Ask El Diablo

[El Diablo]

OK, this is the catch-all place to ask any random question. I'll get to as much as I can.

Here's a well thread (http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Number=6948595) that is more focused on me and my poker that might be of interest to some in terms of background.

I don't want this thread to be about me, though. What I really had in mind was a place for people to ask questions about stuff you think I might be able to answer on topics like:

Restaurants
Alcohol
SF and NYC
Business
Business Travel
Startups
Venture Capital

and any other random crap you've seen me spout off about on these forums.

I get a ton of PMs asking questions like this, many of which I don't get around to. I figure I can tackle more questions this way.

[edfurlong]

What do you squat?

[chopstick]

El Diablo -

I have some questions regarding small family-owned "ethnic" restaurants in NYC. Is this something that you are qualified to comment on, or do you mostly stick to the mid and high end establishments? My questions relate to both the business aspects and some food questions. I am especially interested in Jamaican cuisine/locations.

[fish2plus2]

Are you self employed?
If so, how are you able to get business? Word of mouth?
Youve said before that you run software start ups. Can you give an example of one of these companies and how you helped it succeed, and an example of one company that failed and why you feel it failed?
What are some non-software venture capital investments have you made?
Someone asked you before where to go for graduate school, and you said nowhere, can you expand on this?
How often do you pick up chicks in hotel bars?
Have you been/vacationed in any third world countries? If so, what did you like/dislike and think about them in general?

[Reef]

plz post picture of you without mask?

[AJFenix]

Hey D,

Any advice on apartment/condo searching in good areas of big cities? What is the best way to go about it, what are some specific things you would make sure of, and what are some red flags and things that should be avoided?

[PartyGirlUK]

Hey D,

Im hopefully gonna be faced with a decision where to spend the next few years studying. It might come down to some combo of Chicago/Stanford/Berkeley/Harvard/MIT, hopefully. As a man of much travel, who lives in San Fran, what are your thoughts on what I should do?

[JaBlue]

What are some good (re: INTERESTING) business-related job opportunities for an 18 year old kid in the bay area? Pay is not important so long as it covers travel/food. I had one with a small firm called Vega Capital that I ended very poorly a while ago because the boss failed to keep up his end of our agreement. I have no resume but anyone that knows me knows that I am smart and work more efficiently than just about anyone when motivated.

[El Diablo]

AJ: Everyone I know in the last few years who has rented has gone through either friends or craigslist, both with much success. My experience is just in SF and NYC, though, where it's a completely ridiculous process. I imagine it's still a lot easier in most places. Only thing I'd really recommend is talking to people who actually live in the area.

Reef: I'm just a normal looking dude. Who needs more pictures of dudes?

chop: I love going to small places like that, but I don't know any Jamaican places in NYC. In NYC I'm generally going to nicer places since I'm usually travelling, but in SF I eat regularly at many local places like that.

ed: I haven't been squatting for the last three years or so since a really bad soccer ankle injury. I've never squatted huge amounts, though.

f2: Very good questions. I'll come back and respond later.

[milliondollaz]

Web 2.0 questions;

What are the best sites you have found for web based collaboration?

Do you see more players entering this market, and being able to survive?

If you wanted to enter this market, would you look for revenue from charging for the collaboration services, or have it ad-based and try to get traffic?

Are you involved in any companies that will have a presence at the Web 2.0 Expo (http://www.web2expo.com/) in San Fran?

would you buy GOOG right now at $495?

Also, being an individual, how to you go about brokering deals with large corporations? Heavily rely on reference? What if you don't have any?

[DCopper04]

Diablo,

Think you could use the quote feature here? I'm sure you know that Ask Me threads are much more difficult to read if the question is not repeated right before the answer.

Also, how come you never use the quote feature? I know you often put other people's words in quotations, but it seems that hitting the quote button would be much easier.

[jgorham]

Hey El D,

My plan for the next couple years is to play poker to make as much money as I can, then grow sick of it. At that point my goal is to start my own business. I don't have a particular type of business I want to start, I just really think that running a business of any kind would be extremely rewarding for the type of person I am.

Problem is I majored in political science and have no real business experience. Not only do I feel behind the curve, I also can't really afford to get jobs besides poker in the near future. If it matters I am 22 and graduating in March. What books would you recommend I read to start my mind thinking about business decisions the right way, as well as what other recommendations might you have to help me along this path?

[Ray Zee]

el d.

i recently had an expensive bottle of wine and it had a plastic cork. good cork is hard to get but an expensive wine using plastic corks?

[Abones]

El D,

Have you ever read a book titled "Monster - The autobiography of an L.A. gang member"

If so, did you enjoy it?

If not, would you consider reading it based on the title? What if someone recommended it to you, assuming you have some regard for the recommender.

[Borodog]

[ QUOTE ]
el d.

i recently had an expensive bottle of wine and it had a plastic cork. good cork is hard to get but an expensive wine using plastic corks?

[/ QUOTE ]

Ray,

My wife runs a Wine Meetup group that goes to restaurants and wineries etc., tastes wines and listens to lectures about wines/wineries/wine making/etc. She had an event recently and the wine somalier talked about this very topic. It turns out that there is nothing wrong with synthetic corks, and in fact, it delivers a better, less variable product. Without a real cork, there is far less chance that a bottle can be "corked." Guy seemed to know his [censored], so I'm inclined to believe him.

[Rick Nebiolo]

[ QUOTE ]
El D,

Have you ever read a book titled "Monster - The autobiography of an L.A. gang member"

If so, did you enjoy it?

If not, would you consider reading it based on the title? What if someone recommended it to you, assuming you have some regard for the recommender.

[/ QUOTE ]

I read it about 12 years ago. If I recall correctly it was a very fast read, enjoyable and hard hitting; just skimmed some Amazon reviews and I'd say I concur with most of them.

Even though it was written in 1993 I'd say it isn't really dated if you want to get a feel for hard core gang life in general from the inside.

~ Rick

PS I recommended mid priced wine in 3 liter boxes for small dose drinking before bedtime so I doubt El D has much regard for my opinion /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[goofball]

If you could make two books required reading for every adult american which two would you choose and why?

How do I get someone to give me money to start my own gymnastics school? (or any business without the potential for 1000x% growth)

[jackdaniels]

When I opened 2p2 today there was a menu item called "El Diablos General Discussion Forum" - or something like that listed. Once I logged in, this menu item disappeared and the only way to get to this forum was to use the link in OOT.

What happened?

[samjjones]

Diablo - my wife is a complete retard when it comes to money management. For example, instead of maximizing a 401K with matching company contribution, she will put $5K in a CD and make $120 in a year. Her justification is "you can't touch the 401K for another 35 years anyway!"

I love her dearly, but I'm afraid that she will never understand the concept of compound interest. What should I do?

[mmbt0ne]

ED,

I meant to pm you this question recently: Let's say your company goes for 2 rounds of VC. First they get $10M from Sequoia, then $24M from some angel. Is company ownership split up at the time of each deal (so S could get say 30% for their 10M while A would get 20$ for their 24M) or is it all split up at the end according to what was put up?

- mmbt

[Kneel B4 Zod]

what's your feeling on using frequent flier miles and/or Amex Membership Reward points?

I used to think that if a plane ticket would cost > $300, it was worth using 25k miles to get it for free. Now, I feel like there are so many restrictions, I'm just happy if I can use the miles, almost regardless of how much the ticket would cost.

or, should I be saving all the miles for some kind of awesome trip?

note: I have about 100k in Membership Rewards points, and perhaps another 100k scattered across a few other airline groups

[JohnAndersen]

El D,

I was wondering if you had any experience with restaurants in Paris and if so, what would you recommend? I will be traveling there in the next couple months.


- John

[Gildwulf]

El D,

What exactly makes the perfect sushi roll?

[Kneel B4 Zod]

I'm not Diablo, but I've been to Paris a bunch!

the restaurants in Paris tend to be fantastic. rather than give you specific recommendations, I'm just going to give you some general thoughts:

1 - Relax. Parisians move at a different speed than Americans, and this behavior is clearly exhibited in restaurants. You could sit at a cafe for 3 hours and nobody would look twice. So relax, and don't expect the check to come, and order coffee and linger over it after you are done eating.

2 - wine and cheese. These are both quasi-indulgences in America that are standard in Paris. Even after adjusting for the Euro, you can find fantastic bargains in both these areas. You'll obviously have a lot of choices wrt to wine, so it may behoove you to do some research on French wines before you go so you can have an idea what to order. Cheese more typically just comes in a plate - you normally won't have a whole list to order from - but order it! France is the cheese capital of the world, and Paris is probably the best place to take advantage of it.

3 - Regions. France has a lot of distinct food regions w/ different styles. Often times the best styles are found in those regions (ie Provencal, or Mediterranean, etc) but Paris has great examples of all kinds. Try to figure out what styles interest you the most, and ask your hotel for examples of these close to you.

4 - Notwithstanding what I said above, stumbling around random cafes and enjoying coffee, wine, dessert, etc is my #1 favorite thing to do in Paris. walk around the city, and when you're tired, hop into a cafe for 1 of the above. and linger. it's what Parisians do.

5 - enjoy! it's my favorite city in Europe to visit.

[ahnuld]

El D,

I have a second round interview this week with Fidelity Investments and have no idea what to expect. Can you give me some sort of idea what second round interviews are like in the finance industry or maybe business in general? What percentage of final round candidates get selected (maybe too firm specific)? Any questions that I should expect or specific ways to prepare?

[fire_fly]

[ QUOTE ]
el d.

i recently had an expensive bottle of wine and it had a plastic cork. good cork is hard to get but an expensive wine using plastic corks?

[/ QUOTE ]

Being from a winemaking family I think I can handle this one.

I'm sure it wasn't a plastic cork, but a composite one. This means real cork mixed with something synthetic, with the end result being fewer corked bottles, even when they sit in your wine cellar for twenty plus years.

[gilbert]

El Diablo,

sup bro?

[Subfallen]

Le Diable,

What field of research do you see yielding the most important results over the next two decades?

Also: if you were forced to devote the rest of your life to a research niche, which would you choose?

Thanks!

P.S. Thx for recommending J.M. Roberts's History of the World a while back when I asked for a history text. Great read.

[eviljeff]

[ QUOTE ]
El D,

What exactly makes the perfect sushi roll?

[/ QUOTE ]

cold hands

[imitation]

El Diablo how did you find your passions in business, life etc. I'm stuggling to find anything that really excites me in life recently after poker became unavailable from China for the last 6mths, and the general advice is do something you love.

I wonder if I should just drift around at this age(23) doing university, working crappy jobs, filling time with lazy hobbies and that one day something will inspire me to work hard at or if successful people find there passions through a more active approach.

How did you find your passions or motivations?

I hope my question is clear.

Thanks Imitation

[Jcrew]

El D,

How much should one tip for pizza delivery service? Is it a function of the number of pizzas you get or the total cost? Maybe just a standard flat rate?

[inferno]

I suck at life, tips?

[danzasmack]

El Diablo,

I have "lived" in NYC for about 5 years now. Can you name 5 things to do in NYC that you assume I haven't done/should do? This could include "eat at _____", but not all 5.

[Dids]

Diablo,

Can you imagine a ballpark figure of how much money 2p2 might have "left on the table" by not being more aggressive in using the forums as a moneymaking tool in the past 3 years?

[Pete H]

What's in your opinion best single malt based on price/value ratio?

What's best tasting whisky you've tried?

What's the most expensive whisky you've tried?

I bought a bottle of Macallan fine oak 18yo mainly based on your whisky thread. I liked it very much, so what's the next Macallan I should get?

[eurythmech]

El D, I noticed you're a Pixies fan, something with you listening to them among other artists while running.
Soooo...you can't be totally lost when it comes to musical taste.

Do you listen to a lot of recent bands / go to shows etc?
I usually get my musical recommendations from indie style magazines or friends with similar taste in music.

So I figure, f it, El D might have something in store for me that I wouldn't be very likely to run into otherwise.

A few more artists I like, just to give a small hint:

Velvet Underground, the Beatles, Tori Amos, the Smiths, New Order, Suede, the New Pornographer...I really should stop now /images/graemlins/smile.gif But those are some of the more well known (I imagine) in the US.

I appreciate any input.

[fish2plus2]

Jgor,

Learn to plumb.

Imitation: "How did you find your passions or motivations?"

