Want to do some slot car racing?

Join us on Tuesday At RaceParty 

If you were a kid in the 70’s 80’s and 90’s you would remember Scalelectrix and slot car racing..... we spent hours building tracks and racing our slot cars. 

Whatever happened to them?  

Let me tell you that Noirin Mosley has created RaceParty which is  a slotcar  racing  Grand Prix Venue in Melbourne’s Camberwell. 

(www.raceparty.com.au). Race Party brings the charm and nostalgia of slot car racing roaring into the modern era.

Over the last three years, Race Party has become Melbourne's premier event destination for children's parties, corporate team building events and off-site work meetings, and I cannot wait to host some of our BBG and BSI events there. 

Noirin is hosting Race Party’s third birthday on Tuesday

and has extended as her guest BBG members and guests to join the fun. I will send an invite to you shortly.

If you would like to chat with Noirin or arrange a time to come down to see how Race Party works, please do not hesitate to contact Noirin directly on 0400 195676.

There’s money out there for venture capital

GV, backed by Google (a $750 billion whale)known for making crazy, expensive bets on far-out technologies, ranked first, with Sequoia Capital, New Enterprise Associates, Bessemer Venture Partners and Tiger Global Management, being in play as investors taking action.

SoftBank is a big lead investor Coatue, a hedge fund and heavy unicorn investor, is a less well-known name, but has been moving up the ranks for years. Its founder is Philippe Laffont a former analyst for Tiger.

Singapore’s Temasek,, is a prolific investor with over 200 known rounds in the Crunchbase database. “Temasek has been writing some serious checks” leading late stage rounds in businesses such as DoorDash, and Impossible Foods.

In Australia you have funds punching above its weight - such as 

• Justin Liberman and Paul Bassat’s  Squarepeg, 
• Richard Baker and Bill Bartee’s Blackbird Ventures, 
• David Shein and Geoff Levy’s “our Innovation Fund”
• Telstra Ventures
• Ben And Toby Heap’s H2 Ventures
• GBS Ventures for medical devices
• Daniel Peter and Craig Blair’s AirTree Ventures 
• Michelle Deaker’s One Ventures
• Packer’s Ellerston fund 

Pretty prolific seeing Australia is the size of 2% of USA!

Here are some of the cool Australian investments https://bsi.com.au/venture-capital-in-australia-finding-its-straps/

There is money out there for early stage investments with these investors heavily involved in small and mid-sized rounds 

A few years ago, $100 million venture rounds were a rarity. This year 25 U.S. companies have raised so-called “hypergiant” rounds of $250 million or more. 

Mid year issue of Spark is out

Mid year 2019 Spark Magazine is Out - “it’s the fuel for business”

Hi 

We are really proud to issue the Mid Year Spark Magazine - rich with content for entrepreneurs and business leaders.

It really live up to its mantra of “the fuel for business” 

Thanks to Paul Southwick for persevering with this project that will benefit us all! 

Here is the link ....

https://issuu.com/bsicomms/docs/spark_mag_autumn_2019_final-compres

There are some interesting articles that share with us the disruption and opportunities that will be coming with 5G

Hope you enjoy

Would love your feedback.

Best

Ivan 

Ps if you think it’s awesome - would you be open to share this

The 5 keys to networking

 

Want to Network?

There are a myriad of places to go 

• trade shows and association meetings
• business after hours social events, 
• workshops
• seminars
• lectures
• clubs
• masterclasses
• interest group 
• referral groups 

To easily find events, use the sites listed below. You can search most of these sites by city name or zip code to find events located in your area.

Meetup.com is the world's largest network of local groups.  You'll find everything here from business networking events, singles events, to yoga classes, dog walking groups (by breed!) and more.  Set up a free account and sign up for the once-weekly email calendar of all the Meetups happening in your area.  

Eventbrite allows you to search for events by location andcategory.  It also allows you to register for the event as well as easily share events with your connections.  

Eventful is an events website which not only lists events, it alsohas a social networking aspect allowing you to connect with other users. 

When.com helps you find out where to go and what to do. You can search for events by Type, City, Time and Category. 

LinkedIn has an events section listed right on your homepage.  Click on one of the events to get to events section where you can search for events in your area. You'll also find events, lectures, classes, and seminars listed on many of the Group pages.  

Facebook allows you to see events your friends are hosting or attending, and to share those events with others.  You can also find events on Fan pages and within Groups.  

Twitter is a social networking site, but you can use it to search for events in your area. Search for Tweetup and you might find a gathering of twitter users in your area.  

 

Craigslist is a large classified site which includes listings of events and classes.   

So where to start? ........ Build a funnel 

1. Make a plan

• What do you get out of going to a networking event/s?
• Why are you doing it?
• What is your objective? 
• Is it to get a source of leads ?  One lead? Become an expert? 
• Do you just enjoy it? 
• Who are the people you want to meet? 

Understand what you want to get out of each meeting you go to.... your time is precious 

2. Break your plan into goals 

• Long term
• Medium term
• Short term 

3. Develop Strategies to Achieve your short term goals 

4. Develop smart tasks/ action plans  - to achieve your strategies so you can achieve your goal 

So why BBG? 

