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Gratitude 8/19/11

1. VirusBarrier
2. SafeMode
3. WD Pocket Drives
4. Family
5. Brother
6. Mother
7. Food
8. iCal
9. The Sun
10. Patience
11. Persistence
12. Ambition
13. Strength
14. Setorii’s Strength
15. Friends
16. Mirassou Pinot Noir
17. USB mini
18. No local war
19. Master Class
20. Confirmation
21. Support
22. Technology
23. Options
24. Good times
25. Dr. Jolly
26. Computer Vision
27. Jim Casparie
28. Forbes
29. Jon Kraft
30. Jon’s family
31. Art
32. Books
33. Time
34. Savings
35. Trees
36. Drinking water
37. Angela
38. Jim
39. Mike Nguyen
40. Rick
41. Matt
42. Phoenix Fly
43. Mathias
44. Matt
45. Elliott B
46. Elliott R
47. Zabar and Jeff
48. Deidre
49. Sean
50. Pond Collection
51. Creativity
52. Dedicated IP’s
53. Hair Gel
54. PI

Gratitude 8/18/11

1. News
2. Energy
3. Pinot Noir
4. MacBook Pro
5. iPad and iPhone
6. Silver
7. Bikes
8. My brother
9. My family
10. My blessed life
11. Theo
12. Patents
13. Cafe Hazelnut
14. WordPress for mobile
15. Setorii
16. KDJ
17. Gmail
18. Daryll Merchant
19. Adam
20. Rails
21. Jake
22. WePay
23. Warmth
24. CA
25. Bryant
26. Anthony
27. Kenny
28. Warren
29. Bernard and the Steimanns
30. Movies
31. Health
32. Gods Grace
33. Breaking Bad

E3 Expo 2011

E3 Logo, Los Angeles Convention CenterThe E3 Gaming Convention is the largest gaming convention in the world. This year’s three day extravaganza was an event like the world’s never seen. It was much more than fun and games. It was awe-inspiring. I had the good fortune of experiencing this event alongside several of my friends and colleagues.

The convention kicked off with a press conference from Microsoft at the University of Southern California. In attendance were industry giants like: Sony, Nintendo, Electronic Arts and GT. Each company showcased its own memorizing, ground-breaking creativity. The latest breakthroughs in technology in were placed on display for gaming industry experts from around the world.

With 243 exhibitors, nearly 50,000 attendees and what seemed to be an endless amount to explore, it felt almost as though my colleagues and I were being ported into a digitally -crafted world.

E3, Electronic Arts, Los Angeles

It was quite a challenge as I juggled multiple meetings and dashed to and fro on a booth-to-booth joyride. My schedule was packed full, but the energy in convention center. Attending the E3 Expo was truly a mesmerizing experience for everyone in attendance.  After a complete tour of all of the festivities, I came across my final list of new releases that Im personally excited about.

Top releases from the biggies included: Tomb Raider; Bioshock Infinite; Legend of Zelda; Halo 4; Battlefield 3; Batman; Arkham City; &  the all-important and “Stritz Live Favorite” Gears of War 3.

 

Epic Games, Microsoft Game Studios, Unreal Engine 3, E3

Myself, being the hardcore gaming fan that I am, I found it difficult to choose to which booth to visit first, or which of the countless games or consoles I should try before the rest. Each seemed better than the next, but Gears of War 3 blew it all away with the hair-raising graphics and  amazing animation advancements. The Epic boys went all out and their giant statue of Marcus Fenix was awesome.

Featuring a 4 player co-op for the first time in the series, as well as a new mode to play in, dropping into the booth for Gears of War 3 has definitely increased my anticipation for the launch of this X-box exclusive, third-person shooter game.

I really wish I could write more about the expo and all that I saw there, but, Im sure you all get the picture.  It rocked, as usual.  For more information and a slight glimpse the trade event of the year visit: http://www.e3expo.com.

 

Forbes | Americas Most Promising Companies | Strietzel | Jonathan Strietzel | Big Stage

Jonathan Strietzel | Americas Most Promising Companies | Forbes

Jonathan Strietzel: Forbes Magazine has a circulation of over 900,000 and its website, Forbes.com reaches approximately 18 million people a month. Both the magazine and the website are for the world’s top business leaders and in the October 5th, 2009 edition of Forbes, Big Stage Entertainment was named as #18 in America’s Most Promising Companies.

“Our company is very proud to have been included in such a prestigious list by one of the premier business brands in the world. We know from the hours spent answering questions and filling out forms that this was a very rigorous process. We also know that we have a lot of work to do to build this business, but we’re pleased that our efforts to date have been recognized in this way.  A big thanks to my founding partner Jon Kraft for playing a key role in hammering though this rigorous Q&A while on vacation!”

Jonathan Strietzel, President and Founder

According to Forbes.com “We didn’t just look for the slickest technology, the largest addressable market, the fastest-growing top lines or the most storied management team. In the specific case of Big Stage, the Big Stage Founding team organized by Jonathan Strietzel, Jon Kraft and Jon Snoddy reflect such a management staff”

The method for determining the companies recognized on this new list was explained on the Forbes website as follows:

Forbes went hunting for small, dynamic companies with the kind of growth potential that makes venture capitalists salivate. Other lists of small or privately held companies tend to be ranked according to a single metric: annual revenue, or percentage change in revenue over a given period. Yet every serious investor knows that a cursory glance at the top line is a far cry from what it takes to evaluate the potential of any promising company.

To sharpen our search, Forbes teamed with The Venture Alliance, an advisory to early-stage companies. TVA has devised a rating system for young companies in order to more efficiently determine how fundable they are. The pool of candidates included companies launched within the last 10 years and that had not passed $25 million in annual sales. (Pre-revenue companies were allowed.) Prospects were scored on a host of characteristics, among them the size of the markets they serve, the strength of their intellectual property, the extent to which founders put their own capital at risk, the experience of their management and of their directors (or advisory boards), and their record in hitting product-development benchmarks promised to equity investors.

We collected the data via a detailed survey that takes roughly two hours to complete. Entrepreneurs who had raised outside capital gave business plans to TVA for further vetting; the rest completed an even more exhaustive survey. (Both surveys have subtle double-checks built in, to make sure the companies’ storylines indeed do track.) Our partner also brought in software experts and engineers to evaluate product plans (all signed nondisclosure agreements), and Forbes reporters interviewed all the finalists. The 20 highest scorers, listed here, appear to have a better shot at raising capital–and thus are considered more scintillating than their peers.

“We were very happy to learn that Forbes recognized the technology that Big Stage had developed over the past 3 years as a leader in its class, world-wide.  Its a wonderful tribute to the hard working engineering staff in our amazing company.  We thank Forbes and TVA for the opportunity and we are proud to grace the pages of such a prestigious magazine.”

Jonathan Strietzel, President and Founder

We cannot thank Forbes and Forbes.com enough for the honor of gracing their prestigious pages of Americas Most Promising Companies in 2009.