Going into Overtime: DOL's Final Overtime Rule

Football here and that means we're going to be seeing a lot more nail-biting football fans watching their teams duke it out into Sunday afternoon overtime.  But on December 1, 2016 employers will now have their own overtime issues to be nervous about.  The DOL has made some major adjustments to their overtime rules and the resulting changes will have a huge impact on workers (an estimated 4+ Million of them) and their employers.  One of the biggest changes is that the DOL increased the salary basis test for non-exempt employees from $23,660 to $47,476 (or $913/week).  This means that if you have employees making less than that $47,476 amount on December 1, 2016 you'll probably need to start paying them for any hours worked in excess of 40 per week.

What this really means is that on December 1, 2016 there are going to be a lot of employers out of compliance and a lot more employees who will be eligible for overtime.  We've seen a ton of small businesses who have a hard time complying with the FLSA to begin with, so we're not sure what's going to happen with this new rule.  The result of this change may not be seen immediately.  My guess is that new wage and hour claims (which happen to be some of the most common employment claims that employees make) will start to trickle in once employees realize how much money they're losing out on.

Here are the big takeaways to note:

• Increase from $23,660 to $47,476 ($913/week)
• Increase highly compensated employee compensation threshhold from $100k to $134,500. 
• Continuous update to salary threshhold every 3 years with step increases.  
• Effective date of December 1, 2016

So what should employers do?   We're recommending that employers take the following steps prior to December 1, 2016:

1. Pull a list of employees who make less than $47,476.00 (or $51k if you don't want to do this again in three years).
2. Communicate to these employees that their positions will be reclassified as non-exempt on December 1, 2016;
3. Explain to them what non-exempt means and why the change is occuring;
4. Consider implementing policies that address when employees should work as well as how schedules and hours are approved;
5. Consider reviewing  and updating any documentation that describes exempt/non-exempt employment (Job Descriptions, Handbooks, etc.).
6. Consider implementing some sort of time tracking software like TSheets or Harvest
7. Determine financial implications and address by capping hours, reducing hours, adjusting salaries, or budgeting in overtime.

As with most HR issues if you operate in California you're playing by a different set of rules, which we'll try to cover in a later blog post.  And if you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us at info@suitless.com

The International Entrepreneur Rule in Plain English

We've gotten a ton of questions surrounding USICS and DHS's proposed International Entrepreneur Rule, so we've taken a crack at explaining the proposed rule in plain English.

The International Entrepreneur Rule grants parole to non-US entrepreneurs in order for them to work for their U.S.-based startups for an initial period of two years.  Entrepreneurs can then add one additional period of re-parole for three years, totaling five years.  This totals five years for a maximum of three entrepreneurs at a startup.

Entrepreneurs will have to argue and prove three criteria:

1. That their Company is a start-up;
2. That they are an Entrepreneur;
3. That they've gotten substantial capital from qualified investors.  

If you think that you can meet all three criteria, you'll need to fill out an application form and pay a $1,200 filing fee and an $85 biometric fee.  You'll then submit evidence and can expect 5 months (150 days) for USICS to decide.  You'll then wait 3 months (90 days) to schedule an appointment to submit biometric information (fingerprints and photos).  You'll also have to pay yourself a salary of at least $47,520 once USICS grants parole.

If you believe that you meet the criteria and think you're a good candidate for the PE-1, head over to www.visapreneur.com/PE-1 to check out a beta version of a tool that will help you assemble all of the documents for the application.

BLIB #12 - Navin Ganeshan, CPO and Co-Founder of Zubie

Believe it or not, I served in the army for a South American country for six months.  I went to college in Guyana at the University of Guyana and military service was a graduation requirement.  So I ended up serving in the Guyanan Armed Forces even though I was only a student and not even a citizen of the country at the time! - Navin Ganeshan, 2016. 

After talking to Naving Ganeshan for just a few minutes it became apparent to me that I was in the presence of an fascinating business leader.  Ganeshan, who is Zubie's Chief Product Officer, was poised, charismatic, knowledgeable, and has an impressive resume.  And he gets bonus points because he happens to know a thing or two about beer!  Originally from India, Navin lived there until he was about 10 years old.  He then spent eight years living abroad in different places throughout the world as his father was a college professor whose work took the Ganeshan family to other parts of the world.  Navin has been in the D.C. area for about 28 years and currently lives in Fairfax, Virginia.  He has two children as well as a goldendoodle.  Navin has spent much of his career building or launching products and specifically has used his expertise and skills to build, market, and launch software.  He has worked for both small startups as well as huge companies.  Prior to working for Zubie, Navin worked for a company by the name of Centrifuge Systems as their Chief Marketing Officer.  There he helped the company build software that analyzed human intelligence and the dynamics of social behavior.  Prior to that Navin worked at Network Solutions and he was also a partner in a company that worked on home automation.  Navin told me that "the home automation company existed pre-iPhone so it never gained much traction."  Today Navin is a founding executive and the Chief Product Officer for Zubie.  Zubie creates a device that plugs into any car and can interpret information about the car including the car's location, its mileage, the driving behavior of the driver who is driving the car, and the wear and tear associated with the car and the driver.  Navin has been with Zubie for about three years and while  he works remotely from the D.C. area he travels Zubie's offices in Charleston, South Carolina on a regular basis.  Zubie sells their product for $99.99 at Best Buy and Amazon and the company has also struck partnerships with insurance companies and auto dealerships.  

