Panel - Real Estate Opportunities in Challenging Times
Monday, December 7, 2009, 05:49 PM - Eventnote
WZCC-NY Chapter Activities

"Real Estate Opportunities in Challenging Times" a Panel Discussion.

The November 22 meeting occurred at the Suffern New York Darbe Mehr on a sunny and brisk day. President Arnaz Maneckshaw summarized the Chapter's strong progress over her three year term. Edul Daver, Chapter Advisor, Noshir Dutia, Chapter Finance and Membership Director, and Rusi D. Gandhi M.B.A., Chapter Advisor and WZCC World Director, each spoke with gratitude for Arnaz's dedicated efforts. Arnaz was awarded with a plaque of fine mahogany and she spoke of excellent traits in the new board members. Incoming Chapter board members include Paul Daruwala, Vice-President Elect, Noshir Dutia, Sheroo Kanga, Secretary and Communications Director, Zubin Canteenwala, Youth Director and Yazad Dalal, Youth Director.

The incoming Chapter Chair, Dr. Natalie H. Vania-Gandhi, complimented Arnaz for her striking professional record and her proven devotion to the Chapter. All seem greatly enthused with the new team and members are assured that New York's Chapter will be a showcase of North American Chapters. Natalie's entrepreneurship, her experience as a founding member of WZCC in California and Chicago, and her engagement in previous AGM's, will enhance the New York Chapter's progress. Arnaz entrusted the Chair's gavel to the new Chair.

After highlighting Arnaz's experience as a first among North American women to lead a WZCC Chapter Chair, Rusi Gandhi, spoke on the upcoming Dubai WZCC AGM. Area residents, Rusi and Natalie, Edul and Niloufer Daver, Farrokh and Gool Patel, Rohinton and Maharukh Cama, Dinyar Hodiwala and his son, Adil Hodiwala, Homi Gandhi, and Navroz Gandhi expect to attend in Dubai. We then moved on to the day's central event, a Panel Discussion, "Real Estate Opportunities in Challenging Times". Professional expertise was on display in detailed presentations, with participants including Dinyar Hodiwala, on "Foreclosures and Short Sales", Vispi Daruwala, on "Securing Mortgages Today", Persis Daruwala, on "The Role of the Title Company" and Rusi D. Gandhi, Moderator, "Real Estate Internet Auctions".

It was vital to hear timely ins and outs from practionnaire experts, especially for those looking to invest profitably in the current economic climate. The audience's Q&A was engaged, observing fine points in contract negotiations as well as the brave entrepreneurism of the panelists. Each panelist had entered real estate in an intriguing way. The audience received inspiration in their business start-up perspectives, from their long-time operational stamina, and their depth of knowledge. We were surprised hearing of a clever internet auction at $26,000.00 below an earlier offer for a property, with the resulting ownership being $104,000.00 below the median price of surrounding homes.

Paul Darawala, incoming Chapter Vice-President, helped with logistics and concluded the event. Guests included a contingent of ten people who enjoyed the unique cultural tour in the Arbab Guiv Darbe Mehr, as well as an exquisite lunch provided by Sheroo and Vispi Kanga. Noshir Dutia provided the kind service of recording the event. Meher Hodiwala devised the Agenda and helped with others in setting up for the event. The group celebrated Arnaz's tenure and Dinyar's birthday with luscious cakes. Pictures of the event are posted at http://tinyurl.com/realestatepanel.

Copyright, 2009, Natalie H. Vania-Gandhi.

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Stunners in a TiE Evening with Rakesh K. Kaul
Tuesday, September 22, 2009, 11:06 PM - Eventnote
Stunners in a TiE Evening with Rakesh K. Kaul

Wednesday, September 9, 2009, WZCC-NY Guests at TiE NJ-Philly

It was another sparkling day as we traveled over New Jersey's winding highways to Edison. Eleven WZCC-NY Chapter members were welcomed at the TiE-NJ-Philly September meeting. We all arrived with bright spirits and lively minds to absorb the adventures of Mr. Rakesh K. Kaul. We discovered an enlightened man, an epitome of achievement. We heard stories from his life while enjoying an excellent Indian dinner.

Let me first relate one of the most stunning facts Rakesh Kaul recounted. In four years, a new company he devised had assets of four billion dollars - a stunning number! But the real stunner in the story is the motivation and fine insight Rakesh evidenced in making the new business. He explained that in running Fingerhut, a consumer goods company, it occurred to him that his customers often did not have as good access to credit as others. He knew Fingerhut customers were good folks, a huge majority of them steady customers following through on their commitments.

Although Wall Street was unsure of the opportunity, Rakesh was determined to get a credit source funded for these good folks. His view was to make the most of the better part of human nature, helping the deserving portion of his customer base. After more than a year of hunting down the financial backing, he achieved his kindly-thought end and the new company was born.

