“Inspired by a flight where he found himself happily seated next to Miss Texas, company founder Peter Shankman says he set up AirTroductions to give travelers a chance to choose their seatmates.”

“Let’s kick off 2006 with an issue about which I get a lot of questions (and which StatCounter reports is one of the highest-ranking Google search terms that lead people to this blog). That issue is equity splits within the founding team.”

“Lest we leave you unable to eat food at all, we present this letter from John Pepper, the CEO of Boston’s Boloco restaurants (formerly ‘The Wrap’), which is the very model of how to handle a customer complaint, even when a company isn’t going to be able to address the specific complaint. It was sent to us by the pleased recipient.”

“So, if PowerPoint is evil; the fightback begins here. Think of this as a wholesome, good karma form of industrial sabotage. All that is required is a careful (furtive) insertion of this image into various PowerPoint presentation decks … No money back guarantee and I’m not liable if you lose your job, the respect of your peers … etc. etc.”

“The art of recruiting is the purest form of evangelism because you’re not simply asking people to try your product, buy your product, or partner with you. Instead, you are asking them to bet their lives on your organization. Can it get any scarier for them, and tougher for you, than this?”

“If you are looking for expert advice on all aspects of starting and growing a business, and want to have fun along the way, you’ve come to the right place: StartupNation. You are joining a robust community of entrepreneurs and small business owners who are also ‘living the dream’ everyday.”

“When Peter Kight, a former college decathlete, began managing health clubs in Texas in the late 1970s, he was re-pulsed by the high-pressure sales tactics gyms used to keep revenues flowing. Realizing that many new members drop out after a few months, clubs leaned on recruits to pay a full year’s fees up front. Why, asked Kight, couldn’t they arrange to have monthly dues deducted from members’ checking accounts? Kight quickly began negotiating with local banks to do just that — forever changing how millions of Americans pay bills.”

“This article addresses the joys, challenges, and some practical aspects of retiring young. The author retired in 2001, at the age of 37 (same age as Rossini when he retired).”

“In the late ’80s to mid ’90s I traveled to roughly 20 cities a year giving seminars and workshops in the design and publishing fields. I had presented at every Macworld Expo except one, up until IDG took over… Having successful presentations and meetings relies heavily on making the host successful and giving attendees a lot of value. The success for me was getting invited back! For seven years I was invited back to Chicago, Boston and San Francisco at least once a year. And repeat attendees were always a welcome sight, indicating a successful presentation the previous visit. So, the following are some of the more important techniques (aside from the presentation itself,) that you can put to work for your user group’s meetings and presentations.”