I'm very excited to be visiting Singapore for the first time April 23-29; I may stay longer in Asia depending on business exigencies. I'm visiting as part of the faculty for the local launch of Founder Institute, with sponsorship from the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore and others.  I will also be meeting with some local investment funds, incubators, and  entrepreneurs. If you have any suggestions of people or institutions with whom I should meet, please contact me.

Thank you to Jeffrey Paine, Partner, Battle Ventures, for coordinating the trip.

I have scheduled six speaking engagements as part of my trip, and I hope that some readers can join us:  

_______________________________________________

Where are the Deals?! Private Equity and Venture Capital Funds' Best Practices in Originating New Investments

Sponsors: Singapore Venture Capital & Private Equity Association and CFA Singapore

Preview presentation at http://teten.com/deals .

Monday, April 26, 12-2:00pm

FTSE Room, Level 9 Capital Tower, 168 Robinson Road

Members: $0, Candidates: S$15, Non-members: S$30. RSVP: programs(@)cfasingapore.org

Details.

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Earning Revenue and Business Models for Startups 

Sponsor: Founder Institute

Panel with Chester Ng, Co-Founder, Chief Business Officer at OpenCandy, and Derrick Morton, CEO at FlowPlay

Preview presentation at http://www.teten.com/business-models/ .

Monday, April 26, 7:00-9:00 PM

Microsoft Singapore, Level 22, NTUC Centre, One Marina Boulevard, Singapore

No Cost. Very limited room for guests. RSVP: jeff(@)battleventures.com

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Bulldog Conversation: Best Practices in Deal Origination for VC and Private Equity Funds

I'll be discussing the findings of my research study on best practices of venture capital and private equity investors in sourcing new investments.

Sponsor: Yale Club of Singapore. Also invited are members of DUAL, the organization for graduates of some of the more distinguished universities globally.

Preview presentation at http://teten.com/deals .

Tuesday, April 27, 12-2:00 PM

Brewerkz Riverside Point, 30 Merchant Road #01-05/06 Riverside Point

Cost: S$10 for Yale Club members, S$20 for others. RSVP: shawn(@)yaleSG.org .

Details: http://alumninet.yale.edu/clubs/fbfq/

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Hiring and Firing for Startups

Sponsor: Founder Institute

Panel with Eric Tachibana, Director at Bank of America- Merrill Lynch, and Derrick Morton, CEO at FlowPlay

Preview presentation at http://teten.com/Hiring .

Tuesday, April 27, 07:00 PM

NUS - Extension @ PARK MALL, 9 Penang Road, #12-01, Park Mall (opposite Dhoby Ghaut MRT)

No Cost. Very limited room for guests. RSVP: jeff(@)battleventures.com

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Free (or Nearly Free) Market Research for Entrepreneurs and Other Misers

Sponsor: National University of Singapore Techno Venture Forum

Preview presentation at http://www.teten.com/market-research .

Wednesday, April 28, 6-8:00pm: National University of Singapore, I³ Auditorium, 21 Heng Mui Keng Terrace Level 1

No cost. RSVP . 

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Presentation of New Business

Host: BANSEA

PINES, 30 Stevens Rd.

Cost: S$40-S$60

Details: http://sgentrepreneurs.com/events/2010/04/21/bansea-network-lunch-29-apr/ 

A map of all the presentations is at  http://bit.ly/bZbpZN

Among the other speakers for Founder Institute are Nolan Bushnell (Founder of Atari),  Michael Robertson (Former CEO of MP3.com), Aaron Patzer (Founder and CEO of Mint.com), Phil Libin (CEO of Evernote), and many more.  More background from the site:

The Founder Institute in partnership with Battle Ventures and Ascendas iAxil is bringing to Singapore a four month training program for both new and seasoned entrepreneurs. The Institute prepares founders to lead the next generation of world-class technology companies across a wide range of industries, from the biotech to the internet. Weekly company-building sessions are guided by experienced CEOs from the US and Singapore/region, and they are held in the evening to allow participants to keep their day job or develop their companies during business hours. All of the program stakeholders, from the participating founders to the experienced CEO Mentors, share in the upside generated by the companies formed during the program. Participants also enjoy free services from three dozen Institute Partners, fundraising opportunities at fair market value, and a teamwork-oriented environment to build a company.

