So it’s never happened, nor are there any plans for one (to my knowledge), but wouldn’t it be cool to have a Wake Forest entrepreneur reunion?  I’m wondering how many people who graduated from my soon-to-be alma mater have started their own businesses either right out or down the road.  Off the top of my head there’s Ricky Van Veen, Zach Klein, Nick Gray and the guy who started Salem Technologies or something which sells refurbished computers (based in Winston-Salem).  Plus, John Chambers has a relationship with the school, and so does Flip Filipowski (of Silk Road Tech) and many others that I’m sure I’ve overlooked.

I’m wondering if something like this could be pulled off in a month — inviting recent graduates who’ve started their own thing.  It could just be a day of some cool speeches, Q&A, presentations, idea pitches, etc.  Who knows, maybe something could come out of it?

UPDATE: Perhaps a WFU BarCamp could be organized…hmm…the possibilities…

Announcing the Keeping the Faith Golf Tournament in honor of Chris Valentine.

Visit http://www.keepingthefaithgolf.com

Signups will go live soon — and some details are sure to change.  If you have any questions, contact me at:

• AIM: Scorpyan
• Email: mail (at) scotthurff (dot) com
  

I periodically read up on Noah Kagan’s blog. Just for a background, Noah works at Facebook as a project manager and has a cool insight into how things work over there in California.

I don’t know Noah, nor have I ever spoken to him.  But I’d love to someday, because we share the same view on things (from his post “Go DO Something“):

I totally commend people who are creating things over people who whine about their jobs and nag on people actually trying to make something. Even if you are creating something not to make money or a viable business just doing ANYTHING is a great thing. You learn what not to do and meet so many great people for future endeavors.

Whether or not you agree with his initial conclusion that “most people don’t do shit,” go and make something.  Create something.  Even if it’s a stupid club or a dumb business venture that’s doomed to fail.  The fact is that success is predicated on failure…learning, adapting, iterating, realigning, re-strategizing. 

I believe that the “just do it” or “do something” mentality can be applied to so many aspects of life.  Since hypercompetition and change are the norm, we need to be ready to be active.  If it’s not right or you’re not seeing results, then change it.  Life won’t end.  The world won’t split into little pieces.

The upside of this is that you’re always active — moving, thinking, deploying, etc.  I only see that as a problem if you don’t like to think, create or better yourself.  And if that’s the case — well, then our characters are fundamentally at odds (but I’ll still be your friend).

Go read Noah’s blog Okdork.  And while you’re there, support his Carnival of Marketing

This hits home especially close.

My good friend and fellow Dublin Coffman High School graduate, Chris Valentine (elected Dublin School Board President after graduating high school) has Hodgkin’s disease.  He keeps a blog at faithandcancer.blogspot.com about his life after diagnosis — and during treatment.

Chris is a fantastic person.  He’s a well-respected citizen of my hometown, and he’s always been a source of encouragement and inspiration.  Even if you don’t know him, please leave a comment or drop him a note of encouragement. 

It takes strength to make these things public, and I applaud him for doing so.  He’s staying in his position and is going to fight it out despite immense physical and psychological difficulty.

My buddies Ryan Prestel (including his mom, Patty Frazier) and Sara Vertuca  are putting on a charity golf tournament and event for him called Keeping the Faith.  It will launch at http://www.keepingthefaithgolf.com and will feature a site designed by yours truly.

Chris: you’re in our prayers.

While at the beach, I’ve been considering ways to better myself, and I came across this recent Guardian story “Simple ways to make yourself far cleverer:”

Saturday

Brush your teeth with your ‘wrong’ hand and take a shower with your eyes closed.

Sunday

Do the crossword or Sudoku puzzle in your Sunday paper and take a brisk walk.

Monday

Have oily fish for dinner, and either cycle, walk or take the bus into work.

Tuesday

Select unfamiliar words from the dictionary and work them into conversations.

Wednesday

Go to yoga, Pilates or a meditation class, and talk to someone you don’t know.

Thursday

Take a different route to work; watch Countdown or Brainteaser.

Friday

Avoid caffeine or alcohol; memorise your shopping list.