Young Successful Entrepreneur

Web 2.0 is coming!  And I’m going to be on the first plane there!  With this free registration code, you better be coming with me!

Oh, and there is a story behind all this that you have to read if you have 15 minutes to spare!

Free Registration Code: websf09emp104

Follow this link to register the code

I went to the Web 2.0 Expo last year and it was pretty amazing.  Other than meeting great people, networking, and listening to stupendous keynotes, the highlight of my trip to San Francisco was the city.  It really is a beautiful place and I highly recommend that you enjoy the night life while you’re there.

A night I won’t soon forget

Ryan Geist and I just spent a good 8 hours networking our asses off.  With a pocket full of business cards and our laptops slung over our shoulders, we meet up with Jean “the French player from Tom Tom” Francious and Tony “sweet, good hearted asian guy” Vu and make our way over to the Web 2.0 after-parties.

The after parties are hosted by Yahoo and a bunch of other big companies.  To be honest, these after parties are fun, but we want the more authentic SF scene.  Ryan will pretty much smooth talk his way into (or even out of) any situation so he pulls aside a couple of girls and asks them where the place to be is at.  They refer us to “Pink”, which is some dive bar/lounge a few miles from downtown.

“Pink?… Well, girls love the color pink, so I’m sure we’ll find some girls there.” deduces Jean.

“It’s getting kind of late guys, and we need to be here early tomorrow morning for the keynote. Should we go home?” hesitantly replies Tony

“Gentleman.  The night is young, and the lovely ladies at pink are waiting for us.  Move out!” finalizes Ryan.

Hopping into the taxi, I feel that hightened sense of awareness and excitement that you get when you’re trying something completely new.  It was my first time in SF after all, and I was ready to go all night.  Little did I know that my “all night” was completely different to Ryan’s “all night.”

Pulling up to the curb, we see a flat brick wall with a single door, illuminated by a single Pink light bulb.

Before Tony could muster up some excuse about why we should be going home early, Ryan pushes us all inside.  Just how the name described it, Pink was an illuminated pink lounge that had a star-studded-jacket-jack-parcels wearing DJ in the back spinning some smooth electro music.  The dance floor was small, but was not packed.  Since I had a girlfriend and Jean had a wife and kids, we were to act as Wingmen for Ryan and Tony.

Ryan spots two girls in the back:

“Which one are you liking?” I ask

“Both of them.” smirks Ryan

“So… do you need me to come with?” I asked puzzled because Ryan seemed serious about going for both girls at once

“Take care of Tony will ya.” walks off Ryan

This was probably the second time Ryan and I had hung out, but he had already impressed me with his style.

While Ryan had his fun, Jean, Tony, and I danced together on the dance floor.  You know when girls go out with each other in a big group just dance with one another?  Well, that’s exactly how we felt, except the male version.

Girl: “Hey, I like your moves.  Do you want to dance?”

Me: “No… I’m just here to express myself through the art of dance.  Leave me.”

(ok, so it doesn’t quit happen that way, but I think you get the picture)

12am hits, and good’ol Tony is exhausted.  Jean and I are tired too, but we’re down to hang out some more; Ryan on the other hand is just getting started.  One of the two girls he hooked up with comments that The Supper Club is the place to be at on Wednesday nights.

Me: “Supper Club?  What are we gonna do, go eat some soup?”

Jean: “I don’t know about you guys, but in France we like to keep our suppers and our dancing separate.”

Ryan: “Cmon, lets just go and check it out.  If it sucks, we’ll just head home.  What’s there to lose?”

Jun: “Eh, who can say no to an argument like that?”

Tony: “Hey guys, I’m sorry but I gotta head out.  I’ll see you tomorrow, yea?”

We lost Tony, but we have to move on.

We step out of the cab onto a dimly lit street.  A sign of a spoon hovers over a door where a huge bouncer stands waiting for us to approach him.

I’m thinking: “If this club is good, there is no way they are going to let three random guys walk in at 12:00am.  There’s not even a line outside of the door!”

The bouncer asks for our IDs, hands them back to us, and opens the door.

Never have I seen such a magnificent place.

We take one step into the club and Jean’s jaw drops all the way to the floor: three, absolutely gorgeous half-naked girls had just walked past us on their way to the bar room.  A small, insignificant $10 cover later, and we’re inside what seems like a scene straight out of a movie. There are 3 girls for every guy, every single person (guy or girl) looks like a super model, and there is only the best electro/house music in the air.  Our dreams have come true.

Ryan, Jean, and I walk onto the dance floor wearing smiles and dancing to the beat like a bunch of monkeys who had just discovered a hoard of bananas.  Girls left and right see our energy and enthusiasm and give us the stank eye.

Me: “Guys, I think this is a new level of game that we have never encountered before”

Ryan: “You’re right.  We need to get our of here and regroup.”

Jean: “Guys, guys, don’t worry.  All I have to do is start speaking and the accent get them everytime :)”

So, Jean went over to the bar to chat with some people while Ryan and I regrouped.

Ryan: “Ok.  When we walk in there, we don’t stare at any of the girls.  Act aloof, as if this was just another week night.”

Jun: “Yawn… alright man.  Do your thing.”

1am hits and I start to feel fatigued.  But, I gotta be a trooper…

I’ve met some pretty cool people at the club.  There is a girl who is an accountant from KPMG, a guy who supposedly owns every club in downtown (he’s  lying I’m sure), and his partner who is interested in funding my startup company (another lie).  Of course, Ryan made good friends with the DJ who invited us to his after-after party.  It was 2am, the club was closing, and Jean peaced out because like Tony, he wanted to make it to the early morning keynote.

Keynote and leave my friend alone with these random people, or stick it out and go to this after-after part?  Like I really have a choice…

We hop out of the DJ’s car onto a shady alleyway.  It was dark, and we entered through a big hole on the side of the building.

Me: “Dude, this is really shady man.  We’re gonna get jumped for sure.”

Ryan: “It’ll be fine man.  I promise”

I found out that night that I’m an out going person, but compared to Ryan, I feel I can be pretty reserved or even conservative when confronted with new, uncertain circumstances.

We walked up stairs into a large dance room with blasting music.  Everyone from the Supper Club had migrated over to this hole-in-wall after party.  I look over at Ryan and he’s already talking to a guy who look like the owner of the building.  Tired and faigued, I sit down next to a couple of guys who look like they got dragged here too.  At least I won’t look like a loser sitting by himself…

5am hits.

You would think that Ryan would eventually lose steam, but this guy is the energizer bunny.  I pull him aside:

Me: “Ryan, we’re in the startup life now.  We can stay out as long as we want, wake up late, go to work, not go to work, and there is no one to tell us what to do.  It can be wonderful, but it can also be a trap for the undisciplined.  We drove across California to watch keynotes, network, and expand out business; not to party all night with a bunch of people who don’t care at all about our business.  It’s time to go and be entrepreneurs again.”

Ryan stared at me with foggy eyes: “Jun… you speak the truth brother.”

The guy is a party machine, but he’s also very focused.  At 6am, we head out back to the apartment.  The keynote starts at 8am…

—

Yes, this was my feeble attempt to entertain you with my story telling.  I’ve never written in this style before and I’m sure I failed miserably, but I promise I’ll get better.

Come join us this March!