Celebration at the State House

Today I spoke at American International College in Springfield and after that headed over to the State House in Boston. Tonight, Massachusetts celebrated some of the great businesses started by the state's young entrepreneurs. We got there a bit late because just like a song by The Walkmen, we got lost in boston. After getting there, we met some cool people from around the state. Elizabeth and I talked for a bit with Johnny of the killer brand Johnny Cupcakes... after chatting Houdini, he made Elizabeth's business card disappear with a good ol' magic trick. I think I'll make some dollars disappear and buy some a cupcake t-shirt or two, you should too. Anyways, it was a nice night in Boston.

Entrepreneurship in the "City of Firsts"

Last Friday, I spoke at the Grinspoon Entrepreneurship Conference at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, MA. I met tons of passionate young entrepreneurs and students that are interested in starting their own businesses. I gave my first ever keynote speech, to a room of 700 people... it was an exciting experience. Thank you to the Harold Grinspoon Foundation for putting on such a great event!

Hanging in Chicago

I just got back from a quick trip to the beautiful city of Chicago. I was back again this year as a judge for the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards. It was very exciting to walk around Grant Park the day after American history was made with the election of Barack Obama, the energy was evident.

I spent the bulk of Wednesday afternoon re-exploring the city with my friend Fraser Doherty of the Scottish company SuperJam. We hit up Ed Debevics for lunch, smoked old-man pipes while getting our shoes shined by an ethusiastic scam artist, and everything in between.

That evening the judges, student competitors, and various entreprenuers were invited to Bill Farley's lovely Beaux-Arts residence for some good old stories and networking. Mr. Farley is a business icon who ran a couple multi-billion dollar enterprises and is also Oprah's neighbor. I had the great opportunity of meeting Bill Farley, talking with Robert Kiyosaki, and swapping cards with other ambitious entrepreneurs.

On Thursday, I judged a bunch of incredible presentations from the best student entrepreneurs around. After that, I talked with a couple friends, old and new, and headed to Midway for my flight back home. All in all, my trip to the "Windy City" was wonderful and I can't wait to go back.

82nd Official Houdini Seance

On Thursday, Elizabeth and I headed down to Madison, New Jersey for the 82nd Official Houdini Seance. It was an interesting experience to say the least. Elizabeth was invited to the "Inner Circle" which is an honor in the Houdini-world (she's the youngest person to be a part of it in all 82 years since Houdini's death). The circle was composed of such icons as Sidney Radner and Dorothy Young. After a hour or so of 'tapping into spiritual energy sources' by the psychic medium, the great Houdini decided not to show himself. Maybe next year?

Great Time in NYC

Last night, Elizabeth and I made our way to NYC for Inc. Magazine's "30 Under 30" party. We got into the city hoping to catch an early dinner at Veselka, a well-known Ukrainian place on the LES, but some new show starring Jason Scwartsman was being filmed in the restaurant so we temporally crossed that off our list.

After exploring the neighborhood, we headed up to midtown for the Inc. party at D'Or. The club was packed full with many interesting entrepreneurs, guests and the great people who make the magazine happen. I met lots of great people, had great conversations - it was a blast. We headed back down to Veselka for a late dinner of pierogi, golumpki, and blintzes... and then made our way back home.

Breakfast Roundtable at MIT

Today I had breakfast at the President's House at MIT.

Rewind: towards the middle of last week, I received a phone call from Governor Deval Patrick's office - an invitation to the Technology Roundtable at MIT. My initial reactions were that of shock and excitement...

At the table: MA Governor Patrick, Susan Hockfield (president of MIT), Jack Wilson (president of UMass), and CEOs: John Chambers (Cisco), Paul Sagan (Akamai), Joe Tucci (EMC), William Green (Accenture), Colin Angle (iRobot + actor in the movie, 21), and some kid from Western MA with a pseudo-dutchboy haircut, me!

As the discussion moved forward, many points were made about the future of the tech industry in Massachusetts, impact on the state economy, and promoting entrepreneurship.

When the issue of focusing on green energy (as it applies to tech) arrived... I commented that Western MA's most valuable resource for the tech industry is abundance of power: renewable hydro-electric power. At the moment, Google is in the process of building a major data-center of in The Dalles, OR (population: 12,000) because of the cheap and renewable energy from the hydro-electric dam. Holyoke has 16 hydro-electric sources, the most of any city in the state - by almost 3 times as much as the runner-up. Holyoke also has the Mt Tom Power Plant and ISO as an added bonus. You have the bargain, clean hydro, multiple sources of energy and water for cooling the data-center... it's data-storage/processing company's dream.

Is there a chance that a company like Google might look at Holyoke for there next data-center? From some of the CEOs and other experts I've talked to... Yes, it's very likely.

Well, enough of my rambling. Today was unforgettable and it was a great honor to meet some of the world's most brilliant thinkers.

Art Invades the Canal District

Last night Elizabeth and I checked out another show at The Canal Gallery in Holyoke. Today we checked out Paper City Studios and Parsons Hall, two galleries/studios that opened up to the public for the weekend. The spaces are situated in beautiful old buildings that overlook the 2nd level canal. I was blown away by the Parsons Hall building and the artists and art that filled it. Ornamental plaster cast ceilings, hallway corbels, and tile mosaic floors - beautiful details. We saw lots of great audio and video work and hope they put on more shows.

Everything in this city is a constant reminder that, in the words of Jane Jacobs, "Old ideas can sometimes use new buildings. New ideas must use old buildings."