Monthly Archives: January 2012

Payroll Hero Accepted To TechStars’ JFDI in Singapore

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Payroll Hero was accepted to be a part of the JFDI incubator program based in Singapore.  The program starts tomorrow but unfortunately we were unable to make all of the details work.  These types of programs put a small amount of cash into a business, provide education and mentoring in exchange for a small equity stake in the company.  JFDI has a solid line up, but Payroll Hero’s schedule and plans did not allow us to come to an arrangement that worked for both parties, but we are very honored to be chosen to participate.

Looks like JFDI has a solid intake and we wish all of the companies the best of luck.

Payroll Hero House Comes To An End

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Yesterday was the last day of the rental agreement with the owners of the Payroll Hero house in Cow Hollow. It was time to pack up the house and return it to the owners so that they could move back in. So, we did just that, we packed up what we have accumulated in San Francisco and packed it into a UHaul so that I could drive it back up to Vancouver. Yesterday, at about 9am, Bryan Garcia and I got into the UHaul and took off for Vancouver. The original plan was to stop somewhere mid way along the i5, but as we got rolling, we just never stopped. I ended up driving the whole way, 15 hours, back to Vancouver, arriving late last night.

But, this is not the end for us in San Francisco, actually only the beginning. The idea of the 4 month stay in San Francisco was to decide where we needed to be, San Francisco, Manila, Vancouver, Whistler? ? We have decided to put a presence into San Francisco (along with a BC office) and we are working on the details of that now. So, watch for more information as we get settled.

Startup Exits: Early Stage M&A

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I attended a meetup at Rocket Space in downtown San Francisco the other night on the topic of startup exits. It was a sold out event that was full of great information. The panelists and entrepreneurs talked about the importance of networking, connecting with companies CTOs and to continually meet up with VCs and Angels as a way of expanding your network. They panelists did talk about how deals came their way but basically agreed there is no one way. They learn about companies through their network, VCs, Angels, other entrepreneurs and bankers. All in all it was a solid event. Here is who was in the line up:

Keynote: Jack Abraham, co-founded and sold Milo to eBay for $75M

Fireside Chat: Aydin Senkut, Managing Director, Felicis VC “Thoughts On The Exit From A VC’s Perspective”

Panelists:
Ilya Fushman, Corporate Development, Dropbox
Tom Duterme, Corporate Development, Groupon
Tim Carlson, Corporate Development, eBay
Ken Gullicksen, Corporate Development, Evernote
Nathan Beckord, Principal, VentureArchetypes Startup Advisors (Moderator)

DEMO Party: San Francisco

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I had the opportunity to attend the DEMO party in San Francisco a few days ago. It was an outstanding event that was over the top (in a good way). They went with an Austin Powers theme and did not hold back with the decorations, staff and extras. Here are a few pictures from the event:

(At the entrance to the event, there was a fog machine posted over the doorway with the DEMO logo shooting against it. To get in, you walked through the fog)

(There were quite a few companies showing up their new products)

(All of the waitresses were in this same costume)

50 Coffees: Mark Goines of Morgenthaler

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Mike and I met up with Mark Goines and Kyle Doherty of Morgenthaler today in downtown San Francisco.  Mark was introduced to us through Kartik Raghavan as someone we should chat with as he has lots of domain expertise in the payroll / tax world.

“Prior to joining Morgenthaler, Mark was a successful angel investor. His investments included two Morgenthaler portfolio companies, Pageonce and Practice Fusion. He currently represents Morgenthaler on the Practice Fusion board.  Previously, Mark helped build and ran Intuit’s Consumer Tax business (TurboTax). He also served as Senior Vice President of Intuit’s International Division, managing businesses on every continent, creating new products, acquiring companies and building partnerships. He then served as General Manager of Intuit’s Consumer Division and helped generate over $200 million in annual revenues, serving 15 million customers across a broad range of software and e-commerce services by 2000.” (source)

(50 Coffees)

Get Clarity – Get Advice From Entrepreneurs, Support Charities

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I have had the opportunity to meet up with fellow Canadian Dan Martell a few times while in San Francisco and at one point, Dan showed me his new venture – Clarity.fm.  The idea is simple – bring together people willing to give advice, with people looking for advise, and charge a fee that goes to charity. “Clarity makes it easy to connect with others looking for advice over the phone. The service is all mobile, is private and secure, has some amazing features that make it fast and delightful.”

Want check it out?  You can see my Clarity profile here.  Interested in speaking with Dan Martell, you can reach him here.  How about Jason Billingsley, Saul Colt or Hiten Shah you can reach them all here.  There are tons of entrepeneurs involved and the system works really well.  It is a simple way to quickly engage with someone in your field or in the area of expertise that you are looking for.  Check it out and sign up here – http://clarity.fm