Katie: Welcome to a very chilly edition of The BusinessMakers Overtime Show. We're your hosts, Katie Laird –

Esther: And Esther Steinfeld.

Katie: - and even though it is freezing out there we're gonna warm you up with some entertaining business talk. We're kind of like a warm fire for your brain.

Esther: I already feel toasty. Kind of.

Katie: Uh huh. (Laughter) We're very excited about this week's guest, Matt Wilson, who is Cofounder Under30CEO.com, an online lifestyle magazine for anyone out there ready to break free from their 9-to-5 jobs but aren't quite sure how to make it happen.

Esther: And then we'll share with you what some up-and-coming CEOs are resolving to do for their businesses in 2010. Plus, we're gonna tell you what we are going to resolve to do in 2010.

Katie: As always, we'll line you up with news you need to know, but probably missed, but don't worry we didn't miss a thing.

Esther: Now Katie, you are not going to believe what happened in Hamburg this week.

Katie: In Hamburg?

Esther: In Ham- yes.

Katie: This sounds like a setup for some sort of musical comedy. [Sings] Like what happened in Hamburg, no. (Laughter) What happened in Hamburg this week?

Esther: Well, I'm not going to break out into any songs but this is actually quite crazy. So this group of artists, they came up with this manifest to speak out about their concerns about the city branding campaign that was seeking to use this creative class as kind of a marketing tool.

Katie: Huh.

Esther: Basically, this group of artists who were known for taking over abandoned an unused buildings and using them as workspaces, which, you know, was kind of making it easier for them to work independently – as they said. They were being kicked out of all these buildings and there were all these signs going up, like, "Get rid of the yuppie scum." Like these ads are going up all around the city.

Katie: Oh! (Laughter)

Esther: And so to combat this, this group of 130 artists and designers and architects and fashion designers and photographers and all these, you know, avant-garde people from Hamburg who weren't gonna be victims of this new city planning that was going on. Basically they want to turn the city into this thriving metropolis that was kind of like, "Get rid of the –

Katie: Those dirty, starving artists? (Laughter)

Esther: Yeah, exactly. Get them out of here! So they wrote this manifest and told all of their friends to go to the IKEA because IKEA was going to be taking over one of their abandoned buildings, putting in a new IKEA. So they said go to this other IKEA, sit at desks, sit anywhere you can and just set up your laptop, and just start working. Don't tell anyone what you're doing, just walk in. It said bring your notebooks; use the IKEA products to visualize future work. Make your business phone calls; there are plenty of little niches. Drink coffee in the restaurants until you drop. Just behave like ordinary people in IKEA. Organize in pairs. Look for places in the store, and begin to work.

Katie: So it's kinda like a forced coworking something.

Esther: Yes.

Katie: That's awesome! (Laughter)

Esther: Isn't that awesome? And you know what's even more awesome?

Katie: What is it?

Esther: Is that IKEA wasn't even mad about it.

Katie: They weren't?

Esther: They actually – no. They actually offered them coffee when they got there. They said, "Sure, stick around have a coffee. No big deal."

Katie: That's so cool. (Laughter)

Esther: So I don't think their little protest really works. They actually gave up pretty quickly because once they realize IKEA wasn't gonna be mad about her they were like, "Eh. Whatever."

Katie: (Laughter) And you know, that story makes me think of something else that's kind of going on right now. Have you heard about IKEA Heights?

Esther: No.

Katie: So go to this website, IKEA Heights.com.

Esther: Like how do you sp- like H-E-I-G-H-T-S?

Katie: Like heights like H-E-I-G-H-T-S.com and what it is is it's this comedy/melodrama that is being filmed, again without IKEA knowing, in an IKEA store in California.

Esther: What?

Katie: So like there's like a zombie Halloween version and basically these people just come in and pretend to be shoppers and the record like brutal murder scenes and romance scenes and zombie scenes –

Esther: Oh my gosh!

Katie: - in the middle of an IKEA.

Esther: Like making out in the beds and stuff?

Katie: Yeah! (Laughter)

Esther: Wow.

Katie: IKEA Heights.com. So IKEA just seems to attract the crazies.

Esther: I like it.

Katie: I don't know what to say.

Esther: It's the accents. It's the –

Katie: Exa- it's weird na- weirdly named –

Esther: - it's all that particle board.

Katie: It's somethin' in the air, yeah. Some – that particle board.

Esther: That's goin' around.

(Laughter)

Katie: Awesome.

