The stock market closed on a nice upper today, the last day of January, with the Dow Jones Industrial Index rising more than 98 points, approaching a record high. With today's close, it is time to check on the progress of the Magic Formula Index that we initiated on December 13.

At that time we introduced Joel Greenblatt's book The Little Book That Beats the Market. In his book, Greenblatt shared his success with the Magic Formula.

Recall that we started with a notional $100,000 investment in a basket of 25 stocks. The investment is now worth $104,482. The index is up 4.5% versus 1.9% for the Standard and Poor's 500 Index, which closed today at 1438.24 (the Index closed on December 12 at 1411.56).

In our basket of stocks, 15 are up and 10 are down. The best performing stock is Pinnacle Airlines Corp., up 69.7%. The worst performer is OmniVision Technologies, down 20.9%.

Details of the index, assuming closing prices on December 12 and January 31:

• Aspreva Pharmaceuticals Corp. (ASPV), $19.70 vs. 19.94, up 1.2%
• Biovail Corp. (BVF), $21.00 vs. $20.38, down 3.0%
• Cavco Industries Inc. (CVCO), $34.41vs $32.37, down 5.9%
• EPIQ Systems Inc. (EPIQ), $15.76 vs. $18.07, up 14.7%
• Earthlink Inc. (ELNK), $6.42 vs. 7.31, up 13.9%
• Fording Canadian Coal Trust (FDG), $22.58 vs. $22.66, up 0.4%
• Freight Car America Inc. (RAIL), $53.39 vs. $58.11, up 8.8%
• Frontier Oil Corp. (FTO), $31.34 vs. $28.41, down 9.3%
• Harvest Natural Resources Inc. (HNR), $10.21 vs. $10.06, down 1.5%
• King Pharmaceuticals Inc. (KG), $16.56 vs. $17.86, up 7.9%
• Korn/Ferry International (KFY), $22.30 vs. $23..88 vs. 7.1%
• Mannatech Inc. (MTEX), $13.46 vs. $16.13, up 19.8%
• New Frontier Media Inc.(NOOF), $9.31 vs. $9.19, down 1.3%
• OmniVision Technologies Inc. (OVTI), $14.59 vs. $11.54, down 20.9%
• PW Eagle (PWEI), $34.96 vs. $32.98, down 5.7%
• Palm Inc. (PALM), $14.01 vs. $13.88, down 1.3%
• Pinnacle Airlines Corp. (PNCL), $10.34 vs. $17.55, up 69.7%
• PortalPlayer Inc. (PLAY), $13.40 vs. $13.48, up 0.6%
• True Religion Apparel Inc. (TRLG), $15.41 vs. $16.75, up 8.7%
• United Online Inc. (UNTD), $13.38 vs. $14.04, up 4.9%
• Vaalco Energy Inc. (EGY), $7.97 vs. %6.51, down 18.3%
• Valassis Communications Inc. (VCI), $16.44 vs. $15.37, donw 6.5%
• Verigy Ltd. (VRGY), $18.06 vs. $18.33, up 1.5%
• ViroPharma Inc. (VPHM), $14.99 vs. $17.03, up 13.6%
• Western Refining Inc. (WNR), $27.17 vs. $27.35, up 0.7%

Pierre Cutler
The Sacramento Executive

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As do you, I get lots of joke emails during the day and usually I just delete them, but once in a while I open one and peruse and then go back to deleting again. But the other day, I read this piece and it really amused me. Hope you enjoy it.

THE SILENT TREATMENT

A man and his wife were having some problems at home and were giving each other the silent treatment. Suddenly, the man realized that the next day, he would need his wife to wake him at 5:00 AM for an early morning business flight.

Not wanting to be the first to break the silence (and LOSE), he wrote on a piece of paper, "Please wake me at 5:00 AM " He left it where he knew she would find it.

The next morning, the man woke up, only to discover it was 9:00 AM and he had missed his flight. Furious, he was about to go and see why his wife hadn't wakened him, when he noticed a piece of paper by the bed. The paper said, "It is 5:00 AM. Wake up."

Men are not equipped for these kinds of contests.

Gillian Parrillo
The Sacramento Executive

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 7:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The local tech blogs, SacStarts and TechTomato, are abuzz about the latest news from Sacramento startup, Revionics.

Revionics, provider of price optimization software for small and medium sized retailers, announced that it has attained several important milestones in the areas of funding, internal growth, and customer count.

