A catch phrase will go here soon.

Cars.com on “Going First”

2/6/2011

Funny Super Bowl ad from Cars.com about the benefits of “going first.”

HackNews thread on free tables dead with 81 points and 150 comments? Why?

2/5/2011
> why would a story with 81 points and 150 comments be dead? tried to make it not commercial (which it obviously isn’t)?

Superbowl Commercials 2011 (all 40+)

2/5/2011
I’m going to make a running list of every SuperBowl Commercial 2011 here. Please post ones you find in the comments.

2011 Cars.com Super Bowl Ad: Go First

2011 Cars.com Super Bowl Ad: Go First
This humorous Super Bowl commercial comes from Cars.com, one of the biggest retailers of new and used cars online. The ad opens with a King in his royal palace calling out for his “poison checker” before placing a spoon of soup into his mouth. The poison checker intercepts the spoon and tastes the soup … only to quickly die. The meaning of the ads is further clarified when we hear a voiceover proclaim: “Sometimes it’s better to let others go first, so that we can learn from their experiences”

2011 Elantra: Car Wash

2011 Elantra: Car Wash
Hyndaui uses their Super Bowl slot to poke fun at the traditional, and arguably lame, styling of most automobiles. The ads shows a couple sitting in their standard-looking sedan as they are pulled through a car wash. The words, “obey”, “comply”, and “boring” appear throughout the scenes, followed by the phrase and question, “Have our brains been carwashed?”

2011 Audi Super Bowl XLV Teaser

Audi Big Game 2011 Teaser - Startled Smart (Part 1)
“The Startled Smart program takes ‘at-risk’ youth inside Luxury Prison to teach them a harsh lesson about the consequences of an opulent lifestyle.”

2011 GM Chevy Super Bowl Commercial “Bumblebee”

2011 GM Chevy Super Bowl Commercial
This video provides an unexpected turn of events when a Chevy Camaro actually decides to fight back against a man trying to “crush” low prices. A great twist to a seemingly normal looking commercial from the minds at Chevy and Transformers.

2011 Snickers Super Bowl Commercial Teaser

2011 Snickers Super Bowl Commercial Teaser
This 15 second teaser from Snickers tempts the viewer by showing Richard Lewis, Rosanne, a chainsaw, a construction site, and the question “What Could Go Wrong”. What do you think will happen?

2011 Super Bowl New GoDaddy .CO Girl Tease

2011 Super Bowl New GoDaddy .CO Girl Tease
GoDaddy is once-again betting on sex to sell for their Super Bowl campaign. We’re teased here with a glimpse of “the next GoDaddy Girl”, which has been selected specifically to represent “.co” TLDs. The glimpse you do get is mostly limited to her upper torso, though….

Audi Big Game 2011 Teaser – Kenny G Riot Suppressor (Part 2)

Audi Big Game 2011 Teaser - Kenny G Riot Suppressor (Part 2)
Kenny G completely owns the stage as Kenny G, “Prison Riot Supressor”. Taking the reins at what appears to be a prison for the wealthy elite, Kenny take a “The Office” style approach of talking to the camera, offering details about how he often cues up some of the more “softer” songs in his catalog to calm down inmates if they ever become unruly, say from “not getting enough caviar”. Welcome back, G.

Audi Big Game 2011 Teaser – Startled Smart (Part 1)

Audi Big Game 2011 Teaser - Startled Smart (Part 1)
“The Startled Smart program takes ‘at-risk’ youth inside Luxury Prison to teach them a harsh lesson about the consequences of an opulent lifestyle.”

Bridgestone Teaser – Carma

Bridgestone Teaser - Carma
Tense music + movie trailer worthy voiceover + car + wet road + beaver = successful teaser.

Bridgestone Teaser – Reply All

Bridgestone Teaser - Reply All
We’ve all been there – hitting “reply all” instead of “reply”. This 30 second teaser opens with some simple text and voiceover telling us that over 40 billion emails are sent every day, but that every now and then, something goes “very” wrong.

Bud Light Super Bowl 2011 Teaser – Severance Package

Bud Light Super Bowl 2011 Teaser - Severance Package
When the guys at the office hear the higher-ups are handing out cases of Bud Light as severance packages, it becomes a contest of “who can get fired first”. Nudity marching and drum sets ensue.

Careerbuilder 2011 Super Bowl Ad “Parking Lot”

Careerbuilder 2011 Super Bowl Ad
“Stuck between a bad job and a hard place?” With monkeys on the left, monkeys on the right, and a now-defiled car, sounds like this guy could use a little help from CareerBuilder.