(Image by Storm Crypt via Flickr)

As usual, I'd welcome your feedback.

The heritage shows.  Speed of Trust is written in a very similar style to 7 Habits, and I mean that as praise.  It contains reasonable advice, based on the author's work with clients, and is seasoned with anecdotes from Stephen M.R.'s clients and family/personal life.  It discusses five 'waves'; thirteen 'behaviors'; and the four 'cores of credibility' that inspire trust.  I know management consultants are often mocked for their love of the numbered list, but there's a reason why they use it: it enhances recall for the reader.

Echoing Ronald Coase's argument for why firms exist in the first place, Stephen M.R. argues that a high-trust workplaces receive two main benefits: they get things done faster, and at a lower cost.  This certainly echos my own experience, both inside and between firms. 

What's particularly interesting to me, given my experience building Circle of Experts, is how economic capital can be used to substitute for social capital in building trust.  The whole power of an expert network is that it allows a customer to very rapidly open up a high-trust conversation with a source, without all of the lengthy relationship-building that historically was necessary.  This can reduce the amount of effort required to build trust.

I think that the book has a lot of wisdom and encourage you to take a look.

I'm honored to participate in New York Entrepreneur Week (NYEW), the largest entrepreneurial movement in New York State.  Thousands of entrepreneurs across the state will have the opportunity to actively engage with the foremost entrepreneurs, investors and dealmakers both in the State and from around the world.   Gary Whitehill and his team have done a fantastic job pulling this together.

Taking place from November 16-20th, 2009, NYEW will hold over 350 (!) events.  Among the many noteable speakers are:

Gil Beyda
Managing Partner at Genacast Ventures

Marc Cenedella
Founder & CEO, TheLadders.com

Marc Ecko
Chairman & CEO of Marc Ecko Enterprises

Scott Heiferman
Co-Founder & CEO of Meetup.com

Jason Olim
Co-Founder of CDNOW.com

Barry E. Silbert
CEO and Co-Founder of SecondMarket, Inc.

Jeff Stewart
Angel Investor & Founder of Mimeo

See you there!

I enjoyed listening to Wednesday's panel discussion of the Harvard Business School Club of New York on Three International Investment Banks Expanding (and Hiring!) in New York.  It was off the record, so unfortunately I can't share my notes.

In organizing the panel, my colleagues and I developed the following (partial) list of international banks which are taking advantage of the current economic uncertainty to grow in the US.  If you're looking for a job, or seeking to start a business on the platform of an investment bank, these are some of the firms to contact.  Feel free to add names of additional banks that are growing in the comments.

Barclays

BNP Paribas

Deutsche Bank

Bank Itau

Macquarie

Mirae

Mitsubishi

Mizuho

Nomura

Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Scotland

Societe Generale

Standard Bank

Standard Chartered

Sumitomo

(Image by Getty Images via Daylife)

I hope you'll join me for Boosting Returns With Web 2.0 Technologies, a special 90-minute interactive webinar, July 23, 2009, at 12-1:30 Eastern; 11-12:30 Central; 10-11:30 Mountain;  9-10:30 Pacific.  It is hosted by Buyouts Conferences' Private Equity University.

UPDATE: Reuters Buyouts posted a summary of the panel.

