August 31, 2007 by jack petrie.

CresaPartners will host the New York Software Industry Association’s Sales & Marketing Special Interest Group’s September 5th, 2007 panel discussion on The Psychology of Selling - Using Influence Techniques to Close More Sales.

Three Esteemed Experts

The panel will consist of three experts on sales training, development and influence techniques: Lawrence Sharpe, Director of the Neo-Sage Institute; Robert Heiss, President of Sandler Sales Institute and Dr. Edward M. Petrosky, Leadership Consultant and Executive Coach with Tools For Success.

Neo-Sage Institute - Lawrence Sharpe/Director

Larry has a varied background which began in the United States Marines, continued with English instruction in Japan at The Okinawa International Center and a marketing stint at the Armed Forces Radio & Television Network. Upon returning to the US, he started a family business before leaving to work with the former NYC Police Chief, Bill Bratton, in corporate sales of Pre-employment Screening & Background Investigations. From their he moved through several very different sales positions with diverse organizations including Craftmatic Organization, Honda of America, Powerhouse Maintenance Prime Distribution Inc. and WOR Radio. Currently, at Neo-Sage Institute, he is passing on this wealth of knowledge and experience.

Sandler Sales Institute - Robert Heiss /President

Robert is the founder and owner of Sandler Sales Institute, which specializes in business development strategies, sales productivity training and executive coaching. Bob’s experiences as salesman, Regional Manager and VP of Sales have taught him that a focus on successful behaviors, attitudes and techniques can help people overcome self-limiting beliefs and achieve personal and professional visions. Bob is an experienced public speaker and published author of many articles on sales and marketing.

Tools for Success - Dr. Edward M. Petrosky/Leadership Consultant

Dr. Petrosky is a psychologist by training who utilizes his insights into people, relationships and group dynamics to improve employee engagement, commitment and teamwork. His services include organizational consultation, executive coaching and staff development and training. Dr. Petrosky entered his profession to help people rise to life’s challenges and realize their potential. He has consulted organizations on such issues as increasing alignment with organizational mission and vision, increasing emotional intelligence, improving customer service and retention and reducing workplace anger.

The panel discussion will be held from 8-10AM at CresaPartners, 100 Park Avenue (40th-41st Streets), 24th Floor, New York, NY.

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August 29, 2007 by jack petrie.

CresaPartners recently cosponsored the 8/15/2007 iBreakfast’s Innovator Evening at 140 Broadway with judges naming MyHound the winning presenter. The presentations were judged by Josh Brotstein of SAS Investors, Thomas Blum of G.C. Andersen Partners, LLC and Rosalind Resnick of Double R Ventures LLC.

SAS Investors - Josh Brotstein
Founded in January 2001, SAS Investors was formed to facilitate the creation and growth of seed- and early-stage technology companies in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions (New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Rhode Island). Located in New York City and backed by Canaan Partners, Rho Capital Partners, and Sevin Rosen Funds, three of the country’s largest and most prominent venture capital firms, SAS Investors is positioned as one of the region’s leading backers and builders of core technology companies.

Prior to co-founding SASI, Josh has developed and operated business units for Fortune 100’s in the media, communications, and financial services industries, specifically heading up the Internet content and commerce efforts for NBC, Citibank, Prodigy, and CNBC.

G.C. Andersen Partners, LLC - Thomas Blum
G.C. Andersen Partners, LLC is a premier, New York City based boutique merchant bank that advises and invests in emerging growth and middle market companies. The firm was founded in 1996 by G. Chris Andersen, a former Vice Chairman of PaineWebber and a former head of the Investment Banking Group at Drexel Burnham Lambert. The six partners, five of whom were senior bankers at Drexel, have an average of over 25 years of investment banking and principal investing experience and have worked together extensively over their careers. During their careers, they have consummated hundreds of transactions, representing over $100 billion in value. To date, G.C. Andersen Partners has made 18 investments totaling approximately $57 million with a realized return of $259 million (unrealized value of $7.4 million) and an IRR of 222%.

Thomas has spent 22 years as an investment banker and an investor in private equity and venture capital opportunities. Before joining G.C. Andersen Partners in 2006, Thomas ran Channel Capital LLC, a firm he founded in 2001 to provide venture capital and financial advisory services to emerging companies. While with Channel Capital, he became an active angel investor, backing eleven companies. Mr. Blum serves on the Board of Directors of Landauer Metropolitan Inc., Supertron Technologies, Inc. and Interactive Frontiers, Inc. He received a BS in Engineering from Princeton University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Double R Ventures LLC - Rosalind Resnick
Double R Ventures offers a broad range of advisory, consulting and private equity investing services to startups and emerging businesses. Founded by Rosalind Resnick, one of the Internet’s best-known entrepreneurs and strategists, Double R Ventures seeks to partner with a select group of dynamic companies and individuals to create value on and off the Net.

