digitalMBAs-Silicon Valley 1/12/09 Newsletter Monday, January 12, 2009 digitalMBAs – www.digitalmbas.org http://groups.yahoo.com/group/digitalmbas-siliconvalley/ http://digitalmbas.ning.com http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=7084690894 http://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/1398817 =============================================== How do I subscribe / un-subscribe from this email list? Send a blank email message to: Subscribe: digitalmbas-siliconvalley-subscribe@yahoogroups.com Unsubscribe: digitalmbas-siliconvalley-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com =============================================== 1. digitalMBAs-Silicon Valley / MBA-related events 2. Upcoming Silicon Valley / Bay Area Events / Events 3. News / MBA News 4. Job Fairs / Job Postings =============================================== 1. digitalMBAs-Silicon Valley / MBA-related events =============================================== a. Please join us for sunset cocktails and hors d'oeuvres with alums from other top business schools, including Chicago-Booth, Columbia, Duke Fuqua, UC Berkeley-Haas, Harvard Business School, Northwestern-Kellogg, Stanford-GSB. Successful Options for Accredited Investors in Commercial Real Estate: Why Financial Diversification Really Matters in an Economic Storm Our vibrant cross-examination will deliver: * Commercial Real Estate Investment Market Update * Trade-offs of Direct Investing, Pooled Equity Investing, or REIT Investing * Testing Your Personal Real Estate Investment Strategies With The Experts National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries (NCREIF) study found that an investment portfolio that includes 20% real estate assets delivered superior returns with lower risk when compared to the same portfolio without real estate. Wednesday, February 11th 6:00PM-9:00PM St. Francis Yacht Club – Northwest Room 99 Yacht Rd., San Francisco, CA You're invited to participate in an engaging, objective fireside chat with three commercial real estate experts, including Kellogg alums, Ron Sann and Scott Peterson: 1) Pooled Equity Commercial Real Estate Investments Ron Sann - Principal Ron Sann began his real estate career at Chase Manhattan Bank where he helped underwrite, manage and syndicate a commercial real estate loan portfolio consisting primarily of construction loans for office buildings, residential and regional shopping centers. Prior, Mr. Sann worked for Cambridge Management Consulting, a strategy and process re-engineering firm, and Niku Corporation, a software company, where he worked in mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Sann founded Ratel Investments in 2001. He holds a BA from UCLA and an MBA from Northwestern's Kellogg Graduate School of Management. Founded in 2001, Ratel has deployed more than $60 million of equity in more than 25 investments whose combined value exceeds $300 million. We have delivered a 28.6% internal rate of return and provided a 1.53x return on investor's original equity for realized investments, net of all fees. www.ratelinvestments.com 2) Commercial Real Estate Investment Trust (REITs) Investments Scott Peterson - Senior Vice President, Acquisitions Scott E. Peterson is Digital Realty Trust's Senior Vice President responsible for our acquisition activities. From 2002 until our initial public offering in October 2004, Mr. Peterson was a Managing Director of GI Partners where he was responsible for property acquisitions with an emphasis on technology-related properties. Mr. Peterson has more than 17 years of real estate experience and was most recently a Senior Vice President with GIC Real Estate, the real estate investment entity for the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation. Previously, Mr. Peterson was active in investments, development and asset management with LaSalle Partners, a real estate services company, and Trammell Crow Company, a real estate developer. Mr. Peterson received a B.A. degree and an M.B.A. from Northwestern University. As one of the largest REITs in the Bay Area, Digital Realty Trust, Inc. owns, acquires, develops, redevelops and manages technology-related real estate. The Company is focused on providing Turn-Key Datacenter(TM) and Powered Base Building(TM) datacenter solutions for domestic and international tenants across a variety of industry verticals ranging from information technology and internet enterprises, to manufacturing and financial services. 