Good morning, All, and again our thanks to Gautam Gupta of General Catalyst for taking the time to meet with some of our startups on Friday and we do hope it was worthwhile for all.
Yes, TechCrunch Disrupt is in town until tomorrow and for $2995, you too could be there, too. And maybe you are. We are not, although we were there for SAI Startup2010 last Thursday – as were a number of you on the list – and it was a stellar. Dennis Crowley (the most wanted man in SV) was as funny and spot-on as ever and yes, foursquare, who are adding 15,000 new users daily, does have a business model. Starting with the $1.00 off Frappuccinos for mayors of Starbucks. Just – literally – a taste of things to come. Best line (wait for it): in response to privacy issues related to location-based application. “As long as it’s opt-in I don’t see the problem,” he said, pointing out that he finds passive location applications like Google Latitude more of a concern. “It haunts me more than it helps me.” Amen! The winner of $100,000 in cash and services was RedBeacon.com, a Silicon-Valley based startup conceived by three former GOOGs. Coming to NY and a city near you, well, maybe sooner now that they’ve won. Finally, our thanks once again to SAI for the discount.
Onward and forward to the week ahead and somewhere in the none-too-distant future:
Tuesday: New York Media Success Stories: How Media is Using New Technology to Evolve. New York City is the media capital of the world and technology plays a significant role in how media is consumed by and distributed to multiple audiences. How have media companies embraced technologies to grow their organizations and engage target audiences? What has worked well and what can other companies learn? How are media companies changing as a result of technology? NY1 technology reporter Adam Balkin leads a panel discussion to address these questions. Panelists: Marc Minardo, General Mananger of Interactive, Crain’s New York Business, Lisa Choi Owens, Senior Vice President of Digital Media, Scripps Networks and Sree Sreenivasan, Professor of Digital Media and Dean of Students at Columbia Journalism School. Organizer: New York Technology Council. It takes place 6-8 pm at PWC, 300 Madison.$15 for non NYTC members. RSVP here: www.nytech.org/event-details.php?eid=1008
PHP Hacking for Fun and Profit. LIPHP president andPHP hacker Justin Dearing, will show us that there’s more to PHP than first
meets the eye. Begins at 6.30 sharp. Location: IBM, 590 Madison Avenue, New York, NY (12th Floor)RSVP Required: http://www.nyphp.org/RSVP/169 (all attendees MUST RSVP) Post-Meeting: TGI Fridays at Lexington and 56th (about 8pm)
Wednesday: Entrepreneurs Roundtable Jalak Jobanputra, SVP at the New York City Investment Fund is the guest VC and if you’ve RSVP’d and can’t make it, please take your name off the list. There are 50 people on the waiting list, so be considerate
Hodgson Russ 1540 Broadway
24th Floor
Thursday: Digital DUMBO #16
Just beCause by The Jar Group and DumboNYC.com. Yes, it is cause-based and The JAR Group, & DumboNYC.com are announcing a donation program as a way to give back to local non-profits.Drinks are free, as usual, but all bar tips will be matched by The Jar Group and DumboNYC and donated to the Brooklyn Community Foundation. An even better reason to be good to your bartender!
Dumbo Loft, 155 Water Street, corner of Pearl and Water, Brooklyn
Free http://digitaldumbo.eventbrite.com/
Girls in Tech NYC Entrepreneurship and Venture Series with Astia!
Details: Raising venture capital is never easy. And as a recent New York Times article, “Out of the Loop in Silicon Valley” highlights, navigating this opaque and clubby world can pose unique challenges for female entrepreneurs, including lack of visible role models. So please join Girls in Tech NYC and Astia for an evening discussion with high caliber female entrepreneurs who have successfully raised venture capital. Hear tips and experiences from a panel of four women who have taken an idea through the fundraising stage and beyond. Jalak Jobanputra (SVP and venture investor at the New York City Investment Fund – and busy week for her) is moderating and the panelists are four successful women who have have taken – or are taking – it to the next level.:
6.30 at DogPatch Labs, 36 East 12th Street (between Broadway and University) It’s $5 and RSVP here: http://gitnycventure.eventbrite.com/
Friday: Memorial Day weekend officially begins. Around mid-day, according to our estimation.
NEXT WEEK – On Wednesday, June 2, SOS will be hosting another gathering – weather permitting and rain date TBD. It’s a beer-and-burger barbeque, sponsored by 1099partners.com, and yes, it will be outdoors, in a garden, so wear comfortable shoes. $10 at the door, RSVP required and here’s the link: http://bit.ly/bS2vwh
About our sponsors,1099partners.com: 1099ers is a unique service that assists technology companies with senior-level, on-demand talent and support. In an economic climate where every dollar counts, 1099ers, with our network of over 2000 industry professionals nationwide, provides your business access to senior executives without your incurring the overhead of a permanent employee. Many of our associates have over 15 years experience in roles such as sales, marketing, finance, legal and technology.
Leverage our network of experienced professionals to penetrate new markets and increase sales. Our team is not “between job” consultants but rather executives who can execute and obtain results by leveraging their experience and vast network of contacts to help take you to the next level. They are only available for assignments they deem interesting and work on an individualized equity/cash compensation arrangement. For more information please email us today at info@1099partners.com.
Thursday, June 3rd is Graham Lawlor’s Ultralight Startup. This time they will be dissecting the concept of “lean startups,” a trending topic in the startup world if there ever was one… Can any idea be developed “leanly” or only particular types of ideas? Is “lean” a type of startup or a stage of every startup? What does “lean” have to do with minimal viable products, pivots, and customer development? And most importantly, how does “lean-ness” change your financing options? For complete details on this event panelist bios and registration information, see the ULS website at: http://ultralightstartups.com/newyork/financing-lean-startups.html
THE WEEK AFTER THAT: it’s Internet Week (internetweekny.com) June 7th-14th (yes, we know that’s 8 days. We didn’t name it; we’re keeping you in the loop here and good idea to register for events NOW)
In fact, Monday, June 7th is “Find A Co-Founder” Night and SOS is one of the sponsors. Learn how to start a venture the right way from experienced serial entrepreneurs. And find a co-founder!
Startups will pitch their companies to the audience for real-time matching. Speakers include Howard Morgan (First Round Capital), Jeff Stewart (Founder, Mimeo and Urgent Career) and Stephen Messer (Founder, Linkshare). Register at http://findacofounder.eventbrite.com/
We may only be sending out one email this week. Unless, of course, we get a lot of posts in which case, we’re always happy to help. In case we don’t, we want to wish you all a wonderful and safe Memorial Day Weekend and for now, help is on the way…
