Utah Tech Spotlight

Utah Tech Spotlight Events

Review: Funding Universe Speed Pitching

  • Posted by Steve Spencer

Article posted on Aug 30

smileball.jpgYesterday I had the pleasure of attending a Funding Universe Speed Pitching event.  This was my first such event, and I have to say that I had a lot of fun.  The interesting thing about this event, is that I almost need to review it from both sides individually:  Investor and Entrepreneur.

Investor: I really thought this was great from the perspective of an investor.  It gave the opportunity to really see perspectives and people from a lot of different industries.  It gives an investor a chance to meet local folks, and hear what they have to say in a far less formal, less time consuming environment.  Looking at this as an investor: do I think it likely that I will walk away from the event having found that “diamond in the rough”?  Hmm… Maybe, but probably not.  More likely however, I walk away having learned a lot of things about other people’s business ideas that get me thinking about my other investments, or directions I have considered going as far as other investments.

I guess what I’m saying is that while it is possible that you might find something to invest in at any given event, don’t necessarily going into it expecting that… but there is some real value anyway.  You get to hear ideas without being hounded.

Entrepreneur: There are so many different investors, from so many different backgrounds, that it is almost impossible to walk away form the event without some really valuable advice, or a “You know, I know someone you should call to help you with your [such-and-such] issues.”  This is a great event to pick people’s brain, hone your message, and by all means, capitalize on an opportunity to read the body language of a lot of very bright people.  If you go to an event like this, and don’t come away with funding, don’t count yourself as having missed out.  The value you should still be able to come away with is immense.

I really want to thank the Funding Universe folks for letting me be involved… let me know if you have an open seat int he future… I really got a lot out of it.

Lots of local events to announce

  • Posted by Steve Spencer

Article posted on Aug 28

MouthfulWell, I know we have been a bit quiet lately (read: busy as heck), but here we are with stuff to announce, and goodness, we have a mouthful (couldn’t resist :) )

Funding Universe Speed Pitching Event
This event was brought to my attention by Lindsey Snow (Sorry for not getting ti posted until now Lindsey :) ). I have never been out to one of the speed pitching events yet, but am planning to try to swing by this event tomorrow… so watch for a full writeup after the fact.

Utah Open Source Conference
I am really excited to have the opportunity to be one of the sponsors of the Open source conference happening on the Novell campus September 6th-8th.

September Spotlight: Unspam technologies

We are changing up to timing a little bit for future events. September 20th, at 1:00 PM we will be meeting at the Bohemian. New to the spotlight? Here’s a peek into our format, and what we do to bring local tech people together, and “shed some light” on cool tech happenings here. Be sure to join us in September to hear more about Unspam, and what they are doing to mail your life, and your email better. (More details to follow on the email list… not on that list? Signup!)

October Spotlight: Doba Doba

October 11th we will be Spotlighting this local superstar. The only Ebay certified Drop Shipper, and growing so fast I actually checked the building for stretch marks!

We’ll be sending you more information on both of these companies, why we chose them to spotlight, and where you can see them.

Have your own cool tech we should be Spotlight? Have a local event we should be reviewing? Be sure to let us know!

Local Review: Fund Of Funds at Thanksgiving Point

  • Posted by Steve Spencer

Article posted on Aug 20

Forgive me for being a little late in getting this posted (sheesh, I could get so much more posting done if it wasn’t for actually having to do work! :) )

Last Thursday I attended an event down at Thanksgiving Point that was put on by the Fund Of Funds, UTC,  MCWN, and UVEF.   The event was attended by about 250 folks.  Not only were the numbers that they drew in impressive, but the people themselves were the cream of the crop.  A really great group.

There were presentations from several VC’s that the FOF has helped get investing into Utah.  There was also a gentleman who had received such investment dollars that spoke on how helpful the FOF has been.

So my impression?  It was really neat to hear how much Utah is changing.  My previous company went looking for VC money in 1998-1999, and I have to say that being from Utah was a big strike against us.  It is invigorating to hear form VC’s and company owners, and seasoned professionals (the Found of Iomega stood and expressed the same) tell us how much better it is now.

I haven’t gone out hunting dollars for several years, so I can’t speak for experience… but it definitely sounds better.  It’s good to see that people like Jeremy at FOF are working so hard to improve things for us all.

Review: Facebook Developers Garage

  • Posted by Steve Spencer

Article posted on Aug 10

Last night Phil Burns pulled together a Facebook developers garage.  There were about fifteen folks in attendance, and I have to say that the amount of intelligence in that room was overwhelming.  I hope you’ll forgive me for not listing out names of the folks involved and attending, and linking over to them, but honestly the crowd was so sharp that I would have to link to each and every one of them… and rather than risk missing one or two I will have to err on the side of brevity.