Doritos – Best Part — Crash the Super Bowl 2011 Finalist

Doritos - Best Part -- Crash the Super Bowl 2011 Finalist
What’s the best part about Doritos? Well apparently for this guy it’s finger sucking and pant dropping, but to each his own.

Go Daddy’s 2011 Super Bowl Commercial “The Contract”

Go Daddy's 2011 Super Bowl Commercial
GoDaddy has mastered the art of the tease, and this commercial is no exception. The scene opens with Danica Patrick and Jillian Michaels on set refusing to do a GoDaddy commercial shoot because it’s “too racy”. Being told they were under contract to do so, the commercial ends with Patrick and Michaels walking nude through the GoDaddy set. You don’t see much, but enough to make people want to tune in.

Hyundai SB Q3 – Deprogramming

Hyundai SB Q3 - Deprogramming
“Compact cars don’t have to be boring … or feel compact”. Another commercial in the Hyundai Elantra lineup begging us to “snap out of it” and buy cooler cars, because nothing says cool like a Hyundai.

Hyundai SB Q4 – Anachronistic City

Hyundai SB Q4 - Anachronistic City
Tech geeks will love some of the nods this commercial gets. Showing a modern with with anachronistic objects, Hyundai poses the question, “What if we always settled for the first thing that came along?”. The company is taking a jab at other auto companies by equating the Corollas of the world to mere flash bulbs and record players.

Chevy Cruze 2011 Super Bowl Ad – Misunderstanding

Chevy Cruze 2011 Super Bowl Ad - Misunderstanding
Chevy hops on the “make fun of old people” train with this commercial that uses misunderstandings and plays on words to repeat, about 10 times, that the Chevy Cruze gets 42 mpg.

Motorola XOOM Super Bowl XLV Ad – 15-second Teaser

Motorola XOOM Super Bowl XLV Ad - 15-second Teaser
A disappointingly short 15 second teaser but they’re putting it up on YouTube anyway so why not show it? A normal looking man stands amongst a million people in all white. He’s looking for a florist, he’s holding flowers, the doors close on the subway, he sees a girl and….

E*Trade Baby – 2011 Super Bowl Ad Bloopers

E
“I love how my grandmother is comfortable in her own skin … probably because it’s a little loose…” E-Trade baby commercials are always a win, and these bloopers and outtakes are no exception.

Pepsi MAX® – Love Hurts — Crash the Super Bowl 2011 Finalist

Pepsi MAX® - Love Hurts -- Crash the Super Bowl 2011 Finalist
The standard story of a man liking unhealthy foods and the wife that punishes him, but with a great twist at the end.

Teleflora – Faith Hill Behind the Scenes

Teleflora - Faith Hill Behind the Scenes
Go behind the scenes with country star Faith Hill and directory Bryan Buckley to see what went into making the 2011 Teleflora Super Bowl Commercial.

Volkswagen Commercial: Black Beetle

Volkswagen Commercial: Black Beetle
If you’re a VW Beetle fan this commercial is sure to get you pumped! Check out how Volkswagen is prepping the stage for the 2012 Beetle, coming out this fall. While VW is advertising pretty early out, taking out a spot in the Super Bowl will likely garner some hype.

Bud Light – The 3D Test

Bud Light - The 3D Test
3D testing … gone wrong! See what happens when you combine beer, 3D technology and confused sample subjects in Bud Light’s Super Bowl spot.

Volkswagen – The Force

Volkswagen - The Force Superbowl Commercial
A young and inspired Darth Vader finds “The Force”, with a little help from Volkswagen, of course.

BOOM! @CarmeloAnthony’s agent tell teams: New York only.

2/5/2011
Let's do this Knicks.  jmc

N.Y. or bust for ‘Melo?

Carmelo Anthony
(NBAE/Getty Images)

Several sources told Yahoo! Sports that Carmelo Anthony’s agent, Leon Rose, has recently begun informing teams that the All-Star forward is interested in signing a contract extension with only the New York Knicks. The stance has weakened the Denver Nuggets’ leverage in trying to deal Anthony, not only to other teams, but also the Knicks.

The sources said the Knicks don’t feel pressed to present a substantial trade offer to the Nuggets because they think they can also sign Anthony after the season if he opts out of his contract, as expected.

“If you’re New York, you just sit and wait until the offseason,” one general manager said. “That’s where it’s likely to go. Why give up assets to get him now when you can wait and get him next season?”

Said another source: “If ’Melo is telling the world he wants to go [to New York], why fight so hard to get him? [Knicks president] Donnie Walsh knows this.”