Our panelists are

During this 90-minute online seminar you'll learn the following:

• The skinny on Gerson Lehrman, GuidePoint Global, Evalueserve Circle of Experts, DeMatteo Monness, Coleman Research Group and other expert networks--how to get the most out of them;
• What it takes to join and take advantage of the most popular gated communities for investors and executives, including sites such as ACG Network, Angelsoft, INMobile, and Albourne Village;
• How to use Web 2.0 services to perform background checks on managers, and to quickly identify and talk with customers, competitors and suppliers of target companies;
• Which leading professional and social networking sites to join to land introductions, keep tabs on colleagues, recruit executives, find co-investors and unearth opportunities for new transactions;
• How to use a blog to differentiate yourself and attract deal flow to you�instead of chasing after deals;
• How to easily and cheaply keep your contact management system up to date and exhaustive.
• How to optimize what people see when they Google your name

Register now and you'll get two special benefits: a complimentary PDF copy of The Virtual Handshake: Opening Doors and Closing Deals Online, a book on how to find and close deals leveraging online technology; and a PDF copy of the exclusive slides from the Webinar.

Order a DVD.

How Operating CEOs Can Work with Private Equity Funds

Gain insight into how you can work with private equity funds at a private dinner.

Sponsors:
Castle Harlan (leading private equity fund, with $3 billion in cumulative assets managed)

CEO Trust (invitation-only group for CEOs of companies with over $50m revenues)

Date: July 14th, 2009, 5:45pm-9pm.
Program starts at 6:30pm

Location: Midtown Manhattan restaurant; location confirmed upon RSVP

Cost: complimentary

You can view a sneak preview of this presentation at http://teten.com/executive .

David Teten, our guest speaker, will discuss:

- Participating in brief paid interviews via expert networks

- Entering senior advisor networks

- Becoming a deal executives

- Joining private equity portfolio company boards

- Why operational expertise is now far more important for private equity portfolio companies

- How private equity ownership impacts a company.

- How you can use online networks and other ''social media'' internet technologies to increase the pool of private equity funds with whom you can work (and more generally to increase sales at your company).

David Teten is CEO of Teten Advisors (Teten.com), which advises private equity and venture capital funds on accelerating deal flow, portfolio company executive optimization, and due diligence.

David was most recently a Managing Director with Evalueserve, a global financial research and analytics company. Among its 1,100 clients are 6 of the top 10 investment banks and 10 of the top 15 strategy consulting firms. David was previously Founder and CEO of Circle of Experts, an expert network investment research firm acquired by Evalueserve. David was formerly Founder and CEO of Teten Recruiting, sold to Accolo, #42 on the 2007 Inc. 500 list. He was also formerly Founder and CEO of an investment bank focusing on serving the internet domain name asset class, which he built to 450 customers. He worked with Bear Stearns'' Investment Banking division as a member of their technology/defense mergers and acquisitions team, and was a strategy consultant with Mars & Co. David holds a Harvard MBA and a Yale BA, both with honors.

David is a frequent keynote speaker to technology and finance conferences. He has twice received the highest ratings of any speaker at a conference. He is the lead author of The Virtual Handshake: Opening Doors and Closing Deals Online.

RSVP: Please note this event is only open to CEOs of companies or divisions with at least $50 million in revenues.

To register, send a short biography to Theresa Boyce, Chair, CEO Trust, tboyce(at)ceotrust.org , and cc David Teten, dteten(at)teten.com . For more information on the CEO Trust, see http://www.ceotrust.org/aboutus.html . The formal entrance criteria to the organization are at http://www.ceotrust.org/membership_requirments.html .

He also runs  an active, open Facebook group called "Wall Street Networking".  You'll find over links there "to help you with jobs/internships, economics, Bloomberg tutorials, excel spreadsheets, fund manager interviews, interview questions, learning about the industry (investment banking or trading? You decide), developing contacts, & learning how to make money in the markets." 

Yaser is a great model of a young person who has leveraged online networks to create a significant personal brand and professional network, which has already created unique professional opportunities for him.  I wish I were as forward-thinking as he is, back when I was in college!

