Book Launch: The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur By Mike Michalowicz

My friend and fellow entrepreneur and EO member Mike Michalowicz is launching his book today. It’s called The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur. Good luck to you Mike!

Here is a guest blog post from him about how to be a bootstrapping Toilet Paper Entrepreneur.

Are You a Toilet Paper Entrepreneur?
Guest Post By Mike Michalowicz

In garages, basements, spare rooms and even dorm rooms all across America, hard-working dreamers are launching businesses right this minute. The thought of this really gets me going.

I’m all about the underdog, the passionate entrepreneur with a small amount of cash and a huge heart. I refer to these people as Toilet Paper Entrepreneurs,  the resourceful men and women who can get by on three sheets. They find a way to make it happen, even if they are at the end of their roll.

The best ideas come from having precious few resources, and yet so often people see this as lack, an obstacle to their success. On the flip side, many businesses throw money at problems the very second the cash starts flowing in, thereby eliminating the magic of necessity.

Toilet Paper Entrepreneurs work miracles with just three sheets – or less – even when they have a warehouse full of stockpiled toilet paper. Here’s how you can too:

1. Cultivate a Powerful Foundation of Enabling Beliefs – Your most important assets are your beliefs. Firmly held beliefs that support your goal are more valuable than an Ivy League education, or even a pile of cash.
2. Work in Your Field of Passion – Building a company is not for wimps. You will need a boatload of passion for your business in order to stick with it long enough to succeed. Your competitors with a get-rich-quick agenda will give up when the going gets tough. Passionate entrepreneurs stick it out and achieve phenomenal success.
3. Slant Toward Premature Action – Do not wait for the perfect conditions to start or expand your business. Taking action early is better than taking action too late. And don’t be nervous about these lean times we are experiencing right now. This is the perfect time to start a business. With everyone waiting until the economy is ripe, the startup competition is almost non-existent.
4. Be Extremely Great at Extremely Little – Don’t fall in to the trap of the “do everything” entrepreneur. Exploit a select few of your top strengths, and outsource everything you dislike or can’t knock out of the park.
5. Use Ingenuity Over Money – Having enough money can be a hindrance, covering up potentially disastrous problems. Use ingenuity and a razor-sharp focus rather than money to create, launch, and troubleshoot. You will come up with a better idea every time.
6. Dominate a Niche – Rather than try to sell to everyone, identify a market in which you can provide better or different products or services, and then dominate it.
7. Marry Long-Term Focus with Short-Term Action – Know your destination, but don’t plan out every step of the journey beforehand. Instead, plan out the next quarter and then track your progress.
8. Be a Little Crazy – Whatever you do, don’t play by the rules. It’s the risk takers, the odd balls, who make opportunities and grasp achievement.

You don’t need angel financing, a college degree, or any experience to build the business you envision. Heck, you don’t even need a garage.

So many myths about launching and running companies hold people back from taking the next step. My goal in writing The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur was to bust through every last one of them, arming the underdogs with essential “three-sheeting” advice that will help them launch their business. And more importantly, grow that business into a multi-million dollar dream-come-true.

Mike Michalowicz is the author of The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur, available on Amazon.com and at www.TheToiletPaperEntrepreneur.com.

Here’s a video of Mike from The Big Idea.

Tom Friedman: Why We Need a Green Revolution, And How It Can Renew America

What is next after the Information Technology (IT) revolution of the last 30 years?

Well, according to Thomas Friedman, it’s the Energy Technology (ET) revolution.

Last Monday I had the chance to hear Mr. Friedman give an impassioned presentation at Duke’s Terry Sanford Institute for Public Policy. I made the following notes from Tom’s presentation about his new book, Hot, Flat, and Crowded. All of the below viewpoints are not necessarily mine, but I do very much share his stated urgency for encouraging investment in energy technology.

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The Emperor Has Lost Her Groove

Hot, Flat, and Crowded masquerades as a book about energy and the environment. In reality, it’s a book about American losing its way, losing its groove. American has lost her groove over the past 15 years due to:

1. Our reaction after 9/11–going into the Iraq War
2. The loss of a superpower competitor in the USSR
3. Our government not operating efficiently since Bush was elected

We have become the United States of Fighting Terrorism instead of the The United States of America. Our day should be July 4th not September 11th. The government in Washington D.C. simply has been unable to solve long-term multigenerational problems any longer. The U.S. is as innovative as ever, but the government is not maximizing this opportunity.

Energy Technology will have 10x the impact Information Technology had. We need a common vision. What ‘red’ was as a coordinating force in 1950, ‘green’ must be 2008. But instead of going from red to green we’ve gone from red to code red–to a politics of fear.

