Posts

Austin – July 13 2014

Note: this is not an official EuroCircle event but just wanted to post it to support Gene & Co
(not to mention it is a great place to watch it, plenty of space and for soccer fans – big screen projector…)

Germany vs Argentina.

Watch it at the Brass House – with a BIG SCREEN PROJECTOR
4-8 pm, 1/2 prize appetizers and $3 pints

Austin – June 10 2014

This JOINT event is hosted by multiple European & other international groups.
RSVP is greatly appreciated for logistics. You can also RSVP by email to austin@eurocircle.com if you prefer not to join EuroCircle as a member (Free).

Welcome.Us and
FWD.Us – Xavier Wingham, Ainee Athar
German-Texan Heritage Society
Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce Texas – Henrik Johansson & team
GlobalAustin – Margie Kidd & her team
Austin Polish Society – Mary Gawron
Italy-America Chamber of Commerce of Texas – Martin Morales
Austin Hungarian Association, Genevieve Kent
Danish Club of Austin – Emily Grace Sorensen
Casa de Espana Austin – Maria Vaso de Garcia
AIN – Zane McCarthy
Austin Ukrainian Group at Facebook – Nadiya Parsons
Vlamingen in Austin Facebook group – Barbara Baeyens & Gilbert Van Cutsem, Belgium
Finns in Austin & Central Texas Austin Facebook Group

LIVE JAZZ
EuroCircle Austin members and our partners/their members get the utmost pleasure to listen to the lovely KAREN TENNISON at Brass House TAVERN – from 6 pm to 9 pm pm (no cover). From 9-12 pm Glen R. trio will perform at the Jazz Stage (lounge). You are welcome to swing there via the backpatio or street!!
LISTEN TO KAREN’S MUSIC

The first IMMIGRANT HERITAGE MONTH (IHM) is June 2014.
Welcome.Us
Beginning in June, Welcome.us encourages every American to log on to their website and connect with them through social media, to help celebrate the month and share their stories using the hashtag #WelcomeUS on their social media streams, including facebook.com/welcomeus and Twitter: @Welcome_us

Welcome.Us is a non-profit dedicated to celebrating a United States that is fueled by an immigrant tradition – it is supported by FWD.Us

Austin’s newest Jazz and Blues Lounge / Tavern featuring live jazz and blues bands with full service bar and restaurant near the convention center.

The Brass House Happy Hour wells are $5, Wine ranges from $6 to $14, Draft Beer is $4 (32 selections).
Their new Italian chef will start on May 23 and the fine dining menu will be available for the party.

Brass House Austin was conceived by Jason White while operating in a combat zone with the United States Marine Corps. He dreamed of moving to Austin and opening a live music venue at the completion of his service with the hope of providing a relaxed and enjoyable environment for those who enjoy the sounds of jazz and blues. Brass House is the realization of that dream. Jason believes strongly in community involvement and support and welcomes any and all local charities if they wish to host events in Brass House space.
Jason’s partner Evgueniy G. Todorov – Gene – is a recently retired Marine and is now devoting his full time to the successful development of Brass House Austin as the premiere jazz and blues lounge in Texas. Gene is a fellow European – he was born and raised in Bulgaria.

Austin – David Drake, The Soho Loft & Crowdfunding with Swedish Globetrotter

David and I have many mutual acquaintance since we both lived years in NYC (now I am in Austin, TX) – he is Swedish and I am Finnish. hasEuroCircle team already interviewed Jilliene Helman and Gary Spirerwho are both involved with the crowdfunding circles so adding a Swede to the crowdfunding mix seems appropriate.

Please introduce yourself; tell us a little about where you are from originally and who you are.

My name is David Drake. I was born and raised in Sweden. My grandparents are from Denmark so I spent all the summers in Copenhagen growing up. I was getting B grades in languages. Therefore I got annoyed as a teenager and decided excel in languages. My interests are also in sports. I was a judo champion at a very young age in Scandinavia. There must have been maybe 15 different sports that I used to do. In one time or another. Most likely my short height as a kid made me over Excel and over compensate in sports. However after college I did not return to any sports.

