DrillSpot.com - very cool company in Boulder

I had the opportunity to meet with Paul Lin at DrillSpot in Boulder CO last week.  What a cool company with a great culture and a disruptive business model.  DrillSpot takes the historic field salesman carrying a huge catalog saying "what do you buy, I can get it cheaper for you" model and spins it on its head. Not only does DrillSpot aggregate thousands and thousands of industrial products online-many others have tried this- they have a depth of product and service levels that are astounding.  


DrillSpot uses state of the art online tools, web tracking, product details, etc etc etc to know their market amazingly well.  What I am so impressed with-having been in a sr. sales and marketing role in this market for 20yrs-is that DrillSpot is running circles around the big boys they compete with and also in some instances use as suppliers.  They have found a way to do what big brother, whose revenues start with a B vs. M (billions/millions) better and more efficiently. DrillSpots RESELLER Rating is 9.3 out of 10 with over 2200 ratings in the last 6 months- amazingly impressive! Same results at many other online rating sites.


The DrillSpot culture and HQ + Paul reminds of of the Zappos model and Tony Hseih.  Check out www.drillspot.com and see what they do for yourself!  DrillSpot is also on the Inc Mag radar. as # 323 of top 500 fastest growing companies last year. 

http://www.inc.com/inc5000/profile/DrillSpot.com
www.drillspot.com

Check them out! I look forward to my next meeting with Paul and his team in August!

KB

River Surfing at its BEST!

I spent most of this week in Colorado meeting with FR clothing distributors and companies in the Oil/Gas drilling and exploration business in Denver and Grand Junction Colorado. Great trip, met some fantastic folks and made some significant progress on multiple initiatives.  On drive back to Denver from Grand Junction I ran across some guys on the side of I-70E in Glenwood Springs who REALLY made me jealous.  Check it out and enjoy!

My Angel Investor Checklist- By James Altucher

Editor’s note: James Altucher is an investor, programmer, author, and entrepreneur. He is Managing Director of Formula Capital and has written 6 books on investing. His latest book he’s giving away free. He built and sold Reset, Inc in 1998 and Stockpickr.com in 2007, among others. You can follow him @jaltucher.

I know through hard experience that I’m one of the dumbest investors I know. Here are two examples: the time I cost Yasser Arafat $2 million (and lost investors another $100 million in the process) and the worst VC decision ever made (of course, it was made by me). Both happened around the same time period (2000-2001) and solidified my reputation in history as possibly the worst investor ever.

However, I learn from my experiences. After a few successful startups following that period (Stockpickr.com notably, which sold to thestreet.com in 2007) I’ve started to do more angel investing and, in doing so, have figured out a check list to help me avoid my prior mistakes. If you follow this checklist I think you can do well as an angel investor.

Everyone trashes angel investors but angels have one critical edge over VC investors: we don’t have to do anything. I don’t have to put any money to work ever if I don’t want to. I can pass on deals all day long. VCs, because its their job, often have a strong financial incentive to eventually (say, over a 5-year period) put money to work since they take fees on the money that’s out there. VCs also have a psychological reason to put money to work. It’s their job. So if they are doing a good job they often feel the need (for better or worse) to put money to work.