Though there’s less than three weeks before the Feb. 24 trade deadline, a deal for Anthony isn’t imminent. Sources said the Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks still have interest in Anthony despite knowing he doesn’t plan to re-sign with them.

“Don’t blame ’Melo. He’s been up front about wanting to go to New York since the summer,” one source close to the talks said. “They better trade him to New York or end up with nothing.” 

VIDEO: Bryant Gumbel and Katie Couric in 1994: what is internet?

2/4/2011

MIND BLOWING: Amazing video of uncontacted tribes

2/4/2011

Zuck @finkd @facebook raises the interest of Congress–oh no.

2/4/2011
This is why I told The Zuck to slow down and think about the users first. As opposed to what is technically possible and cool. 

NYC Startups: Beware Mike “scam” Segal

2/4/2011
It's a traaaaaaap!!!!!!

You can always tell a dirty, dirty scam when they use high-pressure tactics like this paragraph: 

As I indicated is my prior e-mail, if you are all set with your financing requirements or have other avenues to get funded, please let me know by return e-mail and I will be sure that your company and email-address of REDACTED is taken off my list of potential Presenter candidates. I know that the last thing you need are more e-mails that are not relevant to the matters affecting you business.
Normal folks do not speak like that. Certainly not investors. 

Also, notice in the list of investors you don't Fred Wilson of Union Square, RRE, Insight Venture Partners, Esther Dyson, John Borthwick of Betaworks, Howard or Charlie from First Round, Bijan or Mo from Spark Capital, Polaris, Kevin Rose, Chris Sacca, Dave McClure or anyone you respect or interact with on the web. 

You know, the folks you hear directly from on This Week in Startups week after week!

If this is a valuable VC and angel club where is the A-list? Oh right, they would NEVER support a scam like this. If you see an even in New York City and they can't get the names and firms above it is certainly a scam. The folks above will support anything in New York City that's good for the community. 

My previous ultimatum to Mike to stop charging startups
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Mike Segal <mike.segal@verizon.net>
Subject: Opportunity for Late-Entrants to Present on February 24th at the Yale Club New York

MJSEGALASSOCIATES

 

Opportunity for Late-Entrants to Present on February 24th at the Yale Club New York to
Angels and more than 150 of the America’s Leading Private Equity & Venture Capital Investors


As we have not heard back from your office, I am following-up on my earlier correspondence about introducing your company to funding sources at our upcoming National Venture Capital & Angel Investor Forum being held at the Yale Club New York on Thursday, February 24th. (My apologies if there is an e-mail or phone message that I may have missed.) We have been hosting these exclusive “deal-oriented” and "investor-only" venues for 10 years. They are one of the most well-established and the best “investor-attended” events of their kind in America and are not compromised with a high population of vendors or service providers. We literally create a “Road Show” that comes to the company, thus eliminating the costs and time of extensive travel to meet investors. In the event that you are still seeking capital and stalled in your efforts to get funded, I have set aside a few Presenter slots for last-minute entrants.

 

This will be our 32nd consecutive venue, all of which since June of 2001 have been fully-booked with approximately 150 to 200 investors. These include numerous Angel Groups, high net worth investors, venture capital firms, private equity funds and investment partnerships who attend from throughout the United States, with a focus on both early and later-stage opportunities. (Kindly note that any data that we provide in connection with our current or past investor attendance is well-documented by registration records and can be further verified by direct contact of the Angels, VCs and private equity investors who have been our guests.) Because of the number and caliber of the investors whom we attract, most companies see their participation in our events as an alterative or complement to hiring an investment banker or going on the road to raise capital.

 

Please take a few minutes to read this e-mail carefully, as many of your questions will be answered and you will get a much better idea as to the value proposition (that for now over 10 years) has attracted so many companies to our events from all over the United States and other countries. There is no comparable funding venue in the United States to what we offer as measured by the number and quality of the active capital sources who attend our forums – not withstanding the fact that we also reach out to investors for our entrepreneur participants and assist them in following-up after our event.

If you believe that your company's potential is truly compelling and that management's vision can be effectively communicated, this private event will provide you with a unique national platform to get your message across in “One Place and in One Day” to active serious investors who want to see fundable deals. In order to apply to present, all you need to do is send a copy of your Executive Summary to me at mike.segal@verizon.net. I'll get back to you promptly as to whether or not your company would be good fit for the event. Also feel free to call my office at 347 346 6650. I would be happy to discuss the visibility options, qualifications, costs to attend or present and answer any questions you may have about the format, audience composition, references, etc.   