Meaning of the Title

The significance of the title is:

• HOT - Global warming, the climate system is sensitive. There is only 6 degrees celsius between the ice age and today.
• FLAT - The rise of the middle class all over the world
• CROWDED - Population growth. 2.6B people in 1953 when Friedman was born. 9.2B people in 2053 when he reaches 100 years old. Fuels that we are using today are expensive, exhaustible, and toxic.

The 5 Megaproblems Our World Has:

Key to the book are the five megaproblems our world has. They are:

1. Energy and Natural Resources Running Out
2. Petrodictatorship
3. Climate Change
4. Energy Poverty
5. Biodiversity Loss

1. Energy & Natural Resources Running Out When flat meets crowded, in an unsustainable world, watch out! There are skyscrapers blossoming from the desert floor in Doha, Qatar. In the 4 years since he was last there, Doha has sprouted a Manhattan. In another city you haven’t heard of, Dalian, China, they’ve also sprouted a Manhattan. That clean air initiative in Vermont was just wiped out by unsustainable growth in a place you probably haven’t heard of.

2. Petrodictatorship

This is the concept of oil revenues leading to great power for semi-elected or unelected leaders/dictators, leading to worse relations with the United States. As price of oil goes up, freedom for oil producing countries goes down. When oil was at it’s de minimus point in 1995 at $16 per barrel, the index of freedom was at its highest in countries like Nigeria, Venezuela, Russia, and Iran. As oil prices have gone up, freedom has declined.

3. Climate Change

The weather will get weirder. The droughts will get longer. The hurricanes will get bigger. There is so much CO2 being released into the atmosphere, we don’t know any more what is an act of God and what is an act of man. Did ‘we’ make Katrina or did ‘He’ make Katrina?

Al Gore should apologize to the world. He should apologize that he underestimated the problem of climate change. Due to China growing faster than initially projected, the original estimates from five years ago were too low. There’s one good thing about healthcare getting better over time–All the climate change deniers are going to live long enough to find out how wrong they were.

4. Energy Poverty

25% of the world is not yet on the electric grid. In China, every 2 weeks generates as much new electricity as sub-Saharan Africa in 1 year, excluding South Africa. Without energy you will fall behind as a society exponentially–in education, healthcare, technology. To be energy poor will be problematic–for us and for ‘them.’

5. Biodiversity Loss

We are the first generation of humans who are having to think like Noah–having to think about saving the last two pair of every species. We are losing thousands and thousands of species that will inhibit our ability to find new medicines.

Problems or Opportunities?

There are two ways to look at this list. Either they are A) Insoluble Problems or B) Incredible Opportunities.

The solution is simple: Abundant, Clean, Cheap, Reliable Electrons. The country that comes up with abundant, clean, cheap, reliable electrons will have the most global respect and the most financial success. America can be this country. We have to rethink green. We are positioned to lead this revolution. Green is the new Red, White, and Blue. Green is the new Patriotism.

The Green Revolution or The Green Party?

Some say we’re in a green revolution already. But no, we’re just having a green party. There’s never been a revolution without someone getting hurt. You’ll know the revolution is here when someone gets hurt. Not physically–but financially. Just like NCR and DataGeneral died when they did not evolve in the IT Revolution and ended up in the Great IT Heaven In The Sky. The world is flat, so change or die, adapt or die.

This is not yet a revolution. It’s a green party. I know–I’m invited to them all.

This revolution will not be easy. It will be the greatest industrial project mankind has ever undergone.

How Do We Stimulate the Revolution Before It is Too Late?

How do we go about finding solutions? We have to innovate our way out of the problem–through the American Marketplace, U.S. universities, and venture capital. We have to find the next ‘Green Google’ and ‘Green Microsoft.’

We need government stimulus however, and here’s why. In the IT Revolution, it was a greenfield opportunity. There were no microcomputers previously. There was no Internet previously. There was nothing to replace. In the ET revolution, there’s existing competition, existing competition from dirty fuels that today are slightly cheaper in the short term, but much more expensive in the long term.

In order to stimulate the start of the ET revolution the Government must force us to take into account the true full cost of dirty fuel. If we do this, we will reach the China Price–the price at which ET will scale in India and China. We need to pay the ‘fully burdened’ cost of the lights. Only the government can do this. This policy will drive immense investment in clean ET and ET will go down the price/volume curve and soon enough become cheaper than we currently pay today.

By putting in a price floor for a barrel oil, for example at $100, firms and investors will be able to make investments in ET without concern that the price will drop and in the short-term they’ll be uncompetitive and die.

