Russ: Good morning, this is the BusinessMakers Show, heard here and online at thebusinessmakers.com. And this is that show about innovators, those entrepeneurs, and those business builders.

John: That's right. These are the athletes and the artists of our free enterprise system, and I got to tell you, the way the economy seems to be turning, these are the ones that are going to pull us out.

Russ: Absolutely.

John: Not the people giving government bailouts to poorly run businesses.

Russ: That's right. We need these innovators.

John: I know.

Russ: Big time.

John: It's turning into Atlas Shrugged.

Russ: There it is.

John: I tell you. It's that novel coming to life.

Russ: Where is John Galt?

John: Yes.

Russ: Okay. And for you scorekeepers out there, this is episode number one hundred and eighty-four.

John: Wow.

Russ: And here's the lineup for today. Earlier this week, the Rice Alliance held their Sixth Annual Information Technology and Web 2.0 Venture Forum, and for our flashback this morning, we're going to share key elevator pitches from the event. These are early stage startup companies trying to turn their small companies into not so small companies. And then, for our featured guest segment this morning I had the opportunity to visit with Jeff Dachis, founder and CEO of the Dachis Corporation and, previously, the founder of Razorfish, the company credited with creating the internet-services business. He grew it to annual sales of over 280 million, went public, and ultimately, sold it to Microsoft, but first... That's right. It's time for The School of Business, and this is not your business-as-usual school.

John: No, it's not, Russ. This is good stuff. This is not boring case history. This is really, real world, history of business.

Russ: Absolutely. And we kick off the School of Business each Saturday morning with the quote of the day.

John: Quote of the day.

Russ: And I think this one is going to be appropriate. Here it is, it's by Frank Borman, the commander of Apollo 8 and former CEO of Eastern Airlines. "Capitalism without bankruptcy is like Christianity without Hell"

John: That's right.

Russ: That's pretty good isn't it?

John: Yeah I know.

Russ: It's pretty appropriate these days.

John: Bankruptcy one of those cleansing agents.

Russ: I know, and now it almost looks like our government won't allow it. If your "too big to fail."

John: Yea, "too big to fail." I dunno, the world is going crazy.

Russ: It is.

John: I do not know, its inexplicable sometimes.

Russ: It is defiantly, but let's move forward to this week in business history.

John: Okay. This week in business history, December 18, 1620, Mayflower passengers come ashore at Plymouth Harbor to Plymouth Rock.

Russ: Wow!

John: These are the Pilgrims.

Russ: Wow!

John: They were not unlike a lot of other Europeans that came to America early-

Russ: Right.

John: -early in the 1600s, 1700s,-

Russ: Right.

John: -1500s because they were trying to escape persecution of religious beliefs and political persecution and everything. But what really made this distinctive in one big way, actually-was the Mayflower Compact,-

Russ: Yeah.

John: -which they devised on the Mayflower coming over, and what it was, it was a document on how they would run their colony.

Russ: And they lived by it.

John: It was government chosen by common consent.

Russ: Right.

John: And obeying laws made for the good of the colony, and it's one of the forerunners of our Constitution.

Russ: Wow.

John: Unfortunately, the Compact couldn't save their lives because, after about a year there, fifty of the original hundred and two members of the Mayflower Compact were dead.

Russ: Okay.

John: Okay. This week in business history, December 16, 1773 the Boston tea party.

Russ: Another huge event.

John: Oh, man. Tell me about it.

Russ: Yeah.

John: Yeah, but the interesting thing is a lot of people thought it was because the excessive taxes on tea,-

Russ: Right.

John: -but it was the exact opposite.

Russ: Yeah.

John: The British tea folks were trying to corner the market by undercutting everybody's prices.

Russ: And it hack them off, right?

John: It hacked them off.

Russ: Yeah.

John: Very erudite.

Russ: Yeah. Yeah. Progressive. Incredible.

John: Yeah. This week in business history, The Bill of Rights were ratified when Virginia gave its approval.

