Mr. Lewis then introduced speaker, author, pilot, and Forbes Publisher, Rich Karlgaard. Mr. Karlgaard kicked off his keynote address with his thoughts on the economy, and in particular, the changing rate of technology.  He suggested that people can now afford new technology because of the reduced cost of computation.  He spoke of the transparency of the internet and how everyday people can now create, analyze, and critique business plans through the use of the internet, and particularly in a collaborative environment. 

Mr. Karlgaard described how we live in a world where innovation is cyclical. “Like entrepreneurialism, it shifts in and out of popularity, with it currently being popular once again,” said Karlgaard.  “We all want to, and must, innovate. This is especially true if we run large, established companies, like ILD,” said Karlgaard, as he pointed out to the audience how impressive it is to see that ILD’s Payment Processing division grows four-fold in the past 5 years, while the US economy grew at only 3% last year.   He noted that incumbents do not have the option of blowing up their price structures, as internet start-ups like Craigslist can blow up newspaper classified ads.  “For most of us the challenge is to protect our revenue and profit streams while carving out the time, mental energy and money to pursue new opportunities,” said Karlgaard    He continued to speak of the different kinds of innovation businesses should focus on - geographical, data analytics and social networking. 

Beginning with geographical innovations, Karlgaard suggested that the media tends to focus on the West Coast and New York, and misses the world-class innovations that take place in remote locations across the country.  He spoke of the importance of data analytics, and used the Red Sox as a prime example. 

“The Boston Red Sox broke the Curse of the Bambino in 2004, when the team won its first World Series since 1918. The season before, the Red Sox had hired the young and brainy Theo Epstein as general manager. Epstein wisely consulted with Bill James, the guru of baseball statistics. But Epstein’s use of Jamesian stats offended the Sox old guard,” said Mr. Karlgaard.  The prime lesson being innovation often perturbs the old guard.

He continued, “The showdown came during the 2003 American League Championship Series, game seven. On the mound for the Red Sox was starter and ace pitcher, Pedro Martinez, protecting a 5--2 lead. Epstein knew from talking with James that, based on statistical analysis, Martinez always blew up after a certain number of pitches. Martinez had reached that point. Time to yank him. Epstein had previously alerted manager Grady Little. But Little felt in his baseball bones that Martinez could make it through the inning. He couldn’t. Martinez gave up four straight hits and three runs, and the game was tied. The Red Sox lost in the eleventh. Grady Little had ignored the data and lost the game. He was let go. The next year the Sox paid closer attention to the stats and won the World Series, and just won it again.”

“In the world of business Harrah’s Entertainment has revived its fortunes with a datacentric approach. CEO Gary Loveman, who likes to wear Birkenstocks and resides thousands of miles away from Las Vegas, is the nerdy opposite of a Steve Wynn casino mogul archetype. But Loveman has used statistical analysis of customers and games to make Harrah’s one of the most profitable casino and resort companies in the industry.”

From there, he spoke on the importance of design innovation in business, referring to Apple’s impressive and user friendly design of the iPhone. In fact, whether it’s music players or computers, Apple is rarely the first entry into a field. Where Apple is almost always first is in capturing hearts and minds through design. He suggested that if people want to understand where technology is going, “get an iPhone and an open an account on Facebook”.  With laughs from the crowd, and much audience interaction, Mr. Karlgaard got the crowd enthused enough to explore Facebook and to understand the importance of Web 2.0 on the future of business. He noted that social networking is an increasingly important tool which draws on the implicit or explicit connections between people, demonstrating that ILD is at the forefront of innovation.  Karlgaard’s speech set the stage for the remainder of the event. 

Managing Director of View Partners, Ruslan Chilov presented a detailed review of capital markets in the communications and technology sectors.  Specializing in Internet Media and Communications Services, Mr. Chilov provided a deep dive into the profitable opportunities within wireless and wireline sectors,  then focused on the positive outlook for online businesses.  “Internet companies have solid balance sheets, providing maximum financial flexibility for opportunistic acquisitions or share buybacks,” said Mr. Chilov.  He continued, “New media and internet companies have non-cyclical revenue drivers to leverage in the next couple of years.  These companies will benefit from advertising, as  the Internet is expected to garner 95%+ of advertising growth next year,” stated Mr. Chilov.  Upon conclusion of the session, guests took a break to participate in their preferred activities, which included sport fishing, an afternoon at the spa, a guided tour of St. Augustine or 18-holes on the celebrated TPC Sawgrass Championship course.

The afternoon was filled activities.  Guest selected from Golf at the TPC, Fishing on the Intercoastal Waterway, a Guided tour of historical St. Augustine, or an afternoon at the spa.  After a quality day in the sun guests chose between the Monday Night Football game or a relaxing night at a beachside dinner.  Even though the home town Jaguars lost, guests had a great time.

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