craig

NYU Entrepreneurs Festival

Day 1 One doesn’t decide to become an entrepreneur, but rather one is an entrepreneur. At day 1 of the NYU Entrepreneurs Festival, many panelists and moderators noted that you can come up with ideas, identify opportunities, and build businesses, but there’s a sense of passion, a spark, (a “genetic defect” in the words ofContinue reading “NYU Entrepreneurs Festival”

Living Social vs Groupon

For those of you who may have read my post on Groupon, you’ll know I think the daily/group deals market is relatively untapped and the model is only going to improve as businesses learn how to adopt the platform properly. That said, following last night’s presentation in my Digital Media Marketing class at NYU Stern byContinue reading “Living Social vs Groupon”

Perler on Sondheim

I don’t get a lot of Stephen Sondheim‘s music. His lyrics are certainly impressive and witty, and though my former professor of musical theater Steve Swayne (Sondheim expert) might throw his hands up at the statement, I nevertheless have trouble digesting a good chunk of Sondheim’s music. I had trouble sitting through shows such as Into theContinue reading “Perler on Sondheim”

Groupon’s Pre-IPO Secret*!

Groupon, the crowd-funded daily deals site, and the fastest growing company in the world, ever, IPOs this Friday at a supposed valuation upwards of $10 billion. That’s a huge number – I mean, you can buy a whole lot of pole dancing sessions with $10 billion. It’s also nearly twice the valuation (at the conservative 10BContinue reading “Groupon’s Pre-IPO Secret*!”

The Lean Startup, In Bullet Form

I recently read “The Lean Startup” by Eric Ries. The book draws on many of the cases covered during my still-ongoing Stern MBA program. In particular, Ries draws significant inspiration from the Toyota production method and approach to quality management. The book has some interesting nuggets and was a quick read. Ries uses several examples, someContinue reading “The Lean Startup, In Bullet Form”

Pretty Music: Jason Robert Brown

A few songs this time: Stars and the Moon, I’d Give It All For You, and The Next Ten Minutes, all by Jason Robert Brown. Mr. Brown (avid blogger and Tweeter) is one of my favorite composers. At Dartmouth in 2004, we produced his two-person show, The Last Five Years (LFY), and I believe theContinue reading “Pretty Music: Jason Robert Brown”

My Perspective on Occupy Wall Street

I recently visited Zucotti Park in lower Manhattan, the tent city home of the Occupy Wall Street movement. It was a gloomy, rainy day when I visited, and there were far fewer than the thousands of people I’d expected to see hanging out – maybe there were a couple hundred folks at best, some holdingContinue reading “My Perspective on Occupy Wall Street”

Thoughts on Business Plans

At last night’s Digital Media Marketing class, one of our guest lecturers, JB Rudelle, serial entrepreneur and current CEO of criteo.com, gave his perspective on startup business plans: they’re good for two things, self-assurance, and convincing other people to leave their comfy jobs and join your cause. This sentiment very much reflects the presentation givenContinue reading “Thoughts on Business Plans”

Total Praise? Yes, I Like the Gospel (Music)

Since discovering it in high school, “Total Praise” by Richard Smallwood has remained my favorite piece of gospel music. Yes, perhaps it’s a bit ironic that I like gospel music, given I’m a Jewish-born Atheist. But so what. Interestingly, my favorite musical composer, Jason Robert Brown, has often indicated his inspiration comes from gospel asContinue reading “Total Praise? Yes, I Like the Gospel (Music)”

The Virtue of Selfishness, and Net Neutrality

In a recent NYU Stern class (Economics of Social and Other Networks), we covered the economics of net neutrality, “a principle that advocates no restrictions by Internet service providers or governments on consumers’ access to networks that participate in the internet” (wikipedia). The idea here is that users should have the freedom to decide whatContinue reading “The Virtue of Selfishness, and Net Neutrality”