Russ: Yeah. Wow!

John: And, what the Bill of Rights is designed to do is limit the powers of government upon the citizenry.

Russ: Yeah.

John: Some of it's been misinterpreted over the years.

Russ: I think you could say that.

John: There's reports giving government too much power.

Russ: Okay. Cool. All right.

John: This week in business history, in 1792. The first life insurance policy issued in the U.S.

Russ: Well.

Russ: Man! You're just coming one after another here.

John: I know! I know!

Russ: That's huge, too.

John: I wonder whether it was whole life or term? We should know that because it's our show. Okay.

Russ: Yep!

John: 1871. This week in business history, Samuel Clemens patents the elastic suspenders.

Russ: My God! That's just getting bigger and bigger!

John: I wear those things all the time. I mean, it's the straps that used for vests, pantaloons, and other garments.

Russ: And he patented it.

John: I know. He patented them.

Russ: Wow! That's a big week already.

John: Okay.

Russ: Is there more?

John: Okay. 1891. December 15, James Naismith invents basketball.

Russ: Oh my God! Man, I wonder if he envisioned slam dunks and the three-point line and the shot clock and-

John: Some of them players going into the stands to beat the crap out of an unruly fan.

Russ: And laser light shows when you announce and smoke when you announce-

John: And sleazy cheerleaders.

Russ: I wonder if he saw all of that coming.

John: I know! He's very prescient!

Russ: Whoa!

John: You know, I wonder who invented the cheerleader? Okay.

Russ: All right.

John: This week in business history. 1903. Okay, turn of the century.

Russ: Yeah.

John: At 10:35 a.m., the first sustained motorized aircraft flight.

Russ: We're talking about the Wright Brothers now?

John: The Wright Brothers. Yes.

Russ: What a week! Is that all?

John: No! 1920. This week in business history, the American League votes to let spit ball pitchers to continue using it.

Russ: Oh, my God! They're getting bigger and bigger!

John: I know!

Russ: Or did you just make that one up?

John: I did not make it up. I'll tell you, it was good new for the mucus industry. I'll tell you that!

Russ: Eventually, though, they must have outlawed it. Right? Because they don't throw it today.

John: Well, they outlawed, but they still let-

Russ: They sneak it in there-

John: Yeah. Right.

Russ: -every once in a while? You think they'll ever outlaw the curve ball?

John: No. I wished they'd outlaw the designated hitter.

Russ: Yeah. That's ridiculous.

John: I think it's one of the signs of the Apocalypse.

Russ: Okay. All right. Cool.

John: Okay. In 1928-

Russ: This week in 1928.

John: On December 13th, the clip-on tie was invented.

Russ: The clip-on tie was invented this week?

John: In Iowa. Clinton, Iowa.

Russ: God!

John: The clip-on tie.

Russ: Think of all the productivity enhancement. Guys didn't have to tie the tie anymore.

John: I know. 1942. This week in business history, December 15th, Dave Clark is born.

Russ: Of the Dave Clark Five?

John: The Dave Clark Five.

Russ: Oh!

[Music: "Glad All Over"]

Russ: Glad All Over. That was, to me, meant the English invasion was really happening because they were following The Beatles.

John: And, I'm glad all over we're going to the next item in this week in business history.

Russ: All right.

John: In 1944, this week in business history, Major Glen Miller-

Russ: Ah!

John: Okay. The musician.

Russ: The big band guy.

John: Yeah, the big band guy. Lost over the English Channel.

Russ: Oh!

John: Never found his airplane.

[Music: "A String of Pearls"]

Russ: What a guy! I saw-

John: What a guy!

Russ: -the movie when I was a kid, and-

John: Jimmy Stewart-J-J-J-J-Jimmy Stewart.

Russ: That's right. That's right. All right.

John: Okay. This week in business history. In 1950, on December 13th, another entertainment icon, James Dean, actually appears in a Pepsi ad.