To learn what a Mastermind group is and how it works, continue reading...

Junto 2.0 DRAFT MasterMind Group Operating Manual

by David Teten and Kaushal B. Majmudar

Outline of Manual

I. Introduction

II. Objectives

III. Benefits

IV. How Does It Work?

V. Requirements for Entry

VI. Process for Joining

VII. Meeting Rules

VIII. Suggested Meeting Structure (Subject to Modification)

IX. Sample Meeting Topics

X. How to Exit

XI. Appendix 1: Ben Franklin's Junto Society

XII. Appendix 2: Thoughts on cooperation from George Lucas

XIII. About the Authors

I. Introduction

This is the draft operating Manual for "Junto 2.0", a MasterMind group based in the New York tri-state area.

David Teten and Kaushal B. Majmudar have been working together to create this new group.

Jo Condrill's definition of a Mastermind group: "A master-mind group consists of [a small team of] people who work together in absolute harmony to achieve diverse goals.

While these people work in harmony, they may be very different from each other.

The common element is that each draws something from the others, and each contributes freely to the group.

It is the focusing of each mind on a common issue that triggers thoughts not readily available to one mind.

Those in the group draw upon their unique experiences and specialized knowledge to help each other.

When many minds concentrate on a single point, the activity generates a power over and above the sum total of each of the individual minds.

It is as though an invisible force joins the group and provides additional insight.

Personally, I have used the master-mind concept with amazing results -- first to advance my career and later to lead a group of volunteers to achieve remarkable results, ranking number one in a worldwide organization, Toastmasters International. " (source) Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich, is widely credited with popularizing the concept.

For more background, see also this summary from the "NYC Junto": http://www.nycjunto.com/whatisjunto.htm .

Our motivations in creating this group: primarily, to accelerate our success and personal efficacy in achieving our goals.

Anthony Robbins once remarked that only about 5% of his audiences actually acts to implement and benefit from any of his teachings on how to achieve personal and professional success.

Many books on success emphasize the value of creating a mastermind group (perhaps using some variant of the term). We decided to actually implement the idea that so many experts recommend.

We were also motivated by some bloggers who also are active in Mastermind groups, including the prolific Steve Rubel.

We are posting this manual on the Web in an attempt to gather constructive feedback and share the results of our brainstorming and collaboration with other likeminded individuals elsewhere in the world.

Everything herein is a work in process, and is thereby subject to discussion and modification as we receive feedback and as other members of the group provide input or suggestions.

II. Objectives

A. "Create access to advice, counsel, and personal cooperation of a group of people who are willing to lend each other wholehearted aid in a spirit of perfect harmony" (source: Think and Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill)

B. Share best practices and resources

C. Work on self-awareness and self-improvement

D. Create synergies and new possibilities: "No two minds ever come together without, thereby, creating a third invisible intangible force which may be likened to a third mind" (source)

III. Benefits

A. Accelerate your personal and professional progress

B. An instant and valuable support community of peers and friends

C. Give back to your peers and to society

IV. How Does It Work?

A. Monthly meeting to be held for 2 to 2.5 hours, typically over lunch or dinner

B. Absolute maximum of 10 members

C. Rotate facilitation -- each month has a new leader/note-taker for accountability

D. Occasional special training and learning sessions (possibly with invited speakers)

E. Group will meet in a mutually convenient place (can alternate geographically if to makes sense to do so)

F. Diversity of group is important. Strongly prefer representatives from diversity of occupations: entrepreneur, investment banker/asset manager, policy, legal, media, operating executive at large company, physician, politician, academic. We also strongly prefer diversity across race, religion, etc.

G. Use confidential Yahoo! Group for online communication

H. Democratic Process: everything about the group is subject to scrutiny, discussion and modification by vote of majority of members in the group.

