NevBlog

Neville's Digital Surrogate Brain

Archives for 2005

Alamo Apprentice Results

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The Alamo Apprentice event held by my Texas Entrepreneurs team, the Profiteers, went even better than expected.

We sold out the entire theater in no time and maxed it out till the fire code allowed, and set a RECORD IN FOOD/DRINK sales! We also sold movie prop bags for $8 each which sold out in no time also. The SouthPark Singalong was a HUGE success thanks to our great team.

The entire point of the Alamo Apprentice competition was to maximize our revenue, and we did that with flying colors over the opposing team. The lowest grossing waiter at our event sold 1/3rd MORE food and drink than the ENTIRE staff at the opposing teams event held yesterday!

Needless to say, I think our team won. We also had a very vibrant team which provided tons of great footage for the Alamo Apprentice movie being shown on April 30th. I turned myself into a walking billboard to advertise the event, and wore an afro wig just to gain more attention, but in the end it didn’t matter since we already had a sold out show.

This event provided real life experience (and tons of fun) that cannot be taught in a classroom. Texas Entrepreneurs will get 50% of the revenue generated from our event. The other team has to wash dishes.

Checkout a small video of our event. (Download Here. 2.4 MB). Warning: There is some foul language in the video. You had to be there to understand how much fun the audience was having!

Alamo Apprentice

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I’m involved with a group called Texas Entrepreneurs which is hosting an event: The Alamo Apprentice.

The owner of the Alamo Drafthouse (A highly successful chain of movie theaters that serve food/drinks during movies), Tim League, is acting as “The Donald” and each team is overlooked by either “Caryn” or “George“

Texas Entrepreneurs has split up into two groups, each with the goal of making more money in one night than the other. All meetings, events, boardroom meetings and shows are filmed at all times. There will be a movie made out of this and will show at the Alamo Drafthouse on April 30th.

I am on the team: The Profiteers

Our event is tomorrow. We will be hosting a SouthPark Movie Singalong (the craziest things make the most money at the Alamo Drafthouse). We are expecting a full house. Profits will come from ticket sales, props sales(for use during the movie), drink sales and food sales.

Yesterday, the opposing team (Dishwasher Productions) held their event which featured live music, comedians and a movie. We decided to sabotage them.
We scored 20 free pizzas from Gumby’s Pizza, 250 wings from Plucker’s, and gave out all the free food any ticket-holder could eat! This effectively reduced their food sales. Ruthless.

Today is our big event!

Free Publicity

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Publicity, companies pay dearly for it and many people (such as bloggers) want it.
But how can you get free publicity?

An easy answer can be found by viewing some successes of the free publicity world. This is the stuff they do not teach in marketing classes:

Eminem –
A white rapper that spits out lyrics which offend, criticize and make fun of every imaginable race, gender, ethnicity and celebrity out there. He has effectively used “bad” publicity to propel him to one of the top selling rappers of all time.

GoldenPalace.com –
In the extremely lucrative online gambling business, it is important to get your name out there. GoldenPalace has taken on a completely unorthodoxed approach for their advertising.
They bought on Ebay:

  • Ad space on a woman’ cleavage. (here)
  • A 10 year old grilled cheese sandwich which has an apparent image of the Virgin Mary for $28,000 (here)
  • A “haunted walking cane” bought for $65,000
  • Bumper sticker for $10,000
  • Much more crazy stuff

Is this the most foolishly spent money ever, or the sign of a brilliant ad campaign? By buying a $28,000 grilled cheese sandwich, GoldenPalace got tons of free media attention on CNN, The Register, BBC, Fox, local stations, newspapers, magazines and now my site. Looks like their “silly purchases” bought them a lot more name recognition than a television ad or other conventional method.

Marilyn Manson –
Gained tons of free publicity from his outrageous stage antics. His name is now known all across America and all the way to the bank. People would stage protests during his concerts which would just give him free media attention.


Maddox –
The prodigal example of how controversy = free advertisement. His painfully simple website which is not even updated that often receives more traffic than McDonald’s. He recently surpassed his 100-millionth visit. His website is so popular that his Google PageRank rivals CNN.com. The “Mothers Against Maddox” online petition actually boosted his visits, because:

controversy = exposure

If you ask me, this guy knows what he’s doing. He now has a book coming out thanks to his mass exposure.

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Controversy, scandals and rivalries get lots of attention. The effective use of these can mean tons of exposure for $0.00

These are just a few examples, fill up the comments section with other examples you may know of. I love hearing of how people exploit the free publicity machine.

Noah Kagan brought to my attention this blurb. In the comments they call me a “Bernie-Ebbers-in-training”….but they are just bringing more and more attention to my site. As a media-whore entrepreneur friend of mine once told me, “Let them say what they want, just make sure they spell your name right.”

Bubbles In History

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There is all sorts of talk about why the “Tech Bubble” was created then burst so suddenly. It’s really no secret, especially when looking at it in hindsight.

