Monthly Archives: November 2009

Another Road Win – Another Injury

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Alex is back. He scores on his first shot on goal in his return.

Matt Bradley rocks. Way to go, Matt!

Quintin Laing is hurt - a broken jaw - yikes. That hurts and that is such a shame.

It was another road game, a good win and another two points. We are back to first place in the East. We have the second most points in the NHL right now. We have miles to go before we sleep but getting a big win on the road last night and having Alex Ovechkin return has got to bring a smile to some of your faces. It does to mine. Go Caps!

American Express to Acquire Revolution Money

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I am pleased to report that earlier today we announced American Express will acquire Revolution Money.

I have been working as Chairman of Revolution Money since early 2007. Revolution Money was launched by my good friend Steve Case and his Revolution LLC concern and Steve and I are the most significant investors in this enterprise.

We are proud to have built something of great value for our employees and investors but more importantly for consumers and merchants. I am also proud to have mentored a very talented founder, Jason Hogg, as he launched and then scaled this platform and enterprise.

I will continue on with Revolution Money once the deal formally closes as a special assistant to the Chairman of American Express, Kenneth Chenault. I hope to help Ken and his team develop a vibrant and fast growth new set of digital enterprises and applications for American Express.

Here is the official news release for your information.

American Express to Acquire Revolution Money to Develop
Next Generation Payment Products

Deal combines state-of-the-art technology platform with leading global brand

ST PETERSBURG, FL, November 18, 2009 – American Express Company today announced it has agreed to acquire Revolution Money, a Revolution LLC company.

Revolution Money, launched by AOL Co-founder Steve Case’s Revolution LLC in 2007, provides secure payments through an internet based platform.  No names or account numbers appear on Revolution cards and transactions are authorized by using a PIN number.  The company’s online person-to-person payment accounts are FDIC insured and ideally suited for social and instant messaging networks. It also offers a prepaid card linked to those accounts that can be used for offline payments or to withdraw cash from ATMs throughout the United States.

“New payments products and platforms are evolving rapidly and it’s important for us to keep identifying cutting edge technologies that can extend our leadership beyond the traditional payments arena,” said Kenneth I. Chenault, chairman and chief executive officer of American Express. “While Revolution Money is a young and relatively small company, we believe it has big potential.  This is a smart, nimble business.  It’s run by an accomplished management team who have quickly developed some cutting edge e-payment offerings.  Joining with American Express will help unlock their potential, while allowing us to deliver competitive online payment products more rapidly and efficiently.”  

“Revolution Money has a lot of room to grow as it competes head-to-head with other online and person-to-person payment providers.  We are committed to using our global brand recognition, marketing reach and network expertise to help reach a critical mass of customers,” said Mr. Chenault.  

Jason Hogg, founder and chief executive officer of Revolution Money, will continue as president and chief executive officer.  Ted Leonsis, a Revolution Money angel investor, major shareholder and chairman, will become a special advisor to American Express working with Mr. Chenault on overall digital and online payments strategy.

“We have built a next-generation payments platform that will enable American Express to compete even more effectively, especially against online competitors,” said Mr. Leonsis.  ”Revolution Money’s technology brings together the online and offline worlds in a way that can transform the way consumers securely transact.  And with the low cost structure enabled by internet technology, American Express is now even better positioned to scale their online presence over time.”

“Since our inception our sole goal has been to build a payments platform that can help transform the industry,” said Mr. Hogg. “Becoming part of American Express will enable us to reach that goal by scaling our technology and business and providing even greater consumer benefits.  I, and the Revolution Money employees who helped build our company, are honored to be joining the American Express family and we are excited about what the future holds.”

The transaction, which is subject to regulatory review, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2010.  The purchase price is expected to be approximately $300 million. Upon closing, Revolution Money would operate as a subsidiary of American Express and be the first component of its recently formed Enterprise Growth organization.  Enterprise Growth was formed to leverage American Express’ existing assets and capabilities to generate incremental fee revenue and to drive the company’s entry into new payment areas and related businesses.    

”We want to preserve the talent and culture that has made Revolution Money successful and we will be working with them to make the most of our respective strengths,” said Mr. Chenault.  He said that the initial areas of focus will include:

  • Developing re-loadable, prepaid products for new segments of the market
  • Introducing new products for cardmembers who currently use other alternative payment systems
  • Creating payment alternatives designed for social media sites and allowing open APIs that can help developers distribute new product innovations
  • Developing mobile payments solutions in the United States

Other opportunities will include expanding Revolution Money payment solutions internationally, extending product offerings to banks that issue cards on the American Express network and creating new forms of PIN-based debit products.
 
Media Conference Call – Live Audio Webcast
A conference call with members of the media will be held today to discuss this announcement at 10:30 AM EST. The call will be hosted by Kenneth I. Chenault, chairman and chief executive officer of American Express, Jason Hogg, founder and chief executive officer of Revolution Money and Ted Leonsis, Revolution Money’s chairman.

