December 7th, 2009, 11:38 am by Josh Lake
Josh Lake, co-founder of the 532 Development Group.
Editor’s note: This is part of an ongoing series chronicling the triumphs, challenges, failures and questions facing one Orange County startup, the 532 Development Group, written by the founders themselves with as much openness as competition allows. If you’re new to the series, start here and come back.
Believe it or not, we managed to work out an agreement among our project team without any lawyers. Better yet, we didn’t give up a small percent of control in our company (nor rack up big bills to the law firms). And I’m glad we did it this way because shortly after the next proposal, the project hit a major delay. Amidst and unrelated to our delay, we began seeing numerous signs in the market that the entire strategy underlying the project probably wouldn’t work, at least not for a little startup like us. Similar energy projects were hitting major, sometimes insurmountable roadblocks. Even established players with a lineup of credible employees and a laundry list of large solar installations were having difficulties. This was no place for a cash-strapped startup.
So, we quickly pulled together a revision to our proposal, which re-thought and dramatically scaled down the project and sent it into our contact for the Arizona project. And waited. Since that seemed to be going nowhere fast, we went back to our networks and realized we had reached the end of our existing networks. As entrepreneurs you must be flexible if you want any chance of succeeding so we tried Meetup, LinkedIn, and numerous other networking groups in Orange County to see what would “pop.” After exhaustive searching, the only conclusion I could reach is that everyone wants $30+ a night for the chance to network. How is that possible? This is similar to VC’s charging entrepreneurs fees to present to them. In Boston, you could hit five really solid networking events a week and not drop a dime, except maybe to buy a coffee or beer. And it isn’t like you could just find a public spot to meet and call it a networking event; not when it’s 30 degrees outside. Local coffee shops, university bars (it’s MIT, what do you expect!), and even local restaurants were willing to open their doors for entrepreneurs. So, I have a few questions for the readers:
- How valuable is networking in your industry?
- Is the networking opportunity that exists in Boston (or elsewhere) unique or does free and quality networking exist in Orange County? (If so, where?)
- If not, what organizations are worth spending the money on to be a member?
Posted in: Follow The Sun • 532 development group | 2 Comments »
December 4th, 2009, 5:00 am by Erika Chavez, Staff Writer
Golfsmith Xtreme is celebrating its grand opening today and Saturday with discounts and giveaways for the first in line.
On both Friday and Saturday, the first 500 customers can choose between a free round of golf at Shorecliffs Golf Club in San Clemente, or a $25 cash card.
The fine print: the free round of golf can only be played Monday through Thursday; and the cash card can’t be used toward any PING, FootJoy, Titleist or Cobra products. There’s a limit of one giveaway per guest, while supplies last.
Customers can also take advantage of a 15% discount on select items worth $50 or more.
The 40,000 square foot uber-store is a golfer’s playground, with a 9-bay indoor driving range, a putting green and three simulators. The store also features an extensive range of tennis supplies.
Golfsmith is located at 16181 Lake Forest Drive in Irvine; it will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Posted in: Events • Free Stuff • Openings • Retail • Golfsmith | 1 Comment »
November 27th, 2009, 10:15 am by Erika Chavez, Staff Writer
Did you know that a typical Thanksgiving dinner includes about 2,500 calories?
Well ladies, feel guilty no more: Total Woman Gym & Spa locations are offering free workouts throughout the weekend so you can burn off that brined turkey and sweat away that stuffing.
Today through Sunday, Nov. 30th, you can come for the free workout and stay for the relaxing spa treatments, which include massage, facials and waxing (those aren’t free, natch).
The gym has locations in Irvine, Laguna Hills, Brea, Mission Viejo and Placentia
The Irvine location is at 14280 Culver Dr., Suite B; for questions call (949) 733-0478.
CLICK HERE for other addresses and more information.
TELL US: Do you work out extra hard to negate that big Thanksgiving meal, or chalk it up to a rare day of indulgence?
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Posted in: Free Stuff • Go and Do • gyms | 2 Comments »
November 27th, 2009, 5:00 am by Erika Chavez, Staff Writer
See’s Candies has opened a seasonal store at Sand Canyon Plaza, at Sand Canyon Avenue and Irvine Center Drive, just in time for the holidays.
The store is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. In December, the store will also have extended holiday hours. See’s can be reached at 949-727-1230.
What is YOUR favorite seasonal treat? Mine is the pumpkin spice latte at Starbucks…YUM!
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Posted in: Business • Openings • seasonal • sweets | Post a Comment »
November 25th, 2009, 2:30 pm by Erika Chavez, Staff Writer
If you like chicken and games of chance, an Irvine Chick-fil-A location should be your destination of choice from now until the end of the month.
Every day in November, every 100th guest at Chick-fil-A Woodbury Town Center eats free, whether they buy dine in, carry out or drive-thru.
Chick-fil-A is open from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. and is located at 6428 Irvine Blvd.
What’s your Chick-fil-A meal of choice? I’m partial to the original chicken sandwich– no pickle with American cheese, please…
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Posted in: Dining • Fast Food • Free Stuff • chick-fil-a | Post a Comment »
November 20th, 2009, 10:26 am by Nick Haschka
Nick Haschka
After learning the hard way that we needed to focus on our passion, the project on exploring solar opportunities in Arizona began to heat up. Our first read-out got the project’s sponsor increasingly excited about moving forward with a large investment in a solar power plant. We learned that our investor needed a team to begin the early stage development planning, so strung together a more qualified team of our contacts to help us put the proposal together, and went to meet with the investor.
It was at this point where things started to get complicated. As soon as we started involving more people, especially since we couldn’t afford to pay big consulting fees, questions started to arise about how to share benefits.
We discussed a variety of options, and ended up figuring out something that we thought would work, and desperately wanted to avoid involving lawyers.
Are there good legal resources out there that can help us avoid lawyers?
When does a startup need to have a lawyer to help with ongoing contractual matters with clients?
Posted in: Follow The Sun • 532 development group • new irvine • newport beach • startup | 5 Comments »
November 17th, 2009, 1:31 pm by Erika Chavez, Staff Writer
I’ve lived in Irvine for more than two years, and I’m still discovering things that surprise and delight me.
My latest discovery: there’s an actual Christmas tree farm in Irvine, and you can choose your tree starting this Saturday, Nov. 21st at Peltzer Pines.
Here’s how it works:
Tree prices are determined by the size, height & quality. On each tree you will find a price tag. Once you select the desired tree, open the tag and remove the lower half & take it to the office…The payment will hold your tree until you pick it up or until Dec. 22nd. Once you decide to pickup your tree our employees wearing red caps will cut your tree for you. We have saws & twine and the employee who cut your tree will also tie it on your vehicle.
You have your choice of two types of trees: Monterey Pines and Leyland Cypresses.
Peltzer Pines’ Irvine farm is at the corner of Bake Parkway and Irvine Center Drive; it is open from 9 a.m. to dusk on weekends, and from 11:30 a.m. to dusk on weekdays.
There are also locations in Brea and Silverado Canyon.
Where do you buy your Christmas trees? How early do you buy every year? Any tips on where to find a lush tree that will remain fresh until Christmas? Please share!
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Posted in: Business • Go and Do • Tips • Christmas trees • farms • Peltzer Pines | 6 Comments »