I actually talked to Diablo about this about a month ago when I was having a quarter life crisis. He sat me down on AOL IM, and told me the following story of what he called "his awakening". I dont remember every detail, but it was something like this:

I was just a 18 year old kid back then, probably not unlike you, except maybe better looking. My parents dropped me off at the Rice University Dormitory. It was my freshmen year. I will never forget that day because it was freezing cold and pouring raining, and while standing inline, a bunch of my co-eds were wearing white t-shirts. At some point or another, their tshirts all ended up getting wet. First I could see the color of their bras. Next, I was able to make out the imprints of their nipples. It was at this time that I felt really funny in my pants. It was on this day August 12, 1991 that I found both my passion and motivation in life.

[NajdorfDefense]

[ QUOTE ]
El Diablo,

I have "lived" in NYC for about 5 years now. Can you name 5 things to do in NYC that you assume I haven't done/should do? This could include "eat at _____", but not all .

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not El D, but

1) Frick Museum, Brooklyn Art Museum/Botanical Gardens. Frick has 3 Vermeers in it, plus some other greats, and is just a stunning 'house,' see what rich guys lived like in the old days.

2) Met/NYC Opera. La Boheme/Magic Flute/Tosca, etc. Even if you just go once, at least go...once. You might like it.

3) Yankees game/Bronx zoo. Great spring/summer events also good 'date' things to do.

4) Qualifying rounds at US Open. Go early, you get to see the stars of tomorrow [and some of yesterdays/current recovering from injury] and see Federer/Roddick/Maria/Venus practice while sitting in the front row.

5) Shakespeare in the Park - another must-do, the talent there is usually quite high both on-stage and off.

The weekly, free outdoor movies in summer, in Bryant Park is also a ton of fun, get there early, bring food & drink, invite some female friends, can't go wrong.

[colgin]

El D,

Recall that about a year ago in a discussion on real estate and the housing bubble you noted that you had some smart friends in New York City who had sold and were sitting on the sideline waiting for prices to come back down.

I have been a firm believer in a national housing bubble and feel vindicated by recent price adjustments nationally. However, in NY prices have stayed pretty much firm notwithstanding lots of new condo units coming online.

Late last year things seemed to soften a bit here but now seem to be picking up in terms of sales activity although I don't see price increases really occurring. Part of the increased activity probably has to do with record Wall St. bonuses but I htink a lot has to do with a lot of people who were on the sdieline last year throwing in the towwel and looking to buy.

Curious what your views are and whatthe views are of your smart NY friends. Are these people still waiting or are they starting to buy again.

Thanks.

Colgin

[The DaveR]

[ QUOTE ]
El Diablo,

I have "lived" in NYC for about 5 years now. Can you name 5 things to do in NYC that you assume I haven't done/should do? This could include "eat at _____", but not all 5.

[/ QUOTE ]

Have you gone to Coney Island? Watch the Cyclones, ride the Cyclone. Good times.

[The Ocho]

if i was making up a list of "must eat at before i die" restaurants, what US restaurants should be included?

[PITTM]

el d,

will your own personal forum result in the beginnings of an "el diablo" brand, which will then become even more huge when your mashup career takes off?

also, is french laundry as good as advertised?

[NicksDad1970]

Why is a pair of pants called a pair?

If you were a hot dog would you eat yourself?(all beef of course)

[El Diablo]

KKF.

"Are you self employed?" Yes.

"If so, how are you able to get business? Word of mouth?" I now have a pretty big network of contacts via my last couple of businesses. But, all of my business have featured a lot of good old figure out who your customer is and start knocking on their door. Now it's a combination of that, some advertising, and some PR.

"Youve said before that you run software start ups. Can you give an example of one of these companies and how you helped it succeed, and an example of one company that failed and why you feel it failed?"

I was involved with a company as a board member (basically, the oversight/guidance committee for the company) that did financial trading software. I helped bring in some key team members and helped them focus their business on the most important things. That business was recently sold and everyone was very happy. One of my first companies was software tools for developers who want to build stuff on the Internet. That company failed because we were very late to the game (we did not have a deep understanding of the market and competition) and we were also targetting a market that is very hard to sell to, software tools.

"What are some non-software venture capital investments have you made?"

Most of my investing is either in very tradtional stocks and mutual funds or in private software companies or in venture capital funds. I made an investment to be a small partner in a bar. That didn't work out too well financially, but was a blast. I'd like to get into real estate.

"Someone asked you before where to go for graduate school, and you said nowhere, can you expand on this?"

Not sure what the context was, but I was probably making light of grad school. I think it only makes sense for people who are really into something, whether it be law or a field of graduate study or whatever. I had no burning desire to get more specialized schooling in anything, so I didn't go. I was lucky enough to do decently in business by myself, so I developed a great network of contacts in the technology world. For people who don't have that, there's some real value in going to a top business school. But I was really never much on school.

"How often do you pick up chicks in hotel bars?"

I used to spend a lot of time in hotel bars. I've very rarely picked up chicks at a traditional hotel bar, maybe once or twice. But when hotel bars started becoming the new hotspots, a few. It was especially great to be staying at a trendy hotel like that on a Tuesday or Wednesday when some girls come to check out the bar. I haven't spent much time in hotel bars in the last couple of years.

"Have you been/vacationed in any third world countries? If so, what did you like/dislike and think about them in general?"

India is the only one I have spent a lot of time in. I love it and would highly recommend travelling to places like that. Obviously, I dislike the bad air and the dirtiness. But I just love the experience of being someplace totally different and getting immersed in a truly foreign culture. Europe nowadays is really not even like travelling that much, it's just like the US. I think it would be great for everyone to visit places that are just so completely different than anything you'll experience in the States.

[Wes Mantooth]

El Diablo,

To my understanding you seemed to be against becoming a Mod, any reason for the change?

Just curious,

-ManTooth

[El Diablo]

All,

A bunch of quick answers. I'll probably swing by and elaborate on some, depending on question volumes. And some probably merit spawning some new threads.

Dean: I'd go to grad school at the best place for you. Between Bay Area, Chicago, and Boston, you can't go wrong.

JaBlue: Hmm, can't really say. Maybe check out some "web 2.0" and other technology mixers/open-houses/networking events and then go find some interesting company and throw youself at them as an intern.

million: Too big and broad. I'll start a thread to talk about new business opps/models in technology/web2.0/etc. I wouldn't buy GOOG at $495, but I've been saying that about GOOG for a long time and been wrong every time. As for making deals, it's always possible to get doors opened via force of will and perseverence. But really if you're going to be doing deals w/ large businesses, it's all about references and recommendations. Otherwise you'll spend sick amounts of time just trying to find out who to talk to.

D: I'll quote info when I think more context is needed than my answer provides. I usually quote text directly as opposed to using the quote function because I use the Quick Reply window to post.

jg: I think reading biographies of founder/CEO types you really admire is a good start.

Zee: Plastic and screw-on corks are the wave of the future. Sucker knows more about this than me, but I'm told these are actually BETTER by many people in the know. Yeah, I still prefer cork!

A: Yes. I enjoyed Monster (gang book), but I'm a big fan of that topic. I don't think it was written all that well and probably wouldn't recommend it highly to people not really fascinated by the topic.

Rick: I hope you participate a lot around here, I'm a huge value shopper and know you feel the same way!

goof: That's a great book thread idea. That also gets me off the hook for answering right now. Very tough question. As for financing slower-growth businesses, friends and family. Knock on doors and keep knocking until you find the people. I know lots of people who have done this for bars and restaurants. If it's your passion, it'll shine through. Just keep asking. It'll also help to start small, renting out a studio space part-time and getting a couple of students for private lessons first or stuff like that to build up a reputation.

jack: Forum should be listed on the sidebar, menu, etc. now.

samj: Compound interest calculator on the web.

mmbt: Each time a round of venture capital financing is done, shares are issued to the new investors at the new agreed on price. If things are going well, they pay more per share (so for the same $ they have less stake than people who put in the same $ earlier), and if things are going poorly they pay less.

K: I try to use miles (standard ticket) for tickets over $500. This used to be pretty feasible, as outside of holiday times, you could usually get a last-minute ticket. I agree that they are becoming even tougher to use without spending the double miles premium awards, which results in me doing stuff like just using them for other people who are less flexible/picky about their travel. Or I use them for upgrades.

JA: Sorry, don't know Paris at all.

Gild: Sushi discussion is a whole thread.

[Taylor Caby]

How does it feel to have been "so close" to financial riches before the end of the dot com bust? When you lost a bunch of (paper) money, how did that affect you psychologically and what was did you do for the 12-18 months after that?

Any generic advice for young entrepreneurs?

tc

[kipin]

[ QUOTE ]
Europe nowadays is really not even like travelling that much, it's just like the US. I think it would be great for everyone to visit places that are just so completely different than anything you'll experience in the States.

[/ QUOTE ]

I find this a bit odd.

Sure Europe has adopted a lot of American practices, but you really can't say it is just like traveling in the US.

There is a ton of culture, history, architecture, viewpoints and beautiful women one would miss out on if they simply decided to skip Europe because it is "like traveling the US".

[El Diablo]

ah: Second round interviews are often split in half between specific business experience/qualification and "get to know you" type stuff. Every firm/industry is different, but one thing I'll say is try to show some personality and make some sort of bond w/ the interviewers. The qualifications stuff obviously you have to do as well as you can. But remember that people are also hiring people they are going to have to work with every day.

Sub: I don't know enough about science to wager a good guess. But, I can guess. Genetics. As for research niche, I'd say neurophysiology. I think understanding how the brain works is one of the most interesting things in the world to study.

im: In life, I just keep doing stuff and try to do more of stuff I like. I'm definitely still learning and finding out about new stuff that interests me, and hopefully that never stops. In terms of business, I first started in consulting and realized I didn't like that. Then I realized I didn't like bosses. Then I realized I didn't like being an independent consultant. Which led me to start a software company. If I hadn't liked that, I would have changed industries. But I loved building a company and that's what I still do 10+ years later. So, I used process of elimination.

J: See OOT master tipping thread for extensive discussion of that.

inferno: Read this forum.

danza: I have visited NYC a lot for 10 years, but only lived their half-time for about six of those months, usually just once a month or two trips. So you likely know far more than me. For a lot of people, though, the answer is just to walk around more and take in all the things and people around you in NYC. I do that a ton and just love it. Oh, and run the Fifth Avenue Mile in September.

Dibs: Whatever they've made, I bet they could have made 2-4x that in ad revenues. As far as things beyond that, they would have had to change from a "lifestyle company" into a very different sort of business to make this into something much more different and potentially valuable like a major men's online media property. Theoretically that could be a huge amount not realized, but that's sorta like saying "Joe decided to be a writer instead of an investmnet banker, how much did he leave on the table?"

Pete: Balvenie 12yo Doublewood best value, Laphroaig 12yo Cask Strength Signatory Bottling best I've had, not sure what the most expensive one I've had but a few in the $200 bottle range, and for Macallan find a cask strength next.

eu: I try to go to a ton of shows. Lots of "indie/alternative" type stuff including lots of shows at festivals like http://www.noisepop.com that rule. Also a lot of singer-songwriter and Wilco-ish stuff. This merits a whole new thread for recommendations.

colgin: Not sure. I was contemplating a move to NYC at the time, so I was very interested in the market. Decided to stay in SF, so I haven't followed it much.

Ocho: That deserves its own thread.

PITTM: One can only hope this will somehow help my producing and mashup careers skyrocket. Alas, French Laundry is one of the three places I haven't been to but desparately want to go. The way advance planning always bites me in the ass. I did finally schedule a reservation a few months ago, but then had a business trip come up that kept me out of town. I'll focus on getting this done. The other two are the Joel Robuchon restaurant in Vegas and Masa sushi restaurant in NYC. There are also some other restaurants like El Bulli in Spain and a couple in London that are high on my list, but these three are all in places I go regularly, so practical for me to go to soon.

[mntbikr15]

El D,

Im currently working on a website...it will be a mostly free site(with minimal pay-per features).

The target(read..only) market is college students.

At this time Im attempting to do everything between myself and my web developer.

I believe my site will be hit or miss. It will either be a great, niche filling idea and will take off as such or will flop. Due to this belief I have fairly minimal marketing planned for my launch timeframe(hopefully around april of this year).

I plan to do the leg work within and hour or two of my location...and a few select schools a few hours away. I also will be doing what I can through my network of facebook friends. Finally, after attending boarding school, I have a network of friends around the country who I can call on for a small amount of help.

Given my financial situation this is about all I can afford to do on my own. I hope that it spreads out of my initial target area mostly from word of mouth. This however is maybe a lofty hope?

My question is this:
Would I be better off going after VC money for more widespread advertising, or should I stick to my plan. I realize this may hinge on what specifically my site will do and if you want to know this piece of info I would be happy to answer in a PM.

Also, how long does the VC process usually take? I have to be ready to go no later then the middle of april, would this rule out that option anyway?