A live audio webcast of the media conference call will be accessible to the general public and investors at http://ir.americanexpress.com. A replay of the call will be available at the same Web site address shortly after the call.

About Revolution Money
Revolution Money, a secure, state-of-the-art technology platform, was created to deliver significant value to both consumers and merchants through two products, RevolutionCard and RevolutionMoneyExchange™. The RevolutionCard provides consumers with enhanced PIN-based security, identity protection and numerous merchant discounts and incentives. MoneyExchange is an online payment service that offers consumers an easy, secure and free way to instantly send and receive money online to and from their friends, family and associates.  St. Petersburg, Florida-based Revolution Money is part of the family of companies within Revolution LLC, which was founded by AOL co-founder Steve Case to drive transformative change by shifting power to consumers.  www.revolutionmoney.com.

About American Express
American Express Company is a leading global payments and travel company founded in 1850.  For more information, visit www.americanexpress.com.

What NOT to Do This Holiday Season

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Here are 9 extravagant holiday gifts courtesy of CNN.com from the “needless markup” catalog. What an interesting and decadent list.

Have these folks lost touch or what? We have increasing hunger and homelessness issues in our country. Unemployment is at 10 percent. Foreclosures are up and this retailer wants us to buy cupcake cars?

Once again this holiday season, my family will be making a donation to the DC Central Kitchen in the name of my friends and business partners. We would rather feed the poor and hungry and try to help fellow citizens in downtown DC than look like a goofball wearing a psychedelic hat driving 7 miles an hour down our sidewalk. Are you kidding me?

Here is info on DC Central Kitchen. Be inspired. Help them to help others!

No Soap-Radio

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No. We don’t want Bruce to have his own show on the radio. :-)

We want Bruce to be himself and to be all about hockey; the team; and enjoy his life and body of work.

One more win and he hits the century mark, 100 wins, which is the fastest in team history. He is a great coach - a player’s coach – and a good man.

Bruce, George McPhee, Dick Patrick and everyone associated with our team has only one goal in mind: Do whatever it takes to win a Stanley Cup. If Bruce thinks he is having fun now, wait ’til he hoists a Cup!

And thanks Dan for remembering us. Good to see you writing about the Washington Capitals again. Go Caps!

Chasing the Perfect Sound

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For those of you who play guitar or just love guitar infused rock n roll. Les Paul is a pioneer and a god- like figure. He is an innovator, a talented musician, an inventor and just plain old cool guy. Watch this documentary on SnagFilms on Les Paul, his life and times.

This man is one of the most influential people in all of music history.

I have a few Les Paul guitars. They are cherished instruments. I loved this film. You will too.

Ovie at MSG

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Alex loves playing under the bright lights of NYC and he loves playing in front of the loud crowd at Madison Square Garden.

My belief is that he will want to play tonight and if he does, it will provide us with a terrific morale and performance boost. He has been out for 17 days. It will be fun to see him hit the ice and basically inhale everything around him. He will be focused and ready to go. He loves the game and his teammates so much!

Read Mike Vogel’s article. We feel so blessed to read where the two-time defending MVP of the NHL says - in regards to new line changes and schemas because of injuries on our team - ”I don’t care where I play. If the team needs me down low, I am going down low.”

That kind of team-oriented attitude and selflessness is what separates Alex from many other great players. He is all about team. He is coachable still. He respects the game. He is a winner.

I hope to say tonight, “Welcome back Alex! We missed you. Go have some fun out there. Go Caps!”

Kudos to George and Dick

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Thanks for this nice article. Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good and winning the lottery was a great piece of luck. But George and Dick did great work in recrafting the team to be ready for the new NHL. The trades for prospects and picks were the right ones to follow and they executed it all very well. We are a young team still with upside and with great prospects awaiting their turn as well. It is a great time to be a fan of the Washington Capitals. Go Caps!

Perspectives

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It is an amazing schedule. Some teams have played 22 games to date. Some teams have played 17 games to date. That five game spread is huge, a possible ten points in the standings.

We have played 20 games to date.

It is amazing to think that we are essentially a quarter of the way through our season already. Time is flying by. The schedule seems compressed as we sprint to the Olympic break in February.

At the quarter mark, we are pretty well situated. We are gaining points efficiently. We are selling out all of our games.

We have a lead in the division but the division is better than pundits think. Tampa and Atlanta both have very good young teams and are making progress and gaining points.

The East is very competitive right now. There are a lot of good teams and qualifying for the playoffs this season will be a challenge for everyone. My bet is that 92 plus points will be the cut off for the playoff qualification this season.

We are tied for first place in the East right now but it is way too early in the season to draw any conclusions.

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