V. Requirements for Entry

A. Nominated by existing member.

B. Within driving or commuting distance of group meeting locations (in our case in the New York Tri-state area).

C. Has a compatible current level of career and professional achievements and aspirations.

Some evidence of being a significant achiever in chosen field. Potential to be at the top of their chosen profession or business.

D. Thoughtful and analytical.

E. Has the desire and inspiration to make this year, decade, and life extraordinary. Has an "internal locus of control": knows  he/she  is ultimately responsible for his/her own success. Ready to let their desire to be passionate about their life and work overcome their fear of change.

F. Is an active listener. Responds well to, and acts on, feedback. Open-minded.

G. Wants to win based on values; has a greater purpose.

Cares about and wants to give back to their community and society

H. Realizes that cooperation is far more powerful than competition, i.e., people who are committed to helping others succeed.

Has an abundance mentality.

Understands and cares about what drives his/her partners' businesses.

I. Ideally, not working in the same industry as any current member, and with a significantly different personal background than every other current member.

J. Enthusiastic about participating with intent to actively participate in the group and attend meetings in person (commits to provide advanced notice to other members in case absence is unavoidable in a given instance)

VI. Process for Joining

A. Nominated by existing member of the group

B. Submit resume and statement of personal goals (1, 5, and 20 years)

C. Interview and approval by all existing group members

VII. Meeting Rules

A. Better to give than to receive (but the law of reciprocity works give that which you would like to get)

B. Try to emphasize solutions, encouragement and pointing out possibilities vs. focusing on problems, criticism, and pointing out hurdles

C. Share time, ideas, and best practices, but don't dominate

D. Listen actively and intently with a desire to understand. "Seek first to understand, then to be understood."

(Source: Steven  Covey)

E. Maintain confidentiality.

No one outside the group (not even life partners/spouses) should have access to any information about what is discussed by other members of the group, particularly the personal information of individual members.

It is OK to share best practices and ideas that you have learned with others.

F. No putting down, arguing with, or directly contradicting other speakers. All discussions should be conducted "without fondness for dispute or desire of victory."

"All expressions of positiveness of opinion or direct contradiction are prohibited."(Source: Ben Franklin).

G. Mutual respect and supportive environment to be maintained at all times

VIII. Suggested Meeting Structure (Subject to Modification)

A. Brief (one to three minutes) check-in by each member.

Start with the best/most positive thing to happen since last meeting.

B. Book report by one member - distribute 1-2 page summary of book and lead discussion (15 to 20 minutes)

C. Person I admire report by one member distribute 1-2 page summary of person's life and what can be learned from him/her (15 to 20 minutes)

D. Update and ask.

Each person must state a goal they will have accomplished by the next month's meeting and review how they did on last month's goal.

Members can also share issues/problems they are currently grappling with and ask for help/suggestions from the group to unlock strategies, resources, etc. that might be helpful in overcoming these obstacles.

(5 minutes each) E. Free discussion time discuss one question or topic of the day (e.g. see questions below) (30 to 40 minutes)

F. Distribute notes/highlights from the meeting to those (rare members) not in attendance, but who are committed members of this group

IX. Sample Meeting Topics

A. What is the function by which we should measure our life's actions? Proposed formula: Maximize: (Power * Money * Health * Spiritual Growth * Community Impact * Family Strength * Friend Strength) / Age, subject to constraints of: ethics, law, and resources

B. Accountability Sessions (potentially a recurring topic): Each person to ask and answer the following questions: What are my most cherished goals for this coming decade, year, and month? What concrete steps have I taken to realize these goals? What are the steps that I should take, but have not yet done so to advance in the direction of my goals? Why have I not taken these steps and when do I commit to start? - group participants to ask and HONESTLY answer these questions once in a while in front of the entire group to encourage each of them to realize and take corrective action, but in a more self empowering and positive way than if it were to come in the form of critique from others.

C. Play the Game, a success technology developed by Sarano Kelley. D. Learning about Thinking Sessions/Thinking Partners (See book: Time to Think by Nancy Klein).