The Bar:
One of the things that I learned about Navin is that he enjoys drinking beer when it's nice out.  When I asked Navin about the types of beer he drinks he told me he likes Marzens, Kolsch's, and occasionally a good Hefeweizen "when it's beautiful outside." Pair any of those beers with a nice sunny day and you might be hard pressed to find Navin anywhere other than sitting outside sipping on a great brew.  Navin and I met at Bushel and Barrel in Tysons Corner.  B&B had a great local beer selection with over 27 beers and ciders available on tap.  Almost all of the beers were local and from nearby breweries and I noticed that they weren't your standard local breweries either.  The bartenders were knowledgeable about the beer they were serving and they strongly encouraged us to try multiple tastes of whatever we wanted.  We did a #BLIB at B&B's next door neighbor Earl's Kitchen, and I would say that B&B's beer selection was much stronger than what Earl's has to offer. The vibe, ambiance, and hall-style seating at Bushel and Barrel grabbed my attention as soon as I walked in the door.  This is a  place where you can sit down with friends and drink a great assortment of beers.  Navin likes bars when they have an excellent beer menu and an overall good vibe. This means that there's plenty of unique beers on the menu and all of the bar stools are full, but it's still easy to get a beer and you don't have to wait in line too long.  Navin also likes when bars curate beers in a very deliberate sense.  So not just average beers on tap but beers from breweries that you don't see all the time and beers that don't overlap with one another.  Navin recommends a few places like The Craftsmen Tap House in Charleston, South Carolina and Caboose Brewing Company in Vienna, Virginia.  You can also find Navin at Dacha Beer Garden when he wants to sit outside on a nice day and drink beer with his dog or ChurchKey when he wants a rare and interesting beer.  When it comes to great restaurants Navin recommends Oyamel in D.C. or Bar Taco in Reston, Virginia.  

The Beer:
Navin started out by ordering a Flying Dog Coffee Porter and I grabbed a Hoppy Place IPA by Old Ox Brewing Company.  Old Ox is a relatively new brewery that's in Ashburn, Virginia.  It's part of solid crop of breweries that are popping up in Loudoun County, Virginia and Faquier County, Virginia.   Some of the other great breweries which are a short ride west of Washington, D.C. include Aslin Beer Company, Old Bust Head Brewing Company, and Ocelot Brewing Company.   I think it's great that the beer that these breweries are brewing are starting to wind up on many beer menus in D.C. restaurants and bars.  When I asked Navin what beers he currently has in his fridge, he told me that he has an assortment of Devils Backbone as well as a six pack of DuClaw's Sweet Baby Jesus Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter.   Duclaw is a Maryland brewery that has been around for about 20 years.  They make some unique beers like Dirty Little Freak, which is coconut caramel chocolate brown ale, as well as Euforia, which is a toffee nut brown ale.  DuClaw's beers tend to be heavy in calories and they often feel more like a dessert than they do a beer that you'd have with dinner.  Navin told me that he always keeps some Coronas in his fridge along with some Guinness and Bass for whenever the need arises for an emergency Black and Tan.  Next Navin and I discussed overrated beers and breweries.  Navin tends to think that Dogfish Head and Sweetwater Brewing are a bit overrated.  He also thinks that Alexandria's Port City brewery has some overrated beers and not a whole lot of interesting options.  When we talked about other non-craft beers, Navin mentioned that his beer of choice when he was in college was Red Stripe.  And when Navin was in Iceland recently recently he would treat himself to some super-cold Icelandic Gull (70) if it was a nice sunny day.   

The Business Leader:
One challenge that Navin is currently facing is that he is working in an entirely new category.  He said that it can be challenging when you're the first guy to try and do something.  You have to define success and expectations for your product or service because they don't already exist.  Navin finds himself trying to drive awareness in an entirely new area.  Navin did say that one of the good things about new categories is that you don't have to worry as much about price dynamics because there isn't as much relevant competition.  The one thing that Navin needs from the universe right now is for it to slow down, just a little bit.  Navin told me that things are moving so quickly in the technology world that any service or product that is being built has to be created or developed for the future.  It sounds a lot like Wayne Gretzky's quote about skating to where the puck  is going and not to where it is. As far as advice for other business leaders goes, Navin wants them to know that they should be skeptical of packaged business advice.  For every rule you come across there another rule that is exactly the opposite.  He says that other business leaders should constantly be consuming information and structuring their work and lives to be about information consumption.  The most recent book that Navin read was Hamilton which is the book that the Broadway show was based on.  He also recently has been reading the Hubspot expose Disrupted.

Thanks so much to Navin Ganeshan for participating in BLIB this week.  Join us next week when we'll chat with Manny Dureja, CEO of DAS Worldwide at whiskey and beer bar Rebellion.

BLIB #11 - Tony Cappaert, COO & Co-Founder, Contactually

My first job was as a stock boy at a grocery store in rural Michigan. The store was your typical local supermarket, but it also happened to be connected to a meat processing plant. So here I was, at 15 years old, stocking shelves, bagging groceries, and helping people process and pack their slaughtered meat.
-- Tony Cappaert, 2016.

Tony Cappaert is not your average beer-drinking business leader. He's a graduate of MIT, a Microsoft Alumni, and a Co-Founder of one of D.C.'s hottest startups: Contactually. After he graduated from college Tony spent a few years working in Seattle as a Product Manager for Microsoft. He then made the cross-country trek to Washington, D.C. where he worked for a non-profit. After working at the non-profit for about a year he made the decision to go in an entirely new direction and start a business. It was at this time that Tony met his co-founders Zvi Band and Jeff Carbonella and embarked on a journey to build email management software which would eventually be used by people around the world. The Contactually co-founders have been at it for over five and a half years, and with almost 75 employees, the company continues to push full speed ahead. Tony lives in the Columbia Heights - a Petworth neighborhood of Washington, D.C., he has a dog named Tucker (who hangs out at Contactually's office on a regular basis), and he and his wife are expecting a baby in July. 

The Bar:

Tony and I originally planned on meeting at Jackpot (4), but because of how noisy that bar can be we made a game-time decision to move our BLIB to Lost and Found (4).  The first thing that I noticed about Lost and Found is that it has the look and feel of a dive bar, but it's a dive bar with a very solid draft beer selection. Lost and Found's extensive beer menu contains detailed information on each beer that they serve. The menu displays the beer's name, the brewery that brewed the beer, the location of the brewery, what style of beer it is, and how big of a pour you should expect. The menu is great for people who pay attention to the minutiae of beer and breweries. Tony enjoys going to bars where he can hang out with friends and drink really good beer. He tries real hard to avoid locations that are too open and too noisy. In addition to Lost and Found being one of Tony's favorite spots he also likes going to Meridian Pint since they have lots of good beers on tap and because it's close to his home. He recommends Glen's Garden Market as a being another great spot for beer drinkers. Tony filled us in on a little secret about Glen's Garden Market: They have four dollar pints available and they also have an enclosed area with picnic tables where you can drink your pint(s). When Tony is on the West Coast his favorite beer drinking spot is Toronado in San Francisco, which he called "a beer lover's paradise." He described Toronado as being similar to ChurchKey but not as upscale and with a vibe that is much more relaxed. Tony enjoys going to local breweries like DC Brau, Atlas Brewing, Right Proper, and Hellbender Brewing. He impressed with Hellbender's setup and mentioned that their brewery feels like a bunch friends got together, rented a warehouse, and started brewing beer there. I'd trust Tony's opinion when it comes to breweries as he has visited close to 100 breweries across the United States. Just like a few other BLIB'ers, one of Tony's favorite breweries of all time is is Russian River Brewing Co. in Santa Rosa, CA.

The Beer:

When it comes to beer Tony is generally a fan of IPA's and hoppy beers. Some of his favorite beers include Russian River's Pliny the Elder and Victory Brewing's Hop Devil. Tony has also gotten into the practice of mixing Dogfish Head beers whenever he goes to their brewpub. For example, Tony will blend their 60 Minute IPA and their 120 Minute IPA to create a makeshift 90 Minute IPA or he'll mix a 60 Minute IPA with Dogfish Head's Punkin Ale to create an IPA/Pumpkin beer blend. It's kind of like the old concept of mixing Guiness and Bass to make a Black and Tan, but with with much better beer. In college, Tony tended to drink Natural Ice but he does remember drinking good beer in his senior year. There's a bar in Boston called The Lower Depths (4) and he specifically remembers ordering a Wells Banana Bread Beer (80) for his now wife, and then promising her to drink the beer if she didn't like it (she didn't like it, so he drank it). When we talked about overrated beers and breweries, Tony told me that he thought that Sam Adams may be a little bit overrated. He tends to follow beer news and enjoys trying local or smaller breweries. Beers that are currently in his fridge at home right now include Victory Hop Devil and Funky Buddha which is an Imperial Stout brewed with maple and bourbon. Tony also specifically called out Great Divide Brewery and told me that he went through a phase in life where he was drinking a lot a Firestone Walker Union Jack IPA. When it came time to order beers Tony grabbed an Anderson Valley IPA and I ordered Victory's Gose. We noted a large number of Maryland and Virginia beers on the menu including beers from RAR and Jailbreak. For our second-round Tony had me order his beer. I ordered him a pint of Jailbreaks Infinite Amber and I ordered myself a North Coast Sidamo.

The Business Leader:

Tony has had the opportunity to lead Contactually through several different stages of the company's existence. He started the company and remembers when there were just three co-founders building and selling a product. He has remained with the company as it has grown, scaled, and become a highly regarded product. When Tony and I talked about his current challenges he explained that empowering the Contactually team has become one of his biggest challenges and a challenge that has become more important than execution. This change in mindset also includes developing his own leadership skillset and figuring out how to delegate effectively. He calls out a first-round article that he read recently which he thinks aligns with how he approaches his role at the company. Tony explained that he needs to be focusing on the very important goals where there is a high likelihood that they will not be met. He notes that he should be delegating highly important yet very likely to succeed goals to others. When it comes to what Tony needs from the universe right now he stated that he would like to know how he can better leverage his time and the time of the people that he works with to be successful. Time continues to be recurring theme that we hear about from many of the business leaders we BLIB with. Tony also noted that he would like to hire a great VP of Client Success. Another thing that Tony said he needs from the universe (and his team) is strong pushback on any one functional area. Now that he and his co-founders have executives to support them, they need to be able to lean on their executive team's experience and expertise, but also be able to incorporate that experience and expertise into ideas that he and his co-founders have. When it comes to advice for other business leaders, Tony had two pieces of advice for two different types of business leaders. First, Tony had some advice for business leaders who are working for small, early-stage companies. He says that when you're an early stage business leader, you have to understand that getting shit done trumps everything. Execution is the boss. When it comes to business leaders with later-stage companies or companies that are in the process of scaling, business leaders need to recognize that there's much less that they can personally do to impact the company, so they need to focus on being able to issue clear priorities/direction and remove any roadblocks that the people they're leader are running into. The most recent book that Tony read is The Internet is My Religion, which he highly recommends.

Thanks so much to Tony Cappaert for participating this week. Join us next week when we'll chat with Navin Ganeshan, Chief Product Officer of Zubie.

BLIB #10 - Josh Konowe, Serial Entrepreneur

When I was in college at the University of Kentucky, I would go into bars and challenge the bartenders to fill a shot glass with anything that they wanted. I would then lie down on the floor, balance the shot glass on my forehead, and bet the bartender that I could stand up with the shot glass balanced on my forehead - all without touching the shot glass with my hands.  The bet was that if I could do this, the bartender would have to buy everyone I was with a round of drinks. I would do this over and over again and NEVER spilled any liquid from the shot glass. After doing this at lots of college bars, the bartenders started telling each other about the bet.  The bartenders caught on to my skills and stopped betting me, but not before I got lots of free drinks for lots of people.  It pays to have amazing balance - Josh Konowe, 2016. 

Josh Konowe is a serial entrepreneur.  Throughout his career he has headed up multiple businesses in various leadership roles.  He has founded businesses, built businesses, and successfully exited from businesses.  Josh's most recent role was CEO of a company by the name of folr (pronounced Follower).  He was with the company until recently when it was acquired by a larger U.S.-based company by the name of Rhodes Edge.  Josh came to the D.C. area by way of Manhattan about 12 years ago.  Prior to becoming an entrepreneur and business leader Josh worked on Madison Avenue in sales and marketing.  His first foray into entrepreneurship was when he started E-Agent, which was a  lead generator for realtors.  After Josh sold E-Agent, he founded a company by the name of BrandClick, which was eventually sold to Traffic Engine.  Josh then founded an SMS backup company by the name of Uppidy.  He came up with the idea behind Uppidy, which included backing up phone contents, after he dropped his iPhone into a toilet at an airport.  Uppidy was eventually acquired by Gryphn/ArmorText.  In addition to his cool background, Josh also shared some exciting news with me.  In early August Josh will be conducting a TedTalk in New Zealand.  He wasn't able to disclose what the TedTalk would be about, but after meeting Josh and drinking beers with him, I can all but guarantee that it's going to be a captivating talk.  Josh is pretty athletic and played several sports competitively in high school.  He recently picked up swimming as his latest athletic challenge.  You can find him on Twitter by searching for #aquajew.

The Bar:
Josh and I headed to Black Restaurant Group's Republic, a relatively new addition to the Black's lineup (BlackSalt, Pearl Dive, BlackJack, etc.) located in Takoma Park, Maryland.  The ambiance is pretty upscale for an area that's known for its farmer's markets, nuclear free zone status, and longtime concerns about saving the whales.  The restaurant itself is relatively dark, the furniture is heavily accented with wood, and the decor is nostalgic but high-end.  Like other restaurants that are part of the Black Restaurant Group, Republic sells a lot of local foods including local oysters and beers from breweries that are based in Maryland, D.C., and Virginia.  Josh and I sat at the bar and after chatting with the bartenders for just a few minutes. we noticed that they had a solid understanding of the beers that they were serving.   I liked the beer menu as it contained beers from lots of up and coming nearby breweries including Denizens, 7 Locks Brewing, and The Brewer's Art.  Republic also had a solid happy hour menu complete with different types of apps and oysters on the half-shell.  I had already eaten before our #BLIB, but it was still difficult to refrain from ordering some of the intriguing items (homemade empanadas!!!) that they had on their menu.  Josh told me that he has a few favorite restaurants and bars in the area.  He likes Dacha when it's time to drink beer, he recommends Dakaya for their ramen, and suggested others try dumpling soup at Bob's Shanghai 66 which is in Rockville.  Josh revealed that his favorite brewery tour of all times was the Heineken brewery in Amsterdam.  He said that the tour was fascinating and that at the end of it you pay the equivalent of $1 for the ability to drink as much Heineken as you can in one hour.  He described this hour as "go time" and recalls  putting back much more beer than one dollar's worth.

The Beer:
When I first asked Josh if he drank beer, he asked me "How can you be an entrepreneur and NOT drink?"  I loved this comment.  Josh started off by ordering a Brewer's Art D'Accord and I went with RAR Brewing's Habanero Nectar.  Both of our beers hailed from Maryland breweries.  Brewers Art is a brewery/brewpub located in Baltimore, Maryland and it also happens to be be Baltimore's largest brewery.  RAR is a brewery in Cambridge, Maryland - close to Easton, but further south - that's known for a beer called Nanticoke Nectar (86).  The Habanero Nectar uses the Nanticoke Nectar as a base, but adds habanero to the beer for an added kick.  Brewers Art is infamous in the D.C./Maryland area for two of their beers: 1) a beer called the 'Ozzy' whose name the brewery had to change to the 'Beazly' after they received a cease and desist letter from singer Ozzy Ozbourne, and 2) a beer called Resurrection Ale which is popular among many Baltimore/Mid-Atlantic beer snobs connoisseurs for being a hard-to-find abby style dubbel which is high in ABV (7%) but doesn't have the bitter taste common in dubbel's.  When Josh was in college, his beer of choice was Pabst Blue Ribbon (70) and you could find him drinking that when he wasn't conning bars out of their booze through parlor trickery.  Josh is currently a big fan of all things Delerium, including Huyghe Brewery's Delerium Teremens (91) and Delerium Nocturnum (89).  If you've never had either of these beers, I'd recommend rushing out to to the store, buying them, and drinking them both immediately (assuming you're over 21).

Josh and I had a long and productive chat over two rounds.  I've decided to leave out a hilarious story that Josh told me.  It  was about a woman he went on a dinner date with who asked Josh to sire her unborn children.  He and the woman are still friends and laugh about the incident, but if you ever have the opportunity to meet Josh and drink a beer with him, well, you know what story to ask to hear.  Josh and I did have a second round together, but this time Josh grabbed a sauvignon blanc and I rolled the dice with a 7 Locks Brewing Cherry Blossom Saison (NR).  As far as saison's go, I thought the Cherry Blossom was pretty good.  Not too sweet and the cherry wasn't too powerful.  It definitely isn't a session beer, but it's worth trying.  The Cherry Blossom Saison is a joint brewing collaboration between 7 Locks Brewing and The Urban Winery of Silver Spring.

The Business Leader:
As someone who has built and run several businesses from scratch, I could tell that Josh would have some invaluable advice for our #BLIB readers.  When I asked Josh to fill me in on the challenges he usually has, he explained to me that he often faces two major challenges as a business leader.  The first challenge is trust and trusting others, and the second is execution, or more specifically, letting go of things and letting others execute those things.  Josh did say that the two challenges take care of each other, and that the more you can trust others and let them execute, the better off you'll be as a business leader.  Josh explained that you cannot grow as a person, and your company cannot grow as an organization, unless the leadership is willing to let go.  And he finds that the beauty of letting go is culpability.  If you can let go and trust others to do what they are supposed to be doing, then things are no longer your fault.  When it comes to what Josh is looking for from the universe, he mentioned that he would like continued goodwill and also to meet a really nice woman.  Josh's favorite book that he read recently was Ben Horowitz's The Hard Thing About Hard Things because it reminded him of everything that he has had to go through, just on a smaller level.  Josh's advice to business leaders is to hedge against yourself.  He believes that we all have preconceived ideas about how we think business should be done.  People who assume this are often wrong.  Josh says that business leaders should always plan for a complete 180 or shift, and that they shouldn't be afraid when it happens.  Ultimately, business leaders need to keep an open mind.