The positive belief in human nature and indeed in his own never-ending venturing defines the man. "Venturing" has always a matter of undertaking admist elements of chance in uncertain seas, he explains. He advises that taking on risk is intrinsic in life's grand journeys. His earliest story, one of departing from professional training in order to play a part as a movie-actor, shows him biting into risk and prevailing to the good.

Movie acting when India was a young country and newly independent? It turns out the movie role was inspired. It was actually a role as a heroic scientist in documentary taken throughout India into distant villages. It inspired young people to pursue science. The documentary created a mass awareness for the benefits of knowledge to the largest democracy. How many young dreamers who saw Rakesh Kaul were motivated to use their diligence and attend IIT?

When Rakesh himself attended IIT, he loved it for the "power of Ideas". There, he says, "We were free" in the never-ending pursuit of knowledge. He excelled and went to America, continuing a record of firsts in his achievements. He did not fear diverting from trodden paths, being led by his enthusiasms to his next venue. If he had to access a laboratory's electron microscope in the dead of night when it was not in use, he found the key to lab and triumphed in his scientific work.

Not all striving heroes get admission simultaneously to Harvard, Stanford, and Chicago. When Rakesh was welcomed by all three, he chose Chicago as the obvious "temple of free markets" and pursued the study of finance under Prof. Merton Miller, a Noble Prize recipient. Prof. Miller awarded Kaul for his "tacit understanding" of macroeconomics.

Rakesh Kaul's firm intellect, his erudition, his venturing even to distant Japan, his many firsts in achievements, and his kind nature made a remarkable night. Our WZCC-NY Chapter was mentioned at the start of the evening. We were delighted to have at least two young professional Zoroastrians in our group. Our most dedicated members, with their own records of entrepreneurial success, were present. Attendees included Edul Daver, Mehroo Baria, Shahrooz Bhopti, Rusi D. Gandhi, Nina Irani, Tiru Irani, Chapter Chair Arnaz Maneckshana, Farrokh Patel, Framroze Patel, Pervez Patel, and Natalie Vania-Gandhi.

Our WZCC-NY Chapter thanks TiE-NJ/Philly President Raj Lakhanpal and Mrs. Neeta Kulkarni for their gracious reception at TiE-NJ/Philly.

- Copyright, Natalie Vania (Vania-Gandhi) , Sept 21, 2009.

>>>>>>>>>>

As described by TiE-NJ/Philly, here is a summary of Mr. Kaul,

"ADVENTURE STORIES OF AN ENGINEER, EXECUTIVE AND ENTREPRENEUR---

Rakesh Kaul is a highly experienced senior executive, both inspired and inspiring in his actions with over 30 years of operational, entrepreneurial and turn around experience.

Rakesh began his career at Beatrice / Hunt Wesson Inc, where he served as Director Corporate Development and Planning as well as in various financial positions.

From 1987 to 1992 Kaul was a member of the Board of Directors and held the position of Senior Vice President Strategy and Finance at Shaklee corp. a multinational manufacturer and direct marketer of nutritional and personal care products.

In the early 90s as Vice Chairman of Fingerhut Corp, he led the company to industry leading results.

In the late 90s as Chairman/CEO of Hanover Direct Inc.he pioneered offering BPO services out of India by creating a division that serviced US Fortune 500 companies.

Rakesh Kaul is an innovative leader having managed large US companies, creating major value by solving problems in complex businesses in highly innovative ways.

Rakesh is currently Chairman of SPHERENOMICS LLC an Indo-US Marketing and Outsourcing Solutions provider for Consumer Branded companies.

Mr.Kaul received his undergraduate degree from the Indian Institute of Technology in New Delhi, India. He received his M.S. from Brown University and was awarded his M.B.A. from the University of Chicago .In addition; he is a Certified Public Accountant."

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New Media Event at Lucent
Friday, July 24, 2009, 09:33 PM - Eventnote
Attended a great event yesterday. I had that Silicon Valley feeling in the "exponential living"!

from The New Jersey Technology Council,

"New Media Forum: Examining the Technologies and Capital That Drive New Media

Date: July 23, 2009
Time: 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Over the next decade, traditional TV and new media will converge and change the way we access and watch TV. With the advent of Internet video distribution services and products such as Hulu, YouTube, Twitter, Boxee, Roku, we're just at the start of seeing new ways to access film, TV and user generated content on large screens, PCs and mobile devices.

What are the new consumer electronics products that are emerging? What digital technologies are key to content virtualization? What changes does Internet video distribution have on traditional distributors, such as cable TV and satellite operators, cable programmers, broadcasters and Hollywood?

We'll take a look at the impacts of emerging digital technologies and the disintermediation impacts that the Internet is creating in the media distribution space over the next 3-5, 5-10 years.

