Starting a Company? Rylax.

Being a Greek is like being in a giant kitchen with a huge pantry full of raw ingredients. You are encouraged to put together something amazing, and everything you need to do so is at your fingertips (although it's always a pain to find the cheese grater). A pinch of academic resources plus a few slices of community involvement and a dash of group living makes the main course of brotherly or sisterly support all the sweeter. The only question is, what will you create?

A major reason people join a fraternity or sorority is that it’s the perfect place to make connections. Connections, in turn, are crucial assets for anyone seeking to start a business. It’s fair to say, then, that Greeks are in prime positions when it comes to entrepreneurship. This phenomenon is behind all the statistics that get thrown around about how many CEOs and presidents are Greeks, and has spawned a blog that I suggest reading, called The Fratrepreneur.

As Greeks who went on to start a company, we obviously find this topic very close to heart. That’s why I was particularly pleased to read about Syracuse junior Ryan Dickerson’s invention, the Rylaxer, and the subsequent founding of his company, at the SigEp Blog.

The concept is simple. Ryan’s back was hurting for lack of a comfortable place to sit in his cramped room freshman year. The solution was to turn the bed into a couch, effectively adding an extra piece of furniture without taking away any space. He designed a long cushion that acts as a couch back, and fits on standard twin beds. With a $4,000 loan from his parents, he started Rylaxing.com, and has sold a few units at Syracuse.

Before you know it, Ryan is featured in a local news story, and an online contest for coolest college startup. The company has not turned a profit yet, but Ryan said that he didn’t do it to make money. Instead, it was more for the fun of it. He’s still a junior, so he’s got plenty of time to have fun with this business before either expanding or moving on to the next.

Here’s what I love about this story. Ryan saw a problem, and being unable to find an available solution, he created his own. When you boil it down, this is how just about every company out there that’s worth its salt begins (I’m excluding companies that are scams, shell companies, and other nefarious examples). He took advantage of his resources: help from friends and family, fraternity connections, the business center on campus. Ryan created something that never previously existed.

Even if the Rylaxer fails to sell more than a dozen units, Ryan will have gained invaluable experience and insight, not to mention confidence. Ask 100 college students how to start a company, and I bet you can count on one hand the number who don’t stare at you blankly. But Ryan displayed the biggest single attribute of an entrepreneur: a willingness to Just Do It. And we here at WebGreek believe that the fraternal community can help incubate this willingness, by filling unfurled sails, and showing each other they'll be caught if they fall. It's something that we've experienced throughout our journey. If you've got the gumption, then take advantage of the resources around you and take the plunge!

One last note: in these troubling times where 5 applicants vie for a single job opening, wouldn’t it make a lot of sense to quit begging for a job from other companies and just start your own? Just sayin’…

ZTA Wins Sprite Step-off, Sparks Controversy

I just got a chance to watch Zeta Tau Alpha from the University of Arkansas win the Sprite Step-Off on February 20^th. My initial thought was, “Dang. Those girls can STEP!” If you haven’t gotten a chance to check it out yet, their performance is a must-see, Matrix-inspired extravaganza (especially 1:33 into it, when they have a girl dancing on a platform that four other girls are holding). Even host Ryan Cameron, at the end of the performance, said he had his jaw on the floor. For their skill, ZTA won $100,000 scholarship.

This isn’t the end of the story, I’m afraid. Many believe that stepping has its roots in African culture (though, according to Dr. Walter Kimbrough, it began in the 1970s), and is traditionally only practiced by NPHC “Divine Nine” schools in the South. ZTA was the only white team in the contest. Can you see where this is going?

Immediately, allegations of racial bias were thrown at the contest judges. Many news outlets picked up on the story, including the Washington Post. Some people argued that Tau chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha at University of Indiana should have won; people argued that ZTA’s routine was derivative; people countered and said that ZTA performed better than AKA. I wonder if there is anything on earth that can obfuscate a debate more than anonymous internet commenting.