For more information about Josh you can click here.  Stop by next week to read about Tony Cappaert's perspective on bars, beers, and business leadership.

BLIB #9 - Dave Shedd, VP and Co-Founder of Mindseye Solutions

"I love traveling, and I've traveled to almost every country you can think of. Being able to make it to every country on the planet is on my bucket list."  - Dave Shedd, 2016

Dave Shedd is VP and Co-Founder of Mindseye Solutions, an e-discovery software company that he cofounded with Bob Krantz and Elliot Nierman in 2008. Mindseye builds software that helps users find needles in haystacks, or more specifically, a certain document in a sea of documents. The software allows the user - usually someone in the legal profession - to filter large amounts of information very quickly. That information comes from emails, email attachments, documents, texts, or other forms of electronic communication. Mindseye sells their software to lawyers, IT departments, and law firms, but they also have large enterprise clients who use their software in ways that are unrelated to the legal field. Dave gave an example of a large D.C.-based company that uses Mindseye's software to make sure that their departing employees have not taken (or distributed) any proprietary information on their way out the door. As a youngster Dave spent some of his formative years in Germany, he moved to Fairfax County and graduated from Centreville High School, and then went on to go to college at Virginia Tech. He graduated in the early 2000's with a degree in Business Information Technology. From there Dave began his career working in the E-Discovery world and held jobs doing project management, sales, and client support until eventually co-founding Mindseye. Dave is an avid traveler and has spent time in Italy, Germany, and China.

The Bar:
Dave and I met up at Water and Wall (4) which is in the Virginia Square neighborhood of Arlington, Virginia. The restaurant/bar is run by Executive Chef and Owner Tim Ma. Water and Wall takes its name from when Tim was living in Manhattan at the corner of Water Street and Wall Street. This may be yet another sign that the D.C. area is slowly turning into New York City. Tim Ma also owns and operates Chase the Submarine (4) in Vienna, VA and the brand-spanking-new Kyirisan (4) in the Shaw Neighborhood of Washington, D.C. I thought Water and Wall was a great spot, but I couldn't get the Lil John song 'Get Low' out of my head the entire time I was there. While they didn't have a huge assortment of draft beers on tap, the four that they did have were rock solid. The food was also seriously good. Dave and I were surprised that the clientele were mostly businessmen and businesswomen, which is different than the young millennial crowd that we're used to in Arlington. Dave told me that his favorite bar of all times is William Jeffrey's Tavern (3.5) on Columbia Pike because of the great vibe and the friendly/knowledgeable bartenders there. He appreciates bars that have laid-back people and nice ambiance, but are a little bit more upscale. Dave also noted that he enjoys Don Tito (4) in Clarendon because it's wide open, they have a beautiful rooftop deck, and they have great drink specials. .

The Beer:
Dave is one of the first business leaders I've met with who is not a huge fan of IPA's. After meeting so many self-proclaimed "hopheads" these days it's rare to find someone who eschews IPA's. Dave told me that he usually enjoys hefeweissens and wheat beers more than any other type of beer. One of Dave's favorite beers is Allagash White (92) and another go-to beer for him is Stella Artois (71). Dave did divulge that he thinks most American beer tastes a bit too much like water and that he would much rather drink the German beer that he used to sip in his younger years. Another beer that Dave likes is Port City Optimal Wit (85). Port City describes their Optimal Wit as "tasting like sunshine and happiness." Sounds delicious! Dave talked about how he strongly dislikes dark beers like stouts and porters and could never imagine drinking a beer like a Guinness (79) or a Newcastle (76). In college Dave allowed Steel Reserve (59) and Milwaukee's Best Light (52) to grace his lips. We hope Dave never has to drink either of those beers ever again! While at Water and Wall, we sampled and tried all of the beers on tap. They had Caboose Brewing Company Car Hopper IPA (NR) on tap as well as Victory Kirsch Gose (88) and Ocelot Brewing Company Broken Red IPA (NR). For those unfamiliar with Caboose, they're a relatively new brewery out of Vienna, Virginia. The Car Hopper was a solid beer. Ocelot BrewingCompany is another local brewery out of Dulles, Virginia and their Broken Red IPA may be my new favorite beer. Victory's Kirsch Gose and goses in general are a style of beer that are just now starting to make some headway in U.S. markets. Gose tends to be fruity, salty, and sour, and with a lower ABV than your average beer. I've found that it has a taste similar to Kriek or Lambic. This gose is brewed by Downingtown, Pennsylvania's Victory Brewing Company - famous for their Prima Pils (91), Golden Monkey (84) and HopDevil Ale (91).

The Business Leader:
Dave told me that as a cofounder and business owner he is generally happy with the way things are going with his business right now. He did say the company was growing and changing, which presents its own unique set of challenges. As the business has grown Dave has had to focus more on management and personalities than he has on just getting work done. Dave told me that over the years he has had to learn how to be empathetic and know when to bite his tongue. Dave did say that being a business owner has forced him to become more mature and to think about things from multiple perspectives. He has learned to put himself in the shoes of other people and ask himself what others would do or think in various situations. Dave told me that it didn't used to be this way, and that when his company just had 3 or 4 employees he was able to put his head down, work really hard, and solve whatever problems were in front of him. Now that his company has more resources, he has to work with various skillsets and personalities in order to address and solve big problems. Dave has some advice that he'd like to give to other business leaders and entrepreneurs. He encourages other business leaders and entrepreneurs to listen more than they talk. Dave said that he talks a lot less than he used to and when he does talk, he makes sure that he's using the whatever information he has learned from listening. Dave also encourages business leaders to stop thinking about what you're going to say next and don't be afraid to admit that you're wrong. He says that it's imperative to give team members and coworkers acknowledgement and advice as well as criticism. Dave is currently reading In The Plex, a book about how Google thinks, works, and shapes our lives. Dave is really into helping others and has started to think about ways in which he can help other people on a large scale. As such, the one thing that Dave would like from the universe is an idea or concept that he could work on as a side project which would both benefit all of mankind and have a positive impact on lots of people's lives.