4:00 - 4:30 - New Media Products/Services Competition Presentations

Selected Products/Services include:
AcquireMedia.com - News Edge v8
Alcatel - Lucent - Advertising Selection Server
RevTrax - In Store Promotions
xCypher - mediaWedge
4:30 - 5:30 - 2020 View: Converging Media & Emerging Technologies Landscape

Moderated by Susan Brazer, Managing Partner, Lionshare Strategies

Panelists: Mike Antonovich, CEO, Genesis Networks
Joseph Ambeault, Director of Consumer Product Development, Verizon Markus Hofmann, Head of Service Infrastructure Research, Bell Labs Research/Alcatel-Lucent
Darcy Lorincz, CEO, Origin Digital
Peter Rohr, Sr. Manager for Business Development with Qualcomm's Media Flo
Andy Sontag, Regional Territory Manager, Isilon Systems

5:30 - 6:30 - Managing Through the Storm: A View from Venture Investors in New Media

Moderated by Victor H. Boyajian, National Chair, Sonnenschein Venture Technology Group

Panelists: Wes Cole, Director of Innovations, Alcatel-Lucent Ventures
Gidon Coussin, Co-Founder, Boxee
Jeff Shelstad, Founder and CEO, Flat World Knowledge
Gil Beyda, Managing Partner, Genacast Ventures

Location:
Alcatel - Lucent
600 Mountain Avenue
Arnold Auditorium
Murray Hill, NJ 07974"
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Notes on A Summer Evening at TIE in A Glorious July
Friday, July 10, 2009, 03:07 AM - Eventnote
Notes on A Summer Evening at TIE in a Glorious July

Wednesday July 8, 2009, TIE NJ-Philadelphia Event

Panel participants included Raman Kapur: Chairman, Global Pharamaceutical Services, LLC and formerly President of world-wide Generics for Schering Plough Corporation; Geeta Vemuri, PhD: Partner at Quaker Bio Ventures; Samir Patel, M.D.: President, CEO & Co-founder of Opthotech Corporation and Founder of Eye Tech Pharmaceuticals Inc., acquired for nearly $1 billion; Joseph Fischer: Lifeblood Medical, Inc's Chair,and President and CEO; and Sundeep Bhan: President/CEO and Co-founder of Medsite Inc.a leading online pharmaceutical marketing and services company, acquired by WebMD.

Winding through New Jersey's spaghetti highways to Edison, one had to love the summer's blue sky, the occasional countryside and the sunshine of the Garden State. TIE offered a superb event yesterday evening. Attendees enjoyed a phenomenal panel where each speaker excelled. Participants spent about ten minutes explaining what they had done and were going to do. Two panelists were especially thrilling.

Joseph Fisher riveted us. Almost casually as he spoke, he came to mentioning a diagnosis of a crushing, life-threatening disease coming just as he was raising funding. "Doors shut very fast". But he prevailed.

His cancer went into remission through the brave, research-oriented action of being the first patient to take two advanced medications in tandem. Investors re-appeared, Joseph received a patent for the technology innovation and foremost entrepreneurial awards. Many licensing niches for a foundational technology opened.

What he described sounded incredible -- preserving an organ over days without reduction in its temperature, giving each cell rather than the organ system oxygen, even regenerating a kidney's condition so it can be transplanted, and saving entire severed limbs on the battlefield for reattachment.

As with Joseph Fisher, Samir Patel was compelled by the entrepreneurial quest. Both men left secure academic positions to found their companies. Again, I heard an exceedingly brave thing: In treating macular degeneration, Samir was one of the people on the frontiers, using pharmaceutical injection to the back of the eye, near the retina. Such an injection was not even conceived earlier as a possible treatment!

With about 8 million Americans likely to suffer macular degeneration, the disease is easily comparable with the devastation of breast cancer. Samir had to raise $8 Million in three weeks for his early company. He achieved that fund-raising goal.

Entrepreneurs like Samir, risking all security for himself and family, driven by exceptional knowledge and a labor of love, make the difference in giving hope against the blindness of millions. After the session, Samir and I expressed our fierce appreciation for The University of Chicago, Samir's research institution, a place like no other, to one another.

The vision of the panelists, as well as their manner in expressing their stories, effects me so deeply. A few months ago we saw Captain Sullenberger, a hero, among us, and now at just another networking dinner on a slow and glorious day in July, we have heroes right and left again with us.

I really think everyone in the room last night at TIE probably has a great wealth of heroic stories to tell everyone else. What a time to live!

- Copyright, Natalie Vania (Vania-Gandhi) , July 9, 2009.