BBG is more than s networking event

It’s about the  4 C’s

Connection - same as above - that initial spark - that contact on Facebook, LinkedIn , twitter or insta 

Collaboration - of like minded people with a common goal (to learn social media) or common interest (such as those interested in innovation) or common client base (those interested in a specific group of clients . It’s about learning from each other - and going to the group with a focus of adding value to each other vs having a mindset of wiifm! 

It’s about Collaboration with other network groups - with a focus of abundance 

Consistency - the objective is to build know like and trust between bbg members - and to do this you need to meet consistently . 

Klt takes time

• Know - getting to know each other takes time
• Like - getting to like each other takes time 
• Trust - getting to trust each other takes time 

With the objective of creating a Community of like minded people that are continuously upskilling each other and acting with a spirit of generosity! 

Comparing BBG to Golf 

It’s sort of like belonging to a golf club - where people are continuously looking to achieve their pb (personal best) .... and instead of hitting the ball in the hole - the objective is to continuously add value to members - through collaboration, referrals or sharing knowledge. 

The weapons/tools at a golf club is 

• your mind, 
• your body 
• A good attitude and mindset 
• a set of golf clubs 
• a golf ball and 
• a golf course 
• A score card 

The objective - to get ball in 18 holes with the fewest of shots.  (of course you can do this online - but it’s not the same !!!)

The weapons/tools at a bbg chapter 

• your mind, 
• your body , 
• A good attitude and mindset 
• a bbg forum 
• A speaker
• A facilitator
• The score card - Referron 

The objective is to collaborate, learn and grow and build a community of know like and trust with your fellow members and their stakeholders 

Glenn Coxon inspires us to Break Through!!!

Brilliant session with Judith-Rose Max Glenn Coxon Larry Dorfan Kirsty Fox Leon Fredkin  Tanya Gray Michael Wardlaw Tania Samuels Adrienne McLean - many takeouts - 

Mine was - you can  #BEAT anything with the right  #mindset #belief #experience (#practice)#action and  #team

10 learnings  from the session 

• determination,  consistency, pushing self, persistence, 
• reset every 10 years
• See strength when someone is calm and grounded
• Follow passion 
• Chunk it down - what can you do today
• Believe in yourself - ignore the naysayers
• Discipline, effort and routine are keys to success
• Willingness is key - no excuses - even when you fail 
• Learn from failures and challenges ! 
• You can do it!!!

What else?? 

5 strategies to build a great team

#BBG members at the annual gala lunch of the amazing #kookaburrakids

Inspired by HBR article 

“Build Self-Awareness with Help from Your Team” by Audrey Epstein

A Harvard study showed that 95% of people think that they are self aware - but only 5-15% of people actually are! 

An important trait of an effective team is that they give effective feedback in a positive way.

Members in high performing teams feel accountable for each other’s success, and willingly provide support and candid feedback with a spirit of generosity to help each other  be at their best.

They will

spend time debating, discussing problems, and making decisions

address unacceptable team behaviors promptly

give each other tough feedback

Talk about those “undiscussables” that others can’t talk openly about

There are 2 types of teams says Audrey 

Crappy teams  that have  distrust, politics, infighting, and gossip 

And 

Great teams  that have trust, candor, feedback, shared goals, and joint accountability.

They talk honestly and openly about each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and because they trust each other, they assume positive intent when the tougher conversations happen. It’s ok to mess up and fail. It’s ok to be vulnerable

#psychologicalsafety

What if you could get honest insights and feedback from coworkers who are truly committed to your success and get to see you in action all the time, on both your best and worst days? 

You can, and you will, if you build a Great Team. 

Imagine if you were surrounded by people motivated to give you useful feedback says Audrey Epstein - an emotional intelligence guru! 

Audrey gives 5 tips to building a great team 

1. Assume positive intent. Give your teammates the benefit of the doubt. Assume they are providing feedback not to judge you but to make you better.
2. Communicate effectively - Talk to your teammates, not about them. You can’t solve problems with gossip. Venting without follow-up action ensures that you are building cliques and solidifying rifts. Talk directly and respectfully with teammates when something goes wrong - this can solve many issues without creating drama or bringing others into it.
3. Show that you care - Care about your teammates’ success. Celebrate wins. Ask questions about their concerns, know what their goals are, help where you can, and be a good listener and collaborator. You can’t be a  great teammate if you don’t know what drives others’ success.
4. Hold your teammates accountable and be accountable. Push your teammates to do their best work and vice versa. Great Teams, have members challenge each other to reach their goals. They don’t spend energy watching their own backs, so they take risks and reach higher. Start by asking your teammates to challenge you. Bring them ideas and ask for input. Ask for feedback on your plans. Embrace the idea that your teammates make you better.
5. Give and be open to get feedback. Ask your teammates what you could do to better support their success. Ask peers for suggestions on one behavior you could work on to become a better teammate. Give permission for teammates to share feedback by asking for it regularly and listening openly. Thank others for giving you feedback.

It’s up to you to build a great team of people who know, like and trust you. You need to nurture those  who will support you, and challenge you to be your best. 

Surround yourself with people who will speak their truth, even when it’s hard. And then listen. When you do, you will see an amazingly positive impact — on you, on them, and on the overall success of your team.

• Great teams deliver stronger results, faster. They’re more innovative. 
• They challenge you to learn more quickly and to be at your best. 
• And, let’s face it — they’re simply more fun to work with.