School life at Kellogg has kept me away from my blog the past few weeks. However, I’ve got a large backlog of ideas I’d like to write about.

Some of the topics that have been occupying my mind include:

• The importance of explicitly defining what you’re not going to do / customers you are not attempting to reach in business strategy. This is partly inspired by a conversation with my buddy Evan Doll, the former Apple iPhone programmer who is now co-founding a startup. It’s also inspired by a brilliant article by Michael Porter titled “What is Strategy?”
• The divide (at least in the media) between entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. Does this divide exist? Or is it the press looking for a story? If it does exist, why does it exist? What does it mean for the industry?
• Why I really like “medium-sized” business plans–these are business plans that don’t say “We are going to dominate the world’s operating system world” but likewise don’t say “We are going to be a tool for an existing service.”

Finally, on a personal note…everything here at Kellogg is going well. I am looking to join the Private Equity Venture Capital (PEVC) Club and make any contributions I can. I am also getting active with both the High-Tech Club and Investment Management Club.

In the next couple of months I will be considering my options for summer internships.

You’re likely to see some common themes appear in this blog that have roots in my educational and professional background. I’ve worked in technology both on the finance side, as an investment banker with Goldman Sachs and a venture capitalist with RRE Ventures, and on the entrepreneurial/startup side, as the Director of Product Marketing at Data Robotics, Inc. and the founder of a handful of ventures and websites dating back to 1996. I grew up on Long Island and then earned my BA from Stanford during the height of the dot com bubble and the nadir of the bust. I’ve spent roughly five of the past ten years in Silicon Valley and five in New York City. I’d like to think I can bring the best of both perspectives to the table.

This means I don’t fit in perfectly with the cultures of either the Valley or NYC. I am rarely if ever impressed with technology for the sake of technology and I shudder at thought of making a living purely off of financial engineering. I like to see companies created, teams built, problems solved and value created. Maybe that’s why I’ve decided to spend the next two years of my life living in the Midwest (attending the Kellogg School of Management).

You can expect blog postings about topics within technology and finance that I have experience in as an operator, investor or consumer including:

• Storage
• Mobile
• Consumer HW & SW

Welcome to the new TomLoverro.com. This blog will primarily focus on three core areas:

1) Technology
2) Finance
3) Personal Revelation

Of course, as I discover what I enjoy writing about and build a community to engage in dialogue (or not), I am sure there’s a significant chance this will evolve over time, especially as my life changes. Hence, I am reminding you, the reader, that I reserve the right to take creative liberties with the direction of this blog in the future as I see fit. Like or don’t like what you’re reading? Have a suggestion, comment or thought? Please stop, think, think again, consider both sides of the issue and then write a response.