But the Microsoft, MTV and Target folks - the ones that love it there, and want nothing else - just aren’t as ambitious as you are. It’s not that they aren’t brilliant or hard-working. It’s just that their world begins and ends with the work they have in front of them. The code update, the new ad campaign (or shitty reality show), the next time the supervisor comes around. Whatever. It’s always a race to the finish line (5pm?) and a beer back home.

Entrepreneurs - true entrepreneurs - don’t think that way.

[As an aside - while I'm at it - let's correct one more misconception: An entrepreneur is a person with a certain state of mind. It's not a Founder or CXO].

An entrepreneur has no finish line. An IPO or any other liquidity event represents a point in time for the entrepreneur. The broader goal is always world-changing, industry shattering change throughout the entire course of your career. Thus, your current project is an extension of YOU. Getting to 5pm means nothing. Getting in at 9am means nothing. I know I’ll catch shit from our COO for saying this: but I don’t care if you’re in at 10am and out at 11am, as long as that one hour you were in the office resulted in the aforementioned game-changing performance. I’m dead serious. Similarly - if you’re like most of us and need some more time (I need a LOT of time) to change the game. Then you better stay until you do.

As a corollary, don’t ever tell me your “Done.” Done doing what?

So what helps me get motivated? Thinking big. Thinking ambitious. Sitting in my chair and finding a way to make a big impact.

Sometimes that’s by doing the small things. Sometimes it’s creating opportunity.

Cheers,
Boris

More about motivation (and not), here: http://www.borisrevsin.com/?p=15

I wanted to make you aware of some new developments on the CampusLIVE site.

First- we’ve reverted CampusLIVE back to the the three column layout. You asked, and we answered. I’ve received hundreds of requests from people who let us know that the three column layout gave you more room. Cool. Let me know what you think in the comments on the blog post: http://www.borisrevsin.com/

Second- We’ve decided to pull the trigger on the BIG Deals. In August, we’ll be doing one HUGE college deal per day. $20 for $10 at your favorite restaurant, 75% off of tanning, affordable sky-diving. The works. Let me know about that in comments as well: http://www.borisrevsin.com/

Here are the areas we’re going to launch BIG Deals at first:

Connecticut:
Storrs, CT
Hamden, CT

Colorado:
Boulder, CO

Florida:
Tallahassee, FL

Massachusetts:
Amherst, MA
Boston, MA
Waltham, MA

Michigan:
Ann Arbor, MI

New Hampshire:
Durham, NH
Plymouth, NH
Keene, NH

North Carolina:
Raleigh-Durham, NC

Ohio:
Columbus, OH

Rhode Island:
Kingston, RI
Providence, RI

Vermont:
Burlington, VT

Virginia:
Harrisonburg, VA

Washington:
Seattle, WA

Washington DC/Beltway

If your school isn’t listed — and you want the BIG Deals — get together some people and post your area on the blog. We’re still finalizing the list, and maybe we’ll add yours!

All reposted at: http://www.borisrevsin.com/

Thanks all,

Boris Revsin
Co-Founder & CEO
CampusLIVE, Inc

Today CampusLIVE launched a brand new initiative that you yourselves suggested: BIG Deals. Big Deals are HUGE discount (in the 50-75% off range) made specifically for college students at these three schools.

To check out today’s deals, go to:

UMass Amherst: http://www.campuslive.com/umass
UNH: http://www.campuslive.com/unh
BC: http://www.campuslive.com/bc

If we get enough traction with this WEEK full of awesome deals, we’ll keep doing it all summer and all next year. Your favorite places will show up, I guarantee it.

Thanks,
Boris

We’re in the early stages of brainstorming for our new release in September of 2010. Starting today, I will be writing a series of posts aimed at facilitating feedback and thoughts from our most loyal and knowledgeable users. As our company grows - over 250,000 students access a school in our network every month - it becomes necessary for us to start building features and interface based on the people actually using our service.

Many of you may be entrepreneurs yourselves, with great ideas and concepts that you’re working on. Some of you might just see something missing from CampusLIVE. Maybe you don’t like the page for some reason or another. We welcome feedback from everyone.

I’m also going to highlight announcements on this blog. Many will also be re-posted onto the official CampusLIVE blog.

