Month: August 2017

Why a Nonprofit?

The reason I started a nonprofit was the combination of two ideas.

1) Was Equity Crowdfunding was the topic of the entrepreneurial elite. I’m not an elitist. I wanted to bring Equity Crowdfunding to the crowd.

2) Minnesota is in dire need of glamour.

By making Minnesota a hotspot for entrepreneurship AND a little more glamorous, we could attract and retain a whole bunch of talent and capital. Silicon Valley was for the 90’s. It’s still the center for IoT.

But right now, things that are very Minnesotan, such as MedTech, Food Tech, and others, are being lost, as innovators move West, where the money is and where the action is.

Now is the time to change that. Hence the name, MinnesotaNow.

MinnesotaNow has published several articles, but not everyone bothered to read them.

Complaining that MinnesotaNow was charging $15 for a chance for people to meet Venture Capitalists, which it was not doing, is just as well justified as the guy who complained because it wasn’t a singles event.

Seriously people….. Stop being sad.

MinnesotaNow is about raising the bar so Minnesota is a more suitable environment for small business investors. We’re trying to get away from”Venture Capitalists” because the phrase is too marketingesque.

But MinnesotaNow is also another reading the bar for events. Every event is the same. That’s why it’s gala was different.

MinnesotaNow is also about the long-term. Capitalism seems to be short-sighted. MinnesotaNow is going to make more money for everyone. It’s just not doing to happen in this fiscal year! Be patient. MinnesotaNow is about culture. It’s about helping this be such a great small business environment, that the guidance, knowledge, assistance, and capital is available, so all people need to succeed is a great idea and hard work/discipline.

That’s what MinnesotaNow is about. It’s a nonprofit because the kind of return it’ll give I’d I’ve The course of years and years, and that’s not a good investment, and it’s a return for everyone.

Oh, and awesome events. Duh. But that’s because I’m in charge.

 

MinnesotaNow should write a formal now similar to this, but I feel like they’re not going to have time until at least their Community day is passed.

The Honest Truth About Why I’m Single

So I’ve finally figured out why I’m often single, and I’ll share it because it’s interesting.

Most of you know me as the spitfire professional with seemingly endless energy. Okay, with actually endless energy.

It’s true, that’s me in my true form. And that’s too much for anyone to join, for the most part.

But you’d think I could find someone. I’m out and around often enough. For instance, tonight I was at a meeting, and there were ladies-a-plenty.

But people want to chill. Do you know why? Because that’s how people build connection. By chilling.

I know this, but that’s not how I do it. I’ll have fun with people, and once I know they can keep up, and once we have enough shared experience, then I’ll open up.

This is a learned behavior. Moreover, opening up too early is generally not accepted. Instead of talking and asking the cliche bullshit questions that minnesotans do, I’d prefer to have shared expeience. I’ll find out all that stuff later, but really, I don’t need to know everything all at once. I’m patient. Try it sometime. …

So why don’t I chill when I’m with a group a ladies? The truth is, I just don’t want to date or know them on a deeper level. They all come across as low-energy or lame, so I’m just not attracted to them.

State Fair 2017: Day 1

Tonight I went to my first day at the Fair in 2017. For many of you who don’t know, I usually go to the Fair three times each year.

I went there with an event hosted by Tam in the Fun In Or Around Uptown group. From all angles, they did the Fair very different that I do. Many of you know that I’m a doer, and I experience as much as I can in whatever time I have.

But in the group, I met lots of people. They were all content to be pretty relaxed. One person I met, Joey, was from New York City. He and I spent most of our time chatting. Believe it or not, being a New Yorker, or a traveler (whichever it is), he didn’t want to sit, chill, and relax, so he and I went on our own quest to find different foods.

Leading up to the event, even though it wasn’t my event, I posted the MSP Magazine list of new foods. It was an awesome article that had concise reviews of the new foods. So we hunted for a few of them while the group “hung out.”