3) Direct Commercial Real Estate Investments Erik Doyle - President, Cornish & Carey Commercial Erik's impressive background comes with over 24 years of brokerage and development experience. During his career, Erik has been involved with sales of over 35 million square feet of property and more than 700 acres of land with a value in excess of $7.1 billion and is actively working on an additional $434 million in transactions. As an Executive Vice President at CBRE, Erik was the top producer in Silicon Valley from 2004 to 2007, and the top producer for the region in 2007. A member of the Colbert Coldwell Circle, he was nationally one of the top sales professionals in CBRE's Institutional Investment Group. From 1998 through 2003 Erik was an Executive Vice President and Principal at Deerfield Realty Corporation where he was responsible for overseeing all aspects of the investment, development and management for a portfolio of Office, R&D/Flex and Industrial properties from San Francisco to San Jose. Founded in 1935, Cornish & Carey Commercial • ONCOR International provides real estate services for tenants and occupiers as well as owners and investors in the lease and sale of all types of properties including office, R&D, industrial/manufacturing, warehouse, multi-family residential, land and retail. You'll enjoy included hors d'oeuvres, cash bar, and a world-class sunset right on the water overlooking sail boats, the Golden Gate Bridge, Marin Headlands, and Angel Island. Please purchase your tickets via Acteva: http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=173542 Early Bird $40 by 1/14/09 Regular Admission $50 after 1/15/09 We look forward to meeting you on Wednesday, February 11th at St. Francis! =============================================== 2. Upcoming Silicon Valley / Bay Area Events / Events =============================================== a. VC Outlook 2009: Looking Down the Money Trail Tuesday, January 13, 2009 Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, Palo Alto Spaces are limited for this event. (We had to turn away some walk-ins last year.) Register and pay online early to reserve your seat. About the Event These are certainly uncertain times. With a new President in Washington, financial turmoil on Wall St., Detroit teetering on the kindness of taxpayers, looming credit card crunch, and of course, the mortgage crisis, no one is untouched and no investment is sacred. Within the context of such historical structural upheaval, what will happen to venture capitalism? What will it mean to entrepreneurs? In this first event of the year, we bring together a panel of distinguished venture capitalists, and ask them to examine the investment landscape and look into their crystal balls. Where will VCs put their money in 2009? What sectors are hot? What sectors are not? What has happened to valuations? What would be their advice for entrepreneurs? As is now our tradition, we will begin with a presentation of the latest MoneyTree Survey* from PricewaterhouseCoopers. Join us for an informative and insightful evening as we kick off 2009 in uncharted waters. Moderator * Steve Bengston, Managing Director of Emerging Company Services (ECS), PricewaterhouseCoopers Speakers * Prashant Shah, Managing Director, Hummer Winblad Venture Partners * Ashmeet Sidana, General Partner, Foundation Capital * John Steuart, Managing Director, Claremont Creek Ventures * Gus Tai, General Partner, Trinity Ventures Registration: http://cspa09vcoutlook.eventbrite.com More Info: http://www.cspa.com/eventdetail.php?eid=20090113 Schedule 06:30 pm - 07:00 pm Registration and Networking 07:00 pm - 07:05 pm Introduction 07:05 pm - 07:25 pm MoneyTree Survey Presentation 07:25 pm - 08:45 pm Panel Discussion Location Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP 2475 Hanover Street, Palo Alto (650) 233-4500 Directions and Map Pricing Pre-register Online Drop-in At the Door CSPA Premium Members* $15 $20 CSPA Basic Members+ $20 $25 Non-Members (Sign up as a Basic Member for Free) $25 $30 * Premium members: Sign up for Annual membership for only $45 at http://cspa08premium.eventbrite.com/ + Basic Members: Sign up for free at http://www.cspa.com/add2email.php Students with a valid ID pay Premium Member prices Food & Drinks Appetizers and drinks will be served. Journalists requesting media credentials: CSPA requires proof of applicant's professional status, including a titled business card. Spaces are limited for this event. (We had to turn away some walk-ins last year.) Register and pay online early to reserve your seat. =============================================== b. National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) - Silicon Valley presents: Clean Tech - What's Ahead for 2009? DATE/TIME: Tue, Jan 13, 7:30am-9:30am LOCATION: DLA Piper, Ground Floor Boardroom, 2000 University Ave. (across from Four Seasons Hotel), East Palo Alto COST: $20 for members & non-members (includes breakfast). Will 'Clean Tech' continue to be the growth engine of Silicon Valley in 2009? What exactly is 'Clean Tech' and how will it affect the economy and our businesses in the year ahead? NAWBO Silicon Valley invites you to join our panel of experts, including two venture capitalists, a strategic consultant and an attorney, as they provide insights and perspective on the road ahead for Clean Tech in 2009. This special panel discussion will be followed by a Q&A session on a topic certain to be on the minds of all business owners, executives and investors. MORE INFO: Website: http://www.nawbo-sv.org/events_midpeninsula.html Email: jrobertson@... Phone: 650-678-3222 Contact: Jan Robertson =============================================== c. The Churchill Club: www.churchillclub.org Thursday, January 15 Browsers are Hot Again! Speakers: Dean Hachamovitch, General Manager Internet Explorer, Microsoft Christen Krogh, Chief Development