Yee-Haw!

Happy Halloween!! For the first time in several years, I'm actually donning a costume. Why? Because our dear friends/sponsors at American Airlines generously invited Calixto and me to join them tonight at the Waldorf for Bette Midler's benefit event, MC'd by Kathy Griffin, for the NY Restoration Project. Yep, you heard me: Waldorf. Bette. Kathy. Lions. Tigers. And Bears. Oh my! You're probably thinking I'm going all out and wearing some fabulous, outrageous outfit. Not so, my naive amigo. That would not be the prudent way to go for an entrepreneur on a budget. Instead, I'm going as a cowgirl. Giddy-up! I have a cowboy hat and cute-as-pie cowgirl shirt from Halloween '07. Plus, I bought a lasso and new red bandanna at Ricky's; throw on some jeans, put the hair in low pigtails, dot some freckles and off I go. Of course, I don't think Michael Kors, the costume judge, is going to present me the 'Halloween Runway' award and, if Heidi Klum were there, she'd probably say, "Auf Wiedersehen", but that's not the point. The point simply is to participate, celebrate, enjoy and not exit with costume buyer's remorse. Plus, tomorrow, I'm speaking to a class at Brooklyn College about multicultural marketing. So, I can't go too bananas (not that I would do that with sponsors anyway...please, I'm a pro-fess-i-on-al). Okay, I need to get back to work. I just got off the phone with the agency for a potential sponsor and before I get all 'Joanna Wayne', I need to customize a proposal. So, I'm off. Have a great Halloween, remember not to eat too many candy corn or your stomach will rebel, and entertain yourself by counting how many Sarah Palins you see (I already know there's at least one at my table tonight!).
~ Liz
(P.L.H.H.)

Be Like Mike!

What a day! I spent the vast majority of the AM and early PM preparing for a meeting with my friend, Mike, who works at a top investment bank that focuses on media. Mike's already been a HUGE help to us by introducing me to an executive at Comcast; that introduction led to Comcast's request for a Jan. '09 meeting to discuss a potential VOD partnership. Yowsers! Okay, focus...back to Mike. So, I presented him the revised investor presentation, which reflected our modified strategy. Over the course of the past year or so, we recognized we had to rethink some of the revenue streams. It turns out NOT doing that kind of evaluation is a classic entrepreneurial mistake. Mike mentioned many entrepreneurs get so fixated on their ideas and so mired in the day-to-day details of trying to get the business off the ground, they don't take the time to step back and consider the big picture, i.e., evaluate progress, viability of the original strategies, new opportunities, industry research, etc. Go us! Anyhoo, I was a bit nervous to show Mike the proposal b/c I have a huge amount of respect for him and, as I mentioned, he's been immensely helpful; I just wanted to validate his efforts by showing we know what we're doing and can articulate why and how we're going to make Cinedulce a success. And, guess what?? He said it was great! More importantly, he thinks we totally made the right decisions in terms of the refined approach and thinks we're right on target. I mean, talk to me! Next steps: he's going to make a few more key introductions and, in the meantime, we're going to keep trucking along. We need to keep building and, hopefully, by the time we reach potential investors in Q1 '09, we'll have an even stronger story with even stronger proofs of concept. When that time comes, he may even have some investor intros for us. Here's the thing. Although Mike is amazingly generous and supportive, there is a potential business upside for him: when the time comes to sell this baby in 5 +/- years (our 'exit strategy' as the investment biz likes to call it), Mike's firm will hopefully handle the sale. Nothing like looking towards the future, huh? ;) So, all in all, we pretty much love Mike. As the old Gatorade ad went, everyone should "Be Like Mike". And, if you don't know what I'm talking about, you're either too young or too oblivious to pop culture since that Mike is arguably the most famous athlete of our generation (and, no, it's not Michael Phelps..jeez!). ;)
Lator gators,
Liz
(P.L.H.H.)

Catch a Rising Star...

When I was at the Latin Convergence Conference two weeks ago, I was approached by this recent college graduate, Maria. I swear to you, it was one of those "aha!" moments when I knew I was meeting a future rock star in the PR/marketing business. Do you realize how much confidence and presence it takes for a 21 year-old (much less anyone) to bust into a business conference and introduce herself to random executives? Think about it...take another minute, it's cool...yeah, exactly: not so easy. AND, she met a TON of people, including her potential future employers, who asked her to interview the following week. Anyhoodles, I agreed to have coffee with her this week to jabber about what I do, how I got here (wherever 'here' is), provide some advice and insights, etc. I literally jumped at the chance. It might sound odd since this was clearly for her benefit, but, for some reason, I feel compelled to mentor Maria - or, at least, support her in any way I can (e.g., putting in a good word where she's interviewing). It's just so inspiring to meet a young woman who's so together, bright, self-assured and hardworking. Plus, she's a peach so, net-net, she's going to be a dream come true for any employer. All of that aside, she seemed genuinely impressed by my professional tale, which was borderline shocking to me considering how non-traditional and circuitous it's been. I guess it's about perspective, right? Maybe she sees in me what I see in her - a positive, persevering woman who's following her heart. All I know is Maria is fabulous and I wish her great success. And, her employers better hold on tight b/c when I have the money, I'm coming to poach her. As the old saying goes, you have to catch a star on the rise or on the decline, but never on top...too expensive. ;)
~ Liz
(P.L.H.H.)