A huge thanks to Dave Shedd for participating in this week's BLIB. Join us next week for a BLIB with Serial Entrepreneur Josh Konowe!

BLIB #8 - Niv Shah, CEO of Ottoneu Inc.

Many people don't know this about me, but I'm an award winning beer brewer. While I was living in California several years ago, I became friendly with guys who started a nanobrewery by the name of Clandestine Brewing. As a birthday present, the guys at the brewery gave me the ability to create my own beer recipe. I decided on a Bacon Bourbon Stout. It ended up winning a Blue Ribbon at the San Mateo County Fair in 2011! - Niv Shah, 2016

Niv Shah is the CEO and Founder of Ottoneu. Originally from Cleveland, Ohio by way of San Antonio, Texas, Niv has been working at (and on) Ottoneu for the past five and a half years. A year and a half of that time has been spent working on the company in a full-time capacity. Ottoneu is a statistical-driven fantasy sports game for fantasy sports fans. The game is named after Otto Neu a major-league baseball player who only played in one major league baseball game his entire career. In that game, Mr. Neu did not have any pitches, catches, at bats, etc. In short, he was a major league ballplayer who had zero statistics to his name. Niv originally named the game after Mr. Neu because he thought it would be fun and ironic to see people playing a statistics-driven fantasy baseball game named after someone who was a statistically insignificant professional baseball player. Niv describes Ottoneu as a dynasty form of fantasy sports, meaning that players keep playing the game year after year and work on building their teams out over many seasons. Players do this by finding new athletes to sign as well as trading and signing existing athletes to their team. The game has a strong element of market dynamics associated with it and Niv describes it as being a market-driven game. Ottoneu has a core group of loyal and engaged fans/players who Niv often taps to get ideas from. 

 
The Bar:
For our bar of choice Niv and I decided to head to City Tap House in Penn Quarter, D.C. City Tap House has around 40 beers on tap and about 100 different bottles. We both liked the ambiance and setup of the bar, and noted the large number of solid beers and unique breweries on tap. Finding a good beer here wasn't going to be a challenge for either one of us. When I asked Niv about which bar(s) he likes the best he told me that he's currently in between favorite bars. He explained that he's really selective of beer and has been called a beer snob on many occasions. Because of this, it's important to Niv that he is able to go to a bar where he can find great beer and have conversations with friends. He already has great beers at his house (see below) and he has friends over all the time, so bars need to offer something unique and interesting to the mix if he's going to visit them. According to Niv, "in order for a bar to get my business they need to have some creativity and personality." Niv loves The Red Derby which is located in Columbia Heights, D.C. While Red Derby only has cans of beer, they they have some interesting IPAs and tend to do some great drink specials as well as some weird 'shot and beer' combinations and extensive can list. Niv also likes the Smoke and Barrel in Adams Morgan - which happens to be a location where we'll be BLIB'ing from in the near future. Niv's favorite brewery right now is Ocelot Brewing Company because they have a great mix of IPAs and great tasting options where you can figure out what you like. However, Niv's all-time favorite brewery is Russian River and he said he could hang out there all day drinking beer.

The Beer:
When I walked into the bar, Niv greeted me with an already ordered Firestone Walker Doublejack (95) in his hand. As Niv polished off his first round, we looked over the beer list and noted some of the unique beers and breweries that were on the menu. One beer that stood out to both of us was Ninkasi's Tricerahops (88). Niv generally enjoys Big IPA's and big stouts, however, he is open minded when it comes to trying new beers beers. Right now in his fridge he has a bottle of Lagunitas Waldo (95), a six pack of Firestone Walker Luponic Distortion (91), and a Lagunitas Cappucino Stout (88). Firestone Walker is his favorite brewery for beer and Firestone Walker's Parabola (100) is his #1 all-time favorite beer. Niv was reluctant to call out overrated breweries, but he did mention that Dogfish Head and Flying Dog are breweries that can be a bit gimmicky. When it was time to order beers, Niv got the Ninkasi Tricerahops (90) and I ordered the Ninkasi Vanilla Oatis (86). The Oatis is an oatmeal stout complete with roasted malts as well as vanilla added during the final conditioning phase. I thought it was a fantastic beer and I'd highly recommend it. Niv seemed to enjoy his Tricerahops as well. When beer drinkers think of great West Coast breweries, they often bring up the California "classics" (Russian River, Ballast Point, etc.) but many forget that Oregon has a ton of great West Coast breweries. Ninkasi is a fantastic microbrewery in Eugene, Oregon. Some other great Oregon breweries you may be familiar with include Deschutes, Full Sail, and Boneyard Beer Company. Plus how can you ever go wrong in the land of the Goonies?

The Business Leader:
Niv is what we call a solopreneur. As an individual founder, he has built a product, brought it to market, acquired users, and generated revenue. He now wants to figure out how he can grow his company while making sure that the ethos of Ottoneu does not become diluted or diverted through growth and fundraising. Niv's current challenge is that he is entering into his first week of fundraising and he has never raised funds before. He does have a concern in that he doesn't want any money that he raises to change the relationship that he has with his users and the fans of his business. He also wants to make sure that he meets the right investors who believe in the company and who won't require drastic changes to the soul of the organization. If there are any craft beer drinking VC's or Angels out there who are looking to get into fantasy sports, well ... you know who to call. When I asked Niv what he needs from the universe right now he told me that he wishes there were more hours in the day and cheaper coffee. As a solo entrepreneur he has a list of to do's that is constantly growing. In terms of advice for other entrepreneurs, he tells them to be open-minded. Niv has found that some of his best and most important ideas have come from hearing something that he didn't like at first. He would then think about those ideas, refine them, and come up with a solution that he was comfortable with. One other piece of advice that Niv has for other business leaders is that there are people out there who will consummate your vision in ways that you can't imagine ... so don't be stubborn. Current books that Niv is reading include the Master Switch, Don Quixote, and The Prints.

