Done and done (almost)

Finals are ALMOST over, we have two more, and I feel pretty confident about them. After that, one week strategy module, and the summer is here.

In the end I opted out of an internship to work on two consecutive business plans, one to generate a steady income stream to my and a colleagues bank accounts, it’s a website, it serves a niche that is yet unexploited in Spain, and Europe, so growth opportunities are there; with the second business plan being something that I believe to be somewhat revolutionary, super cool, and dealing with the renewable energy sector. This latter one will probably take most of my time, but should it work, and should I be able to pawn it off on someone like Acciona, Syngenta, or Virgin Fuels, I may just have this MBA paid for.

Moving on, since I will be here this summer, and since an opportunity presented itself, I have gone ahead and for the price of 350€ bought wheels. Yup, I’ve got a moto. Picture, enclosed. It’s 100cc, works great, and I just need to get another mirror (approximate cost 12€) cause some schmo stole it. That bastard. And yes, I will be careful, I like life a bit too much not to be.

And finally, on the 11^th, a fine young strapping Panamanian lad, (Pierre) is moving into our flat. So that’s that. Year one was a ridiculous learning experience, and I really can’t vocalize just how much it is we actually learned. Moreover, it’s actually applicable knowledge, which given whatever career I find myself in will undoubtedly help me in the future.

Oh yeah, and I’m really looking forward to the summer. Cheers.

By the way... this is Pierre.

I found something

A long long time ago, I wanted to be a writer. Still do actually, I have a book that's about 1/2 finished given my mum hasn't thrown out the pages. It's hand written you know, what a terrible idea that was. But coming back to my previous point, and the title of this post, I found something, and I want to share it with you. I believe I wrote this some time between 1997-1998, wow, almost 10 years ago. Hope you enjoy it.

"The night was now gone forever and the day it had just begun, the sound of the nearby water fountain was like extremely profound perfume that the anxious child wares. Time, it was absolute to them, the Jack Daniels flowing nearly muted by the song of the dawn. They had swarmed together in pity of one another. I saw it all, I tell you. The gaiety and cheer, the dancing and lust in a massive orgy of licentious desire and passion swooned by the irrevocable effects of alcohol. They ride the stallions; exhausted and beguiled by their own savvy acts they stop. So they too feel the hurt and smell the perfume of the fountain. They are going to sleep now, I will join them, a sleep to sleep for ages, perhaps, we will not be woken up. "

Cheers,

- Jacek

We're almost at the end of year one.

A small update

Honestly, it’s been a while, and while there are numerous things to write about I simply don’t know where to start. Last I left this blog was approximately a month ago. What has happened since then? Mostly a lot of work, the third term is intense, and I’m happy to say that given the scope of the past seven or so months I have learned more than I thought possible. This is stemming from operations, to marketing to finance, as well as a lot about me, and this is not strictly a result of the LEAD class. But what really is breathtaking is that we’re almost wrapping up the 1^st year at ESADE. We have, give or take three more weeks and that’s it c’est finis. Then we all part ways and leave for the summer, each on our own path.

I’ve pretty much narrowed down my options to a couple. I’m still waiting to hear back from a few companies, and one in Barcelona regarding a summer job, which given the context of my other option (which I will soon cover) would be ideal, as I really want to spend the summer here. The job option is in Switzerland (still waiting to hear back from this one as well), and then the final one, the one that I really want.

So what is it? Well, since about the middle of term one, I was playing around with an entrepreneurial idea, quite a good one too, but as we started digging into the possibility it soon became evident that an initial investment of a couple million € would have been necessary, not to mention a slew of issues pertaining to digital rights management. And for anyone who knows anything about DRM, it is an absolute disaster trying to wade those waters. Now, there’s sprung up another idea, one with much lower development costs, just as much potential, and better yet in a growing market than one which is just trying to forge itself. So risk, reward, we’re going for the new one.

So why do I want to stay in Barcelona? Because my business partner is here, communication would be easier than say if I were stuck in Zurich, and we could hypothetically get this thing to launch January 2008 (And I really mean hypothetically, because S.A. will undoubtedly slow things down). So now, choices. Should I follow the instant gains from an internship? Should I couple an internship with this project, and if I do will I have an adequate amount of time to devote to both? And finally what if it doesn’t work, will not having an internship in any way, jeopardize my future employment plans. After all there is the MBA tab to settle with Sallie Mae? Choices, choices, choices… In the end, I think I’m going to follow my gut on this one. Let’s just hope my gut is right.

And on a final note, the cleaning lady broke my desk lamp, que puta. (kidding)