Boo!

Join the Cinedulce spookfest by watching these new, Halloween-inspired “On the Edge” thrillers. Just don’t blame us if you get the creepy-crawlies!

– Sandman’s Box – When dares go wrong…gross!
– Day at the Theater – Day of the Dead meets Charlie Chaplin
– Sunday Afternoon - – Episode 2 of Day at the Theater
– Rhyme Animal – Hip-hop meets horror anime
– Simulator – When robots attack…look out!

Click here to watch!

Risk/Reward

After writing yesterday's blog, I had lunch with an old friend of mine, David, who started a company many years ago and essentially sold it 2x over. Pretty damn impressive. We should all be so lucky. That's the upside. The downside is an inherent risk of selling your baby: the new parent may not agree with your vision for and approach to growth. Plus, your real executive/leadership responsibilities may be stripped away from you (regardless of the fancy title you receive). That's a tough one on the ego, if nothing else. I understand if a much larger organization wants to take your small/mid-size company to the next level and management feels you may not have that large-scale experience to handle the job. Totally viable. But, that really wasn't the case with Dave. In his case, I think management just made poor decisions and disregarded the very strategies that made David and his company successes in the first place. I mean, how goofy is that?? Going back to the upside, however, I think the reward of a newly inflated bank account and normal sleep patterns have at least partly assuaged David's bruised ego. Nothing like a shopping spree and some shut-eye to put you on the sunny side of the street...
~ Liz
(P.L.H.H.)

Why me?

I was reading this piece in yesterday's Business Section of the New York Times that struck a chord. It was a brief interview with Guy Kawasaki, a best-selling author on entrepreneurship who just wrote a new book, "Reality Check". One of the questions was about what traits or behaviors are immediate tip-offs that someone has the entrepreneurial gene. Interesting question. Guy's response: "The more I meet with entrepreneurs the less I think I can pick them. Sure, there are stereotypes: bright, aggressive, enthusiastic, young, etc. But, there are many successful entrepreneurs who don't come off this way...I have come to believe that almost everyone has the entrepreneurial gene - it's been necessary for survival for thousands of years. The issue is whether that gene gets expressed..." And then, in response to a separate question about his advice to entrepreneurs seeking funding or growth opps. in this crappy economy (uh, my wording there), he responds, "My advice is that they melt wax into their ears and go forward. If they are waiting for wonderful credit and capital markets, they probably aren't entrepreneurs." I repeat, interesting. Of course, this made me think: why is it that I and both of my olders brothers are entrepreneurs? What is it about how we were raised and/or how we're wired that we felt inspired, maybe even compelled, to trust our guts, dig deep down and venture onto that road less traveled? Nature vs. nurture. I'm still considering my answer, but I can offer what I've concluded, thus far. I agree with Guy - almost everyone has that entrepreneurial gene; it's called having dreams. We all have dreams. It's just about what happens along the journey of life that does or does not drive us (or, in many cases, allow us) to chase those dreams. So, one of my conclusions is we all have the 'nature', but strong nurturing can provide the environment, the context, in which to explore that nature. More specifically, my parents instilled in all 3 of us an extremely strong work ethic, sound moral compass, healthy sense of competition and appreciation for teamwork (sports also helped with those) and the confidence to fail. That last one is important - we can't all be the best, or even good, at everything we do. But, don't let that stop you: give it the old college try. Worst case scenario, you may learn a thing or two...including that failing is not the end of the world. It may even lead to the beginning of something new, something better. Many years ago, I started a boutique entertainment marketing firm, Garnish, which did okay, but, more importantly, led to the festival and, ultimately, Cinedulce. So, I don't view Garnish as a failure, but rather a crucial leg in my journey to where I am today. I also think entrepreneurship takes a bit of childlike enthusiasm and naivete. That is, if all self-starters knew how hard it was going to be -- financially, physically and, maybe most of all, emotionally -- I bet a good % would reconsider. And for those repeat offenders? Masochistic adrenaline junkies. Did I tell you how after Calixto and I make our millions from Cinedulce I want to get involved with arts and underprivileged youth?? ;)
~ Liz
(P.L.H.H.)

Onward and upward...

So, interesting stuff happened at week's end. First off, we have potential interest from a major QSR (quick service restaurant) with both the NY Int'l Latino Film Festival and Cinedulce. It's early, of course, but they get it and that's the first step. Super groovy. Then, courtesy of our good friend, Nero, I had a great meeting with a major, Spanish-language radio station in NYC. It'd be super to have them on board for the festival, so fingers crossed. Plus, media partners are great b/c they tend to help with sponsorship. You know, they go out to their advertisers and try to sell them in for a media buy + event sponsorship. So, in essence, media partners can serve as sales agencies. Who doesn't love that??
So, as I like to say, onward and upward...
~ Liz
(P.L.H.H.)