The Angel Checklist

1. Invest with co-investors smarter than you. I don’t invest now unless there is a co-investor going in at the same terms as me who has significantly more experience in the field as well as experience with the entrepreneurs we are investing in. I can’t give examples in each case here but with Buddy Media, for example, I went in with many successful co-investors.
2. Invest in CEOs who have done it before. Buddy Media is another great example. I knew Michael Lazerow because after I started Stockpickr he met with me with the possible idea to become CEO. His lock-up after selling Golf.com to Time Warner was coming to an end and he wanted something new to do. Rather than let him be CEO, I blatantly stole all his ideas and then was lucky enough to back him in the venture he shortly thereafter started, Buddy Media. He had already done at least two successful startups so I was confident he knew what he was doing. Another example is Ticketfly where Andrew Dreskin had basically built and sold the same idea before, improved on it, and started again, and had great co-investors. BAM! I couldn’t ask for anything better.
3. Invest in strong demographic trends. 76 million baby boomers are retiring in the next few years. Other than the Internet (and subsidiary to that, Facebook alone) there’s no bigger demographic tidal wave happening in the United States. Personalized medicine is quickly becoming a standard technique for diagnosing and treating the elderly on illnesses ranging from cancer to depression. I look for companies tapping into this demographic trend and co-invest with several biotech investors who have done it successfully dozens of times over. The only thing I make sure is that I get in at their terms. Else, I get back to my mantra: “I’m too stupid to determine if this is a good value for me to get into.”
4. Get in at a low valuation. 1-3 are often good enough. But I like the added flourish of getting a good deal. I pass on about 19 out of every 20 deals I see. Maybe I pass on more. I should keep track of the statistics, but I don’t. There’s no one way to determine if a valuation was low. Clearly Twitter was low at its first round valuation of $20 million. That didn’t seem low to me and would probably have passed if I had the opportunity. Everything depends on the size of the market, what revenues one gets, etc. Again, though, this is related to (1) above. If I can get in where the best investors are getting in, along with other favorable terms (warrant coverage, full ratchet, favorable comps compared with other valuations in the space) then I feel like I have an edge. These deals are out there. The critical thing is sitting on your hands. Again, being an angel, I don’t have to do anything.

If you have 1-4 you almost don’t have to do anything else. If I’m co-investing with Kleiner Perkins I can usually assume their team of MBAs is hard at work doing all the due diligence for me. But often, to provide an extra layer of safety, I do my own work. And here’s the due-diligence checklist. To be honest, this checklist is often more about giving me comfort that I did something intelligent since I don’t really expect to uncover anything new, but every now and then something pops up.

Due diligence checklist

• Talk to CEO
• Talk to heads of sales in each region
• Talk to customers
• Talk to end users (since sometimes the customers are resellers)
• Do background checks on CEO, CFO, heads of sales
• Talk to all of the other investors

Although my general rule of thumb is, I don’t want to have any meetings. You know the secret to a quick meeting? No chairs and no donuts. Even quicker? Just use the phone and stay at home. That’s my meeting of preference.

With the above checklist I actually think angel investors have a strong edge over “professional” venture capital investors. They have a strong network but good angels have a strong network too (particularly with the rise of companies like AngelList). And if you follow rule No. 1 and piggyback with the best venture capitalists, then it’s the best of every world.

And look, the more VCs who make money, the more I will. On top of that, I hope to God we have a pretty strong bubble. Go Groupon!

Kevin Brown www.kbsinsight.blogspot.com 

How to successfully reach your target audience via Facebook- a users guide!

How to successfully reach your target audience via Facebook – a guideline.

Author: Mart Prööm | June 3rd, 2011 |
With nearly half of the marketers (source: Social Media Report 2011) having less than a year’s worth of social media marketing experience it becomes important to share some valuable information that will help businesses develop their social media strategies. What’s likely the most important nuance when you’re marketing through Facebook is to make sure that you are reaching your target audience.

There is nothing worse than having a large Facebook fan base who are all but your target audience. A situation like that usually happens when a business thoughtlessly gives out appealing goods that are not related to their business niche. For example, it gives little benefit to a flower boutique, who’s target audience is a 25-40 year old woman, to have most of their fan base consist of men.  Following these guidelines should help your business reach their target market effectively:

• When your business is giving out prizes or gifts through Facebook campaigns they should be related to your products or better yet – give out your own products. This makes sure that all of the participants have sincere interest in the type of business you’re in and they are most likely to engage with your business after the campaign is over. For example a travel agency should stay away from giving out iPads and should rather focus on gifting exotic travel packages which are desired within its target audience.
• Facebook ads – they should be segmented to reach your buyer personas. The flower boutique should only target 25-40 year old women living in the nearby area.  Facebook also provides a segmentation option which approximates the segmentation, in this case meaning it will also pick some 41 year olds who might be interested in your business.
• Engage your audience in discussions and polls. Start the dialogues but always be ready to jump into any interactions that the fans start on their own.
• It is important to prompt your audience to give feedback. This can help you to fine-tune your marketing and helps to get to know your clients better which will help sales in the long perspective.
• A lot of brands try to directly sell their product. Don’t! It is more effective to create value and build trust with your target audience. If your business can establish that, the sales will follow. Value is often something that will help your buyer personas solve a problem such as a construction material company giving tips about do-it yourself house building. However, selling directly can be effective when the product is actually value itself. A wine store sharing their weekly wine offers works well. Just be sure that you don’t overload the would-be customers with your offers.