Thanks for any insight you can offer and let me know if you would like a PM detailing more or I havent conveyed my thoughts very well...Im a bit short on sleep at the moment.

Thanks,
Evan

[Boris]

JA - It's been awhile since I've been to Paris but here is my suggestion. Paris is a great place to walk. You can literally traverse the city on foot in a few hours. What I would do is find the major city attractions on a map and then not go there. Walk around until you find a neighborhood restaurant that looks like a nice place to eat. If you do this I'll bet you find the French to be very nice and fun to be around.

[Wynton]

Your description of this forum sounds, to me, a lot like the lounge, with the major difference being that you have restricted the ability to create threads to a particular group.

Am I wrong? If I'm not, I don't understand the reason for this forum.

And I'm not trying to start a fight, just trying to figure out if there's a reason for me to read over here, as opposed to - or in addition to - the lounge.

[ASPoker8]

El D,

Hi.

[ahnuld]

[ QUOTE ]
JA - It's been awhile since I've been to Paris but here is my suggestion. Paris is a great place to walk. You can literally traverse the city on foot in a few hours. What I would do is find the major city attractions on a map and then not go there. Walk around until you find a neighborhood restaurant that looks like a nice place to eat. If you do this I'll bet you find the French to be very nice and fun to be around.

[/ QUOTE ]


very good advice. My favorite days there when I visited this summer were spend walking around the city and chilling out with a beer and panini by a fountain for a 2 hour lunch.

[gumpzilla]

[ QUOTE ]
Your description of this forum sounds, to me, a lot like the lounge, with the major difference being that you have restricted the ability to create threads to a particular group.

Am I wrong? If I'm not, I don't understand the reason for this forum.

And I'm not trying to start a fight, just trying to figure out if there's a reason for me to read over here, as opposed to - or in addition to - the lounge.

[/ QUOTE ]

The main reason would be because El D is likely to exhibit better quality control than diebitter, and his imprimatur is enough to bring over good OOT posters in a way that the lounge apparently failed to. Or at least that would be the idea. Time will tell.

[robracing]

[ QUOTE ]
El D,

I was wondering if you had any experience with restaurants in Paris and if so, what would you recommend? I will be traveling there in the next couple months.


- John

[/ QUOTE ]

I travel to Paris a lot, and I love:

http://www.lesdeuxcanards.com/

Fabulous atmospheric little side-street restaurant with a brilliant Maitre-D, who gives what is close to a theatrical performance.

3-course dinner with a modest wine costs perhaps $75/head.

[PITTM]

el d,

my best friend went to french laundry and says it is the best food he has ever eaten. he says the place he most wants to go in the united states at this point is le bernedin in nyc. have you been here and is it as good as he thinks it will be?

[El Diablo]

Nick: I imagine it has something to do with the two legs. No, while I would be delicious, I would not eat myself if I were a hot dog. It would just be too weird.

Wes: I'm a mod to adminster this forum, which I thought would be a good idea. I had no other reason or desire to be a mod in the past. I'm happy to be a mod to run this forum.

TC: At one point we had an offer on the table that would have put over $20M cash in my pocket, potentially up to $50M. I ended up making a small fraction of that. I was pretty bitter and down for a few months after all that. But then I realized that I was in my twenties, had basically never had a boss, had enough money to take as much time off as I wanted, and had the contacts and experience to do whatever I wanted next. It took me somewhere between 6 to 12 months to truly buy into that, but really, it's silly for me to complain about my life, so I didn't and I don't. I've always been able to live where I want to live, eat what I want to eat, and travel where I want to go. Sure, more money would let me have a lot more and bigger toys, but that sort of stuff just isn't all that important to me in the grand scheme of things. Right around that time, a good friend's dad passed away and that really put a lot of stuff in perspective about how lucky I was not just with my career and money, but also with friends and family. I took about a year totally off, then started looking into new business ideas, doing some consulting w/ friends and investors, and getting involved advising a few friends with their business. I then started working on what became my current company. Hmmmm, that got a little long. For young entrepreneurs, the number one most important thing is JUST DO IT. Just try stuff, see what works, see what sells. Something doesn't work, TRY AGAIN! Be very persistent and don't give up. I know so many stories of guys who have been wildly successful just through sheer force of will. Of course, that presumes that you are listening to your customers and market. If they tell you it's a bad idea, try another one!

kipin: I most definitely endorse travelling to Europe, especially Spain and Italy. But in terms of how you get by in day-to-day life, it's very similar to the US and nothing at all like going to Asia, for example. And definitely nothing lke going to third-world countries.

[BWebb]

El D,

What do you feel are effective ways to network in business? What ways are not so effective? If possible, give answers specific to the San Francisco market. In my line of work accountants and small to medium-sized business owners would be the top individuals to target.

[Abones]

El D,

I had no idea you were fond of gang related material, I am as well. Have you ever read Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires?

How is the mod forum?

[ChicagoTroy]

El D,

Should people looking to get into entrepreneurship start with a relatively simple operation that throws off cash, go with their more complicated ideas from the get-go, or does it not matter?

[DING-DONG YO]

El D,

I take it you are a successful entrpreneur/self-made businessman. Is there a link to your backstory somewhere so I don't have to sift through a million threads for tidbits? My bagging on this forum aside, I am interested to read it as I will probably try to start my own business in the near future.

Sincerely,

Friendly neighborhood ding-dong.

[meleader2]

El D,

I have an idea for a website that seems like it would generate alot of money through advertising. I have no idea how to make it using PHP. Is it worth outsourcing my idea to pay some chinese company to make it/upkeep it (relatively low upkeep, maybe just server upgrades) or should I consider making it myself by teaching myself PHP to save $?

FWIW, I do NOT know how to make decent webpages and I don't know how to make database inquiry software, also there is already a website for the other side of this market (which they can probably expand to if I don't get in on it first).

[pokerraja]

El D,


I've just recently started to dabble with wine. I prefer red wine. I'm a total wine newbie. I like pinot noir and shiraz. Can you recommend a good one of these wines under $10 from trader joes? I did not like yellow tail too much, it was ok. I thought turning leaf pinot noir was very good (is this a lol?). Thanks.

[ChicagoTroy]

[ QUOTE ]
El D,

I have an idea for a website that seems like it would generate alot of money through advertising. I have no idea how to make it using PHP. Is it worth outsourcing my idea to pay some chinese company to make it/upkeep it (relatively low upkeep, maybe just server upgrades) or should I consider making it myself by teaching myself PHP to save $?

FWIW, I do NOT know how to make decent webpages and I don't know how to make database inquiry software, also there is already a website for the other side of this market (which they can probably expand to if I don't get in on it first).

[/ QUOTE ]
The company I run now has been very satisfied with outsourcing to Indian IT firms. Elance allows you to get bids on projects and read reviews/samples of their past work. It takes patience with the time zone and cultural differences, but we've found it worthwhile.

[meleader2]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
El D,

I have an idea for a website that seems like it would generate alot of money through advertising. I have no idea how to make it using PHP. Is it worth outsourcing my idea to pay some chinese company to make it/upkeep it (relatively low upkeep, maybe just server upgrades) or should I consider making it myself by teaching myself PHP to save $?

FWIW, I do NOT know how to make decent webpages and I don't know how to make database inquiry software, also there is already a website for the other side of this market (which they can probably expand to if I don't get in on it first).

[/ QUOTE ]
The company I run now has been very satisfied with outsourcing to Indian IT firms. Elance allows you to get bids on projects and read reviews/samples of their past work. It takes patience with the time zone and cultural differences, but we've found it worthwhile.

[/ QUOTE ]

cool, what have you found regarding adding functionality to a website later on? this would be like adding a picture field or whatever, also it'd be pretty small, just like a database PHP web application. very small, and fast, not flashy and slow like myspace

[DrSavage]

Diablo,
How have you been able to convince the forum administrators to work overnight to perform the extremely complicated programming that is required to make your new forum appear on a side bar? I thought this sort of change was something that required weeks of hard work.

[BarryLyndon]

El Diablo,

If you HAD to choose between picking Yvesaint or HIV to joing your elite thread OP list, who would you choose?

[[censored]]

[ QUOTE ]
El Diablo,

If you HAD to choose between picking Yvesaint or HIV to joing your elite thread OP list, who would you choose?

[/ QUOTE ]

Id like to think he would let them settle it between themseives with a $10k fight yo

[[censored]]

El Diablo,


Id really like to expand my drinking taste. I don't like beer at all and I've pretty much stuck to drinking Vodka with either OJ or Red Bull but I'd like to add something more adult and sophisticated. I don't like tonic water.

Ideas for a new vodka drink, and recommendations for a liquor I should try given my affinity for vodka

[octopi]

[censored]: How about Greyhounds? Vodka + grapefruit juice.

[kidcolin]

How about martinis?

[KJS]

El D:

I have worked at a startup company in Seattle for 2 years. We have gotten 2 rounds of VC. I would prefer not to name it.

We are doing well, IMO, but I am not in Finance or on the Mgt team. We have a stable of paying customers, cash in the bank, a great reputation in our sector, etc..

My question is: How would an employee at a statup know what the ultimate direction of a company is without asking? People ask me regularly if we are going to have an IPO, are we being groomed for acquisition, etc.. and I frankly do not know. And part of me doesn't really care either.

My position personally is that I enjoy my work tremendously, am compensated well and feel at ease about my work life in general. I am curious about the ultimate direction of this company so I could plan my future. But, I am a bit reluctant to ask anyone because I am not certain they would tell me and I don't want anyone to think that I might be thinking about an exit from here. I am not.

Are there any personnel moves, changes in the organization structure or other things that you would list as indicative of us moving in one direction or the other? Something that would make you say "you guys are for sure going the acquisition route", or "looks like you are getting ready for an IPO" for instance?

Thanks.

KJS

[ethan]

[ QUOTE ]
El Diablo,


Id really like to expand my drinking taste. I don't like beer at all and I've pretty much stuck to drinking Vodka with either OJ or Red Bull but I'd like to add something more adult and sophisticated. I don't like tonic water.

Ideas for a new vodka drink, and recommendations for a liquor I should try given my affinity for vodka

[/ QUOTE ]

You might try the Caipirosca.

1/2 lime, quartered
1 tsp fine sugar, or 1/2-3/4oz sugar syrup (brown sugar is a good variation)
2oz vodka

Muddle the lime and sugar/syrup together in a rocks glass, add cracked ice and the vodka, then stir.

The Caipirosca is a variation on a traditional Brazilian drink - the Caipirinha, which is essentially the same except that the liquor used is cachaca and not vodka. Good cachaca isn't the easiest thing to find cheaply here, and white rum is a perfectly good substitute.

Not too far from these drinks is the Mojito:
1 sprig mint
1oz simple syrup (again, fine sugar works but this requires less mixing)
3/4oz lime
1.5oz rum
dash of Angostura bitters (optional)
soda water

Muddle a mint sprig with the simple syrup and lime, add everything else (but the soda water) and shake over ice. Strain over cracked ice into a highball, top with the soda water. You can substitute champagne for the soda water and make this into an Old Cuban, which is one of my favorite drinks.

[AquaSwing]

El Diablo,

I'm involved with a small startup working with biometrics. We have been in business for many years, have working products that are unique in the industry, and only debt is shareholder debt. Downside is sales are nonexistent. We are out looking for some VC money. Where's a good place to start? We're looking in the $1-2 million range.

-AS

PS- My wife and I are wine lovers and drink a fair about of New Zealand wine with screwtops and we ran across our first "corked" bottle a few weeks ago. We found that interesting.

[Six_of_One]

[ QUOTE ]

Alas, French Laundry is one of the three places I haven't been to but desparately want to go...The other two are the Joel Robuchon restaurant in Vegas and Masa sushi restaurant in NYC

[/ QUOTE ]

If you go to Masa, be sure you're sitting at the bar and not at a table, because I've heard you get treated much better at the bar (and it costs the same either way).

Another place you should add to your list is Urasawa, in Los Angeles. He apprenticed under Masa for years before Masa moved to NY, and then opened his own place in the same location. The format is the same (a combination of cooked and raw starting courses, followed by sushi), but his style tends to be more traditional Japanese (i.e., less caviar, though he does serve foie gras shabu shabu that's just about the best thing I've ever eaten).

Of the 10 best restaurant experiences I've had in my life, approximately 10 were at Urasawa.

[nation]

El D,

I'm starting a website to fill a niche in my area. The target will be the local college and businesses; the idea revolves around one resource to order food online, and also a section for bar specials, bands, etc as my area has a HUGE bar community. I've already bought the domain, and my partner is working on marketing and business plans.

