Baldo Minaudo’s Blog

Just over three years ago I introduced two of my friends and MetroActive members to each other.  It was an intentional introduction.  David, the father of two, was going through a divorce.  Mary had never been married, but was in her early 40’s and wanted a family.  Both of them are very successful entrepreneurs and great individuals.

So, at a MetroActive Monthly Networking Social I introduced David to Mary.  They hit it off as I know they would.  So much so that although they both had dates lined up for after the event, they ended up canceling those dates in order to spend time together.  In private and personal conversations I was clear with each of them as to what the other wanted.  At first, David was hesitant because he had children and wan’t planning on having any more.  Mary wanted a child without a doubt and she had to be clear with David about it.  With my repeated encouragement they sorted this very important consideration upfront.

Once David’s divorce was final, the couple bought a new home, got married and moved in together.  They planned to have children immediately and started the adoption process in case they weren’t successful biologically. 

Last November David and Mary went to China to pick up their adopted child Synthia.  I should mention here that David is in now in his early fifties and is Jewish, they live in a predominantly Jewish community.  Mary is Chinese and very much Canadian. 

This is a mixed marriage in various ways: 1) they are about 10 years apart, 2) they are from significantly different cultures, 3) they are of different religious beliefs. 

Despite, all this they are happy, married and living a content life.  Today, I visited with them along with dozens of others in order to celebrate a Roman Catholic bapitism.  Both Synthia and Mary received their baptismal rights on this day.  And so the family and community bonds of this family continue to strengthen. 

And I get to watch over the years two individuals I introduced, that were along, now happily in love, building their family together and enjoying their time together. 

God Bless them and everyone out there that is middle-aged and single (which is 35+).  There is hope, just have faith and be willing to do what it takes.  If you are looking, let me know, I may just have a friend or two that I may introduce you to.

 

Today, my nephew Joseph received his first communion.  It was an exceptionally emotional day because Joseph is named after my father who passed along last October 4th.  Joseph is very much like my father was, humorous, caring and very sociable.  He likes to entertain and take care of others.

As I sat during mass this afternoon listening to the priest, I looked at the people around me and realized that Church is still the sanctuary it was when I was growing up.  A sacred place of love and faith were we celebrate mass and realize just how connected we are to each other.  This became really apparent as I looked around and noticed a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds represented through the children receiving their communion for the first time.

Proud parents and grandparents fussed over their pride and joy as the children accepted and celebrated their unity with the Holy Christ.

The best part of the day was watching the faith and hope in the eyes of the children and remembering that anything is possible for those that have faith.

Yesterday I ended up unexpectedly chatting on MSN for 12 hours dealing with some of my Venture Capital clients in Hong Kong.  I had planned to do some editing work on my book, but did none of that.

By the time I got to bed it was 6:30am.  Thanks to my wonderful nephews coming over and screaming, I awoke at noon.  Despite a very tired pair of eyes I was determined to get some work done on my book as I have promised the editor I’ll get the draft over next week.

Maybe it was the rain, or the energy my nephews brought with them, or the frustration of not having worked on my book yesterday.  But, I was able to finish three days worth of work today.  Looks like I will meet my deadline afterall.   All I have to do now is get my income taxes done. 

I’ve decided that once this book is done I’m taking a vacation.  Yes, I know I travel alot, but that’s work not leisure.  I mean a real vacation where I don’t have to check e-mail or do any work for a week.

I’ve already asked my Venture Capital buddies and they say, “let’s go to Barbados”.  I’ve never been so Barbados it might be.  Now that’s extra incentive to get my book done.

Today a one hour MSN chat turned into a twelve hour marathon session.

For the last six months I’ve been working on a deal with a group of Honk Kong businessmen.  The thing about working with Hong Kong is that it is twelve hours ahead of us.  So, 9pm here is 9am there.  Yep, you got it - that means lots of working nights and messed up routine.

