Apple, Inc.

I love Apple. I love their attitude; I love their passion, their quality, their fruity colors, their zeal and their founders' genius and arrogance. Steve Jobs, what a piece of work. Let's review; Apple, Pixar, iPod...iPhone, what's Next! :-) and the balls to launch a product that is already owned by over 2 billion people. Like we need another cell phone. However, genius is fun to watch and who else could do this…P.T. Barnum? The iPhone is brilliant and iCannot wait to have one.

I went to high school with Steve. Okay one wish… I wish I had been nicer to Steve and stayed late in electronics class and became friends with him and Woz. Who knows, maybe I could have been an early employee at Apple. Employee 99, that, would have been cool. But no, I had to do the water polo thing for the girls and anyway, I had zero interest in technology...boring!

We all make mistakes. We all make decisions that we can't reverse and, at one time on another wished we could go back to a certain date for a do-over. I have few of those. One in particular is related to stock options and how fast they go up...and down! But that’s a long story.

Making good decisions and learning from that; accepting responsibility and being accountable for whatever may result is a key life success factor. That's maturity. Wishing is like making hope a strategy, dumb! Wishing is a waste of time. I wish I could get a date. I wish I had a better job. I wish I had more money. I wish George Bush would make a good decision. Stop wishing and start doing. Take some action…it’s 100% up to you.

Dreaming is a good idea though. It helps bring clarity to what you want and visualizing is absolutely the right thing to do. However, hoping for a result that favors you or anyone else is a waste of time. Instead, take action, make good, thoughtful decisions and live with the outcome...good or bad. You will make good decisions. You will also make bad decisions that affect your life for years...deal with it. Learn from it and make better decisions and, never look back because you cannot change anything, only learn and grow from it.

Making decisions carefully does not mean be indecisive. A decision not to make a decision is a decision… not to make a decision...really! You can’t help but make decisions, even if you’re a procrastinator.

Apple, Inc. made a decision 2 1/2 years ago to make an Apple phone. They denied it, distracted all of us, avoided announcements and put huge penalties on anyone that leaked. But here we are, with the Apple iPhone ready to sell beginning in June. They still don't have ownership of the name... not that owning the brand name before a big marketing push is important. Only Apple and Steve Jobs would make that decision. I do find the decision to announce a name change interesting though. Apple, Inc. just told the world that computers will be just part of their product mix in the future...not their only product. I for one welcome the new Apple, Inc. as a consumer products company melding technology with digital media. Walt Disney, Henry Ford, meet Steve Jobs.

Thanks Steve…I wish we could have been friends ;)

Turning 40

No, not me...been there, done that.

Turning 40 is indeed a right of passage. Forty is 10 more than 30, 10 less than 50. Kinda like a teenager of middle age.

Generally at forty, you are not anywhere near where you expected to be...geographically, financially, physically, mentally, spiritually or creatively. It's a time to reflect…gez, how pedantic. No, really, it is a good time to take a moment. It’s a good time to think about who you are, who your friends are and re-evaluate what you stand for. It’s a good time to count your blessings and be grateful for what you have, not wallow what you don’t have. It’s a good time to defend your position and assess your first 40. Set new goals, make new friends, and purge that database of meaningless relationships in favor of your new social and business network. Create a profile on MySpace and Linkedin...could be fun! Commit to taking better care of your body, your mind and your spirit and start eating better. Exercise more, read more and drink more red wine. Call your parents more and send a real card through the mail once in a while, and not just at Christmas. People really like that.

I dreaded my 40th. I didn’t get my Porsche. I survived. My wife is turning 40, she doesn’t want a Porsche…imagine that! Kim’s cool though. She looks 30 but is 40. She’s a breath of fresh air. She’s honest, kind to strangers, healthy, happy, and isn't afraid to tell people what she thinks. Happy birthday sweetie, enjoy the next 40.

Sky Diving Over New Zealand

Yup, I'd rather be doing that than this. Moving! After several years of enjoying the "lifestyle" in the Reno-Lake Tahoe region, my wife and I are relocating back to San Francisco for work related reasons. We've decided to keep the house in some weird attempt to stay connected to the area, but truth be told...I'm glad to be back. Back where there is action and energy. I love the mountains and the spirit of the mountain men and women...hardy, appreciative, genunine and huggy. But, I miss the traffic, the long hours, the deals, the congestion. How sick is that? Well....I also miss the restaurants, the intelligence, the creativity and the money. Fine, I admit it, I miss the money and the deals. Did I say I missed the reataurants? Having worked in NYC and San Francisco, I may be more of a city person than I thought. But the move.

Time to purge the junk that comes with owning a large home. How many CRT monitors does one really need to have in the garage? The bigger the home...the more stuff you have. The smaller the home, fewer things are needed. I like that. Small, simple, less stuff. This makes sense. So, there is good to come from this. But the planning and logistical nightmare that comes with moving and purging isn't enjoyable. The fact is, moving sucks. So, that's why I would rather be skydiving over NZ than preparing to move. Stay tuned...

I'd rather raise $50 million than $1 million

Gez, this angel financing thing is grueling. Not that this is a surprise, since I've been raising capital for nearly 25 years. But, it's not always been from small investors. And, I'm not really complaining. I am blogging...not complaining.

It is true though. Raising $50 million from institutional investors is easier than raising $1 million from small private investors. Why? Funds are required to invest and need to talk to guys like me. Angel investors don't. Having said that, the informal angel marketplace is huge and plays a big role in our economy. By the way, our economy is run by small business.

They're just hard to find and generally not in a hurry to write a check. But they do write checks and it is a numbers game.

Howard Shultz, the Chairman of Starbucks, said that he presented to over 278 angel investors when he was starting out. 217 said no. So, on one of my projects, I've only presented to 75, then the Holiday's got in the way and slowed that down. I figure I have 142 more to go before I'm done! If I do 5 a week it will only take me 28.4 weeks, or slightly more than 1/2 a year. No worries. If it's that good of an idea, that market will wait, right?

So, here's a big thank you to America's small investors that accept risk and believe in the possible. No risk, no reward right? So give back and fund an entrepreneur today. It's just money. After all, money is a renewable resource... time and opportunity aren't. One a day is all I ask!

Dining at Michael Mina's In San Francisco

My wife and I had an amazing dining experience this week at Michael Mina restaurant in San Francisco. (See favorite links). Michael's namesake restaurant is one of his two flagships, the other is located at the Bellagio in Las Vegas...the former Aqua. While the Michael Mina Group operates other restaurants, this is my new favorite.

I would love to have the writing talent of a Michael Bauer, the famed SF Chronicle restaurant reviewer. But I don't. So, suffice to say on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, Michael Mina delivered a 12. We were fortunate to experience a hand picked seven course-tasting menu accompanied with a delicious wine paring. They delivered unbelievable food, excellent wine selection and extraordinary service.

Thank you Brian and especially Michael...you've got this fine dining thing down...so, what's next?