Olivia Archive

The Morning Don't: Olivia Returns, Geoff Complains

We actually shot this Tuesday, but the colds Mr. Lacy and I complain about (in the clip) got far worse, delaying publication...

Morning Don't, Episode 9 from sarah lacy on Vimeo.

Why I Can't Keep an Assistant, Explained

If you've ever thought about applying as my personal assistant (all zero of you!), watch below to see why you should reconsider immediately.

Why Can't I Keep an Assistant? from sarah lacy on Vimeo.

Morning Don't Episode 5: Descent into Madness

So, I've been in my hometown approximately 10 hours, and I've already agreed to drive out to the suburbs, to the MALL to buy new clothes with my Papa Bear, and then head out to the ninth layer of hell known as Sam's Club to gather supplies for a holiday party. Two days before Christmas. Yay Memphis!

Although my head did spin around a bit, I'm actually fully prepared for this horrorshow. How? Mr. Lacy and I already had a little Costco  adventure this past weekend. I think he suckered me into joining him by mewing all cute and doe-eyed "Well I can't possibly go alone...Think of the choice people watching!" Those @sadkids. Two hours later, this is what had transpired...

Morning Don't Episode 5: Holiday Edition. Subtitle: All I want for Christmas is some sanity.

Never Can Say Goodbye

As you are aware, 2009 is going to be a year of changes- namely, that I will no longer occupy the role of assistant here at SarahLacy.com. However, I will be occupying the back bedroom, the spot in front of the fridge, and the large(ish) butt groove on the living room couch here at SLDC HQ. That's right- I will continue living and laughing with Sarah and Mr. Lacy when I return after the holidays: co-hosting shows, cat-snuggling, and rocking the Flipcam at events both big and small. Just save a spot on the dancefloor for me, ok?

In all honesty, I wasn't mincing words when I said that San Francisco is my dream city. I am eager, excited (albeit a tad nervous) to take on this town and really go after my passions and solidify my place here. As the holidays are upon us, and everyone gets all squidgy and lovey dovey during this time of year, I want to send an @livandlove thank-you to @sarahcuda and @sadkids of course, as well as one to the Valley entrepreneurs and friends that have opened my eyes to such an intriguing and awe-inspiring world. The UGBT was undoubtedly the most amazing five months of my life, and I hope to continue the relationships Sarah and I established in each stop across the country and abroad. The email's still olivia at sarahlacy.com, y'all, so keep in touch.

In the meantime, I know you're gonna miss me until I return in January, so I've compiled a little gift for you. Let's just say it's the UGBT you didn't see.....

Untitled from sarah lacy on Vimeo.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes, Part One

I have three pretty exciting changes happening over the next few months, and one bittersweet one happening now. The first three are still under wraps. The last one is that Olivia is no longer going be working for me at SarahLacy.com, as of yesterday.

I know. I know. I KNOW!

Everyone is universally shocked,because she's fit so seamlessly into the burgeoning SarahLacy.com world. I couldn't have asked for a better travel companion during the User Generated Book Tour, and Mr. Lacy couldn't ask for a better Kelly to his ever-cranky Regis.

Don't worry: Olivia will still help out with Sarahlacy.com events, and appear on FlipCam probably just as much as before. And since she's still living in our house, "Morning Don't" will continue uninterrupted. (Sigh of relief washes across twenty, maybe thirty of you...) And as long as Mr. Lacy continues to carry a camera everywhere he goes, the impromptu photo shoots will continue. But as my life is moving out of promotion mode and more back to blogging, writing and reporting, the job is changing.

It's sad, but also good for everyone involved. No doubt, Olivia will go on to something bigger and better even in this economy. But I do want to emphasize, especially after my post freaking out about the economy, that this wasn't a layoff. 2009 is looking to be a great year for us. I could tell you why, but then I'd have to tell you the other three things and they're all still secrets.

Also, according to Twitter, Scobleizer is telling people that I'm pregnant. Um. That's weird, not true, and certainly NOT one of the secrets just for the record. (Although, this video kinda makes me wish I was. Seriously, I don't even like kids and I've watched it four times.)

Morning Don't 4: A Dose of Cheer

So, Mr. Lacy and I have been doing our homework so as not to bore our small viewership with Morning Don't. And by "homework" I mean forcing Mr. Lacy to sit through an episode of Regis and Kelly, so Sarah's claim of "reverse Regis and Kelly" makes sense. Seeing as how Regis is either completely clueless or bored out of his mind, and Kelly is perpetually cheery, Mr. Lacy was not too amused, among other things. So I made him some bacon, and wove in some artful censor beeps, and we started our day.

MD4- NSFW- ish.... from sarah lacy on Vimeo.

Morning Don't Episode 3: We Have Crabs

More feedback sent in from assorted viewers about Morning Don't: very "niche" but amusing, reverse Regis and Kelly may be a stretch, but still "cute", and "Why on earth would you put a video of you on the world wide web with no make-up?! Wear sweats, fine, but AT LEAST do your hair!" (Bonus points if you can guess which one is a quote from my yaya sisterhood mother)

Mr. Lacy is still concerned that we're too boring and/or idiotic for most attention spans, but I counter that we somehow have a blast at 7 am, which is no easy feat considering we're both freezing cold and he doesn't drink coffee. Sarah's still keen on the idea, so much so, that she decided to up the show's ante by getting star animation designer Howard Kim -formerly of TechTicker- to design a Morning Don't intro. Mr. Lacy's art direction: think cheesy 70's morning show. We think Howard outdid himself. His intro alone is worth clicking the play button.