Then Sprite really threw the whole thing for a loop by announcing that they had discovered a “scoring discrepancy” 4 days later, declared AKA co-winners, and bumped their prize up to $100,000 to match ZTA’s winnings. If Sprite wanted to fan the flames of debate, they did the exact right thing by calling the legitimacy of ZTA’s victory into question. This action also simultaneously touched off a heated debate about the motives for branding AKA and ZTA co-winners, which is playing out on Facebook.

My opinion is that cultural sharing and borrowing are actions that further unity in the Greek system as well as in America, and throughout the world. This country has always been a great “melting pot,” and I can certainly say that my life has been enriched by living in the incredibly diverse San Francisco Bay Area. The varied influences on my upbringing have given me a wide perspective on how different people live, and also the many ways in which we are all the same.

There are secret or private rituals that preserve group identity and pride (Greeks can relate), and they should remain private. This step contest, however, was a public spectacle broadcast on MTV, and nowhere in the contract was it stipulated that teams had to be of any particular ethnicity or from any particular fraternity or sorority. And such a contest should be inclusive, and I don't think the D-9 has anything to lose by allowing a white sorority to compete. To draw a personal analogy, I am half Chinese, and it would not bother me in the least if I saw other ethnic groups participating in the Chinese New Year parade, for example. As long as emulation does not devolve into malicious mockery, as recently happened at UC San Diego, then I feel that allowing outside people to participate in your traditions will only strengthen your group’s ties to the community at large.

It is obvious that race relations have a long way to go in this country and in the world. I am not a step show judge and won’t pretend to know who should have won, but McEnroe, Iverson, and Pinella would all agree that unfair outcomes are not always the result of malicious racial prejudice. Maybe the media is responsible for trying to create conflict that in turn sells newspapers. Maybe the judges really did get it wrong, because they went off of audience noise and not technical merit. Maybe ZTA really did win fair and square. But is it too much to ask that a Stepping contest be just about stepping, and not the color of the stepper’s skin? As Cameron says at the end of ZTA’s winning performace: “If you can step, you can STEP!”

Calm Before The Storm

This blog has been a little quiet lately, and I have to apologize for the silence. Think of it as the calm before the storm. The four WebGreekers first form a low-pressure trough that interface improvements and home page assets begin to gravitate toward. Then, as a warm current of ocean water moves underneath, the low-pressure system intensifies and soon attracts the interest of potential clients, partners and bloggers. At this moment, we are hovering offshore, steadily building in intensity, while meteorologists tinker with their Dopplers to try and figure out what that huge anomaly is.

This way-too-thin metaphor needs to be ended now. When the storm breaks, we’re launching. No more of this Beta stuff, no more being restricted to the UC Berkeley campus (and one chapter at USC). Brand new homepage, brand new interface, and brand new customers.

We are open for inquiries now, but we’ll be open for business around the middle of March. For the next few weeks, you can sign up your chapter for a greatly reduced introductory fee, but be forewarned that our current interface is all getting changed. Therefore, we’d advise you to wait a little bit, because you won’t have the interface change right underneath you suddenly. I’ve seen enough people yell at Facebook for incredibly minor tweaks to learn my lesson on that one.

But this is no Facebook-style rearrangement of icons and updates. What I’m talking about is a completely different way of interacting with the product that will blow your socks off, like when Duck Hunt’s gun controller sent a 5-year-old Spenser into a tizzy. It couldn’t be more intuitive, at least not without Minority Report-style inputs, which we tried to license but failed.

This new interface unburies everything that was previously hard to find. Switching networks is done using a one-click Coverflow-style animation, which sits on top of the dashboard. The dashboard is tabbed so that applications, the chapter/council wall, settings, and alerts are all right at your fingertips. Want to launch applications in their own browser windows? Go for it. Want to rearrange all the icons and hide the ones you don’t use? Please do. Want to salivate over how good it looks? Yeah, us too.

“But Spenser, I have been following your blog super-mega-closely for a long time, and I know that you guys already launched!”

