Today is the start of Venture Atlanta.  Thirty-one companies were selected from more than 200 applicants to give an 8 minute presentation to more than 700 people.  As a sponsor for the second year in a row, I had the pleasure of serving on the selection committee for the presenting companies. Most of the 700…

Burn rate is a phrase I have always hated; it has rather morbid implications. I first encountered the term while working with dot com executives in the late 1990s who effortlessly dropped the term to describe the amount of cash the company was burning (spending) per month. They divided the burn rate by the cash…

A prisoner serving a life sentence desperately wants to escape. A simple sunrise is torture. But then one morning he finds a rope in his cell. The problem is, it’s only half the length he needs to escape. So he divides the rope in half, ties the ends together and gains his freedom. This riddle…

For the last 9 months, I have been working on a presentation around the new book. After completing the lengthy writing process, I was not really interested in embarking on another journey, but it seems I found one. I learned to enjoy speaking. The speaking journey began after I did my very first presentation to…

Turbulence, like trouble, usually arrives unexpected. So I’m writing this blog 35,000 feet in the air on my way to Panama. The takeoff was effortless, didn’t feel a bump. Now I’m wondering if she’s a great pilot or whether the circumstances just perfect?   I would imagine the answer to both questions is yes, granted, saying…

If you were stranded on a desert island for two weeks with the choice of food or water, which would you pick?    Your answer to this question will vary depending on when it is asked.    When this question was asked at a gym before the workout, the vast majority said food.  Asked after the workout,…

For the typical financial plan to be successful, you have to be average.  Your level of “averageness” creates  a profitable demographic in a nice, organized bell curve.  The traditional financial planning industry feeds on this demographic like carcasses on the discovery channel.  As long as you aren’t great, as long as you have the same…

Debt and steroids are great – in the right situation. Responsible, well-managed, creative debt can catapult a business into great success. An asthmatic who’s just suffered an attack hears music when the doctor orders him a steroid called Prednisone. But drugs and debt are meant to alleviate a temporary situation. They are meant to be…

What would you think about a mother who failed to protect her newborn child 99% of the time? Would you even call her a mother? This title brings with it the connotation of protection, care, and intuition – but what if a mother has never experienced these traits in her own life? Do instincts appear…

We are very excited to announce our first donation of kindles to jump start a reading lab at Minor Elementary school in Gwinnett County.  Holcombe Financial purchased 40 kindles for the new Digital Den in their media center to launch a reading program for underprivileged kids at this Title 1 public school.  By partnering with…