Officer, Opera Sundar Pichai, VP Product Management, Google Mike Shaver, VP Engineering, Mozilla Moderator: Steve Wildstrom, Technology & You Columnist, BusinessWeek Thursday, January 22 Personal Genome Computing: Breakthroughs, Risks and Opportunities Speakers: Linda Avey, co-founder 23andMe; former executive at Affymetrix and Perlegen Karoly Nikolich, US partner, dievini Hopp biotech holding; CEO, Amnestix; research director, Genentech Andras Pellionisz, Founder, International HoloGenomics Society; HolGenTech, Helixometry holding; formerly, NASA Scientist and Res. Professor, NYU Dietrich Stephan, founder, Navigenics; founder Amnestix; former director of neurogenomics, Tgen Moderator: Phyllis Whiteley, Executive-in-Residence, Mohr Davidow Ventures Wednesday, February 11 An Evening with Bill Joy, in conversation with Brent Schlender (A Premier Event) Speakers: Bill Joy, Partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers Moderator: Brent Schlender, Writer/Editor/Consultant, & Former FORTUNE Editor at Large =============================================== d. China in 2009: How will China's Venture Market be Affected by the Changing World Markets? Current market conditions in the U.S. are now affecting the entire world, altering prior growth predictions for China. How might this affect the purchasing power of China's emerging middle class, and the young Chinese companies that depend on the market growth to survive? Hear investment insights from Gavin Ni, Founder, President and CEO of Zero2IPO, a Beijing-based company and China's leading provider of financial data to the private equity market. During the event, Gavin will be releasing 2008 China VC investment figures for the first time and providing his perspective on investment trends for 2009 and beyond. Following Mr. Ni's presentation, Danny Lui, co-Founder of Lenovo and now Managing General Partner of Startup Capital Ventures, will host a panel of leading China venture capitalists to address the following questions: - Is venture capital still growing in China? - Is this a time for caution or proactive investing? - How might new government regulations affect China's drive towards capitalism? Our team of experts will discuss the key challenges facing those who are doing business in China. They will also recommend strategies for survival and how to capitalize on the opportunities ahead. This event is particularly relevant to venture capital, private equity, and investment professionals who are interested in or already active in the China market. The event will also be of interest to entrepreneurs and service providers who want to understand the long-term prospects for growth in China. Please join our distinguished panel to discuss China in 2009. From the boardrooms of growth companies to VCs on Sand Hill Road, everyone with an interest in China will benefit from participating at this event. Moderator: Danny Lui | co-Founder of Lenovo and Managing General Partner at Startup Capital Ventures Panel: Gavin Ni | Founder, President and CEO of Zero2IPO David Chao | co-Founder and General Partner at DCM Sonny Wu | co-Founder and Managing Director of GSR Ventures (more speakers to be confirmed) Event Details: Event Name: China in 2009: How Will China's Venture Market Be Affected By the Changing World Markets? Date: Tuesday, January 20, 2009; 6:00-9:00 PM Location: Ming's Restaurant 1700 Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto, CA 94303 Cost: Early Bird Rate (by 1/12): $25 Members, $40 Non-Members Regular Rate: $40 Members, $60 Non-Members At the Door: $55 Members, $75 Non-Members Register: https://s08.123signup.com/servlet/SignUp?P=17214191158151700&PG=17214182300 Information: https://s08.123signup.com/servlet/SignUp?Info=&P=17214191158151700&PG=1721418230\ 0 For more information, please contact: Asia America MultiTechnology Association Phone: 650.738.1480 Email: aama@... http://www.aamasv.com =============================================== e. GABA (German American Business Association) presents: Managing Across the Generations DATE/TIME: Thu, Jan 22, 6:00pm-9:00pm LOCATION: Cooley Godward, 3175 Hanover Street, Palo Alto COST: Members $20, Non-Members $35, At the door $50. As more 'Millennials' (age 28 and younger) enter the global workforce with very different attitudes, ideas and demands and Baby Boomers approach retirement, learning and adapting to different management styles is critical for all companies. Executives, HR managers and service providers will gain a greater understanding of and techniques for working and communicating with team members of the 'workforce of the future' - Millennials, Gen X-ers, Baby Boomers & Traditionalists. Workshop attendees will leave this session with an improved understanding of the drivers, needs & challenges faced by employees across generations. Complimentary wine, beer, soda, cheese & crackers will be served. MORE INFO: Website: http://www.gaba-network.org Email: info@... Phone: 650-386-5015 Contact: Caroline Raynaud =============================================== f. Software Development Forum – www.sdforum.org www.sdforum.com Events for January 2009 01/12/2009 6:30 PM Marketing SIG: What Entrepreneurial Success Type are You? 01/14/2009 6:30 PM Emerging Tech SIG: Emerging Technologies in Physical Retail 01/14/2009 5:00 PM Legal 1 on 1 - Visiting Hours for January 01/14/2009 11:45AM PMI Silicon Valley Tools and Techniques Forum for January 01/15/2009 8:30am Australian Innovation Day 01/15/2009 6:30 PM Engineering Leadership SIG: Reflecting on What We Learned as Engineering Leaders 01/19/2009 6:30 Startup SIG: No meeting this month. 