Ah, yes, you must be referencing this post, in which I announced back in August of 2009 that we were open for business. It’s true, I did. And we did, but only to those who knew us, that is, the Cal Greeks. We’ve had a group of chapters using WebGreek for many months now, and they’ve given us the feedback that has led to this new interface that we’re all so excited about.

Since our preliminary launch, we’ve not only designed a whole new way of interacting with the product, but also several useful features, including integration of any billing website you might use (and we’re working on one of our own), a Lost & Found for your chapter, and the ability to create forms.

So keep your eyes peeled. We’ll be announcing our official launch date shortly. If you’ve seen WebGreek already, make sure you stop by and take a look when it’s all ready. You won’t believe what you see. If you haven’t seen WebGreek yet, get stoked. We sure are.

Sunday, February 7: Come Out and Jog for Jill!

It has just come to our attention that Jill Costello, a senior at UC Berkeley and a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma- Pi Deuteron, was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer (the most advanced stage) in June 2009. I don’t need to tell you that this is a serious disease and an absolute tragedy. I do need to tell you about this Sunday’s benefit 5K run/walk. It is being hosted by KKG and the Bonnie J Addarrio Lung Cancer Association, and is the first annual Jog for Jill event. Registration is $25 and begins at 1pm. The race will commence at 2pm from the Kroeber Fountain.

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Jill is a coxswain for the national championship Cal Women Crew. She is a talented film-maker and a dedicated servant to the community.

We will be there on Sunday, February 7. We ask that you help spread the word, and visit this site to learn more about the event and to give what you can.

There will be an after-party at the Bear’s Lair at 3:30 (just in time for Super Bowl 44), and 10% of the proceeds from the party will also benefit the Bonnie J Addarrio Lung Cancer Association. So even if you can’t run, you can still come out! The after-party is all ages, so bring the family.

We hope you can help.

The iPad and You

I wrote this guest post for GreekForMe's blog. Hope you enjoy!

By now, I’m sure you’ve all heard about the newest Apple device, a tablet computer called the iPad. You probably also have heard or read the State of the Union speech, also last night, during which our president reiterated his commitment to jobs, as well as outlining a plan for reducing the burden of student loans. I find it a little bit disturbing that the iPad announcement took 90 minutes, the same amount of time as Obama’s speech, and gained equal press coverage. But then again, that could mean that the iPad is just as important.

First of all, this thing is way sweet. Multi-touch is an awesome and intuitive way to interact with the internet, and make no mistake, the iPad is primarily a web surfing device. Anyone with an iPhone or an iTouch already knows how to use it. In addition, the app store, with its 140,000 apps, is available for download, and the iPhone apps you're used to are compatible with the iPad.

Of course, the media immediately latched on to some jokes related to the name of the device, but beyond the hype and the immediate criticism, the iPad is potentially a very useful device for college students. Weighing only a pound and a half and looking way cool as only an Apple device can, this thing is portable and will turn some heads. Attractively priced at $499 for 18 gigs of storage, the computer is a great alternative to the netbooks, such as the Eee pc, that are currently dominating the cheap, mega-portable webtop computer market. Unfortunately, you will have to cough up another $130 for a 3G model, but even if you don’t, you will be able to use the plentiful WiFi around campus.

There has been a lot of criticism, as if Apple was expected to unveil something out of Avatar. People have yelped about the lack of Flash (meaning YouTube and most other embedded videos won’t work), the inability to multitask, no camera, and being beholden unto AT&T for 3G service. First of all, if you have an iPhone, then you’re stuck with AT&T anyway. No Flash means you won’t be able to view lots of music and gaming websites, but the YouTube app solves most video problems, and other apps will fill the other gaps (am I an iPoet?).

I will say that the absence of a camera is pretty dumb, but beyond Skype video chat, I don’t use the one on my laptop, and I certainly don’t plan on waving a big tablet around when I’m taking pictures. Most college kids have been given a point and click digital for some birthday or holiday gift. All in all, I don’t see what the big deal is regarding the lack of camera. It’s not like the world needs more low-quality recordings of cute kittens.

