January 2008



Raising money in Dallas

Alexander Muse over at the Texas Startup Blog has some great resources for raising money including the Venture Capital Directory.  You can also check out his latest post on Jeff Williams from Hunt Ventures here.



Phil Romano at the DRT

Continuing in the vain of great Dallas business icons, Phil Romano spoke at the DRT this AM. Phil is a very interesting person. His key message was “be different” in everything. He spent some time discussing his business success and how he has made $100s of millions in pursuing opportunities including restaurants, heart stints and the lap band. He then took a number of questions from the group discussing his methods of success.

What struck me though was his answer to the question, “what was the hardest decision he ever made”. He gave an interesting response. Back when he was 50 they found cancer in his appendix. They successfully removed it and no cancer existed but the event changed his mind set. In essence he became re-born and decided that life was too precious and that he was going to pursue his passions, whatever they may be. Part of this was to divorce his wife of 25 years as he wanted to spend the next 50 years of his life pursuing those things he was not able to do in the first 50 years. Certainly this mid life course change and all that it entailed (including the divorce) where some of the toughest decisions he has made.

But as he pointed out, he does not look back with regret on anything he has done but constantly moves forward. You can learn more about Phil and his life by reading his book, Food for Thought.



Robert Bloom at DRT

On December 11, 2007 Robert Bloom, former CEO of Publicis, presented several key concepts from his new book, The Inside Advantage. First off, Bob is a LEGEND in Dallas Advertising. He sold his agency to Publicis and then went on to be their CEO. Given the fact that Publicis is the 4th largest ad agency in the world, this was no small task.

Bob’s book is a very simple yet powerful read. It his book, he provides a road map to how companies can internally discover their inside advantage. It starts with a very clear and focused understanding of WHO the customer is. This is not easy but if done properly, Bob’s roadmap can help any company achieve a unique position in the market.

So does his process work? Well according to some very large brands like BMW, the answer is yes.

Take a moment and order his book at Amazon. You will find it worth every penny.