Russ: Oh, and this is-

John: Selling sugar water. Okay.

Russ: And this was his beginning, probably.

John: It was one of his beginnings. Right. He would later be the angry rebel.

Russ: Yeah.

John: But he was in Rebel Without a Cause-

Russ: Yeah.

John: -East of Eden. A giant of the 1950s. All right. Next, December 13th, 1953, is the birthday of Ben Bernacki.

Russ: Oh, my goodness! That means he's turning, what, 55 this week.

John: That's right. American economist, current United States Chairman of the Federal Reserve, and screwing up the economy.

Russ: Yeah. He is.

John: All right. As Marilyn Monroe would say, "Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday, Mr. United States Chairman of the Federal Reserve."

Russ: Okay. All right.

John: Next. December 15th, 1959, The Everly Brothers record Let It Be Me.

Russ: Whoa. What a hit!

[Music: "Let It Be Me"]

Russ: Cool, cool song.

John: Okay, December 13th, 1961, Jimmy Dean's Big Bad John album is country music's first million dollar seller.

Russ: Whoa!

John: Big Bad John.

[Music: "Big Bad John"]

Russ: What a song that was! The first million dollar seller.

John: All right. December 17th, 1965. This week in business history, the Astrodome opens.

Russ: Goodness gracious.

John: One of the major wonders of the modern world.

Russ: It was incredible in the beginning. There was nothing like it then.

John: Nothing like it. Okay. The first event is Judy Garland and The Supremes.

Russ: Wow! What a show!

John: What a show!

Russ: Okay! Is there more?

John: There is so much more. Okay. Next. This week in business history. On December 13th, 1973, the WFL, the World Football League, grants its first franchise in Detroit.

Russ: Wow! What an experiment that was.

John: What a way to open up your new league, in Detroit.

Russ: In Detroit. Yeah.

John: In this week in business history, December 14th, 1977, Saturday Night Fever starring John Travolta premieres in New York City.

[Music: "Stayin' Alive"]

John: This week in business history, December 16th, 1979, Roger Staubach's last regular season game with the Dallas Cowboys.

Russ: Which means he had already started the Staubach Company, because he did it-Back then, if you were an NFL player, you had to have a job afterwards, and he started a company, and he's been a guest on this show. A great guest.

John: All right. This week in business history, December 14th 1985, Roger Maris, major league home run hitter leader with 61 home runs in 1961 with the New York Yankees, dies of cancer at 51.

Russ: So young. I remember when he was in the battle with Mantle. It was-

John: Oh yeah.

Russ: -Mantle and Maris, and everybody wanted Mantle to win. And then Maris won, and then, you know, all these guys-

John: They put that silly asterisk there.

Russ: Yeah. Because, why?-Because he's played a few more games than Babe Ruth?

John: Yeah. Right. Right. Okay. December 19th, 1998. This week in business history, President Clinton was impeached.

Russ: My goodness! Nothing else better ever happen in this week. We won't be able to do it in the future.

John: I know.

Russ: There's just too much.

John: I know... now the general public thinks when a President is impeached,-

Russ: Right.

John: -that means that they are removed from office, but that's not correct.

Russ: Yeah.

John: An impeachment is actually an indictment served by the House of Representatives, and then the President goes to the U.S. Senate for trial.

Russ: I think our audience knows that.

John: Okay. This week in business history, in the year 2000, December 13th. The only time I appreciated Al Gore on television. He delivered his concession speech ending hopes of his becoming forty-third President of the United States. You know, it just goes to show. Even though you may lose the entire District of Columbia, all-every precinct, make sure you carry the Supreme Court building.

Russ: Yeah. That did prove that.

John: This week in business history, December 13th, 2003, Saddam Hussein was captured.

Russ: My God! Everything happened this week.

John: It was amazing.

Russ: Wow.

John: It really is.

Russ: Yeah.

John: And they later hung him.

Russ: Yeah. Yeah.

