Adding to the slew of celebrity-fronted scents, Katy Perry launched her new "Purr" fragrance in Melbourne, Australia earlier today (April 30).
The "E.T." singer looked radiant as she posed with her cat-shaped perfume bottle, wearing a shiny black and purple dress and black peep toe Christian Louboutin pumps.
Meanwhile, Katy, who is married to British funnyman Russell Brand, has just filed suit against Australia's "NW" magazine after they printed a claim that the she was involved in an "intimate relationship" with record producer Benny Blanco.
Perry filed legal papers against the publication earlier this week, which read, "By reason of the publication of the article the plaintiff (Perry) has been gravely injured in her reputation and feelings (and) has suffered distress, embarrassment and humiliation."
Meagan Good unveiled the official poster for her self-produced film Video Girl. The 29 year-old actress/model will be playing Lorie Walker, a girl who follows her dream of being video bombshell and moves to Los Angeles. She meets a man … Continue
Adding to the slew of celebrity-fronted scents, Katy Perry launched her new "Purr" fragrance in Melbourne, Australia earlier today (April 30).
The "E.T." singer looked radiant as she posed with her cat-shaped perfume bottle, wearing a shiny black and purple dress and black peep toe Christian Louboutin pumps.
Meanwhile, Katy, who is married to British funnyman Russell Brand, has just filed suit against Australia's "NW" magazine after they printed a claim that the she was involved in an "intimate relationship" with record producer Benny Blanco.
Perry filed legal papers against the publication earlier this week, which read, "By reason of the publication of the article the plaintiff (Perry) has been gravely injured in her reputation and feelings (and) has suffered distress, embarrassment and humiliation."
By Edna Gundersen, Elysa Gardner, Steve Jones, Brian Mansfield and Korina Lopez, USA TODAY
By Phil Andelman
Mike D, left, Adam Yauch, and Adam Horovitz, aka the Beastie Boys, will release a 30-minute video for Make Some Noise on Friday.
By Phil Andelman
Mike D, left, Adam Yauch, and Adam Horovitz, aka the Beastie Boys, will release a 30-minute video for Make Some Noise on Friday.
USA TODAY's music staff offers a weekend tip sheet of sound recommendations spanning the media landscape:
VIDEO
The Beastie Boys censored
After a long delay, the Beastie Boys are finally making noise again. On Friday, the 30-minute censored video of Make Some Noise, first single from the long-awaited Hot Sauce Committee Part Two, will premiere online on the websites for MTV, Spike, MTV2, mtvU, VH1, Comedy Central and Palladia. Also known as Fight for Your Right Revisited, the video's five-minute cut is already in wide rotation. The album, out May 3, was originally expected in September 2009 as Hot Sauce Committee Part One but was shelved when Adam "MCA" Yauch was diagnosed with cancer. Yauch directed the full-length video, a comical chronicle of the trio's past, present and future. ? Edna Gundersen
CONCERT
Want Britney's best tickets? Start early
Get those credit cards ready, Britney Spears fans. Tickets for the pop star's Femme Fatale North American tour go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. local time. The star and her scantily clad entourage kick off June 16 in Sacramento and wrap up Aug. 13 in Toronto. Ticket prices vary widely, according to Ticketmaster.com, from $27 for nose-bleed seats to $347.50 for the main floor. She might have jumped the gun a little by misinforming fans that Enrique Iglesias would open up for her, but no matter. She has someone who shares her love of all things stiletto and spandex: Nicki Minaj. "I'm thrilled to have the hot Nicki Minaj join me and Jessie and the Toy Boys and Nervo will get everyone on the dance floor," Spears says on her website. "Can't wait to take the Femme Fatales on the road." ? Korina Lopez.
DIGITAL ALBUM
The royal download
Couldn't score an invite to William and Kate's wedding service? No worries: Decca Records will make the ceremony ? the audio portion, at least ? accessible just hours after the prince and his bride exchange vows Friday. The Royal Wedding: The Official Album will be available later the same day at iTunes and other digital retailers, featuring performances by the Choir of Westminster Abbey, the Royal Chapel Choir, the London Chamber Orchestra and the Fanfare Team from the Central Band of the Royal Air Force. A physical version of the album, out May 10, will also include a collector's booklet recounting the service through readings, vows and hymns. ? Elysa Gardner
BOOK
Tales of the guitar icons
Before Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Carlos Santana, et al., came to be considered guitar gods, they were young guns turning music on its ear. Guitar Player Presents: Guitar Heroes of the '70s (Backbeat Books, $15) takes you back to when they were still ascending to the rock pantheon. The 250-page book, edited by Guitar Player editor in chief Michael Molenda, republishes 40 interviews the magazine did in the 1970s in which Jimi Hendrix, Pete Townshend, Jerry Garcia and dozens of others talked about their instruments and how they squeezed those sounds out of them. Each interview is presented with black-and-white photos, the magazine cover in which it appeared and recommended discs. ? Steve Jones
CONCERT
In tune with Maroon 5, Train
Fans of tightly crafted, highly polished pop-rock get a two-for-one deal this summer. Once Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine wraps work on NBC's The Voice, his band and Train will combine for a co-headlining tour kicking off July 22 in Chula Vista, Calif. The value gets even better with the opening act: Gavin DeGraw opens the tour's first leg, and Matt Nathanson replaces him starting Aug. 28. Tickets go on sale to the public Friday morning. ? Brian Mansfield
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Isn?t she sporty looking! Katie Holmes was spotted leaving the gym today in Beverly Hills.
She stopped by Le Pain Quotidien to pick up some coffee and snack.
PHOTOS: Katie Holmes Goes Casual At ?Jimmy Kimmel?
Katie looks at peace now that her lawsuit with Star magazine has been settled. The actress was issued an apology by the magazine over their cover story that Katie was addicted to drugs. In turn, she dropped her $50 million lawsuit against the magazine.
For the latest celebrity photos make sure to follow us on Facebook on Twitter and Tumblr.!
WASHINGTON -- Sarah Palin's support among Republicans has shrunk and there's no evidence she's close to saying whether she will run for president in 2012.
But it's clear she wants to be part of the conversation.
After seemingly staying on the sidelines this spring, the GOP's 2008 vice presidential nominee is back with public appearances, fiery criticism of President Barack Obama and a strong defense of Donald Trump, the reality TV show host who has raised questions about the president's background without offering any proof of his assertions.
