Rainn Wilson ('Dwight' on The Office) Joins Reply.com at Fundraiser for Mona Foundation

We are really excited to share news, info and pictures from our most recent event for Reply!com and the Mona Foundation. ABCey Events was hired to produce and manage this event that took place Saturday, August 15th at the home of Gouya and Payam Zamani, Founder and CEO of Reply!com. Emmy-nominated Rainn Wilson from the office spoke to the crowd and encouraged involvement and support for educational initiatives that raise the status of women and girls in the U.S. and abroad.



You can view some of the pictures here, or check out the portfolio on the ABCey Events website for the rest!




We had great entertainment including a very well known SF based DJ (Kramer), Henna tattoo's for the kids and also a silk jewelry making station for the girls provided by my new jewelry line, ABCey Designs.



Other entertainment included fire dancers who hula-hooped, spun poi and taught the kids a few moves. It was a big hit! The decor and lighting made the house look amazing, although it really didn't need much. Drinks were given specialty Reply!com names and guests were served some tasty hors d'ouevres made from only local and organic ingredients.


Here's the Press Release that just went out.

Emmy-nominated actor Rainn Wilson, who plays Dwight Schrute on NBC's hit show The Office, headlined a fundraising gathering of more than 120 attendees Saturday night, August 15, at the home of Gouya and Payam Zamani, Founder & CEO of Reply.com. The event garnered contributions for the Mona Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports social and economic development projects focused on the education of underprivileged children. Reply.com committed $80,000 - part of an overall donation of more than $100,000 raised at the event - to the Mona Foundation to aid the education of hundreds of children at two schools in towns ravaged by Hurricane Ike in Haiti over two years ago.

Rainn Wilson, himself an active advocate of the Mona Foundation, spoke to the crowd and encouraged them to support these projects. The foundation supports educational initiatives that raise the status of women and girls in the U.S. and abroad.

"We can all, as individuals and corporations, sacrifice a little more for the betterment of the world. A line item in our annual budgets that may represent an insignificant percentage of our profits can offer a chance for a better life to hundreds, if not thousands, of children," said Payam Zamani. "Let our hearts and deeds be directed toward the welfare of humanity."




The event and financial support extends Reply.com's commitment to donating a consistent portion of its earnings to the cause on an ongoing basis. As part of an effort to further the Mona Foundation's global initiatives, Payam and Gouya Zamani have already visited Ruaha Secondary School in Tanzania and will be visiting Zunuzi and New Horizon schools in Haiti this fall.

"We are thrilled that Reply.com has been able to mobilize support for the foundation and children in Haiti," said Mahnaz Javid, one of the founders and the President of Mona Foundation. "These contributions will go a long way towards providing the necessary support that will allow these two schools to grow and expand their roles in the communities they serve."

The Mona Foundation (www.monafoundation.org) is named after Mona Mahmoudnezhad, a 16-year-old Iranian girl who was hanged in 1983 for practicing the Baha'i faith (www.bahai.org). Before her execution, Mona was known for her work with orphans and commitment to the education of children. Today, the secular foundation she inspired supports over 40 educational initiatives around the world.

About Reply!, Inc.

Reply.com is the leading online marketing platform for the acquisition of locally-targeted and category-specific consumers on a cost-per-click or cost-per-lead basis. By eliminating the need for complex and expensive online marketing infrastructures and large teams of experts, Reply.com makes Internet marketing available to businesses of all sizes. Reply! provides a highly-profitable alternative to online marketing solutions offered by major search engines and ad networks. To learn more about Reply!, visit www.reply.com.

The Fine Art of Power-Pointing

This post is adapted from a chapter in Guy Kawasaki's book "The Art of The Start." I recently read it and it has some really great tips and advice for young entrepeneurs. If any of you need to create a powerpoint for pitching your company to either investors or clients, here is the suggested formula buy our favorite "Guy."

First off, the 10/20/30 Rule:

10 = The Number of Slides
I won't go into detail about the specifications for each slide. {Buy Guy's book it's GREAT} But this is the appropriate length for the power point. Long enough to create substance but not too long to lose your audience's attention.

20 = The Length {in minutes} of Your Presentation
This gives you some of an idea about how long you will spend on each slide. Approximately 2 minutes per slide. Basically your not going to be sitting on one slide for too long, nor is your entire presentation going to last longer that 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, you are going to slowly lose the {undivided, focused} attention of your audience.

30 = The FONT size you should use
You may have realized that 30 pt. font isn't going to allow you to put much text on your slides, and you shouldn't. The powerpoint is there just to assist you in speaking, not to take the place of speaking. Your audience shouldn't be able to understand the presentation without you to fill in the gaps.

A few other tips from Guy

Use a dark background- this suggests seriousness and substance
Use bullet points - Not line after line of bullet points, but a slide title followed by bullet points {aka you shouldn't have to explain a bullet within a bullet}
Put your company header at the top of each page- repetition, 'nuff said

For more buy Guy's Book "The Art of the Start" It's a great read!

The art of start

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How to stay "LinkedIn"

Sometimes I feel as though we get so caught up in the rapidly growing twitter that we forget about one of the best online networking sites: LinkedIn. It has proven sustainability and is an amazing way to grow your professional network. While not as zippy or hip as twitter, LinkedIn has all the basics you need. I recently read a blog post about what's going to be the next big thing for online networking and it made me think... what about using the ones that already exist to their fullest potential. In this blog post I will talk about ways I have used LinkedIn... as well as ways that other successful entrepreneurs suggest it be used.

ABCey's Favorite Things About LinkedIn

140 Characters +
First off, there is something to be said for a sentence or paragraph longer than 140 characters. Don't get me wrong, twitter is a great way to spread information fast, but two of my favorite things about LinkedIn are the discussion groups and recommendations. The discussion groups allow you to pose questions directly to others in your field and receive answers. You can read other discussion threads for inspiration or connect with those in your area. It leaves endless possibilities. Another thing I love about LinkedIn is the ability to write recommendations. There is nothing that speaks to your character and work ethic more than a recommendation from a past employer. It really allows people to get to know you more than a one line bio.

Search Field
The search field on LinkedIn has really helped me to connect with the exact people I want to connect with. For example, you can search not only by company but by job title, allowing you to quickly find the relevant person in the company to your needs. Unlike a twitter account, CEO's are on LinkedIn.

Guy Kawasaki's Favorite Things About LinkedIn
{This is a shortened version of his blog post, which you can find here}

LinkedIn Can Help You:
1. Increase Visibility
2. Improve Connectability
3. Improve your Google PageRank.
4. Enhance your search engine results.
5. Perform blind, “reverse,” and company reference checks.
6. Increase the relevancy of your job search.
7. Make your interview go smoother.
8. Gauge the health of a company.
9. Gauge the health of an industry.
10. Track startups.
11. Ask for advice.

Mashable's Favorite Things About LinkedIn
{This is a shortened version of an article- find the full version here}
Quick Lookup Look up who you are having that next business meeting with. You’ll be able to break the ice right away.

1. Q&A – Post questions to others in your industry.
2. Recommendations – Have clients or co-workers post recommendations, which future employers and clients can view to gauge your skill and level of trustworthiness.
3. Background checks – Look up potential new hires or freelancers. This should be right up there in an HR manager’s toolbelt.
4. See what your competition is up to
5. Introductions – Use people you already know to help make introductions. It’s a great way to get in the door with a company you need to contact.
6. Open Networking – Go out and become a LION! You are an open networker.