Reach Out and Touch those around you… Virtually

• Posted by Steve Spencer

Article posted on Sep 16

As you know, it is the goal of the Utah Tech Spotlight to bring more visibility to tech cool Tech right here in our backyards.  What better way to do that than to have a finger on the pulse of the new up-and-coming companies being funded.  To that end, the Tech Spotlight works closely with Funding Universe to take the coolest Tech presented in their monthly Speed Pitching events, and tell you about it here.  Oh, and look… here’s one now :)  :

Seek Mobile Interactive, Inc.

It’s a very interesting time in technology, as we watch not only the development of new, and revolutionary technologies, but also the convergence of various pieces being brought together into Mashups.  For those not familiar, a Mashup is essentially the taking of various pieces of other applications, and hooking them together in new and exciting ways.  Think of it sort of taking all of the best pieces from your favorite toys and snapping them together to create a cyborg Hulk with spidey-sense.

Another type of “trend mashup” involves taking the momentum that a specific type of movement, medium, or social trend and combining their energies together like multiple tidal waves merging into a single massive Tsunami.

A local company, Seek Mobile Interactive, is looking to capitalize on just such a convergence: Mobile Experiences, Social and Persistent Gaming, and Location based interactions.

Please follow this link to see the full article regarding Seek Mobile Interactive.

• Leave Comment
• Posted in Cool Utah Tech, Local Review

Local Figure: Chris Johnson from SCI

• Posted by Steve Spencer

Article posted on Sep 02

As a followup to the Utah Innovation Awards earlier this year, we had a chance to sit down with Chris Johnson the Director of the Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute at the U.  Chris is also:

Director, Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute (SCI).
Co-Director, Center for Integrative Biomedical Computing (NIH NCRR).
Distinguished Professor of Computer Science.
Research Professor of Bioengineering.
Adjunct Professor of Physics.
Faculty Member, Computational Engineering and Science (CES) Program.
Faculty Member, Brain Institute .
Co-Founder, Visual Influence Inc.
Co-Editor, The Visualization Handbook.

Chris is and his program at the U are doing some really amazing things… not just in the technologies they are coming up with, but with the culture they are building, and their ability to see these become more than just ideas, but to be a place for thoughts and people to flourish here in Utah.  As well as a program to help those ideas become realities, and businesses.

I hope you’ll enjoy hearing from Chris as much as I enjoyed talking with him.

As a note, if you don’t see the video below you can find your way to this original post as this link

• Leave Comment
• Posted in Cool Utah Tech, Local Review

Followup: Bungee Review

• Posted by Steve Spencer

Article posted on Aug 25

Okay, so a few weeks ago I headed down to Bungee labs to have a look-see at what they are up to.  Specifically, the event was their Skunk Works, wherein we got to see projects built by ten different teams in their spare time.  The average time spent seemed to be somewhere between a couple of evenings, and a week or so.

So for starters, the apps were cool.  The fact that people were able to pull of what they were in such short time lines was really impressive.  What was even cooler was what was beneath the surface that people really didn’t need to worry about.  The cross-browser compatibility, and things like that which is just pretty much taken care of for you.

I think the key for Bungee really seems to be in looking at what types of applications it is the best fit for.  You are paying to license a server, so for it to really make sense you should probably be considering it in fairly large projects where you would be considering other pay-to-play application servers.  I have had some exposure to some of these in the past, most notably Dynamo, and the toolkits and resources they make available can be nice time savers.

This means that it probably makes a bit less sense on a  small project with a single person working on it, and that doesn’t really need to be concerned with great uptime, patchability, CVS, and the like.

This is further reinforced by its tremendous speed in bringing new developer resources online with the whole dev environment, CVS, and everything available instantly.  This would be awesome if you had a large team working on a project.

Additionally, the tools realistically probably cut project dev times roughly in half from what I can tell.

One question is how it stacks up to other App Severs from a performance perspective.  I don’t really know that yet.

So if you were kicking off large project, using half a dozen or more developers, planned for it to take 9 months or so to get done, and really don’t care what language it’s in… then I think this is really a good potential fit you should explore.

Although, now that I think about it… once you had such an environment in place, I think whipping out small projects would be light-speed.  The key is that initial justification for the App Server I think.

To succeed though, Bungee needs to have the developers already familiar enough with it that they want to use it.  That’s where the free environment that Bungee runs is such a good idea.  It would be interesting to see Bungee expand their skunk works contests and incent those outside of Bungee to play.  Maybe we even expand this a little bit, and see what doing the same project in and out of Bungee looks like, and what the timelines are… What do you say Bungee?  I’ll help put this together.

As a final note, I want to comment on something outside of Bungee’s technology, and that is their culture. Even more than being impressed with the applications, how cool they were, and how quickly they were written, I was really struck by the people.  These are people who love where they work.  They love the team, the environment, and what they are trying to accomplish.  One of the most important things that a company can do is build a velvet-rope type environment, where people are wondering, “how do I get in there?”  Bungee has done that.  Their internship programs that bring it some of the most talented people in the country (where they are competing with the likes of Google and Microsoft for these student’s interest), the movies they show for free to locals, the parties, and the obvious approachability of the management team is really just stunning to see.  When it comes to culture, these guys get it.  Whatever else Bungee is or is to become, it’s obviously one heck of a place to work.