"What the heck is wrong with asking the president of the United States to disclose what his college thesis was, what some of the Harvard Law Review papers were that he wrote?" Palin said last week. She was adding her voice to a Trump-led chorus of critics who question how much the country knows about its president.
Discussing Trump, she said, "Right now, he's got the spotlight, he's got the megaphone. Now is his opportunity to really force a shift in debate and discussion in this country."
Palin used to be able to say that about herself. But she's been overshadowed by other Republicans who have taken steps toward the White House or, like Trump, are considering running.
Palin, who abruptly resigned the Alaska governor's office before finishing her first term, doesn't seem to be doing the spadework so far that others are as the 2012 nomination fight gets going.
She hasn't set up campaign organizations in Iowa, New Hampshire or other early nominating states. Her political travel seems haphazard and lacks the pattern of most contenders. For example, she hasn't been to New Hampshire since 2008, but she rallied tea party activists in Wisconsin as Gov. Scott Walker pushed a bill that weakened public unions' bargaining rights.
An Associated Press-GfK survey from late-March found 57 percent of adults holding an unfavorable view of her. The survey marked her worst rating yet among Republicans. Nearly two-thirds of Republicans view her favorably but that number is down from 79 percent in November 2010.
Her favorability dips to just 38 percent among the four in 10 Republicans who don't support the tea party. Among those Republicans who do support it, 79 percent say they hold a positive view of Palin.
Even so, she's making sure her voice is heard.
She planned a speech Saturday in a Washington suburb at a closed-door, $250-a-plate fundraiser for an anti-abortion organization. On Monday, she is to appear at a $15-a-person fundraiser for military families at Colorado Christian University. She's speaking at the same event as retired Lt. Gen. William G. "Jerry" Boykin, who has made statements portraying the fight against terrorism as a Christian fight against Satan and suggesting that Muslims worship idols.
Palin's also been firing up her conservative base on Fox News Channel, where she is a paid contributor, and in other interviews by scorning Obama. Recently, she:
_Invoked William Ayers, a one-time member of the Weather Underground organization, which bombed federal buildings in protest of the Vietnam War. Obama worked with Ayers on community projects in Chicago decades later. She suggested Ayers wrote Obama's memoirs, though she offered no evidence.
_Tweaked Obama on his off-hours hobbies: "I know, I know, granted you will be even busier very soon. After all, golf season kicks into high gear shortly. NBA and NHL brackets await. Summer vacations and that all-consuming campaign whistle stop tour will no doubt slam you," she posted on Facebook.
_Summarized Obama's energy policy as "outright bonkers."
So, for now at least, she's ensuring she's part of the political discourse. The answer to whether she becomes part of the presidential race, itself, will come later.
___
AP Deputy Polling Director Jennifer Agiesta in Washington and Associated Press writer Becky Bohrer in Juneau, Alaska, contributed to this report.
CINCINNATI ? The Bengals have Carson Palmer's replacement onboard.
With their franchise quarterback insisting he wants out, the Bengals took TCU's Andy Dalton in the second round of the NFL draft on Friday night, their second straight pick aimed at replacing one of their most important players.
They took A.J. Green from Georgia with the fourth overall pick in the opening round, bringing in a receiver who can take over for Chad Ochocinco, the franchise's all-time leading pass catcher. One round later, they brought in a new quarterback.
"That was good," coach Marvin Lewis said. "We spent a lot of time on this, no question. It's a big, important, important pick, important piece."
Dalton quickly will get the chance to become the next face of one of the NFL's most dysfunctional franchises. The Bengals have only two winning records in the last 20 years, going through quarterbacks at a pell-mell pace while continuing to lose regularly.
"He's going to be a great quarterback in this league, in my opinion," new offensive coordinator Jay Gruden said. "He's going to get a lot of opportunity to do that, come in here and compete for the job right away. What else do you want as a rookie quarterback?"
Depending upon what happens with Palmer, Dalton could get a chance to run the offense in a few months ? a stunning change for a team that made the playoffs only two years ago.
The Bengals hit a franchise low point last season, matching the club record by losing 10 in a row and finishing 4-12 with an offense built around Palmer, receivers Ochocinco and Terrell Owens, and running back Cedric Benson. It was so alarming that Lewis played out his contract, unsure he wanted to stay.
After two days of talks with owner Mike Brown, the coach agreed to an extension. Then, Palmer said he wanted out, asking for a trade. He told Brown that he'd rather retire than return. Brown has so far refused, leaving them in a stalemate.
Ochocinco has a year left on his contract, but thinks he'll be released. Owens won't be back. And Benson is a free agent.
There's a lot of change going around, and Dalton is suddenly at the center of it.
"It seems like a lot of guys might not be around," Dalton said, in a conference call.
Having Dalton around could make the Bengals more comfortable with the thought of trading Palmer, although Lewis sidestepped questions about a trade on Friday.
"We're not talking about that," Lewis said. "This is Andy Dalton's day. It's a great day."
The pick totally rearranges the Bengals' depth chart at the position. Their No. 2 quarterback is Jordan Palmer, who is Carson's younger brother. Jordan Palmer has never started an NFL game. Third-string quarterback Dan LeFevour was a rookie last season who never got into a game.
Dalton could quickly move to the top of the list. Lewis thinks he can be ready to start next season.
"I feel real confident in that, if he had to," Lewis said. "I really do. And I think that's what really drew us to keeping our fingers crossed so much, what we felt was his maturity and his readiness to be able to stop in."
The pick didn't surprise Jordan Palmer, who led workouts in California this week with Bengals receivers, tight ends and running backs.
"I kind of figured that with the situation right now, you need to start picking for the future," Jordan Palmer said, in a phone interview. "He's a high-value guy right there. I wasn't really surprised.
"As far as him coming in, I think it was a good pick. All I want is a chance to compete."
The Bengals chose Dontay Moch from Nevada in the third round, a pick for down the line. Moch played mostly defensive end in college, and the Bengals plan to turn him into a linebacker. He'll be a special teams and third-down player initially.
The royal wedding had one man doing cartwheels ? literally.
A priest, dressed in a black gown and clerical collar, preformed two cartwheels down the aisle at Westminster Abbey following the nuptials of Prince William and Kate Middleton.
