There seems to be a lot of hate out there for the new Facebook update. As my brother aptly put it “People hate change, why don’t facebook realize this.” His point couldn’t be more accurate, people hate change, whether the change is good, bad, or indifferent. This backlash (like all the backlashes before it) will die down and everyone will be happy in the end. I am going to break down a few of the changes and explain why these are actually GOOD changes, once everyone gets used to them.

Subscribe

Great new feature which allows Facebook users to have an asymmetrical follow graph. Basically, when you subscribe to someone, you see their updates, but they dont see yours. This is great for celebrities, politicians, economists,(that is a joke, nobody follows economists) writers, or business leaders. Why do I need to go on twitter to see what Kanye West has to say, if he i can see his brilliant thoughts conveniently in my Facebook news feed (full disclosure, I do NOT follow Kanye West on any social medium).

News items bifurcated 

Rather than seeing ALL activity on facebook in one central feed, the information has now been split into two parts. Items deemed “news” worthy, such as status updates, picture uploads, and link sharing appears in the traditional center news feed column. Tangential and ancillary activity now appears in a box in the upper right hand corner. Here is where you will find items such as “Justin commented on Jason’s pictures.” Without ever consciously thinking about it, this is what we all want. I want to see NEWS in my news feed, that is something NEW, whether that is a thought, a picture, or a link. I do not want to see how other people are behaving on Facebook (commenting, tagging, and wall posting). Splitting news from activity is actually a smart way to allow us to consume more information, without wasting our time with things we don’t care about.

Top Story

Facebook finally brought back one of my all time favorite features and brought it back with a bang. Top story allows you to customize what you WANT to see in your news feed. This replaces the two year old system of “see more from this person” and “see less from this person” which turned out to be an inexact science. With top story tagging, you are now able to tell Facebook what you care about. My fiance, for example, loves to use Facebook to look at her friends pictures and read their status updates. She enjoys commenting on and talking with her friends/family this way. She will most likely end up with a news feed full of pictures and status updates from her friends and family. I, on the other hand, don’t look at peoples pictures but I love to follow links, see the latest youtube video fiasco, and read what people think about a new product or service. I will end up with a newsfeed with no random pictures from a guy I had two classes with in college. Through this feature, Facebook is delivering to us EXACTLY what we want, customized content tailored to our personal preferences, all we have to do is click “top story” and facebook does the rest.

Lists

I can’t imagine many people are having a problem with this feature. It is fairly non-intrusive, as it only takes up a few lines on the very left side of the page. This feature obviously closely resembles Google+’s “circles” which was championed as the feature that would destroy Facebook. Little did those bloggers know, Facebook had worked on this feature for years and in fact didn’t release it because they didn’t believe their users wanted it. Now we all have it, lets see if any of us actually use it. I don’t have 5,000 friends (the current limit on facebook) so i don’t have a terribly difficult time navigating my feed for relevant content. I don’t REALLY need to click “family” list to see what my family is doing, I can usually figure it out by just looking at my main news feed area. This is a feature that was clearly released as a response to G+. I think it is ultimately a nice feature, but not one the vast majority of users want or will use.

If you know me at all, you know I am not a Facebook apologist. In fact, I am largely a Facebook critic (at least Facebook as a business not as a product). However, in this case I believe Facebook has made some great changes which will benefit the majority of its users. Hopefully we will all think through the changes a little more analytically rather than looking at any change and simply saying “NO!”

Each year Ceasar’s Palace (A former member of Harras Entertainment Group although the name was recently changed) invites MBA students and Alumni from across the country to Las Vegas for a 3-day poker tournament and recruiting event. I will give a brief run down of the weekend and experience.

Friday Poker

It was $70 to play (which included your admission to all events for the weekend), your buy in for the poker game was $50 of that $70. Hundreds of MBA students and Alumni dropped $70 at the potential of winning about $9,000 and change. Ceasar’s hosted the event in the private section of their poker room behind their Sportsbook. The problem with the tournament is it went on forever. The pot was eventually chopped when the table was down to 9. Each of the 9 ended up with between $1,000-$1,100. Some of us went and played blackjack (where the odds are much better than being one of the 9/250 people to get paid). One Pepperdine student ended up in the money on day 1.

Meet and Greet

The recruiting portion of the event began Friday night with drinks (a LOT of drinks) and appetizers in one of Ceasar’s ballrooms. Sky Vodka must have sponsored the event, they had an ice sculpture bar and girls bringing shots to every table all night. Amazon, Aon Hewitt, Ceasar’s/Harrahs, and Waste Management were there recruiting. I am not looking for a job so I am probably not the best judge of how valuable these contacts are, and how likely you are to get a job interview with one of these companies, but it did seem as though they were genuinely interested in recruiting. I talked to a recruiter from Aon and Ceasar’s, both of whom asked me if i was interested in moving to Vegas after school. After I told them absolutely not, they quickly moved on to another conversation. I was happy to meet a few MBA’s from UW who were working at perhaps Seattle’s 3 most popular companies, Microsoft, Costco, and Starbucks.

