goal of 15% should factor in a default rate of about 3.5% or so, giving an expected return of about 11.5%. That is still quite respectable, especially in this economic and financial environment.</P> <P>I thought of holding off on this investment until I had twice as much cash flow to make a larger investment, but I decided to just get it out of the way. Since I more than doubled my portfolio a couple of weeks ago, I expect that next month I will start seeing enough cashflow to support a larger reinvestment every month or so.</P> <P>Come April, I am still expecting that I will double the size of my investment portfolio again.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Finaxyz.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-2000777914488635094?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-14228090617297743812010-02-23T13:07:00.001-05:002010-02-23T13:07:40.795-05:00<P>A <A href="http://jackkonblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/less-than-two-months-until-entconnect_01.html">recent commenter</A> asks how the EntConnect conference is maintaining its "relevance" given the low barrier to entry for technology business, the disappearance of the Midnight Engineering magazine, and what the conference offers that is in any way unique or distinct.</P> <P>All of the commenter's points are 100% valid, but, frankly, irrelevant to the conference since the conference has always had a life of its own separate from the magazine. The conference is not a magazine or run like a magazine or dependent on a magazine, or any other form of "old media." Magazines have their limits, as even the most successful old media firms can attest these days. But... the conference is not about magazines or the magazine business model.</P> <P>Sure,&nbsp;the original conference (MESKI in 1992) was a direct spin-off from the magazine, but ever since then the conference has really always had a life of its own independent of the magazine. Originally, the conference was billed as "the magazine, but in real-time." In other words, the conference is not so much about long-winded presentations, but short presentations, lots of time for lively question and answer interactions, and lots of what we now call "networking". The fact that the conference really is separate from the magazine is born out by the continuation of the conference long after the magazine ceased publication. So, the magazine definitely gave the conference its start and flavor, but, frankly, the magazine is no longer "relevant" to the conference itself or the value that the conference delivers.</P> <P>Personally, I would have expect the conference to have died long ago due to the tremendous wealth of information that is so readily accessible on the Web today as well as the diverse tools for social interaction on the Web and Internet. Maybe the attendance for the conference is down significantly due to that one fact alone, but somehow all of that information has not managed to kill the conference even after all of these years. The value of the conference is born out by the fact that people still attend even in the face of "The Internet Tidal Wave."</P> <P>Even with all of that information out there and all of those fancy interaction and social networking tools, people still have an insatiable demand for face-to-face interaction, as witnessed by the popularity of Meetup groups just about everywhere for just about every topic, including Meetups for technical entrepreneurs. Still, people come to EntConnect.</P> <P>There are many esteemed (and big-ticket)&nbsp;conferences that overlap with EntConnect as well. Still, people come to EntConnect.</P> <P>Even with the ubiquity of all of the information and all of those conferences and meetups, still EntConnect has its appeal.</P> <P>In recent years "unconferences", "bar camps", "open space technology", and a variety of other alternatives to traditional conferences have popped up as well, but, somehow, EntConnect still has its appeal.</P> <P>As I started to write this I was going to sidestep the question of uniqueness and distinction, but the simple fact is that EntConnect <STRONG><EM>is</EM></STRONG> unique and distinct. Meetups are typically too brief for any in-depth, hard-core technical networking. A meetup is like a meeting or informal get-together, while EntConnect is more like a <EM>retreat</EM>.&nbsp;The big conferences are still too big for most of us to feel comfortable diving in for hard-core networking. Unconferences, et al&nbsp;are way too unstructured for most people to feel that they are getting more value than they put into them. Somehow, EntConnect balances all of that and offers just enough structure to deliver hard-core value and plenty of interaction and networking opportunities that, well, "just work" for technical entrepreneurs.</P> <P>Sure, attendance has fallen off since the peak (maybe 120 or so), which didn't have the greatest "feel" anyway. In recent years the group has been in the 15 to 40 range. Frankly, that in itself is significant advantage. Anything smaller&nbsp;would just be too small to have a critical mass and anything much&nbsp;bigger would be too impersonal for intensive hard-core networking.</P> <P>Current barrier to entry nearly zero for a technology business? Of course! That was the whole premise of the term "Midnight Engineering" or my preferred term of "on a shoestring budget." If the low barrier is even lower now, it only increases the relevance of the core concepts behind both the magazine and the conference. Besides, the barrier for most people is somewhat above zero, so discussions about coping with non-zero barriers are certainly quite relevant.</P> <P>It is interesting that even as the magazine and old media&nbsp;business models are considered&nbsp;archaic, the subscription or monthly service model has certainly staged a resurgence in Web-based services. Even if "basic" service is "free", everybody is seeking to offer "premium" and "super-premium" services for a fee or higher fee. The conference does not depend on any of this, at present, but it is interesting that not 100% of "old media" concepts are implicitly irrelevant here in the 21st Century, and potentially useful "technology" for midnight engineers.</P> <P>Another factor that works in favor of the success of the conference is that it combines both hardware and software, and technology and business. Normally, each of these distinct domains is kept distinct in a hierarchical world, but in truth, each of these groups succeeds because of synergy with the others. It has been our experience that each group is curious about the others. That makes for a very appetizing combination. It also helps people improve communications skills, being able to communicate with people who do not know all of your jargon.</P> <P>Another distinctive feature of the conference is that despite its hard-core technology focus, it has plenty of room for attendance and participation by a wide range of individuals with divergent interests. Technology is not used to gate participation, but it is what draws the group together, that and the focus on the entrepreneurial spirit. The lack of a narrow "focus" may be a limiting factor that prevents the conference from becoming a "big" conference, but it is clearly a key factor that gives the conference its appeal and staying power. Flexibility and adaptability are key survival traits.</P> <P>The bottom line is that despite the wide range of information and interaction opportunities available on the Web and Internet and meet-ups and conferences (traditional and beyond), EntConnect continues to deliver a combination deal that has distinctive appeal. Maybe not to everybody, but to enough people to justify its ongoing existence.</P> <P>FWIW, this will be the 19th year for the conference, 1992 to 2010. That means next year will be the 20th anniversary for the conference. Not too shabby in an industry notable for exponential change and rapid extinction of "dying models."</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Opixia.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-1422809061729774381?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-86671756218375823862010-02-23T06:49:00.001-05:002010-02-23T06:49:58.351-05:00<P>It is now official - Jeff Duntemann, former publisher of <EM>PC Techniques</EM> and <EM>Visual Developer Magazine</EM>, book author, and all-around interesting guy (and blogger) will be at the <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">EntConnect 2010 Entrepreneurial Connections conference</A> in Denver next month. Read&nbsp;<A href="http://www.contrapositivediary.com/?p=1138">Jeff's writeup</A>. He'll be giving a talk on Printing On Demand, but I am sure he will be engaging us in discussions of a wide range of topics.</P> <P>Check out <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">the official conference web site</A>, but here is my 20-second elevator pitch for the conference:</P> <BLOCKQUOTE style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px" dir=ltr> <P><EM>Whether you are an entrepreneur or thinking about starting your own business or simply need a good excuse to go skiing in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, the </EM><A href="http://www.entconnect.org/"><EM><STRONG>Entrepreneurial Connections</STRONG> conference (<STRONG>EntConnect</STRONG>)</EM></A><EM> may be just the conference you have been waiting for. Targeted primarily at engineers (hardware, software, and other)&nbsp;and others with a strong technical interest, it is more of a loosely-structured "unconference", with plenty of opportunities for a relatively small group of participants (15 to 40) to network or even give their own presentations on a very wide range of topics from technology, business strategy, intellectual property and legal issues, accounting issues, finance, marketing, sales, and even selling your business.&nbsp;With plenty of time to ski or otherwise enjoy the mountains and Denver area (great time to visit Boulder or Colorado Springs as well), the conference is&nbsp;a great&nbsp;opportunity to "learn and share" and otherwise&nbsp;have an "out of box" experience. Participants and speakers range over the full spectrum from wannabes and newcomers to successful young entrepreneurs and seasoned veterans. The conference is an excellent opportunity to meet up with former readers (and possibly even the publisher)&nbsp;of <STRONG>Midnight Engineering</STRONG> magazine as well. The conference runs from Thursday, March 25, 2010&nbsp;through Sunday, March 28, 2010.</EM></P></BLOCKQUOTE> <P>I have been attending the conference since it first started in 1992 as <A href="http://www.opixia.com/EntEng/ME-SKI-92.htm">ME SKI '92</A>&nbsp;and then&nbsp;evolved into&nbsp;ENTCON and then Entrepreneurial Connections or EntConnect.</P> <P>For a little nostalgia, check out the <A href="http://www.opixia.com/EntEng/ME-SKI-92.htm">original ME SKI '92 conference announcement</A>.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Opixia.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-8667175621837582386?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-50114621279145676072010-02-22T19:41:00.000-05:002010-02-22T19:42:04.594-05:00<P><A href="https://www.lendingclub.com/">Lending Club</A>&nbsp;uses a rather sophisticated formula for calculating Net Annualized Return for an investor's portfolio of loans. It&nbsp;has some complexity to it that is not easy to explain, but the basic answer is that you need to keep reinvesting to keep your net annualized return up. Otherwise, you quickly accumulate cash that earns no interest.</P> <P>Put another way, the borrower only pays interest on the principal remaining, so as the principal remaining declines over the 3-year term, the interest paid each month declines as the amount of principal repaid on the loan rises rises each month.</P> <P>Basically, the Net Annualized Return calculation is based on the principal REMAINING at the start of the period (month), which excludes any principle repaid in prior months.</P> <P>Another way of thinking about it is that it is the mirror image of compound interest, but in a negative direction rather than a positive direction. But it is only negative if you fail to reinvest in a timely manner. That does not mean you need to reinvest every single month, but I would advise reinvesting at least quarterly. It is mostly a matter of how much attention you want to give your account.</P> <P>Another way to look at monthly principal repayment (and interest) is simply as <EM>cash flow</EM>. Sure, you can invest or reinvest that cash flow, but you may also have other uses for it such as spending it for expenses or other purchases. For example, if you are wealthy or retired, you could invest the money you need to live over the next three years and then simply "clip coupons" and live off the monthly cash flow.</P> <P>Either way, Lending Club offers you flexibility with strong cash flow, either to use it as cash or reinvest for compounded returns.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Finaxyz.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-5011462127914567607?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-31443860028572084182010-02-17T20:33:00.001-05:002010-02-17T20:33:39.385-05:00<P>Just to confirm&nbsp; something I said in my <A href="http://finaxyz.blogspot.com/2010/02/how-long-does-it-take-for-lending-club.html">previous blog post on how long it takes for borrower payments on Lending Club&nbsp;loans to be credited to the investor's Lending Club account</A>, I just checked again and my most recent two payments have completely posted as "Completed" sometime this afternoon or earlier this evening, exactly four business days after the payments were due from the borrowers -- due on the 10th, completed on the 17th, with an intervening weekend and a holiday.</P> <P>My Net Annualized Return inched up to 14.49%.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Finaxyz.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-3144386002857208418?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-7040035065988718102010-02-17T14:53:00.000-05:002010-02-17T14:54:23.340-05:00<P>Someone writes wondering how long it takes for borrower payments on <A href="https://www.lendingclub.com/">Lending Club</A>&nbsp;loans to be credited to the investor's Lending Club account. Short answer: <STRONG>four business days</STRONG>, and then allow another business day for the account display to update reflecting the credit.</P> <P>So, for example, one of my loans had a payment due date of 2/9/2010. I see that payment today (17th)&nbsp;and its completion was dated yesterday (16th.) Note that Monday was a holiday. So the four business days from the due date of the 9th were the 10th, 11th, 12th, skip the weekend and Monday, and the 16th. I did not see that payment earlier yesterday (the 16th), but I probably would have seen it later in the evening on the 16th. In fact, I now see that payment in my account.</P> <P>I had two other payments due on 2/10/2010. Adding four business days (and skipping the weekend and Monday holiday) puts the completion date on the 17th, which is today, with the four business days being the 11th, 12th, 16th, and 17th. Right now, the Lending Club screen still says "Processing", but sometime this evening or overnight processing will complete and tomorrow morning (18th)&nbsp;I will see that credt in my account and the screen will say "Completed" with today's date (17th.) There may have been a couple of times where an extra day was needed, but I have gotten into the (good) habit of not watching this stuff on a daily basis, so other than checking today to answer this question, I normally would not notice or care.</P> <P>Lending Club automatically debits loan payments from the borrowers bank account using what is called an <EM>ACH debit</EM>. ACH stands for <EM>Automated Clearinghouse</EM> and is an electronic funds transfer system that permits companies to debit and credit customer bank accounts. Although electronic transactions theoretically happen virtually instantly, the ACH system is a <EM>batch</EM> system where each payment in the batch has a settlement date. ACH debits occur at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time, and credits occur at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. Direct deposit of paychecks is an example of an ACH credit. Some banks may in fact process credits and debits much earlier than the 8:30 a.m.&nbsp;and 11:00 a.m. deadlines.</P> <P>One part I am a little fuzzy on is that there is some sort of grace period during which the debited bank (known as a&nbsp;receiving depository financial institution or RDFI, the borrower's bank)&nbsp;may decide to cancel the transaction and take the debit money back from the debiting bank (the bank issuing the debit order, known as the originating depository financial institution or ODFI, Lending Club's bank.) I vaguely recall three days as the grace period, but I could be mistaken or it could have changed. Fraudulent ACH debits&nbsp;are a prime reason for a holding period. In short, Lending Club gets the money quickly, but they need to wait a short period to assure that the money will not be yanked back.</P> <P>Although it may be tempting to assume that ACH transfers happen instantaneously or at least overnight, the biggest benefit to Lending Club investors is the certainty that payments can be debited on a reliable basis.</P> <P>Note: Loan payments are credited to your <EM>Lending Club</EM> account, not you <EM>bank</EM> account. This money is then available for re-investment in new loans, or you can separately initiated a transfer to your own bank account (an ACH credit to your bank account.)</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Finaxyz.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-704003506598871810?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-18184800697200897422010-02-17T07:30:00.000-05:002010-02-17T07:31:58.616-05:00<P>Two more of my recent investment loans with <A href="https://www.lendingclub.com/">Lending Club</A>&nbsp;reached full funding and were issued on Monday, and then overnight the remaining one of the batch of twelve was issued. All twelve have been issued. That is&nbsp;the best of have done since I started&nbsp;using Lending Club&nbsp;last June. Usually, there are a couple which run into some sort of trouble, such as failure to get the paperwork in order for income verification. This time, I chose only loans that had already been "Approved."</P> <P>My current Net Annualized Return with Lending Club is 14.45%, but that is before the latest batch of loan notes begins to make payments. My target is to be in the 15% to 15.5% range, which is where I perceive the "sweet spot" to be between too-conservative and maybe a little too-risky. To-date, I have had zero delinquencies, zero&nbsp;missed payments, zero late payments.