Thanks to the Siena Hotel and the
Enoteca Wine Cellar for hosting the Reno Entrepreneurs
Club's kickoff get-together.
Thank you Ed
Sweet, Sommelier, for the service and wine advice from
behind the bar, and thank you Zole
Andahazy, Matre
d' for providing the fabulous cheese plate.
Thank you
Lane
Cameron
(http://www.lanecameron.com/) for your live music
performance. Lane has been performing for Reno
audiences for many years and operates a world-class
recording studio. Enoteca always has primo jazz
entertainment with a variety of musicians and
styles.
And a special thank you to Daniel Alistair (alistairmagia[at]hotmail.com) for your WOW! performance of magic,
mystery, and wonderment. Daniel
has performed up and down the West Coast including San Francisco,
Los Angeles, San Diego, and Tijuana, and several venues
here in Reno.
And thank you
to those who came to the kickoff meeting. I had a
blast!
I
started the Reno Entrepreneurs Club on the spur of
the moment. Actually, I've been thinking about
it for a while. I came to Reno because Reno was
represented an the "new high-tech Mecca." I came
back from Colorado to attend a TechAlliance meeting
in February, 2003. They haven't had one since.
Worse, they've merged with the government -- so
that's the end of that -- except for taxes to
support the remaining bureaucracy. (OK, I'm a
cynic.)
Meanwhile, I
had decided to leave Reno for high-tech
pastures.
But, in a recent conversation I heard myself say
that if I left Reno, I would always regret not
starting some sort of organization (a reason to
have parties) here. Walla, the Reno Entrepreneurs
Club.
But parties, while fun, are largely
unproductive. So the question was what kind of
organization would be both productive and fun. I
toyed around with several names and got stuck
trying to come up with the "perfect" name. So, I
went with Reno Entrepreneurs Club.
Most of the
folks I invited to the kickoff were "captive"
employees. Perhaps they don't see themselves as
entrepreneurs.
I
understand. I was an employee once. I had never
heard of an "entrepreneur" &endash; I just knew I
wanted the hell out and to start some kind of
business of my own. (Maybe because I'm the eldest son of
a self-employed father.)
Years ago, I
was on the steering committee of the fabulous
Orinda Club. We produced huge, incredible, fun
events.
I
discovered that every event is an entrepreneurial
venture, involving marketing, operations, and
finance.