This was the start of what is intended as an ongoing forum for the growth, knowledge sharing, brianstorming, and networking of those in the valey involved in, or interested in Facebook.

I think the really important part here is “interested in.”  The meeting last night was amazing.  I cannot believe how much I learned (I still have information leaking out my ears because my brain can’t hold it all.)  But there is a crowd of people who were not at the event who I would suggest would derive a lot of value… The room was filled with people who know, believe in, and use Facebook.  But I think it is just as important for those who don’t.  If you choose not to buy into the hype, or you choose not to use a technology, at least know what it is, understand what it is you’re not using and why.  Also, this lets you see what you didn’t know… are there applications for it that you did not consider?  Or is it headed in a direction that may be of value to you or your customers one day.

It’s great to believe in a technology.  It’s nice to be able to disagree wit a technology.  But it really sucks to say have to say, “That isn’t worth looking at… everybody says so… but I don’t know why.”

I’ll pencil you in for the next event ;)

Review: Politic 2.0

  • Posted by Steve Spencer

Article posted on Aug 10

Earlier this week I attended a Politic 2.0 event where all but one of the Salt Lake Mayoral candidates had an opportunity to respond to questions.  The event was held at the Downtown library.  The method of question submission wsa through a web interface, where people could ask questions, and then “vote” for or against other people’s questions.  Thus the most popular questions got asked.

This is my second Politic 2.0 event, so let me through out some positives, negatives, and comparisons with the previous event from my perspective (I will however, steer clear from commenting on the actual candidates or my feelings on them, since that’s just not what this blog is about.)

Good stuff:

  • The location was absolutely great!
  • Matt (the moderator) did a great job.  He is a wonderful addition to the team.
  • It really gave you a chance to see the candidates.  I feel like I know them all so much better now.

Bad stuff:

  • There were such small numbers of votes for any given question that it was easy for people to manipulate.  The person sitting with me commented that any candidate could easily have had a few dozen of their people completely control the question lists.
  • There was no advantage to actually being there.  All questions and votes were online… The video feed was streamed online…  There were a small number of people there, so networking was not a key factor… so why did I actually drive down to the location?  Okay, I did get to shake hands with the candidates, but still not worth the drive, park, etc.  I would have gotten pretty much the same experience in front of my screen at home in my PJ’s.

Comparison:
This event was far more objective than the previous event.  I felt that it was entirely audience driven rather than having things steered.  The event was more professional.  That application interface has improved a ton.

Summary:

An event well worth attending… just not in person unless they make some changes.

Facebook meets Utah Developers

  • Posted by Clint Goudie-Nice

Article posted on Aug 07

FacebookThere has been a titanic amount of buzz around Facebook and it’s new API. Some people love it, others pshaw it; but one thing is true… everyone is watching what becomes of it.

Phil Burns is hosting Utah Facebook Developers Garage, and we here at Twelve Horses are exited to be Sponsors for this upcoming event!

The location will be Noah’s, 644 N. 2000 W. Lindon, on Thursday, Aug 9th at 6:00 pm. Here’s a map to the location.

From Phil:

If you’re interested in meeting with other Utah people interested in exploring programming and business opportunities in Facebook, please join our group on Facebook. Also, if you’re planning on coming to this Thursday’s meeting, please RSVP on Facebook here.
The only admission for Thursday is to bring a bag of snacks or soda for the open-food table for all to share. Hope to see you there!

Upcoming event: Politic 2.0

  • Posted by Steve Spencer

Article posted on Aug 01

politic2.o logoSeveral months back I attended a very interesting event put on by Politic 2.0.  It was a really neat opportunity to interract directly with a local Utah politician, ask the question that you always wonder why no one asks, and help choose which proposed questions will be put forth next.

Well, they’re back.  The Politic 2.0 folks have announced an upcoming event with a couple (possibly more) of the Salt Lake Mayoral Candidates. 

From the Politic 2.0 website:

“Politic 2.0 was created in April 2007 to answer the frustration of voters around the nation on two levels. Voters have lately been frustrated with both politicians and the traditional media outlets in trying to get substantive information about policy issues. Voters have also been frustrated because more and more people are using the Internet to find political information, yet find that the information they’re looking for is hard to locate, disorganized, and biased.”

“ConventionNEXT will not only allow candidates to speak to participants in the room, but will also facilitate interaction between them, and broadcasts the forum live through the Politic2.0 website.”

“Candidates Jenny Wilson and Ralph Becker have confirmed their willingness to participate. Other declared candidates have been invited, and subsequent media advisories will be posted to announce other participants.”

Well, sounds good to me!  I am also planning on grabbing some dinner over at Rio Grande prior to the event (probably around 5:00.)  Anyone care to join me?