Rowebbiz

Yep, it’s the time for the first Scam Of The Day post.

I’ve been seeing these guys : http://www.iq-test.ro placing their ads on Google, on AdBrite and on almost every fill all/bad quality ad network and exchange I know.

How does the scam work ? Pretty easy. You fill a meaningless iq test and then you are asked to send an SMS ( extra charges apply, of course) to receive your IQ Test.

Due to the sheer volume of this campaign, it’s pretty likely that they’re making some good money from the poor(stupid) people that fall for it.

Now that you know about the scam you can either:
a. Bulit a similar “business” yourself or
b. Do something to shut them down .

Good luck !

I had a very pleasurable experience at my first SeedMoney Wednesday breakfast.

I met up with Val early around Unirii Square at my place and then bravely took on the terrible morning traffic+snow. We arrived early for some reason, only to discover the lovely Cristina Bleoju ( Ivanka.ro and Seedmoney) waiting outside for the Cafe Zu people to arrive.

The event can be described as “constructive fun”. We listened to instructive speaker presentations, watched a demo of the XTWIP product and heard a couple of pitches each followed by lively Q&A sessions. All this happened while enjoying coffee and cakes just like friends do.

The attendees of the event are enthusiastic, successful and positive. A crowd that I like. I enjoyed meeting and talking to Cristina Bleoju, Victor Anastasiu, Daniel Tiganila, Bogdan Bocse and his colleague Andreica, Sorin Matei, Costin Oane, the twins. I hope to catch up with all the other interesting people I didn’t talk to.

Seedmoney manages to create a unique “feel-at-home” atmosphere and I have to admit this is something I’ve been missing professionally. Belonging to a group is very important for the mind & soul and I will surely attend again.

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Also today, after the SeedMoney breakfast, I’ve received my first Christmas present from the great people at the Transilvania Bank. Thanks to Carmen (branch director), Gabriela  and Alex(my direct contacts) and Ema(my first great account manager) my life has been so much easier. I owe to you guys an important part of my achievements and I’m really proud to know you.

Launch48 is a series of entrepreneurial events and conferences for people who want to start a web business. It’s goal is to create and launch a web business in 48 hours.

Thanks to Cristi Manafu, which I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting yet, but seems quite a capable individual, this event is going to take place for the first time in Romania. This is the first Launch48 event to take place outside the UK.

The event is due quite soon, between the 7th and 9th of December.

It will take place in association with NetCamp. From what I have digged up, Netcamp is an event that helps attendees with information about starting their own business. The list of speakers is strong, so the information presented will be of great value for any newcomers in the field of ro-online.

This combined event seems like a great opportunity for anyone and everyone who “does”/goes online. Be it that you are a newbie/aspiring young business man or be it that you are a veteran of the online field, you should attend or participate.

For the veterans, chances are you’ll benefit from great networking ( I’ll be there ! ) and for the apprentices, this is a great chance to prove your worth and to test your abilities.

I will try to participate as a viewer, so we might have a chance to meet.

More details:

Netcamp presentation

Launch48 official site

PS: Finally a post about online business.

I am interested in pursuing an MBA. Why, you might ask. I want to further my knowledge and abilities, I want to better represent the people that work for me, I want to expand my network, I want to enrich my life and be able to do more.

So far, I have a list of 5 universities that are under my radar.

The individual reasons for choosing each of these MBA/universities vary, but the aggregate sum of the advantages of each of them ranks them top 5 from my selection pool.

First, I always dreamed of going to MIT. First on my list is MIT Sloan with their LGO( Leaders for Global Operations) program.

Then, I have Sorbonne Graduate School of Business in Paris, Rotterdam Erasmus University, Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School and Warwick in England.

I was very happy to learn that 3 of these universities were going to show up at the Intercontinental Hotel in Bucharest under the MBA Access Tour . I immediately booked a spot and printed some resumes.

Upon my arrival I discovered that none of these 3 universities were there. Moreover, from a list of over 20 schools, only half were present. No one was informed.

This was not all. We were forced to stand in a line while a slow process of registration took place. For me, it took over 20 minutes of standing in line to finish the process. I immediately discussed these issues with the organizers, but to no avail.

As with all events of such nature, the quality of the people that show up and the opportunities for networking are strong.

I had the chance to interact with some very bright, very motivated people. Romanians. This was very entertaining.

As a side note, meeting such people, knowing that they exist, gives you hope that this country has a good chance to change.

I would argue that our attitude is changing. Slowly, but surely.

On my way to the event, I had a long conversation with my taxi driver. He used to work as a ship builder in Constanta. He was sad because he could not help his daughters get a house. He had a rough life and barely made ends meet. As most, he hated the nobody’s with fast cars and stolen money.

He told me how he has always told his girls to learn. He mentioned saying to his girls: “Me and your mother were stupid. We did not study. That’s why we’re poor. You learn and you will have a good life”.

I went on to tell him that people such as himself were the true backbone of Romania. The kids that he brought up will lead good lives because of how he raised them. His kids will create wealth and prosperity for this country. I ended telling him I was proud to meet him and wished him well.

Earlier today, I got a phone call from an online store where I usually order some t-shirts and accessories. I made a new order and had to hack their site to leave a comment to the order. Their front end system was not working. I told them that because they have almost doubled their prices in one year, I will not be buying as much as I used to.

Cornelia, their representative, was very nice and thanked me for the feedback. I shared some thoughts with her and was very open. She even decided to give me a discount.

I started this article as a review for the MBA event. I digressed, it ended as a support for hope. Hope that the future of this country is not grim, but bright.

UPDATE: Actually I am amazed that I did not know about the Berkley MBA program near Silicon Valley. It’s listed as one of the top MBA’s by the FT rankings. Luckily, I have been keeping touch with an admission officer from Duke and she mentioned it.

Amazingly, it’s quite cheap, going only for about 30.000-40.000 US.

MIT and Berkley are the top 2 choices. I will update once I get in touch with someone from Berkley. Wish me luck .