</P> <P>All Lending Club loans are for three years, with thirty six monthly payments which are made automatically via ACH transfer from the borrower's bank account. These are primarily consumer loans, but some are for people starting small businesses. Personally, I stick with the pure-consumer loans - starting new businesses is a very risky proposition, more risky than justified by a 15% return, in my opinion.</P> <P>I am still treating my "investment" in Lending Club loans as an experiment, and a very small experiment at that. It is a form of investing with which I have no previous experience. To-date, my experiences with Lending Club have been entirely positive, but I need to experience a longer portion of the full lending cycle, not to mention the risks inherent in this shaky economy. That said, I intend to increase the size of my experiment in the coming months. My next milestone will be the see each of the latest batch of loans make their initial payments by about a month from now. At that point I may consider doubling the size of my experiment again, depending on my own outlook for work in April.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Finaxyz.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-1818480069720089742?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-34061792924436643752010-02-14T19:34:00.000-05:002010-02-14T19:39:24.068-05:00<P>With just six weeks to go, I just finished making my travel arrangements to attend the annual <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/"><STRONG>Entrepreneurial Connections (EntConnect)</STRONG> conference</A>, from Thursday, March 25, 2010 through Monday, March 29, 2010. I'll be flying out from New York City (well, Newark)Thursday morning and returning from Denver early Monday afternoon. I'll be staying at the conference hotel, the <STRONG><A href="http://www.hoteldenver.net/index.php">Crowne Plaza Downtown Denver</A></STRONG>, which is actually in downtown Denver. I got a $259 airfare on Continental (I think it was actually a $49 fare with $210 in taxes and fees.) I'll probably spend Friday up in Boulder, and maybe Sunday evening as well. The conference rate at the hotel is $89, plus 14.85% tax, which works out to $102 a night.</P> <P>Traditionally the conference consists primarily of a reunion of former readers of <STRONG><EM>Midnight Engineering</EM></STRONG> magazine (as well as the former publisher of the magazine)&nbsp;and a few newbies who have gotten suckered into trying it out, but each year we try to figure out new ways to attract fresh blood. Check out the <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">conference Web page</A> for an idea of what the conference was like last year. Hopefully the page will be updated very soon for the details for this year.</P> <P>Here is my traditional 30-second elevator pitch blurb for the converence:</P> <BLOCKQUOTE style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px" dir=ltr> <P><EM>Whether you are an entrepreneur or thinking about starting your own business or simply need a good excuse to go skiing in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, the </EM><A href="http://www.entconnect.org/"><EM><STRONG>Entrepreneurial Connections</STRONG> conference (<STRONG>EntConnect</STRONG>)</EM></A><EM> may be just the conference you have been waiting for. Targeted primarily at engineers (hardware, software, and other)&nbsp;and others with a strong technical interest, it is more of a loosely-structured "unconference", with plenty of opportunities for a relatively small group of participants (15 to 40) to network or even give their own presentations on a very wide range of topics from technology, business strategy, intellectual property and legal issues, accounting issues, finance, marketing, sales, and even selling your business.&nbsp;With plenty of time to ski or otherwise enjoy the mountains and Denver area (great time to visit Boulder or Colorado Springs as well), the conference is&nbsp;a great&nbsp;opportunity to "learn and share" and otherwise&nbsp;have an "out of box" experience. Participants and speakers range over the full spectrum from wannabes and newcomers to successful young entrepreneurs and seasoned veterans. The conference is an excellent opportunity to meet up with former readers (and possibly even the publisher)&nbsp;of <STRONG>Midnight Engineering</STRONG> magazine as well. The conference runs from Thursday, March 25, 2010&nbsp;through Sunday, March 28, 2010.</EM></P></BLOCKQUOTE> <P>Visit the <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">official conference Web site</A>, <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">EntConnect.org</A>.</P> <P>I have been attending the conference since it first started in 1992 as <A href="http://www.opixia.com/EntEng/ME-SKI-92.htm">ME SKI '92</A>&nbsp;and then&nbsp;evolved into&nbsp;ENTCON and then Entrepreneurial Connections or EntConnect.</P> <P>For a little nostalgia, check out the <A href="http://www.opixia.com/EntEng/ME-SKI-92.htm">original ME SKI '92 conference announcement</A>.</P> <P>Oh, and please feel free to join the <A href="http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/midnightengineers/">Midnight Engineers Yahoo discussion forum</A>.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Opixia.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-3406179292443664375?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-27072940787869666222010-02-10T16:09:00.001-05:002010-02-10T16:09:29.270-05:00<P>In the past twenty four hours, two more of my recent investment loans with <A href="https://www.lendingclub.com/">Lending Club</A>&nbsp;have reached full funding and been issued. That make&nbsp;seven out of twelve in the batch, leaving&nbsp;five remaining to be fully funded. One is already at 74% funding. The rest are only at roughly 54% to 65% funding with about&nbsp;four to&nbsp;seven days left to be funded. That is actually okay and par for the course - I've gotten spoiled by the minority of loans which get funded&nbsp;very&nbsp;rapidly. After all,&nbsp;it has been less than a week since I placed orders for the batch. The only one I am a little worried about is at 58% with only four days left for funding, but even that one is probably okay.</P> <P>All of the consumer loans in this batch have already been approved, with income verification, so that they will be issued as soon as they reach full funding (and the borrower provides a verified bank account for ACH transfers for payments.)</P> <P>All Lending Club loans are for three years, with thirty six monthly payments which are made automatically via ACH transfer from the borrower's bank account.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Finaxyz.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-2707294078786966622?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-1463406781715579072010-02-09T12:05:00.000-05:002010-02-09T12:07:37.727-05:00<P>In the past few days three more of my recent investment loans with <A href="https://www.lendingclub.com/">Lending Club</A>&nbsp;have reached full funding and been issued. That make five out of twelve in the batch, leaving seven remaining to be fully funded. One is already at 94% funding. Unfortunately, the rest are only at roughly 44% to 68% funding with about five to eight days left to be funded. That is actually okay and par for the course - I've gotten spoiled by the minority of loans which get funded&nbsp;very&nbsp;rapidly. After all,&nbsp;it has been less than a week since I placed orders for the batch.</P> <P>All of the consumer loans in this batch have already been approved, with income verification, so that they will be issued as soon as they reach full funding (and the borrower provides a verified bank account for ACH transfers for payments.)</P> <P>All Lending Club loans are for three years, with thirty six monthly payments which are made automatically via ACH transfer from the borrower's bank account.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Finaxyz.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-146340678171557907?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-9263463957119224442010-02-05T18:39:00.001-05:002010-02-05T18:39:54.357-05:00<P>I just selected three more investments in consumer loans with <A href="https://www.lendingclub.com/">Lending Club</A>&nbsp;to finish deploying the fresh cash that I transferred to Lending Club just under a week ago. I made nine investments yesterday, so this brings my latest batch up to an even dozen investments. The average interest rate for these three is 17.81%. That is a bit high and a little riskier, but my overall average rate will be around 15%, which is reasonably conservative.</P> <P>Two of the loans I invested in yesterday have already reached 100% funding and have already been issued since they had previously been approved in terms of income verification. All of my remaining "In Funding" investments have already gotten income verification approval, so I just need to wait for the loans to reach 100% funding by investors.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Finaxyz.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-926346395711922444?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-85197980246478741442010-02-04T15:47:00.001-05:002010-02-04T15:47:34.508-05:00<P>I just completed some work for a client and will be off (at their request) for the next two months before restarting work in April. But since I do in fact have a tentative commitment for work in April, I finally feel comfortable with expanding my very modest experiment with investing in consumer loans with <A href="https://www.lendingclub.com/">Lending Club</A>.&nbsp;Saturday I initiated a&nbsp;transfer of some cash from my Fidelity account to my Lending Club account. Nominally, the transfer is supposed to complete in five business days. I just got an email confirmation from Lending Club&nbsp;for the completion of the transfer and that the money was ready to invest. I more than doubled my previous investment balance to about 250% of the prior balance. This is still a rather modest experiment and now only barely enough to show up at the very bottom of my overall investing radar. If all goes well, in two months I'll double it again, but it would still be a very modest investment.</P> <P>I also decided to double the size of my individual loan investments from $25 to $50. I almost went right for $100, but decided to continue being conservative. I could have stayed with $25 "tranches", but with the larger amount of money that would have meant a lot more loans, which means a lot more due diligence, or a lot more risk of making a bad or risky investment.</P> <P>I actually only invested three-quarters of the fresh cash. That worked out to nine new loans. Honestly, I was tired after all of that intense focusing on which loans seemed attractive and which loans seemed unattractive or too risky. My target was for a 15% rate of return. I screened the available returns for that rate and&nbsp;after a pass through the notes I had nine hits. I could have gone with a lower rate of return and found another three loans, but I decided that there was no harm with simply waiting a couple of days and taking a crack at some fresh loans. Investment rule #1: Whenever you are reaching for higher return, try to be conservative whenever the opportunity presents itself.</P> <P>One of the reasons I came up short on my target of number of loans was that I personally only consider loans that have already been fully approved with full income verification. A lot of loans are still "under review", which is not bad per se, but it runs the risk that the loan may ultimately be denied if the borrower fails to come up with the required income verification by the two-week deadline. If that happens, your investment order gets kicked out and you have to start over. By selecting only approved loans, I eliminate that uncertainty and extra work. And, it just feels better that the borrower has been so diligent with getting all of the paperwork taken care of in a prompt manner.</P> <P>My new batch of loans has an average interest rate of 15.42%, which is a little higher than the current rate for my full portfolio of 14.26%. I am trying to nudge my rate up to about 15%, which seems to be about the sweet spot, balancing higher return and higher risk of default.</P> <P>Some of the new loans still have another 12 days (about of 14 days) left in their funding period, so I might have to wait almost two weeks before my investment orders are fully accepted or get rejected. A bunch of them had only 7 days or less left. In any case, since they all have approval already, they will be "issued" as soon as they reach 100% funding.</P> <P>I have been experimenting with Lending Club since June 2009 and have had absolutely no bad experiences. Zero defaults, zero delinquencies, zero late payments. So I am very pleased with Lending Club so far.</P> <P>My next step is that sometime over the next week I need to browse through the loans again to invest the remaining 25% of my fresh cash.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Finaxyz.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-8519798024647874144?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-81251790839747347172010-02-01T13:28:00.001-05:002010-02-01T13:28:45.170-05:00<P>It is less than&nbsp;eight weeks until the annual <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/"><STRONG>Entrepreneurial Connections (EntConnect)</STRONG> conference</A>, from Thursday, March 25, 2010 through Sunday, March 28, 2010. Traditionally the conference consists primarily of a reunion of former readers of <STRONG><EM>Midnight Engineering</EM></STRONG> magazine and a few newbies who have gotten suckered into trying it out, but each year we try to figure out new ways to attract fresh blood.</P> <P>Check out the <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">conference Web page</A> for an idea of what the conference was like last year. Hopefully the page will be updated very soon for the details for this year. I do know that the hotel rate has jumped from $79 to $89, despite the fact that we are still only in the early stages of a prolonged economic recover from a dep recession. It will be held at a different hotel, the <STRONG>Crowne Plaza Downtown Denver</STRONG>, which is actually in downtown Denver. We hope to have a notable keynote speaker, but as usual the primary focus will be sessions led by your fellow entrepeneurs.</P> <P>Here is my traditional 30-second elevator pitch blurb for the converence:</P> <BLOCKQUOTE style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px" dir=ltr> <P><EM>Whether you are an entrepreneur or thinking about starting your own business or simply need a good excuse to go skiing in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, the </EM><A href="http://www.entconnect.org/"><EM><STRONG>Entrepreneurial Connections</STRONG> conference (<STRONG>EntConnect</STRONG>)</EM></A><EM> may be just the conference you have been waiting for. Targeted primarily at engineers (hardware, software, and other)&nbsp;and others with a strong technical interest, it is more of a loosely-structured "unconference", with plenty of opportunities for a relatively small group of participants (15 to 40) to network or even give their own presentations on a very wide range of topics from technology, business strategy, intellectual property and legal issues, accounting issues, finance, marketing, sales, and even selling your business.&nbsp;With plenty of time to ski or otherwise enjoy the mountains and Denver area (great time to visit Boulder or Colorado Springs as well), the conference is&nbsp;a great&nbsp;opportunity to "learn and share" and otherwise&nbsp;have an "out of box" experience. Participants and speakers range over the full spectrum from wannabes and newcomers to successful young entrepreneurs and seasoned veterans. The conference is an excellent opportunity to meet up with former readers (and possibly even the publisher)&nbsp;of <STRONG>Midnight Engineering</STRONG> magazine as well. The conference runs from Thursday, March 25, 2010&nbsp;through Sunday, March 28, 2010.</EM></P></BLOCKQUOTE> <P>Visit the <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">official conference Web site</A>, <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">EntConnect.org</A>.</P> <P>I have been attending the conference since it first started in 1992 as <A href="http://www.opixia.com/EntEng/ME-SKI-92.htm">ME SKI '92</A>&nbsp;and then&nbsp;evolved into&nbsp;ENTCON and then Entrepreneurial Connections or EntConnect.</P> <P>I actually have not even started planning my trip. I need to decide whether to come in on Thursday or Friday and leave on Sunday evening or Monday. In the back of my head I have even contemplated taking the time to take the train, but that's not a high probability, yet.</P> <P>For a little nostalgia, check out the <A href="http://www.opixia.com/EntEng/ME-SKI-92.htm">original ME SKI '92 conference announcement</A>.</P> <P>Oh, and please feel free to join the <A href="http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/midnightengineers/">Midnight Engineers Yahoo discussion forum</A>.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Opixia.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-8125179083974734717?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-52172306951603745302010-02-01T13:20:00.000-05:002010-02-01T13:33:18.413-05:00<P>It is less than&nbsp;eight weeks until the annual <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/"><STRONG>Entrepreneurial Connections (EntConnect)</STRONG> conference</A>, from Thursday, March 25, 2010 through Sunday, March 28, 2010. Traditionally the conference consists primarily of a reunion of former readers of <STRONG><EM>Midnight Engineering</EM></STRONG> magazine and a few newbies who have gotten suckered into trying it out, but each year we try to figure out new ways to attract fresh blood.</P> <P>Check out the <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">conference Web page</A> for an idea of what the conference was like last year. Hopefully the page will be updated very soon for the details for this year. I do know that the hotel rate has jumped from $79 to $89, despite the fact that we are still only in the early stages of a prolonged economic recover from a dep recession. It will be held at a different hotel, the <STRONG>Crowne Plaza Downtown Denver</STRONG>, which is actually in downtown Denver. We hope to have a notable keynote speaker, but as usual the primary focus will be sessions led by your fellow entrepeneurs.