Revionics is about to move to Granite Bay Business Park to make room for its rapidly expanding operations. The company has tripled its number of subscribing customers and is forecasting a substantial additional increase this year. The company has recently received outside funding to assist with fueling this growth. The private company did not reveal specifics of the funding or number of customers or staff.

Keep a close watch on these guys. They have been around for several years slowly building their operations, refusing to take the rebuffs from the local investment community personally, making some mistakes along the way, but always recovering and getting back on track. The key to their success in my view - they really know who their customer is and how to get to them to show the value of their solution and, it doesn't hurt, they are in a hot space. I have very high hopes.

Gillian Parrillo
The Sacramento Executive

Disclosure: I have been a sometime adviser to this company

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Starting Jan. 30, every Staples store in the U.S. will have an in-store technician to help customers with services such as hardware and software installations, data protection and security, and repair and troubleshooting. Staples is offering free installation of Windows Vista Home Premium, Windows Vista Business, and Windows Vista Ultimate, $19.99 unlimited installation of any software, $29.99 unlimited installation of any hardware, and $39.99 unlimited hardware/software combinations from Jan. 30 - March 31.

Not sure if Vista is right for you? Entreprenur.com gives you all the pros and cons.

My computer screen has given out, right before the hard disk grinds to a halt - I can already hear the tell tale signs. So, as soon as my new computer arrives, I am going to install Vista and the latest version of Office. I will let you know how it goes.

Gillian Parrillo
The Sacramento Executive

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Newspaper publisher McClatchy Co. gave Chief Executive Gary Pruitt a $950,000 bonus for the 2006 fiscal year, maintaining the same bonus level as the previous year.

The company, which completed the $4.5 billion acquisition of Knight Ridder Inc. last summer and sold off 12 newspapers after that deal was announced, disclosed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Monday that the company's compensation commitee on Jan. 23 awarded Pruitt the bonus. For this year, Pruitt's bonus will be set based on the company's cash flow and "achievement of non-financial goals," the SEC filing said. This year, Pruitt is to earn base pay of $1.1 million, up from $1.05 million last year.

Source: AP

Meantime, across town, CSUS professors are walking the picket line. CSU system officials say they've made an "excellent" offer for raising faculty pay over the next four years, amounting to 27 percent in some cases. Union leaders say that too much of the offer is discretionary and is more like 14 percent over four years. Professors at CSU earn, on average, $71,000, according to the California Postsecondary Education Commission. Many newcomers are making around $50,000 and say they're feeling more pinched by paychecks frozen by recent state budget cuts and the lapsed contract.

The Legislature gave CSU extra money this year for raises and other costs, but the funds for faculty pay are being held until the contract issues are resolved. As the impasse continues, the faculty, who have only received one raise in the past four years, are furious that two rounds of pay raises have been approved for campus president Alexander Gonzalez and other CSU executives since 2005. Gonzalez's salary was increased to $265,000, retroactive to July 1, 2006.

Source: Sacramento Bee

All of this leads me to state the obivous. Why do we pay a newspaper publisher $2M a year when we pay a University president $250,000 a year and a university professor $50,000 a year? Doesn't it seem that our priorities are out of whack?

Gillian Parrillo
The Sacramento Executive

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Bluepoint Energy Inc.

Makes: Efficient, low-emissions "cogeneration" power units that provide both electricity and heat
Headquarters: El Dorado Hills
Number of employees: 30
Founded: 2000
Value of contracts signed during the year ending June 30, 2006: $4 million
Value of contracts signed during the year ending June 30, 2007 (projected): $60 million
Market capitalization: $84.4 million
Stock symbol: CPEU.OB; trades on Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board
Friday's closing price: $3.22
Jan. 12, 2006, closing price: $0.22

Biggest gamble to take on $4B market-cap gorilla already in the market:

Per CEO Archbold, "I made a strategic decision, which was to really prolong our (research and development period), rather than just coming out with the technology we had," he said.
He aimed his product for a far-off regulatory barrier that he guessed would define the future of the cogeneration market: the California Air Resources Board's 2007 emissions standards, which were adopted in 2001. While the air board sets standards that apply only in California, its regulations can carry great weight in the global marketplace because other states and even nations often follow the state's lead. To make it through that long period without any sales, Archbold invested his own money in the company, attracted $8 million in venture capital and gave his engineering team a chance to do its work. Archbold says he had to push hard against others in the company who wanted to put out a product more quickly.

Turns out his gamble has paid off handsomely. He just bought himself a brand new Porsche and the company looks like it's on its way to be a worldwide star.

