Gift of Life Swab-a-Thon Fundraiser

Dear Friends, Colleagues, and Family, 

In October 2008 I received a letter from the Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation indicating that I was a potential match for a bone marrow transplant with a 57 year old male with Acute Myeloblastic Leukemia. A man, who at the time was the same age as my father, was suffering from a life threatening disease and needed a bone marrow transplant to survive. It's likely that his family was tested and no match found, so he and his doctors turned to the National Bone Marrow Registry and Gift of Life, an organization which was founded as the result of one man's search for his miracle match. Due to severed blood lines as a result of the Holocaust, it is particularly difficult for Eastern European Jews to find a match.

It turned out for this 57 year old man that not only did he have one hero waiting in the wings, but he had two. Another registered donor who miraculously also matched this recipient also agreed to a transplant to save this man's life. My personal journey to commit the ultimate good deed, or mitzvah, came to a momentary close. It started four years earlier with a simple swab of my cheek at a Shabbat Dinner at Hillel at the University of Virginia (obviously my friend Gabe and I went for the free meal), but ended with a bittersweet moment -- I couldn't save this man's life, but he was saved nonetheless. 

About 6 months ago I started getting anxious. I still wanted to help. My gift was not given. Just knowing that I was a match was NOT enough. I had to do more. Maybe my purpose wasn't to be a match, but to start something bigger. Dayenu, a Passover song, reminds Jews to be grateful for the gifts the Jewish people were given (escaping bondage in Egypt, receiving the Torah, etc.). And if we were only given one of those things, "it would have been enough," as Dayenu means. I thought to myself, "Sam, just saving one life, just swabbing, just agreeing to take blood samples, just saying you would donate, it all would have been enough." But it wasn't enough.

And so I called up Gift of Life and suggested that we start a Young Professionals Committee in New York City, where the highest population of Jews outside of Israel resides. I wanted to specifically target young Jewish people who maybe didn't have Hillel at their school facilitating drives (or giving out free food), or didn't go on Birthright, or weren't "Jewish-enough" to even think about going to a place where Jews congregate in the first place. Here we are 6 months later with a full board of committed and enthusiastic people who have been similarly touched by Gift of Life. 

We're launching our very first campaign, and in our first "swab-a-thon" we aim to add 350 potential donors to the Gift of Life bone marrow registry over the next three months as well as raise the $54 needed for processing each new registered donor. My personal goal for this initiative is to raise $3,000 and personally add 10 potential new donors to the registry (unfortunately, I do not have as many Jewish friends having attended The University of Virginia -- if only I listened to my high school guidance counselor and went to Brandeis!). 

If you would like to see the power of this organization, please check out the donor profile of Alan Cohen. While we could not save Alan, his legacy lives on in the (to date) six life saving transplants that were facilitated as a result of the 20,312 registered donors. 

Here's how you can help: 

1. Please sponsor swab kits by following the link and clicking Contribute: 

This is the only charitable effort for which I solicit donations. While I understand that these haven't been the best economic times, I would ask you to consider this effort as one of your own. 100% of funds raised go directly towards paying the cost of processing the kit. 

2. Please help me reach my goal by joining the registry: 

Joining the registry is SIMPLE. All you have to do is swipe the inside of your cheeks with 4 cotton swabs (like Q-Tips). By clicking on "register as a donor" a swab kit will be sent to your home. If you cannot cover the cost to process your kit, please use the code GOLYPC at checkout and we will make sure it gets processed. 

3. Come to our kickoff event: 

If you are located in NYC, we're having a kick off event on Wednesday at Sidebar at 6:30pm (Invitation). 10% of the bar proceeds will go towards our Swab-a-ton and we will have a table set up if you want to join the registry. 

Thank you.

Sam Rosen

Competition in the Competitive Marketplace

Last week Virginia's Attorney General sent a letter to all Presidents and Rectors of public institutions "reminding" them that they had no right to protect students from discrimination due to sexual orientation. Having graduated from the University of Virginia (a public institution), I felt compelled to send this letter.