After most of the guests had cleared out, the church official was walking down the red carpet when he broke out in a fit of acrobatics, presumably moved by the festive occasion.
What the man didn't realize was that Sky News still had their cameras rolling and caught the whole thing on tape.
? Alla Byrne
She?s been non-stop since her arrival yesterday, and Rihanna was spotted out and about in New York City on Friday (April 29).
The ?Most Beautiful Girl in the World? songstress looked smokin? hot in a black and white ensemble as she made her way to her Reb'l Fleur Fragrance Launch at Macy's.
Last night, Ri-Ri was honored for her continued support of charities that help fight leukemia
She was toasted during the annual DKMS Linked Against Leukemia event held at Cipriani Wall Street .
Don't worry, it was after the Royal Wedding and he's NOT in trouble for being caught doing it!
In fact, other officials are embracing it, saying it was a nice thing to do after a job well done, to show everyone's excitement from their hard-work payoff!
Good! In this day and age, we figured some people would think this was disrespectful or something, but people can just be a little TOO sensitive!
We think everyone involved did an AMAZING job too, and hope other people get the chance to let off some excitement with a cartwheel!
P.S. Be sure to watch Perez as he hosts "Will + Kate Forever," the only royal wedding special worth seeing, airing tonight, April 29th at 7pm/6c on Wedding Central and also at 9pm/8c on WE tv.
Pemo Theodore, a Startup Coach & Australian origin online entrepreneur, video interviews venture capitalists & women entrepreneurs on the shortfall in funding for women @EZebis: Winning theVenture Game for Women.
Video interview with Elaine Coughlan, Partner Atlantic Bridge, Ireland. Elaine has over 15 years operational experience in technology companies with extensive merger and acquisition experience.�
She has been involved in three successful initial public offerings and two secondary offerings raising more than $1.6 billion in capital for various companies. She served as the CFO of semiconductor company Parthus Technologies plc (now CEVA Inc., a NASDAQ-listed company), from 1999 to 2003. Most recently she was a director and co-founder of GloNav, a GPS semiconductor portfolio company which was sold to NXP in January 2008 for $110 million
Pemo: Which themes do you like to invest, what is your sweet spot?�
Elaine: We just do tech. In Europe we are rare enough in that the team is all from industry.� We're from semi conductors & software backgrounds, long careers. So you have people in the team that are serial entrepreneurs that have built a few companies. Executives, so CEO, CFO all types of roles. That's not the common, it is in the US but it's not in Europe the common approach where venture capital is typically drawn from the financial industry. We don't like taking product risk so we like to move a little bit beyond the curb.� We have done it & in our first one we've got a mix of mid & early stage.� But we prefer to move beyond the seed & the first round & to I suppose the scaling type stage. But we're not religious about, if you have an opportunity where you have a serial entrepreneur who has a fantastic record in a particular domain it can be of interest to us.�
In terms of technologies we may sometimes change but generally speaking mobile, wireless have been a big feature of what we have done both in our tech backgrounds & in our businesses. Mobile, wireless, cloud computing is such a huge part of the shift & trend. Security around that, security software, web infrastructure.� It's very difficult to know or back what's the next Facebook or Twitter so we probably focus a little bit more on the infrastructure that enables those businesses. Digital home, home networking, intranet everywhere, technologies like wifi direct which is both home & wireless play. So we accept the domains & we obviously keep them under review & they change sometimes.� We then go out & try & find the companies in those domains.� So we probably have 5 or 6 domains that are relatively broad. We stick to those & they're areas that we have guys that have domain knowledge, expertise etc in.� So we try to stick to what we know.�
Pemo: What do you look for in women entrepreneurs & startups that indicate interest to you in investing in their businesses?
Elaine: Well there's not many of them, that's the first problem.� I don't think there's anything different in terms of what we look for between a woman entrepreneur or a guy.� I think in general when you meet women entrepreneurs you find that they are incredibly energetic & focused about their business. That's really critical.� They probably have that in spades maybe a little bit more than some of the guys.� Just purely because they've had to have that to even get to the stage to spin something out, back something out, start something up.� But genuinely I've been disappointed in terms of just the numbers coming through.� They say never waste a crisis, I think the current recession particularly in Ireland & indeed across Europe will probably long term be a very good driver for women entrepreneurs. I think there's probably better structures now & we can talk about some of those later on.�
But I think in general from an entrepreneur we look that they are very passionate about what they're about to do or want to do.� That they have fantastic knowledge, domain knowledge about the market, product, the competitors. Not just the technology, but how it actually fits into the ecosystem & how it's going to compete. Then finally how they're going to take it to market. A lot of entrepreneurs don't actually think about (they might have great technology) but they haven't quite worked out what the sales strategy, what the business plan is & how they'e actually going to get it into the market. I think they're kind of personal attributes.� You want them also to be keen listeners.� I mean in the sense, open to taking in input. We're not passive investors.� Entrepreneurs aren't passive people either. You back entrepreneurs, you don't hire them! You hire CEOs, you don't hire entrepreneurs.� So we back teams, we back entrepreneurs & teams.� That's what we're looking for first & foremost. Not easy to find the ones that are truly world class but you can find guys that can absolutely grow & scale & benefit from our mistakes, as previous entrepreneurs & founders. And our successes as well & you're hoping to actually pass that on. To do that they've got to be open to it.������
Pemo: What can women entrepreneurs/startups do to increase their chances in sourcing venture?