What kind of money am I looking at here to build the website to support this type of online purchasing? I realize you likely don't have experience in this exact area, but you might have some good advice.

Also, will my webdesigner tell me what I need to buy to support traffic and food orders? I'm computer illiterate, but I know you're an entrepreneur so I would imagine you have experience in these areas.

-nation

[mntbikr15]

A good developer will be able to work with you rather then just execute your idea.

I found on on namepros.com that charges 30 an hr and has been an invaluable resource to my project as I am also computer illiterate. You post your project and people can contact you with bids/requests for the job.

[Tron]

Diablo,

Are you coming to Los Angeles any time soon?

If YES, will you take me to Urasawa (see Six_of_One's post)?

[The X-Factor]

El D,

How come katyseagull isn't on your allowed to post list? I enjoy her posts and think she could add solid value here as she does at the lounge and OOT.

X

[Matt Flynn]

[ QUOTE ]
el d.

i recently had an expensive bottle of wine and it had a plastic cork. good cork is hard to get but an expensive wine using plastic corks?

[/ QUOTE ]


Ray,

wait til you have a $60 bottle of wine with a screw cap.

matt

[Will.]

El D,

I'm visiting NYC this weekend and will be staying at the W at $200/night. How did I do?

also, i was wondering which clubs/bars you reccomend for a newly 21 year old who makes ~80k/year, but doesn't like things too posh.

[ethan]

[ QUOTE ]
Of the 10 best restaurant experiences I've had in my life, approximately 10 were at Urasawa.

[/ QUOTE ]

Bastard.

I've known for several years that I need to go here, but so far haven't managed it. In the interim I've done well with Sushi Gen downtown which tends more towards the $75 range, but from what I hear of Urasawa it's difficult to find better.

[MrWookie]

Ethan,

I've had the privilege of drinking Caipirinhas at a party thrown by a Brazilian student. I'll vouch that it's a good drink. I'd definitely go with the substitution of a good white rum over the vodka. At the same party, a guy from Peru had some fine Peruvian Pisco that was out of this world. Also, that Old Cuban sounds amazing. I've long been a fan of the Mojito during the summer, but I def. want to try it with the Champagne substitution.

[[censored]]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
El Diablo,


Id really like to expand my drinking taste. I don't like beer at all and I've pretty much stuck to drinking Vodka with either OJ or Red Bull but I'd like to add something more adult and sophisticated. I don't like tonic water.

Ideas for a new vodka drink, and recommendations for a liquor I should try given my affinity for vodka

[/ QUOTE ]

You might try the Caipirosca.

1/2 lime, quartered
1 tsp fine sugar, or 1/2-3/4oz sugar syrup (brown sugar is a good variation)
2oz vodka

Muddle the lime and sugar/syrup together in a rocks glass, add cracked ice and the vodka, then stir.

The Caipirosca is a variation on a traditional Brazilian drink - the Caipirinha, which is essentially the same except that the liquor used is cachaca and not vodka. Good cachaca isn't the easiest thing to find cheaply here, and white rum is a perfectly good substitute.

Not too far from these drinks is the Mojito:
1 sprig mint
1oz simple syrup (again, fine sugar works but this requires less mixing)
3/4oz lime
1.5oz rum
dash of Angostura bitters (optional)
soda water

Muddle a mint sprig with the simple syrup and lime, add everything else (but the soda water) and shake over ice. Strain over cracked ice into a highball, top with the soda water. You can substitute champagne for the soda water and make this into an Old Cuban, which is one of my favorite drinks.

[/ QUOTE ]

Wow awesome those sound so grown up, exactly what I was looking for.

would these be available in most bars?

also pronunciation for Caipirosca?

cap-ir-oh-sca?

[Six_of_One]

You need to go, but be careful. Before I tried it for the first time (about 2 years ago), my intention was just to go once for the experience. Then, I talked myself into going once every 3 months, since different items are served in different seasons. Before long, I was going just about every month.

Yes, it's expensive, but you just have to keep your priorities straight. I'm not rich by any means, so $400 does mean something to me, but there's a bunch of other things in my life I spend more on that don't give me nearly as much pleasure.

[edtost]

[ QUOTE ]
Wow awesome those sound so grown up, exactly what I was looking for.

would these be available in most bars?

also pronunciation for Caipirosca?

cap-ir-oh-sca?

[/ QUOTE ]

My guess is it would be more widely recognized by bartenders as a vodka gimlet.

[ethan]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
El Diablo,


Id really like to expand my drinking taste. I don't like beer at all and I've pretty much stuck to drinking Vodka with either OJ or Red Bull but I'd like to add something more adult and sophisticated. I don't like tonic water.

Ideas for a new vodka drink, and recommendations for a liquor I should try given my affinity for vodka

[/ QUOTE ]

You might try the Caipirosca.

1/2 lime, quartered
1 tsp fine sugar, or 1/2-3/4oz sugar syrup (brown sugar is a good variation)
2oz vodka

Muddle the lime and sugar/syrup together in a rocks glass, add cracked ice and the vodka, then stir.

The Caipirosca is a variation on a traditional Brazilian drink - the Caipirinha, which is essentially the same except that the liquor used is cachaca and not vodka. Good cachaca isn't the easiest thing to find cheaply here, and white rum is a perfectly good substitute.

Not too far from these drinks is the Mojito:
1 sprig mint
1oz simple syrup (again, fine sugar works but this requires less mixing)
3/4oz lime
1.5oz rum
dash of Angostura bitters (optional)
soda water

Muddle a mint sprig with the simple syrup and lime, add everything else (but the soda water) and shake over ice. Strain over cracked ice into a highball, top with the soda water. You can substitute champagne for the soda water and make this into an Old Cuban, which is one of my favorite drinks.

[/ QUOTE ]

Wow awesome those sound so grown up, exactly what I was looking for.

would these be available in most bars?

also pronunciation for Caipirosca?

cap-ir-oh-sca?

[/ QUOTE ]

As far as the bartender knowing what you're talking about, the mojito's your best bet. They won't know what an old cuban is, but it should be easy to explain since they'll know the mojito. As far as the caipirosca/caipirinha go...again the bartender might not know them, but they're not too complex. If I didn't know a bar/club could make them competently I might first ask for them on a night that's not too busy.

"cap-ir-oh-sca" is about right - the "r" should ideally be fairly short (like a rolled "r" minus the rolling, if that makes sense.) You may also hear "cai-PRI-oh-sca".

Glad you like the recommendations.

[ethan]

[ QUOTE ]
You need to go, but be careful. Before I tried it for the first time (about 2 years ago), my intention was just to go once for the experience. Then, I talked myself into going once every 3 months, since different items are served in different seasons. Before long, I was going just about every month.

Yes, it's expensive, but you just have to keep your priorities straight. I'm not rich by any means, so $400 does mean something to me, but there's a bunch of other things in my life I spend more on that don't give me nearly as much pleasure.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think a lot of my not going is that while I can occasionaly find $400 to spend on this, it's difficult for me to do that while at the same time finding a friend up for it and I usually don't do dinner alone. $400/month is probably pushing it - that's the difference between having my RSX and a Porsche - but once or twice a year should be doable.

[David LoPan]

El D,

How old are you?

[ethan]

[ QUOTE ]
Ethan,

I've had the privilege of drinking Caipirinhas at a party thrown by a Brazilian student. I'll vouch that it's a good drink. I'd definitely go with the substitution of a good white rum over the vodka. At the same party, a guy from Peru had some fine Peruvian Pisco that was out of this world. Also, that Old Cuban sounds amazing. I've long been a fan of the Mojito during the summer, but I def. want to try it with the Champagne substitution.

[/ QUOTE ]

The Old Cuban's great. If you like bitters, this is a drink where they add something particularly good.

[ethan]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Wow awesome those sound so grown up, exactly what I was looking for.

would these be available in most bars?

also pronunciation for Caipirosca?

cap-ir-oh-sca?

[/ QUOTE ]

My guess is it would be more widely recognized by bartenders as a vodka gimlet.

[/ QUOTE ]

The vodka gimlet's really just not quite the same drink. A gimlet is generally along the lines of:
2oz gin
1/2oz rose's lime

My preferred gimlet recipe is from Charles Schumann's American Bar, as follows:

3/4oz lemon juice
1-1/4oz rose's lime (I use slightly less, probably 3/4-1oz)
2oz gin (I usually go with sapphire)

Either way, it's not quite the same drink as a Caipirosca but they're all good. On a side note, American Bar is a very good cocktail-recipe book and probably the first one I'd recommend.

[Six_of_One]

[ QUOTE ]

I think a lot of my not going is that while I can occasionaly find $400 to spend on this, it's difficult for me to do that while at the same time finding a friend up for it and I usually don't do dinner alone. $400/month is probably pushing it - that's the difference between having my RSX and a Porsche - but once or twice a year should be doable.

[/ QUOTE ]

I know what you mean...I have a hard time finding friends willing to drop that kind of money on dinner too. Although I always prefer going to dinner with someone, for this place I'm willing to go alone when I have to. It's a small place (the bar seats 9), and it's actually pretty common to get into conversations with the people around you (even for me, and I'm not exactly the social butterfly type).

[Jake (The Snake)]

Diablo,

1. I have had people tell me that going into entrepreneurship right out of school is a good idea because you have time to recover from financial setbacks. I have also had people tell me that one should get experience working in the industry before starting a company. What is your opinion on this?

2. Do you read many self-improvement books and, if so, what are some of your favorites?

[The4Aces]

El D,

How would you go about putting a value on an internet based business? Would it be similar to the vale of a land based business?

[El Diablo]

mtn: Stick to your plan. Build traffic via word of mouth and hustle. If things start to take off, look into possible financing for expansion. In general, don't expect to see any money for at least six months from the time you start fundraising, often longer.

Wynton: Yes, the major difference between this and any other forum on 2+2 is the restricted group of people able to create new threads.

PITTM: I think he will not be as impressed by Le Bernadin as French Laundry. I haven't been to Le Bernadin, but have been to places that friends say are like it. Tons of restaurants in New York like Daniel, Jean Georges, and others (I could go on for a bit re: NYC fine dining restaurants) are going to generally be incredible execution and taste, but not quite as unique an approach as French Laundry.

B: I don't think there are any shortcuts to networking. You go to business-focused events and have as many conversations as possible. There are tons of small-business focused groups for every possible business or interest group. Groups like The Churchill Club and The Commonwealth Club are good ways to meet people by going to their events.

A: I haven't read that book, but it sounds right up my alley. I'll add it to the list. I haven't really participated in or read much of the mod forum excpet for answering questions about this forum.

CT: I think people should get into things they are really personally interested in and will love devoting ridiculous amounts of their time to.

DDY: I've started a few small companies, no runaway successes yet, and been involved with advising/investing/fundraising for a number more, some of which have done quite well. I think the Well thread I linked is as much detail as I've gone into regarding my background.

me: I'd find a friend in real-life or via online means like 2+2 to help you out with the tech side.

poker: I don't buy wine from TJs, but perhaps others can help. My recommendation for finding the best lower priced stuff is to find a good local wine shop.

Savage: I provided them with some patent-pending sidebar-updating technology.

Barry: I'd make them go through with the 10k fight first, but regardless of results would pick yves.

[censored]: My standard drink is vodka soda w/ a lime. Delicious and refreshing. For real cocktail suggestions, check out this sweet OOT thread: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=5180308&an=&page=0&vc=1

KJS: Only way to really know is to get the inside scoop from the exec team. Feel free to PM me the name of the company and I'll give you my best guess.

Aqua: If you truly have something innovative in biometrics, you should PM Boris and give me a referral fee. If you have unique IP in biometrics that fills a market need, that's the perfect type of thing that VCs look for. On the flip side, if you've had a product for years and sales aren't growing, you should have an answer for that first.

Six: Thanks!

nation: Your costs will be almost all based on how much you want to spend on design, ranging from $100 to get it all set up yourself to many thousands to have a professional designer do it all. If I were you I'd poker around 2+2 looking for web designers to help you out. In terms of traffic and orders, go to any e-commerce hosting site (Yahoo! is the most basic of them, Google will provide you with 100 more names) and they'll have tons of packages for very cheap that will support all that stuff for the volumes you'll do.

Tron: Alas, no. On both counts!

X: katy was not excluded for any reason. Just happened to not be on the first list of 100 I picked to start new threads.

Will: Very nice. Which W? All are nice. If I were you I'd hang around the East Village and check out random bars/pubs there. Ask Evan where he goes!

David: 35

[El Diablo]

Jake: 1. I think some experience is a good thing, if only just to learn the basics of how stuff works in the business world. 2. Don't read 'em.