Bubbles happen over and over in history because the chance to make a buck is generally too appealling for the public to resist.

Bubbles have happened all through history, in every country and in various sectors of these economies. Let’s take a quick stroll through a few major bubbles over the centuries:

Tulip-Bulb Bubble of 1634

  • A non-lethal strain of virus caused some tulips to devlop stripes.
  • Enthralled with these new flowers, tulips were in high demand.
  • As more and more people watched all their friends getting rich by selling tuplip bulbs, they too saw an opportunity to get rich quick.
  • People from every walk of life starting selling the bulbs, even selling their homes to buy them.
  • With such nice high prices, everyone started selling their bulbs to extract profit. Supply now far exceeded demand and the prices fell dramatically.
  • Many small investors were highly leveraged to buy tulip bulbs, and many loans were defaulted on.
  • The small investors ended up being hurt the most.

The South Sea Bubble:

  • In 1711 The South Sea Company was formed in England.
  • Public saw enormous potential in the South Sea Company and the soaring stock price showed their sentiment.
  • All sorts of new companies went public after seeing The South Sea Company’s success on the market. All these stocks enjoyed immediate stock inflation as the public poured in money.
  • The directors of the The South Seas Company saw their stock rise from 55 to 1,000 and knew it had no relationship whatsoever to the company earnings.
  • They sold all their stock at its highest price.
  • Directors then made the announcement that the stock was not being based upon actual earnings, but public speculation.
  • The stock plummeted as people began bailing out of the stock
  • The small investors ended up being hurt the most.

Florida Real Estate Craze of the 1920’s:

  • Land bought in Miami for around $800,000 in 1923 could be subdivided and sold in 1924 for twice the price.
  • The next year, that same land could be sold for $4,000,000. With real estate red hot, the public saw an opportunity and acted.
  • One third of the Miami population had become real estate agents by this time.
  • The bubble then collapsed as there was a lack of buyers and huge supply of sellers.
  • The small investors ended up being hurt the most.

Needless to remark on, the severe stock crash of 1929 was also just a giant bubble that burst.

What I’ve noticed is the remarkably similar situation we are currently experiencing with real estate. The popularity of books like “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” which promise riches from buying old properties and selling or renting them out has encouraged everyone and their dog to become involved in real estate and become an agent.

The small investors will invariably get hurt in the end.

You cannot predict the madness of the masses, so a better lesson to take out of this is how to profit from it: Get on board early and when the masses of people start entering the sector, get ready to bail.

Obviously this is easier said than done.

Benefits of Business

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I love doing business and entrepreneuring because I feel proud of the accomplishments I achieve. I am young and trying to make it, so business is a pretty high priority right now…but all work and no play makes Nev a dull boy.

I am definitely a party person. I cannot stay home on the weekends.

I regularly go out on business lunches to places most college students cannot afford on a regular basis, but my hosts can. These lunches, trips and special accesses are all part of the fun of business. Most of the time they are not even about money. It’s important to form a good business relationship, but more important to form a good personal relationship.

Last night I was treated by two very generous hosts to a night on the town, let’s call them “Bob” and “Vinny”. Both are very young and very successful. We went to a bunch of hotspots all across town, no waiting in lines, no identification checks, all V.I.P. and I didn’t spend a cent.

I’m not going to reveal exactly how much money they dropped this Thursday night, but let’s just say they could’ve paid my tuition. Businesses is good, eh ;)

Now it’s Friday…time for some more partying!

Rising Trend: Tablet PC’s

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The popularity of Tablet PC’s is on the rise. As a 2-year user of a Toshiba M200, I firmly believe that all laptops will soon be outfitted with the flip screen and pen function.

If you get in early, I think there are some great opportunities to a piece of action in the…

Audible Inc (ADBL) – Provider of Internet audio information.
Sigmatel Inc (SGTL) – Designs and develops analog-intensive, mixed-signal integrated circuits.
Portalplayer Inc (PLAY) – Designs, develops and markets comprehensive platform solutions.


As a college student and a proctor in a computer lab, I can personally attest to the fact that laptops are getting ever more popular as described in this USA Today article (here). Mark Cuban writes in his personal blog how desktops are boring.

This tablet technology will soon burst its way into mainstream when prices come down a bit and people become more familar with the technology. I consider myself an extremely fast and adept computer user, and a simple mouse does not cut it. ESPECIALLY those slow touch-pads on laptops.

So if you happen to have any inside information about where certain specialized tablet parts come from, let me know!

Stock portFOOLio

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During and after the market hours I tend to glance at my stock prices on Yahoo Finance, but I don’t really look at my gains/losses as I am currently going very long on my stocks. The little changes no longer concern me.

Turns out Fortune Brands (FO) has been sitting in my lazy ‘ol portfolio gaining green. As of today I am at a %17.72 gain on Fortune Brands which equates to a $270 profit.