Saturday Poker

$225 buy in with 219 players, I was not a math major, but to me the winner should have received more than $9K. I am not 100% sure where all the money went (i know it wasn’t spread around to the other top players in an amount anywhere close to 50 grand). Saturday was day 1 in the divisional round of the NFL, as you might expect many of us spent our time betting on and watching football. There was an ultimate winner Saturday night, I believe it was a University of Chicago alum.

Saturday Night @ Voodoo

By far the most amusing portion of the weekend was the awkwardly dressed group of 90% dudes hanging out at the rented out Voodoo lounge @ the Rio. I don’t really know what I was expecting, but I am going to be honest, it was a pretty sad state of affairs. The bar was WIDE open, there were a lot of patrone shots being passed around, and a few recruiters thought this would be a good time to talk casually to us, it was not. The scene looked pretty similar to the first hour of a frat party, a room full of dudes, and a few eager ladies. After a few hours the club pretty much cleared out as the “business casually” dressed gentleman stumbled into the elevator.

Sunday

There was a 3rd day of the poker tournament, however I have absolutely no information on what took place. Saturday @ 10 AM I was at a bar watching the Seahawks/Bears NFC Divisional game. We headed back to Ceasar’s to cash in our winnings, which was the last stop before heading back to California. I placed most of my bets at Ceasar’s/Harrahs owned properties, which was the entire point of the event, to build hotel/brand loyalty amongst a group of future vegas goers, and hopefully big spenders. I spent some time talking to a Ceasar’s recruiter, who told me frankly, this was the point of the event. Overall, they were successful. A thousand or so of us signed up for TotalRewards cards (loyalty program @ Harrahs/Ceasar’s properties).

I know they were successful when at some point during the trip we all agreed we would be back next year, where we will likely stay at a Ceasar’s property. See you there

http://harrahsmbapoker.com/weekend-agenda/

This “guide” was inspired by a recent article in Entrepreneur Magazine. I took the idea and decide to write my own article. The point of this is to try and explain the best possible ways to conduct a meeting at a bar. Whether you are a night club person, a pub guy, or someone who never even goes to watering holes, the truth of the matter is some meetings are held at bars. If you are trying to raise money and the potential investor says “meet me at my hotel bar” you better feel comfortable. Here is my attempt at a “guide” to bar meetings. Please feel free to post your own comments/critiques.

1. Always get there early.

For some reason people get it in their heads that its cool to be late. Maybe not super late, but just “fashionably late” this might be true at your high school prom, but it doesn’t fly in the real world. The last thing someone important wants to do is sit and waste 10 minutes making small talk with their waitress making excuses for why they are drinking alone. Don’t even get to the meeting on time….be there early. This gives you the upper hand. You are able to decide where you sit. Maybe you feel comfortable in a corner booth away from everyone, or maybe you are the kind of person who likes to sit at the bar and make jokes with the bartender to show your meeting companion just how witty you actually are. Get there early and establish a dominant position where you feel comfortable.

2. You are permitted to order 1 of 2 drinks. A beer or a whiskey on the rocks. This is not up for debate.

There is no shame in ordering a beer, however if you order a beer you must follow a few simple rules.

1. Never ask what is on tap. It makes you seem weak and uncapable. Beer on tap is usually prominently displayed at the bar or on the menu. Why ask when you can just figure it out yourself? If for some reason you can’t figure out what is on tap. Go to rule 2.

2. Have a go to beer and order it with purpose. Don’t waiver and don’t ask for suggestions. Pick a beer that you know you like that they will have pretty much everywhere. If for some crazy reason they don’t have this beer, ask that they bring you the closest thing. You know what you want and you are getting it one way or another!

3. Never order a light beer. You aren’t on a diet. At least not tonight (this will come up later).

Lets say you aren’t in the mood for a beer, you want a real drink. You order a whiskey on the rocks. There are many schools of thought. I believe you go with what you like. Don’t pander to anyone else. If you like bourbon, order a bourbon. If you are a scotch man, order a scotch. If you like Jack and Coke, order a Jack and Coke…just make sure they hold the coke, we aren’t at the club, this is business.

Don’t order a drink just because someone else did. I know its tempting to say “just make it 2,” i fall into that trap all the time. Partly because I am a people pleaser and partly because i think it sounds cool. Now i am not saying you should audible if that was the drink you were planning on ordering, just make a point of saying something to your associate or the waitress/bartender.

3. Don’t get drunk.

This should go without saying. You should never drink more than the person you are meeting with. If you have to order a water back then by all means. Supposedly Frank Sinatra used to do this to always stay less inebriated than his buddies. This helps keep you in control which will help keep you from saying or doing something stupid.

4. Order a real meal

This may not be relevant for all meetings. Sometimes its just 1 drink or maybe an appetizer. However if the meeting is going well, at some point you will order food. Don’t be afraid to order a steak. Don’t order a salad, it makes you seem weak. I don’t make the rules, this is just how people will perceive it.