I was a good – and shy – kid in high school. I got good grades and rarely went out. For instance, I always vacuumed the house once a week just to say thank you to my parents.

Given your background what and why did you end up studying – how did you choose your university and why the USA?

I was accepted to Brown University on full scholarships but since it didn’t have business studies I decided to change to American University in DC (these were full scholarships). I had an early on fascination with business and international finance. My MBA was done in DC as well as George Washington University which was a Dual Masters program allowing me to get an MBA in International Finance & a Masters in international affairs and law.

I have also realized that Wall Street was the center of finance and thus I want to study in the US.

So what do you do now – what takes most of your time professionally?

My family office has investments in different industries and companies globally. I helped found two Angel Networks (Puerto Rico and FP Angels) and I’m on two angel networks like Bitcoin and the Chemical Angel Network. However today most of my time is spent on the media company called The Soho Loft. It focuses on social impact investing and we host 200+ finance focus conferences every year. See Www.thesoholoft.com/upcoming-conferences/s where you can meet and pitch investors on the spot.

I am also spending more time with a public relations and Investor Relations firm VictoriaGlobal.co as the chairman of the board. This is where we are looking for partners in Europe and MENA and I would ask readers to reach out to me at david@LDJCapital.com

In addition Victoria Partners is a 110 family office network with headquarters out of Knightsbridge, London that we own.

These things take up about 75 percent of my time while the latter allows me to travel as I have to visit the family office relationships we have globally. I have been in a different city every week for the last 3 years and now it is difficult for me to stop traveling because I like it.

Do you intend to stay in the USA for now and where is your favorite city in the USA?? Also, o you speak many languages in addition to English and Swedish which are related to each other?

Yes, I am staying in the US. We recently got engaged with the state government of Hawaii and Hawaii venture capitalist association. We are engaged with the International Fashion Show and International Film Festival in Hawaii with them so I will be spending more time there. It also makes sense for me to bring Asian investors of ours to meet tech and realty opportunities in Hawaii – we called this where the West meets the East. We are working with the Hawaii Venture Capital Association to launch their biggest event of the year this fall.

Meanwhile I have a place in Los Angeles with offices in New York. Most of my time is spent between Maui, New York, Los Angeles and Bellagio, Lake Como, Italy. The latter is my favorite place of all time.

My grandparents are Danish meanwhile Danish, Swedish and Norwegian are very similar languages. Yet again, I do come across a lot of Danish and Norwegians claiming that a lot of Swedes do not speak their language. Meanwhile in school I studied Spanish French and English. Yet my passion is Italian although I don’t speak it well at all.

So how is your personal life at this point? You travel a lot – how does that work for family? Where are you living right now and why?

I’m divorced the last two years so travel is something I actually enjoy now. As opposed to most people traveling, I can travel on my own accord and spend at least 1 week per trip. For instance, I am speaking at the European Business Angel Network in Dublin and they are flying me in. Ireland is close to my heart as I took my mom there 6 months ago and it is beautiful. This time I’m flying my father from Stockholm to go castle hunting after I speak in Dublin. The green hills of Ireland are just amazing. Yet my favorite places to work and visit are:

Bellagio, Lake Como
Maui
Bali
Maldives
Waiheke Island outside Auckland.

What do you like most about the job you do now the most – and what the least? What is a typical day for you right now?

I wake up between 3 to 5 am I do not sleep much. Life is too exciting. Emails and contract negotiation takes about 6 hours a day and another 4 hours of phone calls.

I write regularly for magazine like Forbes and WSJ so I spend a couple hours day writing. Over 100 publications get original articles from me. Www.TimesRealtyNews.com Is the latest investment we made on an online publication focused on real estate and crowd funding.

Last week we published a top 10 realty platform report. Dealing with repetitive tasks bores me but fortunately for me I have been able to build infrastructure in corporations to handle that.

How do you see your life evolve professionally and personally if it is up to you?

Fortunately it is up to me and I love to learn. I spent the last 30 years listening to people sharing their knowledge and I feel now that I’m in my 40′s and I can collect my own stories. My entrepreneuship bug started when I was 9 years old. I was selling cacti door to door that my mom collected for a school trip.

Today I collect people and stories. The knack becomes how to connect people and I feel that I’m a superconnector just like you are. The 100s of people working in my main investments provide me the infrastructure to run a conglomerate media company and the hundreds of events and articles I write allows me to meet and learn from thousands. That is so exciting. I get to interview anyone and learn from the best.

How would you describe your business model to someone who knows nothing about your life ?

I am a family office yet my passion investment The Soho Loft is a global finance media conglomerate focused on impact investors…. the work surrounds sharing and educating the world on how and what is being done in this arena.

What are the biggest risk factors for you professionally?

My reputation and lack of follow up are risk factors. Also having great partners is important so I encourage readers to reach out to me from this article.

How is your family in Sweden – what do your parents and siblings do?

My parents are retired in stockholm and they enjoy traveling with me.

What kind of European companies or entrepreneurs would you like to hook up with?

Currently we are acquiring and also hiring people in public relations and marketing. Area of this time would be of interest to also meeting and talk to new online marketing companies to see what they are doing better and faster.

We have had 600 events the last 4 years in finance and consequently 30,000 people have been attending. Companies that interest me would be firms that can monetize from the lead generation of companies we have had at please your events.

Partners would know how to monetize from relationships with the participants at our events. Here are some upcoming events

Please join me at the June 7, Los Angeles, Family Office event. Learn how to raised money from family offices.
http://thesoholoft.com/conferences/victoria-global-sponsors-capital-raising-core-workshop/

Newport Beach conference June 19
Leading Resources and Real Estate: Oil, Gas, Minerals and Real Estate
http://www.eventbrite.com/e/energy-oil-gas-crowdfunding-conference-i-tickets-11112819743

I. Nov 14 had $35 billion in assets under mgmt – sold out.
II. April 24 had ADIA, Trump, Mondrian and Delano Hotels with dozens of family office fly in – sold out.

You must buy the 100+ page Mega Trend report by TimesRealtyNews.com report when you are serious about real estate crowd funding. It will save you 150 hours of due diligence and research. The only report of its kind.

June 26 Yale Club in NYC Series B and C private equity investors event

http://thesoholoft.com/conferences/tsl-supports-epic-asia-2014/

What do you consider the worst thing about the Swedes compared to the USA – and vice versa?

I have been away for the last 25 years. However what I see is that the Swedes avoid confrontation. Whether that is good or bad remains to be argued. However I do not ail from this. Meanwhile I find myself being a quiet spoken American or loud European – depending where I am and who is listening

Crowdfunding – what do you think about it in Europe vs. USA?

it is a powerful on both continents but more so in the US. I track the laws changing by country and continent. These are things I write about. In 2012 I was part of arranging the first meeting me ever had with the SEC on crowdfunding for the crowd funding association that I help found. I was invited to the Champions of Change at the White House on the topic and represented the US commerce dept to EU on small and medium size business policy to rome and Brussels.

I would love to talk to medium size companies in your Europe looking to use crowd funding as a solution and lead generation through our publications and conferences globally.

We get family offices and private equity firms reaching out to us constantly and we’re also talking to investment banks.

If you have a choice to live your life how you want, money would not be an issue what so ever – where would you like to spend your life? Where do you think you would like to be in 10 years and why?

I am living it now and it is between Bellagio, new york, los angeles and Maui right now. Family office business makes me travel all over the world in addition to these cities. In 10 years I would like to continue to doing today- learning from people smarter that me and having dozens of more partners in Europe as brand ambassadors of VictoriaGlobal.co

Crowdfunding circles are full of people who have never worked in finance, raised money for themselves or others and they portray themselves as so called “experts” and speak at multiple events. The new crowdfunding “opportunities” have brought out many predators who appear “real” on the surface. How do you think that fact may affect any future legislation?