X. How to Exit

A. Member no longer wants to be a part of the group (voluntary exit).

B. Member fails to attend 2 meetings in a row without advance notice AND good cause.

C. Consistent failure to participate in or contribute to the group, as noted by one or more current members.

D. If there is a consensus among more than 66% of the members that you should not remain in the group for any reason.

XI. Appendix 1: Ben Franklin's Junto Society

Source: Ben Franklin's biography, by Walter Isaacson

"Ben Franklin was the consummate networker.

He liked to mix his civic life with his social one, and he merrily leveraged both to further his business life.

This approach was displayed when he formed a club of young workingmen in the fall of 1727, shortly after his return to Philadelphia that was commonly called the Leather Apron Club and officially dubbed The Junto.

Franklin's small club was composed of enterprising tradesmen and artisans, rather than the social elite who had their own fancier gentlemen's clubs.

At first the members went to a local tavern for their Friday evening meetings, but soon they were able to rent a house of their own.

There they discussed issues of the day, debated philosophical topics, devised schemes for self-improvement, and formed a network for the furtherance of their own careers.

Franklin's Junto initially had 12 young members.

Besides being amiable club mates, the Junto members often proved helpful to one another personally and professionally.

The tone Franklin set for Junto meetings was earnest.

Initiates were required to stand, lay their hand on their breast and answer properly four questions:

1.) Do you have disrespect for any current member?

2.) Do you love mankind in general regardless of religion or profession? (Editor: add race, for the modern context)

3.) Do you feel people should ever be punished because of their opinions?

4.) Do you love and pursue truth for its own sake? The pursuit of topics through soft Socratic inquiry became the preferred style of Junto meetings. Discussions were to be conducted without fondness for dispute or desire of victory.'

All expressions of positiveness of opinion or direct contradiction were prohibited under small pecuniary penalties.

Though the youngest member, Franklin was by dint of his intellectual charisma and conversational charm not only its founder but  driving force.

The topics discussed ranged from the scientific to the metaphysical.

E.g. Did importing indentured servants make America more prosperous? What is wisdom? In addition to such topics of debate, In Franklin's original Junto, the members used as a guide a series of 24 questions, such as:

1. Have you met with anything in the author you last read, remarkable or suitable to be communicated to the Junto, particularly in history, morality, poetry, physic, travels, mechanic arts, or other parts of knowledge?

2. What new story have you lately heard agreeable for telling in conversation?

3. Hath any citizen in your knowledge failed in his business lately, and what have you heard of the cause?

4. Have you lately heard of any citizen's thriving well, and by what means?

5. Have you lately heard how any present rich man, here or elsewhere, got his estate?

6. Do you know of any fellow citizen who has lately done a worthy action deserving praise and imitation?

7. What unhappy effects of intemperance have you lately heard; of imprudence, of passion, or of any other folly or vice? What happy effects of temperance, of prudence, of moderation, or of any other virtue?

8. Do you think of anything at present in which the Junto may be serviceable to mankind?

9. Have you any weighty affairs in hand in which you think the advice of the Junto may be of service? In what manner can the Junto, or any of them, assist of in any of your honorable designs?

10. What is the most interesting or unusual thing you have read, seen, or heard about in the last month? What is the most potentially dangerous or harmful? The most beneficial? The most significant for the people here today?

11. What can we learn from world events today? Has there been any notable failure or success, financial, political, or otherwise, from which we can gain insight and understanding?

12. Can a man or woman arrive at perfection in this life? What is the proper balance between idealism and pragmatism in our existence? (Franklin's own question)

13. How can we judge the goodness of art, music, drama or literature?

14. Is science compatible with religion? What is the appropriate role of religion in our lives, if any?

15. What is the most important political issue facing this country in the next five years?

16. Have you lately observed any defect in the laws of your country of which it would be proper to move the legislature for an amendment?