By following the policy, the amount the consumer pays over the non-fully burdened cost (if it is less than $100/barrel) would go to the government in the short-term to allow them to invest in ET. This is much better than what happens currently, where the excess goes to petrodictatorships that often work against America’s interests.

Green Revolution Great for American Economy

With higher clean standards, government encouragement, and insurance that the fully burdened price will be charged, the price signals for ET will be right and investment will boom. There is only one thing more powerful than Mother Nature, and that is Father Profit.

As an example, Erie, PA has a export surplus. How does Erie, PA have an export surplus? They have a plan for GE that produces a hybrid locomotive called the EVO. It is in very high demand become it is very efficient with energy. ET is good for the American economy and our trade balance.

We must increase clean standards to force innovations. Standards and price signals matter. If we don’t have a floor under the price of oil, we can’t make investments in ET. In order to launch the Green Revolution and scale, we must do this.

Not About The Whales Anymore

All great change in history was made by optimists. The future is choice, not fate. When you put people together you put the planet together. This is not about the whales anymore. It’s about us. We are all sailing on the Mayflower again.

We must redefine green and rediscover America. $5B in VC went into ET in 2007. But $80B in VC went into IT in 2000. $5B is nothing. We need a game changer. We need standards and a fully-burdened price floor. Then investment will take off.

There’s Now Only One Green Candidate in the U.S. Election

We need the next U.S. President to be a real CEO–a Chief Energy Officer.

As President you have a big bully pulpit. We need him to use it to promote ET. This is the future for America.

I won’t say who I support for President, but let’s just say my wife supports Obama and I love my wife. There’s a guy with 13 cars and a guy with a Ford Escape Hybrid. There’s only one green candidate in this election. We had two, but McCain has changed for the worse under the influence of Drill Baby Drill. Don’t be fooled by windmills in advertisements.

We need to find abundant, cheap, clean, reliable electrons. We need to create green collar jobs–the new blue collar jobs.

How could some people be chanting, “Drill, Baby, Drill.” It’s just stupid. It’s like on the eve of the IT revolution in 1978 someone was chanting “Carbon Paper, Baby, Carbon Paper.” Our motto should be “Invent, Baby, Invent.”

How to Be a Credible Energy Activist

Utilities today are paid based on how much they use. They should be paid on how much they help you save. We need to rewrite the rules for utilities like California and Idaho have.

If you want to be an energy activist, learn what the rules are and how to change the rules. Don’t just protest.

Isn’t it BRICs Turn To Be Dirty?

Brazil, Russia, India, and China might have an argument that we’ve developed dirty for 150 years and now its their turn. I was in China speaking at a conference of auto-industry executives. I said to them, “Sure you can be dirty for the next 20 years if you want. That might save you some money. In the mean time, America’s innovation engine will revolution the world with clean electric cars that cost less and don’t require costly fuel and by the time you wake up we will eat your lunch economically. Sure, go ahead and be dirty.”

China is hiding behind us. If we move, they move.

An Earth Race

We had a Space Race. Now we need an Earth Race. An Earth Race so that man and woman can live sustainably. Without it, we’re dead.

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What Do You Think?

What are your thoughts? Is Friedman right? Does he overestimate the problem or is he right on? What do you think about the oil price floor? Please feel free to comment below.

Project Polaroid: Giving A Child Their First Picture

How do you get the attention of a large global company (Polaroid) and convince them to reverse a key strategic decision? Hopefully, like this…

The Birth of Project Polaroid

Nine months ago, in early January, I was hanging out in Charlotte with a friend of mine named Carly. Carly is just 20 and a junior at UNC-Chapel Hill. She is an entrepreneur and a social entrepreneur who runs a photography business, Carly Brantmeyer Photography. We were brainstorming. She wanted to do more than be a student and photographer. She wanted to use her talents and abilities to give back.

Carly had just returned from a Christmas family trip to Costa Rica. There, she took lots of beautiful digital photos. The children were eager to see the picture she just took of them on the back LCD display. She wanted to be able to give the children a copy of their photo, but couldn’t. There was no easy way.

She thought, “If I had a Polaroid camera with me I could give them a copy of the picture right now.”

She returned and while brainstorming at her house in January she came up with Project Polaroid. She would bring hundreds of Polaroid instant film with her to developing countries and give children a picture of themselves–something most of them would never seen before, yet alone owned.

Project Polaroid in Colombia

Carly had the opportunity to visit Colombia over the summer to try out Project Polaroid for the first time. She borrowed my Polaroid camera that was given to me as a gift in 2007 and bought some film. Here are some of the inspiring pictures she took. Take a look especially of the one of the mother, holding a picture of her beautiful young daughter for likely the first time:

Project Polaroid in Uganda

In July, I went to Uganda for a week. Carly had returned from Colombia so I got my camera back the night before. Here are some of the pictures I took.