I was hoping to finish my book today, but realized that if I didn’t deal with this we could lose some choice opportunities. 

In the end, the investors are completely on board and it looks like they will be sending $12,000,000 in about a week.

I’ll celebrate this one when it’s finally done - that’s for sure.

What a day.  I’ve been working on a VC deal with my Hong Kong office for the last six months.  One of the investors has been dragging his feet and I had to find out what was up with him. 

After 11 hours of MSN Chatting and addressing all kinds of questions and concerns, I got to the truth.  He had personal fears which he was projecting where they didn’t belong.  So, the chat turned very personal and after much discussion and sharing he decided to jump forward.

I’m hoping to have the deal wrapped up by the end of the next week in time to celebrate at my nephew’s First Communion party.  Sort of a double celebration.

Meanwhile, I’ve had to sacrifice my fitness program to deal with this situation and I need to hit the gym or rollerblade path this weekend, or both.

Every Thursday is the night that my venture capital colleagues and myself go out to have some fun and bond.  It helps relieve the stresses of wheeling, dealing and negotiating.  Yet, by the end of the evening there’s always a little deal or two that gets made.

It was months since I had hooked up with the gang.  That’s one thing about traveling - you really don’t get a chance to do the bonding thing.  Anyway, we were all glad to see each other and get caught up with what’s going on in the market.

There are some great mergers and acquisition opportunities out there.  I’m working on two myself.  Luckily, there were a few shell companies available between the group of us for potential deals.

As for the hotspots to be at - for the financial dealers, it’s still in the financial district.  The Keg on York is a good place to hang out.  But, beware of the young ladies looking to land a sugar daddy.  They can get in the way of having fun - well for some of us.  The problem about going to these places is that the other dealers know who you are and are always trying to interrupt our group conversations to make their pitch or get an opportunity thrown their way.

Some of other favourites are The Rosewater Supper Club (Toronto Street), Jump (Commerce Court), and Avenue (The Four Seasons at Yorkville).  If you see me at one of these places just nudge me and say hi - then disappear.  Only kidding. 

Bonding and networking with the industry is big part of being a Venture Capitalist.  For those that do it well, business is booming. 

See you around.

I just arrived back from a weekend writer’s retreat organized by the MetroActive Writer’s Club at Kins Retreat just oustide the West Boundary of Algonquin Park and have to share my experience with you.

The retreat was organized by Amy Lee of MetroActive and led by Cindy Stone, Director of the MetroActive Writer’s Club at the University of Toronto and author of the best-selling book, The Incidental Guru (www.incidentalguru.com).  Cindy has also written and produced a made for TV movie.  She lived in California for a few years where she worked on her writing spirit and skills.

I’m totally blown away by how effective this two day retreat has been for me.  I went to the retreat struggling with sitting down and completing the final edits to my manuscript.  But, after going through Cindy’s first exercise I was right into it and worked right through the whole weekend.  I should be done my part in a couple of weeks now.

During the retreat, a gentleman by the name of Eric Daly began his writing career for the first time.  He went from a standing start to having completed two chapters for two different books.  And his work is incredible.  A truly great, newly discovered, talented writer.

Thank you Cindy and Amy for helping me build a burning fire under my chair once again. 

It’s been a while since my last visit to Atlanta, which partly affected my decision to attend Mike Litman’s and John Di Lemme’s SuccessMania 2006 conference in this city.

Before, I tell you about Atlanta, let me give you a quick review of the conference.  I had chatted with John Di Lemme at the ‘More Heart Than Talent’ conference in Dallas, Texas in January, 2006.  A good Italian boy from New York City, John carries his thick accent well and it goes well with his positive, energy charged presence.  One of the things I like about John is that he involves his family and friends in his career.  It reminds me of the way things are done in Sicily, even to this day.  The family works together to make things happen.

Although, I’m disappointed in Mike Litman because he doesn’t show for his session during opening night. 

