Playdate Planet

I had the great fortune recently to speak with Meryl Nieman of Playdate Planet, a website focused on helping parents organize play dates for their kids.  As she states on the site ... "Tired of all the phone calls or e-mails needed to schedule playdates for your child? So were we! That's why we created Playdate Planet."  As a dad with two young kids, we are always in search of other parents with kids the same age to meet up for a casual play date in the park (anything to distract the kids for a few hours).  It's tough, however, as both my wife and I work and attend school, so our spare time is limited.  Although the site is in beta stage, I'm excited to see how it starts to take shape.  For her podcast, we spoke specifically about Wild Creations and how we came to develop the concept for the EcoAquarium with frogs.  The podcast can be heard by listening to the file below, though I encourage you to follow the link here to receive the discount coupon code offered through the site to order your very own EcoAquarium for the holiday!


PlayDate Planet can be found on Twitter @PlayDatePlanet and on Facebook at /PlayDatePlanet.

Why We Need NASA

When I was a very young lad, I dreamed of growing up and becoming an astronaut, more specifically working on rockets and traveling through space.  I also wanted to be a stand up comic.  True story.  Clearly, I was no good at either, and my inability to hit a curve ball hampered my dreams later of becoming a big league ball player.  Regardless, I still enjoy America's past time and a good stand up comic routine from time to time, and I still follow closely the escapades of space exploration, the exciting discoveries in physics and astronomy, and NASA.  

For this reason, I was saddened by the recent retiring of the NASA Space Shuttle program, closing the book on a period of history I remember fondly.  I know that many people have a "where I was" story for several significant and historical events throughout history, but I have but a few.  Probably my earliest and most indelible one is the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion in 1986.  I followed the coverage leading up to the launch closely with my parents, as the event had the same implication as the first Apollo moon landing in my mind.  

The morning of the launch, I distinctly remember hearing the news of the explosion over a school P.A. system while sitting in Mr. Maneely's jazz band class.  Yes, I played trumpet in a grade school jazz band.  True story.  I also remember walking to the school's library where administration had turned on a television to watch the events unfold.  While I understood the significance of the event when I heard the announcement, seeing all of the students and faculty in the library, and witnessing the event firsthand, made me realize how great an impact this tragedy had made in our lives.

Prior to the Challenger, I was intrigued with the idea of space.  The significance of this event, however, pushed that intrigue over the edge, and it became an insatiable curiosity.  I still have my scrap book, the only scrap book I have ever made, of all of the news clippings from the event.  And while too young to understand or even care about politics, I vaguely remember hearing and understanding the moving words of President Reagan, as he addressed the country during this troubling time.  At one point, he even addressed "school children" directly, and I understood that he was talking to me, offering consolation and inspiration for us to continue to be pioneers.

Because I have and continue to be passionate about space exploration, I am a supporter of NASA.  I have on occasion engaged with critics who indict the space program as being a complete waste of our time, energy and resources.  Why not focus on exploring the earth instead of far off places that have no relevance to our lives here? ... that was always the argument.  I always focused on relating the NASA budget to other government spending, though I never found it to be a solid argument myself.  Money spent is money spent, and if you don't believe in the cause, it's money wasted.  I intrinsically knew the benefits of the space program, but I had difficulty voicing this to those who have never understood or been intrigued with the mysteries of space.

This changed recently when I found inspiring words from one of my modern day heros, Neil deGrasse Tyson, the director of the Hayden Planetarium.  Yes, one of my heroes is an astrophysicist.  True story.  He eloquently and sagaciously lays out the reason we, as a culture and as a civilization, should continue our exploration of space.  I've included the transcript below, though I found this video, narrated by the always animated Tyson himself, to be more profound.  So, if you are apprehensive about the exploration of space or simply question the need for it, hopefully you will find inspiration in this ... enjoy!

Transcript:
Space. Three hundred billion dollar industry worldwide. NASA is actually a tiny percentage of that. Interesting. How small a percent NASA is to the total world spending of space. That little bit, however, is what inspires dreams. Every corporation in here with representatives to this conference: If you ever even touched a science mission, you'd lead off with that in your quarterly reports -- annual reports.

Because, it inspires, it is the act of discovery that empowers nations in the world to undertake this activities. We know this. Apollo 8. That was the FIRST TIME anybody ever LEFT Earth! With a destination in mind. Yeah, figure-eighted around the moon. Photo. Of Earth. Rising over the lunar landscape. Earthrise over the moon. There was Earth. Seen not as the mapmaker would have you identify it. No. The countries were not color coded. With boundaries. It was seen as nature intended it to be viewed. Oceans. Land. Clouds.