I was able to take about 60 pictures there while in Uganda while in 4 different locations. Each time I noticed an interesting phenomenon. In one of the locations, I found myself in a small village near the Mirembe Kawomera Peace Coffee Cooperative. This place was about 30 minutes down a dirt road from Mbale, Uganda. I took my first photo of a child and gave it to her. She was very confused as to what it was. I told her to shake the picture. She then ran away, nervous it seemed.

Exactly, on the dot, 3 minutes later, a group of at least eight kids came running around the corner jumping up and down with excitement. The picture had developed! Each time I began taking photos with just one or two children. They would go away, wondering what I had gave them (most Ugandan children in villages speak little English), then come back with their whole crew just 2-3 minutes later when they realized what had been given to them. This run away, see the photo develop, and bring back more children would happen every time. Sometimes, as Carly has experienced, you get surrounded by as many as 40 or 50 children within minutes.

In the village outside of Mbale I also gave away some of the soccer jerseys and shorts that had been donated by Sports Endeavors of Hillsborough, NC, the owners of Soccer.com and Eurosport, through the U.S. Soccer Foundation Passback Program. The children created such a commotion that the villages lone police office came over hurriedly, thinking the children were stealing from the van.

Project Polaroid in Ghana

This fall semester, Carly is living and studying in Legon, Ghana at the University of Ghana, with a study abroad program from UNC. She has received a number of donations to help expand the program and has brought dozens of packs of film. Here are some of the photos she’s taken so far in Ghana:

Polaroid Will Stop Selling Polaroids in Early 2009

For background information, back in 2001, Polaroid Corporation, the makers of the famous Polaroid Cameras and instant film filed for bankruptcy. It’s assets ended up being purchased by a private investment firm, Petters Group Worldwide, in 2005.

Very unfortunately for Project Polaroid, Polaroid announced back on February 8 that it will be phasing out production of its instant film and that it will be completely off the shelves by early 2009. We were of course a bit saddened by this announcement. Polaroid will no longer sell Polaroids. It’s a travesty of sorts and will certainly make the project difficult to scale. Polaroid has said that it will be willing to license its instant film technology to another firm should another firm be interested. Here’s hoping Polaroid somehow comes across this story and they realize the immense value that Polaroid film has to their brand.

Carly writes on her detailed travel blog.

“The idea is simple. $1=1 Polaroid photo, for 1 kid, that will last a lifetime. So many children around the world have never even owned a single photo of themselves. What could be more precious of a memory than a photo of you/your family?”

How You Can Help

When she left, Carly raised money from her family and community. She was able to take a few dozen packs of film with her. A month into the trip, Carly is now running out of film. If you would like to contribute, the best way would be to mail her a pack of two of Polaroid 600 film. She would very much appreciate any help. She will be at the following address until December:

Carly Brantmeyer
University of Ghana
c/o International Programs Office
International Student Housing II
Room #127
Legon, Accra, Ghana

Update: If you’d prefer you can send them to Charlotte where Carly’s mom Lisa has offered to collect them and mail them in one package to Ghana. The address is: 14803 Davis Trace Drive, Charlotte, NC, 28227.

Overall, I am excited to see Project Polaroid in Ghana and look forward to her getting back in January and brainstorming how to scale the project to many more developing countries. Being in Uganda myself in July and seeing the impact owning a simple picture can have in the life of a child and the parents of that child has made a lasting impact on me. One of the children was 3 and didn’t have pants–just a long shirt. He lived in a thatch hut near a school Roey and I were speaking at with his brother, sister, and mother. He didn’t have pants but he was overjoyed with happiness to have the picture. Hopefully we can convince Polaroid to sponsor the project in the future and keep producing instant film.

Financial Markets: 3 Predictions

I may be wrong, BUT…

1. This is the End of the Financial Crisis–

This is the end, not the beginning, not the middle. AIG will likely get a $85B-$90B bridge loan from the Fed backed by company assets in exchange for a majority stake in the company. The Dow will continue its rise in the morning with the news of AIGs stabilization. Based on March market capitalization, AIG It is five times bigger than Lehman. AIG is the 13th largest company in the world according to the Fortune 500 versus 37 for Lehman. It is an insurance and annuities company mainly and not a broker. It affects Main St. Americans much more than Lehman did. It can’t, and won’t be liquidated.

