This Week: February 19-25, 2012

Hi Café-goers! I hope you all are having a lovely Presidents’ Day weekend. Did you stop by our new event TechnoPolitic last week? Let us know what you think. The Capital Network‘s Upstart Roundtable is back in the Café this week with  Derek Ohly Co-Founder and CEO of  Zyrra. Also this week Angel Hack is in the Café to network and connect teams for their upcoming hackathon at the CIC and Raymond Luk from Canada’s Flow Ventures will discuss near shoring. Lastly, the EPA will have an info table on their new initiatives and Boston New Tech Meetup featuring 6 start ups at their event this month.

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Interview with @AskEmmi on giving (and taking) style advice at Venture Cafe

Emmi Sorokin of It’s a Man’s World image consulting visited Venture Cafe recently and offered clothing and style tips to any guests with questions. She stayed busy throughout and ended up serving behind the advice booth for nearly three hours, thirty minutes longer than originally planned.

VIDEO: Emmi Sorokin talks about giving (and taking) fashion advice, 10min

I interviewed Emmi about her background in style, experience at Venture Cafe, and the invisible importance of personal style. The Q&A below summarizes our conversation and pulls in some references from her blog.

Q: How did you start in men’s style consulting?

A: Every place I worked in the past, retail or IT, I found myself helping others with their appearance and style. A little market research told me that no one else in New England specialized in men’s image and style consulting, so I decided to do go that route.

Q: Where should men start with image and fashion?

A: Start with fit and layering. It’s amazing how much difference it makes to just wear comfortable shoes and many brands offer business styles that fit like sneakers (Emmi’s blog offers shoe advice for both style and season.) Layering helps match your outfit to a context. You can start with a suit outfit for presentations or business clients and then drop the jacket, tie, or accessories for casual work.

Q: What kind of social media works best for you?

A: For a free service, Twitter’s generated a surprising number of new clients, at least 6. (Her account is @AskEmmi.) I know video’s on the rise, so I’ll be doing more of that, too. It just takes a much greater time commitment. (See social media pro Jeff Cutler’s consultation in “Emmi versus Spider-Man.”)

VIDEO: “Emmi vs. Spider-Man”

Q: Why is image such a personal interest?

A: Coming to America as a child, from Russia via Italy, taught me a lot about how groups treat newcomers and the importance of first impressions. I worked hard to fit in as a student and know that the business world’s not very different. Grooming and style brings you attention (positive or negative) that you can’t get any other way, so I think it’s essential for men to be aware of what they’re communicating. It was great to talk with so many people at the cafe and hear about the wide range of experiences people have in the entrepreneurial community. I look forward to the chance to see everyone there again in the future.

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This Week: February 12-18, 2012

Hi everyone! I hope you enjoyed the international flavor of our “Building Global Entrepreneurial Connections” event last week! This week we bring you office hours with CommonAngels and MTDC‘s Nick Pappas.  MassChallenge is also in the Café to answer your questions at their info table and lastly, join TechnoPolitic,  a Venture Café event series hosting leaders working where technology and the public interest meet.

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This Week: February 5-11, 2012

Hi Café-goers! This week, we have a diverse group of events in the Café this week. Thinking of growing globally? Come meet representatives of international consulates and agencies during our “Building Global Entrepreneurial Connections” event. In addition, Apptopia talks the “Business of Mobile Apps”, the Institute of Human Design answers questions about integrating human centered design approach into your products and services, and the Lean Startup Machine talks about their upcoming weekend Feb 17-19th.

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This Week: January 29-February 4, 2012

Hi everyone! This week, we have a few events to get you connecting, thinking and dressing better. Thursday, we have MTDC Office Hours with Vice President Nick Pappas, an advice booth for men’s fashion and MBBP’s panel on Series ‘A’ Venture Investing in 2012; Will We Turn the Corner? Coming up next week: Venture Café goes International.

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This Week: January 22-28, 2012

Hello fellow Café-goers! For those of you who joined us last week, I hope you enjoyed the Microsoft Bing event – it was a great crowd! This Thursday, we host this month’s TCN Upstart Roundtable , a BetaVanguard info table and a Russian cleantech company meet and greet.  As a reminder, registration closes Jan 25th for  MBBP’s Feb 2nd Series ‘A’ Venture Investing in 2012; Will We Turn the Corner? .

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This Week: January 15-21, 2012

Hello fellow Café-goers! This Thursday, we host two great events. First off, we have Massachusetts Technology Development Corporation’s Nick Pappas is in with drop in office hours. We are also very excited to welcome back Microsoft Bing for Simple, Beautiful, Scalable: A night with Bing. Lastly, don’t forget to read up on our new policies in the Café!

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Big Changes at the Venture Café: The Beer is No Longer Free (well, it is, but read on…)

Dear Venture Café Participants and Supporters,

We founded the Venture Café two years ago with the goal of providing our innovation community a regular venue to meet, make new connections, and help each other realize our dreams. During this time, we have been fortunate to experience a tremendous amount of growth in attendance as well as support from many strong partner organizations.

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This Week: January 8-14, 2012

Hello fellow Café-goers! This Thursday, we host two resource tables along with open office hours for CommonAngels. The City of Boston’s Startup Challenge Info Table will be on hand as well as the City of Cambridge’s Resource Table. Lastly, don’t forget to sign up for our e-newsletter!

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This Week: January 1-7, 2012

Happy New Year everyone! This Thursday, we have office hours with Bain Capital Ventures and MTDC Office Hours with President Jerry Bird. We are also joined by Adrian Wong from Morgan Stanley Smith Barney to talk about personal finance tips for startups. Lastly, chat with Kyle Alspach from the Boston Business Journal during his office hours about what’s been happening with your start up.

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