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Fun Meets Functional

The August 2007 issue of Inc. was the most fun business magazine I've read in a long time ["Fun! It's the New Core Value"]. In a previous job, I ran team-building events for a large company. I hired Francis Anthony, the "Love Chef," to do cooking-based activities and did everything I could to help the staff break free of routine, even if just for a few hours. For weeks after the events, employee morale was through the roof. Each event inspired shared jokes and stories that brought together people who might not otherwise converse in the hallways. That led to closer teamwork, increased productivity, and greater company loyalty. Now I run my own PR business, and I regularly recommend employee recognition with fun in mind. It works.

Tricia Richards
Owner
Tricia Richards Marketing Communications
Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania

A Splitting Headache

Brian Rosen made a bad bet when he handed 80 percent of Sam's Wines and Spirits to a private equity firm so he could seize control from his brother, Darryl ["Splitting Heirs," August]. Brian will have to increase the total value of the company 150 percent just to get the value of his share back to what it was.

Not every company is destined to be Wal-Mart. What is wrong with having aprofitable, growing company that doesn't have to constantly please outside investors? I think it's more important to do what you love and have a family enterprise. If this turns out badly, I predict that Brian Rosen's family will still be supportive of him, because that's what families do. The private equity guys, on the other hand, won't be sending any holiday cards.

Rob Auerbach
President
CandyRific
Louisville

A Raise Is in Order

As I read your story about the unwanted effects of lowering prices ["How Low Can You Go?" August], I chuckled. When we released our software Stonefield Query to the market in 1996, we thought if the price was low enough (we chose $99 per user) everyone would want a copy. Boy, were we naive. Since then, prices for some versions of our software have increased to $2,000 per user. Not only are unit sales way up, but we also have attracted much larger clients. When we priced Stonefield Query too low, it was perceived as cheap and not worthy of consideration. Now it is viewed as an enterprise solution.

Mickey Kupchyk
President
Stonefield Software
Regina, Saskatchewan

Looking Gift Traffic in the Mouth

Utube.com is making a mistake in suing YouTube.com for the misdirected traffic it gets ["Can You Spot the Real Utube?" August]. Doesn't Utube realize the grand gift it has been given? Many sites would kill for that much traffic--even accidental traffic! A simple notice ("We're not YouTube. We don't host videos. We never have. Click here to go to YouTube.com.") on Utube's homepage would clarify things for most people. And Utube certainly doesn't seem to have any problem monetizing the traffic it's getting from bad spellers. Drop the suit, Utube. Revel in people's ignorance.

Christopher Mahoney
San Francisco

Circus Criticism

At a time when entrepreneurship is strongly trending toward the socially responsible, it's sad to see Inc. focus on Kenneth Feld, a man whose fortune was built on animal abuse ["How I Did It," August]. You noted a past lawsuit filed by PETA, but you failed to mention an active federal lawsuit filed by the Animal Protection Institute, the Animal Welfare Institute, the Fund for Animals, and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals against Feld Entertainment for violating the Endangered Species Act in its abuse of endangered Asian elephants.

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