Although there are no guarantees, the proven value of the unique “investor-centric” platform that we provide for raising capital is well-established. You can see more than fifty testimonials from other entrepreneurs at
www.privateequityforums.com/entre-test.html. Perhaps the e-mail below from one of the presenting companies in 2010 says it best and very much reflects the feedback that we receive from many of our featured entrepreneurs.

“Thanks Mike. Great event. Best I've ever attended, and most focused and well constructed. Walked away with 27 cards, 4-8 sincere investors advising of interest in investing, and many could not get to talk with us directly at the breakout, as we were too crowded. Caught up with many (investors) at the various opportunities to socialize. Will keep you posted on our success…I will follow your recommendations, as your advice so far has been invaluable. Thanks again.”

Specific citations and copies of actual correspondence on any of our posted testimonials are available upon request.

As I indicated is my prior e-mail, if you are all set with your financing requirements or have other avenues to get funded, please let me know by return e-mail and I will be sure that your company and email-address of REDACTED is taken off my list of potential Presenter candidates. I know that the last thing you need are more e-mails that are not relevant to the matters affecting you business.

If you are currently raising capital and need to take any of the following steps, then you should seriously consider applying to present at this event.       

                                                1) Go outside of your existing network of contacts to find investors.  
             
                                                2) Schedule an expensive national road trip to meet capital sources.         
           
                                                3) Pay to retain an investment banker or placement agent.   
             
                                                4) Find a cost-effective proven venue to locate new investors.        
             
                                                5) Accelerate the funding process to execute your business plan.

                                                6) Move-on, as you are still waiting to hear back from investors,    
                                                    who should have provided the funding you needed by now.        

Please keep in mind that most of our presenting companies have already had some outside funding from Angels or VCs and are at the point where they are ready to begin commercialization or have begun marketing their products, and are not usually "unfunded start-ups" with no sales. We will consider pre-revenue companies that have a clear proprietary advantage in their science, technology or business method and can reach a large addressable market. General presenter qualifications are listed at www.privateequityforums.com/qualifications.html.  

Although we wish it could be, this is not a free event. (I believe that over the years we have clearly demonstrated, as is true with most things in life, it is not what or if you pay, but what you get for what you pay.) We are not part of any non-profit group or government agency and our events are not primarily funded by vendors or service providers, which ensures an “investor-only” venue. Accordingly, companies are required to pay a fee to be featured at the event based upon a number of alternatives, which we try to tailor to the financial situation of each company and may include a partially differed or contingent payment. As every company varies with respect to its financial resources, stage, revenues and funding requirements, we do not have a “one size fits all” structure with respect to fees or visibility options. Our forum could be best described as a co-op for the 12 to 15 companies that present – such as a trade show would be. We underwrite the events and the featured companies share in the overhead cost. They do so because our model ensures them an audience of nearly 100% qualified investors who have paid to attend and whom we disclose in advance.

 

Targeted Outreach to Prospective Investors: You can find a complete index to our current and past registrants below or on the conference website at http://www.starlightinvestments.com/?id=276, indexed by Industry Sector Preferences. If your company is selected to  be a Presenter or Featured Entrepreneur Guest, we can provide you with introductions to any of the firms listed on the conference website, irrespective of their attendance at the upcoming event, adding an important dimension to your ability to reach investors. As you know, in many cases, companies can pay investment bankers up to several hundred thousand dollars in front-end fees and monthly retainers to gain access to these types of investment groups. Companies presenting at this forum gain the same entrée at only a small fraction of that cost, notwithstanding the inherent efficiency of the symposium

 

This highly-targeted venue can help you solve the three biggest problems in the fundraising process: 1) identifying qualified investors, 2) gaining credible entrée to them and 3) meeting them under favorable circumstances. Moreover, the event drives the single most essential factor in getting funded quickly, and that is the ability to create contemporaneous interest among investors – which also can serve to significantly improve deal terms.

Please keep in mind that this event distinguishes itself from many other venues in several key respects. Here are a few of them.

  1)       Nearly 100% of the guests (not connected with the presenting companies) are active investors who have PAID to attend.

  2)       Presenting companies reach a NATIONAL audience of qualified funding sources focusing on early-stage opportunities.

  3)       Only approximately 12 to 15 companies are featured on the program which provides for high visibility to investors.

  4)       The events are not primarily sponsor supported and accordingly NOT heavily populated with service providers.

  5)       There are no concurrent activities or competing presentations. All companies present to the entire audience.