Elaine: I think that's a very good question.� I think that women have got to be really much more confident in themselves & have much more belief in themselves. Be a little bit more ballsy & going out there & sourcing capital & be willing to get nos.� Because the reality is you get a lot of nos in this business.� Actually you don't even get the nos, a lot of people don't even tell you no.� The good guys tell you no.� I think women aren't as good at getting out there & networking & being a little bit more forthright.� It would never be said about us that we're too backward in going forward, which we are.� Typically you find women entrepreneurs are product experts so maybe they've been the code monkey, they've been the one that has built the product. They know the space well. Completely blind on sales, pushing, marketing, getting out there. I think those front of house skills, as I call them, as opposed to back of house skills.� I think they must be much, much more confident in front of house. Take a chance. Guys are much more willing to give it a whirl. Let's spin, let's see what happens.� Instead of quietly beavering away.� They don't really shine the light very brightly in terms of saying 'Look how fabulous I am & look at what a fabulous product I have. So in selling ourselves I think we've just got to be much more confident & a little bit more outgoing. I don't want to use the word aggressive but being much more proactive about pushing. Be open & be very aware that you're going to suffer a lot of rejection.� But you just need one to say yes! You can take thousands of nos if you get one yes.�
Also I think familiarity with the process.� I think that's fair.� Women just aren't familar with the vc process because quite frankly this generation of women entrepreneurs are standing on the shoulders of the previous generation of women.� And there wasn't many of them that were out there as entrepreneurs. So they're really pioneers & cutting new ground. I think that's where we have to look at the supports, the mentoring, to help give them the framework of this is what you need to expect.� Because women are really fast learners. They don't need to be told things twice. You don't expect people to do it in a vacuum is the reality. It's going to be difficult for them to do it in a vacuum.� I think network.� We've got to be much better at networking. Women should not have a bias now with networking with other women & other successful women. Other successful women always to the next generation of women, to put a hand down & pull them up. At all levels, both the women that have been successful in venture, in industry, in finance, we need to be much more cohesive as a group in trying to bring women entrepreneurs forward. The reality is that entrepreneurs need a lot of support in any event.� But as a minority women entrepreneurs just need much more coaching, mentoring, support to understand the rules of the game as it were.�
Pemo: That's one of the reasons I've been doing these interviews.� I think the other piece that happens in Europe, having lived in Ireland & the UK is that failure which is obviously part of the deal when you're doing these sort of startups or ventures is culturally looked at differently than it would be say in the US. I'm wondering how you tackle that I guess with female entrepreneurs?� Because women tend to want to really make sure that they succeed, that's what I've heard from other vcs & women founders.� That may be also where the numbers are falling down?
Elaine: That's a very good point.� I think it's very true.� Failure is very difficult & there is a cultural aspect to this.� If you look at the US its a badge of honor.� Here it's a bit of a badge of honor, believe it or not, I love for a guy to say we did this but we failed.� I immediately think well you know what he's gone off & bled on somebody else's carpet.� He knows now, he's worth backing. So culturally it is an issue & genderwise I think you're right, women always aspire to be top of the class.� I think failure doesn't come naturally to us. We're not probably natural risk takers either.� That's the other part, that's the corollary of that. So I think again I think it comes back to, to the extent that they're in the world of tech, venture, finance, they're going to see hey you know what a lot of other people fail.� It's a bit like the banks here in Ireland.� I have to say they were run by guys & you know what girls we really can't do any worse than them.� They've made such a screwup of it. So women need to think like that.�
Thanks to Alexander Blu for music 'Moderato'
Video interview with Elaine Coughlan, Partner Atlantic Bridge, Ireland http://www.abven.com/team/elaine_coughlan.html Elaine has over 15 years operational experience in technology companies with extensive merger and acquisition experience. She has been involved in three successful initial public offerings and two secondary offerings raising more than $1.6 billion in capital for various companies. She served as the CFO of semiconductor company Parthus Technologies plc (now CEVA Inc., a NASDAQ-listed company), from 1999 to 2003. Most recently she was a director and co-founder of GloNav, a GPS semiconductor portfolio company which was sold to NXP in January 2008 for $110 million
�
Pemo: Which themes do you like to invest, what is your sweet spot?�
�
Elaine: We just do tech. In Europe we are rare enough in that the team is all from industry.� We're from semi conductors & software backgrounds, long careers. So you have people in the team that are serial entrepreneurs that have built a few companies. Executives, so CEO, CFO all types of roles. That's not the common, it is in the US but it's not in Europe the common approach where venture capital is typically drawn from the financial industry. We don't like taking product risk so we like to move a little bit beyond the curb.� We have done it & in our first one we've got a mix of mid & early stage.� But we prefer to move beyond the seed & the first round & to I suppose the scaling type stage. But we're not religious about, if you have an opportunity where you have a serial entrepreneur who has a fantastic record in a particular domain it can be of interest to us.� In terms of technologies we may sometimes change but generally speaking mobile, wireless have been a big feature of what we have done both in our tech backgrounds & in our businesses. Mobile, wireless, cloud computing is such a huge part of the shift & trend. Security around that, security software, web infrastructure.� It's very difficult to know or back what's the next facebook or Twitter so we probably focus a little bit more on the infrastructure that enables those businesses. Digital home, home networking, intranet everywhere, technologies like wifi direct which is both home & wireless play. So we accept the domains & we obviously keep them under review & they change sometimes.� We then go out & try & find the companies in those domains.� So we probably have 5 or 6 domains that are relatively broad. We stick to those & they're areas that we have guys that have domain knowledge, expertise etc in.� So we try to stick to what we know.�
�
Pemo: What do you look for in women entrepreneurs & startups that indicate interest to you in investing in their businesses?
�
Elaine: Well there's not many of them, that's the first problem.� I don't think there's anything different in terms of what we look for between a woman entrepreneur or a guy.� I think in general when you meet women entrepreneurs you find that they are incredibly energetic & focused about their business. That's really critical.� They probably have that in spades maybe a little bit more than some of the guys.� Just purely because they've had to have that to evenget to the stage to spin something out, back something out, start something up.� But genuinely I've been disappointed in terms of just the numbers coming through.� They say never waste a crisis, I think the current recession particularly in Ireland & indeed across Europe will probably long term be a very good driver for women entrepreneurs. I think there's probably better structures now & we can talk about some of those later on.� But I think in general from an entrepreneur we look that they are very passionate about what they're about to do or want to do.� That they have fantastic knowledge, domain knowledge about the market, product, the competitors. Not just the technology, but how it actually fits into the ecosystem & how it's going to compete. Then finally how they're going to take it to market. A lot of entrepreneurs don't actually think about (they might have great technology) but they haven't quite worked out what the sales strategy, what the business plan is & how they'e actually going to get it into the market. I think they're kind of personal attributes.� You want them also to be keen listeners.� I mean in the sense, open to taking in input. We're not passive investors.� Entrepreneurs aren't passive people either. You back entrepreneurs, you don't hire them! You hire CEOs, you don't hire entrepreneurs.� So we back teams, we back entrepreneurs & teams.� That's what we're looking for first & foremost. Not easy to find the ones that are truly world class but you can find guys that can absolutely grow & scale & benefit from our mistakes, as previous entrepreneurs & founders. And our successes as well & you're hoping to actually pass that on. To do that they've got to be open to it.������
�
Pemo: What can women entrepreneurs/startups do to increase their chances in sourcing venture?