It should help industry by showing at all more people getting involved in this space. The transparency in crowd funding is beautiful because you will be able to weed out who is real and who is not. The crowd self police and we see this in the platforms operating on both continents.
(Kaisa: I am not at all convinced about self policing efficiency in the USA having looked at some – certainly not all – of the so called “experts” and listening to some of them speak. Culturally (Finland) I have an issue with people either making up their their credentials/background, success or misleading the “crowd” – but let’s hope the crowd will “self-police” more and more.)

Connect with David Drake:
Chairman – www.LDJCapital.com
thesoholoft.com/Where-is-David
O: 212.845.9652
C: 917.578.9069
Skype: ddrakevnd

The Voice of Capital Formation
www.thesoholoft.com/WSJ/
www.thesoholoft.com/Forbes

 

Austin – May 18 2014

Come root for your favorite European country!

Where: Boundless Network office, 200 E 6th Street, Suite 300
When: Saturday, May 18th at 1pm. Show starts at 2pm.

PLEASE PURCHASE YOUR TICKET ONLINE BEFORE THE EVENT
(link on the right side of the page)
Cost: $10 including drinks and lighter snacks.

Hosted by SACC TX, SWEA and EuroCircle (and Boundless Network of course!)

What is Eurovision?

The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).

Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries’ songs to determine the most popular song in the competition. The Contest has been broadcast every year since its inauguration in 1956 and is one of the longest-running television programs in the world. It is also one of the most-watched non-sporting events in the world, with audience figures having been quoted in recent years as anything between 100 million and 600 million internationally.

For questions please contact Rasmus at rwendt@boundlessnetwork.comne

See http://www.eurovision.tv/ for more info

Comment: Malmö, Sweden – ABBA’s Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus have composed We Write the Story, with arrangement by Avicii, for the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö. The anthem is the main theme of the Swedish hosting as well as the music for the grand opening act of the Final

Austin – May 10 2014

FEATURING DRINKS SPECIALS AND LIVE STREAMING OF THE EUROVISION FINALE

Eurovision has been around since 1956; it was the “Idol” series before “Idol” existed. Come and join The Russian House team for our Finale watch party and see Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK battle it out LIVE on stage. (The Swedes cancelled their party due to the late start)
See each of the contestants here!

What is Eurovision?
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).
Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries’ songs to determine the most popular song in the competition. The Contest has been broadcast every year since its inauguration in 1956 and is one of the longest-running television programs in the world. It is also one of the most-watched non-sporting events in the world, with audience figures having been quoted in recent years as anything between 100 million and 600 million internationally.

See eurovision.tv for more info!

Meet GENE TODOROV from the Brass House, our Bulgarian member of the month in Austin!
Working on the next EuroCircle Austin event, stay tuned!! Email austin(at)eurocircle.com any suggestions

Austin – Gene Todorov from Bulgaria and The Brass House USCM Team

Last year a bunch of veterans (United States Marine Corps) started a new elegant jazz lounge in downtown Austin. EuroCircle was one of the first groups to have an event there. The lovely and talented SILVIE RIDER (Switzerland) performed with her pianist husband Red Young at the piano. Manja Hossa (Slovenia) from LePA Skincare sponsored appetizers for EuroCircle members. One of the veterans running the club is a fellow European so how about saying hello to “Gene” from Bulgaria (Evgueniy). Jason (Jace)and Gene and their team a re really great people.

Please introduce yourself!

Evgueniy Todorov, known to all my friends as Gene; I was born and raised in Sofia, Bulgaria, graduated with BA degree from the “Karl Marx” Economic University; renamed after 2001 to Sofia Economic University and MBA from Herriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland. Spend most of my time in San Diego, CA, and finally found home in Austin, TX; drawn to Austin primarily for its cosmopolitan and diverse society, live music culture and lay back and friendly attitude. Co-owner and manager of the Brass House, a Jazz Lounge and Blues Tavern.

When and why did you move to USA, where have you loved after that – how did you choose those cities/career?

Moved to the USA in 1991; at the end of the transformation of Eastern Europe from Communist Rule to Democracy. Initially arrived in LA, yet moved soon sought to San Diego.

Is your family in military or restaurant business?

