SassyMiche (Michelle Girasole)

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chaos, email marketing, Entrepreneurship, kids, making millions, the beach

About Me

I never spend enough time online to actually finish any of my online profiles.  Apparently, I have some online version of attention deficit disorder.

Recent Content

Title: Open Coffee - South County Edition gains traction (Blog)

RI Nexus Open Coffee - South County"Yes, Virginia, there is a tech entrepreneur community alive and well in southern Rhode Island.  As I wrote in a blog post in February, we had a hunch that maybe, just maybe, there might be a collection of RI Nexus followers who might not want to drive "all the way to Providence", but may gather "locally" for coffee and connections.  As you can see from the photos, there is indeed a thriving tech biz community.  So we are happy to report that the RI Nexus Open Coffee, South County edition (affectionately nicknamed "RINOCO-SOCO") will continue, on the third Thursday of every month, at Bagelz Wickford.

RI Nexus Open Coffee - South CountyThe conversations I've had run the gamut:  new mobile phone applications being developed, web business models, the state of the venture capital market, the challenges of straddling the employment/ business startup period, forming partnerships, exploring web applications, what's buzzing on Twitter, and, admittedly, how nice it is to park in Wickford without ever worrying about a parking ticket.  We have welcomed people from Providence to Connecticut to Hope Valley to Jamestown.  All are welcome.

Please join us this Thursday, May 21st, between 9am and 11am.

Bagelz Wickford, upstairs loft area
21 W. Main St.
North Kingstown, RI
Map

Hope to see you there!
Michelle Girasole

And for your Providence area tech entrepreneurs, the next Open Coffee up here is this coming Tuesday. Details here.

Title: RI Nexus Open Coffee hits the road - South County Edition (Blog)

Bagelz Wickford For those technology entrepreneurs who can't/don't/won't drive into Providence, we're hosting a South County Edition of RI Nexus Open Coffee, an informal get-together where you can talk shop, swap resources and connections, and get caffeinated. Whether you drop in for 15 minutes or are the last two at the tables, you'll get a unique chance to spend quality time with the best and brightest in the City-State startup community.

How this event came about.  I am a Providence Geek and URI Alumni who recently returned home to South County.  Last summer, I moved from North Providence to Wickford, and while I always enjoy the Providence RI Nexus Open Coffee meetings, I don't get there nearly enough.

I suspect there is a "creative contingent" from Wakefield, Jamestown, Kingston, and the surrounding areas that would benefit a great deal from the connections and positive energy of an Open Coffee. In the same way that Providence residents won't drive "out" without packing a suitcase, many of us in South County won't drive "in" often enough.

Enter Bagelz Wickford. Literally. I just stumbled upon this gem recently, and found it the perfect location for an Open Coffee style meetup.  The loft upstairs is a very inviting space, with couches and cafe tables galore and enough warm sunlight to make you think you're outside. (But, please, don't let that stop you Geeks from tearing away from your computer.)  There's also free WiFi, and a killer selection of bagels, cream cheese spreads and coffees.  Yesterday, I had a spinach bagel with "blue cheese and tomato" spread that was to die for. Besides, being a Sassy Lady,  I'm a sucker for woman-owned businesses, and, trust me, Troy has got the magic formula here! So, I tossed the idea out to Jack and Allan, and we decided to give it a try. I hope you will join us on the 12th.  I promise to be a gracious hostess.  I can't guarantee that you won't fall in love with the quaint Wickford, as I have.  (Not that I'm encouraging the proverbial "brain drain" from Providence, but it's a great place to live and work!)  I hope to see you all soon.

RI Nexus Open Coffee - South County Edition
Thursday, March 12, 2009
9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

Bagelz Wickford, upstairs loft area
21 W. Main St.
North Kingstown, RI
Map

Title: A Good Deed - A Good Cause (Forum)

I hesitate to promote an event happening at the same time as the Geeks Dinner.  I must admit to being bummed out that I can't be in two places at once - Annette and David are doing some neat stuff at MoFuse - and it is sure to be a good event!

But anyway, thought I'd let everyone know about a fundraiser that I am co-hosting tonight at the HiHat.  Cool venue, cool music from The Blackstone Project - local jazz phenom-in-the-making, and a fun, generous, networking crowd.  $15 cover, 5:30-8:30pm tonight - Wednesday, July 16th.  Pay at the door or online.

