‘With less than three months to go, preparation has moved into high gear.I and the other Fellow who is going to China this year had our introductory call with our coordinator in China (9:30 p.m. our time, 9:30 a.m. the following day his) and laid out our objectives. Erin Hillman, who is very active in all Eisenhower activities in China, talked us through the logistics of visas, hotels...
A few weeks ago I traveled to Redmond to meet another USA Fellow and a group of International Fellows for a packed day of meetings at Microsoft. We had a series of presentations from across the company and got a tour of the Microsoft Home of the Future. Most of the presentations were terrific (shockingly the HR discussion was the most interesting to me). The Microsoft home was disappointing – all...
The thing that has been most surprising to me in my Eisenhower quest so far is how helpful everyone is. Every contact has panned out – and I’m up to 50 in China alone. I’ve even started meeting with folks from abroad when they happen to be here. Last night I had dinner with Thae Khwarg who is CEO of SEI Asset Korea. Thae is a Korean American, having spent his junior and senior high school years...
On April 8th and 9th this year’s 9 USA Eisenhower Fellows joined the 16 International Fellows for a two-day Opening Seminar at the Doubletree Hotel in Philadelphia. (First shock – the hotel’s parking lot doesn’t take credit cards – can you imagine?). The seminar was a great way to get to know each other, with lots of work in small teams. I wish there had been even more time to get to know more...
On Monday a big group of Eisenhower Fellowships staff and Fellows met with Mayor Nutter. The main goal was to introduce him to the program, enlist his support, and offer ours. Mayor Nutter making a point I’ve known Michael (as I cant help but think of him) for something like 20 years. I was a Democratic Committeeperson in his Ward in Overbrook when I was in my 20s. He was extremely helpful...
President Fox was in town to speak to the Wharton Hispanic American MBA Association (WHAMBAA). They had a reception with him, then he joined a group of about 30 business leaders for dinner. The group was interesting for me because it was so different from those I usually interact with, mainly they were from traditional industries. Everyone had name tags with just their name and...
I’ve been actively using and thinking about social media and how to use it effectively as a tech start-up CEO for over a decade. Finally, in just the last month, I think that I have achieved a balance of channels that works. I use each for a specific type of communication with a specific audience. I started this blog a year and a half ago, and hardly ever post. I find it difficult to...
Ben Franklin Technology Partners created a series of videos with NFTE, which provides entrepreneurial education to young people in low-income communities. One of them was about me. And if you have a while and need a laugh, you can catch Josh and I dancing about half way through the First Round Capital holiday video.
I’m slow finding it, but Bill Burnhams Why Your VC is Acting Crazy is a must-read for entrepreneurs with or wanting to have VCs in their lives. I’ve unfortunately experienced crazy vcs twice, once with one of my own investors and once with a potential acquiree’s investor. Bill outlines some of the things to watch for, but in practice much of his advice is hard to implement. For...
Yes, I have an iPhone. Russell stood in line at the Apple Store. Mostly with Indea–I had to drag her away she was having such a good time. I wanted one since before they were announced. Russell has been waiting with a $20 eBay phone for a year and a half. And, despite all of the activation hassles, its pure bliss. Its like having a concept car of your very own, that works. I’ve never...