T4: Tons of metrics around for valuing internet businesses. Sometimes revenue-based, sometimes traffic based, sometimes user based. Just depends on the business. Do some googling and you'll find tons of stuff on valuations of Internet companies.

[Reef]

El D,

thoughts on the taste of diet soda vs regular
- can people really tell the difference? Or do they just say that regular tastes better to go with the bandwagon?

[asofel]

[ QUOTE ]
El D,

thoughts on the taste of diet soda vs regular
- can people really tell the difference? Or do they just say that regular tastes better to go with the bandwagon?

[/ QUOTE ]

reef,

Can you not taste a difference between diet coke and regular coke? I would think most people can...

I originally switched from regular to diet to try and cut down on sugar.....now after being a diet drinker for years, regular tastes far too sweet and sugary...most people I known feel similarly...

[critikal]

Any thoughts on medicinal marijuana? I get the sense that it's pretty widespread in SF.

[NorCalJosh]

El Diablo-

I was recently looking over some lists of CEO salaries and was blown away at how much some of these people are being paid. is there any way that any of these people could possibly be doing enough work to be worth making $100 million a year? what kind of salary would you have to be offered to be at the top of the line for a multi billion dollar business accountable to the board, shareholders, etc?

[kickpushcoast]

El D, SF question for you. im thinking about moving there, i found a place around 19th and valencia that i really like, is that a good neighborhood?

[El Diablo]

kick: I think that is an awesome area, right near Dolores Park and the Mission. Tons to do right around there.

NCJ: Check out this thread in the politics forum for some of my thoughts on that topic: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=8547876&an=&page=0&vc=1

c: Not really. I am not terribly well informed on the topic, but from what I know it seems like marijuana should just be legalized. It's not something I care much about, so I don't have a strong opinion on this either way.

Reef: I don't drink sodas anymore (it has been a couple of years), so now regular sodas taste sickly sweet to me. Diet sodas taste the same as they ever did, gross.

[NorCalJosh]

apologies, i have never ventured into that particular forum.

[El Diablo]

NCJ,

No worries, I'm almost never there either! Just randomly happened to have discussed that topic recently...

[KingMedicine]

el d, since ive read yr into noisepop/singer-songwriter type of music, have you heard of or are you a fan of Kevin Devine (formerly of Miracle of 86)? if no, add it to yr list of recommendations.

[[censored]]

el diablo,

knowing what you know about me. if there was one piece of advice that you would like to see me follow. what would it be?

[IggyWH]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
El D,

thoughts on the taste of diet soda vs regular
- can people really tell the difference? Or do they just say that regular tastes better to go with the bandwagon?

[/ QUOTE ]

reef,

Can you not taste a difference between diet coke and regular coke? I would think most people can...

I originally switched from regular to diet to try and cut down on sugar.....now after being a diet drinker for years, regular tastes far too sweet and sugary...most people I known feel similarly...

[/ QUOTE ]

I wanted to chime in and second asofel on this. About a year and a half ago, I stopped drinking sugar completely while on a diet. It was rough early on drinking pretty much only water because I hated all things diet and artificial sweeteners.

After a couple weeks though, I started experimenting with some powder drinks such as diet iced tea and crystal light. I found a few flavors that I could tolerate. After a week or so of that, I started trying the diet versions of sodas I liked. While it wasn't the best thing ever, it also wasn't bad, and soon after, aquired a taste for them.

I now can't drink anything with sugar without it tasting like complete crap. I'll drink anything diet with aspartame now and completely enjoy it, but I don't care for other sweeteners such as Splenda or Saccharin.

I know people who went from normal soda to sodas with Splenda easily. Artificial sweeteners aren't for everyone though as they can cause sickening side effects to some people.

[The DaveR]

[ QUOTE ]
El D, SF question for you. im thinking about moving there, i found a place around 19th and valencia that i really like, is that a good neighborhood?

[/ QUOTE ]

If you like hipsters you'll love it. If you like good, cheap Mexican food you'll love it. If you have a dog s/he'll love it.

[AnthonyV]

El D,

Any interest in getting involved in politics? Why or why not?

Do you think first-year associates deserve the salaries they command in major metropolitan markets (aprox $150k/yr at top NY law firm)? Have you been satisfied with the legal advice you've received in your various business ventures?

How do you anticipate you will direct your private philathropy later in life?

Do you order scotch neat with a water back / with a few drops of water / splash of water or otherwise?

Designated hitter?

[The DaveR]

[ QUOTE ]
el diablo,

knowing what you know about me. if there was one piece of advice that you would like to see me follow. what would it be?

[/ QUOTE ]

If his answer isn't "Start an MSPaint cartoon blog and update frequently," his advice is bad.

[kickpushcoast]

ty El D, also, ive been told that in SF, like NY, there's really no need for a car, and it can actually be a hinderance at times. is there any social stigma with not having one? basically can you still get hot chicks if you have a good job, and a nice place, but no car?

[kitaristi0]

El D,

When drinking soda or beer out of a can, do you prefer a lid with a rounded handle and larger hole for quicker mass consumption (like most Coke products or Coors) or a square handle with a smaller hole for more of a short sipping action (like most Pepsi products or Budweiser)?

[tdarko]

El D- How did you become a member of the 2p2 community? You're an original and I assume were posting before the 9/2/02 registered date, maybe not, I don't really know. I am wondering how you found out about this place, who you knew that knew this place or was it books that led you here? I always figured it was someone and not something.

[DJ Sensei]

el. d:

where can one find the best sushi in san francisco?

let me know if you would like to go get some sometime, i have recently been developing my sushi palate.

[El Diablo]

t: I had played poker w/ the guys (random games) a few times since college, but pretty much not played at all. Then I was between companies and looking for stuff to do around 2002 and a friend suggested we go to a cardroom. I searched online for some poker strategy and found Abdul Jalib's guidelines for hold'em. I used that as my guide for a couple of sessions, then decided I wanted to learn some more, so I did some searching and came across 2+2 where I started posting some 3-6 hands. That was sometime in early 2002.

dj: Check out the sushi thread!

kit: I don't drink sodas, but think Coke soda cans are great. In general, I am not a big can fan and vastly prefer bottles.

kick: In NYC most people I know don't have a car. In SF, either way, definitely not a problem to not have one.

Anthony: The more I learn about politics, the less I am interested, but it's definitely interesting and something I might get into. Friends who have gotten involved give me less than stellar reviews about the process. Just based on how much they work and bill, sure, associates earn that money. I've generally been underwhelmed by associates and very pleased with partners I've worked with. I order scotch neat. At places I know, I'll ask them for a couple drops of water. Normally, I'll just do it myself if I want water though. I don't care about baseball.

King: Haven't heard of him, I'll give him a listen.

[censored]: Not let dimwits get you angry.

[cliff]

To hit 2-3 of your suggested topics...

Should those beginning startup companies avoid venture capital, or are there situations where it works out well for everyone?

My own experience has been that venture capital is a bargain with the devil, which leads most often to the rank and file employees getting screwed when they realize how much equity the investors hold (and how diluted their own options are), and eventually the founders getting forced out of the company by the board. Even when venture funded companies succeed, it appears that very often the venture sources are the only real winners (particularly if it takes longer then expected to get sold/ IPO).

On the other hand, it seems like a lot of successful companies start with a lower ambition vehicle to get money flowing while they roll out their big ideas without seeking outside money. My experience is with chip design, however, perhaps the model is different in software/internet startups?

Overall, just curious about your thoughts on this (the risks of seeking venture funds when starting a company). It seems to me that the latter approach is preferable to both the founders and the employees, but again this may be more true in a hardware related area (or I could be wrong).

thanks,
Mike

[El Diablo]

cliff,

I'll post some thoughts re: VC/investment and when it makes sense to go that route in nolan's Starting a Business thread. I definitely think it can go both ways depending on the needs of the business.

[Howard Treesong]

[ QUOTE ]
Do you think first-year associates deserve the salaries they command in major metropolitan markets (aprox $150k/yr at top NY law firm)?

[/ QUOTE ]

Give me a day to check on this, but I think that number just went up to $165K.

[iron81]

Starting salaries for associates in New York just went up to $160k. Link (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0701270101jan27,1,217239.story)

[Mister Z]

El D - How about a thread on good music, performances, etc?

[XXXNoahXXX]

El Diablo,

I have an idea for a line of tall tees (the extra long t-shirts) that combine political awareness, black pride, and hip hop culture. The shirts will be very plain in an assortment of colors with bold text.

The shirts will bear the slogan "Lean wit it, Barack wit it"

How many millions of dollars will I make as a result of this brilliant idea and would you like to get in on the ground floor?

[El Diablo]

XXX,

7. Of course.

[PokerAmateur4]

Thoughts on undergrad college for those who believe they will most likely be independent entrepreneurs?

More specifically thoughts on business major for undergrad?

What did you study and where, how do you reflect on that experience as an investment of time and opportunity cost?

[Noo Yawk]

El D,
-worst way to die: Drown, burn or be crushed?
-Last meal?(up to 4 courses)
-Would you be willing to sleep with possible underage runaways if it meant getting more views than Sklansky's forum?

[drexah]

why is your name black and what does it mean. not gonna lie, black is [censored] pimp. too bad you're not.

[technologic]

el d,



a friend of mine in capital markets told me that if he had a good amount of money like myself, he wouldn't go to work and just start his own business.

i feel like just coming out of college and starting work, i don't have the necessary skills to do anything that adventurous just yet. how did you go about choosing your career paths? do you think having experience working in management consulting is valuable no matter what i want to pursue, and if so, how much experience do you think would be beneficial?

or what would you personally do if you were in my position or position of a lot of other young rich poker players looking for something to do outside of poker?

also, i've been hearing mixed reviews over investing/buying real estate in NYC. what are your thoughts about buying (financial and personal considerations)

[TheWorstPlayer]

Techno,

I'm not El Diablo, but I'd say you should just work really really hard at your full-time job so that your manager doesn't have to do any work. Just my opinion.

El Diablo,

Who are the guys you seem to hang out with a lot? Matt Flynn, Ray Zee, Boris, J_V, JA Sucker, GOG, Haakee, etc. How did you meet them? How often do you see them? Do you consider them close, personal friends or just 'poker buddies'? Any cool stories or information about any of these guys would be cool.

Thanks for doing this,
TWP

[RR]

[ QUOTE ]
Rick: I hope you participate a lot around here, I'm a huge value shopper and know you feel the same way!

[/ QUOTE ]

I didn't know you had played poker with Rick.
/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[James Boston]

[ QUOTE ]
El Diablo,

Who are the guys you seem to hang out with a lot? Matt Flynn, Ray Zee, Boris, J_V, JA Sucker, GOG, Haakee, etc. How did you meet them? How often do you see them? Do you consider them close, personal friends or just 'poker buddies'? Any cool stories or information about any of these guys would be cool.

[/ QUOTE ]

Along the lines of that question, and maybe this is a subject for another thread. I don't recall it ever being done. Not just for El D, but anyone - How many people have you gotten to know IRL, via 2+2? I've always been curious if the people here who seem to know each other already knew each other, or if their "friendship" was spawned here.

[technologic]

[ QUOTE ]
Techno,

I'm not El Diablo, but I'd say you should just work really really hard at your full-time job so that your manager doesn't have to do any work. Just my opinion.

El Diablo,

Who are the guys you seem to hang out with a lot? Matt Flynn, Ray Zee, Boris, J_V, JA Sucker, GOG, Haakee, etc. How did you meet them? How often do you see them? Do you consider them close, personal friends or just 'poker buddies'? Any cool stories or information about any of these guys would be cool.

Thanks for doing this,
TWP

[/ QUOTE ]

sleep at 10 eh?

[Evan]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
El Diablo,

Who are the guys you seem to hang out with a lot? Matt Flynn, Ray Zee, Boris, J_V, JA Sucker, GOG, Haakee, etc. How did you meet them? How often do you see them? Do you consider them close, personal friends or just 'poker buddies'? Any cool stories or information about any of these guys would be cool.

[/ QUOTE ]

Along the lines of that question, and maybe this is a subject for another thread. I don't recall it ever being done. Not just for El D, but anyone - How many people have you gotten to know IRL, via 2+2? I've always been curious if the people here who seem to know each other already knew each other, or if their "friendship" was spawned here.

[/ QUOTE ]
I've met tons of people, including Diablo, in real life through 2+2 with no prior relationship. There are probably 8-9 that I consider close friends.

[NhlNut]

El D,
If you are familiar with him, compare/contrast your lifestyle with that of Mark Cuban. (owner of Dallas Mavs)
If you had his cash, would you do similar?

