Category Archives: Relationships
NJ's 'Shark Tank': Startups risk it all with financial 'speed dating'
Mike Glaicar, founder of TrueConnect in Holmdel, met with potential investors and made his best pitch. Michael L. Diamond, @mdiamondapp
NEWARK – AJ Jain is a world-class table tennis player who studied engineering at the University of Michigan and helped guide his family’s furniture business through the Great Recession.
But his task on a recent day was one of his greatest challenges yet: Convince venture capitalists to invest in Middletown-based Ongo Energy Spray, a product he is developing to give a quick jolt to the exhausted masses.
“I’m getting a chance to tell my story,” Jain said, taking a break from rapid-fire meetings with investors. “I’ve had some really good reactions. I’ve had some bad reactions. I shouldn’t say I’ve had any bad reactions. The only negative reaction I’ve had is, ‘This is not our space, good luck.’”
Jain was one of nearly two dozen New Jersey entrepreneurs who pitched their ideas to investors at Founders & Funders, a biannual event sponsored by the state Economic Development Authority.
The high-stakes meet-up at Newark Venture Partners here was timely. Reports began to emerge that Amazon wouldn’t place its second headquarters in Newark, depriving the state of the benefits of a massive corporate expansion.
Gov. Phil Murphy, who attended the event, downplayed the state’s chances at landing Amazon and said it’s time for New Jersey to become innovative again by fostering smaller companies that might not have name recognition, but have the potential to grow faster.
He alluded to hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, who liked to say the secret to his success was skating to where the puck wasn’t.
“We had a state living in the old economy,” Murphy said. “We’ll never achieve our aspirations unless we go to where the puck is going.”
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Mike Glaicar can relate better than most. He was a minor league hockey player who’s career was cut short after a concussion.
Glaicar worked for six years in advertising sales before leaving to start TrueConnect, a software company based at Bell Works in Holmdel that delivers client profiles to salespeople, ideally making it easier for them to build more personal relationships.
Glaicar has raised $450,000 so far and hoped to raise another $100,000 to help pay the three engineers he hired and begin to market the product.
The pressure should be on; Glaicar, 30, lives in Howell with his wife, Alyssa, and their 7-month-old son. Their second child is due in six weeks.
Wouldn’t there have been a better time to leave his stable job for a start-up?
“It’s a crazy time, but what I tell founders is there’s probably no good time,” he said. “For me, the right time was having an idea that I was so extremely passionate about.“
See Glaicar talk more about the experience at Founders & Funders i the video above.
From old school to startups
New Jersey’s economy has been playing catchup for the better part of two decades.
The Garden State once could reliably depend on corporate stalwarts such as AT&T, Johnson & Johnson and Honeywell for high-paying jobs.
But the digital age hit fast. A new generation connected to their laptops and smart phones could work anywhere. They increasingly wanted to be in cities. And employers followed them, slowly abandoning their leafy suburban New Jersey campuses.
The impact? New Jersey’s economy grew on average just 0.3 percent a year from 2005 to 2015, compared with the U.S. average of 1.4 percent a year. Job growth and median income in the state barely budged, a 2017 report by McKinsey & Co. found.
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Murphy appears to have embraced McKinsey’s prescription to foster younger, faster-growing companies. For example, he wants to build more innovation centers to help startups grow without worrying about overhead like rent. And he wants to auction off tax credits to big companies and use the proceeds to create a venture capital fund.
Murphy has latched onto a Chris Christie-era idea, too.
Founders & Funders began in 2012 after EDA officials grew frustrated. They would meet entrepreneurs who were developing gee-whiz ideas, only to hear from investors that their weren’t enough opportunities for them in New Jersey, said Kathleen Coviello, the EDA’s vice president of technology and life sciences investments.
The idea was to bring them together in one place twice a year in a combination of “Shark Tank” and speed-dating.
Founders meet with investors for 10 minutes, then move on to the next one, getting the practice and connections, if not the money, they need to make a go of it.
Not everyone is applauding. With Amazon and Google reportedly signing on to expand in New York, Republican state Senators Tom Kean Jr. and Steven Oroho said Thursday that New Jersey needed to lower its taxes so it wouldn’t miss out on another big employer.