Source: Sacramento Bee

Read the whole story, it's a fascinating study of a startup and the value of a strong leader.

Gillian Parrillo
The Sacramento Executive

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Grass Valley based VTrac Systems, a GPS-based security and logistics startup located in Grass Valley, CA has filed for bankruptcy. Many investors in the local area have invested in, worked with, and tried long and hard to take this seemingly high-potential company to the next level, but, it seems, it was not meant to be.

Gillian Parrillo
The Sacramento Executive

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I am not a doctor, scientist, nurse, or nutritionist. And I am not blind. I can plainly see that Americans are fat, and getting fatter. Fat kills. Fat hits my pocketbook whether or not I am fat - taxpayers and insurance programs pay for fat people's health care issues.

Everywhere I go, the advertising media is promoting another type of diet - Scarsdale, Atkins, South Beach, Zone, Rosedale, low-carb. We are bombarded with all kinds of ways to lose weight. But, apparently these promotions are not working. Americans eat more calories and have a higher obesity rate than any other country.

Let's get back to basics. Here's a fool-proof way to eat healthy and not get fat. Simply eat food that is natural and not wrapped in any packaging. If you follow this rule, you will not be fat. Try fruits, vegetables, nuts, and fresh fish. Throw in a bit of meat now and then.

And stop eating big portions. When done eating, exercise. Now get started!

Pierre Cutler
The Sacramento Executive

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Digital Music Group Signs Deal With iTunes

AFX News
01/24/07 12:11 PM PT

Digital Music Group announced Wednesday a three-year deal to sell its licensed video content to Apple's iTunes Store. The company's collection includes historic news broadcasts and classic TV episodes, including "Hopalong Cassidy" and "My Favorite Martian." Digital Music Group licenses and sells video and audio content to online music stores.

Shares of Digital Music Group soared more than 9.5 percent in extremely heavy trading Wednesday, after the company filed documents that outlined a three-year pact with Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iTunes.

The Sacramento, Calif.-based company will sell its video content on Apple's widely popular iTunes store, according to a document filed late Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Apple will pay fixed wholesale prices for each downloaded television program or movie.

Digital Music's collection includes historic news broadcasts and classic TV episodes, including "Hopalong Cassidy" and "My Favorite Martian."

Digital Music acquires the rights and digitizes music and videos, and makes them available to online music stores including iTunes, Google Video, RealNetworks, Napster, Wal-Mart Music and Yahoo Music.

Shares of Digital Music increased 36 US cents to $4.15, with more than 184,000 shares trading -- about 11 times the average daily volume during the past month. Apple stock climbed $1.15 -- or 1.3 percent -- to $86.85 in mid-day trading.

DMGI closed at $4.02 on Friday.

Gillian Parrillo
The Sacramento Executive

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From the New York Times, Sunday January 28, 2007 -

"...have a common view at the highest level of what the company needs to do to succeed: hire great people, make big bets and take the long view and be patient where we think there are the greatest opportunities."

- Bill Gates, CEO Microsoft

Sound advice for all companies, regardless of size or life-cycle stage. And note, it all begins with the team - hiring great people. Why would great people want to work for your company? Every manager in your organization needs to be able to answer this question.

Most successful angel and venture capital investors base their investment decision on the team. Warren Buffett's embraces this practice in his decision making as well - "You can't make a good deal with a bad person".

Hire great people. If you do, great things are likely to occur.

Pierre Cutler
The Sacramento Executive

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Last night Pierre and I attended a performance of the Dallas Symphony. The program included pieces by two Finnish composers. In the program was a writeup about Finland's dedication to musical education and the amazing results it has produced. Evidence is that despite its small size - approximately 5 million people - Finland has, and continues to, produce an abundance of important musicians.

In the 1960's, the Finnish government sponsored state grants to performing artists and composers. This investment spawned a wealth of music schools, orchestras and festivals. One example is the conductor training program at the Sibelius Academy which is among the finest in the world. Another factor is that music is a normal part of every day life for all students starting in elementary school. This ensures that musical programs receive lifetime support from welll-educated audiences.

As I read this amazing story, I looked around the Meyerson Symphony Center (home of the Dallas Symphony). The crowd was predominantly white and older. And there were many empty seats.