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Froth, Babble, Bubble, Bubblet, Boldbubble, Got Bubbled
Tuesday, August 9, 2005, 05:08 PM - Eventnote, Aesthetics, Finance
This Thursday evening, Integrity Investment Advisors, Inc. of San Diego, California will offer "Real Estate Investments – 3 ways to protect your assets in a down market". The event is at 7:00 pm at their headquarters,

11772 Sorrento Valley Road, Suite 100
San Diego, CA 92121

(and interested parties should kindly call in an RSVP to 858-523-0093. Refreshments are provided!)

Some say affluent people have already begun off-loading real estate, shorting REITS, or hedging with futures. Presidential advisors claim no housing bubble exists, and others urge correction from a bubble shrinking down. Economists, journalists, and mathematicians debate whether fundamentals explain housing prices.

Are banks rationally providing mortgages or playing in the moral hazard of a liquid market? Does America's housing market reflect global housing trends or defy them? Are rental prices in line with housing services? How badly are strange taxes distorting housing prices? Was there really long ago a Tulip Bubble, stife for possessing the beauty of a rare flower, or is it myth and legend?

Is a house owned in bubble less owned or more owned than a house bought in market without froth? It may be less owned --- one needs to sell it in good order to the next rational speculator --- or it may be more owned, as one so bravely over-extends to secure the good in question. If the asset does not comprise part of one's enduring legacy, who will steward that house to good use over the long course?

If "clothes make the man" and "you are what you drive", how much does the asset of a house, and all of its shifting financial relations (with ownership, renting, taxation, eminent taking, land grant ...), make the person? Does Justice Souter know?

How much of a house, and a bubble, are material --- here and now in the world? How much of house, and a bubble, is nounemal --- a state of mind, a coming into and going out of Existence, an American Dream? Can we gain in these ethereal depths, gazing across the sublime, glittering Pacific from Torrey Pines?



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EIA's and Risk
Thursday, July 14, 2005, 04:21 PM - Eventnote, Finance
Tonight, Integrity Investment Advisors, Inc. of San Diego, California will offer "Equity Index Annuities - 3 critical drawbacks that you must know before you purchase these annuities, and how to correct them". The event is at 7:00 pm at their headquarters,

11772 Sorrento Valley Road, Suite 100
San Diego, CA 92121

(and interested parties should kindly call in an RSVP to 858-523-0093. Refreshments are provided!)

Oh those magic derivatives! With their help, you can fashion any type of payoff expectation for your whimsy. But can an ordinary person use them with ease? Often, the average investor must take care. Care that will take you beyond the intriguing return formulas per se that derivatives offer.

For example, consider a product built with the help of a derivative, an EIA, or equity indexed annuity. Mr. Geoffrey VanderPal tells us "EIA portfolios are a combination of targeted maturity investment grade bonds and a European Call Index Option, which is a derivative security based on the underlying increase in value of an index over time with a set end date for exercise."

A regular annuity allows one to earn a specific, guaranteed, modest and tax-deferrable return on money. With an EIA, one gets a guaranteed minimum return in the stock market in exchange for limiting maximum stock market returns --- a way to play a little bit in the market while keeping a floor under oneself, an insurance.

But can it really work for an average investor? Lynn O'Shaughnessy, who writes in The San Diego Union-Tribune, is sceptical. From "A sure thing? Better to avoid those equity index annuities", March 20, 2005, she notes some of the challenges to EIA investors. These challenges can include tricky participation rates, aggressive marketing, diverse indexing methods, choice in contract lengths and other timing issues, high commission charges, and surrender charges.

Lynn O'Shaughnessy says,

" ... one of the nation's foremost fee-only insurance consultants, suggests that during bad years on Wall Street, EIA investors would be better off owning a plain old fixed annuity or certificate of deposit.

... ... there are plenty of alternatives for EIA’s ... If you absolutely can't afford to lose money, you can stick your money in a certificate of deposit, a fixed annuity or a money market. You could also diversify your risk with a conservative asset mix. You could, for instance, place 80 percent of your money in bond index funds and 20 percent in stock index funds."

There is a nice clue on the complexity of derivatives in what Lynn O'Shaughnessy explains,

"[An] option is to pay someone to analyze the contract, but there aren't many professionals who can even crack the code. When the state of California, for instance, was developing ... a web site for teachers to analyze annuity and mutual fund choices in their 403(b) retirement plans, the developers struggled with the tortuous EIA provisions.

"I was working with some very bright people and their minds were spinning," recalls Scott Dauenhauer, a fee-only financial planner in Laguna Hills who was a consultant on the project."

Because of the complicated return formulas, Daily said, it could even take him several hours to thoroughly understand just one contract.

Mr. Daily understates the concern: To thoroughly understand just one contract can take several years beyond first-order calculus. And, investment strategy, understanding of the market, and an understanding of how EIA's are being marketed and sold.

In short, in today's Finance there is always more to know. Umm', love it!
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