</P> <P>Here is my traditional 30-second elevator pitch blurb for the converence:</P> <BLOCKQUOTE style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px" dir=ltr> <P><EM>Whether you are an entrepreneur or thinking about starting your own business or simply need a good excuse to go skiing in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, the </EM><A href="http://www.entconnect.org/"><EM><STRONG>Entrepreneurial Connections</STRONG> conference (<STRONG>EntConnect</STRONG>)</EM></A><EM> may be just the conference you have been waiting for. Targeted primarily at engineers (hardware, software, and other)&nbsp;and others with a strong technical interest, it is more of a loosely-structured "unconference", with plenty of opportunities for a relatively small group of participants (15 to 40) to network or even give their own presentations on a very wide range of topics from technology, business strategy, intellectual property and legal issues, accounting issues, finance, marketing, sales, and even selling your business.&nbsp;With plenty of time to ski or otherwise enjoy the mountains and Denver area (great time to visit Boulder or Colorado Springs as well), the conference is&nbsp;a great&nbsp;opportunity to "learn and share" and otherwise&nbsp;have an "out of box" experience. Participants and speakers range over the full spectrum from wannabes and newcomers to successful young entrepreneurs and seasoned veterans. The conference is an excellent opportunity to meet up with former readers (and possibly even the publisher)&nbsp;of <STRONG>Midnight Engineering</STRONG> magazine as well. The conference runs from Thursday, March 25, 2010&nbsp;through Sunday, March 28, 2010.</EM></P></BLOCKQUOTE> <P>Visit the <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">official conference Web site</A>, <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">EntConnect.org</A>.</P> <P>I have been attending the conference since it first started in 1992 as <A href="http://www.opixia.com/EntEng/ME-SKI-92.htm">ME SKI '92</A>&nbsp;and then&nbsp;evolved into&nbsp;ENTCON and then Entrepreneurial Connections or EntConnect.</P> <P>I actually have not even started planning my trip. I need to decide whether to come in on Thursday or Friday and leave on Sunday evening or Monday. In the back of my head I have even contemplated taking the time to take the train, but that's not a high probability, yet.</P> <P>For a little nostalgia, check out the <A href="http://www.opixia.com/EntEng/ME-SKI-92.htm">original ME SKI '92 conference announcement</A>.</P> <P>Oh, and please feel free to join the <A href="http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/midnightengineers/">Midnight Engineers Yahoo discussion forum</A>.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Opixia.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-5217230695160374530?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-91973738588268563962010-01-06T07:27:00.001-05:002010-01-06T07:27:10.983-05:00<P>My experiment with investing in consumer loans through <A href="https://www.lendingclub.com/">Lending Club</A>&nbsp;continues with good success. My Net Annualized Return is now at 14.02% with no delinquencies. This morning I just invested in another loan using purely cash from recent cashflow over the past six weeks. Payments include both interest and return of principle.</P> <P>Actually, I selected a loan and <EM>placed an order</EM> for it. It is currently <EM>in funding</EM> and 75% funded. It still has 11 more days to get fully funded, which appears to be plenty of time (11 days out of the 14-day funding period.) The interest rate on this loan is 17.39%. It is for debt consolidation. The <EM>loan grade</EM> is E4, which is a mediocre quality, but the person has good, verified employment. The Lending Club screen says that loans at this grade historically have a 4% default rate, so the net <EM>expected</EM> return is about 12%.</P> <P>My experiment is going well and I would like to put more of my idle cash into Lending Club, but I need to get a bit more stability in my own work income and rebuild my rainy-day fund a bit more before I have much in the way of <EM>risk capital</EM> to invest. If my work prospects seem reasonably bright in a few weeks, I will likely at least boost my experiment a bit. I actually do have money earmarked for a somewhat larger experiment, but since there is <EM>risk</EM> involved, I intend to proceed cautiously. I could probably expand this experiment by six to seven times before it would even show up on my radar as even a <EM>minor investment</EM>. As an experiment, by definition, I am prepared to lose the entire investment.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Finaxyz.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-9197373858826856396?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-89947225440194561842009-11-20T19:56:00.001-05:002009-11-20T19:56:52.399-05:00<P>Last week I finally finished up my first batch of investment loans using the <EM>Lending Match</EM> feature of <A href="https://www.lendingclub.com/">Lending Club</A>. Basically, the total process took two weeks. The bulk of the investments, all but one, settled within the first week and then I had to make two multi-day attempts to get a replacement for the one loan that did not settle. I did end up with a better&nbsp;loan than the original one that was part of the batch recommended by Lending Match, but it did take some manual effort on my part to "close the deal." Net-net, I am done and pleased with the result. I now have twice the investment portfolio I had a month ago. A total of 17 notes.</P> <P>I'll give this latest batch of investment notes two months to see that everything is okay and payments are on time, and then I'll consider a next batch to double the size of my investment portfolio again, assuming that I have work income coming in at that time.</P> <P>According to the Linding Club web site, my Net Annualized Return is sitting at 13.59%. Once the new batch of loans starts "producing", this should move up to about 14.5% or so, maybe even 15%.</P> <P>Note: Lending Club also has an IRA arrangement. I haven't investigated it yet.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Finaxyz.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-8994722544019456184?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-2231237664652242372009-11-05T11:04:00.000-05:002009-11-05T11:05:20.026-05:00<P>Just under a week ago I made my first attempt to use the <EM>Lending Match</EM> feature of <A href="https://www.lendingclub.com/">Lending Club</A>&nbsp;to invest in a whole batch of P2P investment loans all at once. It has worked out well, with just two related glitches. Out of nine loans, eight have already been "Issued", and only one failed to reach 100% funding in the two-week funding period. Not bad at all. I was actually worried that two or three of the loans might not get funded. So, that was the first, almost-expected "glitch". I classify it as a glitch because I have to now manually intervene to "set things right."&nbsp;Now, I need to select another loan to substitute for that rejection. Oops... here is the second glitch. Even though that rejected loan has already dropped off the Funding/Issued list, my funding amount has not yet been credited back to my account, so I can't reinvest it yet. To me, that is more of an outright bug rather than a simple "glitch." But, I am confident that either later today or tomorrow morning the money will be credited and I can select a replacement loan for investment.</P> <P>My current <EM>Net Annualized Return</EM> is displayed as&nbsp;13.44%, before the new loan batch. That puts me up at the 78% percentile. The new batch of loans may push me up to 82% or so. I think I want to be at around the 85% to 90% range, rather aggressive, but not way out there with the whacky 10% fringe nuts.</P> <P>Based on my quick success, I am already looking at some other "extra" cash that is earning 0.00000001% interest in my Fidelity account&nbsp;and trying to decide whether to "save" it with <A href="http://www.smartypig.com/">SmartyPig.com</A> and get 2.01% APY&nbsp;or "invest" it with <A href="https://www.lendingclub.com/">Lending Club</A>&nbsp;and get maybe 17%. Maybe I'll split it in half and do both.</P> <P>Further down my list of things to do is to check out the <EM>FOLIOfn Note Trading Platform</EM>. I want to see which notes might be selling at a premium and maybe sell a few to lock in some bigger gains.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Finaxyz.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-223123766465224237?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-15775049309019770482009-11-01T07:08:00.000-05:002009-11-01T07:09:23.388-05:00<P>My <A href="https://www.lendingclub.com/">Lending Club</A>&nbsp;investment loan account has been on auto-pilot for some time now. All has been well since I last <A href="http://finaxyz.blogspot.com/2009/08/my-7th-lending-club-investment-loan.html">blogged about it in early August</A>. All of the loan payments have been on time. In fact, enough interest and principle repayment has come in that I now have enough from those two sources alone to make a new loan. I also finally have some new work income coming in again, so I am also adding new funding for another batch of loans, the same amount as my original funding. The difference is that this time I will try out the <EM>Lending Match</EM> feature which automatically selects and recommends a batch of loans given an investment amount and a target interest rate.</P> <P>The feature gives you a slider bar which displays the interest rate. As you slide between lower and higher interest rates it also displays a pie chart with the percentage breakdown of each credit risk class. I was tempted to go for 18% or even 20%, but the resulting risk profile seemed too "risky" for me. I pulled back and finally settled on 15% as an optimal risk profile for me. My current annualized return is about 13.5% and loan rates have risen by 0.5% since I made my investment loans back in June, so 15% is only a modest increment above my current risk.</P> <P>Lending Match selected my nine investment loans. I wasn't comfortable with two of the&nbsp;recommendations, so I deselected them, and Lending Match recommended replacements that I was comfortable with.&nbsp;I did this on Thursday. So far, two of the nine have reached full funding and are awaiting final review by Lending Club. A third is very close to full funding. Most of the rest are progressing with funding fine, with only two or three that may be questionable as to whether they will reach full funding before their two week funding period expires.</P> <P>So far, I am extremely happy with the results I have gotten with Lending Club.</P> <P>I will do a few more experiments in the next couple of months, and then consider a more serious investment as long as my work income holds up and I start accumulating a little cash to invest.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Finaxyz.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-1577504930901977048?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-17859847863094741082009-10-14T11:11:00.000-04:002009-10-14T11:12:06.945-04:00<P>I made a new micro-loan through <A href="http://www.kiva.org">Kiva</A> for the month of October. My intention is to make a new micro-loan every month, if possible,&nbsp;from repayments for past micro-loans. Repayments in August and September&nbsp;were more than enough to fund this latest micro-loan (and for a few more months as well.) All of these micro-loans are for micro-entrepreneurs in business in developing countries.</P> <P>This one was for a group of&nbsp;17 (mostly women)&nbsp;in Ayacucho, Peru for their individual business needs, especially retail. It is an 8-month micro-loan for a total of $3,025, of which I lent $25.&nbsp;The micro-loan was already disbursed to the micro-entrepreneur on August 26, 2009 by the local partner. Kiva is raising funds to essentially buy that loan from the local partner.</P> <P>This was a <EM>group loan</EM>, meaning that although the individual members of the group take their money and go their own ways, the entire group is responsible for the total group payment each month, even if some members are unable to pay and the others make up for the shortfall..</P> <P>I was going to make a loan to a micro-entrepreneur in the Phillipines, but Kiva has a new policy that permits their foreign partners to decide not to cover foreign exchange losses (e.g., if the U.S. dollar declines relative to the local currency.) I have no idea how big a deal this might be, so I restricted myself to only selecting loans that are not tagged with this risk.</P> <P>I now have only one micro-loan that is&nbsp;<EM>delinquent</EM>. It is actually just due to the field partner experiencing difficulty with transferring the money back to Kiva due to some new local government requirement.</P> <P>I have made a total of 22 micro-loans to date, since December 2008.</P> <P>Here is <A href="http://www.kiva.org/lender/JackKrupansky">my Kiva public lender page</A>: <A href="http://www.kiva.org/lender/JackKrupansky">http://www.kiva.org/lender/JackKrupansky</A></P> <P>Note: This is all real and good, but these micro-loans do not net any interest to us micro-lenders. Kiva's fine print:</P> <BLOCKQUOTE style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px" dir=ltr> <P><EM>Lending to the working poor through Kiva involves risk of principal loss.<BR>Kiva does not guarantee repayment nor do we offer a financial return on your loan.</EM></P></BLOCKQUOTE> <P>Still, at least we know our money is really helping somebody better their lives in a visible way rather than put the money in a bank account or money market fund where who knows what it helps to pay for or what good it does and for only a few pennies of profit in our pockets.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Opixia.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-1785984786309474108?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-27014045575716250812009-09-01T12:29:00.000-04:002009-09-01T12:30:04.233-04:00<P>I made a new micro-loan through <A href="http://www.kiva.org">Kiva</A> for the month of September. My intention is to make a new micro-loan every month, if possible,&nbsp;from repayments for past micro-loans. Repayments in August were more than enough to fund this latest micro-loan (and one for October, November, and December&nbsp;as well.) All of these micro-loans are for micro-entrepreneurs in business in developing countries.</P> <P>This one was for a group of five (one man, four women) in Kabul, Afghanistan for their individual business needs, including: purchasing beading materials, fruit cart business, general store, bakery business, and selling of books, pens, and other things. It is an 11-month micro-loan for a total of $1,075, of which I lent $25.&nbsp;The micro-loan was already disbursed to the micro-entrepreneur on July 27, 2009 by the local partner. Kiva is raising funds to essentially buy that loan from the local partner.</P> <P>I now have only one micro-loan that is&nbsp;<EM>delinquent</EM>. It is actually just due to the field partner experiencing difficulty with transferring the money back to Kiva due to some new local government requirement. The other loan which&nbsp;was tagged as being delinquent has now been fully repaid.</P> <P>I have made a total of 21 micro-loans to date, since December 2009.</P> <P>Here is <A href="http://www.kiva.org/lender/JackKrupansky">my Kiva public lender page</A>: <A href="http://www.kiva.org/lender/JackKrupansky">http://www.kiva.org/lender/JackKrupansky</A></P> <P>Note: This is all real and good, but these micro-loans do not net any interest to us micro-lenders. Kiva's fine print:</P> <BLOCKQUOTE style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px" dir=ltr> <P><EM>Lending to the working poor through Kiva involves risk of principal loss.<BR>Kiva does not guarantee repayment nor do we offer a financial return on your loan.</EM></P></BLOCKQUOTE> <P>Still, at least we know our money is really helping somebody better their lives in a visible way rather than put the money in a bank account or money market fund where who knows what it helps to pay for or what good it does and for only a few pennies of profit in our pockets.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Opixia.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-2701404557571625081?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-40767023930613776702009-08-02T09:34:00.001-04:002009-08-02T09:34:41.421-04:00<P>I made a new micro-loan through <A href="http://www.kiva.org">Kiva</A> for the month of August. My intention is to make a new micro-loan every month, if possible,&nbsp;from repayments for past micro-loans. Repayments in July were more than enough to fund this latest micro-loan (and one for September as well.)</P> <P>This one was for a young married man, with children,&nbsp;in&nbsp;Palestine who&nbsp;cleans carpets.&nbsp;It is a 20-month micro-loan for a total of $1,500, of which I lent $25. The money is to be used to buy cleaning supplies.&nbsp; The micro-loan was already disbursed to the micro-entrepreneur on July 16, 2009 by the local partner. Kiva is raising funds to essentially buy that loan from the local partner.</P> <P>Two of my micro-loans are <EM>delinquent</EM>. One is actually just due to the field partner experiencing difficulty with transferring the money back to Kiva due to some new local government requirement. I suspect that the other is also experiencing some local problem and is already 75% repaid. Both are in central Africa.</P> <P>Here is <A href="http://www.kiva.org/lender/JackKrupansky">my Kiva public lender page</A>: <A href="http://www.kiva.org/lender/JackKrupansky">http://www.kiva.org/lender/JackKrupansky</A></P> <P>Note: This is all real and good, but these micro-loans do not net any interest to us micro-lenders. Kiva's fine print:</P> <BLOCKQUOTE style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px" dir=ltr> <P><EM>Lending to the working poor through Kiva involves risk of principal loss.<BR>Kiva does not guarantee repayment nor do we offer a financial return on your loan.</EM></P></BLOCKQUOTE> <P>Still, at least we know our money is really helping somebody better their lives in a visible way rather than put the money in a bank account or money market fund where who knows what it helps to pay for or what good it does and for only a few pennies of profit in our pockets.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Opixia.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-4076702393061377670?