“Gov. Murphy’s efforts to grow an innovative economy need to be more than just rhetoric,” Kean said.
But at least one investor at the Newark conference said the state’s economic strategy is on the right track.
“There are absolutely enough companies and there are some excellent quality companies, too,” Zev Scherl, a partner at Double18 Capital based in Fort Lee, said in between meetings. “We’re well positioned to take off right now. That’s what I would say.”
Solid business plan, strong stomach
Executives submit a two-page summary to the EDA and are assigned a point person who coaches them. They can only participate once, so they need to be ready for prime time, Coviello said.
What do investors look for? Entrepreneurs should be passionate about their idea, have a strong team, and know the market they want to attack, said Joanne Lin, senior investment associate with Newark Venture Partners, a venture capital fund that specializes in business-to-business technology companies.
“One of the big things I think early-stage entrepreneurs maybe don’t have enough focus on is sales execution and strategy,” Lin said. “And that’s where we find a little bit of lack of knowledge.”
For the new economic strategy to work, though, the state needs risk takers.
The odds aren’t great; 10 percent of companies that have participated in Founders & Funders have gone on to raise capital, Coviello said.
But no one, after hearing that statistic, got up and left. They think the world — or their state, or simply their community — needs their idea.
Gregory Hough is starting Yazzer, a Ewing-based company that wants to deliver gasoline and fill up your car. Dr. Ashwin Patel is starting InquisitHealth, a River Edge-based company that is making technology to help patients connect with peers who have gone through similar health struggles.
And AJ Jain is starting Ongo, a company making an energy supplement that you carry in your pocket, spritz three times on your tongue, and get the same jolt as a cup of coffee or a small Red Bull.
Jain, 38, lives in Colts Neck with his wife, Misha, and their sons, Kavish, 8, and Devansh, 6. He has a stellar resume that includes chairing the anti-doping division for the U.S. Olympic Committee.
With young children, though, he couldn’t get enough sleep. He would awake groggy, desperate for caffeine. He wished he didn’t have to go through the motions of making coffee or guzzling an energy drink.
Jain decided to leave his family’s furniture store a little more than a year ago, and, with his savings, work with scientists to perfect the formula. He is getting ready to test the product at several local 7-Eleven stores, he said.
He admitted during his first meeting with investors in Newark that he didn’t quite know what they were looking for. He listened to their advice. And then he launched into his pitch, hoping to raise $350,000 to $500,000.
Nobody swooped in that day to give him a lifeline. But they didn’t yawn either.
“I’ve gone through different struggles and developed a sense of confidence that if something is really difficult, I’ll figure it out,” Jain said.
Michael L. Diamond; @mdiamondapp; 732-643-4038; mdiamond@gannettnj.com
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Fall Is Here! 4 Ways To Find The Perfect Cuddle Buddy
Fall in love this fall.
I know you are probably sad to see the sunny days and summer temperatures fade away, but in terms of dating advice, you should start getting very excited for fall. For a lot of people, summer is all about finding a fling, looking for a hookup, and taking advantage of the nice weather to go out and meet as many different people as possible.
Once fall comes, however, a lot of daters change their tune. The colder temperatures send the brain a message to begin building a nest and preparing for the winter. Fall is a time when singles want to find that person with whom they are going to snuggle up when it snows, to watch a movie, and to maybe even take home for Thanksgiving dinner.
With that in mind, here are some tips to help you find someone to snuggle with as the season changes.
1. Never leave home without a conversation starter.
By this, I do not mean have a list of questions that you are already ready to ask when you meet a cute guy. I mean choose something you can bring with you, wear, or do when you go out that will make it easier for men to approach you and strike up a conversation.
For example, I know a woman who used to bring out her pet lizard with her when she was in the mood to meet men. It might sound crazy, but it worked extremely well. Men would stop her everywhere she went because they were so intrigued by this beautiful woman walking around with such an alternative pet. Believe me, I know that lizards are not everyone’s cup of tea, but there’s another option.