And, for those who want to help, but are already going to the Geek Dinner (and also have not figured out how to clone themselves), event t-shirts are available for $15.

The funds are being raised to help our Sassy partner, Miriam's parents get back on their feet after losing everything in their apartment fire back in April.  Open invite - all are welcome!

Recent Comments

Source: RI Nexus Open Coffee - South County (Event) Submitted: April 14th, 2010 - 11:07am link

April 15th is normally tax day, but this year it is also RI Nexus Open Coffee in South County.  We have a growing group of regular folks who are always happy to welcome newcomers, so if you need a break from the routine of the home office - stop by to say hi! (We won't make you fill out any tax forms while you're there, promise...)

Source: Open Coffee - South County Edition gains traction (Blog) Submitted: May 21st, 2009 - 11:14am link

I promised to report back on this morning's coffee, and once again, a varied group of tech entrepreneurs showed up.  Here are some of the people:

Bart Baldwin, Entrepreneur, baldwinwb@verizon.net

Richard Graefe, Freelancer,  wordsmithri@cox.net

Chris Shoemaker, Freelancer, c.shoemaker@cox.net

Robert Balliot, oceanstatelibrarian.com

Evan Lapisky, Far Sounder, evan@lapisky.net

Jake Goldman, C. Murray Consulting / jakemgold@cmurrayweb.com

and me, Michelle Girasole, Sassy Ladies, michelle@thesassyladies.com

 Interestingly, two people came "over the bridges", and there was a discussion about possibly hosting an Open Coffee trial in the Middletown/Aquidneck area.  If you are interested, chime in and stay tuned.

We had a lively discussion about social media, particularly Twitter, and I promised to post a link to the recent news coverage on Tuesday night's Tweetup.  There was also some buzz around these topics: the news industry, a local video surveillance company, the local web development space, local living economies, and public transit in Rhode Island.  In discussing the new RICIE center at Brown U, the conversation instantly jumped to modeling MIT and there was a show of love for John Maeda (RISD/Simplicity) and the Providence Geeks.  A mixed bag of topics, as every Open Coffee event should be.

Til next month, same time, same place, same 3rd Thursday...

Source: Taking the watercooler out of the office (Blog) Submitted: March 15th, 2009 - 5:22am link

Scratch that - just found Facebook Group for updates.  Next event 4/22/09. Details:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=57593957444

Source: Taking the watercooler out of the office (Blog) Submitted: March 15th, 2009 - 5:19am link
Wow, really sorry I missed this one.  Updates, please...  how'd it go!?!  Stephanie, post a date for the next Pecha Kucha, I'd love to attend.
Source: RI Nexus Open Coffee - South County Edition (Event) Submitted: February 26th, 2009 - 5:24pm link
Hi Annette!  That's great!  I look forward to seeing you guys there!
Source: RI Nexus Open Coffee hits the road - South County Edition (Blog) Submitted: February 26th, 2009 - 5:23pm link
Great!  (Bagelz IS my sattelite office... the loft is so comfy!)
Source: Rhode Island Twitter "Sound Off" (Blog) Submitted: January 29th, 2009 - 5:25pm link
Source: PBN announces 2008 40 Under Forty class (News) Submitted: July 16th, 2008 - 11:27am link

Congrats to Adriana, Charlie, Jack, Allan and Pam and the others for their awards this year!  See you the party on the 31st.  Let's have a big RI Nexus crowd there to celebrate and cheer them on!  (Lord knows the law firms and banks always send huge teams...)

Source: Set your alarms - Jogging with John (the Business Edition) this Tuesday 6am (Blog) Submitted: June 19th, 2008 - 5:38pm link

Wow, hey, thanks, but at 6am, I'm more inclined to "BLOG with John". Hopefully the RINexus blogging crowd will keep us updated on the topics of conversation that take place!

Kudos to John for being so accessible.  It is so refreshing to see a college president being so present in the community.  Good stuff.

Source: The joint was hoppin' at RI Nexus Open Coffee (Blog) Submitted: May 30th, 2008 - 1:09pm link

Great event, RI Nexus – thank you.  This first timer will be back again.  (Read blog recap of my newbie experience at Open Coffee.)  Thanks to Pam O’Hara for the invite!