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-13117152262007227562009-07-17T10:13:00.000-04:002009-07-17T10:50:26.839-04:00<P>Since <A href="http://finaxyz.blogspot.com/2009/07/first-lending-club-payment-partially.html">I posted yesterday</A> about the&nbsp;first payment on my first <A href="https://www.lendingclub.com">Lending Club</A> investment loan which was due&nbsp;five days ago, the updating process has completed and the first payment has been fully credited to my account. <STRONG><EM>Done!</EM></STRONG>&nbsp;Technically, I probably should say that it took <EM>four business</EM> days for the payment to post after the payment due date since the payment was due on Sunday.</P> <P>The payment amount for my $25 share of a $7,700 motorcycle loan was $0.83, consisting of $0.26 accrued interest and $0.57 principal repayment. Lending club charges a 1% service fee, which was $0.0083 or rounded up to $0.01, so my net payment was $0.82, which was simply added to the cash sitting in my Lending Club account (which earns no interest unless I reinvest it.)</P> <P>My rough calculation suggests that the 1% service fee reduced my nominal 12.53% interest rate by about 0.48% to roughly 12.05%. Still very decent. Over the term of the loan that discount to my rate will rise since although the monthly payment stays the same and the service charge is based on the total payment, the interest portion of the payment trends down to zero.</P> <P>The <EM>Account Activity</EM> screen is now updated and shows both the loan payment and the <EM>Lender Service Fee</EM>.</P> <P>The first payment for my <EM>second</EM> investment loan is due&nbsp;today. Just as wth the first loan, I see that the accrued interest is reset to $0.00. I do also see a line on the <EM>Loan Performance</EM> screen for the loan that shows the payment status as <EM>Scheduled</EM>, but I see that line for all of my loans. Based on my experience with the first loan payment, I believe that I will see this payment fully posted next Thursday morning.</P> <P>I just noticed that the <EM>Loan Performance</EM> screen has a <EM>Credit Score Change</EM> field that alerts you if the borrowers credit score has changed. For one of my loans I see that their score is <EM>Up</EM>. Neat feature.</P> <P>All in all, everything is proceeding smoothly.</P> <P>Move over Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Chase... us Lending Club investors are out to <EM>eat your lunch</EM>! Really.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Finaxyz.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-1311715226200722756?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-87716368678826800942009-07-07T18:55:00.000-04:002009-07-07T18:56:03.786-04:00<P>I have successfully completed my initial batch of <EM>person-to-person (P2P)</EM> loans ("notes") through&nbsp;<A href="http://www.lendingclub.com/">Lending Club</A>. I have invested 20% of the modest amount ($1,000) than I have earmarked for <EM>experimenting</EM> with this new investment vehicle. I have $25 investments in eight (8) different consumer loans, with a range of risk profiles. All loans are for a 3-year term.</P> <P>I actually put in a total of 15 orders, but seven of them either did not get to 100% funding by the end of the 14-day funding period or failed to get verification of employment or income. These "failures" might seem alarming, but they really just show how picky and conservative Lending Club really is.</P> <P>Unfortunately, the other 80% of my money is sitting at Lending Club idle and does not earn any interest. I <EM>could</EM> withdraw the money, but I intend to invest it by the end of the summer and it would not earn very much in a money market account anyway.</P> <P>What's next?</P> <P>The next step is to wait for the initial monthly payments to come in and see how that process works in practice, as opposed to theory.</P> <P>My first monthly payment is for $0.83 on July 12, 2009, just 5 days from now. That 83 cents is my share of a $7,700 motorcycle loan that is rated C1 (somewhat risky) and has a rate of 12.53%. Lending Club takes about 0.7% of that, which should net me 11.83%. So far, Lending Club says I have 22 cents of accrued interest (updates every day). The 83 cents includes both accrued interest and repayment of principle. So, of that initial 83 cents, about 25 cents will be accrued interest and 58 cents repiad principle.&nbsp;As each month goes by I will get the same total payment (although it may vary by a penny due to fractional cents), but less interest and more repayment of principle. I am not positive that the 83 cents is actually my net or the gross before Lending Club takes their 0.7%. That is one of the details I will need to verify when the first payment comes in.</P> <P>Payments are deducted automatically from the borrowers bank account via ACH debit. My share of the payment will accumulate in my Lending Club account, but will not accumulate interest. Lending Club has a reinvestment feature, but that requires that at least $25 be available in the account. I do have my remaining 80% of my initial capital, but I intend to wait until the end of the summer before deciding whether and how to invest deeper into Lending Club. The reinvestment feature searches for loans that meet parameters that you set and sends you an email alert.</P> <P>My second note will make its first payment 5 days later, on July 17, 2009. The third is a day later, on July 18, 2009. I have two payments due on July 22, 2009, another due on July 23, 2009, another due on July 28, 2009, and the last due on August 9, 2009.</P> <P>So, for now, all I have planned for the next two months is to sit, wait, and watch. And to blog about my experiences.</P> <P>Oh, and I still need to research various questions, such as how the interest income gets reported for taxes.</P> <P>I also want to spend some time sifting their a Google search of "Lending Club" and "sucks" to see if there are any legitimate gripes about Lending Club before I get in too deep.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Finaxyz.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-8771636867882680094?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-87940957231029371752009-07-07T17:48:00.000-04:002009-07-07T17:49:10.777-04:00<P>I made a new micro-loan through <A href="http://www.kiva.org">Kiva</A> for the month of July. My intention is to make a new micro-loan every month, in large part from repayments for past micro-loans.</P> <P>This one was for a married woman, with married children,&nbsp;in Managua, Nicaragua who&nbsp;farms.&nbsp;It is a 14-month micro-loan for a total of $625, of which I lent $25. The money is to be used to buy fertilizer and supplies.&nbsp;I did not realize at the time I made the loan, but replayment is at the end of the term (14 months, August 2010) rather than monthly. I'm not sure I want to put much money into this form of loan, although this one time is fine. Need to read all the details more closely next time.&nbsp; The micro-loan was already disbursed to the micro-entrepreneur on June 18, 2009 by the local partner. Kiva is raising funds to essentially buy that loan from the local partner.</P> <P>Here is <A href="http://www.kiva.org/lender/JackKrupansky">my Kiva public lender page</A>: <A href="http://www.kiva.org/lender/JackKrupansky">http://www.kiva.org/lender/JackKrupansky</A></P> <P>Note: This is all real and good, but these micro-loans do not net any interest to us micro-lenders. Kiva's fine print:</P> <BLOCKQUOTE style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px" dir=ltr> <P><EM>Lending to the working poor through Kiva involves risk of principal loss.<BR>Kiva does not guarantee repayment nor do we offer a financial return on your loan.</EM></P></BLOCKQUOTE> <P>Still, at least we know our money is really helping somebody better their lives in a visible way rather than put the money in a bank account or money market fund where who knows what it helps to pay for or what good it does and for only a few pennies of profit in our pockets.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Opixia.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-8794095723102937175?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-71076642710818359022009-06-20T08:20:00.001-04:002009-06-20T08:20:34.239-04:00<P>I went ahead and <SPAN style="WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; FONT: 16px 'Times New Roman'; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; LETTER-SPACING: normal; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); WORD-SPACING: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px" class=Apple-style-span><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15px; FONT-FAMILY: 'Lucida Grande'; WHITE-SPACE: pre-wrap; FONT-SIZE: 14px" class=Apple-style-span>withdrew 60% of my <A href="http://www.kiva.org/">Kiva</A> micro-lending&nbsp;funding (back to my PayPal account). I intend to keep the remaining 40% in Kiva and reinvest in new Kiva loans as repayments come in.</SPAN></SPAN></P> <P><SPAN style="WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; FONT: 16px 'Times New Roman'; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; LETTER-SPACING: normal; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); WORD-SPACING: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px" class=Apple-style-span><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15px; FONT-FAMILY: 'Lucida Grande'; WHITE-SPACE: pre-wrap; FONT-SIZE: 14px" class=Apple-style-span>I have been quite happy with Kiva, other than the one limitation that there is no interest paid on&nbsp;my investments. If they paid even a modest level of interest, say 1-2%, I would happily invest A LOT MORE in Kiva. A 2% return would cover most defaults and make Kiva investment money <EM>self-sustaining</EM>.</SPAN></SPAN></P> <P><SPAN style="WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; FONT: 16px 'Times New Roman'; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; LETTER-SPACING: normal; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); WORD-SPACING: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px" class=Apple-style-span><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15px; FONT-FAMILY: 'Lucida Grande'; WHITE-SPACE: pre-wrap; FONT-SIZE: 14px" class=Apple-style-span>I may move the money over to Lending Club, or I may park it over at SmartyPig.com where it can earn 3.05% APY.</SPAN></SPAN></P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Opixia.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-7107664271081835902?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-63703543836244570782009-06-18T17:59:00.000-04:002009-06-18T18:00:21.381-04:00<P>I got off to a great start with my initial peer-to-peer (P2P)&nbsp;loans ("notes") through&nbsp;<A href="http://www.lendingclub.com/">Lending Club</A>, but then things bogged down. Now I am starting to catch up again.</P> <P>I started&nbsp;by making five small&nbsp;$25 investments in five different notes. I was done, for now. Or so I thought. But only two of the notes were eventually issued. For various reasons, the other three fell through. Two days after I made the investments those three were showing as 100% funded, but still "In Review." At first I thought that simply meant that Lending Club review staff was behind and would eventually catch up. Not quite.</P> <P>The review process is really two steps. First, the credit bureau is consulted and credit history and credit score and all of that credit history stuff&nbsp;is evaluated. That is actually an automated process. Then the loan is made available for us investors. We get to see a combination of that auomated credit information as well as <EM>unverified</EM> employment and income information. Why unverified? Well, simply because it takes time and separate&nbsp;manual processes that can only be automated in some cases.&nbsp;The loan description actually does indicate whether the employment and income information has been verified (with an asterisk if it has been verified) and Credit Status Review does say "Under Review" if the displayed information is still unverified. The status will change to "Approved" once Lending Club has completed the employment and income verification. Lending Club is up-front and transparent with all of this, but you (I) need to understand the jargon and I had failed to do so initially. Now I know.</P> <P>At least now I can understand why so many mortgage originators were so willing to issue "no doc" mortgages back before the financial crisis&nbsp;-- it is a real pain to verify income and employment.</P> <P>Lending Club says that they are in talks with a number of payroll service providers so that they will gradually be able to automatically verify employment and income for&nbsp;an increasing portion of loans.</P> <P>Why not wait until Credit Status Review says "Approved" before selecting a loan for investment? Simple: Because a lot of the "best" loans will already have gotten to 100% funded by that time and no longer be available for you to make an investment. There is no risk selecting an "Under Review" note, it is simply the inconvenience that your investment will be returned within a few days and the money is tied up during that review period.</P> <P>So, I went ahead and selected another four loans (total of ten). My goal is still to get five or six loan investments.</P> <P>So far, another loan has been issued (four so far), two more are "In Review" (fully funded), and three are "In Funding."</P> <P>It is difficult to say how many of those five "open" investments will finally be "issued." I did not intend to do five more, but it's okay if all five get issued. Maybe only one or two will ultimately get issued and that would be ideal for me. Or, maybe they all fall through and then I will have to go back and search for new loans to invest in.</P> <P>But the bottom line is that I am starting to get into the swing of the whole process.</P> <P>I actually got to meet the executives of Lending Club last week. I'll post about that separately.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Finaxyz.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-6370354383624457078?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-25840834979430830312009-06-10T17:15:00.001-04:002009-06-10T17:15:32.680-04:00<P>I made my 5th investment in a peer-to-peer (P2P)&nbsp;loan ("note") through&nbsp;<A href="http://www.lendingclub.com/">Lending Club</A>, $25 in a note for $11,000 for&nbsp;someone to buy a wooden sailboat, at an interest rate&nbsp;of 14.74% for a term of 3 years. The loan grade is D3, which is&nbsp;higher risk due to the borrower's credit score&nbsp;being in the&nbsp;660-678 range.</P> <P>Read about <A href="http://finaxyz.blogspot.com/2009/06/made-my-fourth-lending-club-peer-to.html">my&nbsp;fourth investment loan</A>.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Finaxyz.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-2584083497943083031?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-27005492983756336562009-06-10T13:03:00.000-04:002009-06-10T13:05:11.012-04:00<DIV> <P>The first&nbsp;<A href="http://www.lendingclub.com/">Lending Club</A>&nbsp;<A href="http://finaxyz.blogspot.com/2009/06/just-made-my-first-lending-club-peer-to.html">peer-to-peer (P2P) loan ("note") that I invested in yesterday</A> is now fully funded, closed, and "issued." It was only 60% funded when I invested yesterday, but things move fast on Lending Club. This loan ("note") is for $10,000&nbsp;intended for credit card refinancing. It is a low-risk loan (grade A5) with an interest rate of 9.63%. The first payment (interest only) is due on July 17, 2009.</P> <P>I am still considering investing in another one or two loans in the very near future to round out my initial portfolio.</P></DIV> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Finaxyz.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-2700549298375633656?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-4992478251950131932009-06-09T20:09:00.001-04:002009-06-09T20:09:51.560-04:00<DIV> <P>I just made my fourth investment in a peer-to-peer loan ("note") through&nbsp;<A href="http://www.lendingclub.com/">Lending Club</A>. This note was for someone to remodel their kitchen and bathroom. The loan is for $5,000. My investment is for $25 of that note. The interest rate is 9.32%. The term of the note is 3 years. The loan grade is A4, which is low risk. The borrower's credit score is in the&nbsp;714-749 range. The note is still "In funding", with 13 days left in its funding period, so it is possible that it does not get fully funded and I get my investment back, but it is already 43% funded in just one day.</P> <P>I may do another one or two investments in the very near future, but my initial four investments cover a wide range, from two low risk notes, to one moderate risk and one higher risk note, with a variety of purposes, including educational expenses, a motorcycle, home improvement, and debt consolidation.</P> <P>That's enough for one day!</P> <P>Read about <A href="http://finaxyz.blogspot.com/2009/06/made-my-third-lending-club-peer-to-peer.html">my&nbsp;third investment loan</A>.</P></DIV> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Finaxyz.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-499247825195013193?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-57073786515542124312009-06-09T19:44:00.000-04:002009-06-09T19:45:18.997-04:00<DIV> <P>I made my third investment in a peer-to-peer loan ("note") through&nbsp;<A href="http://www.lendingclub.com/">Lending Club</A>. This note was for a student for educational expenses. The loan is for $4,000. My investment is for $25 of that note. The interest rate is 15.37%. The term of the note is 3 years. The loan grade is D5, which is a lot riskier. The borrower's credit score is in the 660-678 range.</P> <P>For my next loan... Maybe I'll fund some home improvement.</P> <P>Read about <A href="http://finaxyz.blogspot.com/2009/06/made-my-second-lending-club-peer-to.html">my&nbsp;second investment loan</A>.</P></DIV> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Finaxyz.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-5707378651554212431?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-3828511326033702922009-06-09T19:17:00.001-04:002009-06-09T19:17:44.476-04:00<DIV> <P>I went ahead and made my second investment in a peer-to-peer loan ("note") through&nbsp;<A href="http://www.lendingclub.com/">Lending Club</A>. This note was for someone here in New York buying a motorcycle. The loan is for $7,700. My investment is for #25 of that note. The interest rate is 12.53%. The term of the note is 3 years. The loan grade is C1, which is a bit riskier. The borrower's credit score is in the 679-713 range.</P> <P>For my next loan... Maybe I'll fund some home improvement.</P> <P>I&nbsp;will also consider a somewhat higher-risk note in the 13% interest range.