@samianrosen


p.s. I read a stat recently that said [insert majority statistic] of bloggers stop after 8 posts. Promising myself I'll hit the hurdle!


*****

To: President Casteen, President-Elect Sullivan, Mr. Wynne, Mr. Abramson, and the Editor of the Cavalier Daily,

As a member of the party that is most commonly associated with policies and rhetoric that rely on (and glorify) free markets, Ken Cuccinelli seems to have missed the point: Universities like UVA compete in the marketplace for students, professors, administrators, and staff.  It's beyond dispute that LGBT individuals contribute greatly to our culture and artistic development, our base of scientific and mathematical knowledge, and play important roles as full members of our society in a multitude of ways.  History is replete with examples like Alan Turing, where the prejudices of the few deprived the many of the continued contributions of brilliant individuals.  Perhaps in recognition that "[g]reat spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds," competitive academic instutions like UVA have put policies and procedures in place to ensure that the LGBT community would feel welcome and safe -- not only because they felt it was the right thing to do, but because of the prospective advantage over other institutions that did not have such policies.  Peer institutions quickly followed suit.  The market has spoken -- and for UVA to follow Attorney General Cuccinelli's advice and strip these protections would leave UVA at a market disadvantage.
  
To add insult to injury, it does not take a lawyer to see the flaws in the AG's legal "reasoning."  The Virginia Human Rights Act certainly sets out a floor for what the state will protect at the state level for all persons, but does not expressly prohibit localized protections of a non-general nature.  The AG uses examples (no court cases - only other opinions of those previously in his position) of certain localities enacting ordinances that affect all people in the geographic scope of the locality enacting them -- even a non-lawyer can see why this not an apt comparison.  An ordinance of Fairfax County affects everyone in Fairfax county -- visitors, guests, residents, business owners and workers, people passing through from the rest of the state that may have no connection to Fairfax County.  By contrast, UVA's policies protect those that have contracts (be they employment contracts, supplier contracts, or the contract formed between the institution and each student when tuition money is exchanged for education) with the University.  Cuccinelli's claim that UVA is somehow creating a new protected class only points out how narrow his focus is - UVA's policy also protects heterosexuals against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation (and therefore applies equally to ALL affiliated with the University).  While it may not be common knowledge that the LGBT community has its own set of epithets to refer to heterosexuals in a derogatory fashion, they nonetheless exist, and are likewise prohibited under UVA's current policies.

Lastly, the state has provided an express grant of power for a governing body of an educational institution to "establish rules and regulations for the conduct of students while attending such institution" and to "establish rules and regulations for the employment of professors, teachers, instructors, and all other employees. . ."  Virginia Code § 23-9.2:3.  UVA has done exactly that -- and should be left to continue doing so in peace.

Respectfully,

Samuel I. Rosen
Comm '07

Ask Not: Collaboration is the Best Accelerant

Hello, (blog)World.  I've been lurking a little too long -- so thanks for reading my debut post.

@samianrosen

****

New Years Day will be the 6-month mark of my departure from the comforts of a decent salary, scheduled vacation, predictable health benefits, an undeserved and overpaid Wall Street bonus, and the general downward spiral into the life of being a douche.

I was a tech n00b with an entrepreneurial spirit: unemployed and living off savings, uncertain about the future, but excited to wake up in the morning full of ideas and creativity.  Most of all, excited to learn, and it seems I couldn't have picked a better place or better time.

There's been plenty of discussion among people with much more experience than me about the NYC vs. SFO startup scene (my favorite is Fred Wilson's presentation at Clickable). So for your sake, I will not reiterate all of the reasons why NYC is primed for a startup blowout (via @mikekarnj).

Phin Barnes recently wrote a great post about the start-up culture in NYC -- this is a no bullshit, big money playing field and if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere. Phin mentions one component, which I think is the key to the NY tech scene's success: "collaboration, not competition, is the dominant approach. Entrepreneurs in The City know each other, help each other and root for each other."