Finally, with regard to multi-tasking, I find that I'm not so productive when I multi-task, so this may not be such a bad thing. You will get to run a music player while you surf or type or whatever, just like the iPhone, and unless you’re running complex statistical software while writing a report and rendering an iMovie project at the same time, you should be able to be just as productive as with a clunky Dell or a pricey iMac. I was a biology major, and most of the statistical stuff was done on software that was provided on the bio lab computers, and all the research and report writing was done on applications that the iPad supports.With the ability to sync files using something like DropBox, I could certainly imagine using a tablet computer where I once used an iBook.

The iPad is not as futuristic as people had anticipated, but it’s remarkable in the technology that powers it and in the affordability of that technology. I could see using it as my primary computer, though I would supplement it with a physical keyboard. The size makes it competitive with paper notepads for taking notes in class, while the apps make it versatile. You’ll have iWork on it, you can stream all the Will It Blend videos you want, you can email, and best of all, you can control it all with your fingers. If I hadn’t just gotten a new MacBook to replace my extremely broken iBook, I would consider one. And if I were in college, or had kids in college, it might be a great way to save some money while still being stylish and cutting edge. All in all, it’s worth taking a look at.

Sweet Aural Candy

A New Year's resolution of mine was to explore new music, and the WebGreek team is a great resource for that. From jazz to electronic, there's always a show if we can find the time. We have a varied set of tastes and backgrounds and I'd humbly say that we have a pretty good playlist between us.

The following list is a sampling of what flies around the offices of WebGreek, lubricating our minds for maximum nimbleness. Each core team member gives his top five of the moment. Use the contents to party, study, or relax, but don't use it sparingly.

Erik thinks your life could be improved by having the following in it:

Delta Spirit

Dubbed as a hybrid of rock and North American Soul, this band simply kicks. Matt Vasquez, the lead singer, packs pounds of emotion into the spiritually motivated lyrics, while the multi-instrumental band bangs out a full-bodied sound that’s truly inspired. Favorite Tracks-People Turn Around, Trashcan.

Florence and the Machine

This band absolutely exploded this year on the indie rock scene! Lead singer Florence Welch is backed by a collaboration of other artists on her debut album Lungs. Make no mistake, the real draw of this band is Florence’s incredible voice and her sharply tuned lyrics. Their song "Dog Days Are Over" is one of my favorite tracks from this year. The XX (see below), another favorite band of mine, remixed Florence’s "You’ve Got The Love," to create one of the top songs on Hypem.com’s Zeitgeist 2009. Be sure to catch their performance at the Coachella music festival in April.

SomethingALaMode

These are two Parisian string players who have infused cello and viola into brilliant electro music. The track "Little Bit of FeelGood" will have you up and dancing as soon as the first lyric hits. Soulful lyrics, classical influences, and electro dance beats…I could listen all day.

Joe Purdy

Joe Purdy is one of my favorite singer-songwriters. He’s put out several excellent albums, included a self titled, Paris in the Morning, and Canyon Joe. Joe is equally engaging on a single acoustic guitar or with a full backing band. The title track from Paris in the Morning is a great intro to his music.

The Black Keys

The Black Keys follow the example of the White Stripes and Death From Above 1979, bands that have proven you don’t need a full band to make great music, all you really need is a drum kit, and a hard hitting guitar. Make no mistake, these guys know great music, and their music draws heavily on blues, rock, funk, and soul. The Black Keys recently collaborated with hip-hop artists to create an incredible album called Blakroc.

Favorite song of the year: Sigur Ros vs. Mobb Deep-Shook (Emancipator Mashup)

Top music Sites- Aurgasm.us, Hypem.com

Jordan recommends putting these in your ears:

The XX

A new discovery for me that was recommended by a friend of mine in the indie music scene of San Francisco. Whether it’s a Florence and the Machine cover or one of their originals, they never seem to fail at reinventing some sort of tweaked electro-feeling funk. I’ll be waiting for these guys at the next Coachella festival with open ears.

