Monthly Archives: July 2010

Most Deserved, But…

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We get it. It is the summer. It is slow out there. ESPN did a massive report. We didn’t get good grades. We are what our record says we are. We need to improve. We need to be best in class. We are focused.

I do want to make a couple of comments. From what I have gleaned so far, the DC government is really tough on inspections. We get scheduled and unscheduled inspections. There is a description of the problem presented and then there is an immediate fix offered up. Aramark and Levy take this all very seriously, as do we. Any issues that were reported back in 2009 we have taken care of already, and now we as a new team are working to make sure we get zero citations ever again. That is our goal. It will be tough to achieve but we want to have huge aspirations.

And I am actually happy that the local DC health departments are so stringent and tough minded — as they should be. But as I look at some of the other reports from other cities, I do have to ask how standard these inspections are and how level the playing field is on an apples to apples basis. Be that as it may, it doesn’t matter. We are all dedicated to safety, security, cleanliness, efficiency, and your happiness and satisfaction.We will not be defensive. This is the business that we have chosen – and what job has PaintdrinkingPete chosen again? :-)

Truman Capote Once told Jack Kerouac

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“That isn’t writing sir that is typing.”

Click here. Read this great interview. Kudos to Dan Steinberg. Dan has been blogging now for more than three years, and I bet has done more than 5,000 posts. But who is counting?

Enjoy your vacation and never hesitate to clean up my grammar or quotes. You are hereby given carte blanche to do so. :-)

Verizon Center / ESPN Report

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I was surprised and disappointed by ESPN’s recent industry-wide report and ratings related to the cleanliness of professional sports venues, including Verizon Center. Since we acquired Verizon Center from Washington Sports and Entertainment six weeks ago, we have been planning and making improvements. Please be assured that we take the complaints of our customers extremely seriously, and quality and cleanliness are paramount.

We remain in the early stages of our evaluation process, and the ESPN report touched on some of the elements we have been examining and will be vigilant in improving. We will redouble our efforts immediately and review all facets of the issues identified. Once we have the facts, we will embark on remedies.

From what I understand, the ESPN report stems from incidents in 2009. These professional inspections are conducted several times throughout the year, are unannounced and are public record. When and if issues arise, we will take appropriate action, and from what I understand we have done exactly that in the past.

Aramark and Levy are our concessionaires at the arena. We have had a good relationship with both of them throughout the years, and we count on them to maintain a clean, safe, courteous and responsible service environment for our customers. Aramark recently launched a website to demonstrate and highlight their continued commitment to food safety, www.aramarkqualityfood.com.

The past couple of weeks I have talked about my plan to walk a mile in our employees’ footsteps and participate in the cleaning process. I now will step up those efforts and make this a top priority. I will personally get involved in the process and the solutions. We are on it; we’ve already started. We will move this issue from one that appears shocking to one that is a source of pride. I promise.

Familiarity Breeds Contempt

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Microsoft had a blow-out quarter. Sales of $16 billion or so and a 22 percent increase year over year. Wow.

Net income was way up 48 percent — more than $4.5 billion for the quarter.

And their stock was flat after the announcements. Familiarity breeds contempt with Wall Street.

Analysts thought the stock would do well because Microsoft is a bellweather company. As the economy improves and businesses start to replenish and refresh tech infrastructure, the business would naturally get the lion’s share of the growth — which it did. No big deal they say. What have you done for me lately with the “new and latest and greatest sexy stuff?” they ask.

I am bullish though. This growth says that businesses have a lot more confidence in their prospects over all, and that Microsoft did a great job in managing expenses. And being at the right place at the right time.

Microsoft. Apple. Google. The big three in the tech community. All three companies are thriving right now. The big get bigger. The small get marginalized. Down cycles end up being good for big, at-scale companies. They cut back expenses and when the tide turns, they can’t spend fast enough to eat margins, hence profitability soars. Good on them. We need a strong tech community. We need lots of growth and profits from industry leaders.

Hottest DC Companies

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I am also pleased and proud to see SBNation, Clearspring Technologies, and TidalTV all on the list of hot DC companies. I am an investor in all three of these concerns. I don’t know why SnagFilms (another one of my companies) isn’t mentioned here as it is based in DC as well and is growing like a weed.DC is home to some great and fast growing start ups with great founders and entrepreneurs. Click here for the complete list.

Salt

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I liked it and Leonard Maltin liked it too. Read his review here on the indieWIRE network.

Two for two on the major studio movie fare this summer for me. I loved “Inception” and I liked “Salt.” You will too.

Two Out of Five

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CNBC just ranked the five emerging Internet companies to know about.

Groupon and SB Nation are BOTH on the list. I am involved with both companies as an investor or board member.  It feels good. I am proud of Jim Bankoff and I am proud of Andrew Mason.

Accel partners is also a big investor in both concerns.