Announcement #1: Beta-tester sign-up. I’m not sure when I’m going to initiate a cut-off, but it’s likely going to be at approximately 3,000 students. Sign up and tell your friends, as this will be a fun, easy opportunity to get involved with CampusLIVE. Sign up here [top of the page].

So, here is my first question for the users:

Question #1: To obtain a great deal (10% off, $5 off ,etc) from a brand you enjoy purchasing from (XBox, Victoria Secret, etc), would you be willing to join their Facebook Group and Follow them on Twitter? Is the value there for you? Would you tell your friends about the deal if we needed a certain amount for it to activate? Post your answer in comments below.

If you’re interested in hearing what your friends think about this program, or want them to join the BETA program with you (there are benefits to this, I promise!). Share this post on FB/Twitter using the tool beneath this post.

Cheers,
Boris Revsin
Chief Executive Officer
CampusLIVE, Inc
boris@campuslive.com

There is one thing that has been on my mind lately, though. Non-disclosure agreements.I’m under an NDA with dozens of companies. Consulting gigs, strategic partners for CampusLIVE, potential advertisers, the works. Even Ask.com jumped into the game with a 16 page M (mutual?) NDA that nobody in their right mind could ever get through. Now don’t get me wrong; I fully understand that there are some things that you don’t want leaking out to your competitors. How much you pay for a search on your service, for instance. Or how much you’re willing to pay to buy up a certain websites graduating senior users.

But what about your new idea? You’ve got a pretty solid concept and you want me to take a look. Maybe offer some advice or introduce you to someone who can help. You email, set up a time to sit down, and meet me for a coffee. We get to talking about business, life, and eventually get to your new great idea.

Your idea is aimed at the college market.

You haven’t even started building it yet.

Your asking for advice from me.

The last thing I want to do is sign your non-disclosure agreement.

Listen. Non-disclosure agreements have their time and place. But if you’re looking for some advice, don’t ask me to sign one. Yeah, sure, I could steal your idea. Or god forbid talk to somebody else about it. If all it takes to displace you is an executive summary of your product, you’ve got trouble.

The funny thing about these sorts of things is that people have it all backwards. You WANT people talking about your product. You WANT people to know that you’re an entrepreneur with a good idea. You’ve got a headstart and a bunch of people watching. If Google or Facebook (or CampusLIVE?) wanted to steal your idea, then guess what: we’ve probably already thought of it. Innovation comes from looking around you and mixing and matching things that are either working or aren’t. I reject the notion that anyone’s idea is “new”. Google peeked at dozens of prior search engines. Facebook had the same amount of social networks to study. They looked at something working somewhere else, improved it, implemented it and made it work.

Want to look at something humorous, check this out:

Groupon, the hot new startup: http://www.groupon.com
Groupon, the hot new startup: http://www.groupon.cn

Nope, not the same company. The copy-cats exist everywhere. It’s not about them, it’s about you.

“”Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” - Charles Caleb Colton

Cheers,
Boris

ACTV Amherst posted it on Facebook, here is the link: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/video/video.php?v=738599518572

Learn more about this unique speaking format here.

Excerpt:

If you had five minutes on stage what would you say? What if you only got 20 slides and they rotated automatically after 15 seconds? Around the world geeks have been putting together Ignite nights to show their answers.

The truth is I am working on some big projects and should probably keep my mouth shut until they are complete.

Blog will be back soon, better than ever. Trust me.

Boris

To Whom It May Concern,

I interacted with Matthew from the Spring Semester of 2008 to the Spring Semester of 2009 during his internship and marketing associate position at CampusLIVE Incorporated (“CL”) and worked as his direct supervisor on various marketing initiatives during his time at CL.

Over the course of his internship Matt repeatedly demonstrated his ability to go above and beyond my expectations as a marketing intern. The complex pressures of a web media startup often demand longer hours and extra effort to ensure efficiency and Matt was a natural fit for our fast-paced and always-changing environment. His dedication to learning the fundamentals of marketing to college aged students was critical to our success in creating a virally spreading message throughout the New England area. Coming in with only limited real world experience in the field of marketing, Matt was able to learn quickly and adapt to the company culture in a way more expected of a marketer with solid years of experience.