And then I remembered how we have constantly cut music programs from schools in this country. (The Center on Education Policy, found that since the passage of No Child Left Behind into federal law, 71 percent of the nation's 15,000 school districts had reduced the hours of instructional time spent on history, music and other subjects to open up more time for reading and math). But research has proven time and again that music education improves academic success, life skills and reduces crime. From the Reading, Writing and Rhythm Foundation:

Music education improves things such as SAT scores, school attendance, the ability to work in teams, self-esteem, self-discipline, early cognitive development, creativity, spatial reasoning skills, basic math and reading skills and the knowledge of other cultures and history. Scientific studies have proven that music participation builds brainpower in children by enhancing vital intellectual skills. As a result, music participation increases a child's ability to learn basic math and reading. Students who participate in music programs score significantly higher on standardized tests while at the same time developing crucial skills to be successful in life. Students involved in music are also less likely to be involved in gangs, drugs, or alcohol abuse and have better attendance in school. Most importantly though, students enjoy it!

Let's push for the return of music education to our schools. We can't afford to let another generation go by.

Gillian Parrillo
The Sacramento Executive

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A very interesting look at drugs and the top read list on AlterNet in 2006.

The Top 10 Things I Know About Drugs By Tony Newman, AlterNet. Posted June 2, 2006.

We have to learn how to live with drugs -- because they aren't going anywhere.

I know a lot about drugs and the drug war, both personally and professionally. Drugs have had a positive and a detrimental impact on my life. I have laughed, played and found inspiration while intoxicated. I have also struggled, fought and cried because of my addiction to drugs.

I have spent the last six years working for an organization that is working to reform drug laws. I have read thousands of newspapers articles, had thousands of conversations and spent thousands of days thinking about drugs. What follows are the top 10 (plus one) things I have learned from my immersion with drugs and the drug war.

1. Drugs are everywhere. Despite a $40 billion a year "war on drugs" and political speeches about a "drug-free society," our society is swimming in drugs. Cigarettes, sugar, alcohol, marijuana, Prozac, Ritalin, Viagra, steroids and caffeine. The vast majority of Americans use drugs on a regular basis. People always have and always will.

2. Different people have different relationships with different drugs. My wife is someone who can enjoy an occasional cigarette and only smokes when she drinks. I am an addict who cannot control my cigarette problem. If I have one cigarette, I will end up smoking a pack a day. Some people have serious problems with alcohol and can't enjoy even a single drink. I can handle alcohol and enjoy a drink or two some nights, leave it alone on others, and I rarely have negative experiences with it. Different strokes for different folks.

3. People use drugs for joy and for pain. Many people enjoy using mind- and body-altering substances. How many of us enjoy having some drinks and going out dancing? How many of us enjoy a little smoke after a nice dinner with friends? Many people bond with others or find inspiration alone while high on drugs.

On the flip side, many people self-medicate to try to ease the pain in their lives. How many have us have had too much to drink to drown our sorrows over a breakup or some other painful event? How many of us smoke cigarettes to deal with anxiety or stress?

4. Drug abuse does not discriminate, but our drug policies do. Rush Limbaugh, Noelle Bush and Patrick Kennedy remind us that drug addiction does not discriminate. Unfortunately, our drug policies do. Ninety-three percent of the people incarcerated under New York's draconian Rockefeller drug laws are black or Latino, despite equal drug use among blacks and whites. Treatment for the privileged, jail for the poor.

5. Relapse happens. Anyone who has tried to quit cigarettes knows that relapse happens. I have unsuccessfully tried to quit cigarettes 15 times. While we know that drug treatment is more humane and more effective than prison, it is not a silver bullet. Many people will quit, relapse and need support to quit again.

6. Smoking five cigarettes is better than smoking 20. Using marijuana is better than using heroin. Many well-intentioned people think drugs are terrible and abstinence is always the answer. I believe that progress can be made, even if someone continues to use drugs. My 70-year-old landlord is a pack-a-day smoker. After some serious health problems, he is now down to smoking two cigarettes a day. This is progress. Some people who have struggled with heroin have been able to quit heroin, but still use marijuana. Our criminal justice system and many in the abstinence-only treatment world would view this as a failure and send the marijuana smoker to jail. I say congrats on giving up heroin. Keep it up.

7. Drug abuse is bad, but the drug war is worse. Locking someone up in a cage for using marijuana or some other drug when no harm has been done to anyone else is cruel and inhumane. People who prohibit clean syringes to reduce the spread of HIV have blood on their hands. Denying financial aid to students who have a drug offense is counterproductive. Many of our country's laws are more harmful than the substances they are trying to combat.