MD3- A Little Crabby from sarah lacy on Vimeo.

Busy Little Valley Bee

SO. After a whirlwind 2008 where I met entrepreneurs in about 25 cities or more, I am finally back in San Francisco for a while.

I feel very torn. It's been an amazing year, and I've met so many amazing people. My entire concept of entrepreneurship has been forever changed, and I am, of course, so grateful for the outpouring of support for the book. It's been one of the toughest book-buying markets in publishers' memories and it was no small feat to keep copies moving!

On the plus side of being home, I've barely gotten to live in the house that's continually draining my bank account lately, and it's always nice to see my husband. I also feel like meeting so many entrepreneurs around the world has come at the cost of not staying in better touch with entrepreneurs in the Valley. So it'll be nice to stay put for a bit and reconnect. And what better time than a month with a zillion Holiday parties? Headed to the Zynga party tonight, and of course, there's the sarahlacy.com happy hour at the Beauty Bar in one week! RSVP, y'all!

Here are Olivia and I after the spectacular Get Satisfaction party last Friday, inhaling some Arinell's pizza. (Just a few blocks from my house-- another win to being home!) [photo credit: Geoffrey Ellis]

Of course, another *huge* plus in being home is that I can focus more on my actual job: reporting. I forgot to mention it, but I re-upped my columnist contract with BusinessWeek in November. I was incredibly flattered to even get it renewed given the macro state of the economy and how hard hit media has been already. (And how flaky I've been on deadlines. Doh.)

I wrote two columns that detailed *why* things are going to be far worse for Venture Capitalists in this downturn, even as the Valley will have an easier time than in 2001-ish. You can read them here and here. Then, this week, I wrote about everything that's wrong with eCommerce and why I think we're about to see an explosion of innovation. (And why I can't wait!) I've got a lot of great ideas for the next few months, but as always hit me up if there's a topic you want me to tackle!

I've also been pretty busy at TechTicker. A few recent videos I liked on the jump!

A whole slew of other changes are in store for my various jobs and include a few new projects that I can't wait to tell you guys about. But more details on all that later... Bottom line is I'm mostly out of promotion mode (FINALLY!) and solidly back in reporter mode so more great content coming your way this month and in 2009.

And now, to some videos...

Planes, Hunger Pains, and Irate Cabbies: A Travel Reflection

This past summer, while dilly dallying my days away in my college town, I still managed to do an inordinate amount of travel. Living in central Virginia without a car made these trips very complicated. In fact, I rode the Greyhound bus so many times I had a favorite driver. Earl liked to get sassy over the PA system as we barreled down back roads late at night.

So when I signed on to help Sarah plan the UGBT, I was elated. Instead of an Earl, I had direct non-stop flights at my disposal! For the most part, the UGBT was a pretty smooth ride, save for a tornado, emergency doctor's visit, food overload, British invasion, and taxi cab insanity. Yet, after crisscrossing the country 10 times (and over the pond once) there are two major lessons I've had to learn in the process:

1. Changing/canceling/switching the times of flights sucks your soul and drains your wallet. Which is why I will avoid cheaptickets.com and orbitz.com like the plague and deal directly with airlines from now on. Virgin, Southwest, and United are the only ones left standing since I have verbally eviscerated the poor phone associates of every other airline involved through these "hassle-free" travel sites. This includes AeroMexico too. No se puede.

Over the phone charges, re-booking fees, hidden ticket credits that can only be retrieved by the first person on the reservation and not the second- Ninth layer. Of Hell. Also, the student in me originally balked at refundable tickets because of price, but for extensive, multi-city travel, they are the most cost-effective choice. That's a no-brainer, which I now realize in hindsight. Sorry sarahcuda. I owe you approximately 147 snack boxes to make up for this. (the ones with the cheese and crackers of course)

2. Outsourcing is not a cry for help. It is, in fact, a life saver. I want to personally thank UGBT organizers, friends, and followers of this blog for helpful hotel, venue, and restaurant recommendations. I didn't think it feasible to visit 10 cities and become intimately acquainted with each one in such short stops, but y'all made that possible.

Also, a special thanks goes out to my darling buddy Eli for hitting up every single contact in his iphone to book us some prime hotel reservations. (Attending a school specializing in restaurant and hospitality management sure does have it's perks...) Puffin, I owe you a bottle of Veuve, a rooftop dance, and a 3 am drive to the airport in the snow.

But WAIT. Our traveling days are far from over, so if you have any additional revelations/tips/shortcuts leave them in the comments!

Another Dose of "Morning Don't"

Wherein Mr. Lacy and I discuss Littlejoy, Katharine Heigl, and my choice in bedroom attire.

Thanks to some outspoken friends at dinner last night, we received excellent feedback about Episode 1 regarding length and content, so Episode 2 is our attempt to streamline things. Mr. Lacy also showers! Unfortunately, I can't say the same. Somewhere out there, my poor Southern belle mother is clutching her chest in horror. Sorry, Mom.

Episode 2 Here We Go from sarah lacy on Vimeo.