Rosalind Resnick, a former business and computer journalist who built her Internet marketing company, NetCreations, Inc., from a two-person home-based startup to a public company that generated $58 million in sales, is the Founder and CEO of Axxess Business Centers, Inc., the leader in strategic consulting, business plan development and outsourced financial and marketing services for startups and emerging businesses. She co-founded NetCreations in March 1995 and served as the company’s CEO and President until December 2001, pioneering the concept of 100% Opt-In® email marketing in 1996 and spearheading the company’s successful IPO in 1999. In 1994, Ms. Resnick co-authored The Internet Business Guide and, from 1994 to 1997, served as the editor and publisher of Interactive Publishing Alert, a semi-monthly newsletter tracking trends and developments in online publishing and advertising. Her articles about entrepreneurship and small business regularly appear in Entrepreneur.com, and Rosalind has been a guest lecturer at Harvard, NYU and Pace University business schools. Rosalind received B.A. and M.A. degrees in History from The Johns Hopkins University in 1981. She serves on the board of Do Something, Inc., a New York-based not-for-profit organization that empowers young people to change their world.

MyHound - Ardy Khazaei, President
MyHound.com is a website where users sign up for e-mail notifications of new CD and book releases, concerts, tour dates, and other events related to their favorite artists - from famous rock stars and bestselling authors to indie bands, unknown actors and niche writers. The company’s services are based on the belief that consumers are devoted to their cultural interests and eagerly anticipate news related to their favorite artists.

“MyHound.com’s strategy is to focus on the passions of its users,” said Ardy Khazaei, President of My Hound Media. “They no longer have to worry about missing a new release from a favorite artist or author - MyHound.com will alert them, giving them peace of mind and control over the information that they receive. In addition, our breadth of coverage across entertainment categories gives our users the convenience of a ‘one-stop shop,’ and keeps them coming back for more.”

MyHound.com solves two problems in the cluttered online information environment. First, consumers want relevant, accessible and accurate information about their particular favorite artists- personalized rather than generic or irrelevant. This need is particularly acute in the case of lesser known artists and performers who form the “long tail” of their industries. Second, marketers seek greater accuracy and effectiveness in reaching specific, targeted audiences.

My Hound Media was founded by Ardy Khazaei, a media industry executive with experience in traditional and digital media, as well as management consulting.

Parseon - Rosemary Polsky-Newman, CBO
Parseon Inc. reads through and parses scientific text in specific “verticals” such as life sciences, and promises results almost as good as human indexers, but at a fraction of the cost. Chief Business Officer Rosemary Polsky-Newman got a nod by being asked for her business plan. She says Parseon’s technology uses natural language processing and does things that a generalized search can’t.

ODA Consulting - Roger Dean, President
ODA Consulting is the leading provider of innovative management and technology solutions, with an emphasis on processes and procedures. Founded in 2001 to ensure the reliability and accuracy of television and radio production, integration, and distribution, ODA Consulting has expanded to become a technology solution provider serving a variety of industries, including financial services, manufacturing, healthcare, and advertising.

Roger Dean is a strategist who is equally capable of developing technology in response to management visions as he is in executing detailed and complex media projects. His work has involved the design and execution of solutions in New York, London, Hong Kong and Tokyo. The most visible example is the huge, block-length LED sign on the front of 745 7th Avenue in New York City, a project that included the associated analog and digital backroom hardware and the coordination of the corporate visual message.

Day:37 LLC - Stuart Ginsberg , Producer & Partner
Stuart Ginsberg began his career in entertainment public relations, publicizing independent films, television specials and Broadway shows. His experience includes film festival strategies, branding, unit publicity and grass roots marketing. His last producing project, Followers, garnered numerous film festival awards and received national distribution by Castle Hill Productions. For the film, Ginsberg raised finishing funds, oversaw marketing and branding and arranged sales meetings. Ginsberg has also produced short films, commercials and industrial videos. Ginsberg was a founding member of the “Back East Picture Show”, a film festival in Hoboken, New Jersey, aimed at helping the independent filmmaker. Previously, he was the Director of Communications for the School of Visual Arts and earned his B.A. from American University in Washington, D.C.Also presenting were television.com, llc - Eric Illowsky/President, Design Buggy - Chris Kincade/CEO and Nonprofit Sponsorship Network - Wendell Minnick, CEO.