No, I’m the first in both. I started my Military Career on a whim and ended up doing full 20 years of service, retiring last July from the USMC. My initial plans was to travel around the world for a while, but ended up opening the Brass House – a live Jazz Club in Austin.

What kind of music is your favorite?

I love just about any kind of music; obviously, Jazz and Blues are preferred stiles, but I also love Rock@Roll, Country, Alternative, Classical..etc. etc. I believe music is capable of opening borders and bringing people together, regardless of their ethnic, cultural, racial or religious background.

How was it being in the USMC – what did it teach you (good and bad)?

Life in the Marine Corps taught me a lot of things, mainly about myself and what a person is capable when he puts his will towards an end. It was never easy, but the shared hardship builds character and friendship bonds that lasts a lifetime.

Do you try to go back to Bulgaria every year? The language and the culture are different than in TX for sure. What do you miss the most – and the least?

I try to go back and spend time with my parents at least twice a year, particularly Christmas and Easter. Spending time with my parents and friends is important and enjoyable; wish I can go more often.

When you think about what did you think about life in Bulgaria vs USA before you moved to the USA – did you have misconceptions that turned out to be wrong?

Haha no misconceptions, since I did not know what to expect. But my Dad still thinks that everybody in USA wears a cowboy hat!

What is your favorite food/s and drink??

Everything! I enjoy all types of cuisine. I do try to promote various different dishes from around the world in the Brass House Tavern, just so people in Austin can enjoy the richness and variety of European cuisine.

How is the Bulgarian community in Austin vs. USA?

Hmm, I don’t know any other Bulgarian in Austin…

What would you like anyone know and appreciate about Bulgaria? Would you ever return to live their fulltime?

Small, but beautiful; it has a lot to offer in terms of culture, history, tourism and entertainment: from live concerts, lovely summer beaches at the Black Sea or majestic skiing mountain slopes in the winter. The most interesting is the cuisine: a healthy mixture of Eastern Slavic foods, central European meat dishes and many Mediterranean meals.

Could you share with us what are your team’s plans for the BRASS HOUSE?

Well, our initial concept was to offer a classy and elegant venue for life Jazz for the jazz fans in Austin. We felt that there is a greater demand for such a venue and we were right; in a few months we developed a large and dedicated clientele, who loved the elegant surroundings, crafty cocktails and martinis and the best of Austin Jazz musicians on the stage.

Recently we expanded and opened the Brass House Blues Tavern, adjacent to the Jazz Bar, providing yet another venue for Austin music society. And as we keep all the Jazz at the Jazz Lounge, at the Tavern we feature Blues, Bluegrass, Alternative, Country and Rockabilly bands. There is a great patio that links both sides, allowing our patrons to move freely between the Jazz and Blues stages and enjoy both bands in the same night. With the addition of a full kitchen and an excellent Italian chef, we plan to provide the Austin dining community with a variety of Mediterranean cuisine, creating a fine dining venue with live music shows. All in all, the intent is to excel in the two fields that cross borders and bring peoples together: music and cuisine , as well as handcrafted cocktails, martinis and specialty drinks.

Another intent is that we wanted to assist the Veteran society in Austin by any way possible: about 30% of our staff are Veterans and we host numerous non-profit events for Veteran foundations. We also host at least one non-profit event once a month for local Austin charities; recently we hosted a fundraising event for the Children with Altruism Foundation. We strongly believe in supporting and giving back to the community.

And last but not least, we like to promote and support the music society in Austin; we believe that group is what makes Austin unique and beautiful. We like to think that the Brass House Jazz lounge and the Blues Tavern can serve as a patron for the Arts. And we strive to bring the best of musicians that Austin has to offer as well as promote young and inspiring musicians.