When will you post entry into ICOOT?

[RunDownHouse]

El D,

A friend recently ate at Country in NYC with his girlfriend. They're both in the culinary biz, so the head chef personally prepared (supervised, maybe?) their meal, which was a six-course tasting menu. If you've had such a dining experience, could you detail it, perhaps in a thread dedicated to such?

[drexah]

pick it up with the replies please, this is YOUR forum you know. you have to be here 24/7 when you have your own forum.

[renodoc]

Do you really play chess? Rating?

Do you have suggestions for booking a business class ticket on an award in international travel when you are planning on staying at your destination for longer than 2 weeks? A catch-22 of most reservation systems since they book 330 days out and only hold reservations for 2 weeks max.... And yes, i read flyertalk (flyertalk.com) but the answers aren't really there.

[El Diablo]

PA: I think a college education is one of those things that is still looked at by enough people as a sort of baseline requirement that it's worth getting for most people because it really can close a lot of potential doors not having one. I went to college at Rice University, majored in Electrical & Computer Engineering. I never used that major except for helping me get a decent job in consulting. And for a couple of years out of school and in my first company I did some programming, some of which I learned at school. But really, college was just a fun time hanging out with a lot of people I liked with very little stress. That social aspect is the biggest reason to go to college imo. As far as majors go, I think undergrad business is pretty much the most worthless major possible and would recommend just about anything else over it.

NY: Crushed, meal would be a gametime decision, and I don't need any extra incentive to sleep with hot underage runaways.

drex: I don't think black really means anything in this particular context. And I agree with you, I wouldn't call myself "pimp."

tech: I responded to someone earlier saying that I think it's worthwhile to get a little experience in the work world, if only to learn how the business world works. I know I had no clue before my first job. The time you invest there can save you tons of time you might waste otherwise doing boneheaded things in a startup. A good management consulting job will give you the opportunity to be exposed to a wide range of stuff pretty quickly. One of the best things about this is finding out about tons of stuff you just plain can't stand. I'm the wrong guy to ask about real estate, I'm woefully uninformed on that topic. I suspect we'll have some good RE threads here, though.

TWP: I met haakee, beetz, and GoG playing in different live Bay Area cardrooms. We later figured out we "knew each other" on 2+2. Boris I actually met via learning that we were in the same industry professionally and contacted him on 2+2. Sucker I met one of those two ways, I can't remember for sure. All five of these guys I consider close friends. I see these guys anywhere from twice a week to once a month depending on what we're up to. These are the only local 2+2ers I hang out with regularly. There are some other local guys like Tommy and scrub that I consider friends as well, but don't see as much. I have 12 other 2+2ers in my phone, all of whom I would call friends of varying degree. With the first group of five there are plenty of ridiculous stories, mainly involving alcohol, women, or both. None of those need to be shared, though.

Nh: Cuban is one of those guys I look at and say, yeah, that guy knows how to take advantage of having money and have a ton of fun. He also seems to be a pretty sharp guy. Based on what I know, I have a lot of respect for the guy.

RDH: I've had a few dining experiences like that. I think a "most memorable dining experiences" type thread needs to happen soon.

drex: Right on it, chief.

[El Diablo]

reno,

I don't play chess. I was really good as a young kid but never played it seriously.

Trying to book premium class frequent flyer international tix is too frustrating for me. I don't think I've ever actually managed to do that, though I do know a few friends who have done that to Europe and Japan. But I think they had to be pretty flexible with dates. I have had success buying the cheapest upgradable coach and using miles to upgrade. Most of the time when I did this stuff I was highest status frequent flyer; I suspect it would be a much bigger pain in the ass for me to do now without status.

[NhlNut]

Senior,
I reiterate,
When will you post an entry into the Iron Chef thread?

[El Diablo]

N,

I'm chicken. I'll keep my eye out for a quickfire challenge I can perform respectably at, though.

[ryanj247]

it sounds like you went to college, got a job for a couple years, and then started your own tech company which wasn't a big success.

from there, you apparently found other startups to invest in. my question is: with what money? after your first business failed, did you have a substantial net worth at that point? were you able to borrow money from your family?

did you get involved with a business/investment that took your net worth from <$10K to >$100K in a short period of time?

if you set out to be an investor, and you have $500K (or even $100K), you're set. you have a little bit of money, and you can go about trying to find profitable ventures to invest in. but if you set out to be an investor, and you have $0, you can't be an investor yet. first, you have to figure out how to get from $0 to some kind of minimally meaningful stake...say $100K or so. how did you do that?

[AnthonyV]

El D --

New Yorker or NY Times Mag or (gasp) Atlantic or (double gasp) Harper's?

What is your current level of involvement with your undergraduate institution? Do you do nothing / donate money / help them raise money / volunteer in other ways?

What should we do about the federal budget deficit?

Was Henry V really a badass or was it all an act?

What is more baller: being knighted by the Queen of England, winning the Presidential medal of freedom, or being deemed a god by an aboriginal village?

[Analyst]

[ QUOTE ]

Do you have suggestions for booking a business class ticket on an award in international travel when you are planning on staying at your destination for longer than 2 weeks? A catch-22 of most reservation systems since they book 330 days out and only hold reservations for 2 weeks max.... And yes, i read <a href="flyertalk.com" target="_blank">flyertalk</a> but the answers aren't really there.

[/ QUOTE ]

Generally, if FlyerTalk doesn't have the answers then there aren't answers to be had.

Can you claim the award, book the outbound flight and leave the return open until you fall into the 330 day (I thought it was 360 days?) window? If there's no business available for the return, you could book the seat in coach then keep calling to see if they have opened up any inventory in business.

Another factor is your destination. If it's someplace like western/central Europe, I wouldn't be too worried. On the big alliances you should be able to find availability once the window opens.

At the other end of the spectrum is something like a biz class award ticket to Australia on Qantas. These are virtually impossible to get as they are snapped up by the Qantas top-tier elites who get a 30-day head start on booking. Creative routing (say, through New Zealand or Hong Kong) might help here, but it could cost more miles.

[XXXNoahXXX]

El Diablo,

When you do you see your time posting on 2+2 come to an end? Will it be a slow decline, a quick pull out? Stay forever?

PS- If you look carefully between the Xs of my username you will find my real name. Although being addressed as "XXX" does make me feel a little like a porn star or a Vin Diesel character, or perhaps a combination of the two.

[BWebb]

[ QUOTE ]
B: I don't think there are any shortcuts to networking. You go to business-focused events and have as many conversations as possible. There are tons of small-business focused groups for every possible business or interest group. Groups like The Churchill Club and The Commonwealth Club are good ways to meet people by going to their events.


[/ QUOTE ]

I was doing some research on these clubs and I found out the Commonwealth Club is in the same building as my office. I'll have to check this one out.

[onthebutton]

El Diablo,

I'm currently trying to move from the world of research science to the biotech/business world. I'm not particularly interested in doing "bench science" in industry at this time, but am more interested in the business side of biotech management. I have a PhD from a top 20 research institution, but, I don't have a business background or extensive business education.

Currently, my plan is to work in a "transitional" type career for a few years and continue my education through an MBA program. I'm currently exploring careers in life sciences consulting, which I think will help give me a good introduction to how the business side of biotech works, provide some decent income, help pay for my MBA, and help me network with potential future employers.

I'm not sure if you're involved in any sort of life sciences/biotech VC, but you seem to have a solid grasp on networking and the business world, areas in which I'm a bit ignorant. One of the careers I'm interested in over the long term is one where I'd be able to apply my scientific background and knowledge to analysis of investments/potential VC investments. I'd be interested to know your thoughts on my plan.

[El Diablo]

Noah: I suspect I will be here for as long as my daily life involves me spending large amounts of time in front of a computer and/or on the phone. Which in an ideal world would be not more than 2 or 3 more years. And as long as people I'm interested in interacting with are also here. That's obviously part of why I started this forum.


Anthony: "New Yorker or NY Times Mag or (gasp) Atlantic or (double gasp) Harper's?" Whatever I have available. I love reading everything.

"What is your current level of involvement with your undergraduate institution?" Not much. I volunteer as an interviewer here and donate very small amounts. I never really understood the whole donate to college stuff, I prefer donating to other places more.

"What should we do about the federal budget deficit?" Good question.

"Was Henry V really a badass or was it all an act?" Asking the wrong guy.

"What is more baller: being knighted by the Queen of England, winning the Presidential medal of freedom, or being deemed a god by an aboriginal village?" My birth nation is the UK, so I gotta go w/ knighthood.

ryan: I left college with no money and in a bit of debt. I got a job for a year and a half. Then I did some consulting on my own. Then I started a company while doing consulting on the side. That didn't work out. Then I did some consulting. Then I started another company and did that full-time, which led to finding venture capital investment and building that company. I didn't get rich from that company, but left that company with enough money to have some flexibility in my life.

[El Diablo]

otb,

If you follow the plan you laid out and get an MBA from a top school, VCs will drool over you.

[elwoodblues]

You head in to your favorite fast food restaurant, in line is a young professional-looking woman. When it comes time to pay, she comes comes up $1 short. Do you reach into your pocket to give her the $1?


Same situation, except this time it is a young poor person?

My suspicion is that a lot of people would give to the young professional because they can more easily sympathize with how "embarassed" she must be.

[Isura]

Diablo,

Great thread and nice forum!

Lately I've been doing a lot of research about tech startups. I think that this is something that I want to pursue, and I have a few questions. I've been out of undergrad for almost 2 years now, and don't have many contacts left in the computing area (been a grad student in math, so no computing projects for some time). How would you go about seeking partners for a startup? I know that I can pull my own weight and work extremely hard, but it seems hard to find people with the same goals. Also, what areas in the US are the best for people doing tech startups? Is it much more advantageous to be near the campuses at say Berkeley or Palo Alto?

[El Diablo]

el: I've done that a couple of times before. I'm more likely to do it with the poor person. I think you're right and most people would choose the other, or in general, would choose the person they relate to better.

I: For partners, I've always gone through personal networks, friends of friends, people I've worked with etc. It's very hard finding the right partners, that's one of the biggest startup challenges around. Bay Area and Boston area are definitely hotbeds full of entrepreneurial tech people, but it's becoming a lot more commonplace to do in other places too now. Austin, Atlanta, LA, and other places are all seeing a lot more startups. Still, in terms of resources and like-minded individuals, the Bay Area is a clear number one and Boston is a clear number two.

[fish2plus2]

You passed on $20M? OMFG, I will never complain about bad beats again.

[El Diablo]

f2f,

Investors had veto power on a sale. Investment bankers advised us we would be dumb to take that offer because we were guaranteed 2-5x that much in a few months to a year. Then the whole market went to hell. Oh well.

[Clayton]

El Diablo,

1) Why do you enjoy doing what you do?

2) I am currently studying classical culture as a sophomore and researching finance and playing poker on my own and will prob make mid five figures or higher this year (I only mean to mention that to insinuate that after college I could support myself via poker, but not lucratively). I hate the 9-5 lifestyle. After poker I think I might want to do something centered around business or finance. Unfortunately, I will not have a financial background coming out of college. What's my best course of action to ensure that I can get the most out of the business/finance/sales sector without humping a cubicle or getting a high profile business degree?

[Reef]

[ QUOTE ]


Diet sodas taste the same as they ever did, gross.

[/ QUOTE ]

http://www.colawp.com/media/2/20060820-jazzes.jpg

Have you ever tasted these? (black cherry and strawberry cream) They are ridiculously good and happen to be a diet soda. I'd go even as far to say that I'd rather drink these than the original.

insane? or just weird taste?

[PokerJans]

Yo El Dizzle

Have you ever seen the movie StartUp.com?

StartUp.com IMDB (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0256408/)

One of my teachers popped in this in today during class. It definitly held my attention and I certainly will buy/finish it sometime if we dont in class. It could all be totally fake and unrealistic though for all I know.

Whatca know about 'VCs' yo?

[NotMitch]

El Diablo,

I have lived in SF for about 2 years now, and am thinking about buying a condo soon. What do you think about the market in SF? I will be looking at 1 brs on the low end of the market.

NotMitch

edit: I now have read the thread and see you dont know much about real estate. Reading is in fact fundamental it seems.

[El Diablo]

NM: I actually know a fair amount about the market here, because I've been looking for a while. My general feeling on SF is I always decide it's a bad time to buy and then the market always goes up. I think the tech upturn is gonna stay solid for a while now, so I imagine it's a decent time to buy now. Hopefully haakee will chime in here, he knows more about the market than me.

P: That movie is totally realistic, though not all founders are such dicks. Overall, though, it's a really good picture of how a lot of that stuff works.