17. Has anybody attacked your reputation lately and what can the Junto do toward securing it?

18. Is there any man whose friendship you want and which the Junto or any of them can procure for you?

19. Whom do you respect most? Why?

20. In what manner can the Junto or any of them assist you in any of your honorable designs?" Franklin was in turn influenced by Daniel Dafoe's essay "Friendly Societies" and John Locke's "Rules of a Society which Met Once A Week for the Improvement of Useful Knowledge"

XII. Appendix 2: Thoughts on cooperation from George Lucas

Source: interview at Academy of Achievement at www.achievement.org, in response to the following question: "You mentioned the words "communal" and "connecting."

Your generation of the top film makers all seem to be friends.

How did you band together in a field that is so competitive?" George Lucas: "I think that's the advantage that my generation has. When we were in film school and we were starting in the film business, the door was absolutely locked.

There was a very, very high wall, and nobody got in. All of us beggars and scroungers down at the front gate decided that if we didn't band together, we wouldn't survive.

If one could make it, that one would help all the others make it.

And we would continue to help each other.

So we banded together.

That's how the cavemen figured it out.

Any society starts that way.

Any society begins by realizing that together, by helping each other, you can survive better than if you fight each other and  compete with each other.

Farming cultures started this way, and the first hunting cultures started this way.

Everything started in city-states.

We have a tendency to lose it when we forget that, as a group, we are stronger than we are as individuals.

We start to think we want everything for ourselves and we don't want to help anybody else.

We want to succeed, but we don't want anybody else to succeed, because we want to be the winner.

Once you get that mentality -- which is unfortunately the way a lot of the society operates -- you lose.

You can't possibly win that way.

Part of the reason my friends and I became successful is that we were always helping each other.

If I got a job, I would help somebody else get a job.

If somebody got more successful than me, it was partly my success.

My success wasn't based on how I could push down everyone around me.

My success was based on how much I could push everybody up.

And eventually their success was the same way.

And in the process they pushed me up, and I pushed them up, and we kept doing that, and we still do that.

Even though we all have, in essence, competing companies, if my friends succeed, then everybody succeeds.

So that's the key to it, to have everybody succeed, not to gloat over somebody else's failure.

We continue to do that, and we do it with younger filmmakers.

There's no way of getting through any kind of endeavor without help from friends. And trying to be the number one person,  ultimately, is a losing proposition.

You need peers, you need people who are at the same level you are.

You never know in life when you're going to need help, and you never know who you're going to need it from.

One of the basic motifs in fairy tales is that you find the poor and unfortunate along the side of the road, and when they beg for help, if you give it to them, you end up succeeding.

If you don't give it to them, you end up being turned into a frog or something.

It's a concept that's been around for thousands of years.

It is even more necessary today, when people are more into their own aggrandizement than they are in helping other people.

I don't think there's anyone who's become successful who doesn't understand how important it is to be part of a larger community, to help other people in larger communities, to give back to the community."

XIII. About the Authors

David Teten is CEO of Nitron Advisors, an independent research firm that provides institutional investors with access to frontline industry experts.  He is coauthor of The Virtual Handshake: Opening Doors and Closing Deals Online, the first mass market book on online networks and social software.   He runs TheVirtualHandshake.com resource site, co-writes a column for FastCompany.com, and writes a personal blog, Brain Food. David holds a Harvard MBA and a Yale BA.

Kaushal Majmudar, JD, CFA Kaushal is President and Portfolio Manager of The Ridgewood Group, a value oriented money management firm based in Short Hills, NJ, that runs managed accounts and hedge fund investments for individuals and institutions.  Kaushal was previously an investment banker at Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers. He is co-author of "Create the Business Breakthrough You Want: Secrets and Strategies from the World's Greatest Mentors" and is working on his second book.Kaushal holds a JD with honors from Harvard Law School and a BS from Columbia University.