The Dinner Club

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating
Review: An inside look at an elite group of angel investors who helped elect a governor and rode the Internet boom and bust through the startups they backed and the companies they ran. As a volunteer with a Washington, D.C. entrepreneur's networking group, where I heard Ms. Henry speak, I was fascinated to read how mundane some up or down decisions can be when a company asks for financial support - a lesson to those looking for funding. These titans knew that vision, intelligence, and drive aren't everything and their penetrating questions of candidate startups suggest they tried to pass this knowledge on. The world changed and Ms. Henry was taking notes when it happened! I am grateful for her insights and unvarnished view.

Rating:
Summary: A good story badly told
Review: As a DC area resident, I was excited about reading this book. It does have a number of interesting stories and anecdotes, but the book as a whole lacks flow and detail. After spending time on one of the figures, Ms. Henry jumps on to a new topic with little to no transition. Also, you'll find that there is little insight into the title--"how the masters of the internet universe rode the rise and fall of the greatest boom in history"--you'll learn little about what they did on the way up or on the way down. The book makes it clear that Ms. Henry was an observer and not a confidant.

Rating:
Summary: Personalities
Review: As is the case with a lot of business reporting, this is personality-driven. Capital Investors consisted of a group of friends mainly working in the technology sector and situated in Washington, D.C. Michael Maccoby called Capital Investors productive narcissists.

There were twenty six members of the all male club. In Washington there is proximity to political and economic elites. Social networking was a chief reason to keep attending the group functions. The friendships were calculated.

Exclusive investing groups are rare. A woman has said that in times of economic turmoil, Capital Investors has become a support group. Investing clubs and other tech networking groups served as social interaction during the rise of the technology sector businesses.

Steve Case called 2000 the internet century. In the late 1990's AOL was talking to everyone, treating everything as a possible acquisition. In a market frenzy one should know that if everyone is getting into your business, it is time to sell. In the year 2000 in the tech world there was a blinders-on overworked mentality prevailing.

By 2001 talk shifted to pink slips, the dearth of venture capital, the market. In the downturn the group's portfolio of companies was fading.

In March 2000 MicroStrategy was advised by its auditors it had to restate earnings for two previous years. The stock price fell by sixty per cent in one day. The CEO of the company, Michael Saylor, was one of the members of the dinner club, Capital Investors.

Among the Capital Investors, Saylor fell the hardest. Other members of the group include the afore-mentioned Steve Case, James Kimsey, Art Marks, Mario Moreno, Alex Mandl, Jeong Kim, Bill Melton, Raul Fernandez, Ted Leonsis, Bill Gorog, Russ Ramsey, Mark Warner, Al Berkeley, Jonathan Silver, Raj Singh, Marc Andressen, John Sidgmore, Alan Spoon.

Rating:
Summary: Personalities
Review: As is the case with a lot of business reporting, this is personality-driven. Capital Investors consisted of a group of friends mainly working in the technology sector and situated in Washington, D.C. Michael Maccoby called Capital Investors productive narcissists.

There were twenty six members of the all male club. In Washington there is proximity to political and economic elites. Social networking was a chief reason to keep attending the group functions. The friendships were calculated.

Exclusive investing groups are rare. A woman has said that in times of economic turmoil, Capital Investors has become a support group. Investing clubs and other tech networking groups served as social interaction during the rise of the technology sector businesses.

Steve Case called 2000 the internet century. In the late 1990's AOL was talking to everyone, treating everything as a possible acquisition. In a market frenzy one should know that if everyone is getting into your business, it is time to sell. In the year 2000 in the tech world there was a blinders-on overworked mentality prevailing.

By 2001 talk shifted to pink slips, the dearth of venture capital, the market. In the downturn the group's portfolio of companies was fading.

In March 2000 MicroStrategy was advised by its auditors it had to restate earnings for two previous years. The stock price fell by sixty per cent in one day. The CEO of the company, Michael Saylor, was one of the members of the dinner club, Capital Investors.

Among the Capital Investors, Saylor fell the hardest. Other members of the group include the afore-mentioned Steve Case, James Kimsey, Art Marks, Mario Moreno, Alex Mandl, Jeong Kim, Bill Melton, Raul Fernandez, Ted Leonsis, Bill Gorog, Russ Ramsey, Mark Warner, Al Berkeley, Jonathan Silver, Raj Singh, Marc Andressen, John Sidgmore, Alan Spoon.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating...not necessarily insightful
Review: Having been part of the high-tech community in the NoVA, I rushed out to buy this book so I could get a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the personalities and characters that unarguably drive the business and (to some extent) culture of this area.

Overall, the book does deliver the insider perspective. It is successful at communicating the general feel of the 'era' - that bizarre blend of change-the-world optimism, unrealistic expectations, and at times mass-delusion.

This is a chronicle of a particular time...not an insightful story about the personalities, or what drives them. The pacing and arrangement of the chapters was very disorienting...Ms Henry jumps between characters and anecdotes without good reason at times. In all, the book reads as a set of mostly independent vignettes, rather than a compelling story.
(Incidentally, at the same time, I was reading Codename Ginger by Steve Kemper, which I highly recommend, which was technically a better written book...but other comparisions are unfair)

In any case, this still makes for fascinating reading, even if it's sometimes in a superficial voyeuristic sense.

Rating:
Summary: Nothing we haven't seen before.
Review: I found this book limited; the author was handed opportunity for deep insight in an increasingly relevant topic and missed the opportunity entirely. Not nearly the insight of Barbarians at the Gate or other classics that have been written since. Most painful is probably the editing; she re-tells anecdotes several times, which grew tiring.

Rating:
Summary: terrific read....
Review: I just finished reading THE DINNER CLUB by Shannon Henry and WOW! What a book....to be allowed into the inimate circle of such powerful men and hear their thoughts.....what made them tick. I was fascinated by the way they approached, not only business, but life. This book really humanizes these men and shows warts and all. The author has really nailed down the a time in history that is not likely to be repeating itself anytime soon. It's a great read for anyone.

Rating:
Summary: a fly on the wall the year the music died
Review: In a surprisingly accurate, nicely crafted set of vignettes, Shannon Henry captures the essence of the personalities and dynamics of some of the DC-area High-Tech Rich & Famous, while what had seemd to be the best of times went sour. It is sure to be required reading in the DC area, but may be of more limited interest elsewhere because the DC business pond is--let's face it--not Silicon Valley or Wall Street.

Here's hoping Ms. Henry has a companion book--perhaps more analytical this time around--in the works. [So what ARE some of the former Wanna-Be Masters of the Universe that pitched to the club doing now? What are the next steps when your startup's plug has been pulled, you've lost the nest eggs that "friends, family and fools" invested in your business, and you're looking at the prospect of updating a resume for another 30 years in the job market?]

Rating:
Summary: a fly on the wall the year the music died
Review: Russ Ramsey, the name doesn't really bring up grandious visions of leaders, tech or wealth (like, say, Gates, Jobs or Ellison). And for good reason, no one knows who the heck he is. You wont recogonize anyone in this club for the most part. Washington, DC doesn't really bring to mind technology no matter what Henry says. I picked this book up and read about half of it and just couldn't go on. Henry's subject matter is insignificant and way off course. I didn't see one deal they made pay off. Almost anyone could make a buck back then, but not this club. This book is a dollar short and a day late, or maye even five years late. Henry could have made fun of this group, the material is all there, this could have been the book version of starup.com. but Henry, like the club members, misses.

To quote: I wouldn't want to belong to a club that would have me as a member. Well, I wouldn't belong to a club that allows Henry to take notes and then publish a book.

Rating:
Summary: A valuable look inside
Review: This is one of those books that will gain in value as time passes. The Dinner Club looks at the critical time frame when the opening wave of success in the new technologies broke and retrenched. The useful insight this book provides is the snapshot of the individual club members and their focus on the future. Northern Virginia and its cultivation of technology is portrayed as well. Worth reading.