8. Prohibition doesn't work. Prohibition is responsible for most of the violence associated with drugs. We tried to prohibit alcohol in the 1920s. It did not get rid of alcohol, but it did create a black market for hooch, and empowered and enriched violent gangsters like Al Capone. Marijuana and cocaine are not responsible for the drug war shootouts. What is responsible is the fact that both are worth more than gold because they are illegal. It is the underground trade of these drugs that causes people to kill each other over the right to sell them. No one is shooting anyone else over a Budweiser anymore.

9. Drugs and the drug war touch most families. Almost every family in America has to deal with drug addiction or the war on drugs. Millions of people have a loved one behind bars on drug charges. Many millions more have struggled themselves or have a loved one who has dealt with addiction to illegal or legal drugs. By declaring a "war on drugs" we have declared a war on ourselves.

10. We have to learn how to live with drugs, because they aren't going anywhere. The drug war has been waged over the last 30 years. Currently we have 500,000 people behind bars on drug charges. We spend $40 billion a year, and despite the decades of war, incarceration rates and money spent, drugs are as plentiful as ever and easily accessible. We have to accept that drugs have been around for thousands of years and will be here for thousands more. We need to educate people about the possible harm from drug use, offer compassion and treatment to people who have problems and leave in peace the people who are causing harm to no one.

*Bonus point: The public is ahead of the politicians. The majority of Americans supports treatment instead of incarceration. Californian voters passed Proposition 36 in 2000. Since its passage, more than 60,000 people have received treatment instead of jail for their nonviolent drug offenses. Eleven states have approved medical marijuana for sick and dying patients. It is the timid politicians who are resistant to change. We need to continue to demonstrate to our leaders that we want an end to the war on our families. If the people lead, the leaders will follow.

Tony Newman is communications director for the Drug Policy Alliance.

Gillian Parrillo
The Sacramento Executive

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USA Today reports:

Venture capitalists invested $25.5 billion in 2006, the industry's biggest burst of dealmaking since the dot-com bust clogged the financial spigot for entrepreneurs five years ago. A renewed interest in Internet start-ups, combined with expanding opportunities in the health care and alternative energy markets spurred a 12% increase from $22.8 billion invested in 2005, according to figures jointly released by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Thomson Financial and the National Venture Capital Association.

Pierre Cutler
The Sacramento Executive

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Breathe California of Sacramento-Emigrant Trails requests your help in identifying Clean Air Champions for the 2007 Clean Air Awards.

For years, our region has been listed as one of the most polluted metropolitan areas in the country; however, our status has been improving thanks to the many businesses, individuals, agencies and organizations that go above and beyond to help make our region a healthier place to live and breathe.

If you know an individual or organization that has been working to improve air quality in our region, please nominate them for a Clean Air Award!

The awards will be presented at the 31st Annual Clean Air Awards Luncheon on May 24, 2007 at the Sheraton Grand Sacramento.

Visit www.sacbreathe.org for more information.

The nomination deadline is January 31, 2007. Nominations may be submitted as follows:

Mail to:
Breathe California of Sacramento-Emigrant Trails
909 12th Street
Sacramento, CA 95814

Fax to: (916)444-6661

Email to: judyb@sacbreathe.org

Gillian Parrillo
The Sacramento Executive

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Twenty-five (25) greater Sacramento area museums—more than ever before—will be offering free admission during the Ninth Annual Sacramento Museum Day presented by the Sacramento Association of Museums and proudly supported by Starbucks Coffee Company. Sacramento Museum Day takes place Saturday, February 3, 2007, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (all participating museums close at 5 p.m.). Free shuttle buses will serve many of the participating museums (all routes begin/end/transfer at the California Museum for History, Women & the Arts, which can be accessed via Regional Transit Light Rail – Archives Plaza station). For more details, visit

Do yourself a favor - check out some remarkable Sacramento venues. The price is right!

Gillian Parrillo
The Sacramento Executive

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From Point-Travel

During the Gold Rush of 1849, Old Sacramento thrived as the largest trading center in California, today, as the capital city of California, Sacramento is just as busy.

In a way Sacramento is a 'western' version of Washington DC, with people in suites having meetings in 'classy' restaurants about 'important' issues. For the business traveler, Sacramento is the usual mix of business, pleasure and a few drinks at the bar.

For visitors, the area has a little more to offer. Main attractions include Old town Sacramento, a well-preserved 1800's era community, numerous museums, Cal Expo, Sutter's Fort State Historic Park, Arden Fair Mall and much more.

The historical Gold Rush city that has grown to become the capital of one of the richest lands in the world is one of those towns that is sure worth a visit.

I added the bold because I thought it was hysterical...people in suites (are they in suits too?). And do you need to wear a suit at the bar to have your usual few drinks at the bar if you are a business traveler?