I remember Charles Kirk (TheKirkReport.com) saying, “Investors are often willing to hold onto huge losses, but sell too early when they start making huge profits”

Point is, I’m not going to sell Fortune Brands for a very long time. One thing I was proud of was my non-reaction to the news of my gains. When I first started trading my heart would beat faster while just logging in to check my stocks.

I’m beginning to think with a clearer and more rational mind than in the past. I have TheKirkReport to thank for this, I think I might drop him another donation soon!

On another note…..

I started a new business two days ago which I think can make me approximately $200-300 in extra income a month. This business will require even less work than my current online business. I will post the business on this site in about two weeks . Total business costs so far: $9.20

Being "Rich"

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Many people want to be “rich” in the future so they can do things like: Travel, buy nice cars, support family etc…who wouldn’t?

I believe “rich” means many different things to different people. Here are a few materialistic wants I feel would make me “rich” :

  • Being able to travel to Dubai and lodge, dine and recreate in the Hotel Burj Al Arab for a week with family and friends in a 3-bedroom suite.
  • Being able to buy a $40,000 car without really denting my disposable income.
  • Being prepared and able to buy a $300,000 home in cash.
  • Have enough disposable income to comfortably shop at Nordstrom and other higher-end retailers with a personal shopper.
  • Be financially prepared for all the unexpected expenses life throws my way.
  • Eat Ramen Noodles when I know I can easily afford a 5-star meal.

I’ll share a joke:

“The American Dream is a German Car an Italian wardrobe and a Swiss bank account. “

I think the fun of becoming rich is getting there. I like a good challenge. So until I can do all of the above without breaking a financial sweat, I will be working my a$$ of to achieve it.

Alternative Funding

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An anonymous poster left a post (here) on my site which partly stated:

“….if you had a business degree, then it would possibly be easier for you to obtain financing to finance your entreprenuerial dreams.”

Perhaps a guy in a suit who lives at the bank from 9am-5pm might think a simple business degree makes me a better entrepreur, but there is a way around this. Here are a few of the people I have met who have become extremely successful without the initial help of a bank:

  • James Flores – CoFounder of Ocean Energy – He started his oil/gas exploration company when he had no money. He borrowed from family friends and maxed out close to 30 credit cards totalling over $120,000 at 26% interest.
  • Robert Sek – Started an internet company with a relatively small investment. Rapidly grew his company and used the profits to invest in larger ventures.
  • Tim League – Founder of Alamo Drafthouse chain of movie theater/resturants. Needed several hundred thousand dollars to convert a parking structure into a movie theater. He used his $50,000 of savings, his wife convinced her parents to re-finance their house, they got a small-business federal loan (which almost anyone can get) and they maxed out 26 different credit cards.
  • Family Friend 1 – Built up small savings from working, then started buying/selling condos. From there he has moved onto multi-million dollar commercial properties and full apartment complex’s.
  • Family Friend 2 – Was working an everyday job when he landed a small government contract for an environmental cleanup. Reinvested profits and the business grew into a multi-national environmental cleanup corporation with operations in almost every state in the U.S.
  • Family Friend 3 – Worked an engineering job for many years, intelligently saved his money and bought his first piece of commercial property. He now owns a highly successful real estate company.

As you can see, the bank did not play a crucial role in the beginning of these lives. In a case such as Tim League’s, I think his borrowing methods actually drove him harder to succeed. If he didn’t succeed, he would have lost his family money, lost his savings and absolutely obliterated his credit score.

So even if a business degree can make you more qualified for a loan, there are always ways around it.

Knowing What to Waste

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My most useful tool to help me understand how much money I truly have to waste is immediately distributing incoming money to its respective accounts soon as it comes in.

For example, yesterday my bi-weekly paycheck was directly deposited into my general account (The point where all money goes in and out of my hands). The total came to $246. The FIRST thing I did was login to my Bank of America account and transfer the money in the following amounts:

  • $49 to Bills Account (20%)
  • $49 to Spending Account (20%)
  • $74 to Permanent Savings (30%)
  • $74 to Investment Account (30%)
  • Total = $246

So the money has been distributed into the different accounts and it can no longer tempt me to spend it by sitting in one giant account. Only 20% of it goes into my spending account which can be spent on any frivilous expenditure I choose. If I don’t have enough money in the spending account, I don’t buy it.

Yesterday was one of those awsomely hectic days where you run from place to place (I love those), but the highlight of the day was seeing Carl Stuart speak at a University Investors Association meeting. He has been hosting a personal finance radio show based in Austin for over 10 years. The man KNOWS HIS STUFF. I’ve never seen someone so adept at quckly answering a barrage of quick, tough personal finance questions. He also manages over $250,000,000 of other people’s money.

Some of the interesting points he brought up:

  • We experience financial losses twice as hard as we experience gains.
  • Only two investments have consistently outpaced inflation: Stock and real estate.
  • Doing financial research on the interenet is like taking a drink from a fire hydrant.
  • The two best teachers are Trial and Error

It turns out he too was a political science major who just wanted to get out of college and jump into the real world. It seems he’s done pretty well for himself so far!