THE CIRCLE November 2008 Networking Event

The Circle hosted a networking event together with EMERGE, a networking group for young, hispanic entreprenuers. We had a great turnout, with out 160+ people in attendance. Check out the pictures from the event:

Warren Buffet - Never Back Down

He challenged the conventional teachings at business schools. He’s a 25 Top Visionary, one of the Top 24 Most Powerful Men In Business, and advises people to hang out with people who are better than you.

I wanted to add to the Warren Buffett story by sharing another valuable lesson from one of the world’s richest men: Never Back Down! read more

Blue Is The New Green

First, some numbers. The United Nations estimates that by 2025, two-thirds of the world’s population will face periodic and often severe water shortages. And the problem is not limited to the developing world. Here in the U.S., water managers in 36 states are predicting significant shortfalls within the next decade. Even in regions that do have sufficient supplies, aging infrastructure, inadequate treatment facilities, and contamination pose more problems. No surprise, then, that battles over water rights are becoming commonplace, pitting states and sometimes nations against one another in increasingly bitter conflict. read more

How Seth McFarlane Turned Family Guy Into $2 Billion

Family Guy = $2 Billion.

It’s not hard to find someone who delights in attacking the show Family Guy. Which isn’t a criticism, per se. Much of the animated sitcom’s purpose seems to be to stoke the opposition, to offend the easily offended. But that’s not the only reason it annoys people. There is a school of thought that says the show is hackish — crudely drawn and derivative of its cartoon forebears. Members of this school would include, most prominently, Ren & Stimpy creator John Kricfalusi, and Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the fathers of South Park, which is probably the only show on television that rivals Family Guy for objectionable content per half hour. South Park has devoted entire episodes to attacking Family Guy, portraying the show’s writers as manatees who push “idea balls” with random jokes down tubes to generate plotlines. Kricfalusi has said, “You can draw Family Guy when you’re 10 years old.” read more

Meet Seth Gordon - Gordon|Diaz-Balart

Here’s someone you need to meet. Seth Gordon, Managing Partner @ Gordon|Diaz-Balart.

Seth Gordon brings over thirty years of intensive local market experience in community relations, economic development, and corporate relations to Gordon|Diaz-Balart, widely known as the “Miami Relations Firm” for their ability to help clients succeed in the complex and rapidly changing Miami market. read more

Community Banks New Financing Option For Start up Companies

When Amy Loera was looking for a loan to expand her family’s Mexican-restaurant business earlier this year, she applied at nine different banks. They all turned her down.

Many of the banks accepted her initial application but simply didn’t take things any further, she says. Some raised concerns about the nationwide downturn in the restaurant industry in refusing her request. And some told her that if she had applied a year ago, she would have had no problem.

So Ms. Loera turned to a local lender, Arrowhead Credit Union in San Bernardino, Calif., after a business acquaintance told her the credit union had given loans to other businesses in the community. She was approved for a $643,000 loan this summer. read more

Saleen Automotive For Sale

Saleen Automotive is the latest American carmaker to announce that it is seeking a potential buyer, with management acknowledging the firm has suffered financially from the economic downturn and rising fuel prices. read more

New Domain Names To Become Available

Relief may be on the way for small businesses stuck with bad Web addresses.

Next year, the organization that oversees the Internet will start selling rights to an unlimited number of new top-level domains — the suffixes like .com that appear at the end of Web-site names. Domains likely to appear include those that take their names from popular subjects, types of businesses and geographic locations, such as .books, .flowers and .nyc.

The good news for small businesses is that if a company currently has a .com address that is cumbersome or hard to remember, like joesflowersnyc.com, it may soon get a shot at a new address that’s identical to the name of the company, or one that is just easier to find on the Web — say, joes.flowers or joesflowers.nyc. read more

Just call me President Barack Obama

A huge victory for Obama, the Democratic party, and the United States. But can Barak Obama come through on all his promises? read more

Venture Capital Financing Slows Amid Economic Downturn

Silicon Valley technology startups are adopting a new business plan: deferral.

MerchantCircle Inc., a Los Altos, Calif., Internet startup, typifies the trend. Last month, company founder Ben Smith was in New York talking to media companies about raising $50 million, with which he planned to make acquisitions to fuel MerchantCircle’s growth. But as the financial markets tumbled this month, Mr. Smith canceled two trips to New York and a roadshow to Europe to raise the capital. For now, the fundraising is on the backburner.

“When we started the year we were pushing really hard for growth,” says Mr. Smith, who in 2005 founded MerchantCircle, which provides online advertising services for small businesses. “That’s just not as important anymore. Now it’s all about cash flow.” read more

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