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August 24, 2007 by jack petrie.

Altana Exits “Henri Bendel” Building

Altana AG, the German chemical and pharmaceutical firm, recently negotiated a termination of its New York City leasehold at 712 Fifth Avenue. Altana AG was represented by Kristian Hansen and Jack Petrie of CresaPartners.

The lease termination was in part driven by the historically hot Plaza District real estate market, as demonstrated by asking rentals at 712 Fifth Avenue which currently exceed $150 per rentable square foot (”RSF”) per annum. This boutique building, built in 1990, is home to many legendary fashion companies, including Christian Dior, Roberto Cavalli, Canali and the retail presence of Henri Bendel.

Boutique Building Caters to High-End Financial Services Firms

In 1991 when the building opened, asking rents were in the $50-65/rsf range. However, the current rising rents have been fueled by the property’s attraction to financial services firms, particularly private equity firms and hedge funds, which tend to be less sensitive to market rental economics.

Current tenants at 712 Fifth Avenue include hedge funds Elliott Associates, founded by billionaire Paul Singer and San Francisco-based TSG; investment firms Mannheim LLC, NCH Capital Advisors and Vector Group; CVC Capital Partners, a private equity firm; and real estate firms Buttonwood Real Estate, Sonnenblick-Goldman, Pierson Capital (construction finance), The Gale Company and Stockbridge Capital.

The first five stories of the property are landmarked, formerly housing the Rizzoli Building and a Coty perfumerie with windows designed by Rene Lalique. With the recent influx of financial services firms relocating into the property, already some of the fashion companies have begun to relocate to more affordable locations.

Strong 2007 Performance by Specialty Chemical Firm

Altana AG, meanwhile, has posted robust growth in the first six months of 2007, with sales (€705.7 million) up by over 7 percent and earnings (€125.2 million) up by over 22 percent, based on double-digit earnings increases in all four company divisions (BYK Additives & Instruments, Eckart Effect Pigments, Elantas Electrical Insulation and Actega Coatings & Sealants).

“In the first half-year of our new group structure as a pure specialty chemicals company we have demonstrated a very satisfying development and were able to increase sales and earnings substantially,“ stated Dr. Matthias Wolfgruber, CEO of Altana AG. “We have thus successfully lived up to the confidence placed in us by the capital markets and the general public after the new start of Altana and we are well positioned to continue our path of profitable growth into the future.“

The termination of the 712 leasehold will make a small but high profile reduction in occupancy costs in the near term for Altana AG.

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August 16, 2007 by jack petrie.

CresaPartners recently hosted the July 26, 2007 iBreakfast panel discussion on “Search Opens Up”. Here is a quick rundown….

Is there still a way to profit from Search? Experts say just 1% of this market is worth a billion. This recent iBreakfast lined up contenders for the next wave of Search. And there are plenty…..

Can newcomers really take on Google?

New companies have figured out a host of ways that Google can be improved - from the quality of search to the relevance of the ads. The biggest leaps are: Natural Language Search - where the engine understands concepts rather than just keywords and delivers smarter results. But there is more and experts see a host of new opportunites opening up from:

• Social Search: Tags, collaborative, open source

• People Search - paid editors

• Open Source Server Farms: enabling people to create their own search methods

Panelists included:

Hakia, Inc.
Melek Pulatkonak is the Chief Operating Officer at Hakia, Inc., the Web’s first meaning based search engine. Hakia is a NY-based company with major VC-backing that offers Web 3.0 search based on a system that understands meaning and not just keywords. They believe advanced, high-value searches will depend on this difference.

Guidester
Joe Chin has been CEO of Guidester, Inc. since co-founding the company, originally known as Decidia, Inc., in early 2000. After leading Decidia through its initial growth as an enterprise business, he repositioned it as a paid search company in 2005 and rebranded it as Guidester, Inc. Since the rebrand, Chin has leveraged his 15 years of Internet and entrepreneurial experience to oversee Guidester’s strategic direction and manage its day-to-day operations.

Stephen E. Arnold
Stephen is an internationally renowned search expert and author of “The Google Legacy.” He sees major opportunities in social search, human intermediated search and smarter meaning-based search.