It was interesting to hear some of his stories. For instance, when he was in high school, he made a program that made a mouse click at a random algorithm.

Now, in NYC, the stage is really competitive, so the only ways you can get on stage is by either selling 20 tickets, paying money, our filing a room. He said to impress a girl, his brother started doing standup.

His algorithm eventually made thousands of Myspace friends. By sending then all a similar message, he said he as able to fill three rooms of people with Myspace people just to watch his brother.

The story continued. He told me about how they started traveling to do shows on the East coast and just staying for free with different fans.

He told me that one house in Connecticut was a “vampire family,” where the members slept in coffins. He, his brother, and his brother’s girlfriend took turns being in guard  at night because they were so creeped out.

He said eventually, Myspace changed to disallow many accounts like his account, and that he “took down Myspace (meaning made them close, obviously a fun extrapolation).”

We had conversations about NYC and life, and it was generally a fun time.

Joey is in town for just the weekend because he wanted to go to the Fair. He said his Minnesota friends he was planning to visit had to change last minute, so he came here for the Fair solo, found an event in Meetup, the standard “meet people while traveling” app, I guess.

It was a fun night, and hopefully we’ll go out in Uptown tomorrow.

Joey said he just got his passport, so who knows where adventures will lead?

We took this in front of New York New York…. You know, because he was from New York….

Going for a walk – Me Style

After a hard day working, I got home, changed into shorts and a tee shirt, and decided to go for a walk. I’m writing this how it happened:

I started raining to the A Line, an efficient bus/rail hybrid that rocks Saint Paul. Walking was too slow, and I had no interest to just stay in my neighborhood, so I ran to the A Line station.

Well, the sign said there was 4 minutes until the bus, so I thought, “I can easily jog to the next station.”

And that’s what I did.

I guess the bus had some bikers or something, because when I got to the Minnehaha Station, the sign said 7 minutes.

“7 minutes before the bus?! I could run to University sooner than that.”

And that’s what I did.

The problem with doing things too spontaneously is that I still had no idea where I was going or why I was going there. I don’t need to buy anything, and I don’t need to eat because I packed food in my day bag (little backpack).

So I started going to the rail station. But it was 7 minutes until the next train, so I decided I’d jog to Target.

Halfway there, I realized that I didn’t need anything, plus I forgot my Red card.

“Turn back!”

So I ran back to Snelling.

“Seven minutes until the next bus? I can run to Dayton faster,” thought I.

And that’s what I did.

At Dayton, I hopped on the bus until Grand. Then I walked around and ended up setting up my tablet and writing.

It’s getting dark, so I should head home to work.

So this is what happens when I have time to go for a walk.

Thanks for reading!

I’m Back (Again)

Taken away by first tax season, then nonprofit founding, I was struggling.

After the gala, I had to catch-up.

I was busy, and there’s still a ton to do.
My firm decided to hire a colleague to help. Not another contractor, but a full-time employee. It’s great!She’s to the point where she can get things done.

*Whew*

Lots of work, work, work. Naturally, I needed to travel.

After long weekends in Amsterdam and NYC, then catching up from those, I can say “I’m back.”

Kickin’ ass and taking names. Kicking ass, because I can’t help it. I’m just me, and people say that’s what I do.

I’m taking names, usually for two reasons: either they’re a potential client or a potential friend, or both. Usually I just want to learn more about them.

So of what does ‘being back’ consist? This weekend is a good example:
Last night, I hosted a drive-in movie event.
Today, I went to a French conversation coffee event, now I’m at home working real quick. Then, I’m going to host an event at an awesome distillery. Before then, I’m working and maybe owing the lawn.

I will also likely go to the Uptown Swingout tonight, too.

Then tomorrow will be doing everything at home I didn’t do yet, plus getting everything ready for my gal to kick ass this week.

I was going to put the “I’m back” song by Aerosmith, but this video let me know it’s kind of inappropriate, so don’t watch this video. It’s not approriate: