Roadblock #1 - 02/12/2007 - 9:00 PM:

I figured one of two things would happen at the Googleplex this morning. 1.) The process would be easy, I'd set up a meeting, and come back in a few days to make my pitch. 2.) They'd turn me away at the door. Unfortunately, they did the second one. You can't talk to anyone at Google about setting up a meeting, not in person; you have to submit your business idea via a form on their website. Here's the thing, though: their web form expresses less interest in knowing about you and your idea than the one Jack-in-the-Box uses to ask you how much you like their hamburgers. I wish I could say I was joking, but I kid you not. Look at this:


The Google form is on the left, and Jack-in-the-Box form is on the right. After you fill out Google's, you get a form e-mail saying that Google can't take the time to respond to your proposition via an actual human, but they appreciate your thoughts. It doesn't exactly give you confidence that they've really heard what you have to say, which is why I'm here in California. I went ahead and put together an online flash presentation of the idea - with audio - and submitted the link to them, anyway. Let's see if that does any good. If not, it's only the first day of the week.