We went to the moon and we discovered Earth!  I claim we discovered Earth. For the first time. How does that affect culture? I got a list! The instance that photo comes out, that is the identifying cover picture of the whole Earth catalog. Thinking of Earth as a whole. Not as a place where nations war. As a whole. 1970. The comprehensive Clean Air Act. Earth Day was birthed, March 1970. The Environmental Protection Agency was founded in 1970. The organization Doctors Without Borders was founded in 1971. Where do you even get that phrase from!? No one thought of that phrase before that photo was published. Because every globe in your classroom has countries painted on it. DDT gets banned in 1972. We're still going to the moon; we're still looking back to Earth. Clean Water Act, 1971. 1972, Endangered Species Act. The catalytic converter gets put in, in 1973. Unleaded gas, 1973. We're still at war in Vietnam! There's still campus on rest. Yet, we found the time to start thinking about Earth.

That is space, operating on our culture and you cannot even put a price on that. That is-- that is, a nation, that is a world, we're acting to a new perspective on what it is to be alive, on this planet we all share. We need to look at NASA not as a hand-out, but as an investment. Because, as goes, the health of space varying ambitions, so to goes the spiritual, the emotional, the intellectual, the creative and the economic ambitions of a nation. So goes the future of America.

No Return for the Tax Return

There has been mounting pressure for Mitt Romney, the republican nominee for US President, to release his income tax returns prior to the November election this year.  While I understand the argument for releasing them, I also fully understand why he insists on not doing so.  Let's face it, he's damned if he does, and damned if he doesn't (not to mention, it's personal).  The reality is that countless pundits and experts have weighed in and estimated his taxes paid, his effective tax rate, that even that he has off-shore bank accounts ... most of which is accurate and indeed has been verbally verified by Romney's campaign.  My question is then ... so what then?  If he doesn't deny the details of his returns, what difference will his tax returns make?  

It all stinks of hypocrisy.

Yes, I am referring to the birthers, or the ridiculous fringe movement who believe that Barack Obama is not an US citizen.  For years, Obama refused to release his birth certificate to quell the naysayers, and I agreed with his stance.  It was and continues to be absurd to believe that Obama could elevate himself to the highest and most powerful office in the land without a small, minor detail like being a foreign national, coming to light until now.  It just isn't going to happen.  At this point, the burden should not be to prove that he was born in the US but for opponents to prove that he was not.

An asinine claim, take a firm position.

Of course, Obama finally relented, and let me down, by releasing his birth certificate in April 2011.  And that shut everyone up real quick.  Right?  Not quite ... and indeed, not even close.

Go get 'em, Sherriff Arpaio!  

All it did was elevate the argument and, unfortunately, hammer home an unsettling and sobering fact ... these useless debates are a waste of time and energy and ultimately end up with a zero net outcome.

Unsettling and sobering fact #2 ... people still believe Obama isn't a US Citizen?

With all of this said, I recently saw a post on Facebook that revisited Richard Nixon's Checkers Speech  in 1952 as a basis for the argument that tax returns should be made public.  The post quoted Nixon: 

"I would suggest that under the circumstances (they) should come before the American people, as I have, and make a complete financial statement of their financial history, and if they don't it will be an admission that they have something to hide. ... And I think you will agree with me, because folks, remember, a man that's to be President of the United States... must have the confidence of all the people."

This is all fine in theory, but let me make one thing perrrrrrfectly clear ... you can NEVER please all the people all the time, so why even insinuate that you can?  That's what makes this quote so unappealing to me.  As well, it's easy, and dangerous, to simply say that if someone doesn't do something, they are hiding something.  

Think about it.

Let's also consider the fact that if a nominee ever disclosed everything about himself or herself, we'd never make it through the primaries.  Although I would relate to a candidate that listens to The Black Keys, indulges in a frosty cold micro brew or two or eight, and occasionally gives a second non-fleeting glance to a Victoria Secret Catalog (i.e. - is human), what is more important to me is his/her vision and goals for the country and the roadmap, and ability to get there.  Let's get past the tax returns and hammer home the important questions, like ... hey Romney/Ryan, what are the deets to your plan to cut the deficit?

In the interest of full disclosure, I do not subscribe to Victoria Secret.  My wife does.

Now, the problem is that Romney openly promoted comments on his own blog by his Trustee Brad Malt, giving highly specific information about his taxes over the past ten years.  This shows me that Romney is missing the point.  Why not just say:

... yeah, I paid an effective rate of 14%, which is the maximum amount of taxes required by law for what I do, which is invest in companies, and this earns a capital gains tax rate, but I also contribute 30% of my income to charities, giving me a "Give Back to Society Rate" of 44%, because I believe the charities I support can have a bigger impact in my community than the current tax spending policies of my government, which is why I am running for president.  

and

... yeah, I have off-shore bank accounts, because the business tax structure in the US is terrible and it is eroding the ability of our businesses to compete with an increasingly sophisticated global business environment, so I take every measure legally possible to save on taxes and reinvest in companies and America, and sue me if that approach makes me a lot of money, it's a smart thing to do.

and

... yeah,  I use off-shore accounts because they are not illegal and I fully disclose them, and honestly, do you really believe that, with the scrutiny I receive from the IRS, that I could hide anything in my taxes?  If I want to hide something, my tax returns sure as hell aren't going to show it!