No wonder Sacramento can't get any respect!

Gillian Parrillo
The Sacramento Executive

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 10:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I came across this on the web today and was horrified! CitySearch, through its local editor, Elizabeth Bucceri, lists the

Top Ten Experiences in Sacramento as:

From a popular landmark or attraction to a must-visit restaurant or bar, uncover Sacramento's ultimate top 10 experiences.

1. Arco Arena
1 Sports Pkwy, Sacramento, CA
Throw on your Chris Webber jersey, paint your face purple and "feel the roar" of the crowd as you cheer the Kings.

2. California State Capitol Museum
10th St & Capitol Ave, Sacramento, CA
Pace around this grand building that houses the governing bodies of the Golden State.

3. Biba
2801 Capitol Ave, Sacramento, CA
Taste some of the best northern Italian cooking in the country at celebrity chef Biba Caggiano's award-winning restaurant.

4. Esquire Grill
1213 K St, Sacramento, CA
Sip a glass of wine while rubbing elbows with politicians like Gov. Schwarzenegger, known to frequent this classy eatery.

5. The Delta King
1000 Front St, Sacramento, CA
Climb aboard this historic riverboat and try not to look suspicious during the interactive murder-mystery show.

6. Pancake Circus
2101 Broadway, Sacramento, CA
You're not a local until you've joined the down, the out and just plain broke for cheap hotcakes at this longtime greasy spoon.

7. Sheraton Grand Sacramento
1230 J St., Sacramento, CA
Sip a cool martini while curled up on an overstuffed couch overlooking J Street, a prime spot for people-watching.

8. Zelda's Original Gourmet Pizza
1415 21ST St, Sacramento, CA
Dig into some of the best flaky, deep-dish pizza in town at this Sacramento institution.

You might also consider

The Melting Pot Dip Into Something Different. 6839 Lonetree Blvd Rocklin CA

Ciro's Pizza Cafe
We Deliver Award Winning Pizza To The Sacramento Area
7521 Old Auburn Rd Citrus Heights CA
www.cirospizza.com

Elizabeth, listed as the Citysearch Contributor, have you ever been to Sacramento? If so, how could you only find 8 - and frankly your selection results are unfathomable. Did you forget Music Circus, the Crocker, Tower Theatre, the Capitol, Land Park, Old Sacramento, Memorial Auditorium, the Julia Morgan House? And if you are going to list restaurants, how on earth did you leave out Frank Fats, an insitution of enormous proportions in town? I could go on.

SacEx readers: Let's gather our top ten list. Please send suggestions. Best list gets a free registration to the Sacramento Executive event on February 21st - which is a WEDNESDAY, not a Tuesday.

Gillian Parrillo
The Sacramento Executive

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 9:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

Mark March 7th on your calendars and sign up for a great new seminar on Angel investing to be taught by some of the pre-eminent figures in Angel investing in the Sacramento Region. The half-day seminar, sponsored by the Golden Capital Network

Wednesday, March 7, 2007
1:30 p.m.—6:30 p.m.
Granite Bay Golf Club

If you are interested in investing in local, high growth, private companies but don't think you know how to begin, this seminar will introduce you to the world of angel investing. You will have an opportunity to interact with experts and other participants in the local angel community. Registration is limited to 40 participants.

If you are a successful entrepreneur who has exited your businesses and has an interest in helping early stage companies; or you are a high net worth individual with senior business, technical or entrepreneur experience who now has the time and desire to invest in early stage companies; or you are simply an investor who is interested in learning more about the specifics of angel investing, this is an ideal opportunity for you to learn the ropes and meet some like-minded individuals.

Subjects covered include:

• An overview of angel investing
• Expected returns on angel investing
• Finding angel investing opportunities that are right for you
• Investment goals and portfolio strategies
• The mechanics of angel investing: how to do it
• Angels and advisors – bringing more than money to investments

This seminar features local experts in high growth ventures and early stage investment opportunities, including seasoned angel investors with diverse investment experience, tax and legal experts, and angel-financed entrepreneurs.

You can register on the Golden Capital website. ($30 pre-registration; $60 at the door, space permitting).