�
Elaine: I think that's a very good question.� I think that women have got to be really much more confident in themselves & have much more belief in themselves. Be a little bit more ballsy & going out there & sourcing capital & be willing to get nos.� Because the reality is you get a lot of nos in this business.� Actually you don't even get the nos, a lot of people don't even tell you no.� The good guys tell you no.� I think women aren't as good at getting out there & networking & being a little bit more forthright.� It would never be said about us that we're too backward in going forward, which we are.� Typically you find women entrepreneurs are product experts so maybe they've been the code monkey, they've been the one that has built the product. They know the space well. Completely blind on sales, pushing, marketing, getting out there. I think those front of house skills, as I call them, as opposed to back of house skills.� I think they must be much, much more confident in front of house. Take a chance. Guys are much more willing to give it a whirl. Let's spin, let's see what happens.� Instead of quietly beavering away.� They don't really shine the light very brightly in terms of saying 'Look how fabulous I am & look at what a fabulous product I have. So in selling ourselves I think we've just got to be much more confident & a little bit more outgoing. I don't want to use the word aggressive but being much more proactive about pushing. Be open & be very aware that you're going to suffer a lot of rejection.� But you just need one to say yes! You can take thousands of nos if you get one yes.� Also I think familiarity with the process.� I think that's fair.� Women just aren't familar with the vc process because quite frankly this generation of women entrepreneurs are standing on the shoulders of the previous generation of women.� And there wasn't many of them that were out there as entrepreneurs. So they're really pioneers & cutting new ground. I think that's where we have to look at the supports, the mentoring, to help give them the framework of this is what you need to expect.� Because women are really fast learners. They don't need to be told things twice. You don't expect people to do it in a vacuum is the reality. It's going to be difficult for them to do it in a vacuum.� I think network.� We've got to be much better at networking. Women should not have a bias now with networking with other women & other successful women. Other successful women always to the next generation of women, to put a hand down & pull them up. At all levels, both the women that have been successful in venture, in industry, in finance, we need to be much more cohesive as a group in trying to bring women entrepreneurs forward. The reality is that entrepreneurs need a lot of support in any event.� But as a minority women entrepreneurs just need much more coaching, mentoring, support to understand the rules of the game as it were.�
�������
Pemo: That's one of the reasons I've been doing these interviews.� I think the other piece that happens in Europe, having lived in Ireland & the UK is that failure which is obviously part of the deal when you're doing these sort of startups or ventures is culturally looked at differently than it would be say in the US. I'm wondering how you tackle that I guess with female entrepreneurs?� Because women tend to want to really make sure that they succeed, that's what I've heard from other vcs & women founders.� That may be also where the numbers are falling down?
�
Elaine: That's a very good point.�
Video interview with Elaine Coughlan, Partner Atlantic Bridge, Ireland http://www.abven.com/team/elaine_coughlan.html Elaine has over 15 years operational experience in technology companies with extensive merger and acquisition experience. She has been involved in three successful initial public offerings and two secondary offerings raising more than $1.6 billion in capital for various companies. She served as the CFO of semiconductor company Parthus Technologies plc (now CEVA Inc., a NASDAQ-listed company), from 1999 to 2003. Most recently she was a director and co-founder of GloNav, a GPS semiconductor portfolio company which was sold to NXP in January 2008 for $110 million
Pemo: Which themes do you like to invest, what is your sweet spot?�
Elaine: We just do tech. In Europe we are rare enough in that the team is all from industry.� We're from semi conductors & software backgrounds, long careers. So you have people in the team that are serial entrepreneurs that have built a few companies. Executives, so CEO, CFO all types of roles. That's not the common, it is in the US but it's not in Europe the common approach where venture capital is typically drawn from the financial industry. We don't like taking product risk so we like to move a little bit beyond the curb.� We have done it & in our first one we've got a mix of mid & early stage.� But we prefer to move beyond the seed & the first round & to I suppose the scaling type stage. But we're not religious about, if you have an opportunity where you have a serial entrepreneur who has a fantastic record in a particular domain it can be of interest to us.� In terms of technologies we may sometimes change but generally speaking mobile, wireless have been a big feature of what we have done both in our tech backgrounds & in our businesses. Mobile, wireless, cloud computing is such a huge part of the shift & trend. Security around that, security software, web infrastructure.� It's very difficult to know or back what's the next facebook or Twitter so we probably focus a little bit more on the infrastructure that enables those businesses. Digital home, home networking, intranet everywhere, technologies like wifi direct which is both home & wireless play. So we accept the domains & we obviously keep them under review & they change sometimes.� We then go out & try & find the companies in those domains.� So we probably have 5 or 6 domains that are relatively broad. We stick to those & they're areas that we have guys that have domain knowledge, expertise etc in.� So we try to stick to what we know.�
Pemo: What do you look for in women entrepreneurs & startups that indicate interest to you in investing in their businesses?
Elaine: Well there's not many of them, that's the first problem.� I don't think there's anything different in terms of what we look for between a woman entrepreneur or a guy.� I think in general when you meet women entrepreneurs you find that they are incredibly energetic & focused about their business. That's really critical.� They probably have that in spades maybe a little bit more than some of the guys.� Just purely because they've had to have that to evenget to the stage to spin something out, back something out, start something up.� But genuinely I've been disappointed in terms of just the numbers coming through.� They say never waste a crisis, I think the current recession particularly in Ireland & indeed across Europe will probably long term be a very good driver for women entrepreneurs. I think there's probably better structures now & we can talk about some of those later on.� But I think in general from an entrepreneur we look that they are very passionate about what they're about to do or want to do.� That they have fantastic knowledge, domain knowledge about the market, product, the competitors. Not just the technology, but how it actually fits into the ecosystem & how it's going to compete. Then finally how they're going to take it to market. A lot of entrepreneurs don't actually think about (they might have great technology) but they haven't quite worked out what the sales strategy, what the business plan is & how they'e actually going to get it into the market. I think they're kind of personal attributes.� You want them also to be keen listeners.� I mean in the sense, open to taking in input. We're not passive investors.� Entrepreneurs aren't passive people either. You back entrepreneurs, you don't hire them! You hire CEOs, you don't hire entrepreneurs.� So we back teams, we back entrepreneurs & teams.� That's what we're looking for first & foremost. Not easy to find the ones that are truly world class but you can find guys that can absolutely grow & scale & benefit from our mistakes, as previous entrepreneurs & founders. And our successes as well & you're hoping to actually pass that on. To do that they've got to be open to it.������
Pemo: What can women entrepreneurs/startups do to increase their chances in sourcing venture?