  6)       Companies are never more than 10 to 20 minutes from their breakout sessions after they present.

  7)       These are “deal-oriented” events. There are no panels or other distractions from keeping the spotlight on the presenters.

  8)        The majority of the attendees are PRINCIPALS of the private equity or venture capital firms whom they represent.

  9)       Presenters can plan for the forums in advance as we provide confirmed guest information prior to the conference dates.

10)       Featured companies benefit from the strong brand equity that we have built with investors over nearly 10 years.

11)       Detailed contact information on all attending investors along with follow-up assistance is provided to entrepreneurs.

12)       More than 5 hours networking time is provided to meet “one-on-one” with individual investors and venture capital firm partners.   

To learn more about the event, attending investors, format, pricing, qualifications, etc., please call me and kindly do not send me questions to respond to by e-mail. I have found that preliminary conversation first can save a great deal of time in the back and forth of numerous e-mail exchanges. Thanks for your understanding on this. I am happy to spend whatever time is necessary with you on the phone. As we only have a few of our Presenter slots still available, please contact me as soon as possible if you have an interest in being selected to be on our conference program. To see a list of investment groups who regularly attend our events, please go to www.privateequityforums.com/guests.html.

I look forward to hearing from you and learning more about your funding requirements.

Kindest regards,

Mike Segal, President   

LinkedIn Profile

MJSEGALASSOCIATES

630 W. 246th St. Suite 728

Riverdale, New York 10471

 

Direct Line: 347 346 6650

New York Private Equity Forums
Guest Registry of Investors & Capital Sources
Index
to Select Current and Prior Conference Guests by Industry Sector Preferences

Please select from the sectors below to see the some of the industry preferences of our current registrants and prior attendees. Note that investment groups who indicate a specific focus do not necessarily limit their investments to those sectors. More detailed information is displayed on their websites for which links are provided after clicking on the applicable sector preference. A listing of our registrants' portfolio companies is provided where available. If your company is selected to present, M. J. Segal Associates can provide you with introductions to any of the firms listed on the conference website, irrespective of their attendance at the upcoming event.

 

Select Initial Confirmed Registrants – 2011 National Venture Capital & Angel Investor Forum

(Kindly Note that the Names of Angels, Individual Participants and High Net Worth Investors are not Shown for Privacy and Security Purposes)

 


Adroit Capital

Alerion Partners

Alpha Capital

Bowery Partners LLC (Private Investors)

Angel Capital Group

Ason Associates (Private Investors)

Blue Sky Organic Ventures

BNC Venture Capital Group

Carter Stone & Company (Private Investors)

Centripetal Capital Partners

Cerus Partners

Chiron Capital

City Light Capital

ColumbusNova Investments

Connecticut Innovations

Coral Capital Solutions

CP Capital Group

CRG Capital

Daiwa Investment Management

du Pasquier Asset Management

EarlyBirdCapital

Entrepreneur Partners

Fairridge Venture Partners

First Merger Capital

G.S. Schwartz & Co.

Halo Angels

HarbourVest Partners

Harvest Capital (Private Investors)

HealthCare Finance Group

Heron Capital

Hudson Venture Partners

 


Invesco Private Capital

IQ Venture Partners

iQ Venture Advisors

Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation

Keiretsu Forum

Kuberon Capital

Lanza Tech Ventures

Lenox Hill Partners

Linell Capital

Metamorphic Ventures

Miami Innovation Fund

My first @facebook spam message! Nice sports bra, btw!

2/3/2011

GRRRR: Bleacher report spamming Google News… cc: @mattcutts

2/3/2011

I hate bleacher report for spamming my google news feed with stories they are reblogging from quality sites like Newsday, Posting and Toasting, NYT and ESPN. 

Not only do they just reblog stuff, they do it like 10x a day for the same story!!! 

… and their writing is horrible. 

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English Bulldog

Hello, my name is Jason. Welcome to my blog on the interwebs. You can reach me on twitter @jason and by email at jason@calacanis.com. My Skype is jasoncalacanis, and my mobile phone is 310-456-4900.

I only pick up numbers I recognize, and in terms of emailing me, the best strategy is to write short, blunt and to the point requests. I can quickly respond to short messages, and many times I simply don't have the time to read five page pitches. In terms of taking meetings, I only do that after reviewing an actual product (not a business plan). So, the best time to ping me is when you have mockups or an alpha site. I don't read business plans, and I've never written one.

Other twitter accounts you can follow: Video Games, Open Angel Forum, and LAUNCH Conference & Newsletter

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