Think about it.

But, instead, he doesn't, and instead adds fuel to the fire by simply releasing numbers.  Seriously, at this point, why not just release the tax returns?  

I'll end by saying this.  Romney is successful and filthy rich.  He has enough automobiles to warrant a car elevator.  No secrets there.  He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, BUT you don't rise to CEO of one of the most successful private equity firms, to Chief Executive of the preeminent sporting event in the world, and to conservative Governor of a liberal state, without some mad skills.  Dislike him for this if you must, but the man deserves respect.  

Me, on the other hand, I actually enjoy being miffed by his inability to conduct himself as our potential head of state ... 

Hoyapreneurs Unite!

A few months ago, The Hoyapreneur, the e-newsletter for Georgetown University's Entrepreneurship Initiative, asked me for feedback about my experience as an entrepreneur.  While I was flattered to be asked, I was also confounded about how to sum up my experiences for a short Alumni Focus piece.  Regardless, the article appeared in the September 2012 Issue, and I have included the article in its entirety below.  Special thanks to Hoyapreneur Editor, Elizabeth Schieffelin, and to Jeff Reid, the director of the GT Entrepreneurship Initiative.  You can find them on twitter @hoyapreneur.

By Peter Gasca

Peter graduated from the McDonough School of Business MBA program in 2003. He is the CEO of Wild Creations.

My years in the MBA program at Georgetown taught me many things to prepare me for my entrepreneurial experience. The 4 P’s (plus the bonus two from Professor Homa), 3 C’s, and numerous quadrants upon which to form a thriving and successful business were but to name a few.

After school, I endeavored into business consulting with the USAID Enterprise Development Project in Central Asia in order to refine my new skills and put them into practical use working with small- and medium-sized businesses making the transition from communism to a market economy. Indeed, the experience was incredible, and after four years of working with business owners and managers, I felt it was time to break out and finally put these skills to use myself.

I settled in Myrtle Beach, S.C., after finding a small but interesting company to acquire and manage, called Wild Creations. The company made a very interesting product, a desktop ecosystem habitat with frogs (which we subsequently called the “EcoAquarium”). Not exactly alternative energy or a cure for cancer, but after meeting with the former proprietors and thoroughly vetting the company, I had a strong suspicion that the product could be a fun and educational hit if we could just overcome a couple of major obstacles, mainly scaling and distribution. Big challenges, indeed, but that’s why I went to business school, right? I invested with a business partner, and we set out to grow the business.

In the first week, one of our water tanks flooded the warehouse and the adjacent office of our less-than-amenable next door neighbor. Unfortunately, I hadn’t exactly budgeted for this little, and very expensive mishap. A few months later, Lehman Brothers collapsed and so did all lines of credit. I was instantly thrust into the entrepreneurial reality that nothing goes as planned. All of the quadrants and handy acronyms from business school went out the door, and so began many years of “winging it.”

That’s not to say that my experience at Georgetown and my MBA weren’t worth the time, tuition and opportunity cost. On the contrary, I owe our success at Wild Creations (2010 #1 Fastest Growing Company in South Carolina and 2011 Inc500’s #259 fastest growing U.S. private company) to my experience at Georgetown. I have applied seemingly every lesson from business school to the business, and I have tapped the incredible network of classmates and alumni numerous times. Indeed, the only thing I discovered on my own, and quite truthfully is not teachable in business school, is a personal passion, perseverance, and courage to succeed.

Unlike most entrepreneurs, who are shining examples of all three of these traits, I didn’t know I had them in me until it was time for me to dig deep and find them. Indeed, what I have learned over the years, after meeting numerous other successful business owners and professionals, is that most aspiring entrepreneurs have these traits to succeed, but they fail to ever realize them, because they fail to try. It’s a shame really, because so many great ideas are never realized because of the fear of failure or the inclination to give up.

This is what I take away from my early experiences with entrepreneurship, and it is what I commonly preach to young aspiring entrepreneurs through mentoring. Of course, I give it in a smaller bite size as summed up in my personal motto: Try, or die not knowing. And, since you are reading this, you are already well on your way to succeed. Now, get out there and make your entrepreneurial dreams come true!

Seeing the Future

I've seen and heard a few cool things about Google's Project Glass.  To a certain extent, most of us are glued to our smart phones as it is, so what's the difference if we simply have our apps streamed directly to our line of site?  Imagine being on a date, staring lovingly into the eyes of that special someone, and simultaneously being able to watch the big game!  It might not only save lives, but save relationships as well!


This video I found on The Evolving Blog gives a very rosy view of what life might be like ...

... while this video from Fast Company, one the other hand, is just plain creepy ...