Elaine: I think that's a very good question.� I think that women have got to be really much more confident in themselves & have much more belief in themselves. Be a little bit more ballsy & going out there & sourcing capital & be willing to get nos.� Because the reality is you get a lot of nos in this business.� Actually you don't even get the nos, a lot of people don't even tell you no.� The good guys tell you no.� I think women aren't as good at getting out there & networking & being a little bit more forthright.� It would never be said about us that we're too backward in going forward, which we are.� Typically you find women entrepreneurs are product experts so maybe they've been the code monkey, they've been the one that has built the product. They know the space well. Completely blind on sales, pushing, marketing, getting out there. I think those front of house skills, as I call them, as opposed to back of house skills.� I think they must be much, much more confident in front of house. Take a chance. Guys are much more willing to give it a whirl. Let's spin, let's see what happens.� Instead of quietly beavering away.� They don't really shine the light very brightly in terms of saying 'Look how fabulous I am & look at what a fabulous product I have. So in selling ourselves I think we've just got to be much more confident & a little bit more outgoing. I don't want to use the word aggressive but being much more proactive about pushing. Be open & be very aware that you're going to suffer a lot of rejection.� But you just need one to say yes! You can take thousands of nos if you get one yes.� Also I think familiarity with the process.� I think that's fair.� Women just aren't familar with the vc process because quite frankly this generation of women entrepreneurs are standing on the shoulders of the previous generation of women.� And there wasn't many of them that were out there as entrepreneurs. So they're really pioneers & cutting new ground. I think that's where we have to look at the supports, the mentoring, to help give them the framework of this is what you need to expect.� Because women are really fast learners. They don't need to be told things twice. You don't expect people to do it in a vacuum is the reality. It's going to be difficult for them to do it in a vacuum.� I think network.� We've got to be much better at networking. Women should not have a bias now with networking with other women & other successful women. Other successful women always to the next generation of women, to put a hand down & pull them up. At all levels, both the women that have been successful in venture, in industry, in finance, we need to be much more cohesive as a group in trying to bring women entrepreneurs forward. The reality is that entrepreneurs need a lot of support in any event.� But as a minority women entrepreneurs just need much more coaching, mentoring, support to understand the rules of the game as it were.�
Pemo: That's one of the reasons I've been doing these interviews.� I think the other piece that happens in Europe, having lived in Ireland & the UK is that failure which is obviously part of the deal when you're doing these sort of startups or ventures is culturally looked at differently than it would be say in the US. I'm wondering how you tackle that I guess with female entrepreneurs?� Because women tend to want to really make sure that they succeed, that's what I've heard from other vcs & women founders.� That may be also where the numbers are falling down?
Elaine: That's a very good point.� I think it's very true.� Failure is very difficult & there is a cultural aspect to this.� If you look at the US its a badge of honor.� Here it's a bit of a badge of honor, believe it or not, I love for a guy to say we did this but we failed.� I immediately think well you know what he's gone off & bled on somebody else's carpet.� He knows now, he's worth backing. So culturally it is an issue & genderwise I think you're right, women always aspire to be top of the class.� I think failure doesn't come naturally to us. We're not probably natural risk takers either.� That's the other part, that's the corollary of that. So I think again I think it comes back to, to the extent that they're in the world of tech, venture, finance, they're going to see hey you know what a lot of other people fail.� It's a bit like the banks here in Ireland.� I have to say they were run by guys & you know what girls we really can't do any worse than them.� They've made such a screwup of it. So women need to think like that.�
Thanks to Alexander Blu for music 'Moderato' http://www.jamendo.com/en/album/718
I think it's very true.� Failure is very difficult & there is a cultural aspect to this.� If you look at the US its a badge of honor.� Here it's a bit of a badge of honor, believe it or not, I love for a guy to say we did this but we failed.� I immediately think well you know what he's gone off & bled on somebody else's carpet.� He knows now, he's worth backing. So culturally it is an issue & genderwise I think you're right, women always aspire to be top of the class.� I think failure doesn't come naturally to us. We're not probably natural risk takers either.� That's the other part, that's the corollary of that. So I think again I think it comes back to, to the extent that they're in the world of tech, venture, finance, they're going to see hey you know what a lot of other people fail.� It's a bit like the banks here in Ireland.� I have to say they were run by guys & you know what girls we really can't do any worse than them.� They've made such a screwup of it. So women need to think like that.�
Thanks to Alexander Blu for music 'Moderato' http://www.jamendo.com/en/album/718
Prince William and Kate Middleton's royal wedding is supposedly costing taxpayers some $32million. We calculate the breakdown and look at other celebrities' super expensive weddings too.
AP File Photo
It may be the royal wedding of the year but British taxpayers are made to fork out some $34million just for the expenses. And here's the breakdown: $32million for security which will come in thousands of police officers stationed along the procession route and protecting visiting foreign dignitaries and celebs. We also understand that Kate's wedding band costs $11,000, the cake at $80k, reception at $600k, flowers are $800, and lastly, her gown is $434,000! (via eonline.com) That's a hefty wedding if you ask us!
10. Donald Trump and Melenia Knauss
They were we in January 22, 2005 and the wedding had a cost of 1 million dollars. This was a Palm Beach Wedding and had a cake that weighed 200 lbs and brides dress cost $200,000 with a 13 foot train, 1500 rhinestones and pearls and weighed around 60 lbs.
9. Tom Cruise and Kattie Holmes
Their wedding cost was $2 Million and it was on 18 November, 2006. It was an amazing spectacle, the bridal party attire was designed by Giorgio Armani. A totally lavish wedding I must say.
8. Elizabeth Hurley and Arun Nayar
Their marriage cost was $2.5 Million; it was an eight day celebration spanning Europe and Asia.