Matt was critical in the development and implementation of a variety of our marketing techniques. He worked for our online, print, guerrilla and event marketing departments. He demonstrated his ability to discuss effectively via several channels, including phone conferences, email and social tools. Matt expressed interest in generating sales leads after our marketing pushes, and was often working directly with our sales managers to process and close open opportunities.

The tasks Matt engaged in were initially created for a graduate marketing position but were filled by him at the last minute. During his internship Matt was able to stay on track at this challenging position by asking insightful questions when further direction was needed and was able to effectively incorporate team feedback into his work.

Matt is a very well-rounded individual with the ability to excel in a constantly evolving field. He has the necessary ability to grasp new strategies and initiatives extremely quickly, and the verbal and written communication skills to excel in his future career in business development, sales and marketing.

Regards,

Boris Revsin
Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer
CampusLIVE, Inc

Great:

Dear Isenberg Review Committee:

As the current Chief Operating Officer of CampusLIVE, Inc and direct supervisor of Chris, I feel qualified to expound upon Chris’ professional leadership ability. I have known him for over two years as a student at UMass Amherst, and most recently as our Marketing Associate. I have had the privilege of advising him in academic, professional and personal endeavours alike.

Chris has proven himself to be an expert at fostering relationships with employees and clients alike. His ability to build rapport and gain the confidence of all who meet him is invaluable in business, and most specifically in his areas of interest: advertising, sales and marketing. When I met Chris over two years ago, I was impressed by his raw talent and confidence. Over the course of these years, I believe that Chris has been able to hone his raw talents into a specialized skill-set and polish his confidence into a fierce desire to excel. Matching Chris’ growth with increased responsibility has been vital for me and my company.

Chris’ current major, Resource Economics, offers its own set of unique opportunities towards his future growth. It is a growing field, and offers knowledge used by a variety of promising careers. That said, I believe that with a Marketing degree and the resources that the Isenberg School of Management provides, Chris will develop his true talent in marketing and entrepreneurship. CampusLIVE has already offered Chris a full-time marketing and sales position upon his graduation. His ability to succeed at this position has already been proven with his tireless work ethic and determination. I do believe that if Chris were able to have greater access to the marketing professors and resources at SOM, his success would be even speedier than I predict and his knowledge base would be that much greater.

Chris Ziomek is the type of student who is professional in all aspects of his life. He attends Chamber of Commerce meetings to forge connections and friendships. He attends UMass Career Fairs and Alumni speeches. Chris attends so many speaking and sporting events that the office will joke about how he “bleeds maroon and white”. He stays at work until midnight to prepare for the next day of classes and meetings. He juggles work, school and hobbies flawlessly, motivated simply by his desire for personal and team success.

I hand-picked Chris out of a field of over forty interns, and he has not disappointed me or the rest of our team. I believe that our entire team would unequivocally recommend him for this new major and this new opportunity. I am writing this recommendation in lieu of a laundry list of hand-written praise from the team over the past couple of years. Chris will excel as a student of the UMass Amherst Isenberg of Management. He will help lead other students, and will be an invaluable asset to the major, the business school and the University.

Regards,

Boris Revsin
Chief Operating Officer
CampusLIVE, Inc

I think what it comes down to is who got the WORST of this deal. Fine, so Microsoft just bought up the #2 search giant. So what? Yahoo isn’t #2 because they haven’t had enough time to win, because they have a better product but can’t take it to scale or because they own some special niche (other than old people - sweeet…). They are #2 because they have a sub-par product, weak management and a terrible marketing initiative.

So, yeah, cool. Microsoft now has more eyeballs. Eyeballs which should be looking at the cheapest, easiest to use product. That product is Google, not a combination of Microsoft & Yahoo. I respect that Microsoft mgmt is TRYING there best, but I really can’t agree that MSFT should be focusing on text search. That’s never been there bread and butter (Desktop Apps, right) and Google is a couple years away from sliding that rug out from under them. If MSFT really really focused on web-based enterprise software, I think they have the talent to win that battle.

In terms of search: people talk about taking things “viral”… MSFT has enough traction (obviously) to CREATE a MUCH better product and take it worldwide. I don’t think it needs to buy Yahoo to go viral with a BETTER product. In lame VC pitch terms, they’ve got all they need to “spark” a “hockey stick” curve.

So, who got the worst deal? Yahoo. That search engine business they had was the only chance they had to take a NEW engine/idea viral. They don’t have that anymore.