In a very short period of time and with no tech experience at all, I've been able to network, ideate, and collectively dream with the NY Tech community. And all along the way, from founders to VCs, friends to new twitter friends, I've been surprised by how many conversations began or ended with the question, "What can I do for you?"  More than that, there is a palpable current that runs through events like the Future of Local Media, Hackers and Founders, and NextNY because people show an interest in what others are working, and will take the time to explain things to strangers and the unacquainted.  (As an aside, thanks to everyone that's given me a brain-dump in the past 6 months.)

I believe collaboration is and will be the key ingredient to success coming out of the NY Tech scene.  It's in our blood -– New Yorkers are forced to share cramped apartments, explore our common spaces together (parks, museums, restaurants and cafes), and are more willing to use public transportation than anyone else in this country. From the aftermath of 9/11 to the blackout of 2003, New Yorkers come together and overcome incredible challenges. Such close proximity to one another naturally facilitates the mixing of our cultures, beliefs, and ideas. New York City is animated by the collective energy and bustling that we all need as individuals to survive here, and the start-up ecosystem drinks at this well.

We are all individuals, but step back and view us as a whole, like a mosaic, and you see the bigger picture. We come together from all corners of the globe and imagine the possibilities. We teach and learn from one another, and given the size of our network, we can accomplish a whole lot together.  (And hey, if someone like me can go from 0-to-making-references-to-metcalfe's-law in 6 months...)

And so my hope is that we continue to collaborate, share, ideate.  I'd like to think there is a place for all of us to give, and when the time comes, to receive.  If nothing else, the most important lesson the last 6 months have taught me is that earnest participation can be an incredible contribution.  The simple act of (to paraphrase) "asking not what the community can do for you, but what you can do for the community" pays it forward -- in spades.

****

I'd especially like to thank the following people, many of whom took the time to guide me in the right direction, in no particular order:

Phin Barnes, First Round Capital, @phineasb

Charlie O'Donnell, First Round Capital, @ceonyc

Jacob Brody, VentureBeat, @anwaraizer

Ed Kim and Kent Krekorian, Simple.Pr, @simplepr

Mark Davis, DFJ Gotham, @markpeterdavis

Jonathan Wegener, Exit Strategy NYC, @jwegener

Dennis Crowley, Foursquare, @dens

Justin Tsang and Dave Ambrose, Scoop St & Hackers and Founders, @scoopst @hackersfounders

Three Billion in Value Created: Top Entrepreneurs in NYC Reflect

MODERATOR: Will Corrente, Founder of Operation Entrepreneur

Stephen Messer, Co-Founder of Linkshare
Sam Lessin, Founder of drop.io

Benjamin Sun, Founder of Community Connect, Inc.

Andy Dunn, Co-Founder & CEO of Bononos.com
Tad Martin, Founder of CrossCommerceMedia & Former COO of Overstock.com

Q: A lot of entrepreneurs have ideas, how do you get it going?

AD: It is not risky to start a company in America. Succeed or fail, it's risky not to do it. There are realities (mortgages, children) that can prevent you from doing it.

Q: How long to bootstrap / when to stop bootstrapping?

BS: You should bootstrap as long as you can until your product is in the right position. Figure out the business model.

AD: Bootstrap as long as you should. Recommended, "The millionaire next door" -- speaks of all the same people with similar attributes that didn't make it.

SL: Capital, talent, biz model are all pieces. Obviously if you can bootstrap further down the line, your Cost of Capital is lower.

Q: Can you talk about the stages of bootstrapping before VC dollars?

SM: First question: Is the market available? If not available, then bootstrap and you'll come up with a business model to make money. If there's no one else out there to compete with you, you'll be fine.

AD: It all depends. You think the wise choice is the background you come from.

Q: Maintaining an entrepreneurial environment is difficult -- how do you keep it going through different stages? 

 TM: The people that you involve in the business are just, if not more, important than the business itself.