Kevin L. Brown www.kbsinsight.blogspot.com

5 LinkedIn Tips You Didn't Know

5 LinkedIn Tips You Didn't Know

BY AMBER MACToday

It may not be as dramatic as Twitter or as ubiquitous as Facebook, but LinkedIn attracts dedicated users who are serious about business. Here's how to connect with them using the fast-growing service's most powerful new tools.

Whether it's Mark Zuckerberg talking about killing pigs or a Hollywood blockbuster under its belt, Facebook has plenty of attention in our lives. Twitter falls into the same camp. From Justin Bieber's noisy 10 million followers to hordes of social media gurus tweeting the benefits of 140 characters or less, it's easy to discover how and what makes Twitter work. However, there is one social network that lacks drama but makes up for it with a devoted business community and plenty of compelling features.

Here are five LinkedIn tips you should try today.

1. Use "Signal" to discover relevant news and information

When you're logged in to LinkedIn, take a tour of a new-ish feature called Signal. This tool lets you easily monitor updates within your network, but more importantly you can filter information so you can also see what people in your extended circle (2nd and 3rd connections) are posting. You can also do the same filtering by industry or location, so you can weed through the noise.

2. Export your connections

Go to "My Connections" to view a list of all your LinkedIn contacts. This address book is a really handy way to get email addresses and updated information, but most importantly you can export this list. At the bottom of the page click "Export Connections," which will put all this contact info in a format suitable for your address book (Micorsoft Outlook, Yahoo! Mail, etc.).

3. Create a resume

If you've already filled out your LinkedIn profile information, it's easy to use it to create a foundation for a resume. The Resume Builder will suck in your professional past and you can use any of the pre-built templates to make it look good. From an Executive style presentation to a more casual layout, this tool will take some of the pain out of the resume building process. You can export the resume, share it easily, and edit as you wish.

4. Start and use groups

While, unlike Twitter, you might not find celebrities hanging out, you will find a wealth of relevant conversations within LinkedIn groups. Creating a group in a cinch and a great opportunity to jump-start a good business chat. If you don't know what group to join, click on "Groups You May Like" to get you started. To learn more about the benefits of Groups and what LinkedIn has planned for this feature in the future, visit their online tutorial.

5. Customize your URL

Custom domain names have been all the rage for a while on Facebook, but you can do the same on LinkedIn. Visit the "Edit Profile" tab and click "Public Profile" at bottom left. Once you're on this page, on the far right you will see "Your current URL." This is where you can customize your LinkedIn domain name so you can better brand your account.

Kevin Brown www.kbsinsight.blogspot.com

How to follow up your news releases and story pitches

By Joan Stewart | Posted: May 26, 2011  http://ow.ly/541W9  

Can you remember a story idea you pitched a year ago that resulted in no news coverage of any kind?

If so, how quickly could you respond if a reporter called you today wanting to cover the story? Would you start groping for words or asking stupid questions like, “Who did you say you wanted to interview?” Or would you be ready on a second's notice?
Sound ludicrous? Well, it happened to publicist Jill Lublin, who knew how to handle it, and it could happen to you, too.

A few years ago, Lublin pitched an idea about one of her clients, a professional speaker, to  Meeting Planner magazine. Despite several follow-ups, she never got a response.

“Then one year later—count 'em—365 days later, I got a call and this reporter said, 'Yes, we want to do the story, and by the way, tomorrow. Are you ready?' And of course the answer is yes, you're always ready when the media calls.” That's valuable advice regarding follow-ups; never assume a story pitch is dead.