</P> <P>Read about <A href="http://finaxyz.blogspot.com/2009/06/just-made-my-first-lending-club-peer-to.html">my first investment loan</A>.</P></DIV> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Finaxyz.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-382851132603370292?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-52148541258933134932009-06-09T18:47:00.000-04:002009-06-09T18:48:02.574-04:00<DIV> <P>I just now made my first investment in a peer-to-peer loan ("note") through&nbsp;<A href="http://www.lendingclub.com/">Lending Club</A>.&nbsp;&nbsp;<A href="http://isayjackkrup.blogspot.com/2009/06/opened-lending-club-account-to-be-peer.html">I opened a&nbsp;Lending Club account as an investor (lender) last Wednesday</A>. The initial funding transfer from my bank account (actually my Fidelity brokerage account) completed yesterday.</P> <P>I am starting with a modest $1,000 initial funding and intend to invest $25 in each peer-to-peer loan (called a&nbsp;<EM>note</EM>.) That will eventually spread my risk over 40 loans (notes.) After I get at least six months to a year of experience (and depending on my own financial condition) I will consider how much more to invest.</P> <P>A typical Lending Club loan (note) would be in the $5,000 to $25,000 range, so my little $25 is only a small amount of the risk of default for a given loan (note.)</P> <P>The standard Lending Club note is for a 3-year term.</P> <P>I am still a little concerned about the dicey state of the economy and the risk that even people with good jobs today might lose them and default on their debts, so I am currently thinking of investing only a small portion of my funding up front, then a little more over the summer, then some more in the early fall, and maybe the rest as we start to see some economic strengthening and reversal of job losses later in the fall and into early next year. At least that is my initial "plan."</P> <P>I'll probably invest about $100 to $150 upfront just to get some experience with the whole process. That would be small pieces of four to six loans (notes.)</P> <P>I'll probably spread my investments over a range of credit risks, just to see how different risk levels perform and to average up to a higher return.</P> <P>My first investment was for $25 of a&nbsp;$10,000 note intended for credit card refinancing. The loan grade is A5, indicating low-risk. The interest rate will be 9.63%.&nbsp;The borrower works for Best Buy. Their credit score is in the 714-749 range. There are a lot of other credit-related details that Lending Club provides. The note is still "In Funding", indicating that it has another 8 days left in its 14-day funding period. If investors do not buy up the entire note by the end of that period that note will not "close" and our investments will be returned.</P> <P>For my next loan... I guess I'll get it over with and loan somebody money to buy a motorcycle!</P></DIV> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Finaxyz.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-5214854125893313493?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-3693711465496627032009-06-03T11:18:00.000-04:002009-06-03T11:20:17.734-04:00<P>I just finished opening a <A href="http://www.lendingclub.com">Lending Club</A> account as an investor (lender.) This online Web site supports what is called <EM>peer-to-peer lending</EM>. It lets people like me who have extra money to&nbsp;lend to... other people like me who need money. As the web site says:</P> <BLOCKQUOTE style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px" dir=ltr> <P><EM>Lending Club is a social lending network that brings together investors and creditworthy borrowers to offer value beyond traditional banks.</EM></P> <P><EM>Borrowers with good credit can get personal loans from $1,000 to $25,000 at interest rates that are often significantly better than rates from conventional sources.</EM></P> <P><EM>For lenders, money invested goes immediately to Lending Club's approved borrower members. Most lender members spread their investment across tens or hundreds of qualified borrowers. Notes (that correspond to specific borrower loans) are offered only by means of a prospectus.</EM></P></BLOCKQUOTE> <P>The next step is to complete the initial funding of my account so that I can start matking loans. I initiated the transfer of funds this morning, but it may not complete until next Tuesday.</P> <P>My expectation is that I will be able to make some initial loans in a week.</P> <P>I am starting out with $1,000. I still need to do some more reading and strategizing, but I expect that I will spread my risk by only contributing $25 to each loan. That would give me 40 loans initially. Also, I may only commit half or even a third of my money at the beginning and wait a few months to see how things play out.</P> <P>A typical loan might be in the $5,000 to $15,000 range with an interest rate in the 9% to 13% range, based on the <EM>grade</EM> of the loan.</P> <P>A lot of credit background information is available for each "note" (loan), including income and credit score range and loan "grade", so a decision can be made based on verified facts and risk.</P> <P>Unlike <A href="http://kiva.org">Kiva</A> which is great as a <EM>non-profit charity</EM> for helping the working poor around the world, Lending Club actually permits me to make a decent profit from my lending.</P> <P>I do have a fair amount of concern about lending in the current economic climate. Even if somebody has a great job today, they might lose it by the end of the day. I might in fact decide to defer most of my lending until later in the summer just to minimize the chance of lending too much to tomorrow's unemployed.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Finaxyz.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-369371146549662703?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-75341919773660752642009-06-03T08:46:00.001-04:002009-06-03T08:46:42.561-04:00<P>I made a new micro-loan through <A href="http://www.kiva.org">Kiva</A> for the month of June. My intention is to make a new micro-loan every month, in large part from repayments for past micro-loans.</P> <P>This one was for a group of 18 micro-entrepreneurs in Tanzania who are making furniture.&nbsp;It is a 6-month micro-loan for a total of $4,550, of which I lent $25. The money is to be used to buy leather, cloth for sofas, and varnish for wood.&nbsp;Its first repayment is scheduled for August 2009. The micro-loan was already disbursed to the micro-entrepreneur group&nbsp;on May 27, 2009 by the local partner. Kiva is raising funds to essentially buy that loan from the local partner.</P> <P>Here is <A href="http://www.kiva.org/lender/JackKrupansky">my Kiva public lender page</A>: <A href="http://www.kiva.org/lender/JackKrupansky">http://www.kiva.org/lender/JackKrupansky</A></P> <P>Note: This is all real and good, but these micro-loans do not net any interest to us micro-lenders. Kiva's fine print:</P> <BLOCKQUOTE style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px" dir=ltr> <P><EM>Lending to the working poor through Kiva involves risk of principal loss.<BR>Kiva does not guarantee repayment nor do we offer a financial return on your loan.</EM></P></BLOCKQUOTE> <P>Still, at least we know our money is really helping somebody better their lives in a visible way rather than put the money in a bank account or money market fund where who knows what it helps to pay for or what good it does and for only a few pennies of profit in our pockets.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Opixia.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-7534191977366075264?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-52416850873803008742009-05-20T17:20:00.000-04:002009-05-20T17:21:17.248-04:00<P><A href="http://twitter.com/bfeld/status/1863186099">Uber VC Brad Feld had a Twitter tweet</A> containing the following great characterization of a dysfunctional organization:</P> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <P><EM>each person on the team had a leash in their hand but didn't know if there was a dog at the other end</EM></P></BLOCKQUOTE> <P>So, do you know what's at the end of your leash?</P> <P>Or maybe you just are not sure which end of the leash you are on?!</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Opixia.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-5241685087380300874?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-15334342913428689472009-05-07T16:32:00.001-04:002009-05-07T16:40:21.893-04:00<p>Somehow I managed to pick up Patrick Dixon as a follower on Twitter. I <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Dixon">checked him out in the Wikipedia</a> and found that he has a book entitled <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1861977530/finaxyz-20">Building a Better Business</a></em> that is a guide to management, marketing and motivation, covering issues ranging from team leadership and change management to corporate governance, branding, and marketing.</p><p>Key points:</p><ul><li>People will only follow you if they see you're ahead, are convinced you know the route, trust you, and want to get there too. <li>Life's too short to sell things you don't believe in. <li>The future of marketing belongs to honest information, accurate data and clear claims based on truth. <li>Every product and service is sold on the promise of a better future. The purpose of business is to deliver on the promise, and profit is the reward for doing so. <li>Business strategy is the battleplan for a better future. <li>You can have the greatest strategy in the world, but what is the point if no one cares? <li>Connect with all the passions people have—for themselves, their families, their communities and wider world—and they will follow you to the ends of the earth, buy your products and services with pride, and may even be willing to work for you for next to nothing. <li>When you have been close to death it makes you think about life. <li>Give people a convincing reason and they will lay down their very lives. <li>All the most powerful speeches ever made point to a better future. <li>You cannot have strong leadership without passion. <li>Mission is at the heart of what you do as a team. Goals are merely steps to its achievement.</li></ul><p>All really good points to keep in mind at all times.</p><p>Here's his book on Amazon:</p><p align="center"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1861977530/finaxyz-20"><strong></strong></a></p><p align="center"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1861977530/finaxyz-20"><img alt="" hspace="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41ZQWM836PL._AA240_SH20_OU01_.jpg" align="baseline" border="0" /></a></p><p>Note: I do get a tiny commission from Amazon if you buy a book after clicking on the cover images or link above that redirect to Amazon. Thanks!</p><p>-- <a href="mailto:Jack@Finaxyz.com">Jack Krupansky</a></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-1533434291342868947?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-68342038769257581112009-05-06T15:57:00.000-04:002009-05-06T15:58:38.674-04:00<P>I made a new micro-loan through <A href="http://www.kiva.org">Kiva</A> for the month of May. My intention is to make a new micro-loan every month, in large part from repayments for past micro-loans.</P> <P>This one was for a weaver in&nbsp;Guatemala&nbsp;who makes women's clothes.&nbsp;It is a 14-month micro-loan for a total of $300, of which I lent $25. Its first repayment is scheduled for July 2009. The micro-loan was already disbursed to the micro-entrepreneur on April 24, 2009 by the local partner. Kiva is raising funds to essentially buy that loan from the local partner.</P> <P>Here is <A href="http://www.kiva.org/lender/JackKrupansky">my Kiva public lender page</A>: <A href="http://www.kiva.org/lender/JackKrupansky">http://www.kiva.org/lender/JackKrupansky</A></P> <P>Note: This is all real and good, but these micro-loans do not net any interest to us micro-lenders. Kiva's fine print:</P> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <P><EM>Lending to the working poor through Kiva involves risk of principal loss.<BR>Kiva does not guarantee repayment nor do we offer a financial return on your loan.</EM></P></BLOCKQUOTE> <P>Still, at least we know our money is really helping somebody better their lives in a visible way rather than put the money in a bank account or money market fund where who knows what it helps to pay for or what good it does and for only a few pennies of profit in our pockets.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Opixia.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-6834203876925758111?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-25696486034449720182009-05-06T09:44:00.001-04:002009-05-06T09:44:29.499-04:00<P>A description for a "Lean Champion" position appeared in my email inbox this morning and one requirement stood out:</P> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <P><EM>Must be able to prioritize multiple tasks and manage time efficiently.</EM></P></BLOCKQUOTE> <P>Nothing new or unusual about that, and that seems to be the requirement for almost <EM>all</EM> jobs, and I am quite used to that, but I suddenly realized that it does not sit right with me. I have spent <EM>decades</EM> doing that, but is it really the <EM>best</EM> way to go, at least for some of us?</P> <P>Rarely do I have only one task in front of me, but the truth is that it usually makes much more sense to tackle tasks in an <EM>opportunistic manner</EM> to <EM>optimize</EM> over the long run and do each piece of work when you feel most <EM>effective </EM>at tackling that piece&nbsp;rather than focus or obsess on which task is top "priority" at the moment. Sure, sometimes there are tasks that need to get done in the very near term, but the goal should be to <EM>avoid</EM> being in such a position where short-term "firefighting" is the norm.</P> <P>Do I <EM>manage time efficiently</EM>? Usually not in any strict sense. I am much more focused on <EM>effectiveness</EM> than raw efficiency. Maybe efficiency is appealing since you can measure it more easily, but that does not mean that the organization is getting any greater <EM>value</EM> than if effectiveness was the goal.</P> <P>Another way I read "<EM>Must be able to prioritize multiple tasks and manage time efficiently</EM>" is as "<EM>Must be willing to be micromanaged and work in a chaotic environment where priorities change on a daily basis</EM>." That, of course, really sucks, but is oh so typical. The boss (or even CEO)&nbsp;cannot get his priorities (or goals or values) straight, so he dumps everything on the underlings.</P> <P>Another common interpretation for "<EM>manage time efficiently</EM>" is that the worker does not complain and always does as they are told.</P> <P>Finally, although being "agile" is a good thing, treating people as if ADD was a job requirement is not such a good thing.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Opixia.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-2569648603444972018?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-53328090163483830572009-04-08T12:10:00.001-04:002009-04-08T12:10:43.037-04:00<P>We are experimenting with using wiki technology for the EntConnect entrepreneurs conference.</P> <P>The <A href="entconnect.pbwiki.com/">EntConnect wiki "home" page</A> is <A href="entconnect.pbwiki.com/">here</A>.</P> <P>The <A href="http://entconnect.pbwiki.com/2009-Schedule">schedule for EntConnect 2009</A> is <A href="http://entconnect.pbwiki.com/2009-Schedule">here</A>, for posterity.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Opixia.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-5332809016348383057?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-31857768300768472752009-04-05T20:41:00.001-04:002009-04-05T20:41:33.668-04:00<P>I made a new micro-loan through <A href="http://www.kiva.org">Kiva</A> for the month of April. My intention is to make a new micro-loan every month, in large part from repayments for past micro-loans.</P> <P>This one was for a man and his wife who has been selling toys and children's clothes in Mongolia for eight years now, to expand their business.&nbsp;It is a 26-month micro-loan for a total of $1,150, of which I lent $25. Its first repayment is scheduled for June 2009. The micro-loan was already disbursed to them on March 30, 2009 by the local partner. Kiva is raising funds to essentially buy that loan from the local partner.</P> <P>Here is <A href="http://www.kiva.org/lender/JackKrupansky">my Kiva public lender page</A>: <A href="http://www.kiva.org/lender/JackKrupansky">http://www.kiva.org/lender/JackKrupansky</A></P> <P>Note: This is all real and good, but these micro-loans do not net any interest to us micro-lenders. Kiva's fine print:</P> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <P><EM>Lending to the working poor through Kiva involves risk of principal loss.<BR>Kiva does not guarantee repayment nor do we offer a financial return on your loan.</EM></P></BLOCKQUOTE> <P>Still, at least we know our money is really helping somebody better their lives in a visible way rather than put the money in a bank account or money market fund where who knows what it helps to pay for or what good it does and for only a few pennies of profit in our pockets.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Opixia.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-3185776830076847275?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-5922924374846309942009-03-28T12:21:00.001-04:002009-03-28T12:21:42.742-04:00<P>The <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">EntConnect 2009 entrepreneurs conference</A>&nbsp;is now underway. The keynote presentation this morning is by social media guru Bill French of <A href="http://blogsite.com/">MyST Technology</A>, focused primarily on Twitter.</P> <P>Whether you are an entrepreneur or thinking about starting your own business or simply need a good excuse to go skiing in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, the <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/"><STRONG>Entrepreneurial Connections</STRONG> conference (<STRONG>EntConnect</STRONG>)</A> may be just the conference you have been waiting for. Targeted primarily at engineers (hardware, software, and other)&nbsp;and others with a strong technical interest, it is more of a loosely-structured "unconference", with plenty of opportunities for a relatively small group of participants (15 to 40) to network or even give their own presentations on a very wide range of topics from technology, business strategy, intellectual property and legal issues, accounting issues, finance, marketing, sales, and even selling your business.