The sponsors include:

Merrill Lynch
Boutin Dentino
Sacramento Angels

In-Kind Sponsors:

Amplify Software – Online Registration Sponsor
LearningChange – Creative Design Sponsor
Morgan Dorado Public Relations – Public Relations Sponsor

Organizers:

DLA Piper US LLP
WorldBridge Partners
Morgan Dorado Public Relations
El Dorado Hills Technology Incubator

Supporting Organizations:

UC Davis CONNECT
The Sacramento Executive

Gillian Parrillo
The Sacramento Executive

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 12:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

At a recent meeting of the American Heart Association, Dr. Belardinelli of Lancisi Heart Insitute in Ancona, Italy said, "Waltzers had better uptake and less muscle fatigue than a group doing more traditional exercises and a control group that didn't exercise".

So, dancing under the stars is a good way of not journeying to the stars before your time! And how romantic. Suggestion for a cool Valentine's Day gift - waltz lessons with your spouse. When he complains (trust me if you give this to your wife, she won't complain), tell him it's for his health. Sounds much more fun than a treadmill to me.

Gillian Parrillo
The Sacramento Executive

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 9:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Welcome to a new blog - a welcome addition to the technology community in Sacramento.

Entrepreneurs Scott Hildebrand and Adam Kalsey have started SacStarts and here's what they have to say:

Introducing SacStarts 3 Jan 2007 The dinners that Scott and I have been organizing have been growing. We’ve met a pretty amazing group of people and the dinners have resulted in good business connections for a number of participants.

As Scott and I looked at what we wanted to get out of the dinners, the idea of building a startup community started to grow. We realized that all the entrepreneurs, small tech companies, and great tech folks in the area didn’t have anywhere to go to connect with each other. There’s events and organizations for larger companies and even a big-ass $150/year professional organization for entrepreneur types. There’s nothing wrong with those organizations and some of our participants are members of them as well. But they don’t fit the informal feel that we’ve come to admire from groups like Stirr and the Barcamp movement.

So we decided to do something about it and SacStarts was born.

We’ll be continuing to run the dinners (the next one is Thursday, February 22nd, RSVP on the site) and we’ll be adding on. A common complaint among people at the dinners is finding high-quality people to work with, so we’ll be launching a job board. The web site has a simple social networking component to it that will grow. There’s a couple of blogs that will focus on local tech startup news. And look for some larger events in the future.

If your business is looking to reach local startups and engineers, we also have sponsorship opportunities available. Just ask me about them.

I’m excited about the future growth of the Sacramento startup community and I’m hoping that SacStarts can help foster that growth.

Scott and Adam have both been very supportive of our efforts at the Sacramento Executive from the beginning. Scott, since we met at a Tuesday Group dinner long ago and Adam as the best commentor we have. These are two young, smart, entrepreneurial guys with lots of great ideas and passion to bring to the Sacramento Technology community. We need to embrace them and offer them all the support we can muster and all the advice they ask for. But we also need to listen to them because they are the voice of the future.

Great idea, great start and you have our full support, Scott and Adam.

Gillian Parrillo
Pierre Cutler
The Sacramento Executive

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 8:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Collaboration and peer production communities are changing how companies do business. Companies that adopt a strategy of collaborating with external entities will hold a competitive advantage over companies that try to do it all themselves.

Don Tapscott and Anthony Williams, authors of Wikinomics, see collaboration as a must do -

There are always more smart people outside your enterprise boundaries than there are inside.

Pierre Cutler
The Sacramento Executive

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 7:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Nearly 57 years after the United States' Supreme Court struck down the segregation of students in public schools on the basis of race in Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the California public school system continues to struggle with ethnic equality. Why?

The facts (according to the New York Times) - the ethnic breakdown of the general California population is Whites 44%; Hispanics 35%, Asians 12% and African Americans 7% (2% other or unknown). Freshman enrollment for the fall of 2006 at the University of California at Berkeley is Whites 29%, Hispanics 11%, Asians 46%, and African Americans 4% (10% other or unknown).

What can we conclude from these numbers? It's simple - equality. The various ethnic groups are not treated the same in our public school systems. I have a problem with Hispanics being under represented by more than a factor of three and African Americans by almost a factor of two. It's even worse at U.C.L.A and U.C. Irvine - just 2% of the student body at each school is African American.

Here's my problem - if our Hispanic and African American students are under represented in the universities, then it is logical to predict they will be under represented in the business and professional world. This portends only one thing - Hispanics and African Americans will continue to struggle to gain economic success in the United States. And that's not what the Surpreme Court intended in the Brown v. Board of Education ruling.

I honestly believe that our country has not tried hard enough to bring about equality for all - whether it's race, gender or ethnicity. We owe it to our fellow citizens to break down all inequality barriers. And I think it starts with education.