7. Paul McCartney and Heather Mills
Their marriage was on 11 June, 2001 and cost was around 3 million dollars. Three hundred guests witnessed this wedding with fireworks and traditional Indian dancers, they spent their wedding night in a 20 million dollar yacht, but their marriage ended in 2008.
6. Liza Minelli and David Gest
Their marriage took place in 2002 and cost was $3.5 million, over 850 guests attended it and a 6 foot tall cake with 12 tiers was awesome. More the 700,000 dollars was spent on flowers only.
5. Delphine Arnault and Alessandro Vallarino Gancia
Delphine is the daughter of a French businessman, her wedding dress was created by a famous designer John Galliano and the venue was decorated with 500 white roses.
4. Wayne Rooney and Colleen McLaughlin
12 June, 2008 was the wedding date and 15 million dollars, their wedding was quite expensive and it was a four day celebration on a yacht with 64 guests flown in on five private jets. The oddest thing about this wedding is that they served pizza at the reception.
3. Vikram Chatwal and Priya Sachdev
Their marriage date was 18 February, 2006 and the cost was $20 million. It was a 10 day celebration with six hundred guest, guests from 26 countries were invited on private jets.
2. Aleksandra Nikolic and Andrei Melnichenko
This marriage had a cost of $30 Million Andrei is a Russian billionaire and their wedding ceremony included performances by Christina Aguilera and Whitney Housten, and both of these women were flown in on private jets.
1. Vanisha Mittal and Amit Bhatia
Their wedding cost was $78 million, this one is the most expensive weddings of the world, it is also listed in Guinness Book of World Records. It was a five day celebration with 1000 guests. Totally awesome wedding!
Last night (April 28) the Cinema Society & Acura hosted a screening party for Chris Hemsworth?s film Thor in New York City at the Standard Hotel.
Chris Hemsworth was there of course, however his wife, Elsa Pataky was not, due to the fact that she is currently over in France promoting her film Fast Five.
PHOTOS: Chris Hemsworth Looking Yummy
Chris had plenty other people to keep him company, such as Glee cast members Chris Colfer, Dianna Agron, Amber Riley, Chord Overstreet, Ashley Fink and Harry Shum Jr.
Thor is released in theaters on May 6, 2011. Check out all of the red carpet and after party photos in the gallery!
She recently announced that she?s pregnant, and now Angelina Pivarnick's engagement to David Kovacs has been called off.
According to the father-to-be, things are rough between the two of them currently. ?I?m going through a really tough time right now. I have ended things with Angelina.?
And it sounds like the problem was infidelity. David added, ?I got a text from a fire fighter who actually apologized for sleeping with Angelina saying he just found out she was engaged.?
Kovacs also noted, ?I actually found a pair of guy?s underwear in her car. I truly fell in love with this girl and wanted to have a family and grow old with her.?
Stepping out for a fun-filled day in New York City, Leighton Meester was spotted leaving her Big Apple hotel on Friday (April 29).
The ?Gossip Girl? gal looked cute in heels, skinny black jeans, a tank top and a hat as she made her way out of her temporary digs with a mystery male.
In other news, Ms Meester has been busy adding more and more films to her acting resume.
Her latest flick, ?Monte Carlo? which stars Selena Gomez, Katie Cassidy and Cory Monteith is due out in theaters this July.
Katy Perry, left, and Russell Brand were married last October.
Don't mess with those California girls.
Katy Perry is suing an Australian magazine company for a reported six figures in damages after one of its gossip titles claimed she cheated on new hubby Russell Brand.
The pop star filed the claim against ACP Magazines on Wednesday, which owns Aussie gossip rag NW, after it published a story last month saying Perry had an "intimate relationship" with her record producer Benny Blanco, Australian newspaper the Herald-Sun reported.
Blanco, who mixed the singer's hit "California Girls," has also worked with Ke$ha, Britney Spears and Justin Bieber.
"By reason of the publication of the article, the plaintiff [Perry] has been gravely injured in her reputation and feelings [and] has suffered distress, embarrassment and humiliation," the suit claims, according to the report.
Perry and Brand were married in India last October.
Despite the lawsuit, the "Teenage Dream" singer is set to perform at "The Logies" ? the Australian television industry awards show ? even though it is partially sponsored by ACP.
The magazine company decline comment, telling the Telegraph it had not been served with any court documents.
Actress-turned-director Jodie Foster thinks directing a movie cast is similar to being a good parent.
Jodie Foster wants to be a "good parent" to her actors.
The 48-year-old star - who started acting when she was just three years old - has branched out into directing films and hopes she is a reassuring and encouraging presence on set.
She told Psychologies magazine: "I want to be a good parent who loves them unconditionally, even when they come up with bad ideas and even when they suck.
And I do think I have a particular sensitivity towards child actors because of my own experiences. As a child I certainly looked for a parent figure in my directors.
"There is a way of loving their foolish attempts and guiding them in what you think is the right direction.
"And I do think I have a particular sensitivity towards child actors because of my own experiences. As a child I certainly looked for a parent figure in my directors."
In her latest venture, 'The Beaver', Jodie directed and stars in the film as the wife of Mel Gibson's character, a man on the edge of madness who will only communicate with his family via a puppet.
Jodie initially didn't plan to appear in the film, until she realised she had all the qualities she was looking for her in leading actress.
She explained: "I had no intention of acting in this movie but I started thinking, 'Who can I put across from Mel, saying she's going to stand by her man and fight for him - and yet go through this juncture when she realises she's put her children in jeopardy, watching their father lose his mind?' I was sitting and thinking about what actor is going to do that from a place of strength that doesn't feel fake and then I realised it was me."
1. Cam Newton (Carolina Panthers)-You gotta hand it to the Panthers. They went against logic and drafted the next Jamarcus Russell. He may not be the smartest cookie or have the best accuracy but he can jump real high and is as big as a defensive lineman. Sounds like the perfect NFL quarterback.
2. Von Miller (Denver Broncos)-Clearly the best linebacker in the draft. I probably would have taken Marcell Dareus here but you really can't argue taking Miller. Some draft experts have compared him to Derrick Thomas. I don't think he will be that good but I could see him turning into a Terrell Suggs-type of pass rusher.
3. Marcell Dareus (Buffalo Bills)-Good solid pick for the Bills. Dareus is a guy who can plug the middle and free up the Buffalo linebackers to make plays.