5. Pay for at least 1 round and or offer to pay for dinner

This is a touchy subject and very fact specific. Unless someone specifically says “let me take you out for drinks” you should feel good about paying for a round without offending anyone. If you happen to be being the one wined and dined, be gracious and don’t offer to pay for dinner, maybe offer to pay for a post meal beverage. In most instances it will be appropriate to pay for at least one round. People always appreciate this, it shows more than just the fact that you have money, it shows that you think about these types of things and aren’t just oblivious. Don’t make a big point of it, in fact its always classy if you just mention it to the waitress or slip her some cash. Then at the end of the night she comes back and tells you “its already been taken care of” and you like the BMOC. Always bring cash, it makes you seem more powerful.

6. Tip generously

We all have our own rules about tipping. “Don’t tip on tax.” “I tip $1 a drink at a bar.” “15% for good service 20% for great service.” Whatever your philosophy is in life, put it aside for the meeting. Chances are you are looking at a bill for 2-6 drinks (if its more than this you probably broke rule 3). It is not going to break your back to toss the barkeep $10 after a successful evening of impressing a new associate. Nobody will think “Hey this guy just throws money around….i don’t want to give him any of mine.” They will think you are generous and cognizant of other people. Don’t talk about tipping and certainly if you are splitting a check don’t ask what they are leaving. NOBODY likes a tip profiler.

7. Start light and finish light.

I know its a business meeting, but even the most serious people like to talk about non-business stuff from time to time. Its best to start off by getting a drink and asking how life is. Ask about spouses and kids, talk about sports, golf, the weather, really anything to show that you aren’t just a robot. Conduct your meeting, then finish on a light note. Ask about their weekend plans or make a reference to earlier in the evening. Don’t close on a hard business note. People prefer to do business with people they like. You want them walking out of that bar thinking “Wow that guy is pretty cool…i’d like to do business with him.” Rather then simply debating the merits of your proposition.

Last night I attended Startups Uncensored 18 in Santa Monica at the Milken Institute. I have gone to every one of these events since Jason Nazar came and spoke with us at the Palmer Center’s beginning of the year mixer. Jason is an unbelievably charismatic and inspiring person. He went through the very same JD/MBA program at Pepperdine that I am currently enrolled in. He spent much of his time in school working on his company (Sounds familiar?). He launches his company after Law/Business school, raised some money from a large VC, and now operates a very successful eCommerce company.

I would definitely say Jason is one of my idols in the startup world. He did things his own way, which I admire more than anything. Ok enough of that, back to the event. These mixers are a lot of fun, reasonably insightful, and for me, truly inspiring. What basically happens is 3-4 ultra successful entrepreneurs get up on stage and Jason asks them a questions. Its pretty informal and the panel/topics vary from event to event. This event was “how to be an entrepreneur superhero.”

The title seems pretty entertaining, however the panel was pretty typical. Jason tends to ask the same questions (this isn’t critical, i think the questions he asks over and over are by far the most important questions to ask) with the answers varying widely. Last night we had JR who started two successful user generated content aggregation. The next guy on the panel was Mark, a successful entrepreneur turned VC. Its interesting to hear a guys point of view who has looked at startups from two distinct points of view. Boy did he have points of view….for a quick glimpse of Mark’s personality lets just take a look at his most recent tweet “That’s the shitty dinner I was at! 6 VC’s got up & left…” This guy “kept it real.” He made two grand statements which i think a lot of the crowd took offensively. His two pieces of prophetic advise were

1. “The biggest mistake most entrepreneur makes is one word….co-founder.” He argued with some other panel members about the merit of co-founders. He was convinced it was a terrible idea regardless of the situation. He argued that co-founders are for entrepreneurs who are scared to go it alone and actually fail.

2. “99 point something % of people are not leaders.” He went on to explain that many type A people think they are leaders, or have some leadership qualities, but are in fact not leaders. They really just want someone to tell them what to do, or someone who has the answers.

I really identified with this advice. I agree that most people aren’t leaders. I think there are tons of people who CAN lead, want to lead, and have leadership qualities. I just happen to think when it comes down to it, most people would rather yield to “someone with all of the answers.” In the absence of a leader someone will always step up and lead, it just might not be innate. I don’t think this is an indictment of anyone, in fact it is probably much easier to follow someone. I think every VP of Apple is happy as a clam to be listening to Steve Jobs. It doesn’t mean that they are inferior, it just means they prefer that role and are likely better suited for it then sitting in Steve’s chair. Alright enough of that.

If any of you are in the southern California area and are interested in attending the next Startups Uncensored let me know. Its a great event to network or just hear some successful and interesting people. I highly recommend it for any startup, especially any tech startup. There are tons of tools, tips, and experience being shared.

Hope to see you there next time

The new blog is finally up and running. There will be a lot of changes over the next week but here are my goals for this blog

1. Target issues that are important to entrepreneurs

2. Share resources, links, products, and services that may be useful to entrepreneurs

3. Spotlight early stage companies, provide critique, strategy, and assistance whenever possible