Granola head goes to 2.0Land
By guest blogger Lisa Suhay, originally published in The Virginian-Pilot, May 13, 2012
A couple of weeks ago I was a granola-headed mom of four who ran a free chess program and wrote mermaid books and stories. However, after accidentally attending an Apprentice-like competition called Start Norfolk, I am now Suhay 2.0.
I "populate copy" instead of writing. I make "elevator pitches" and know that incubators are not for baby chicks but for business and technology. I apply the word "agnostic" to applications, not people. Example: "Someone should make a 911 app that is completely device-agnostic and released as a freemium."
Suddenly I am revolted by my PC and pray for an Apple truck to magically stop at my house to offload an iEverydarnthing.
Clearly, my lurking, inner geekette busted out like Janet Jackson at a sports event.
Pictured above: Guest author Lisa Suhay with Start Norfolk mentors, Ned Lilly of xTuple and Paul DiNardo of the accounting firm of Wall, Einhorn & Chernitzer
I don't even know me anymore.
You can accidentally attend something. Look at Alice. All she did was chase a white rabbit to end up attending both a tea party and a beheading with a queen. My journey to 2.0 Land began when I fell down a hole in my personal finances.
Click here to watch the Venus IP video on Vimeo
[Elevator pitch alert] My friend Kevin, the sculptor who created the mermaids and the Old Dominion University lion, has a new, computerized 3D scanning and cavity-cutting business that makes it quick, easy and affordable for museums like The Chrysler to more safely pack, store and lend irreplaceable objects.
He offered me a stake in his business in exchange for "just doing a one-minute pitch." The classic cow-for-magic-beans scenario.
Start Norfolk 2.0 is not a one-minute anything. It's a grueling, mind-melting competition at ODU for startup money and mentoring to create a technology-based business in a weekend.
This thing is like the Apprentice — if Donald Trump triple-dosed on Red Bull and everyone around him was encouraged to take breaks from brainstorming to play Zombie Tag.
About 100 competitors were there to deliver a one-minute business pitch with no props, PowerPoints or handouts. Ten would be selected and given a top-notch team of developers, mentors, web designers, business planners and skill builders. Then they'd get the next 48 hours to create a five-minute pitch that would leave the top three in the money. It was webcast live.
I was doing it for beans.
To review, as a competitor you get one minute, your wit and a microphone. And there I was in the top 10 at the end of night one.
Despite having the best team in the business, I didn't win. Didn't finish in the money. But the window of opportunity remains open far beyond the point of failure. As a result I not only have "meetings," but I got to know the business and technology community, which opened up a whole new world for me.
Now I am a hybrid terror: a granola-head geekette with business acumen, tech savvy and a game plan. On the final night I set up chessboards, put out fliers and cards for our free program at Lamberts Point and ruthlessly worked the room for volunteers and powerbrokers.
[Elevator Pitch Alert] We want a chess park created downtown (No cost to the city. I will put the tables in. I just want permission). I also want the city to give one of our local universities free use of one tiny, vacant retail space as a community board gaming and instruction center to promote critical thinking and STEM discipline outreach to kids and Scouts after school. We will generate foot traffic, good PR and attract Fortune 500 companies here to scout talent just like they do in the big cities.
That's what I told Aneesh Chopra, President Barack Obama's adviser on technology, who was xTuple happy. He's working to create an online platform to connect kids and STEM via gaming.
Because I did not have Kevin's business cards, I gave out my card with chess pieces on it to great effect. I am here to tell you that movers and shakers and business makers see chess culture as the Holy Grail. Good to know.
Of course, I'm still me. Four days post-2.0, I was at a Virginian-Pilot party where my husband introduced me to a nice guy whom I'd briefly met when writing my mermaid book for charity. I blithered on about Start Norfolk and chess. Then I said, "So, what are you doing for the paper these days?"
"I'm the new publisher," he said with a grin. Ah. Of course you are. Now I think we need a WhoDat? app with facial recognition software linked to WIKI so that kind of thing doesn't happen again.
At least I know he won't forget me, or my pitch, any time soon.
Missy Schmidt
Since early 2012, Missy has directed marketing for xTuple business management software, including the global user conference, inbound and outbound content marketing, lead generation, sales campaigns, website design and digital strategies. She has ties to the business and economic development, startup and entrepreneurial communities in Virginia and nationally. Prior to joining xTuple, Missy was VP of strategic communication and marketing for Hampton Roads Partnership, a public-private corporation that worked to improve the region's economy within the international marketplace. Before that, Missy spent 25+ in sales, including product development, within the industries of telecommunications, retail, industrial food service, government contracting, contract packaging and manufacturing. Missy holds a B.S. from James Madison University. She and her husband, Bert, who is president and CEO of WHRO Public Media, reside in the "innovation corridor" of downtown Norfolk.