2. Oil Is At a Bottom–

Oil is at its bottom. Remember $88.90 per barrel, the bottom today before it started rising at 2:30pm. It is the lowest we will see a barrel of oil sell for in the next fifteen years until sustainable energy technology (“ET” as Friedman calls it, “ST” as Sachs calls it) creates green power at a price/KWH that is lower than fossil fuels can and transportation fully converts to electric ( reducing global demand for oil significantly and possibly reducing the price under today’s price). Oil will trend upwards, more slowly, toward $150/barrel by the end of the decade.

3. The Dow and S&P Have Reached Their Bottom–

The DJIA has reached it’s bottom. Remember 10,742.70, the bottom today at market open. It’s the lowest you’ll see the DJIA go in your lifetime. The underlying profits and productivity of American businesses are simply too strong to justify the S&P 500 the same level it was at in December 1998, nearly ten years ago when the U.S. GDP was 58% lower than it is today (8.7T vs. 13.8T).

This graph shows the S&P 500 at the same place it was in December 1998. Today’s bottom was 1174.

I may be wrong here, BUT… I sure hope I’m not.

The Influence of Hank Greenberg on the Fed

As an aside, Hank Greenberg, a WWII hero and the former CEO of AIG for 37 years, has had quite a bit of influence on the Fed policy vis-a-vis AIG it seems. I heard him on Bloomberg radio today sounding like Mikheil Saakashvili on CNN five weeks ago when Russia was “invading” Tskhinvali. Greenberg wrote earlier today in the Financial Times:

“AIG is not an ordinary company. It has opened markets all over the world and, for more than three decades, stood at the vanguard of the liberalisation of the global trade in services. Its stock is owned directly or indirectly by millions of Americans. And it has contributed significantly to US gross domestic product directly and indirectly over the four decades of its existence. But all that is not why it should be saved. AIG has a trillion dollars in assets. It can (and always has) serviced its debt. With the right leadership, it will continue to do so. Action is needed now: AIG needs immediate help, because the threat to our financial system is real. For that reason, if private capital cannot rescue AIG, a temporary federal bridge loan – not a federal bail-out – is in order.”

The Greatest U.S. and Emerging Markets Equities Buying Opportunity of Our Lifetime

Update 10/20/08 - Looks like I was at least a month early on calling a bottom. I could have never predicted a drop to 8400. I just didn’t understand the de-leveraging process prior to watching it happen over the past month. I did love Buffett’s Op-ed from last Thursday. I’m more bullish now than ever about U.S. equities over the next 10 years. It truly is the best buying opportunity of our lifetimes for long-term investors.

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As Warren Buffett says, “Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful.”

It was a busy Sunday for Wall Street. It’s about to be a fearful Monday. This may create one of the best buying opportunities of our lifetimes.

After recently adding U.S. Trust and CountryWide into its fold, Bank of America has agreed to purchase Merrill Lynch tonight for $44B or $29 per share.

Lehman Brothers will likely declare bankruptcy on Monday morning due to it’s exposure to Credit Default Swaps and its inability to close the deal on a buy-out by Barclays. It will likely liquidate its assets in the coming weeks.

American International Group, the 18th largest company in the world, is seeking $40B in short-term liquidity from the Fed and will be announcing a restructuring on Monday morning which may including the sale of its aircraft leasing company.

In a move reminiscent of the private Long Term Capital Management bailout in 1998, ten major banks have agreed to create a $70B to $100B emergency fund to protect themselves from the results of the Lehman failure.

At a Bottom

I thought Bear Stearns was the end–then last week I thought Fannie and Freddie was the end. But now, this seems to be the official end of the financial crisis–the end to the credit market and subprime mortgage market crisis.

Tomorrow’s going to be painful day on Wall St. But for the smart Buffett-trained value-oriented buyer I’d suggest waiting about 30 minutes for the market clearing price to be establised and then buy. It may be the greatest U.S. Equities buying opportunity in our lifetime. Two years ago the Dow was at 11,500. One year ago the DOW was at 14,000. Tomorrow, the Dow may go under 11,000–for the last time in our lives. We’re at a bottom.

Buying Opportunities

Buy what? That’s a good question. I’ve never before written about equity opportunities or the positions I hold, but I’ll give it a shot. For full disclosure I currently own long shares of QQQQ, DUG, and SPY. I’m not making any recommendations to buy or sell, but instead recommending research and for you to make your own decisions.

Well, to play it safe, take a look at exchange traded index funds like SPY (S&P 500), DIA (Dow), or QQQQ (NASDAQ). They’ll track the markets and if the general markets go up in the future the value of your shares will go up.