ThinkSeer
Wil Reynolds is the founder of ThinkSeer. Over the past 9 years, Wil has dedicated himself to doing two things well: driving traffic to sites from search engines and analyzing the impact that traffic has on the bottom line of companies. Wil’s career began at a web marketing agency in 1999, where he spearheaded the SEO strategies for companies like Barnes & Noble, Disney, Harman Kardon, Debeers, Doubleclick, Hotjobs, and Mercedes Benz USA (to name a few). Although the internet bubble burst, Wil’s passion for web marketing has always been strong. Wil founded SEER Interactive, a Philadelphia-based SEO firm in 2002.

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August 15, 2007 by jack petrie.

2nd Quarter 2007 Market Report

Tenant’s Viewpoint

With no indication of weakening in any of Manhattan’s submarkets, landlords continue to maintain their tough negotiation stances. Fewer spaces in good condition are available, thereby increasing tenants’ overall costs via capital costs required to build out space. The gap between Midtown Class A and B asking rents increased from $17.02 per rentable square foot (”rsf”) in the first quarter of 2006 to $28.55/rsf today, indicating continued strong demand for prime buildings. Downtown Class A rents appear to be leveling off (although a $75/rsf asking rent was spotted recently) while Class B asking rents continue to climb. The significant increase in both asking rents and absorption in Midtown South are evidence of tenants searching for more economical space, which is increasingly difficult to find. Tenants need to plan early and be prepared to act when the right opportunity appears, and tenants with significant financial restrictions (such as non-profit entities) may be forced to expand their search to fringe submarkets (Northern Manhattan) or outside of Manhattan entirely (Long Island City, Brooklyn).

Market Overview

The New York City Office market continues to boom with no signs of softening. Midtown South, often considered a value alternative to Midtown, now has the lowest vacancy rate of the three submarkets. Significantly lower absorption throughout Manhattan (1,280,662 rsf, down from 2,867,256 rsf in Q1 2007) suggests fewer relocations and more renewals. The New York City Office of Management and Budget projects that office rental rates per square foot will rise to $93.26/rsf by the year 2011 as compared to today’s overall average of $65.32/rsf. With increasing asking rents and the prospect of any new development being absorbed quickly into the marketplace, there is no relief in sight for the cost conscious tenant.

Trends & Statistics

Midtown
In the second quarter of 2007, Average Class A office rents rose another $3.98/rsf (5.57%) to $75.38/rsf from Q1 2007. The asking price for Class B space increased by $2.39/rsf (5.28%) to $46.83/rsf. Class A vacancy rates remained stable at 4.6%, while Class B vacancy increased marginally from 4.0 to 4.1%. In Q2 2007, Class A net absorption was 48,926 rsf and Class B net absorption was 67,650 rsf.

Midtown South (Class A & B)
Average asking rents rose a staggering 8.25% to $45.68/rsf in Q2 2007. Vacancy in Midtown South dropped from 5% to 3.7%. Net absorption was 552,126 rsf, up from 225,724 rsf in the previous quarter.

Downtown
Asking rents for Downtown Class A space rose far more slowly, 2.82% to $48.13/rsf, while Class B asking rents rose 6.3% from the previous quarter to $42.49/rsf. A year ago there was a $10.45/rsf differential between Class A and B space Downtown. In Q2 2007 that difference reduced to $5.64/rsf. Class A vacancy dropped from 8.2% to 7.7%, and Class B vacancy reduced from 10% to 9.4%. Total net absorption in Class A was 669,835 rsf, while Class B absorbed 77,425 rsf.

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August 9, 2007 by jack petrie.

Ultra 16 Leases New Offices at 36 Cooper Square

Web Design Firm (”WDF”), Ultra 16, recently found new office space in the Village Voice Building located at 36 Cooper Square. Ultra 16 is an interactive agency that specializes in web design for the media/entertainment/fashion/beauty industries and has a client list that includes Redken, ABC, FHM, American Movie Channel, MTV, Ann Taylor and the Cleveland Browns.  Ultra 16 was represented by CresaPartners’ Kristian Hansen and Jack Petrie. 36 Cooper Square is owned by Hartz Mountain Industries, who’s principal owner, Leonard N. Stern, coincidentally once owned The Village Voice, as well.