Reef: No, never seen them. Pepsi sucks anyway. Also, I'm sure some of the newer high-tech sweeteners are not as bad as Nutrasweet or whatever.

Clayton: I like problem solving and creating/building stuff. Also like helping people achieve those types of goals. My business activities directly involve all of those things. As for a job, I dunno, go into sales maybe.

[mmbt0ne]

ED,

2 questions.

1) Why and I still not a mod? I figured it was because I had an avatar that used parkinson's patients to make fun of another 2p2 mod, but I took that down!!

2) Why do so many Indian men wear mustaches? It certainly doesn't seem to rub off on their American-born children.

[[censored]]

[ QUOTE ]
1) Why and I still not a mod? I figured it was because I had an avatar that used parkinson's patients to make fun of another 2p2 mod, but I took that down!

[/ QUOTE ]

mmbtone,

man if I can't get you in no one can.

[Borodog]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]


Diet sodas taste the same as they ever did, gross.

[/ QUOTE ]

http://www.colawp.com/media/2/20060820-jazzes.jpg

Have you ever tasted these? (black cherry and strawberry cream) They are ridiculously good and happen to be a diet soda. I'd go even as far to say that I'd rather drink these than the original.

insane? or just weird taste?

[/ QUOTE ]

Holy [censored] this stuff is good. They must take out the sugar and put in crack because I am [censored] hooked. Especially the strawberries and cream.

Great. Now I'm jonesing. You dirty [censored].

[anduril]

Have you been to Peter Luger's, and if so is it worth the price?

Same question for the Penthouse Executive Club, I saw an ad and it looks delicious. The steaks may be good, too.

[El Diablo]

and: Luger, yes. I think Wolfgang's is just as good, though, and much more convenient if you're visiting NYC. Haven't been to PEC.

m: 1. Very hard to say. I'll look into things. 2. Very hard to say. I'll look into things.

[gamblore99]

El D,
I am thinking of switching my career path and going into the business world. I will finish school this year with a degree in neuroscience, and a minor in bio. Anyways,

How important do you think aggression/negotiator skills are in the business world?

How important do you think having capital to start with is?

[anduril]

from what I've read of your posts, we have different scotch tastes. What do you look for in a scotch and what do you think the best deal under $100 is? I think I saw that you liked JW blue and I was pretty surprised. I went to a JW tasting at a liquor store and thought it wasn't much better than black, nevermind $150 better. I really liked gold though. It goes fantastic after dinner with a nice cigar. Which reminds me, do you ever have cigars?

[Tony_P]

El D,

does the addition of this forum mean that 2+2 will stop sucking so much and I should come back?

[jackdaniels]

[ QUOTE ]
El D,

does the addition of this forum mean that 2+2 will stop sucking so much and I should come back?

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm no El D, but if you take a quick look at the prolific posters that came out of the woodworks to post in this forum, you will quickly want back in. In fact Mr. Paladino, YOU should be applying for "thread starter" status.

[ShawnHoo]

ElD,

I recently left a business development mgr. position at Google. I had joined a startup in April '02 that was purchased by them the next year and had been there ever since.

I decided I wanted to take some time off to relax, play cards, and help my fiancee prepare for our September wedding.

How long could I conceivably go without having a "full-time" position before it became a big problem w/r/t my resume? I should mention that I hope to eventually end up at another startup and that playing poker will more than pay for my expenses in the meantime.

[NorCalJosh]

along the same lines as buying a condo in SF, do you have any thoughts about what other parts of the bay area you would choose to purchase property in? i currently rent in the east bay, and commute to san rafael, but it looks as though i may be changing jobs very shortly to a position in cotati. I also am looking to switch from renting to owning. Cotati is way the [censored] up there. should i look to purchase in the east bay and make the 45+ minute commute? should i look to buy up in the novato/cotati/santa rosa area? or is there any sense in buying in the city itself and still commuting?

[ALawPoker]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]


Diet sodas taste the same as they ever did, gross.

[/ QUOTE ]

http://www.colawp.com/media/2/20060820-jazzes.jpg

Have you ever tasted these? (black cherry and strawberry cream) They are ridiculously good and happen to be a diet soda. I'd go even as far to say that I'd rather drink these than the original.

insane? or just weird taste?

[/ QUOTE ]

Those sodas make very good mixers, for your run of the mill rum or vodka. I don't really like them on their own though. Too much goin' on. I don't want my soda to taste like that. But they are definitely an interesting product, and I can see why someone would like them.

[Tron]

Diablo,

Do you know any famous bloggers?!

[haakee]

[ QUOTE ]
NM: I actually know a fair amount about the market here, because I've been looking for a while. My general feeling on SF is I always decide it's a bad time to buy and then the market always goes up. I think the tech upturn is gonna stay solid for a while now, so I imagine it's a decent time to buy now. Hopefully haakee will chime in here, he knows more about the market than me.

[/ QUOTE ]

I hate to respond since it implies I'm actually reading this forum /images/graemlins/smile.gif I think it's rarely a bad time to buy if the following things hold for you (1) you can actually afford the place you're buying with a traditional fixed-rate 30-year mortgage, (2) you're not great at saving money on your own (buying forces you to "save money" effectively by making you put money towards an asset that will appreciate over the long-term), and (3) you plan on staying in the place for at least 7 years (long enough that a chances of a nominal downswing are significantly decreased).

That said, I'm not buying now because I think the market will be better in a few years, and #2 doesn't apply to me above (I am good at saving). Purchase/rent ratios are historically very high and while there are some reasons for this (more favorable tax treatment than ever before, historically low interest rates) I see some bad news coming, one being the adjustment of ARM loans which everybody around here seems to have specifically because they couldn't afford the place with a traditional loan. So what happens when their loan becomes more expensive? They can't afford it and have to sell.

There is a school of thought that says that "glamor" markets (e.g. SF, NY, London, Tokyo, etc.) are different. This has never been the case long-term in the past, but maybe the increasingly global economy will make this so moving forward. Perhaps a valid theory but I'm personally not willing to bet an $800K loft on it. (I'm always skeptical when people say "it's different here", or "it's different this time")

There's some good discussion on real estate in general on the Finance & Investing board on here.

[J.A.Sucker]

[ QUOTE ]
I am good at saving

[/ QUOTE ]

Naaaawwww.......... REALLLY?!??!?!?! /images/graemlins/grin.gif

XOXO,

The First Dime You Ever Made

/images/graemlins/heart.gif /images/graemlins/heart.gif /images/graemlins/heart.gif /images/graemlins/heart.gif /images/graemlins/heart.gif /images/graemlins/heart.gif /images/graemlins/heart.gif

[Eagles]

When you talk to your friends IRL who don't post on 2p2 do you tell them stuff like I have my own internet forum?

[EricCartman]

Do you know where I can find the clitoris?

[Mr. Now]

I want to know why Mr. El Diablo wears that totally goofy mask and overall, cartoon-like 'superhero' persona. Complete with ridiculous cape.

What kind of scotch does Captain Planet drink?
Does Barney like to pick up underage girls?

Can you get a message to SpongeBob for me?

[fish2plus2]

I have what I think are several good business ideas both web based and real life, the problem is that I am not willing to invest my own capital in starting them. What can you tell me about getting Other People's Money and what kind of deals these people normally get when investing? I am paranoid of even telling people about my ideas because I am afraid they will be stolen.

[Erik Blazynski]

It's easy to get your own forum here. Just run around acting like an ass on the other boards, and they give you one to keep you busy

[Colt McCoy]

Masked Devil,

Do you know who T for Truth is? If not, who do you think he might be?

[Rick Nebiolo]

[ QUOTE ]
Do you know where I can find the clitoris?

[/ QUOTE ]

I assume you are a guy and want to find it for the purpose of learning how to stimulate it with a high degree of skill and refinement (since El D is "skilled and refined" in most things).

IMO you should ask or take lessons from a lesbian, not El Diablo.

If a friendly, willing lesbian isn't handy read "The Hite Report" (http://tinyurl.com/3axo74) by Shere Hite. You'll find out most of what you need to know there.

~ Rick

[Howard Treesong]

[ QUOTE ]
How long could I conceivably go without having a "full-time" position before it became a big problem w/r/t my resume?

[/ QUOTE ]

Until recently, I ran recruiting for a major law firm. If your other credentials were good, I wouldn't blink if you had a year on your resume where you were a professional poker player. Poker has sufficient cachet these days that it won't hurt you overmuch, but I wouldn't overdo it, either.

I'd much rather see that than an unexplained gap.

[Howard Treesong]

You noted that you'd been deposed several times. Who was the most effective cross-examiner, and why? Conversely, who was the lawyer that did the best job preparing you for your deposition, and what was it that made them effective?

[lapoker17]

[ QUOTE ]
Bay Area and Boston area are definitely hotbeds full of entrepreneurial tech people, but it's becoming a lot more commonplace to do in other places too now. Austin, Atlanta, LA, and other places are all seeing a lot more startups. Still, in terms of resources and like-minded individuals, the Bay Area is a clear number one and Boston is a clear number two.


[/ QUOTE ]

no DC? maybe even ahead of boston.

[Rev. Good Will]

El D,

I live in Brooklyn Heights, right near the Brooklyn/Manhattan Bridges. Can you recommend any good dim sum/dumpling place to check out? Or should I just take a train to Canal Street?

[MatthewRyan]

El D, what are you thoughts on Jonny Walker Blue Label?

[CrayZee]

I'll take Restaurants for $1,000.

Answer: "El Diablo's favorite fast food restaurant."

What is...?

(And why?)

[El Diablo]

CZ: Chick-fil-A, because it is the most delicious fast food plus not even all that bad for you. Original chick-fil-a sandwich and nuggets are the best stuff on the menu.

MR: Blue Label is good, but overpriced. I'll start a whiskey thread here soon, but in the meantime go search for my OOT whiskey thread for options that I think are better for that price range.

RGW: No idea in Brooklyn. I've been to Jing Fong a couple of times and enjoyed it, but Daver says that is just OK and there are much better.

la: Here's the Q3 2006 info from PWC Moneytree.
Silicon Valley $1989M 31.85% 250
New England $578M 9.26% 87
LA/Orange County $543M 8.69% 56
Texas $534M 8.55% 49
NY Metro $390M 6.24% 56
Southeast $358M 5.73% 56
DC/Metroplex $332M 5.32% 54

Howard: I've been deposed a handful of times for either labor or patent law stuff. I'm not sure if what I went through on the patent stuff was actually a "deposition" or not. Not sure what you mean by "effective" cross-examiners. A couple of them were horrible because they just didn't have any idea about what they were talking about and what the rigth followup questions were. I think their client is at least partially to blame for that. The only useful advice I ever got on this topic was from the first lawyer I had preparing me for this process. He basically said, you'll want to explain stuff, but don't. Just answer yes or no most of the time and provide as little information as you need to to honestly answer the question. Your job is not to prepare their case for them. I followed that advice every time and almost every attorney has commented on how good I am at the process. Without that advice, I would ahve been horrible, because I definitely would be inclined to explain my answers a lot more.

Colt: I assume it's a mod or longtime 2+2er, beyond that haven't given it any thought.

f2p: There's really no such thing as "standard terms" when it comes to raising private capital. Every deal is different. The most important part of the process is finding people you trust to be involved with you, either by knowing them or via referral from people you know. Otherwise, especially for online type ideas, ideas being stolen is a very real concern.

Eagles: No. I think most would be surprised at the whole concept of me participating regularly on an Internet forum.

Tron: Yes, I know many famous tech bloggers!

NCJ: I was about to respond that haakee is a much better guy to address questions like that, but looks like he's intently reading this forum as expected!

Shawn: Given your experience at both a startup and then a BD manager at Google for 3 or so years, you could easily go indefinitely without a real job and jump back into the tech startup world.

anduril: See my comments above re: Blue. I have a cigar from time to time, but know little about them. I'm looking forward to learnign a lot in the cigar thread.

[mmbt0ne]

ED,

I have a few more questions, mostly about VC and China.

1) How do you think the current Chinese market compares to the current US market? How about the 1999 US market?

2) Why are US companies so horrible at moving their ideas over to China (eBay, etc)?

3) What are the chances of the Chinese cracking down on some of the blatant plagiarism by Chinese firms on US companies? It seems like the common school of thought is "very little" as plenty of US dollars are flowing into the formation of these companies.

For example...

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t156/mmbt0ne/ucloo.jpg

[cbloom]

El D,

do you have a good tax guy who can do poker? Is it worth it for a normal person to pay the higher fee for a really qualified tax preparer?