A colleague of mine used to bring a balloon with her to a bar when she went out. When men asked her about it (and they always did) she would say it was for a friend’s birthday party that she was going to later. The balloon was a great conversation starter and gave men a reason to come up to her. Find something that works for you.
2. Learn to love football… or at least where men go to watch it.
Love it or hate it, football season is upon us so you better take advantage. Men love watching sporting events at bars with groups of other men. If you are looking to meet guys, wouldn’t it make sense that this is where you need to be too?
Head to the local pub, sports bar, or wherever the men in your area congregate to watch the big game, and strike up conversation with the people there. Don’t understand what is going on? Ask a cute guy to explain it to you and ask him which team he is rooting for.
3. Throw a party.
A great way to meet new people is to create your own ideal social gathering. I suggest that you invite 6 of your best single girlfriends over, and tell them to bring a member of the opposite sex with them. This party structure is a fantastic way for you all to expand your social networks.
Even if your next boyfriend isn’t at that party, one of the guys there might know someone that is perfect for you. It’s all about expanding your network.
4. Don’t let the colder weather stop you from going out.
Remember to always go out at least at couple of times a month with friends, co-workers or even on your own. Be brave and eat out by yourself. Take a chance and sit at a bar where there are other people and strike up a conversation.
Do not go to these places and sit on your phone or read a book. You need to appear open and ready to meet people. Take the opportunity for exposure, not for catching up on your Facebook feed. So get ready, make a strategy, and find someone to keep you warm through the winter.
Lisa Clampitt, LMSW is the Founder and owner of the Matchmaking Institute, professional matchmaker, owner of VIP Life, Licensed Master of Social Work and author of two books on matchmaking.
This article was originally published at PattiKnows.com . Reprinted with permission from the author.
Ariana Grande Shares Engagement Advice One Month After Pete Davidson Split: 'Don't'
Right to the point! Ariana Grande shared her short and sweet engagement advice nearly one month after splitting from Pete Davidson.
Grande, 25, sent fans into a frenzy after leaving a sassy (yet subtle!) comment on Rachel Zoe’s company The Zoe Report’s Instagram account. “13 tips and tricks for finding the perfect engagement ring (including the popular metal you should actually avoid),” the account captioned a photo of a woman’s hand adorned with diamond rings on Thursday, November 8. The “Thank U, Next” songstress simply replied, “don’t.”
Us Weekly broke the news in June that the pop star got engaged to Davidson weeks after they started dating. The duo called it quits four months later and haven’t shied away from shading each other since.
Courtesy The Zoe Report/Instagram
Davidson recently poked fun at his broken engagement to Grande on a promo for Saturday Night Live.
“for somebody who claims to hate relevance u sure love clinging to it huh,” Grande wrote in a since-deleted tweet after the clip aired on Thursday, November 1. The singer then dropped her new track, “Thank U, Next,” 30 minutes before Saturday’s SNL episode aired. “Even almost got married / And for Pete, I’m so thankful,” read the lyrics.
Davidson kept it cool while addressing the split on SNL, saying that Grande is “a wonderful, strong person” and he “genuinely wish[es] her all the happiness in the world.” A source exclusively told Us that the Victorious alum was briefed that Davidson would address their breakup.
The Set It Up actor and the “No Tears Left to Cry” crooner ended their engagement one month after her ex-boyfriend of two years, Mac Miller, died of mixed drug toxicity. An insider told Us that, while Davidson “was 100 percent there for Ariana” after Mac’s passing, the loss “put a tremendous amount of strain” on his relationship with Grande.
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Our Insides Are Itchy: Advice from So Sad Today
I got tired. After three years of writing this column, I decided to take a break last May.
Then I got anxious. One of the best outlets I know for anxiety is writing, and through that, identifying with others. If I can utilize my own experiences, however shitty, as a little floodlight for what others are going through, it kind of makes the shit less shitty.
So I’ve decided to bring back the column, and do it in the style of some of my favorite pieces from So Sad Today Column 1.0: as an advice column.