Esther: So, that's pretty funny. You probably didn't hear about that anywhere else.

Katie: Pretty nifty. So moving on to another kind of funky design-related bit of news – did you hear recently a fellow named Bill Moggridge, who you might know as cofounder of IDEO, which of course is the 30-year-old huge and completely fantastic global design firm that came up with cool stuff like the first Apple mouse, the Polaroid i-Zone instant camera.

Esther: Wow.

Katie: Well anyway, the cofounder of this company has been named as the Smithsonian's National Design Museum Director.

Esther: Neat.

Katie: Which is really pretty cool but even cooler still, the reason that I think he really deserves this spot is he's actually also the inventor of the very first laptop.

Esther: Whoa.

Katie: Way back in 1980. The Grid Compass.

Esther: Wonder how big that thing was.

Katie: Actually it was pretty small but the price tag was not small. We're talking 8 to $10,000.00 a unit in 1980. So –

Esther: Wow. That's a lotta money.

Katie: Yeah, exactly. Exactly.

Esther: Even today that would be a lot.

Katie: Seriously. That would have to be one heck of a laptop. (Laughter)

Esther: Yeah.

Katie: So next time you're in New York City, the Cooper-Hewitt, which of course is the Smithsonian's National Design Museum, will have a new man kind of leading the design charge. So, yeah.

Esther: Well you know he's a big-time innovator so we can expect great things.

Katie: Exactly. So from Swedish design to a, you know, crazy laptops that the astronauts dug, like we got it covered this week.

Esther: Awesome. So something else pretty crazy is happening. In my opinion it's crazy, being in the PR industry.

Katie: Okay.

Esther: Dear little Bristol Palin has started her own PR agency.

Katie: (Laughter)

Esther: Let's just laugh about that for a minute. Yeah. No, that's good. I think we should. So 19-year-old Bristol Palin filed with the State Commerce Department to open BSMP LLC. So-called because her full name is Bristol Sharon Marie Palin. So what do you think about this?

Katie: You know, I just don't know. And I know in the Huffington Post they're reporting that the company, according to the paperwork, will provide lobbying, PR and political consulting services.

Esther: What does Bristol Palin know about lobbying and PR consultancy? I wanna know what she has – what are her skills?

Katie: I just have no idea.

(Laughter)

Esther: What are – what is her skillset – her special and unique skillset that qualifies her for this?

Katie: Well – I mean it – if you think of events that have and currently are happening in her personal life, I mean maybe she's just been surrounded by PR flaks, you know, kind of doing crisis communications. She's like, "Hi!"

Esther: So through osmosis?

Katie: Yeah. (Laughter) I could do that, too.

Esther: All right. So good. So good. That sounds good.

Katie: Yeah.

Esther: What – you know, I think part of it – at least with this, what – when Rachel Maddow uncovered this story, what I think she was saying is that because Bristol Palin is this kind of ambassador for this pro-abstinence group –

Katie: The Candies Foundation, yeah.

Esther: - that, uh huh, that this PR agency is just kind of a front, almost, for her to take money in. And if that's the case, it's smart on her part but I think it's kind of obnoxious because it kinda makes PR look bad.

Katie: Actually, yeah, it kinda does. (Laughter)

Esther: I think it kind of sullies the good PR name and I don't appreciate it, Bristol, if you're listening to this.

Katie: That's right. What.

Esther: What? Come down to Houston, we'll show you what's up.

Katie: Yeah, bring it. (Laughter) We are so nice. Really, we are.

Esther: I know.

(Laughter)

Esther: I know. We don't know what's going on in her head but I – just reading the story I was – I was off put by it.

Katie: It – yeah, but I mean who knows? She's 19-year-olds now and to have this LLC formed, you know, I mean maybe she is gonna grow up with an amazingly good head on her shoulders. I, you know –

Esther: Yeah, could be. Could be.

Katie: Who even knows? And I mean who knows where her mom's going, politically? You know, of course, recently we've seen news that Sarah Palin will be what, a correspondent for Fox News.

Esther: For Fox. Yep.

Katie: So I mean this could just be an avenue for, you know, one day, great, weird Bristol things will happen. Who knows?

Esther: Yeah, maybe. We'll wait for that day. We'll hold our breaths.

Katie: (Laughter) Or not.

Esther: How 'bout that?

(Laughter)

Katie: You're listening to The BusinessMakers Overtime Show, heard here and online at thebusinessmakers.com. Stick around for a fantastic interview with Matt Wilson of Under30CEO.com. We'll see you in segment two.