For Higher Beta

For more risky bets look at a long financials ETF like Ultra Financials Pro (AMEX: UYG). But wait until the price resets after the first couple hours. It’s going to reset much lower when the market opens. It’s risky as AIG and WAMU remain at risk and the extent of the Lehman damage may not be immediately known, but it may provide significant upside in the next six months.

A Commodities Play

Or you could look at DIG (Ultralong Oil). Now that oil is under $100/barrel again it may be time to get back into energy for the long-term. I used a small amount of ‘theory testing funds’ in my TD Ameritrade account back in June and bought DUG (Ultrashort Oil) when oil was $130 per barrel and will hopefully sell it tomorrow with oil at $99. DUG’s near-inverse, DIG is down 48% in 90 days. It will hit a bottom as oil prices bottom out in the coming weeks.

Emerging Markets

Of course, you can always look at international opportunities. There is likely to be much more annual GDP in developing nations than in the U.S. over the next fifty years as these countries are starting from a lower base. Take a look at ADRE, an index of 50 emerging markets or BIK, which tracks the markets of Brazil, India, Russia, and China. If you want to look at China, you can take a look at individual equities like the Hong Kong Exchange or China Petroleum. Or you buy the Shanghai Composite, which is down 60% this year in a country with 8% annual GDP growth.

Wireless Electricity Update

iContact co-founder and my partner Aaron Houghton has posted a great update on the state of the commercialization of wireless electricity on his blog TechInnoVenture.

He and I have been keeping each other updated on what we hear about wireless electricity–the ability to transfer electric power from one place to another without wires. It’s possible and it’s happenning today.

On August 21, Intel demonstrated their ability to transmit electricity wirelessly over a distance of approximately one foot to power a lightbulb. This Intel R&D was based of prior research at MIT by Marin Soljacic. Profossor Soljacic has dubbed wireless electricity, “Witricity.”

The near-term market opportunities revolve around low-wattage charging of electronic devices like phones, DVD players, and GPS units. But a visionary world of a “house without wires” and “neighborhoods without wires” can be imagined.

Aaron notes, “I envision a go-to-market solution here where 15-20 feet is considered good enough for the first round of devices because it accommodates the size of a standard private office, cubicle, or room of a residential house. Since all of these are already hard-wired from an external source to the outlet the big advantage here in the short term is from the wall outlet to the end device: the cell phone, laptop computer, monitor, projector, digital camera, etc. I think the first company that moves in this space will establish a brand name with builders who will install the wireless electricity sending devices into each room they build alongside traditional plug-in devices. These relationships will then later be leveraged as a product with the required efficiency at longer distances and through more obstacles (walls being the important ones to consider) becomes available and they go into production as the infrastructure that moves power from an external source to every outlet or end device within a building. I haven’t done the math but my gut (Steven Colbert reference) tells me the first opportunity is at least a $50 billion annual market with the latter being 3-5x that annually. Then of course the opportunity that remains is for long distance regional power distribution through the air.”

While our focus is email marketing software for SMBs, it’s always fun to talk with Aaron about what future technologies could bring ranging from wireless electricity to fusion power. As Thomas Friedman says, the ET (energy technology) revolution is upon us.

Well I’m off to read more about the effects of Lehman’s possible collapse and Merrill’s purchase by BOA. Remember, as Buffet always says, “Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful.” Tomorrow may very well be the best U.S. equities buying opportunity we see in our lifetimes.

Don’t Forget The Last 8 Years, America

Today for the first time since April 14th 2008, John McCain has taken the lead in the average of the past week of National Polls in the U.S. Presidential Election according to RealClearPolitics.

This fact concerns me greatly due to the many domestic and foreign policy similarities John McCain has with the current U.S. President George Bush. John McCain is in the same political party as the President and voted with the President’s position 95% of the time in 2007.

During George Bush’s eight year administration we saw:

1. U.S. Debt Go Up: The U.S. National Debt increase from $5.7 trillion to $9.6 trillion (from 58% to 66% of the annual GDP).
2. U.S. Annual Deficit Go Up: A change in the U.S. annual federal deficit from a $125 billion surplus in 1999 and a $236 billion surplus in 2000 to a $412 billion deficit in 2004, a $318 billion deficit in 2005, a $248 billion deficit in 2006, and a $162 billion deficit in 2007.
3. Hurricane Katrina: 1,836 Americans die due to Hurricane Katrina, many of whom died to FEMA mismanagement before and after the storm under Mike Brown formerly the Judges and Stewards Commissioner for the International Arabian Horse Administration, from which he also was forced to resign.
4. A War on False Pretense: The invasion of Iraq based on incorrect intelligence that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction including yellowcake uranium that was known to be suspect at the time and sought out and used by Vice President Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld to sell the war to the media, American people, and global community, which Colin Powell indicated later was “deliberately misleading.”
5. U.S. Deaths from War: 4,155 Americans die in combat in Iraq.
6. U.S. Wounded from War: Over 30,000 Americans wounded in combat in Iraq
7. Iraqi Deaths from War: At least 600,000 and as many as 1,200,000 excess deaths of Iraqi civilians since the July 2003 invasion (Source 1, Source 2, Source 3)
8. Revealing a CIA Agent’s Identity: The purposelful revealing of CIA Agent Valerie Plame’s indentity to the press by Dick Cheney’s Chief of Staff Scooter Libby, and the subsequent Presidential commuting of Libby’s prison sentence to a fine.
9. Suspension of Habeas Corpus: The unconstitutional suspension of the rights of Habeas Corpus including prisoners seeking relief from detention without trial.
10. Breaking of the Geneva Convention: The breaking of the laws of the the Geneva Convention, which was ratified as U.S. law, and the U.S. War Crimes Act of 1996 regarding torture in Iraqi prisons and the detainment of enemy combatants at Guantanamo.
11. Greenhouse Emissions Increase: The Kyoto Protocol, to which the U.S. is a signatory, never submitted for ratification, in part leading to higher carbon dioxide PPM to continue to increase, leading to faster increase in global temperatures, which is leading to sea levels rising and more frequent droughts and hurricanes
12. Osama Never Found: Osama Bin Laden never to be found, who is the founder and leader of Al Qaeda and the major architect of the September 11 attacks in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania which caused the deaths of 2,974 people, 2,646 of whom were Americans.
13. Energy Prices Increasing: Gas prices increasing from a low of $1.04 in December 2002 to a high of $4.05 in June 2008 (from $1.45 at the beginning of the term in January 2001 to $3.66 as of September 1, 2008).
14. Rumsfeld’s Resignation: The hiring Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in the first Bush Administration, who responded to a question from a soldier about not having the right equipment and armor by saying, “You go to war with the army you have, not the army you want.”
15. Torture by U.S. Soldiers: The torture at Abu Ghraib prison, which included sodomy with a baton, urinating on a detainee’s leg, smearing feces on a detainee, forced masturbation, applying electric shocks to detainees, and jumping on a gunshot wounded leg.
16. The Decline of Veteran Care: The decline of Veteran Care at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
17. Withdrawal of Miers Nomination: The nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court, who had never before been a judge and had very little experience with Constitutional Law at the time of nomination.
18. Resignation of Gonzalez: The appointment of Alberto Gonzalez as U.S. Attorney-General, forced to resign in 2007 after politically motivated firings of U.S. Attorneys, who in 2002 wrote an opinion that the Geneva Conventions prescriptions on torture did not apply to Taliban and Al Qaeda prisoners and in 2005 lobbied for the continuation of an illegal NSA wiretapping program targeting U.S. citizens without proper warrants.
19. U.S. Inflation Increase: The annual U.S. Inflation Rate go from 3.37% in January 2001 to 4.43% so far in 2008.
20. Unemployment Increase: The U.S. Unemployment Rate go from 4.2% in January 2001 to 6.1% today.

I’ll be posting more about my current views on the policies and the candidates leading up to the election.

Where I Am Coming From

For the sake of sharing where I am coming from, I am registered as an Independent and am a businessperson and entrepreneur from North Carolina. My father was an Episcopalian priest and my mother was a social worker. I am a fiscal conservative who believes in efficient government and cares about equality of opportunity and helping others. Please feel free to comment. Facts and discussion of policy and issues is very welcomed.

Endeavor - Promoting Entrepreneurship in Middle-Income Nations

A Non-Profit Profile By Humanity Campaign Writer Ebs Sutton–

Recently, a non-profit organization by the name of Endeavor was profiled in the July issue of The Economist, in an article which gave rave reviews of the group’s commitment to providing not just access to opportunity, but access to the mentoring and investment which turns opportunity into actuality.

When it comes to promoting entrepreneurialism in developing nations, Endeavor believes that a significant part of the problem is not just a lack of access to entrepreneurial possibilities, but a lack of access to the modeling and mentorship which are available in places like the United States. Endeavor seeks to address this need by using successful high-impact entrepreneurs in developing nations to select and mentor budding entrepreneurs in developing nations.