Let's get moving Californians! Take action at the grass roots level and get involved with the local schools to make sure all children get a decent education. Gillian and I will discuss how we can make a difference in future posts. We'd like to hear your ideas!

Pierre Cutler
The Sacramento Executive

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 12:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

If 60 is the new 50, how come all the 60th Birthday Cards look exactly like Sympathy Cards?

Maybe 65 is the new 60 (with some oversight). The Civil Aviation Organization has ruled that a pilot can fly until age 65 as long as another pilot under 60 is in the cockpit.

If a member of Congress gets convicted of a crime, how come he (rarely she?) gets to keep their pension? Can anyone say, "Above the law"?

If we had the good idea to insert in the Afghani and Iraqi constitution a provision that requires 25% of the national representatives be female, why isn't that a good idea for America?

'Having five children in six years is the best training in the world for speaker of the House." Couldn't agree with you more, Nancy Pelosi.

If you have a face lift and you look 30, but your neck looks 70, what's the point?

What was wrong with shop in high school anyway? Are all our high school students headed for college? Aren't some people perfectly suited to fix our HVAC system? And isn't that a worthy job? And don't we need lots of these people? Can we stop insisting that all of our students need to take a physics class to graduate from High School?

Gillian Parrillo
The Sacramento Executive

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 11:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

This is becoming a recurring theme for me.

Penny wise and pound foolish. That seems like a good description of the problem we have right now in terms of our prison system. Governor Schwarzenegger is asking for $10.9B to expand the prison system in California. The state's 33 prisons are bulging at the seams, filled to almost twice their capacity and the system is under orders from a federal judge to do something about the overcrowding or the court system will. Additionally, the healthcare services are so abyssmal that after multiple warnings to the state, with no improvement, a federal receiver is now running the show.

The Governor says that Californians have "lived in denial" about the crisis in the state's prisons and that due to this apathy, the State legislature lacks the will to address the ever-mounting problems.

I say that if we don't invest in an ounce of prevention early on to divert the future residents of the bulging Califorina prison system, then we get stuck with a bill for $10.9B. And then there's no money for the ounce of prevention.

Let's break the cycle once and for all and invest some real money in some real programs that reach out to the real intended audience.

Schwarzenegger said the prison problem is not "sexy," because it does not affect people's lives directly, as schools or transportation issues do. I say it affects everyone's lives because by not diverting future inmates and providing them opportunities to become useful members of society, we end up with a prison mess on our hands which takes dollars away from schools or transportation or environmental or other issues we care about.

We can't just keep locking them up....

Gillian Parrillo
The Sacramento Executive

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 2:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

From The Tao of Warren Buffett, co-authored by Mary Buffett and David Clark:

The great personal fortunes in this country weren't built on a portfolio of fifty companies. They were built by someone who identified one wonderful business.

This reminds me of another famous quote from Ben Franklin:

Put all of your eggs in one basket and mind that basket very well.

Pierre Cutler
The Sacramento Executive

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 6:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

From the Sacramento Business Journal:

Digital Music Group finished with the nation's second-worst ranking among companies that went public in 2006, tallying a 51 percent return on investment [a 49% loss from IPO price], according to an investment and financial planning Web site Wednesday.

The Sacramento-based online music provider (Nasdaq: DMGI) was saved from having the worst ranking, according to the Motley Fool, by Restore Medical (Nasdaq: REST), which gave investors just a 47 percent return. Another medical device maker, Cardica (Nasdaq: CRDC) had a 53 percent return.

Riverbed Technology (Nasdaq: RVBD) led among 2006 IPOs with a 215 percent return after going public on Sept. 21.

Digital Music stock closed Tuesday's trading at $4.06 per share. The company went public Feb. 2 and hit its high Feb. 7, trading at $10.42 per share.

Not good news for Sacramento's investors who were hoping for a home run. Disclosure: I would be one of those!

Gillian Parrillo
The Sacramento Executive

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 10:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

There's a new website launching in Sacramento that provides information on things to do for families with preschoolers. PreschoolRock.com Sacramento focuses on fun and exciting things to do with young children in Sacramento. The site, the first local edition for PreSchoolRock.com, has hired a local correspondent, a long-term resident of Sacramento and mother of twin boy preschoolers, who reports on the advantages and disadvantages of many local sites. PreschoolRock.com Sacramento also includes a preschool listing and a listing of preschool parenting resources specific for the Sacramento area.

Check it out. Sacramento has some fabulous things to do with young children - especially fun for grandparents too!

Gillian Parrillo
The Sacramento Executive

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 1:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)