Q: You had 4 co-founders, how do you manage growth when there is more than one founder? how do you create early stage dialogue to have similar philosophy? 


AD: Co-founder left the company this week. He created the brand. The reality is that founders are gone quickly. "Building a company is like building a cathedral -- those around at the onset won't see it to completion"

Emerging Social Media Trends: What You Must Know and How to Leverage It

MODERATOR: Avi Flombaum, Co-Founder of Designer Pages

PANELISTS:

Lauren McTaggart, Account Executive at Marketwire

Francisco Lewis, Creative Director at Advantages

Sanford Dickert, Director at Financial Summit Ventures

Liz Hubert, Independent Consultant

Oz Sultan, President of eSultancy

Q: How to establish a brand identity on the web?

SD: Where are the people you want to extend that brand to? Find the places where your customers are and engage them appropriately. Be consistent and authentic (FB/ Twitter)

LH: What's your brand? What's your voice? Who are you talking to?

OS: Thebrandbubble.com (Good resource).

Social media mass takes about 6 months to build. There are over 120 social media sites. Also look at a way to measure, ripple6.com

Q: Once you have an identity online, how do you show the world you are credible?

LM: Get to know your bloggers. use a good monitoring tool (Google Alerts is the most basic).

FL: Colors, typeface, slogan, user interface -- these things clearly define branding intent.

SD: Understand your community (example of wearing a coat and pants -- not jeans -- to work in NYC vs. jeans and a t-shirt in San Fran).

OS: Companies have been screaming at us for the past 100 years and called it marketing. We can now scream back. Companies are petrified. That's the value of social media. 

Q: How to get dugg, get visitors once you establish your presence? 

LM: If you're SEOing your press release and page, with nice links in it, you'll up your page rank. Driving more traffic to relevant things.

FL: Affiliate networks, Hydra/Silvercarrot. 

OS: Check out http://www.juliettepowell.com/

Q: What's the best free press release sites to use?

LT: Our spider system hits thousands of sites. 

TIP: Put your company name in quotes at the top of the press release.

Q: Can you share your favorite tools?

SD: Radian6 and Ripple, Peoplebrowsr (get across the entire social web)

OZ: Cotweet, Seesmic, Tweetdeck, Bitly, UberTwitter

A Roadmap for the Entrepreneur Pt. 2: Top Venture Capitalists Reflect

MODERATOR: Murat Aktihanoglu, Founder of Centrl & Entrepreneurs Roundtable

PANELISTS:

Jim Robinson, Co-Founder & Managing Partner of RRE Ventures

Albert Wenger, Partner at Union Square Ventures

Howard Morgan, Partner at First Round Capital

Anthony Marino, Managing Partner at Virgin Investments

Q: In the last year, what have you seen that's changed, and what changes are you seeing?

JR: VC firms have become tighter -- invest dollars more on mgmt team, marketing opportunity. Many firms have reduced deals up to 50%.

AW: Funds feel like they have to support existing companies, so they're allocating more capital to their portfolio.

HM: Companies operate much leaner.

AM: Liquidity in the market has yet to materialize.

AW: Capital is only one thing you need. There are disruptions going on. Are there new opportunities. Hiring good people into a startup has gotten easier.

Q: Less angels, fund sizes smaller, valuations lower, but there are more syndicates. But, what are the things that you say "i wish this was different?" 

HM: IPOs. The exit game has changed rapidly. Most of exits are merger/acquisition.


Q: Someone starts a co, gets funding, gets successful, and the CEO thinks they can do everything. Usually, this isn't the case. Investors ask Founding CEO to step down. How can you understand that it's time to step back. 

HW: Only time you replace CEO: too early or too late. Usually the CEOs haven't learned how to delegate. Most founders find it hard.

Q: In general, what would you tell them to do and how to execute/pitch/fundraising, etc?

AW: Get STARTED. Idea bucket gets no funding.

JR: What claim do you have to be the right guy to execute? Do you have any expertise? Do you have any unique or differentiating access? Some combination of those things? If it is a good idea, have you thought about why you're the right person to do that?