The speakers for the conference include: Omar Periu (the Cuban immigrant who’s accumulated great wealth), Stephen Pierce (considers himself special because he got shot), Drew Miles (great information on asset protection, tax saving and wealth building strategies - but only if you’re American), John Dessauer (great perspective on the real estate market adjustment and which segments will outperform others), Scott Schilling, Ann Preston, Jerry Clark (talked about personality types), Mark Gorman (great entertainer and perspective on religion and wealth), John Childers (talked about how he could make you rich through developing your public speaking skills if you take his $30,000 program), Loral Langemeier (still trying to understand what she does and I’m not alone), Mike Litman and John Di Lemme (addressed the personal attitude and approach to achieve success) himself.

One thing I learned at this conference is to make sure that the material covered by the speakers applies outside the United States.  Also, there is a big difference in both the quality of each speaker and the material they present.

The greatest success for me has been a meeting I had arranged through my contact in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada - Thomas Nisbett.  Thomas and I met by chance because of mutual contacts we have.   He had noticed that one of the members of his network was a Director of the Venture Capital Forum, which MetroActive Lifestyle Network, of which I’m the C.E.O. sponsors.  So he placed a call in to me and our relationship has been growing.  When, I told Thomas I was coming to Atlanta, he insisted on me meeting one of his associates.  That meeting has now led to a strategic alliance in two of my ventures. 

Now, let me tell you about Atlanta.  I haven’t been to this city in over 10 years, except for stopping between flights at the airport.  This time I bought myself a weekend pass for the public transportation system and visited some interesting sites.  First I went to the Fernbank Museum of Natural History to visit the chocolate exhibition.  Then I went to ‘The Underground’ a huge three story underground complex with a historical flavour to it.  It’s no where near as large as Toronto’s Eaton Centre (now called the Sear’s Centre by non-Canadians), but it does have a flavour of local artists and vendors.  However, I’m surprised when a jazz player stops playing to tell me no pictures.  How he plans to succeed without getting exposure is a mystery to me.  Or perhaps he’s a wanted criminal - who knows.

While riding the public transit I come across some very interesting individuals.  The people in this town are very much into their sports and proud of their athletes.   In fact, I can say that with the exception of Italians and their soccer I’ve never been to a more sports passionate city in the world.  One man is dressed in logos from different teams from head to foot and then has patches on top of patches and a plastic cowboy hat with some radio station on it.  Maybe he’s trying to win a radio contest or something.  Hey, I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt here.

The hotel I’m staying at is called the Airport Hilton and as I’m typing from inside the Executive Lounge I’m also glancing at the airplanes taking off at the airport about 500 metres from my window.  It’s a clear and expansive view that I’m thoroughly enjoying.  The sunset is beautiful and the only thing that would make it more enjoyable is someone to share it with.

This is a larger hotel and has lots of traffic.  But, if you plan to stay here, be sure to ask ahead of time if there’s a convention in the hotel.  During the last few days, there has been a debating conference on for high school students and I’ve heard them in the hallways right up until three o’clock in the morning.  So much for chapirones - if their parents only knew.

There’s a neat sports diner on the bottom floor of the hotel that has a good selection and reasonable prices.  It’s called speeders and I recommend it if you plan to stay here.  Also, book a suite that includes access to the executive lounge because that includes a good selection of food for breakfast as well as evening snacks from 5-7pm.  It is worth the investment.

Tonight’s my last night in town and I’d like to visit this famous newly opened Georgia Aquarium that so many residents here seem to be proud of.  Apparently, it is the largest in the world.  It’s a toss up between the Aquarium or catching up on my sleep after a full week.

There has been a lot of money invested in this City since I last spent time here.  Flying in I could see patches and patches of housing being built.  The city has a newness about it mixed in with its historical flavour.

One final observation, the people here are very friendly.  Even the utility workers stop to say hi to me and ask me how I’m doing.  When was the last time that happened in New York City? - never.

All in all a positive experience.