&nbsp;With plenty of time to ski or otherwise enjoy the mountains and Denver area (great time to visit Boulder or Colorado Springs as well), the conference is&nbsp;a great&nbsp;opportunity to "learn and share" and otherwise&nbsp;have an "out of box" experience.&nbsp;Participants and speakers range over the full spectrum from wannabes and newcomers to successful young entrepreneurs and seasoned veterans. The conference is an excellent opportunity to meet up with former readers (and possibly even the publisher)&nbsp;of <STRONG>Midnight Engineering</STRONG> magazine as well. The conference runs from Thursday, March 26, 2009&nbsp;through Sunday, March 29, 2009.</P> <P>Visit the <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">official conference Web site</A>, <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">EntConnect.org</A>. It now has some agenda and schedule information, including skiing on Thursday and fun activities on Friday. I will be around both evenings, but traveling during the day on Thursday and up in Boulder on Friday.</P> <P>I have been attending the conference since it first started in 1992 as <A href="http://www.opixia.com/EntEng/ME-SKI-92.htm">ME SKI '92</A>&nbsp;and then&nbsp;evolved into&nbsp;ENTCON and then Entrepreneurial Connections or EntConnect.</P> <P>For a little nostalgia, check out the <A href="http://www.opixia.com/EntEng/ME-SKI-92.htm">original ME SKI '92 conference announcement</A>.</P> <P dir=ltr>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Opixia.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-592292437484630994?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-9684373504246185192009-03-25T10:58:00.000-04:002009-03-25T10:59:31.169-04:00<P>I almost forgot to mention that social media guru Bill French of <A href="http://blogsite.com/">MyST Technology</A> will be&nbsp;attending and speaking at the <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">EntConnect 2009 entrepreneurs conference</A>.&nbsp;The conference&nbsp;starts on Thursday, which is tomorrow. I am not sure when Bill's presentation is scheduled on the weekend, but he is actually giving <EM>two</EM> presentations, one on Twitter vs. Facebook and the other on web site security.</P> <P>The biggest uncertainty, for me, right now, is whether a spring snow storm might mess up travel in the Denver area, especially the airport when I am flying in tomorrow afternoon. Or, flights back east may be delayed due to rain.&nbsp;It will be a little... "adventure."</P> <P>Whether you are an entrepreneur or thinking about starting your own business or simply need a good excuse to go skiing in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, the <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/"><STRONG>Entrepreneurial Connections</STRONG> conference (<STRONG>EntConnect</STRONG>)</A> may be just the conference you have been waiting for. Targeted primarily at engineers (hardware, software, and other)&nbsp;and others with a strong technical interest, it is more of a loosely-structured "unconference", with plenty of opportunities for a relatively small group of participants (15 to 40) to network or even give their own presentations on a very wide range of topics from technology, business strategy, intellectual property and legal issues, accounting issues, finance, marketing, sales, and even selling your business.&nbsp;With plenty of time to ski or otherwise enjoy the mountains and Denver area (great time to visit Boulder or Colorado Springs as well), the conference is&nbsp;a great&nbsp;opportunity to "learn and share" and otherwise&nbsp;have an "out of box" experience.&nbsp;Participants and speakers range over the full spectrum from wannabes and newcomers to successful young entrepreneurs and seasoned veterans. The conference is an excellent opportunity to meet up with former readers (and possibly even the publisher)&nbsp;of <STRONG>Midnight Engineering</STRONG> magazine as well. The conference runs from Thursday, March 26, 2009&nbsp;through Sunday, March 29, 2009.</P> <P>Visit the <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">official conference Web site</A>, <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">EntConnect.org</A>. It now has some agenda and schedule information, including skiing on Thursday and fun activities on Friday. I will be around both evenings, but traveling during the day on Thursday and up in Boulder on Friday.</P> <P>I have been attending the conference since it first started in 1992 as <A href="http://www.opixia.com/EntEng/ME-SKI-92.htm">ME SKI '92</A>&nbsp;and then&nbsp;evolved into&nbsp;ENTCON and then Entrepreneurial Connections or EntConnect.</P> <P>For a little nostalgia, check out the <A href="http://www.opixia.com/EntEng/ME-SKI-92.htm">original ME SKI '92 conference announcement</A>.</P> <P dir=ltr>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Opixia.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-968437350424618519?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-42645920965610698942009-03-24T19:39:00.001-04:002009-03-24T19:39:58.566-04:00<P>Yikes!!! The <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">EntConnect 2009 entrepreneurs conference</A> almost here. It starts on Thursday, less than two days from now.</P> <P>I personally won't be participating in the skiing portion of the pre-conference activities on Thursday, but I will be flying out from New York City on Thursday afternoon, arriving at the conference hotel roughly in time for drinks and dinner. My flight from Newark arrives at 4:18 p.m. If I catch the 4:43 p.m. <A href="http://www.rtd-denver.com/skyRide/index.html">RTD skyRide AF bus</A> to the Cold Spring Park-n-Ride, which is a block from the conference hotel, arriving about 6:12 p.m. But if I miss that bus due to hassles at the terminal, I'll catch the 5:45 p.m. bus that arrives at Cold Spring at 7:17 p.m. With the latter I could miss any informal dinner gathering, but I'll catch up with the gang after dinner in the hotel lounge.</P> <P>I'll also be skipping any Friday daytime activities to head up to Boulder for the day. I will be back to the hotel in time for drinks and the traditional Friday evening conference "feast." In the morning I'll catch the RTD GS bus at 8:05 a.m. (or 9:04 a.m.) to arrive in Boulder at 9:01 a.m. (or 10:00 a.m.). In the afternoon I'll catch the GS bus at 3:36 p.m. (or 4:36 p.m.) to arrive back at Cold Spring at 4:39 p.m. (or 5:39 p.m.).</P> <P>I'll also be spending Sunday evening up in Boulder (and maybe eating dinner at <A href="http://www.laudisio.com/">Laudisio</A>!) before heading to my Flight back to the New York area on Monday afternoon.</P> <P>Whether you are an entrepreneur or thinking about starting your own business or simply need a good excuse to go skiing in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, the <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/"><STRONG>Entrepreneurial Connections</STRONG> conference (<STRONG>EntConnect</STRONG>)</A> may be just the conference you have been waiting for. Targeted primarily at engineers (hardware, software, and other)&nbsp;and others with a strong technical interest, it is more of a loosely-structured "unconference", with plenty of opportunities for a relatively small group of participants (15 to 40) to network or even give their own presentations on a very wide range of topics from technology, business strategy, intellectual property and legal issues, accounting issues, finance, marketing, sales, and even selling your business.&nbsp;With plenty of time to ski or otherwise enjoy the mountains and Denver area (great time to visit Boulder or Colorado Springs as well), the conference is&nbsp;a great&nbsp;opportunity to "learn and share" and otherwise&nbsp;have an "out of box" experience.&nbsp;Participants and speakers range over the full spectrum from wannabes and newcomers to successful young entrepreneurs and seasoned veterans. The conference is an excellent opportunity to meet up with former readers (and possibly even the publisher)&nbsp;of <STRONG>Midnight Engineering</STRONG> magazine as well.</P> <P>Visit the <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">official conference Web site</A>, <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">EntConnect.org</A>.</P> <P>I have been attending the conference since it first started in 1992 as <A href="http://www.opixia.com/EntEng/ME-SKI-92.htm">ME SKI '92</A>&nbsp;and then&nbsp;evolved into&nbsp;ENTCON and then Entrepreneurial Connections or EntConnect.</P> <P>For a little nostalgia, check out the <A href="http://www.opixia.com/EntEng/ME-SKI-92.htm">original ME SKI '92 conference announcement</A>.</P> <P dir=ltr>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Opixia.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-4264592096561069894?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-3443950822001663112009-03-23T13:04:00.000-04:002009-03-23T13:05:06.688-04:00<P>A Google search alert for "EntConnect" just informed me that the <A href="http://events.linkedin.com/EntConnect-Entrepreneurial-Connections/pub/49137">EntConnect 2009 entrepreneurs conference is now listed as a LinkedIn event</A>. The <A href="http://events.linkedin.com/EntConnect-Entrepreneurial-Connections/pub/49137">LinkedIn event description</A> says:</P> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <P><EM>EntConnect is unique -- NOT a giant, formal, white-washed conference with two dozen talking heads. Building upon a rich history honed since 1992, it's a unique "unconference" experience&nbsp;-- you help set the agenda. An amazing opportunity to meet current and future entrepreneurs.</EM></P></BLOCKQUOTE> <P>Whether you are an entrepreneur or thinking about starting your own business or simply need a good excuse to go skiing in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, the <STRONG>Entrepreneurial Connections</STRONG> conference (<STRONG>EntConnect</STRONG>) may be just the conference you have been waiting for. Targeted primarily at engineers (hardware, software, and other)&nbsp;and others with a strong technical interest, it is more of a loosely-structured "unconference", with plenty of opportunities for a relatively small group of participants (15 to 40) to network or even give their own presentations on a very wide range of topics from technology, business strategy, intellectual property and legal issues, accounting issues, finance, marketing, sales, and even selling your business.&nbsp;With plenty of time to ski or otherwise enjoy the mountains and Denver area (great time to visit Boulder or Colorado Springs as well), the conference is&nbsp;a great&nbsp;opportunity to "learn and share" and otherwise&nbsp;have an "out of box" experience.&nbsp;Participants and speakers range over the full spectrum from wannabes and newcomers to successful young entrepreneurs and seasoned veterans. The conference is an excellent opportunity to meet up with former readers (and possibly even the publisher)&nbsp;of <STRONG>Midnight Engineering</STRONG> magazine as well.</P> <P>Visit the <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">official conference Web site</A>, <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">EntConnect.org</A>.</P> <P>I have been attending the conference since it first started in 1992 as <A href="http://www.opixia.com/EntEng/ME-SKI-92.htm">ME SKI '92</A>&nbsp;and then&nbsp;evolved into&nbsp;ENTCON and then Entrepreneurial Connections or EntConnect.</P> <P>For a little nostalgia, check out the <A href="http://www.opixia.com/EntEng/ME-SKI-92.htm">original ME SKI '92 conference announcement</A>.</P> <P dir=ltr>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Opixia.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-344395082200166311?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-87248848070224023382009-03-12T15:36:00.000-04:002009-03-12T15:42:29.543-04:00<P>There are many ways to fund a new technology startup, but one particularly intriguing approach is <A href="http://www.techstars.org/">TechStars</A>, which&nbsp;is a mentorship-driven seed stage investment fund located in Boulder, Colorado. They fund up to about 20 technology startups each summer.&nbsp;For each startup, up to three founders get $6,000 each for the summer to crank out a substantial prototype to get their idea off the ground&nbsp;so they can get to the next level. The deal includes server hosting, work space if needed, legal services, and more. Most importantly,&nbsp;each team&nbsp;gets access to the 50 entrepreneurial mentors who are part of TechStars as well as the opportunity at the end of the summer to pitch&nbsp;at an investor event with upwards of 150&nbsp;angel investors and venture capital investors in attendance.</P> <P>That may not sound like a lot of money (or time), but the networking and focus on rapid success are worth much, much more. Remember: quality, not quantity.</P> <P>TechStars is active in both Boulder and the Boston area.</P> <P>The principals of TechStars are David G. Cohen (Executive Director), Brad Feld, Jared Polis, and David Brown.</P> <P>They recently held their spring kickoff meetings in Boulder and Boston (invitational, limited seating, one-day mini-camps called "<A href="http://www.techstars.org/techstars-for-a-day/">TechStars For A Day</A>" (TS4AD)&nbsp;for TechStars applicants), but are still accepting applications until the March 21, 2009 deadline. My apologies for not posting about this earlier.</P> <P>Feedback from Benjamin Brinckerhoff, founder of <A href="http://devver.net/">Devver</A>, class of Summer 2008:</P> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <P><EM>I prefer writing code to business plans, but I found the business advice from our mentors to be incredible: it was concrete, immediately applicable, and always focused on building something real for our users.</EM></P></BLOCKQUOTE> <P>Check out the <A href="http://www.techstars.org/">TechStars web site</A> for more details.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Opixia.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-8724884807022402338?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-56380770863154189792009-03-09T11:53:00.001-04:002009-03-09T11:53:48.769-04:00<P>Were you one of those fortunate souls who attended the historic <A href="http://www.opixia.com/EntEng/ME-SKI-92.htm">ME SKI '92 entrepreneurial engineers conference</A>&nbsp;back in April of 1992? If so, <STRONG>EntConnect</STRONG> is the conference for you.</P> <P>Whether you are an entrepreneur or thinking about starting your own business or simply need a good excuse to go skiing in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, the <STRONG>Entrepreneurial Connections</STRONG> conference (<STRONG>EntConnect</STRONG>) may be just the conference you have been waiting for. Targeted primarily at engineers (hardware, software, and other)&nbsp;and others with a strong technical interest, it is more of a loosely-structured "unconference", with plenty of opportunities for a relatively small group of participants (15 to 40) to network or even give their own presentations on a very wide range of topics from technology, business strategy, intellectual property and legal issues, accounting issues, finance, marketing, sales, and even selling your business.&nbsp;With plenty of time to ski or otherwise enjoy the mountains and Denver area (great time to visit Boulder or Colorado Springs as well), the conference is&nbsp;a great&nbsp;opportunity to "learn and share" and otherwise&nbsp;have an "out of box" experience.&nbsp;Participants and speakers range over the full spectrum from wannabes and newcomers to successful young entrepreneurs and seasoned veterans. The conference is an excellent opportunity to meet up with former readers (and possibly even the publisher)&nbsp;of <STRONG>Midnight Engineering</STRONG> magazine as well.</P> <P>Visit the <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">official conference Web site</A>, <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">EntConnect.org</A>. Hotel rooms at the Sheraton Denver West in Lakewood, CO&nbsp;are available at the conference rate of $79.</P> <P dir=ltr>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Opixia.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-5638077086315418979?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-33430915613018249432009-03-09T10:44:00.000-04:002009-03-09T10:45:12.070-04:00<P>Successful entrepreneur and venture capitalist Brad Feld has some interesting thoughts on failure in his blog post entitled "<A href="http://www.feld.com/wp/archives/2009/03/have-you-ever-failed.html">Have You Ever Failed?</A>". He offers some personal experiences and concludes by telling us that:</P> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <P><EM>In my world view, the best leaders understand that failure is an integral part of things.&nbsp; The cliche "fail fast" is one of my favorites.&nbsp; When things aren't working, deal with it.&nbsp; Another is the famous line from Atlas Shrugged "Nobody stays here by faking reality in any manner whatever."&nbsp; Denying that failure is part of our existence is akin to faking reality.</EM></P> <P><EM>While I accept "the experience of failure" feels "negative / crappy / depressing / hard / sucky", I don't believe that "failure is bad."&nbsp; Deal with it, learn from it, pick yourself up, and try again.</EM></P></BLOCKQUOTE> <P dir=ltr>"<EM>Learn from it.</EM>" If only it was as easy as it sounds. Too often, we do learn from failure, but we somehow end up focusing on the "wrong" lessons and somehow miss the "right" lessons.</P> <P dir=ltr>"Fail fast" is a really, really&nbsp;good idea, but only to the extent that you have "Learn fast" down cold.</P> <P dir=ltr>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Opixia.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-3343091561301824943?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-79449877558250533882009-03-06T11:16:00.001-05:002009-03-06T11:16:44.829-05:00<P>Believe it or not, the deadline for early-bird registration for the EntConnect 2009 entrepreneurs conference has been extended to today, Friday, March 6, 2009. The conference will be underway only three weeks from today.</P> <P>Whether you are an entrepreneur or thinking about starting your own business or simply need a good excuse to go skiing in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, the <STRONG>Entrepreneurial Connections</STRONG> conference (<STRONG>EntConnect</STRONG>) may be just the conference you have been waiting for. Targeted primarily at engineers (hardware, software, and other)&nbsp;and others with a strong technical interest, it is more of a loosely-structured "unconference", with plenty of opportunities for a relatively small group of participants (15 to 40) to network or even give their own presentations on a very wide range of topics from technology, business strategy, intellectual property and legal issues, accounting issues, finance, marketing, sales, and even selling your business.