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Dear So Sad Today,
I am a gay male who is new to the dating scene and I can’t help but form obsessions with guys I talk to online (this also bleeds into obsessing about fictional characters). For example: I’m talking to this one guy now for about a month. He doesn’t live near me but is planning to move at some point, so we’ve been facetiming. If he doesn’t text me, I feel rejected and deeply hurt. Like, it throws me off very badly. If we don’t facetime for a day, it honestly ruins my day. I check to see if he’s liking things on Instagram and the whole nine. Pathetic. I want to so badly stop feeling this way. My friends are like “you guys have never met” and I GET that, but I don’t know. My therapist says it’s something like “rejection sensitivity”? Whatever it is, it’s horrible. Help.
Thanks,
Heartache 2.0
Dear Heartache 2.0,
I’m not going to tell you to stop internet dating, or to only date people who are available (or, god forbid, not fictional), because that would have a twinge of judgment and I don’t want to judge you any harder than you are already judging yourself. Also, in judging you I would also be judging myself (which, I actually feel more comfortable doing than judging you, but I digress) because we are wired the same way.
But one thing to consider when Internet dating, or fantasizing about a real person we’ve never met, is that we are comparing our insides to their outsides. Our insides are itchy, messy, labyrinthine, swampy places to live—the antithesis of what we see when we look at an image of a person online (or the image they provide us in a few conversations) and they appear to be tied up in a neat bow. Even if they project some messiness, it can seem cute compared to the feeling of living inside yourself.
Your therapist may be right about rejection sensitivity (some people can more easily shrug off a perceived slight than others). But I’d say what’s even more important is that you observe what you are getting from the interaction—and what you feel you are losing when it dissipates. We tend to repeat behaviors that cause us pain, because they also serve us, or seem to serve us, in some way. What need is this filling for you?
I know that these behaviors “serve” me by providing me with dopamine surges and adrenaline escapes. Romantic obsession is way less about the person I’m obsessed with than the pursuit of that rush inside myself, a druglike high, an ability to flee uncomfortable feelings (especially boredom). There is something about choosing unavailable people that makes this possible—a constant up and down—which an available person doesn’t provide.
If this is the case for you, maybe there are some other healthy ways to get your dopamine on, so that people can just be people and not human drug vials.
xo
SST
*
Dear So Sad Today,
To others I seem either too silent or too panicky, and I usually get remarks about both in the same outing. It is tiring. My journey towards becoming better (read: more socially adept) seems to have stopped to a halt. When I hear of people who somehow manage to mask their feelings of inadequacy/occasional disconnectedness it frustrates me even more. Like, I know some social butterflies and at least a few have come out to me about how hard it is, talking to people and putting on a smile. But I desperately desire their skills to hide that which is unsavory. I feel that, if I showed myself to the world as one who belongs to it, I would have more resources to truly fix myself. Any tips on how to fake wellness?
Thank you,
Messier than Most
Dear Messier than Most,
There is a common phrase, Fake it till you make it, which I have mixed feelings about. On the one hand, I sometimes think of myself like a train, in that my actions are the conductor and my feelings are the caboose. If I move a muscle and get out of myself, maybe even help another person, my mind follows suit. The less time I spend in my mind, the better.
That being said, I also feel like there is something special about those of us who cannot tolerate small talk. It’s like when other people are talking about bullshit, we’re plugged into some completely alternate frequency that’s saying, Don’t you see that we are alive right now and it’s kind of fucking weird? What we call anxiety is, in part, a deeper sensitivity or awareness. I’d hate to see you lose that in trying to appear like everyone else. I also wonder what else you would lose? You might miss those things.
This doesn’t mean that you should have to suffer unnecessarily. It can be very painful to be so sensitive, and it’s important to cultivate practices for genuine wellness before we try to fake it. For me, this includes: medication as prescribed by a psychiatrist, therapy, sobriety, meditation, running, and writing.
But if you are taking decent care of yourself, you might want to consider that maybe your reactions to the world aren’t so strange. Maybe it is you who is sane in perceiving the strangeness of it all and the world that has lost its mind. And remember! Most people aren’t even paying that much attention to you, because they’re thinking about themselves.
xo
SST
Got questions for So Sad Today? Send them here.