01/20/2009 6:30 PM Business Intelligence SIG: Numbers not Napkins: Simple Metrics & Business Models for Startups 01/22/2009 5:30 PM Tech Womens Program: Life Plan Light 01/22/2009 6:30 PM Windows SIG: 01/26/2009 6:30 PM Virtual Worlds SIG: Using Virtual Worlds for Remote Collaboration 01/27/2009 8:00 AM SDForum Quarterly Venture Breakfast with Pillsbury Winthrop and PWC 01/27/2009 6:30 PM Cloud Services & SOA SIG: Services in the Cloud Demo Night 01/28/2009 6:30 PM SAM SIG: Mashups 01/29/2009 6:30 PM Venture Finance SIG: 01/29/2009 9:00am VC One-on-One Coaching with Lisa Lambert 01/30/2009 8:30 AM State of the Green Clean Industry =============================================== g. eWomenNetwork 'Accelerated Networking' Dinner presents: eWomenNetwork 'Accelerated Networking' Dinner - Lisa Lewis DATE/TIME: Tue, Feb 10, 5:00pm-8:15pm LOCATION: Argonaut Hotel, 495 Jefferson St., San Francisco COST: $64; $54 for eWN Member; $74 for all late registrations beginning 2/5/2009. Lisa Lewis Success Strategies for Quickly Moving Through, Around or Over Obstacles in Your Life and Your Business Have you ever wished you had a magic formula to get you past the obstacles and on to the successes that await you in life and in business? Lisa will share with you her experience and the system she uses to make dreams come true in her life and her business. What you'll take away from this powerful session: The confidence to identify and deal with the obstacle with complete truth. A specific formula on how to handle and cope with quandaries. Tools to empower you to know you can deal with anything more effectively. MORE INFO: Website: http://events.ewomennetwork.com/event/details.php?eid=10478 Email: lellis@... Phone: 925-299-1920 =============================================== 3. Silicon Valley News / MBA News / High-Tech News =============================================== In Silicon Valley, Venture Capitalists Turn Cautious and Focus on the Short Term The New York Times. January 4, 2009 "MENLO PARK, Calif. — Venture capitalists make their fortunes, or lose them, on the strength of their predictions. As they hunt for barely hatched ideas and nurture them with money and advice, they are hoping that the new idea grows into the next Google. On Sand Hill Road, the wide boulevard here where investors study ideas in offices tucked behind palm trees and redwoods, the recession has tempered their optimism with caution. Conversations with some of the leading venture capitalists about the types of companies that will receive some of the estimated $31 billion venture capital firms raised in 2008 offer a glimpse at the future of technology… Even Accel, an early investor in Facebook, might have turned that company away if it approached the firm today, said Theresia Gouw Ranzetta, an Accel partner. For Web sites that do not already have large audiences, "your business model may be just as plausible as it was 18 months ago, but we're all more cautious about giving you a slug of money," she said." http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/05/technology/start-ups/05venture.html Cover Story: Whatever Happened to Silicon Valley Innovation? Short-term thinking and increasing risk aversion have stifled the tech center's spirit. But innovators still lurk there, if you look for them BusinessWeek. January 12, 2009 "… Venture capitalists' taste for risk has changed for a number of reasons, including the difficulty of taking tech companies public or selling them for lucrative paydays. The result is that venture firms are putting much less money into tech startups than in the past, and the money they do invest goes into less expensive, less risky deals, including social networking startups such as Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, and Digg. These so-called Web 2.0 companies are creating exciting new forms of socialization, information sharing, and entertainment. But some of the Valley's old guard are skeptical they'll grow big and important enough to deliver sizable productivity gains for business and the nation or to produce an upswell in new core technologies. Today's startups "give us refinements, not breakthroughs," says Andy Grove, former chief executive of Intel (INTC)." http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_02/b4115028730216.htm Palm Unveils iPhone Competitor, the Pre The New York Times. Published: January 8, 2009 "LAS VEGAS ― Seeking to revive its sharply fallen fortunes and produce a successor to its aging Treo device, Palm unveiled a sleek new smartphone, the Pre, on Thursday and an exclusive partnership with Sprint to distribute it. Palm executives say the touch-screen device and the new operating system inside of it, WebOS, break new ground in the fiercely competitive smartphone market. The phone's selling points include an emphasis on fast Web browsing and efficient multitasking. Jon Rubinstein, executive chairman of Palm, resisted comparisons between the Pre and the iPhone from Apple. "Our intention was never to build an iPhone killer but to build a killer Palm product," Mr. Rubinstein said in an interview. He said he felt Palm had been fighting an uphill battle with outdated devices and software, and was doing so no longer. "The Pre allows us to get back in the game," he said. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/09/technology/personaltech/09palm.html To Connect to the Internet, Just Turn on Your TV The New York Times. January 11, 2009 "LAS VEGAS — If there was one overarching theme from the Consumer Electronics Show here last week, it was that absolutely every device in our lives is becoming a computer connected to the Internet… These developments can be seen as more of the electronics industry's constant quest for something new to tantalize gadget lovers. But there is a darker side, too, for the companies that make the devices. If the most exciting thing about your phone or truck or TV is the Web sites you go to and the software applications you download, then the device itself is less important. That is what happened to the computer industry, with its relentless price pressure and indistinguishable products. It is hardly an attractive business model, even for consumer electronics companies already accustomed to low profit margins." http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/12/technology/personaltech/12cesexec.html Quietly, AOL Becomes an Overseer of Niche Sites The New York Times. January 11, 2009 "Point a Web browser to Engadget.com, TheBoot.com, or TMZ.com, and elaborate sites about technology, country music and celebrity gossip will appear on the screen. They could easily be mistaken for stand-alone brands. But a small link to the owner, in a corner of the screen, shows otherwise. That owner is AOL, the long-suffering unit of Time Warner. And the subtle links are intentional. Akin to a magazine model of niche titles for fragmented audiences interested in specific subjects, AOL counts more than 75 sites in its publishing portfolio and plans to add 30 more in the coming year. On Monday, the company is expected to announce a formal business unit, MediaGlow, to organize the efforts. The sites are AOL's latest attempt to make a clean break from its "walled garden" past of dial-up Internet access." http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/12/business/media/12aol.html Meg Whitman Leaves Three Boards, Mulls California Run The Wall Street Journal. JANUARY 5, 2009 "Former eBay Inc. Chief Executive Meg Whitman has stepped down from the boards of Procter & Gamble Co., eBay, and Dreamworks Animation SKG Inc., in moves that political observers say means she is likely to throw her hat in the ring soon for the 2010 California governor's race. A person close to the Silicon Valley star said she could announce her candidacy for governor in the next four to six weeks. A Republican Party official in California said she will have a team assembled by the end of the month, and is bringing in people from the campaign of Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who lost to John McCain in the Republican primaries. Ms. Whitman at first supported Mr. Romney but went on to back Mr. McCain." http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123118472853954675.html For Inauguration, Google Plans a Party to Cross Party Lines The party, on Jan. 20, is meant for both Democrats and Republicans, Mr. Kovacevich said, even though Eric E. Schmidt, Google's chief executive, publicly endorsed Mr. Obama in the fall. The New York Times. January 11, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/12/technology/internet/12google.html Logitech to slash 15 percent of workforce CNET News. January 6, 2009 "Correction at 8:00 a.m. PST: Logitech employs over 9,000 people. Swiss peripherals manufacturer Logitech plans to cut approximately 15 percent of its salaried workforce. Logitech has more than 9,000 employees worldwide. In a statement Monday, the company cited the deepening economic gloom as the reason for the cut." http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-10132392-92.html =============================================== 4. Job Fairs / Job Postings =============================================== Job / Networking web sites http://www.tradevibes.com/ http://www.StartupAgents.com http://gigaomjobs.com/ www.indeed.com www.crunchboard.com www.techcrunch.com www.venturebeat.com/ventureboard/ www.xing.com www.linkedin.com www.venture-capital-forum.com www.openbc.com www.streamjobs.net www.orkut.com www.4marketeers.com www.ryze.com www.craigslist.org www.workit.com www.bajobs.com www.brassring.com www.hotjobs.com www.jobnext.com www.flipdog.com www.monster.com www.startuplynx.com www.friendster.com Would you like to list a job for free - please send us the job posting to digitalmbas@... In the future, if you need to unsubscribe to digitalMBAs Silicon Valley, send a blank email message to digitalMBAs-SiliconValley-unsubscribe@eGroups.com.