For more information on Ottoneu, you can visit their website at https://ottoneu.fangraphs.com. For more information on the beers featured in this post you can visit your local bar or craft brew shop. See you next week with a BLIB from David Shedd, VP and Co-Founder of Mindseye Solutions.

BLIB #7 - Neelu Modali, CEO of SM Resources & Naveen Krishnamurthy, CEO of Riva Solutions

Today's BLIB is extra special because it was done with two different business leaders at the same time.  It's kind of like the Doublemint commercial from the 80's, minus the big hair and sweater vests, and with way more beer.  We met up with Neelu Modali and Naveen Krishnamurthy at Earl's Kitchen and Bar in Tyson's Corner for some good old fashioned BLIB fun.  Both native to the D.C. area, both UMD graduates, and both formidable business leaders - Neelu and Naveen were a blast to be around.  Neelu runs SM Resources, a government contracting firm focused on Tech and Science consulting, which he grew from 10 employees to its current size of 250 employees.  Naveen runs Riva Solutions, a government contracting firm with about 70 employees, which focuses on providing 'out of the box' digital services to the federal government.  It was great seeing these two friends and business leaders talk about beers, bars, and business leadership.  After our get together I felt like I walked away knowing more about all three.

The Beer:
After engaging with Neelu for just a few minutes I realized I was in the company of a serious beer guru.  Neelu explained that he loves the culture of beer, the people at breweries, and the complexity of good beer.  As it turns out, Neelu was the one who got Naveen into drinking beer - or at least drinking better beer. Naveen admittedly drank Budweiser (58) and Corona (54) prior to being introduced to the beer scene.  For our first round, Neelu decided to drink an Atlas Rowdy Rye (83) and Naveen was throwing back a Flying Dog Raging Bitch (89).  I decided to go for a Hellbender Red Line IPA (NR), named after D.C.'s infamous Red Line.  When talking about favorite beers, Neelu mentioned recently drinking Firestone Walker's Parabola (100).  This beer consistently ranks with BeerAdvocate and RateBeer as one of the best beers in the country.  Neelu is part of a beer trading group and follows limited release beers and rare/hard-to-find beers.  This is a guy who knows what he wants, likes, and needs when it comes to beers.  Neelu called out Ocelot Brewing in Dulles, VA and Aslin Beer Company in Herndon, VA in particular for being great places nearby to drink some tasty beer.  Neelu and Naveen both mentioned enjoying Bourbon County Barrel Stout (100).  For those not familiar with this beer, it's brewed once a year, usually around Thanksgiving time and the beer itself is aged in actual bourbon barrels.  It is brewed by Goose Island (owned by Anheuser Bush) but with one sip of this delicious Stout all of your Craft Brewer vs. Mega Brewer concerns go out the window.  Naveen and Neelu also mentioned that they enjoy another rare and elusive beer, Founder's Kentucky Breakfast Stout (100).  KBS was made available in April of this year, and if you're interested in seeing when some of the other Founders' limited release beers will become available, you can view their calendar here.

The Bar:
I have to admit that at first I was skeptical of Earl's Kitchen and Bar.  A chain restaurant out of Canada and located in corporate-y Tyson's Corner did not pique my interest in the way that a small hole in the wall bar or restaurant would.  However, I found Earl's to be a beautiful restaurant with some interesting elements to it.  The service was fantastic, the beer was cold, and the food looked somewhat unique for what I'd imagine you'd get in Tysons.  Neelu, Naveen, and myself all agreed that while Earl's is a good scene with decent beer, it's not really a destination if you're looking for a wide variety of beer.  There are lots of local beers (and wine!) on tap.  I noticed many of the breweries were what I would consider to be the "usual suspects" of local breweries, like D.C.'s DC Brau and Hellbender, Salisbury, Maryland's Evolution, and Alexandria, Virginia's Port City.  But there wasn't much else in terms of beers from other areas, nor were there any small, local breweries on the list.  The list was also very Ale-heavy.  When I asked Naveen about the types of bars and restaurants he's into, he mentioned B-Side Restaurant in the Mosaic District of Fairfax, VA as well as ChurchKey in the Logan Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C.  Both guys recommended Macdowells Brew Kitchen in Leesburg.  Neelu told us that he's much more into breweries than bars, and has been to many, many breweries around the country.  He specifically called out Wicked Weed in Ashville, NC, Ballast Point in San Diego, CA,  and Hardywood in Richmond, VA.  Neelu tells BLIB'ers that they should never pass up an opportunity to try Hardywood's Christmas Morning Stout (94).

The Business Leader(s):
Next up I talked to Neelu and Naveen about business leadership.  Because they're friends and have a common background, it wasn't surprising to hear that they have a similar perspective on business leadership.  Neelu tells other business leaders that it's important to make sure your employees don't feel like they're a commodity. He also explained that we're in a different financial environment than we were back during the dot.com era when he started working, and that there are lots of hungry companies out there ready and willing to compete.  Neelu advised other business leaders to listen to today's beat, but also realize that things are changing constantly.  He'd like to see more opportunities for business leaders to sit down with one another and talk about things in a trusted, open, and vulnerable way and in a way in which everyone is open to learning new things.  When I asked Neelu what he needs from the universe right now he responded by saying that he needs to be able to leverage his time to his advantage.  Time, and the lack thereof, continues to be an important and reoccurring theme for business leaders.

Naveen had similar thoughts.  He noted that people are so used to things being done a certain way and they need to understand that innovation may mean doing things a different way.  He explained that innovation in the government has been relatively non-existent and that that needs to change.  Naveen also said that there's so much information online and available that you need to be able to use that information to your advantage.  One line that I love hearing Naveen say is: Everything in business is sales.  It's refreshing to see a CEO and business leader emphasize the importance of sales in business, because without sales revenue there is no business.  Naveen has also found that people tend to be motivated by things other than money.  They're motivated by communication, innovation, and being rewarded for doing good work  Naveen encourages other business leaders to have a regular dialogue with their employees and listen to what they have to say.  This sounds a lot like what Lily Cua from Aspire told us back in BLIB #3!

