I attended the standing room only Technology Champions meeting at the Houston Technology Center last week and thought it was an excellent event.
The keynote was Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale. He was as energetic as one would expect from his Gallery Furniture television and radio commercials. He had a very positive attitude about the economic uncertainty. He reminded everyone that tough times don’t last, but tough people do. Even with the state of the economy right now, it’s not as bad as it was in 1983. One of the most important pieces of advice he gave was that entrepreneurs should try not to use debt to finance growth. You’ll come out ahead in the long run.
Other items of note from the meeting include an update from Michael Holthouse about Lemonade Day. The 2008 event saw over 1.2 million glasses of lemonade served, over $1 million raised and about $250,000 was donated back to several Houston charities.
John Beddow gave an update about Celebrate! Enterprise, which this year is being held from May 20-22, 2009. Look for more information from me in the coming weeks as PKF Texas is very involved.