Connect with Gene:
www.BrassHouseaustin.com
115 San Jacinto Blvd, Austin, TX (just about 100 m, from Four Seasons)

Austin – May 04 2014

The Austin Polo Club Cordially Invites EuroCircle Austin Members To The 3rd Annual The 3rd Annual Derby Day Polo Benefit

Derby-Day Flyer – EuroCircle

EuroCircle Austin is proud to co-host

THE AUSTIN POLO CLUB

THE 3rd ANNUAL

Derby Day Polo Benefit

Hosting the Texas Polo Club and Texas A&M Polo Club

MAY 4TH, 2013 – NOON TO 6 PM

The Austin Polo Club  13628 Gregg Manor Rd.  Austin, TX 78653

FEATURING: POLO MATCHES AT 12:30 (UT VS. A&M) & 2:30 (APC VS. UT ALUMNI), KENTUCKY DERBY VIEWING AT 5PM (VIP), LIVE MUSIC, LADIES’ HAT CONTEST & CHAMPAGNE DIVOT STOMP, SILENT AUCTION, FARMER’S MARKET, CHILDREN’S ACTIVITIES, FOOD VENDORS, AND MUCH MORE!

EuroCircle members receive a special promotion discount:

General Admission: (BYOB & Picnic Style) $20, Children free [$5 Discount using promo code “EC5”] *** VIP Admission: (Cash Bar, Tent Seating) $50, [$10 Discount using promo code “EC10”] *** VIP w/ Antonelli’s Cheese Basket: (Cash Bar, Tent Seating, Take Home Basket) $75

For Tickets: http://www.facebook.com/AustinPoloClub or search “Polo” on EventBrite.com

You can also redeem at the Entrance upon arrival to the Austin Polo Club!

Look for the EuroCircle registration desk at the VIP section.
(Adnan and Allison)

Austin – May 01 2014

 

Join EuroCircle team as we are joining the popular Neon Nights at Roadhouse Relics on May 1 (May Day in Scandinavia). Celebrate Spring with us at Roadhouse Relics.

Live Music with Talia Bryce and Marc Lionetti of The Lost Pines (www.lostpinesband.com), complimentary house beverages.

The evenings menu offers:
Smoked Chicken Tacos
Wild Mushroom and Cheese Quesadillas
*** Available for purchase from their onsite food truck

“Austin’s newest premier events venue is located in the iconic Roadhouse Relics Vintage Neon Art Gallery, home of the famous “Greetings from Austin” mural.

Chef David Waggoner is a Certified Executive Chef and Certified Culinary Educator who enjoys providing his guests with unforgettable dining and event experiences. By combining his culinary passions, with the amazing artwork of Todd Sanders and his truly unique space, they have created a one of a kind venue for your special occasions.

With a customized mobile kitchen, Neon Nights caters on site here at Roadhouse Relics or can travel to your home or business. Chef David is also available as a private chef, teaches private cooking lessons for groups or individuals and interactive dinner parties. Design your personally customize menu today.

Austin – Sep 17 2014

Festival of Unity (ONE Human Race- Welcoming America Festival)
Asian American Resource Center.
8401 Cameron Rd, Austin, TX 78754 (512) 974-1700
Wednesday, September 17th from 6:30-8:30PM
(about 8 miles north up I-35 from downtown, a bit north from 183 and a bit to the east)

The City of Austin along with other partner organizations will host a Festival of Unity (ONE Human Race- Welcoming America Festival) to introduce this program and to expose this community of people to resources the city of Austin has to offer at the Asian American Resource Center.

A main function of the International Welcome Program is to spread the word about existing City services available to recent immigrants as well as other information that the City wants to disseminate (i.e. pool safety tips, the importance of flu shots).

Last year, the City hosted three Welcome to Austin Orientation Sessions for this purpose, which we were grateful to have many of the city departments participate in!

This year, we are shifting to a new model of providing orientations where Economic Development staff will give short orientations to recent immigrants within existing events or meetings hosted by community groups, employers, and faith-based organizations.

Austin – April 25 2014

EuroCircle, Russian House and Phara are excited to announce annual party 1001 Nights.

In the spirit of wise and beautiful Scheherazade we are inviting you to dress up as a Persian queen for the costume contest, belly dancing to live music by Saadi Monwar, and get Mehndi tattoos by Nisha.

Fig and Raisin infusion will be on special all night!
Reserve a table here!