Local businesswomen will host a preview of the new Ladies Who Launch Incubator Workshop on Monday, July 14, at Moonbounce Adventures, 300A Lawrence Drive, West Chester. The event begins at 7 p.m. and is free for attendees.

Ladies Who Launch, brought to southeastern Pennsylvania by Incubator Leader Megan L. Reese, takes typical networking a step further through its Incubator Workshop. Unlike typical business card exchanges, the Incubator is a program that focuses on what each individual woman needs in order to move forward with her business.

"According to the Center for Women's Business Research, since 2004 women have been launching businesses at nearly three times the rate of men," Reese says. "Ladies Who Launch is the first brand to acknowledge that women launch differently than men. We start our businesses for lifestyle reasons and grow them more organically. The Incubator is based on this concept."

The preview event will introduce women to Ladies Who Launch and the Incubator model, as well as give attendees an opportunity to connect with local women who have already experienced the workshop. These Incubator members will participate on a panel that will provide insight into the workshop's action-based activities.

"Women join the Incubator to obtain clarity for their business ideas and increase momentum," Reese says. "When the workshop is over, they've accomplished that, as well as made valuable connections, gained referrals and forged supportive relationships with other members."

In addition to the local in person Incubator, Ladies Who Launch offers an online community that provides women with tools, resources, social networking and PR opportunities designed to continue the momentum gained during the workshop.

Beth Strange, owner of Your Image Works in Oxford, is one of the businesswomen hosting the event. She participated in the first Incubator Workshop in April.

"Through Ladies Who Launch, I've been able to grow my business in ways I never could if I hadn't been part of the Incubator," Strange says. "I'm now part of a local group of amazing women with a unique perspective on launching, as well as an online community of over 50,000 women. As a result, I'm the preferred image consultant for a new local dating service and a featured speaker at a Philadelphia teen fashion camp."

In addition to Beth Strange, other Incubator members who will be on the panel include Michelle Bitzberger, Moonbounce Adventures; Grace McGhee, State Farm Insurance; Therese Jornlin, Bodywise; Karen Stockmal, Pepperlaw; and Megan Reese, Ladies Who Launch.

Ladies Who Launch is currently in over 50 market areas in the United States and Canada . Reese has a goal to grow the local in-person Incubator to at least 100 women by May 2009.

For additional information on the Ladies Who Launch Incubator Workshop Preview on July 14, or additional events, contact Megan L. Reese or visit http://www.ladieswholaunch.com/incubators/view/PA-Chester-County and http://businessnetwork.meetup.com/825/.

Founded in 2003, Ladies Who Launch is the first new media company and brand to define entrepreneurship as a lifestyle choice. Through its Incubator Intensive and Ongoing programs, Ladies Who Launch connects women in person and online to foster creativity, community and support — all with the aim of moving women forward with their businesses, personal goals and lives.

©The Phoenix 2008

The pet painter

By Holly Hayes
Mercury News
07/05/2008 01:32:34 AM PDT

The Bay Area's creativity extends to more than chips and software. In our midst are talented tinkerers and artistic souls who are producing some interesting stuff. Here's a look at one:

Who: Stephanie Lam, 25, who runs StudioPet out of her home in San Jose.

What she's making: Custom pet portraits in oil and acrylic.

How she got started: Lam has two great loves, she says, animals and art. "I've always had a passion for drawing animals from a very young age," Lam says. When she took some art classes while studying English at Santa Clara University, her creative spirit was reawakened. And then she adopted a pug she named Harley three years ago. "She became my constant muse," Lam says. "I did several paintings of her and discovered how much I missed" making art. "I realized I wanted art to be a focal point in my life again, something I really devoted myself to."

What happened next: She started painting other dog breeds and loved it so much she decided to launch StudioPet.

"I began going to dog-related events, showing my work and developed a great relationship with Happy Go Lucky Dog Boutiques," says Lam of the retail outlets located at Valley Fair and Oakridge shopping centers in San Jose.

Her favorite piece: "California Dreamin'," which features her pit bull, Miso Luvlee. "It's on display at the Valley Fair Happy Go Lucky Boutique. I love it because it marks a turning point for me artistically," Lam says.

"I'm working on a set of pieces right now that incorporate quite a bit of narrative and are tangential to portraits. 'Dreamin' ' was the impetus for those. I'm really excited about finishing the series and hope to have them on my site soon."

Where she finds inspiration: With the animals themselves. "I adore so many different kinds of animals and painting them is a way for me to explore their essence," Lam says. "I'm fascinated with the animal form and could study the way an ear flops or a tail swishes for hours. I study my dogs' faces and bodies all the time. A weird obsession, I suppose! I love going to dog shows, cat shows, bird shows, etc., to study the different breeds. There's such variety in the animal kingdom, even within one species like dogs or cats."

How she keeps challenged: "It's a good thing I can paint - otherwise I'd probably have a zoo!" she says. Lam recently took up photography and says that has informed her painting as well as being a fulfilling creative endeavor in itself.

A little riff on her art: When she found her way back to painting, it was a huge turning point. "I was incredibly unhappy with the life I was living. I wasn't doing an essential part of what I was put on this planet to do: make art," Lam says. "I firmly believe that we're all given gifts and a purpose that involves using those gifts. If you don't know what your gift is, find it. Figure out what electrifies your heart and brain. Once you do, it's your responsibility to create a life that allows you to pursue that. For some people it means a career change, but for others it may be as basic as surrounding yourself with positive people or creating a healthier living environment."

Personal: Lam has three dogs - Harley the pug, Chubby the French bulldog and Miso Luvlee the pit bull. The household also includes three cats: Ping Pong the Siamese, Trinket the Snowshoe and Ziggy the Maine coon mix. Lam is enrolled in SCU's MBA program. She also does volunteer work for Our Pack Inc., a pit bull rescue organization (www.ourpack.org). And she organizes three local meet-up groups: The San Jose Pug Meetup (http://pug.meetup.com/529), the French Bulldog Meetup (http://frenchbulldog.meetup.com/122) and the San Jose Pit Bull Meetup (http://apbt.meetup.com/123).

Where she works: Lam has a studio at home in a converted bedroom. "It's a small space, but I manage to have two easels set up along with a long table," she says. "I tend to go back and forth working between two or three pieces. I keep my palette and whatever paints and brushes I'm working with that day on a wheeled caddy next to my stool." She has covered the floor in foam mats that not only keep paint off the floor but save her feet, since she's standing most of her painting day. "I also have dog toys and beds in there so my dogs can hang out while I work."

Where to see her work: Check it out at www.studiopet.com. Lam also has some work and a mural up at the Happy Go Lucky Dog Boutique in Valley Fair.

Meetup embarks on a thirteen-city tour to meet community organizers

NEW YORK, NY, June 17 – Meetup will be hosting events in thirteen cities from June 15th through June 25th that will bring together over 300 local community organizers to help them help each other.

Meetup is a company that is creating the world’s largest network of community groups and local clubs around the world. Meetup makes it easy for anyone to create a local community resource for others in their town.

Staffers from Meetup’s NYC Headquarters (HQ) are taking their laptops on the road to meet Organizers and members face-to-face.
"Meetup Organizers are heroes that are working to create something great for others in their town. We are hitting the road this summer to help them connect with each other and for us to learn more about how we can help them," says Douglas Atkin, Chief Community Officer of Meetup.

The Meetup Team will be in the following cities to listen and help Organizers share stories, exchange best practices and collaborate. Meetup will even provide seed funding of $500 for the Meetup Organizers in attendance at each city to use to promote all local Meetups in their town:

June 15th: San Francisco, CA, Washington, DC
June 16th: Sacramento, CA, Baltimore, MD
June 17th: Orlando, FL – 7pm at Erik’s on Eola
June 17th: Austin, TX – 7pm at the Central Market Cafe
June 18th: Tampa, FL – 6pm at The Spain Restaurant/Toma Bar
June 18th: San Antonio, TX – 7pm at the Blue Star Brewing Company
June 18th: Raleigh, NC - 7pm at Tir Na Nog
June 19th: Durham, NC - Blue Coffee Cafe
June 20th: Boston, MA – 7pm at The Democracy Center
June 21st: Providence, RI – 1pm at Twist on Angell
June 25th: New York, NY – 7pm at the Ripley-Grier Studios, Room 16FG

Some of the local groups that will be represented on the tour include Entrepreneur and business groups, Lupus, Breast and survivor groups, new in town and social groups, hiking and outdoor groups, political and activism groups.

Members of the press are welcomed to attend. Contact Meetup for additional information.

About Meetup
Meetup is the world's largest network of self-organized clubs and community groups. Founded in 2002 and based in New York City, with over 3 million members in 130 countries and growing, Meetup provides a website (www.meetup.com) and service that makes it easy for anyone to start or join a Meetup.

Contact:
Douglas Atkin
Chief Community Officer
212-255-7327
douglas@meetup.com

How Meetup Tore Up the Rule Book

The popular Web site company's radical experiment is putting employees in charge

CEO Heiferman (foreground) has let workers become their own bosses (Chris Mueller/Redux)

by Heather Green
BW Magazine

The management revolt at Meetup Inc. broke into the open last February. Douglas Atkin, a senior manager, yanked CEO Scott Heiferman into a conference room and showed him a list scrawled on a whiteboard. In bright red letters were all the things Atkin felt were wrong at the New York startup, including "We Aren't a Creative Company" and "I Hate the Org Chart." Atkin pressed his boss to change course. "We need to blow this up and start all over again," he said.

Meetup is a company built on organization. Through its Web site, people can set up local groups for everything from sharing organic gardening tips online to marshaling volunteers for political campaigns. But as the company grew to 52 employees and 5 million members, Meetup's own organization buckled. It was failing at the very thing that was supposed to be its expertise.

What followed Atkin's confrontation was a management experiment that shook the company. Heiferman replaced the old org chart with a highly unusual management strategy in which workers set priorities and pick their own projects. Inspired by the people who use its service, Meetup loosened the reins and dispersed power. For some workers, it felt like chaos, and they fled. Others thrived.

The process is still under way, but the results so far are largely positive. Morale is up, and the company is cranking out products. On June 10, Meetup plans to unveil a slew of features, including a site redesign, a new payment system, and a method for translating Meetup into other languages. "We got more done in six weeks than in six months last year," says Heiferman, who expects the projects to boost revenues tenfold, to $100 million, by 2010.

Meetup's approach isn't for everyone. But for managers, especially those responsible for younger workers with attitudes and expectations so different from those of earlier generations, the experiment holds lessons: Giving up control can lead to better results. Your workers may have better ideas than you. Gary Hamel, who wrote The Future of Management, predicts more companies will adopt flexible organizations to accommodate Internet Age workers and profit from their skills. "With information so broadly shared now, the sources of influence and power are eroding," he says. Companies already using such approaches include Whole Foods Market (WFMI), and W.L. Gore & Associates, the $2 billion maker of Gore-Tex.

At Meetup, the recent changes were designed to break through layers of bureaucracy that had piled up. Last year, for example, the company established a controversial review board that, along with managers, oversaw what workers could do. Employees talked about being "metrified," or so focused on metrics there was no room for new ideas.

A few months after the review board was established, Atkin cracked. Heiferman listened, sensing he had a problem. For a week in February, Meetup's execs brainstormed alternatives. They considered modest tweaks. But Greg Whalin, head of technology, kept pushing to give workers more control.
WORKING HARDER

On Feb. 21, Heiferman gathered the staff to sketch out the new ground rules. Employees will decide which projects get tackled first. They'll organize themselves into teams to tackle projects. All existing work will be put on hold. One by one, people stood up and volunteered things they wanted to change. The crowd got rowdy, clapping and shouting out their ideas. The execs left and employees spent five hours deciding who would work on what.

Work patterns changed immediately. With more control, many worked harder than ever. Heiferman is shocked at how fast projects have come together. Still, uncertainty remains. Managers worry employees will pick frivolous projects. Some workers are uncomfortable without specific jobs or authority. "People question what their professional growth will be," says product manager Maya Voskoboynikov.

Many companies couldn't operate with workers calling so many of the shots. Consulting and advertising firms have to answer to clients. Size matters, too. As companies grow, experts say most need hierarchy to keep people moving in the same direction. "As someone who has spent his entire life saying 'Liberate people,' I believe you need systems," says Tom Peters, the prominent management consultant.

Heiferman isn't throwing out systems entirely. A strategy group tracks how changes affect revenue and customer growth. And the CEO reserves the right to pull what he calls the "red cord" on projects headed in the wrong direction. He hasn't had to use it. At least not yet.

Meetup.com: Just don't call it dating

Meetup brings together people with similar interests, such as hiking, wine-tasting--even Dumpster-diving.

By Amy Albert
May 4, 2008

I've had friends--and friends of friends--fix me up. I've placed personal ads in the New York Review of Books. I've tried speed dating. I've posted on Match.com, Matchmaker, EHarmony, Yahoo, Salon, JDate, the Right Stuff and Science Connection. Countless inter- views and auditions for emotional compatibility, intellectual sparks and physical chemistry--things that are supposed to happen naturally--make you feel as if you've given a pint of blood. And that's no way to meet someone.Recently, a friend and I were catching up over dinner at the Medusa Lounge. The bar started filling up, but not with the young hipsters we were expecting. These were people our age--in their 40s--and older. A guy in a brocade jacket and a fez with a blinking light on top darted around introducing people, though many seemed to know each other. It was obviously a singles thing. But not like any I'd ever seen.