Muse

One of the Coachella headliners this year, Muse has been a favorite of mine for a long time now. I decided to highlight them not because they were a new find, but because I absolutely love their new album The Resistance. Not only does it add a new classic to their track record, it completely redefines their genre as they experiment with a symphonic masterpiece mixed with a sci-fi rock balladry.

Slayer

A band that I enjoyed during my puberty stricken high school years, Slayer has always had a special place in my heart. Not because I am some violent, satan-worshiping metal head, but because the hard-hitting and never-ending guitar riffs are sometimes just what you need before a long day of snowboarding.

Puscifer

Ok, so I may have only heard one of their songs, but it is damn good enough to warrant a spot on my top 5 favorite new bands. Listen to the track “The Mission” featuring Milla Jovovich, and I guarantee you will agree. This edgy compilation of Radiohead/Joan Jett/Smashing Pumpkins will engage you immediately. Nuff said…Go listen!

Phantogram

You want to call it electronic, you want to call it rock, you want to call it pop??? If you figure it out let me know. This MGMT-like band adds more flavor to the genre as they experiment with some heavy piano additions to a fuzzy but hard electronic core. Poptronic rock…. That’s what I’m looking for.


Patrick says “A boom shakalakalaka”

The Bloody BeetRoots

If you don’t have your seatbelt fastened the second they drop their first beat, I hope you have a helmet on. Bob Rifi and company will blow more than a few amps during their live set. If you’re looking for an energy boost of epic proportions, check out their live @ Sputnik set or follow the never ending feed on The Hype Machine.

The Four Tops

I just can’t get enough. Toss on any Four Tops and TRY to frown, I dare you! These sultans of soul will not only free you from the daily grind, but they actually make me stop to smell the rose. If you ever need someone to Build You Up, find this vinyl.

Red Hot Chili Peppers

With the disbandment of lead guitarist John Frusciante, I’ve found reason to allow a serious resurgence of my old time favorites. From Blood Sugar Sex Magik to their latest 2 CD bangarang, Stadium Arcadium, these guys can rock with the best of them from the early 80’s to present day. My personal favorite, The Zephyr Song, is my next electric guitar challenge.

The Mumlers

I’ve seen a lot of great shows in my day. Matisyahu @ Café Du Norde with less than 50 people, Daft Punk live @ the Greek theatre on their final tour Dave Matthews @ the Gorge back when Crash was first released (to name only a few), and dollar for dollar these San Jose natives put on one of the Top 5 shows I’ve ever had the pleasure of attending. They even pick up a wanderer from the streets of Berkeley that jams with them!

Pendulum

Like the Bloody BeetRoots, this show is not for the faint of heart. Their lead singer had 10,000 fans dancing like Morpheus did Zion, and he was in a full leg cast. Their unique blend of hard rock and live electronica make for a wild a concoction of ENDORPHINE EXPLOSION. You’ll have so much fun at their show the smiles will be chasing each other around your lips.

As your attorney Spenser advises you to check out the following:

Fat Freddy's Drop- Dr. Boondigga and the Big BW

This is the second album from this 7-piece dub/reggae/electronic/funk/jazz/soul outfit out of New Zealand, and its depth and complexity, and pure danceability, are right in line with their also-essential first album, Based on a True Story. A bit spacey at times, but perfect background music for anything from barbecues to homework, and even as a kick-off for a cocktail party. If you ever get to see them live, consider yourself a blessed human being.

Charlie Hunter

This Berkeley High graduate is one of the most talented men on the planet. His 7-string guitar will wake you from your slumber and bring you to the most cerebral of meditations or to the funkiest of foot-tappin' revelry. Yes. 7 strings. The top strings are bass, which means that this slick-fingered virtuoso, who shreds like Stevie Ray, actually lays down his own bassline too, giving him the unique ability to jam with himself. His best album might be Natty Dread, where he covers Bob Marley's timeless record, but to truly be appreciated, you must take that special someone with you to go see him play live. You won't be disappointed.