Lublin, co-author of the book  Guerrilla Publicity, also says:

• When following up, remember The Rule of Seven. That means you should follow up seven times, using a combination of phone calls and emails, before you stop contacting journalists. But always be ready in case they call you.

• Never follow up on routine news releases announcing things like promotions or awards you've won, or they'll view you as a pest. Your efforts are better spent following up on larger stories you have pitched.

• When following up, concentrate on benefits. Explain how the idea you are pitching is the solution to a problem—and do it quickly, in less than 30 seconds.

• When you call or email, don't say, “Did you get my press release?” or “I'm following up on a call I made two weeks ago.” Jill says: “I typically will say, 'I sent you some information.' That’s my code word for press release. What I have found when talking to the media is they hate when you call them up and say, 'Did you get the press release?' What they love is for you to talk about the information in terms of how it can be readily used by them, and why they would care. Really. That’s the bottom line. Why would they care?”

• When following up, never, ever ask a reporter to alert you when the story is printed, or to send you a certain number of copies of the story. It’s your job to monitor the publications, then call the circulation department and order however many copies you want. Expect to pay for them. 

Lublin shared dozens more tips for follow-ups during a live teleseminar called "Failproof Ways to Follow Up After Sending a News Release or Pitch Letter." 

Kevin Brown www.kbsinsight.blogspot.com 

The Most Expensive Bottle of Pinot Noir Ever Sold

The Most Expensive Bottle of Pinot Noir Ever Sold | May 19th 2011 Wine Spectator http://ow.ly/50Y6s

• We all know about Asian buyers bogarting the Bordeaux at auctions these days but Burgundy's top bottle is coming to America. A private U.S. collector took the top lot at the Christie’s fine-wine auction in Geneva, Switzerland, May 17, scoring a 1945 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée-Conti for an eye-popping $123,899, besting the high estimate by more than 50 percent and shattering the world record for the highest price ever reached for a 750ml bottle of Burgundy at auction. Take that Hong Kong. The bottle comes with stellar provenance: It was originally donated by DRC owner Aubert de Villaine to Christie’s for a charity auction in Geneva in 2007, where it was bought and remained impeccably stored until this week, when it hit the block again to make history. Only 600 bottles of this end-of-war Romanée-Conti were ever made, and the 1945 vintage represents the final harvest from ungrafted pre-phylloxera vines. The entire Romanée-Conti vineyard was uprooted in 1946 and did not produce wine again until the 1952 vintage, which currently averages a mere $7,600 per bottle on the Wine Spectator Auction Index.

• Last week, Unfiltered brought you news of the auction of Bernie Madoff's wine cellar, which had been confiscated by the FBI and U.S. Marshals Service following his conviction for swindling billions of dollars out of investors in his Ponzi scheme. Despite the questionable provenance of the cellar's contents, wine lovers are still buying what Bernie Madoff is selling—well, technically, what the federal government is selling. Despite an estimated value of $15,000 to $21,000, the sale realized $41,530, with 100 percent of the lots sold and 54 of the 59 up for bidding exceeding their high estimates. But it wasn't the trophy wines driving up the tally (a bottle of 1975 Pétrus sold for just $900; the 1964 Cheval-Blanc garnered just $550). It was apparently the novelty of owning booze that once belonged to America's most infamous white-collar criminal that drove up prices on all the lower-end items confiscated from his cellar: A case of Veuve-Clicquot Brut Champagne Yellow Label Non-Vintage (about $450 retail at Unfiltered's local wine shop) sold for $1,500; a handful of 2-ounce airplane bottles of Smirnoff vodka, Bombay gin and Grand Marnier, valued at $10, sold for an astounding $300. As shocking as it may be that people are still jumping at the chance to overpay for Madoff investments, the money is at least going to a worthy recipient this time around, via the U.S. Department of Justice Asset Forfeiture Fund. “The proceeds from this auction are going toward compensating Madoff’s victims, so we couldn't be happier with the results,” said Kimberly Janis, auction director for Morrell & Co.