We were witnessing a confab of Dive Bar Adventures Inc. and the Los Angeles Baby Boomers Social Network. We had stumbled on a Meetup.

Blinking Fez Man handed out playing cards to get newcomers mingling. First one with a royal flush gets a free drink! The thing smacked of bonhomie, not desperation. I hadn't seen so many single men my age in the same place since college. Could this be my ticket out of EHarmony?

Meetup.com was started in 2002 by dot-commer Scott Heiferman in an effort to revive face-to-face socializing. In 2004, Howard Dean supporters used Meetups as a powerful campaign tool. The site now has 3 million members in more than 130 countries. Some 43,000 groups cover 3,500 interests, political and personal.

Logging on for the first time is like finding Atlantis. There are clubs for every cause you can name and some you can't (acrobatic yoga or Dumpster diving, anyone?). Nearly 2,000 exist within a 25-mile radius of L.A.; new ones pop up daily. Drinking and hiking Meetups are the most popular.

Finally, I did it. I went to a Meetup. At a cafe around the corner, the Los Angeles French Language Meetup was having a Sunday brunch. Easy enough: If I hated it, I could walk home.

The dozen attendees, most in their 20s and 30s, were a friendly mix of native speakers and beginners. We took over a couch-lined alcove; those with similar fluency found each other naturally. I ended up next to Charlie Keenan, a 43-year-old financial writer with whom I shared a lively, wide-ranging, two-hour-long gabfest. He mentioned a girlfriend, but so what? I was having a blast jabbering in French.

At the Los Angeles Wine (& Food) Meetup, 15 budding oenophiles showed up for a tasting at Monsieur Marcel in the Farmers Market at 3rd and Fairfax, led by 30-year-old wine importer Jean-Baptiste Dhalluin. His selections were good--a surprisingly complex Muscadet, a soft, earthy, Côtes de Nuits-Villages. I sat next to Sang Muthui, a computer software designer in her early 30s who's a regular. Was she here to find someone? Nope. It's about the wine, she said. Lucky and Ian, two guys in their early 30s, said the same thing.

Really?

Bret Hampton, 58, a film and video editor and one of the organizers of the French-speakers group, explains: "If a guy showed up to meet women and was too forward, other members might run interference. It becomes a community." Is Hampton in it to meet women? "That would be nice," he says, "but it's not why I joined."

Well, if a stranger asked if I were there to meet guys, I'm not sure I'd cop to it either. But people, come on! We're talking about rooms full of friendly, like-minded souls.

Dhalluin says socializing--to meet both friends and dates--is as much a part of his Meetups as is the wine.

"I won't say I've seen people getting married," he says, "but I've seen them find dates." Members post their photos online, he points out, so if there's someone interesting you didn't get to talk to, it's easy to see the next Meetup he or she signed up for or send a message.

Chris Kaufman--he of the blinking fez--is married, 43, and an organizer of Dive Bar Adventures as well as Culture Sponges and a Gen-X support group. So, I ask him, are people hooking up at Meetups?

"It's to make pals and explore the city," he says. "But the straight answer is yes."

A former software entrepreneur now studying sociology at UCLA, Kaufman advises members looking for love to proceed with caution. "See the person on a few more Meetup dates and get to know them first," he says. "If there's an intense spark, great. If not, at least you've built a friendship. And ask if they have any friends outside of the Meetup. It's a small community."

Again, the C word: community. It reminds me of how isolating Internet dating has been in all its single-minded efficiency. But when you're doing your thing--and for every thing there is a Meetup--the pressure is off. You're not auditioning for anything. You're opening yourself up to serendipity. And that is a way to meet someone.

This isn't news. But it's easy to forget when you're shopping hard for love.

Dhalluin has delicious wines to introduce me to. It's great to be speaking French again, and I can't wait to see what kind of surfing Meetups are out there. As for Financial Writer Guy from the French-speakers' Meetup, he's adorable and we have tons in common. Yeah, I know, he has a girlfriend. But if there's one like him out there, there must be more. *

At Meetups, the pressure is off. You're not auditioning for anything. You're opening yourself up to serendipity.

Amy Albert is a senior associate editor at Bon Appetit magazine. Contact her at magazine@latimes.com.