&nbsp;With plenty of time to ski or otherwise enjoy the mountains and Denver area (great time to visit Boulder or Colorado Springs as well), the conference is&nbsp;a great&nbsp;opportunity to "learn and share" and otherwise&nbsp;have an "out of box" experience.&nbsp;Participants and speakers range over the full spectrum from wannabes and newcomers to successful young entrepreneurs and seasoned veterans. The conference is an excellent opportunity to meet up with former readers (and possibly even the publisher)&nbsp;of <STRONG>Midnight Engineering</STRONG> magazine as well.</P> <P>Visit the <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">official conference Web site</A>, <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">EntConnect.org</A>. Hotel rooms at the Sheraton Denver West in Lakewood, CO&nbsp;are available at the conference rate of $79.</P> <P>I have been attending the conference since it first started in 1992 as <A href="http://www.opixia.com/EntEng/ME-SKI-92.htm">ME SKI '92</A>&nbsp;and then&nbsp;evolved into&nbsp;ENTCON and then Entrepreneurial Connections or EntConnect.</P> <P>For a little nostalgia, check out the <A href="http://www.opixia.com/EntEng/ME-SKI-92.htm">original ME SKI '92 conference announcement</A>.</P> <P dir=ltr>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Opixia.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-7944987755825053388?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-11953711530532556232009-03-05T20:07:00.000-05:002009-03-05T20:08:11.176-05:00<P>Back in January of 2000 when I still had a small mountain of financial assets, I actually considered whether I should go to cash and permanently retire. One option, the one I chose, unfortunately, was that "I only need one more year of decent stock market returns (15-20%)&nbsp;and then I will be set for life", but we know how that movie ended. That was all I needed, one more year, and then I could live "forever" on income from Treasuries. In fact, three-quarters of my net worth was in Treasuries at that point anyway due to my call option strategy that was working so well in the bull market. But, that is water over the dam now. The other option that I briefly considered, but rejected as unattractive, was what I called "my Gary, Indiana solution". Briefly, although I did not have enough money to retire in New York City, I <EM>could</EM> have retired forever if I could have stomached&nbsp;relocating to some godforsaken place that was really, really cheap, such as I imagined Gary, Indiana to be.</P> <P>I actually had no idea what Gary, Indiana was really like, but being part of the so-called "Rust Belt", I imagined that everything was much cheaper there. I could easily and quickly get to Chicago, Illinois if I ever had a desperate urge to be somewhere other than "nowhere" and fly from Chicago to "anywhere." Meanwhile, I would not have to burn through piles of cash for living expenses, or so I imagined. In truth, even if Gary was only moderately cheaper I actually would have been able to life, even if not thrive, on Treasury income.</P> <P>The big obstacle to implementing "my Gary, Indiana solution" was simply the fact that for me personally it had the feeling that I would be imprisoned or at least exiled away from anything that might interest me. Joliet would not have sounded much worse to me.&nbsp;The Internet and Web were still relatively primitive even in 2000 compared to all the online social networking we have today. Maybe with Web 2.0 I could have envisioned living in a bubble, like living on the moon or Mars.</P> <P>Alas, today I do not even have the financial resources for that "ambitious" Gary, Indiana "solution" that I had back in 2000. I would need to have some kind of job, but I might be able to pull it off with a more menial type of job, if something were in fact available.</P> <P>In any case, my immediate goal here is simply to record for my own reference and for posterity this idea that I had back in 2000. Whether I can reuse it in some way remains to be seen.</P> <P>When thinking anew about the concept, two immediate questions come to mind. First, where in the U.S. can you live very, very cheaply? Second, and which of those places have significant acceptable and palatable employment opportunities. The goal here is not to find a place to spend the rest of my life, but finding an "economic refuge" until technology employment opportunities once again become plentiful.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Finaxyz.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-1195371153053255623?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-7164323983014491692009-03-05T18:40:00.001-05:002009-03-05T18:40:32.320-05:00<P>Although I personally have no desire to "drop off the gird", the current economic crisis implicitly raises it as a very real possibility. Obtaining satisfying and well-paying work (or even entrepreneurial opportunities)&nbsp;is no longer anything even remotely resembling a "slam dunk." Maybe life off the grid would not be such an unconscionable alternative.</P> <P>But what would it mean to live off the grid, as a general proposition? Somehow, the primary constraint would be to dramatically limit expenses:</P> <OL> <LI>Rent. Maybe free lodging. Or camping. <LI>Meals. Consider growing some own food. <LI>Health care. Only real option is that you need to be in great health. <LI>Entertainment. Need to entertain yourself. Use the library, including free Internet access. Free cultural events. <LI>Socializing. No longer quite so easy to socialize with those on the grid. Network with others off the grid. <LI>Keeping up. Including current events, work opportunities, and training opportunities. Once again, the library may be a best solution.</LI></OL> <P>Thoreau tried to live off the grid, for awhile, but he had some land, a cabin, and a life he could go back to.</P> <P>At this stage I am certainly not seriously contemplating going "off grid", but if May rolls around and I have no serious employment opportunities (contracting, full-time, part-time, or whatever), suddenly going at least partially off-grid will become a possibility to consider. I will still have significant cash (and stock??) resources at the end of May (when my current apartment lease is up), so I actually will not be "forced" to go completely off the grid, but maybe a partial off-grid lifestyle might be a possibility.</P> <P>Some kind of semi-nomadic lifestyle may in fact be more appropriate for me.</P> <P>Or, finding some locale where I can live really, really, really cheaply until the economy stabilizes at least a little.</P> <P>In any case, I have my living expenses for the next three months covered and can "merrily" sit back and watch the economic storms swirl around me, as if I had not a care in the world. Or something like that.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Finaxyz.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-716432398301449169?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-2334125380920458612009-03-05T10:46:00.001-05:002009-03-05T10:46:57.793-05:00<P>Wow, there are only three more weeks until EntConnect 2009!</P> <P>Whether you are an entrepreneur or thinking about starting your own business or simply need a good excuse to go skiing in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, the <STRONG>Entrepreneurial Connections</STRONG> conference (<STRONG>EntConnect</STRONG>) may be just the conference you have been waiting for. Targeted primarily at engineers (hardware, software, and other)&nbsp;and others with a strong technical interest, it is more of a loosely-structured "unconference", with plenty of opportunities for a relatively small group of participants (15 to 40) to network or even give their own presentations on a very wide range of topics from technology, business strategy, intellectual property and legal issues, accounting issues, finance, marketing, sales, and even selling your business.&nbsp;With plenty of time to ski or otherwise enjoy the mountains and Denver area (great time to visit Boulder or Colorado Springs as well), the conference is&nbsp;a great&nbsp;opportunity to "learn and share" and otherwise&nbsp;have an "out of box" experience.&nbsp;Participants and speakers range over the full spectrum from wannabes and newcomers to successful young entrepreneurs and seasoned veterans. The conference is an excellent opportunity to meet up with former readers (and possibly even the publisher)&nbsp;of <STRONG>Midnight Engineering</STRONG> magazine as well.</P> <P>Visit the <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">official conference Web site</A>, <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">EntConnect.org</A>. Hotel rooms at the Sheraton Denver West in Lakewood, CO&nbsp;are available at the conference rate of $79.</P> <P>I have been attending the conference since it first started in 1992 as <A href="http://www.opixia.com/EntEng/ME-SKI-92.htm">ME SKI '92</A>&nbsp;and then&nbsp;evolved into&nbsp;ENTCON and then Entrepreneurial Connections or EntConnect.</P> <P>For a little nostalgia, check out the <A href="http://www.opixia.com/EntEng/ME-SKI-92.htm">original ME SKI '92 conference announcement</A>.</P> <P dir=ltr>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Opixia.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-233412538092045861?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-31305863613292358672009-03-03T16:01:00.000-05:002009-03-03T16:03:16.896-05:00<P>One of my pet peeves is when people refer to all manner of stock and commodity trading and speculation as "investment" when it is no such thing, so I really appreciated venture capitalist Brad Feld's blog post entitled "<A href="http://www.feld.com/wp/archives/2009/03/investment-vs-speculation.html">Investment vs. Speculation</A>." I mostly agree with him and absolutely agree the we need more attention to investment and less attention&nbsp;on speculation.</P> <P>My main departure from Brad is that I see investment as not only long-term, but open-ended, whereas speculation can be multi-year but has a target event which will end or "exit" the speculation. Granted, no investment is necessarily "forever and ever", but would normally end only when the "investment thesis" changes or our investment goals change. But with speculation, we may have a price or P/E target in mind upfront that predetermines the decision to end or "exit" the speculation.</P> <P>In short, in speculation we focus intently on the end or "exit" event, while in true investment we focus on building enterprise value over time, either to achieve dividends on an ongoing basis or to increase market value over time, but with no date or price for "exit" in mind.</P> <P>In the case of venture capital investment, it is not typically open-ended and usually has a fairly clear end goal or "exit"&nbsp;in mind, such as an IPO or sale of the investment to another business, coupled with a distribution of stock and cash to the investors.</P> <P>Venture capitalists, as the general partners of venture capital limited partnerships, have a fiduciary duty to satisfy the goals of delivering an "exit" so that the limited partners can cash out both&nbsp;their original investment&nbsp;and profit within some fairly well-defined range of years, typically 5-7 years. Granted, that timeframe is well beyond the tolerance or patience of most stock and commodity speculators, but "real" investors might use that as a minimum rather than a maximum timeframe.</P> <P>Nonetheless, a venture capital investment is clearly relatively long term compared to speculative activity that we see with stocks and commodities.</P> <P>Another thing about venture capital investments is that they are inherently "speculative" in nature in the sense of having a high degree of risk that the principle invested in an individual company&nbsp;could be completely lost. Most stock investors would never consider investing in a company that is rated in advance as being at such as high&nbsp;risk of a major decline or even "going to zero." I would still consider venture capital as an investment since there is a fairly high tolerance to short-term adverse events of the sort that would cause a garden-variety stock or commodity speculator to immediately hit a "stop loss" and dump their "investment." Unlike stock and commodity speculators, venture investors typically have a role on the board of directors or some other advisory role such that they can help out to significantly mitigate adverse events. The "package" of high potential return and significant technical and managerial expertise of the venture capital general partners give venture capital an acceptable level of risk for the limited partners and result in it being more of an investment than a speculation.</P> <P>On the other hand, venture investors do have one quality advantage over stock investors: they have very low tolerance for allowing a company to stagnate for long periods of time and are super-motivated to aggressively push company management to "maximize shareholder value."</P> <P>All of that said, I am glad to hear that someone else is beating the "investment vs. speculation" drum.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Finaxyz.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-3130586361329235867?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-90964200650196419332009-03-02T11:03:00.000-05:002009-03-02T11:05:35.960-05:00<P>The fact that Apple seems to be doing quite well with its App Store makes me wonder whether, say, Twitter could also do well with a comparable store for add-ons for use with Twitter.</P> <P>In other words, which is the cart and which is the horse (or chicken and egg if you wish), the iPhone as a "platform" or Twitter as a platform?</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Opixia.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-9096420065019641933?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-62360356914609898322009-02-26T09:50:00.000-05:002009-02-26T09:52:39.590-05:00<DIV><BR></DIV> <P>Calculating a reasonable price -- profitable for you and acceptable to the client -- is a very challenging issue facing any contractor.</P> <P><EM>[Warning: the rest of this post is </EM><STRONG>supposed</STRONG><EM> to be a joke!]</EM></P> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <P><EM>Three contractors are bidding to fix a broken fence. One is from New York, another is from Tennessee and the third is from Florida. All three examine the fence.</EM></P> <P><EM>The Florida contractor takes out a tape measure and does some measuring, then works some figures with a pencil. 'Well,' he says, 'I figure the job will run about $900: $400 for materials, $400 for my crew and $100 profit for me.'</EM></P> <P><EM>The Tennessee contractor also does some measuring and figuring, then says, 'I can do this job for $700: $300 for materials, $300 for my crew, and $100 profit for me.'</EM></P> <P><EM>The New York contractor doesn't measure or figure, but leans over to the government official and whispers, '$2,700.'</EM></P> <P><EM>The official, incredulous, says, 'You didn't even measure like the other guys! How did you come up with such a high figure?'</EM></P> <P><EM>The New York contractor whispers back, '$1,000 for me, $1,000 for you, and we hire the guy from Tennessee to fix the fence.'</EM></P> <P><EM>'Done!' replies the government official.</EM></P></BLOCKQUOTE> <P dir=ltr>My apologies to contractors from Florida and Tennessee.</P> <P dir=ltr>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Opixia.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-6236035691460989832?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-63563148043008981052009-02-25T16:19:00.000-05:002009-02-25T16:21:49.617-05:00<P>There are less than three days left to get the $149 early-bird rate for registration for the <STRONG>EntConnect</STRONG> entrepreneurs conference. Register on of more Saturday, February 28, 2009 for $149 or the rate goes up to $299.</P> <P>Whether you are an entrepreneur or thinking about starting your own business or simply need a good excuse to go skiing in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, the <STRONG>Entrepreneurial Connections</STRONG> conference (<STRONG>EntConnect</STRONG>) may be just the conference you have been waiting for. Targeted primarily at engineers (hardware, software, and other)&nbsp;and others with a strong technical interest, it is more of a loosely-structured "unconference", with plenty of opportunities for a relatively small group of participants (15 to 40) to network or even give their own presentations on a very wide range of topics from technology, business strategy, intellectual property and legal issues, accounting issues, finance, marketing, sales, and even selling your business.&nbsp;With plenty of time to ski or otherwise enjoy the mountains and Denver area (great time to visit Boulder or Colorado Springs as well), the conference is&nbsp;a great&nbsp;opportunity to "learn and share" and otherwise&nbsp;have an "out of box" experience.&nbsp;Participants and speakers range over the full spectrum from wannabes and newcomers to successful young entrepreneurs and seasoned veterans. The conference is an excellent opportunity to meet up with former readers (and possibly even the publisher)&nbsp;of <STRONG>Midnight Engineering</STRONG> magazine as well.</P> <P>Visit the <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">official conference Web site</A>, <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">EntConnect.org</A>. Hotel rooms at the Sheraton Denver West in Lakewood, CO&nbsp;are available at the conference rate of $79.</P> <P>I have been attending the conference since it first started (as ME-Ski and then ENTCON) in 1992.</P> <P dir=ltr>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Opixia.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-6356314804300898105?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-20307387129215599672009-02-23T09:03:00.000-05:002009-02-23T09:06:00.210-05:00<P>I am no fan of Thomas Friedman, but I do agree with most of what he says in his latest Op-Ed in <EM>The New York Times</EM> entitled "<A href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/22/opinion/22friedman.html?