Someone Wrote a Book About Me!

(Well, maybe not a whole book, but at least a short chapter...)

Hey folks!  I know it has been a little while since I've posted anything.  I typically take a break over the winter holidays, but have really let it go for too long.  However, the good news is that I have built up a great big list of post ideas and topics that I'll be working on over the next few weeks.  So there should be a lot more to come...

In the meantime, I wanted to give you a quick heads up about a pretty cool thing.  You may have heard of Gary Vaynerchuk -- author of the New York Times bestseller "Crush It," wine expert and social media master.

He has a new book out called "The Thank You Economy."  Very loosely, it is about how, in today's world, businesses may actually be better off by leaving a little on the table, as opposed to extracting every last nickel.  The main thrust is that in our new normal, always-networked, social-graph driven world, things like a good business reputation, honesty and fair dealing will outlast a given transaction and live with you, potentially forever.  It is actually in your best business/financial interest to deal with people fairly or even favorably, as your reputation will live on in your social graph.

The book is a great read and I highly recommend you pick it up (here it is on amazon).  But what is perhaps the coolest thing for me is that Chapter 13 is called -- "Hank Heyming: A Brief Example of Well-Executed Culture and Intent."  For the newcomers, that's me, Hank Heyming.

I hardly know Gary Vee -- I only met him in person once, at his "secret wine party" during SXSW 2010 (at the Speakeasy) -- and I doubt he remembers me.  However, through some random chance and some intersections in our mutual social media networks, I got to be a part of his latest book.

The chapter focuses on some of the things I have been doing to help nurture the entrepreneurial ecosystem here in the South East.  It also touches on my belief that the last thing a startup needs to be doing is paying a lawyer for basic legal needs.

Here is a link to a SlideShare of the chapter (it is a photocopy so you will need to expand the viewer).  The chapter is only a few pages long and is a quick read -- you should definitely check it out and then go out and buy the whole book.  (For the record, I am only including the photocopy temporarily -- the publisher has promised to make my chapter the one available for free on the book's website, and when they do, I will redirect.)

Anyway, thanks for putting up with a little self promotion.  I'm actually planning to do a longer blog post later this week that will go into more detail on my thoughts on startups and legal fees.