[iversonian]

"The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all." Ecclesiastes 9:11

So far, you seem to have had a very fulfilling life. How much of that do you think was due to your innate talents and other positive qualities developed through force of will vs due to random chance?

Suppose there were a million alternate universes, each with an El Diablo born under identical circumstances until he enters high school (which is about when we can be held fully responsible for our actions). Each instance is given a slight kick to randomize events. Events happen, like your father dies, or you meet some bad friends, or you fall in love with music, etc., distributed by probability of each occuring. How do you think your life looks in:

a. the 10th percentile quality life?
b. in the 90th percentile?
c. Where would you rate your life today at? i.e., how lucky have you been?

[DarkForceRising]

Diablo,

Did you die a little inside when Aishwarya Rai's engagement was announced recently? I thought of you immediately and felt kinda sad. /images/graemlins/frown.gif

Sorry, just reread your original outline and this is about you personally. However, I think it's a pretty valid exception since she is perfect and all threads can benefit from pics of her.

http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/MMPH/C56541~Aishwarya-Rai-Posters.jpg

[LyinKing]

For NYC folks, the closest experience to the French Laundry is, unsurprisingly, Per Se. http://www.perseny.com

I'd also recommend the Modern restaurant at MOMA. Great view and food, relatively reasonable prices, impeccable service, and a different vibe than that of the Jean Georges stable of places.

[raindrops]

it would really suck to have even the slightest obligation to respond to all of these... you are a machine El D

[haakee]

NCJ: Short answer, I think the boonies (Cotati being a prime example) are going to fare worse than more centrally located properties (e.g. SF, Oakland, and the peninsula). Demand is going to fall more sharply in the outskirts and there's been more room to overbuild.

[kioshk]

You're such a happening dude, such a Renaissance man; do you attribute your greatness to nature or nurture?

And tell us more about your experiences in Norway, please.

[theBruiser500]

Okay here are some questions:

is your best friend a girl or a boy?

what is one of your favorite skills you currently posses? what skills are you giving priority to learning in the future? are you really learning parkour or are you too old? would you really beat me in soccer?

have you ever been fired, details? what is one of your biggest regrets (or maybe you don't live with regrets? i know quids doesn't) in business? IE. studying something in college you didn't use, doing a venture half heartedly, getting involved in a half baked illegal scheme, etc.?

have you ever seduced a girl who didn't like you? btw thank you for the story to TC on losing alot of money, makes me feel better about some of the mistakes i've made in poker.

[El Diablo]

Bruiser,

"is your best friend a girl or a boy?" If I had to go with one, my "best" friend is a guy. Out of my five or so super-close friends, one of them is a girl. I'm also super-close to my sister, but I don't count her in this.

"what is one of your favorite skills you currently posses?" Hmmm, I dunno man, anything from putting deals together at work to being good at learning languages to beind a decent snowboarder could be my pick of the moment.

"what skills are you giving priority to learning in the future?"
I really want to focus on more languages. Also continue to improve some athletic skills.

"are you really learning parkour or are you too old? would you really beat me in soccer?"
I'm not really learning parkour yet, but I'm pretty serious about getting to a level of shape where I am capable of doing some of the pure physical strength/flexibility skills. Probably not gonna do so much on the jumping. Yes, I would beat you in soccer.

"have you ever been fired, details?"
No.

"what is one of your biggest regrets (or maybe you don't live with regrets? i know quids doesn't) in business?"
I don't have any real regrets in business. There are tons of things that I could have done differently to make more money, many of those things were active choices to go a different route. I look back on some choices and in retrospect I probably would make different choices if I had it to do again, but nothing that I regret, really. My only regrets have to do with a couple of relationships that I probably should have pursued more seriously but didn't for whatever dumb reasons at the time.

"have you ever seduced a girl who didn't like you?"
Yes.

[El Diablo]

k: Heh, I would not characterize myself as "great" though I do think I'm a pretty nice and smart guy who has accomplished a fair amount. I think I have a ways to go to achieve "greatness" though. I'd say who I am is largely due to having good, supportive parents and being in an environemtn where I was able to develop what skills/talents I was born with. I lived in Oslo for 5th, 6th, and 7th grades. It was an incredible experience, I loved Norway. Went to Oslo American School (DoD school) there and spoke fluent Norwegian. That was where I had a lot of my firsts w/ girls, so it will always have a special place in my heart!

DFR: ENGAGED!?!?!?!?!! NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

iv: I was very lucky to be born with the abilities I had, have a great family, and be in a solid socioeconomic situation. Huge luck there. Beyond that, I think my luck in life has been very average. I've had few really bad breaks and few really good breaks. Generally, I'd say my life is pretty much what I have made of it. The more complete answer to your question probably requires a separate thread, which might be interesting for people. I'll add that to the list.

c: I don't know about poker taxes. I just pay all my poker taxes straight up and don't do anything complicated. All my tax complications have to do with stock-related issues.

tone: I don't know a ton about the Chinese tech market outside of the fact that tons of VCs are pursuing it super-hard. I think that's because there are a lot of Chinese people. Check out some VC blogs, there is a TON written on this topic.

[slush fund]

how much time do you spend on 2+2 while at work and at anytime do you feel guilty about doing it on "company" time?

and a follow up, if you had a partner (or if you do), how would you react if your partner blocked 2+2, or any other "recreation" sites because he/she felt that it was unfair to them that you are doing it while at work

[El Diablo]

slush,

I have 2+2 up all the time. I generally never spend more than a 5 minute chunk of time on 2+2. That is how I have always worked all my life. If I weren't on 2+2 during calls and between spurts of emails or documents, I'd be texting someone or surfing the web or doing something. My work is generally either crap that I'm half paying attention to on the phone, and doing 2+2 stuff at the same time, or stuff that requires intense focus/concentration, after which I need a little break.

That's why I'm pretty much never posting serious strategy stuff during the daytime, it requires more thought and time than I can devote while I'm working.

At my first job, some people got in trouble for posting too much on the internal discussion board. A couple of those people asked why a friend and I, who both posted more than anyone else, weren't getting in any trouble. The director said that was because we were two of the most billable guys in the company and got the highest reviews from our managers and clients and were requested on every project in the company.

That was 14 years ago. So, posting crap as a diversion to help me work productively is nothing new to me.

As for my partner, he checks deal sites and reads slashdot and gadget blogs and other such stuff for the same reason.

[NorCalJosh]

haakee-

F. That's a long way to drive=(.

[goofball]

Which languages do you speak at what level of proficiency?

Do you know David Hornik of venturecast? (I don't I just enjoy listening to his podcast)

[El Diablo]

goof,

Hindi dialect, fluently.
Hindi, enough to get by.
English, pretty well.
Spanish, enough to communicate, could get fluent easily
Italian, same thing
Norwegian, one month in Norway and I'm fluent
A few others where I can stumble by.

Yeah, I've known David for years.

[KingDan]

Diablo,

Thoughts on taking off a year before going to college?

Where would you recommend a group of 18-20 year olds live in California? The US?

[KyleC]

El Diablo
Need a personal chef? Seems like you enjoy good food /images/graemlins/laugh.gif Well I can cook it!

[knifeandfork]

hello latex covered warrior,
Dominus , Insignia, or another california / domestic favorite?
How funny is tommy angelo in person?
sounds silly to ask but how is the modern art scene in SF in your opinion?
thanks,
jason

[Allinlife]

Dear El Diablo,
I'm currently enrolled at U of Toronto for B.Commerce program, and absolutely hating it because I don't feel challenged enough, most of what we learn seem useless/cookie cutter stuff etc. However I took an intro to psych as an elective and absolutely loved it. I'm thinking B.Com degree by it self is not really valuable unless I plan to get MBA, but that's another 4 years after I get my degree and I really don't see my self doing that.

I'm thinking of changing my major to psychology, continue to play poker on the side and peruse business in entrepreneurship after I graduate. I've had decent success at poker (5/10nl) so I have some capital saved up and I think I have what it takes to be successful as an entrepreneur.

Can I get your 2 cents?

[fish2plus2]

Diablo,

If I create a website that gets alot of hits, are there people I can hire who specialize in figuring out the best way for me to turn those hits into $? Sometimes I notice small sites will have advertisements from big companies, how did they get these companies to advertise on their website? - through a middle man like I described above?

[fish2plus2]

Diablo,

Why doesnt Blarg post in this forum?

Do you know of any sitcoms/tv shows that shown and marketed only on the internet? This seems like one of the easiest ways to make 10 million bucks.

[El Diablo]

KKF: You'd have to ask Blarg why he doesn't post here.

KKF: Probably the first series to be done completely on the Internet was TheSpot.com. That was probably ten years ago. Since then there have been tons of short format video series done just on the Internet. There are tons and tons of these now. The challenge here is the same as in TV or movies. It is not easy to come up with good, compelling, creative content. People who succeed at that on the Internet will make money.

KKF: If you get a ton of hits, the first thing you do is stick Google adwords on there, you can do that yourself. The next step up is to go with a middleman firm like Federated Media, which will sell your ad space to big companies at higher rates. Once you grow beyond that, you hire an ad sales staff who works directly with ad agencies and big companies to sell ads at the highest rates.

AIL: If you're bored with what you're doing at school and have found something that is more interesting, most definitely follow that path.

kaf: I haven't had too many super expensive old California wines, but I have had some Opus One that I really loved. Tommy Angelo is more awesome and cool and insightful and nice than funny in person. Modern art scene in SF is pretty weak imo.

Kyle: Please participate in OOT Iron Chef and I'll consider you for personal chef role!

King: I think takign a year off before college, taking semesters abroad, or anything like that is just a great idea. One of my regrets is not doing enough stuff like that when I was younger. 18-20yos in Cali I would recommend living someplace near the beach in SoCal. In the US, tons of places, but not many that beat that.

[KexChoklad123]

El Diablo

You really speak norwegian? Then you basically speak swedish and danish to /images/graemlins/smile.gif Really cool if you do! I have one question, of all the posters here that offers coaching, who would you recommend?

*It would have to be online coaching for online play
*I play 3-6 and 5-10 NL/PLO, mainly short and HU

Who would you recommend and why?
Who would'nt you recommend and why?

Last question is optional /images/graemlins/smile.gif


Cheers!

[knifeandfork]

thanks for the response, wow i thought it would have been a given for an active/good art scene;( my gf is in to modern art and is looking at grad programs (in a different discipline though) so there is a good chance we'll be moving next year. in my not so extensive experience i like the more french styled dominus over the insignia , but being in cali it might be the opposite for you:) Opus has a big name but is not as available here in va (except in a few restaurants at ridic mark up of course) so i v e never tasted it. might be too late to bump this so sorry if it is ..
jason

[El Diablo]

K: Jeg snakker norsk! Just a little now, but give me a few weeks in Norway and I would be fluent again. As for coaches, unfortunately I'm not very familiar with who's offering lessons these days. If you list some names, I'll be happy to say who I know is smart and good.

kaf: Opus is ridiculously marked up here as well. I generally avoid the "big name" wines for that reason.

[offTopic]

Masked Man:

When you become a big-time hip-hop producer, will you go by "El Diablo", or will you adopt a new nom de plume?

[viciouspenguin]

sorry if this has already been asked.

if i were to be the sole investor in a startup internet company with an unique idea (a good analogy: i am the sole investor for servers, advertising, etc. for facebook when it was in beta), what would be a standard contract/% ownership/etc.? what should a standard investment be? there is one main programmer, and two others involved whose roles i am unsure about at the moment. i intend to meet in person with them in a week or two. thanks in advance

[gwhiz_612]

El D,
This is one of the hightest quality forums on 2p2 IMO good job!

[psyduck]

Wow, amazing thread. I need to frequent your forum more mr. diablo! /images/graemlins/smile.gif

Are you Indian? Were you born in India or in Oslo? When did you come to the US? How strict/traditional are you parents? Did they have "plans" for you growing up (like you becoming a doctor/engineer/whatever, getting an arranged marriage etc)?

[El Diablo]

psy: Yes, London, when I was about 8, not that strict or traditional, not really but like all Indian parents they of course have their ideas which they'd like to see. In terms of work, I think all Indian parents want lawyers/doctors/engineers, but I've done well in business so they are very proud of that. As for girls, I conditioned them by having them see some really crazy girls I was with in high school, so now they'll be delighted if I just marry a non-psycho.

g: Thanks!

oT: will have to consult with my advisors on that.

vp: There's just absolutely no standards in that sort of thign. Could range from anything from putting in $20k and getting 50% of the company to putting in a million and getting a few percentage points. When you get into further discussions, feel free to ask more specific questions.

All: Locking this thread. Feel free to post any random questions in the "random stuff" thread.