4. A.J. Green (Cincy Bengals)-Green is one of the few guys in this draft that I think is going to be a perennial All-Pro. Clearly the best receiver to come out since Larry Fitzgerald Green will make an instant impact in Cincy. But who will be throwing him the ball?
5. Patrick Peterson (Arizona Cardinals)-Besides Green I thought Peterson heading into the draft was one of only three sure fire safe bets to be an instant impact type of player in the NFL. I was hoping the Falcons could trade up to get him. Fuck.
6. Julio Jones (Atlanta Falcons)-I absolutely hate this move by the Falcons. They traded 5 draft picks (2 1st Rounders, a 2nd, and 2 4th's) for a receiver who at his very best if he fulfills his potential the Falcons already have in Roddy White. Don't get me wrong I like Julio's athleticism and the fact he plays hard. But I hate his hands. GM Thomas Dimitroff swung for the fences with this risky trade and pick. I'm afraid they got another J.J. Stokes.
7. Aldon Smith (San Fran 49ers)-This draft was loaded with quality defensive ends and somehow, some way the first one to come off the board in Mizzou's Aldon Smith. It's kind of amazing how much talent on the defensive side of the ball Mizzou has supplied to the NFL in the past 3 seasons and yet Mizzou defenses are shit.
8. Jake Locker (Tennessee Titans)-So the Titans get rid of Vince Young and draft a less athletic, less accurate, and less passionate player in Locker. Brilliant. Locker was a 2nd to a 4th round talent taken at #8 overall. The Titans are idiots.
9. Tyron Smith (Dallas Cowboys)-The Cowboys need help on the offensive line and Smith should start right away. Only 20 years old Smith should grow into a solid tackle for Dallas.
10. Blaine Gabbert (Jacksonville Jaguars)-I actually think Gabbert will wind up being the best of the 4 QB's taken in the 1st. But it's really not saying much since I don't think very highly of the other 3. Plus Jacksonville gave up a 2nd rounder to move up to get Gabbert. Pretty risky but what the fuck do I know?
11. J.J. Watt (Houston Texans)-I like Ryan Kerrigan better but I can't argue too much with the Watt pick. He should be a force on the edge with Mario Williams on the other side.
12. Christian Ponder (Minnesota Vikings)-Another first round pick I don't get at all. Ponder has skills but he couldn't even win at FSU with a shitload of talent around him.
13. Nick Fairley (Detroit Lions)-How can you not love this pick? Fairley and the great Suh next to each other causing havoc. The Lions got extremely lucky to get Fairley at this spot and Detroit fans should hope he carries a chip on his shoulder for dropping this low for a talent like himself.
14. Robert Quinn (St. Louis)-He's a big risk for the Rams here but he is also a big reward. Probably could have been a top 5 pick if he played last season at Chapel Hill, Quinn should make an instant impact for the Ram's defense.
15. Mike Pouncey (Miami Dolphins)-I was kind of disappointed we didn't get the classic trailer incest shot from last year when his twin brother Maurkice got picked by the Steelers. I would have taken Mark Ingram here.
16. Ryan Kerrigan (Washington Redskins)-Gotta hand it to the Skins. They traded down, picked up a couple of more picks, and got a great player with a high motor in Kerrigan. I think Kerrigan will be a star in Washington.
17. Nate Solder (New England Patriots)-Kind of a dumb pick for the Patriots. Solder is a project and not the type of guy you pay huge bucks in signing bonus for someone who is going to take some time to learn the tackle position.
18. Corey Liuget (San Diego Chargers)-I was a big fan of Liuget at Illinois and he should fit in perfectly for the Chargers. Liuget has a couple of future Pro Bowl seasons in him.
19. Prince Amukamara (New York Giants)-Not nearly the talent of a Patrick Peterson and it's actually refreshing to see him drop this far. His technique isn't very good and he gets beat tremendously deep in college. In other words I think he will be a prime target for the boo birds in New York.
20. Adrian Clayborn (Tampa Bay Bucs)-Clayborn was a great college player for Iowa but I'm not sure it will translate to the NFL. He's easy to root for though with his high motor but I got to admit I'm shocked they didn't take Da'Quan Bowers here.
21. Phillip Taylor (Cleveland Browns)-Taylor looks like a good nose tackle on film and he definitely has the body to play right away. It's kind of interesting that the Browns traded up after trading down with the Falcons to grab Taylor. There must be something in him that I don't see.
22. Anthony Castonzo (Indy Colts)-Future right tackle for the aging Peyton Manning.
23. Danny Watkins (Philly Eagles)-27 year old rookie. Wow. Huge reach for the Eagles here.
24. Cam Jordan (New Orleans Saints)-The Saints got a very good defensive end in Jordan who should start right away. Sleeper pick for defensive rookie of the year honors.
25. James Carpenter (Seattle Seahawks)-The Seahawks and Pete Carroll needed a run blocking tackle and probably got the best one left on the board in Carpenter.
26. Jonathan Baldwin (Kansas City Chiefs)-Matt Cassel has plenty of weapons. Baldwin should team up with Dwayne Bowe to form a lethal receiving combo.
27. Jimmy Smith (Baltimore Ravens)-Should fit in perfectly in the Raven's locker room. Smith reminds me a lot of former Raven Chris McAllister which is obviously a good thing. I'm looking forward to seeing his future one-on-one duels with A.J. Green.
28. Mark Ingram (New Orleans Saints)-Good bye Reggie Bush. Ingram still has his Heisman and now takes over for Bush in the Big Easy. I can't argue with this pick. Ingram should be a good in between the tackles running back. Better yet the Saints drafted a great person in Ingram.
29. Gabe Carimi (Chicago Bears)-I don't like his name. I like his game though. Good pick by the Bears.
30. Muhammad Wilkerson (New York Jets)-This Muslim will probably turn into an All-Pro for Rex Ryan. Seriously.
31. Cam Heyward (Pittsburgh Steelers)-Interesting pick for the Steelers. Heyward is good but I would have much rather had Da'Quan Bowers or Justin Houston. Heyward should fit in well for Pittsburgh at DE/OLB.
32. Derek Sherrod (Green Bay Packers)-The Super Bowl Champs get their future right tackle to protect Aaron Rodgers. I can't argue with Ted Thompson on this pick since Sherrod is the last quality tackle in this draft who was graded as a first round talent.