The other day, a team of entrepreneurs came to pitch their high-tech startup for funding. This motivated group of guys wanted to raise around $10 million for their new, super duper, unique, revolutionary, paradigm-shifting, outside the box, knock your socks off, we’re all gonna retire young, give me your money now technology. After the customary small talk and by the time they were about to start their presentation, I almost wanted to hand the “CEO” the shirt off my back.
Why is it that someone will always show up to an …

Macro

More pain in the housing market anticipated as some homeowners find themselves “underwater” or owing more on their homes than what their homes are worth on the market. According to Mark Zandi at Economy.com (MCO), 10% of all homeowners currently face this negative equity situation. Zandi also sees home prices falling 20% as the economy worsens into a recession. Zandi could be underestimating the damage; homeowners abandon their homes and mortgages at a high rate when they enter negative territory on their equity. Foreclosures and abandoned mortgages exacerbate the problem …

The best Super Bowl commercial for me was the National Football League’s “Super Ad: Who Wants it More?” spot titled Mr. Oboe. The advert features a story about NFL offensive lineman Ephraim Salaam convincing a young, oboe-playing grocery bagger named Chester Pitts to give football a try. Pitts ends up joining the San Diego State football team, getting selected in the second round of the NFL draft, and playing right alongside Salaam for the Houston Texans.
What an inspiring story! It reminds me of a line from Disney’s (DIS) Pixar-produced Ratatouille. …