John: Okay. This week in business history. Last, but not least, December 13th, 2007, the Mitchell Report is publicly released, listing the names of eighty-nine Major League baseball players that have presumably used anabolic steroids and human growth hormone. Notable players include Roger Clemens and Miguel Tejada.

Russ: Yeah.

John: Roger Maris was not on the list. And that's the end of this week in business history.

Russ: What a history lesson, man! Well, congratulations, man! Are you okay?

John: I need some oxygen. I need oxygen.

Russ: Yeah. My God! Whoo! There's a lot going on this week in business history. Well, thank you very much. It was a great lesson. All right, and that brings us to navigating business jargon. This is that part of the show that's a vocabulary lesson. I say the word. And John guesses the meaning, and today's word is masstige.

John: Masstige.

Russ: It's a noun. Masstige.

John: Masstige. A noun.

Russ: Uh huh (positive).

John: Okay. A massive steige. It's an infection you get on your lower thigh area.

Russ: Related to the heeby-jeebies.

John: Yeah. You get the heeby-jeebies, and you develop a masstige.

Russ: Wrong.

John: All right.

Russ: It's a retail category that includes relatively low-priced goods that come with a relatively prestigious brand name. Goods and services priced between the low end, which is mass-market items, and the high end, prestigious items. That's what it is. A new category.

John: It's one of those things that make you want to go "Hmm."

Russ: Exactly!

John: Okay.

Russ: All right. That brings us to dumbest moments in business history. Do you have a story for us today.

John: Oh. This is a good one.

Russ: All right.

John: It's about Atari.

Russ: Atari.

John: Atari.

Russ: Yes.

John: You know, that video game company.

Russ: Yeah.

John: And they had a great company there for awhile.

Russ: Why, yeah. Nolan Bushnell was show. He was the founder.

John: That's right. Now, I'll tell you what happened though. They got carried away.

Russ: Oh, yeah. They definitely did.

John: And what happened was they lost a lot of their top programmers who were disenchanted with, you know, lack of HR issues.

Russ: Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak worked there.

John: That's right, and they all left.

Russ: Yeah. They did.

John: They go to work elsewhere, started other companies.

Russ: Yeah.

John: So, things started slipping with some of their products, and it all came to a head with the ET game. Remember ET?

Russ: Yeah. So this would have been in that era when ET was popular.

John: Yeah, like around 1982.

Russ: Yeah. Okay.

John: They wanted to rush this game into production because it was right around Christmas time, and made a lot of mistakes.

Russ: Yeah.

John: And they made five million copies of the games.

Russ: O-o-o-o-okay.

John: It did not quite work.

Russ: Okay, so they didn't sell them all, I bet.

John: I know. I know. It was virtually an unplayable game with adult plot and lousy graphics.

Russ: That could be a problem.

John: A lot of players just got really fed up with it because they spent most of their time leading the ET character around in circles aimlessly, preventing him from falling in the pits.

Russ: Yeah. Okay.

John: And what happened, hardly any of these eventually got sold because there were a lot of returns.

Russ: I can understand.

John: So they took five million of the games and dumped them in a landfill around New Mexico.

Russ: I wonder if they're still there, man.

John: I don't know.

Russ: All right. What a School of Business today, particularly that history lesson, John.

John: Oh, man. I need to go get some vitamins.

Russ: You do. You do. But before we wrap it up, we still have to the very popular PKF Texas Entrepeneur's Playbook.

John: And here's Mr. Popularity himself.

Russ: You bet.

John: Okay.

Russ: The man on the piano.

John: No asterisk by his name.

Russ: None. Mr. Greg Brice.

John: All right.

Russ and John: A one, and a two, and a-

[PKF Texas - The Entrepreneurs Playbook]

Russ: And that wraps up The School of Business. Stay tuned for elevator pitches from the Rice Alliance's Sixth Annual IT and Web 2.0 Venture Forum and then a discussion with Jeff Dachis. You're listening to the BusinessMakers Show, heard here and online at thebusinessmakers.com.