The Purpose of Endeavor

Endeavor is a non-profit organization whose vision is to change communities and countries by promoting entrepreneurship where it is needed most. Using their internal Search and Selection teams as well as panels of successful entrepreneurs from across the globe, candidates for the Endeavor program undergo a rigorous selection process which can take up to 18 months. Endeavor uses six main criteria to evaluate candidates:

• Entrepreneurial Initiative
• Business innovation
• Value and Ethics
• Role Model Potential
• Development Impact
• Fit with Endeavor

Additionally, through the course of this process, each entrepreneur is given valuable feedback and advice, whether or not they are selected. Once entrepreneurs are selected according to the criteria, they are set up with mentors and access to support and advice. Endeavor matches the entrepreneur with selected mentors who can help him or her with specific challenges faced. Some Endeavor Entrepreneurs can have over a dozen mentors.

Interview with Elmira Bayrasli

I had a chance to interview Elmira Bayrasli of Endeavor’s Outreach Team via email. She described the Endeavor process this way:

“Generally Endeavor looks for high-impact entrepreneurs who are leading companies that are generating between 500K to 20 million in revenues; and entrepreneurs who have role model potential – who will give back to their emerging market communities and not only inspire, but lead, mentor and support aspiring entrepreneurs. Endeavor Entrepreneurs generally are those who have a business that has great high-impact potential to go to scale – to create jobs, generate revenues and investment opportunities.”

The Process

Here is an image showing their selection process from their 2007 annual report:

Many selected entrepreneurs go on to become mentors themselves. Some serve as panelists or as members of local boards of directors.

Before this process even begins, Bayrasli says, Endeavor does its homework:

“Before Endeavor starts to identify and support high-impact entrepreneurs, we spend quite a bit of time building local operations. Endeavor will only launch its ‘mentor capitalist’ model for high-impact entrepreneurship in countries where there is actively backing and engagement from leading business talent and recognized leaders. These individuals form the basis for Endeavor’s local board of directors.”

Here is a graphic that shows the Endeavor “idea to impact” process:

Examples of Success

This year Wences Casares became the first Endeavor Entrepreneur to join Endeavor’s Global Board of Directors. An Argentinean entrepreneur, Casares founded Patagon, an Argentinean online brokerage; Wanako Games, a developer of video games fueled by Latin American creativity; and Lemon Bank, a Brazillian bank designed to help the poor.

Of the roughly ten Endeavor Entrepreneurs profiled on the Entrepreneur website, one in particular stood out to me. Natallie Killasy began a company called Stitch Wise which sews mine safety gear in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. After realizing how many miners were seriously and permanently injured in mining accidents, she customized sewing machines to provide work for disabled miners. The products started as protective rainwear and eventually moved into safety equipment to prevent underground collapses. According to the Endeavor website, “these products are now industry standard and are critical to the industry.”

Some Reader Criticisms

Five out of the eight responses to the article posted on The Economist expressed concern. One concern is that Endeavor is addressing the wrong issues when it comes to entrepreneurialism in developing nations. It is stated main challenges faced are not a lack of well thought out ideas or good business strategy but rather the bureaucracy, corruption, unreliable infrastructure and poor access to loans which plague most emerging economies. Another concern is the Endeavor selection process and its rigorous search for entrepreneurs already brimming with potential. The term “picking winners” appeared twice in reader feedback, seeming to imply that Endeavor has an ulterior selfish motive. If Endeavor strives to “picks winners”, one wonders, are they truly developing an entrepreneurial spirit or just helping an elite few gain their feet?

From my perspective, Endeavor appears to be effectively carrying out its mission and creating lasting positive change in developing nations. Certainly the concerns Economist readers raise regarding the “real” challenges facing entrepreneurs in developing nations are undeniable. I spent 13 years in one of the poorest, most corrupt countries in the world and witnessed the bureaucracy, unreliable infrastructure, and corruption firsthand. However, it takes one look at the Endeavor site to see the statistics supporting their success in countries such as Brazil, South Africa, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Mexico. Endeavor currently works in 11 countries and hopes to expand its reach to include even more.

Picking Winners

Although it may seem that Endeavor only helps an elite few, “picking winners” could be a necessary part of smart strategy. With all the possible Endeavor Entrepreneurs and limited Endeavor resources, Endeavor has to pick entrepreneurs showing the most likelihood of success. It’s about investing precious time and resources wisely it seems.

At a relatively young 11 years old, Endeavor is a welcome addition to the scene of international sustainable development.This noted, it has so far focused its work in middle-income countries like Argentina, Brazil, and Turkey and not in the most impoverished “developing countries” where arguably they could create more social value. Though certainly not the only organization addressing entrepreneurial needs in developing countries (Technoserve, for example, has a very similar purpose) Endeavor is energetic and effective in fulfilling its purpose.