A huge thanks to Neelu Modali from SM Resources and Naveen Krishnamurthy from RIVA.  Our next beer swilling business leader will be Niv Shah, CEO and Co-Founder of Ottoneu, Inc.  See you next Wednesday.  

                                 

BLIB #6 - Daria Dubinina, CEO of Payment Ninja

I recently had the pleasure of drinking a few "remote" brews with Payment Ninja CEO Daria Dubinina.  Originally from the Ukraine, Daria has been flexing her entrepreneurial muscles since she was 21.  Prior to heading up Payment Ninja, she owned her own DJ'ing store and worked for a large payment  processing company by the name of RBK Money.  At RBK Money Daria started in customer service and worked her way up to becoming their VP of Global Business Development.  After RBK Money sold in 2015 Daria left to join one of her former co-workers on a new initiative - Payment Ninja - which she now leads.  Payment Ninja is a company that focuses on payment processing for small and medium-sized businesses.  Based in San Francisco, Daria tells me that Payment Ninja is the world's first free payment processing system.  In addition to processing payments for free, Payment Ninja also helps merchants sell more of what they're selling by helping them optimize their advertising.  Here's an example: Think about buying shoes on the internet.  Once you buy them, you don't need the shoes anymore...but you still see ads for the shoes.  Payment Ninja helps to make sure that future ads that you see are for laces (or shoe polish, or socks, or whatever) as opposed to the same shoes. Daria is Ukrainian but has also lived in Latvia and based on our discussion of various countries I could tell that she is a seasoned world traveler.  I knew Daria would make a great BLIB'er given that she likes beer, travels the world, and is an entrepreneur and business leader.

The Beer:
Daria and I kicked off our bi-coastal beer drinking session over Skype.  Daria told me that she likes to drink dark beers and that she enjoys the deep taste of beer (and that she doesn't like light beers that she can hardly taste).  Daria schooled me in the basics of Ukrainian beer and explained that while people in the Ukraine enjoy beer, there isn't a craft beer scene like there is in the U.S.  Don't go to the Ukraine and expect craft breweries on every corner that sell all different types of craft brews.  Daria explained that the Ukrainians tend to drink their beer for the effect, not for the taste.  Bottles of beer usually come in 2 liter sizes and are often are on the lighter side.  Because of this she finds the small 12 oz bottles we have in the U.S. strange, and she absolutely cannot stand drinking from cans.  Daria chose to pick up an Anchor Steam Porter (92) and a Lost Coast Downtown Brown (83).  I found it interesting that both of Daria's beers were from West Coast breweries.  Famous for their Anchor Steam beer, Anchor Brewing has a reputation for being a good regional beer that has made its way across the country.  Around since the late 1800's, Anchor was acquired by a San Francisco based group (The Griffin Group) back in 2010.  I always tend to think that what Anchor Brewing is to San Francisco, Shiner is to Austin/San Antonio -- good regional breweries that have managed to gain some national notoriety.  Lost Coast Brewery is a woman-owned brewery that has some fantastic beer (I like the 8 Ball Oatmeal Stout that they make).  I decided to represent D.C. by grabbing DC Brau's The Citizen (81) as well as an Atlas Brew Works' Rowdy (83) and spread the D.C. beer gospel.  The Citizen is a great Belgian style ale that you'll enjoy if like stronger trappist/belgian style beers.  I wasn't as big of a fan of the Rowdy.  Atlas calls it a Hop Forward Rye Ale.  It's a little too bitter for me, and you can definitely taste the hoppiness of the beer, but the rye spiciness was a little too much for me.

The Bar:
Since Daria and I were on Skype, we weren't able to talk about the bar that we were in.  Instead, we talked about some of Daria's favorite bars and restaurants.  I knew that Daria's status as a world traveler would mean I'd get some interesting recommendations from her.  Daria likes all sorts of food and enjoys pairing wine with Italian food and beer with Chinese/Asian food.  One of her favorite restaurant/bars is a local place called The Trident in Sausalito, California.  And one of Daria's go-to beer spots in San Francisco is Sessions.  She likes Sessions because of their great beer selection and variety.  I took a look at their online draft menu, which contained some great beers, including Heretic's Evil Twin (88) and Firestone's Doublejack (95).  Daria also recommended a restaurant in Latvia called The Three Chefs (for when our BLIB readers are in Latvia) and a Ukranian restaurant/bar whose name translates into The Sheep Hunter.  Daria told me that the latter is one of the best restaurants in Kiev, Ukraine.  Daria is lucky enough to live by the ocean, and when I originally asked her where she liked to drink beer (assuming she'd tell me a local bar), she told me that one of her favorite past-times is grabbing a bottle of beer and drinking it while sitting by the ocean.

The Business Leader:
Payment Ninja currently has 6 employees and will be hiring a few more developers and client support/account representatives in the near future.  They'll also be hiring in Europe.  The company is currently bootstrapped, but they may be looking for some investment at some point as well.  One of Daria's biggest challenges is "putting everything together" or assembling and joining all of the moving parts of her business.  She also mentioned that getting rid of fear and doubt and moving forward is incredibly important.  We heard that from Kevin May in our last BLIB as well!  It's becoming more and more obvious that CEO's and business leaders aren't immune from the fear and doubt bug.  When it comes to what Daria needs from the Universe, she told me that she would like to increase sales, which would then allow her to grow her company at a more rapid pace.  She also would like to continue thinking about how she could attract more investment into her company.  When I asked her what sort of advice she has for other business leaders, Daria told me this:  It's easy to give up, but don't.  Just keep working.  Make sure that there's movement every day.  Don't let fear get in the way of the work that you are doing.  Daria also encourages others to pick someone who you admire and ask yourself "what would that person do in my situation."  Daria is currently reading Dan Lyon's new book Disrupted and recommends others read it as well.