Reshma Saujani "Gets" Tech

Monday evening I went to this Reshma Saujani (@reshma2010) event near Union Square: What Are You Doing Monday? Come Meet Al Wenger.

Reshma Saujani: Innovation, Ethnic Pride, Thought Leadership

It was a great event. I got to meet a whole bunch of people. I got to meet Reshma's boyfriend Nihal. (@nihalmehta). At my first Reshma Saujani event in early April, towards the end, someone told me "Reshma's boyfriend is a DJ," and I was like, wow, that is like Madonna, Madonna's boyfriend is also a DJ. (Madonna Is Dating Jesus, No Kidding) Ends up Reshma Saujani's boyfriend is not a DJ, but a tech entrepreneur. He does do the DJ thing though. I asked, and he confirmed. (@buzzd)

Fred Wilson: A DJ
Fred Wilson: DJ

Nihal is a cool guy. He asked me if I was going to the after party after the event was over. Of course I was going to the after party. I was one of the last to leave, and it was not even that late. There on the rooftop I got into an intense conversation about Twitter with @a_buchanan. She said the first time she met Reshma she was like, "You are @a_buchanan!" The first time she met Cory Booker, that New Jersey Mayor, he was like "You are @a_buchanan!"

I got to meet Al Wenger in person for the first time. (@albertwenger) The guy was on his BlackBerry, typing away when I first saw him.

"For the longest time I did not realize Union Square Ventures was named after Union Square," I said to him. "I kept thinking so square is square like in rectangle square, but what is union?"

"People think we are west coast," he deadpanned.

Nate was on the panel. (@innonate) Running the NY Tech MeetUp has turned him into a public figure in the tech circles of the city, and that was obvious at this event. He sure has a personality that could handle all the fame that could come his way. He is comfortable, he is affable, he is sharp, he has presence.

I asked my question to him after the panelists had had their run.

"I am not going to hide the fact that I take obvious ethnic pride in this campaign," I began. The crowd laughed to that line. "But the first time I heard the Reshma Saujani name was at Nate's blog, and that is a tech blog. I looked at the blog post, and I remember thinking, this is obviously an Indian name, and an Indian face, but she is talking technology, she must be running in California somewhere. My question is, how do you explain this tremendous poverty among New York politicians when it comes to all things tech? Especially when it is no longer this fancy, elitist topic, it has by now become a do or die topic. The jobs that are gone are gone, they are not coming back. The next rush of jobs this city needs will be created by this innovation community. Our politicians can't afford to stay away from the tech community, and refuse to pick up the vocabulary. Not any more. How do you explain this tremendous poverty among New York politicians?"

Nate said it takes effort, and so far the politicians have not put in that effort.

I got to meet the Dropio cofounder Darshan. (@darshan)

Dropio's Indian Cofounder Darshan

Meghan Asha ran the show.

Wall Street Journal: Upstarts Aim to Unseat Upper East Side Fixture

Reshma Saujani: Innovation, Ethnic Pride, Thought Leadership

Finally I got to meet Reshma in person on April 5 at the event put together by South Asians For Obama (now Opportunity) and Voterbook, both organizations I got to know very well during Obama 08. I was already sold on her before meeting. But meeting in person really cemented it for me. I don't make statements. If I did not believe she has a clear shot at winning, I would not get excited about putting some volunteer time into her campaign. She is supremely qualified. She is hugely promising as an up and coming political figure. She is going to win. She has to win.

She was for Kerry in 2004, I was for Dean. Actually this blog's launch itself was inspired by Dean 2004. She was for Hillary in 2008, I was for Barack. Check out the name of the blog: Barackface, like the movie Scarface. But we are putting all that aside and getting behind Reshma 2010.

Reshma Saujani was one of Kerry's top 10 fundraisers. I did not do a-n-y fundraising for Dean. She is leaps and bounds ahead of me in political skills. She was also a top Hillary fundraiser. They had a name for people like her in 2008: hellraiser, or hillraiser. We Obama people were running scared.

Innovation

Nate Westheimer, March 4: The Innovation Platform

I first heard of the Reshma Saujani name at Nate's blog. Nate, some of you might know, runs the NY Tech MeetUp, he is a friend of mine. (Social Media Week: The Best NY Tech MeetUp Ever) I wondered where she was running. Maybe in California, I thought. The name was obviously Desi, but I don't know of any New York politician who has got any major techie in town excited, and Nate was clearly excited.

AnyClip.com: More Thoughts
AnyClip.com: Second Thoughts
AnyClip Is Live Now




TechCrunch: Mark Zuckerberg's Coding Skills, Circa 2001

The next 10 million jobs America needs will be created largely by startups. Reshma Saujani "gets" that.

Reshma Saujani has the distinction of being the first politician in America to use Square for fundraising. Jack Dorsey is more well known for Twitter, but he is also the founder of Square which turns your smartphone into a credit card reader.

Square Now Being Used For Mobile Payments At Political Fundraisers

Here's Jack Dorsey speaking at a Reshma Saujani fundraiser in the Bay Area.

Ethnic Pride

Many districts in New York City that are overwhelmingly brown in composition are represented by vastly white guys at various levels of government. This rule by the East India Company has to come to an end. And I also notice and like the fact that Reshma is a woman. I harbor feelings on gender that some white guys in the South harbor on race. South Asia is a pretty sexist landscape, and the Desi culture is a pretty sexist culture. Figures like Reshma rising up give me hope about my community that perhaps we can do better going into the future. It was great to hear her say her first 50,000 dollars were raised through the "Auntie network" all across America.

Do I Know Rajiv Shah?
Happy Holi
Adhikaar: International Women's Day



Thought Leadership

Representing a safely Democratic district in Congress, Reshman Saujani will be able to push the limits on many progressive causes. Her opponent Carolyn Maloney has been a checkbox Democrat. She has a track record of having voted the right way many many times, but she has no track record of having provided national leadership on any issue. Carolyn Maloney is no thought leader. Carolyn Maloney is no leader, period.

Reshma Saujani for Congress - Democrat for the East Side and Queens
Reshma Saujani's bio
Reshma Saujani (reshma2010) on Twitter
Reshma Saujani| Facebook
Reshma Saujani - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Reshma Saujani - LinkedIn
Reshma Saujani - Yale Law School
Reshma Saujani
Yale Alumni Magazine: Yalie of the week
Congress.org - Election...Reshma Saujani

Reshma Saujani
Eleanor's Legacy: Spring Breakfast 2009 - ERLC Board Member
PEU Report: Blue Corporacrat .....Reshma Saujani Running for House Seat
IndiaPost - Voice of Indians Worldwide - New York attorney Reshma
Reshma Saujani Ditches the Pearls, Wins Over Fashionistas on
Hillary Lawyer Reshma Saujani to Challenge Maloney? | The New York...
Reshma Saujani Breakfast Fundraiser Brings Out Big Female Backers..
Reshma Saujani, 34: Candidate for Congress | The New York Observer
Maloney challenger brings in $403G
Reshma Saujani: Financial Reform From Soup to Nuts
Reshma Saujani Takes On Carolyn Maloney for U.S. House - NYTimes.com

Geraldine Ferraro says some pretty stupid things in the New York Times article. She also had stupid things to say about Obama back in 2008. Hillary disowned her in the aftermath. Carolyn Maloney has not disowned her yet. The clock is ticking.

Geraldine Ferraro, Geremiah Wrong
Geraldin Ferraro, Geremiah Wrong: A Dialogue

DNAInfo

Reshma Saujani Raised More Money For Primary Race Than Carolyn Maloney In Last Two Quarters
Reshma Saujani Courts South Asian Voters In Upper East Side Congressional Race (I am quoted ... this is where I met Reshma for the first time.)

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