_r=1&amp;th&amp;emc=th">Start Up the Risk-Takers</A>" in which is proposes a fairly simple model for government investment to create new jobs:</P> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <P><EM>Call up the top 20 venture capital firms in America, which are short of cash today because their partners&nbsp;-- university endowments and pension funds&nbsp;-- are tapped out, and make them this offer: The U.S. Treasury will give you each up to $1 billion to fund the best venture capital ideas that have come your way. If they go bust, we all lose. If any of them turns out to be the next Microsoft or Intel, taxpayers will give you 20 percent of the investors' upside and keep 80 percent for themselves.</EM></P></BLOCKQUOTE> <P dir=ltr>Sounds like a plan. But, it is not quite so simple. True, professional venture capital firms operate in a relatively narrow range of financing and stage of development. The typical paradigm for a venture capital-funded venture is "early stage", were only a relatively modest level of capital is needed (rarely more than $20 million), and where only a modest number of jobs are generated. Sure, some venture capital firms offer "later stage" funding, but that is still for the relatively early life of a new venture when growth is high but revenue and jobs are still relatively modest. The Googles and Microsofts and Intels&nbsp;of the world did not require large-scale capital in their venture capital stages. So-called <EM>expansion capital</EM> on a large scale typically comes not from professional capital firms, but either organically funded from revenue and profits from dramatic early success of a Google or Microsoft or Intel, or from debt offerings on Wall Street or other non-venture capital sources. That is the stage when a high volume of jobs are created.</P> <P dir=ltr>Professional VC firms do offer <EM>growth stage</EM> funding ($10 to $50 million), but that is still only the stage where a venture might be hiring no more than a few hundred people, not the major growth stage where thousands of jobs are being created and hundreds of millions of capital investment are being made.</P> <P dir=ltr>Sure, I agree with Friedman&nbsp;-- and have <A href="http://finaxyz.blogspot.com/2009/02/stimulus-ii.html">already myself suggested</A> -- that the government should temporarily step in to fund professional venture capital firms that are having difficulty raising capital from their traditional sources such as large banks, insurance companies, pension funds, and large endowment funds (all of whom are themselves struggling financially), but this is money to fuel a future wave of job creation, say three to ten years from now, and won't create <EM>millions</EM> of new jobs in the next two to three years.</P> <P dir=ltr>There are also SBIR,&nbsp;SBA, and other government funding programs that can be boosted directly by the government. Government guarantees for bank loans and debt offerings for young, innovative ventures&nbsp;could also be a big help for growing innovative companies far beyond the early stages where venture capital is most successful at boosting promising companies and weeding out the good ideas that simple do not work in the real world.</P> <P dir=ltr>Yes, by all means the government should ramp up venture capital investment, but that will not obviate the need for stimulating and supported significant chunks of the "old economy" for many years to come.</P> <P dir=ltr>Besides, the last thing we need is yet another new "bubble", let alone a slew of them.</P> <P dir=ltr>We want new ventures that are robust and durable, not flash-in-the-pan, "gold rush"&nbsp;style "opportunities."</P> <P dir=ltr>Energy innovation is worthy of investment, as is filling the gap for funding of venture capital firms, but let us be careful to avoid turning&nbsp;this into another "dot-com boom", because we all know how that movie ended.</P> <P dir=ltr>The good news is that it might cost only $20 billion (as Friedman suggests) to give the venture capital industry&nbsp;the shot in the arm that it does in fact need.</P> <P dir=ltr>Personally, I am not completely convinced that any or many of the top VC firms could actually put $1 billion to use with their current investment paradigms and I would not want to destroy the current paradigm that works so well. To be clear, over-investment does not result in comparably greater success.&nbsp;Maybe $250 million average (per year)&nbsp;for the top 20 firms and $50 million average for the rest of the top 100 firms would be more than sufficient for the level of investment that these firms could manage successfully at this point. That works out to about $9 billion a year. Okay, double it to make sure that good businesses do not have trouble getting funded. That gets us to $18 billion, close to Friedman's number. My own original number was $2 to $3 billion a month or $24 to $48 billion per year. My model was simply that in times of financial crisis, better to err way over the top. At this point, I would prefer to hear the VC sector tell us what they feel that they need. Offer them $50 billion a year and sit back and watch the spectacle of them saying "Please give us <EM>less</EM> money."</P> <P dir=ltr>Maybe the key thing is for the government to be able to assure VC firms that there will be "government supported" funding (e.g., debt securities) available for VC-funded companies that have advanced beyond the VC-supported stages to the point where they do need tens or even hundreds of millions to expand to the degree where individual firms are creating many hundreds or thousands of jobs. This might help to encourage VC firms to fund new ventures that will eventually require large-scale capital after they advance beyond the stages where traditional VC firms add the most value.</P> <P dir=ltr>Finally, Friedman did not even mention so-called "angel" investing, where individual investors are funding innovative new ventures at a smaller scale than normally appeals to professional venture capital firms. Give these people&nbsp;more generous&nbsp;tax incentives, matching funds, and possibly some degree of government guarantees, or maybe outright tax credits, and you could see a dramatic blooming of innovative firms.</P> <P dir=ltr>In any case, I do have to give Friedman credit for raising awareness of this critical issue to the national level. A single small paragraph <A href="http://finaxyz.blogspot.com/2009/02/stimulus-ii.html">in my own blog</A> simply wasn't good enough to even get the ball rolling:</P> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <P dir=ltr><EM>Provide government funding to venture capital firms which are experiencing extreme difficulty raising funds from traditional sources (big banks, pension funds, and insurance companies) due to the credit crunch and skrinkage of the economy, on the order of $2 to $3 billion per month.</EM></P></BLOCKQUOTE> <P dir=ltr>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Opixia.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-2030738712921559967?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-36340464308523489442009-02-20T10:59:00.000-05:002009-02-20T11:01:51.414-05:00<P><EM>[This is a revision of a recent post, just trying to get it more accurate.]</EM></P> <P>Whether you are an entrepreneur or thinking about starting your own business or simply need a good excuse to go skiing in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, the <STRONG>Entrepreneurial Connections</STRONG> conference (<STRONG>EntConnect</STRONG>) may be just the conference you have been waiting for. Targeted primarily at engineers (hardware, software, and other)&nbsp;and others with a strong technical interest, it is more of a loosely-structured "unconference", with plenty of opportunities for a relatively small group of participants (15 to 40) to network or even give their own presentations on a very wide range of topics from technology, business strategy, intellectual property and legal issues, accounting issues, finance, marketing, sales, and even selling your business.&nbsp;With plenty of time to ski or otherwise enjoy the mountains and Denver area (great time to visit Boulder or Colorado Springs as well), the conference is&nbsp;a great&nbsp;opportunity to "learn and share" and otherwise&nbsp;have an "out of box" experience.&nbsp;Participants and speakers range over the full spectrum from wannabes and newcomers to successful young entrepreneurs and seasoned veterans. The conference is an excellent opportunity to meet up with former readers (and possibly even the publisher)&nbsp;of <STRONG>Midnight Engineering</STRONG> magazine as well.</P> <P>Visit the <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">official conference Web site</A>, <A href="http://www.entconnect.org/">EntConnect.org</A>. Hotel rooms at the Sheraton Denver West in Lakewood, CO&nbsp;are available at the conference rate of $79.</P> <P>I have been attending the conference since it first started (as ME-Ski and then ENTCON) in 1992.</P> <P dir=ltr>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Opixia.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-3634046430852348944?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-14767312958198559522009-02-18T10:58:00.001-05:002009-02-18T11:04:37.351-05:00<p><a href="http://prtoolkit.prnewswire.com/file.php/85/NewsRelease_anatomy.pdf">PR Newswire has a succinct diagram that highlights the elements of an ideal press release</a>. Of the 11 key elements, to me the most important is the lead paragraph:</p><blockquote style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;"><p><em>This is the single most important paragraph in the whole release. <strong>If you don't draw your reader in here, you've lost them forever.</strong> This is your chance to set up your story in a single sentence or two.</em></p></blockquote><p dir="ltr">Obviously the headline has to grab the viewer's attention first, but the lead paragraph needs to convince them that you have something to say that will make reading the rest of the news release worth their while.</p><p dir="ltr"><a href="http://prtoolkits.prnewswire.com/entrepreneur/index.php?s=18">PR Newswire has a good FAQ page</a> that gives an working introduction to the world of press releases (they call them "news releases.")</p><p dir="ltr">Please note that PR Newswire <em>distributes</em> news releases, but it is up to the newsmaker to write their own news release.</p><p dir="ltr">-- <a href="mailto:Jack@Opixia.com">Jack Krupansky</a></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-1476731295819855952?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-26509808091361498722009-02-18T10:02:00.001-05:002009-02-19T07:22:24.338-05:00<p>Whether you are an entrepreneur or thinking about starting your own business or simply need a good excuse to go skiing in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, the <strong>Entrepreneurial Connections</strong> conference (<strong>EntConnect</strong>) may be just the conference you have been waiting for. It is more of an "unconference", with plenty of opportunities for a relatively small group of participants (15 to 40) to network or even give their own presentations on a very wide range of topics from technology, business strategy, legal issues, accounting issues, finance, marketing, sales, and even selling your business. And plenty of time to ski or otherwise enjoy the mountains and Denver area (great time to visit Boulder or Colorado Springs as well). Participants and speakers range over the full spectrum from wannabes and newcomers to successful young entrepreneurs and seasoned veterans.</p><p>Visit the <a href="http://www.entconnect.org/">official conference Web site</a>, <a href="http://www.entconnect.org/">EntConnect.org</a>. Hotel rooms at the Sheraton Denver West in Lakewood, CO are available at the conference rate of $79.</p><p>I have been attending the conference since it first started (as ME-Ski and then ENTCON) in 1992.</p><p dir="ltr">-- <a href="mailto:Jack@Opixia.com">Jack Krupansky</a></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-2650980809136149872?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-60004598004842511382009-02-12T07:36:00.000-05:002009-02-12T07:38:19.080-05:00<P>Guy Kawasaki has a post on <EM>AlwaysOn</EM> entitled "<A class=topstory-heading-color href="http://alwayson.goingon.com/permalink/post/permalink/post/31033">6 Helpful Clues for CEOs</A>" that offers a list of statements that a clued-in CEO should say to their employees. Number 3 on the list is:</P> <UL dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <LI><EM><STRONG>"Engineering needs to make something so compelling that a $0 marketing budget isn't a problem."</STRONG> The pressure isn't only on marketing&nbsp;-- <STRONG>engineering needs to create something so great that the marketing doesn't matter</STRONG>.</EM></LI></UL> <P>I happen to agree, but this is absolute heresy. The conventional wisdom is that marketing (and sales) is everything - better to have a mediocre product with great marketing than a great product with mediocre marketing.</P> <P>Two key points. First, how many products are actually truly "great", other than in the eyes of their creators? Second, I think the main intent when Guy said "marketing doesn't matter" was&nbsp;that a high&nbsp;burn rate is not the defining characteristic of successful marketing. I seriously doubt that he would advocate giving up on those "free" and "shoestring" marketing efforts as well.&nbsp;His preceding statement for clued-in CEOs was that marketing should focus on exploiting "free" resources and a "shoestring" budget:</P> <UL> <LI><EM><STRONG>"The marketing budget is now $0, and we will figure out a way to get to market."</STRONG> Maybe you have more than $0, but if you adopt a much better mindset. How can you use free resources, social media (Facebook, Twitter, Friendfeed, etc) to market your product on a shoestring budget? </EM></LI></UL> <P>Still, I do like the mere hint that products should be designed and engineered and built so that only minimal expense on "marketing" is needed.</P> <P>Maybe this is a definition of "Utopia" - a world in which marketing no longer matters.</P> <P>In any case, I am certainly a big proponent of marketing on a shoestring. In fact, back in the early 1990's I wrote an article for <EM>Midnight Engineering</EM> magazine entitled "<A href="http://opixia.com/BaseTechnology/MEART.TXT">Product Promotion on a Shoestring - Low-cost Marketing Ideas for the Software Entrepreneur</A>". That was shortly before the Web took off, but the concepts are still the same. Old wine, new bottles.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Opixia.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-6000459800484251138?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-28408816221607987252009-02-09T07:45:00.000-05:002009-02-09T07:47:16.874-05:00<P>Sure, there is risk in any kind of venture, whether it be incremental investment in a long-running and "proven" business, or an attempt to commercialize a "new idea" or enter a radically new market, but the question is how to characterize and categorize these risks so that we can properly compare and evaluate them. A "bold" move will typically have a much higher risk of failure than a "conservative" move, but when a solid wall looms ahead that may block an existing business or business model&nbsp;the tamer move may in fact dramatically increase the risk that the business will not survive at all. Sometimes, but not all of the time. Tough call.</P> <P>With an entrepreneurial venture we are by definition invoking a significant higher level of risk as we try to make a big splash. OTOH, that big leap may have a higher probability of surviving in the longer-term if it can make it beyond the "infant mortality stage." That can be a very wise tradeoff, but it also means that the venture can begin to look a lot more like a casino bet than a rational business decision.</P> <P>We can also hedge our bet by leading with a smaller splash that is calculated to have a more robust appeal to a smaller audience. That can dramatically reduce short-term risk, but may also dramatically reduce the chance of retaining the degree of boldness to later break out of the niche to a much broader market. Essentially, you are not reducing total risk, but simply shuffling it around and making an implicit statement about your depth of vision. Figuring out how to balance the short-term and the longer-term is a core challenge.</P> <P>Sure, you can always reduce the chance of a loss on a casino bet but placing a smaller bet, but it is still a casino bet at heart.</P> <P>And if you feel that you have hedge enough to eliminate virtually all risk, you may ultimately find that you have eliminated your chance of a reasonable return as well.</P> <P>Evaluating, balancing, and hedging. Good stuff, but at the end of the day you still have to finally roll the dice and let reality judge whether your reasoning is valid.</P> <P>Timing is a factor as well. Sometimes being earlier is better, but being too early can be as risky as being too late. If an emerging market is not "ready" you may or may not have the resources to wait or force readiness.&nbsp;To a large extent this may be a matter of personal preference, but it does have implications for your risk profile as well. Either way, the dice must still be rolled.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Opixia.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-2840881622160798725?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10950300.post-74091095149370753332009-02-08T20:01:00.000-05:002009-02-08T20:02:31.587-05:00<P>I am curious how others deal with the problem of recording and tracking ideas that pop into your head. In particular,&nbsp;what electronic or software tools do you use to organize ideas and random information that comes up in your professional life, the information that does not fit cleanly into a PDA calendar or&nbsp;address book.</P> <P>Half of my random information stays only in my head, some gets written down on index cards, some gets entered into text files in "My Documents", some events get recorded in my PDA calendar, and a lot of stuff is stored away in email. Sometimes ideas end up on email lists or&nbsp;in blog posts such as this as well.</P> <P>That may be fine for recording, but without any good organizing the value of any idea falls off a proverbial cliff.</P> <P>As they say, there has to be a better way.</P> <P>To put the question more simply, when an idea pops into your head, what do you typically do with it? Especially when those ideas occur when walking, driving, eating, showering, etc., rather than when you are sitting at your desk and computer.</P> <P>-- <A href="mailto:Jack@Opixia.com">Jack Krupansky</A></P><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10950300-7409109514937075333?l=entengr.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jack Krupanskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17254264642831755180noreply@blogger.com1