Major Tenant: The Village Voice

36 Cooper Square is best known as the home to The Village Voice, who relocated after its inception in 1955 in Sheridan Square. The “Voice” was the originator of the free alternative weekly tabloid format focusing on politics, the arts and entertainment. The weekly has launched the careers of several underground cartoonists such as Jules Feiffer, Matt Groening, Lynda Barry, Stan Mack and Mark Alan Stamaty.

About the Neighborhood

Cooper Square is located where Third & Fourth Avenues merge into the Bowery. It is named after Peter Cooper, the founder of the Peter Cooper Institute, now The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (”Cooper Union”). Cooper Union is one of the few American institutions of higher learning to offer a full-tuition scholarship to all admitted students. Consequently, Cooper Union boasts one of the most selective acceptance rates (13%) in the U.S. and is tied for 6th place (with Columbia University and the U.S. Naval Academy) in U.S. News & World Report’s survey of America’s Best Colleges 2007. Famous students of Cooper Union include Thomas Edison, Milton Glaser and Daniel Libeskind.

Founded by a Famous New Yorker

Peter Cooper was a famous industrialist and inventor (think of Instant Gelatin, now commonly known as Jello) who once campaigned for the Presidency in 1876 as the Greenback Party nominee. Cooper designed and built America’s first steam railroad engine and made his fortune with a glue factory and an iron foundry. As President of the New York, Newfoundland and London Telegraph Company, he was instrumental in supplying the first TransAtlantic cable.

The Great Hall

The 900-seat auditorium at Cooper Union has witnessed many historic speakers including Presidents Lincoln, Grant, Cleveland, Taft, Roosevelt, Wilson and Clinton. Abraham Lincoln’s address was to an audience of 1,500 (including Horace Greeley and William Cullen Bryant) at Cooper Institute in 1860 on behalf of the Young Men’s Republican Union. This speech contained the now famous expression “Right makes Might”.

And to bring it all back home to a technology focus, The Great Hall is currently the home of the NY Tech Meetup, a showcase for entrepreneurs and startups to the Venture Capital and Technology communities. http://newtech.meetup.com/1/

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August 8, 2007 by jack petrie.

I recently attended the CoreNet Global 4th Annual Eastern Regional Symposium in Baltimore, Maryland on the campus of Johns Hopkins University. The theme of the symposium was Positive Chemistry: Building a Winning Organization. I particularly enjoyed a breakout session on the question “Can Organizational Chemistry and Employee Mobility Coexist?”

The panelists included Joel Ratekin, Director of Corporate Real Estate at CapitalOne (”C1″), John Vivadelli, President of AgilQuest and Arnold Levin, Director of Bennett Strategy.

Mr. Vivadelli was quick to emphasize that even the nomenclature of “workplace” is inaccurate. Because “work” is an activity (or verb) and not a location (or noun) like “place”, the word “workplace” itself contradicts the concept of worker mobility.

CapitalOne (”C1″) is on the leading edge of workplace innovation, having instituted a progressive workplace concept known as the Future of Work (”FOW”) program. FOW supports C1’s core business values of Excellence and Do the Right Thing. The obvious benefits of the program are Real Estate Portfolio Efficiency, as higher densities result in smaller footprints for leased space and Portfolio Flexibility, as Corporate Real Estate is able to meet changing business and headcount needs without needing to add real estate. But the real impact have been in the following three areas: Business Agility, as units can modify activity patterns throughout project lifecycles, Individual/Group Productivity - due to less time spent coordinating, commuting and/or accessing information; Employee Satisfaction - commensurate with greater choice and control over their work parameters.

CapitalOne’s three drivers towards instituting a mobile workforce are: 1) increase in amount distributed work, 2) the trend towards younger labor demographics and 3) an emphasis on service worker productivity.

Levin mentioned that the role of the office changes depending on whether individual or collaborative work takes place there, as individual workers don’t require an office environment and can work remotely and collaborative workers don’t require private offices as much as collaborative work areas.

Typically, only 30-50% of dedicated office areas are occupied by users at any given time.

Ratekin is quick to dispel a couple myths of private work environments: 1) that losing personal “stuff” lowers individual productivity and 2) that losing an assigned seat lowers productivity. At CapitalOne, neither myth has been the case.

In selling collaborative and open environments to end users, there are typically three constituencies: 1) Senior Management - to whom cost concerns are highest priority, 2) Middle Management - to whom productivity gains are high priority and 3) the workforce - for whom “control of their lives” is biggest concern.

My question is how does one appeal to senior sales professionals who fit in none of those “buckets”, but certainly carry a lot of entitlement (”stuff”) and prefer private environments….?

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