Don't pitch the one you want the most first.

HM: Execution -- who's your team? Rather see 2-3 people who are committed than 1 person. Think of the 3 major issues: Big enough market? Product Itself? Team?

Q: Incubators: Y combinator, Tech Stars. Why do we not have incubators in NYC

JR: We do have incubators. NYC Seed, BetaWorks. The main notion was take out back office costs, etc. That has worked, but I think it's a cultural issue.

HM: As co-founder of Idea Lab, all the ideas came from our small team. DreamIt ventures in Philly (2-3 month). Most of the companies have come out -- many are good products, but not venture scale companies. I think that's because the entrepreneurs using those are earlier in their career -- thinking smaller. Cultural interaction between the companies. "college dorm" effect.

AW: Incubator is meaningless. Alleycorp has created a few success stories -- that's one model.  t
Quesiton for them

With changes in the exit opportunity becoming more likely to be merger/acquisition, how has your investment strategy changed for companies that approach you where they are building on an established platform? So or twitter acquired summize. Playfish by EA.

HM: something not so core that the company has to do it.

AW: this wont be core to something that we invested in. We don't want to create conflict -- "should we build this ourselves" As we think of companies that build on top of twitter or "broadcasting" we think about whether to not these are business that can scale.


AW: IF YOU HAVE CO-FOUNDERS, MAKE SURE YOU VEST FOUNDERS EQUITY. YOU DON'T WANT A BIG CHUNK OF THE EQUITY TIED UP AT FULLY VESTED

BE WARY OF ANGEL INVESTORS -- DIFFICULT TO FUND AND RETAIN ENOUGH EQUITY. SINCE WE SEE A LOT OF DEALS, MUCH MORE LIKELY that we'll say thanks but no thanks.


Q: Openness of data

JR: Create a choke point, which will create value.

A Roadmap for the Tech/Mobile/Telecom/Media Sectors: Top Entrepreneurs Reflect

MODERATOR: Adam Penenberg, Author of Viral Loop: From Facebook to Twitter, How Today’s Smartest Businesses Grow Themselves

PANELISTS:

Chris Logan, Founder & CEO of cc:Sync

Jeff Stewart, Founder & CEO of Urgent Career

Noah Glass, Founder & CEO of GoMobo.com

Scott Heiferman, Co-Founder & CEO of Meetup.com

Darren Herman, Head of Digital Media at The Media Kitchen

Q: Why is mobile space so attractive?

CL: Cell phone is the primary way you communicate.

SH: More important than looking at technology and saying "what can we do with this" and say "how can we address their problems."

Q: What's been the greatest hindrance? 

DH: Mobile applications take advertising dollars -- up until last year its been hard to get scale using mobile display networks. Many of the reasons why it was hard is because the carriers didn't talk to one another. The devices are being untethered in some respects, and pulling off a big campaign needs scale.

Q: What is it about mobile that makes it special? 
NG: The mobile phone has only recently become cool. What makes mobile special is location awareness. "here's where i am, what's around me?" Enabling them to buy something is what makes mobile special on mobile services side.

Q: Is advertising a savior for mobile biz model

SH: Some form of advertising is effective. But make something that people love enough to pay for.

Q: What other types of products are there on mobile that people could charge for?

NG: Aside from premium services, we're trying to be through food what Jeff was to books. Food is an every day type of transaction, we want GoMobo to be that type of platform. There we are not a premium service. We've become a transaction player and reseller for other big brands.

Q: Are we getting to the next point where advertisers can invade our space? 

NG: I don't think it's all about advertising, but consumers have to opt in for that.

SH: We're turning to each other for entertainment. The best business are platforms where people are on stage and you're in the background.

• The bar code on the Ralph Lauren ads at the US Open in Flushing Meadows didn't work; consumers didn't know how to use it.

Will bandwith and size of display affect mobile?

Not the battery -- it's the chip. As chip get more efficient, you might see that change.