Rebelution

I'm a Santa Barbara boy, and I have to give a shout to my former IV townmates, especially bassist Marley Williams. This young band had the iTunes reggae album of the year in 2007 for Courage to Grow. Of those who graduated before 2008, can any of us recall a house party that these guys played that didn't have a crowd reaching all the way across the street? Their positive vibes are a welcome counterpoint to the tremulous world we live in. We're feelin' good, we're feelin' alright, yeah...

Shantel

This is a bit random, but I love this guy. A German DJ with some Balkan roots, Shantel does some funky weird stuff, almost like a European LMFAO. Check out the video to the song "Planet Paprika." It's awesome.

The Pharcyde

This rambunctiously flippant hip hop outfit came from LA in the 90s (remember that decade?), and still put on one of the most fun and lively shows around. LabCabinCalifornia and Bizarre Ride II Tha Pharcyde will remain timeless classics, as they proved this past weekend at Yoshi's.

We hope you enjoy some of the music, and we welcome any suggestions.

Be Excellent To Each Other

If you’re from Berkeley then you probably already know this, but UC Berkeley’s fraternities are being sued. All of them. The suit names 34 fraternities, and is led by Paul Ghysels, a next-door neighbor to a fraternity. He and several other residents formed the South Of Campus Neighborhood Association, and are seeking some unspecified amount of money for the drinking and partying that has left the neighborhood “nearly uninhabitable.” His website, http://ucberkeleyfrats.com/, is a collection of photos and videos to back up his point.

If this story sounds familiar, it's because college kids and their neighbors butt heads. Constantly. One wonders if there are any ideas that haven't been tried yet to ease the tensions.

Of course, it would be neat and tidy to have a sectioned-off frat row, sort of a District-9-style quarantine zone where kids could revel and vomit inside of a soundproof cage while the rest of the citizenry goes about their business peaceably, but history was not kind enough to grant us such cut and dry methods. The fraternities occupy historic houses in a historic neighborhood interspersed with other historic houses that non-college types live in. In fact, Ghysels’ wife grew up in the hundred-year-old house that they now live in. The residents are here to stay. And so are the Greeks.

So what does that leave us with? This isn’t the first time Cal’s Greek community has come under fire, requiring corrective action. The university formed a task force back in 2005 to help ease the strain on neighborly relations. The new director of fraternity and sorority life, Grahaeme Hesp, says progress has been made, but likens it to “trying to turn around an oil tanker in the middle of the Pacific 180 degrees.” I’m no sailor, but I think it would be relatively easy to do it in the middle of the Pacific, compared to trying to turn it around in a fjord. But I’m no mariner, so we’ll take his word for it.

Besides the standard cease and desist, the suit, which is the first of its kind in the nation, mainly seeks to require the fraternities to have live-in supervisors. The plaintiffs exclude Cal's sororities because they have house moms, as well as an alcohol ban.

Nobody is totally sure how the lawsuit is going to work. How does one sue that many houses for a string of incidents and rowdy nights that are nearly impossible to link to any one house or individual? And, if the courts rule in favor of the neighbors, will this set a precedent?

All this remains to be seen, but in the meantime, it wouldn't hurt to turn the volume down from 11 until this blows over. That college kids party and the neighbors don’t like it is not news, and I have no solutions for that. I do, however, have a few words. Cal Greeks: Meet me at the next paragraph.

Alright listen up. It’s not in any of your mission statements to be crappy people, and I know that you aren’t. In fact, I actually quite like and admire you. But what are the people around you supposed to think of you, your chapter, and your university, when you do things like assault them with BB guns? I know this lawsuit isn’t yet an existential threat, and one of you mentioned that you’re trying to clean up the beer cups more often now, but let’s just use this as an opportunity to make some good connections. I mean, is there any reason that isn’t valid when it comes to taking more pride in the appearance of your collective domicile? I’m not mad at you. But I think you can be better. Thanks for listening, boys and girls.

We here at WebGreek will keep track of the situation and update as updates warrant. For now, let me just suggest that a little random, spontaneous community service around the neighborhood would be very timely now, and is much appreciated at any time, pending lawsuit or no. In the famous words of Bill S. Preston Esquire and Ted Logan, Be Excellent To Each Other.