• Leave Comment
• Posted in Cool Utah Tech, Local Review

Local Review: Jason Mitchell from Wingate Web

• Posted by Steve Spencer

Article posted on Jun 25

I had the distinct pleasure of sitting down with Jason Mitchell from Wingate Web recently.  Wingate is real force to be reckoned with in the event planning and management space.  They help some of the biggest brands in the world manage events all over the world, increasingly (as you will hear from the interview) overseas.

Once again, Wingate shows us how many real giants in their spaces are sitting right here in the valley around us.

Jason is also one of the forces behind Feed The Habit, an extremely successful site that reviews and announces cool stuff around the outdoor industry.

Please join me in watching the interview (or click through to the post with the video in it here)

(Also, please forgive us… we had some issues with the tripod :)  I promse the next video will be less wobbly )

• 1 Comment
• Posted in Cool Utah Tech, Events, Podcast

Jason Alba speaks on effective social marketing, and his books

• Posted by Steve Spencer

Article posted on Jun 05

A couple of years ago I started looking into the local Social networking/blogging/twitter/etc scene, and wondering where to start.  What could I really do to get value, and build a helpful network without just spinning my wheels?  Many people here in, and outside of the valley were a huge help (far too many to list here now).  But one in particular seemed to really be able to cut through all of the crap, and ignore all of the hype, and point a valuable path based on experience.  Not only that, but he has always been so willing to share what he has learned, and so humble to deal with.

I know many others have shared similar experiences with Jason.  For those that haven’t, I hope you enjoy the video.  Give him a call… he;ll go to lunch with anybody!

• 2 Comments
• Posted in Cool Utah Tech, Events, Podcast

Utah Innovation Awards

• Posted by Steve Spencer

Article posted on May 29

Last week Stoel Rives and The Utah Technology Council held their 2008 Utah Innovation Awards Ceremony.  The eight winners this year were chosen after much deliberation by a committe of 60 experts from private industry, government, and higher education.  We from the Tech Spotlight were also pleased to have an opportunity to attend and get video with several of the winners.  The eight winners this year, and their respective categories include:

We hope you enjoy the footage as much as we enjoyed the event.  We will also be posting a full transcript in the coming days.

• 3 Comments
• Posted in Cool Utah Tech, Events, Podcast

A Different kind of “Tech”

• Posted by Steve Spencer

Article posted on Nov 26

You know, when we think about Utah Technology, it’s easy to start think about bio-med, PDA’s, Server Farms, and Various other bits and bytes. But I think it is important to remember that for tech to be really valuable it should be able to do one of two things:

1- Make us more efficient.

2- To improve our quality of life.

It’s the second of those that I want to focus my post on today. Specifically, I want to mention snow making. This weekend I was pleased to be able to hit the slopes (Okay, I cheated a little… that picture is from last year. I didn’t bring my camera this weekend.) The snow was all completely man-made, and although definitely not the best snow I have been on, it was pretty darned good. Most important though, is that it really was a wonderful bonding experience wit me and my two teenage boys. I can’t think of anywhere else I would rather have been. Thanks to the Canyons! Definitely a tech application that improved my quality of life this weekend!

• Leave Comment
• Posted in Cool Utah Tech

Upcoming Local Events (Speed Pitching and more!)

• Posted by Steve Spencer

Article posted on Nov 15

As all of you know, I am a huge fan of the Funding Universe Speed Pitching events.  Last month the event was up in Davis County, and if you read my post you will know that I came away absolutely stunned at all that is going on up north.  Well, this month they jump to the other end of our wonderful valley… December 6th will be a Speed Pitching event as part of Novell’s “Home Run’s in IT” Conference.  Well worth your time.  I have seen some really cool business ideas get attention from investors, and I have seen some businesses who, quite frankly have needed a bit of guidance get some invaluable feedback.  Kudos to Blake Brock and his team who put these on.

But lest I appear to play favorites too much let’s poke our nose into a few other items upcoming:

Nov 15:  Park City Chamber of Commerce.  Tomorrow I will be at my second Park City Chamber event.  The last one was amazing!  Looking forward to it, and will let you know how it goes.  Thus far however, I ahve to say that the PC Chamber really seems like one worth joining.  If you’re at this event, please be sure to say “Hi.”  I love to meet readers.

Nov 30: UTC Hall of Fame.  I have not actually been to one of the hall of fame presentations before… So I’m not exactly sure what to expect here… anyone attend last year and want to give us some insight?  Is this a good one for us all to hit?

Dec 7:  Corporate Alliance. I hit my first Corporate Alliance meeting earlier this month.  Eric is planning to hit this one, and give us a writeup to see how it compares.

Dec 19: UTC Sales P2P, “Compensation Plans and Sales Incentives that Work.”  Okay, so I am excited to hear this.  As a business owner, I constantly have to figure out how to incent sales people, but not short-change those around them (SE’s, Account Managers, etc.) and not create an environment where they can rest on their laurels, r jsut continue to work existing customers and never look for new biz.

As a note:  my intention with this post is not to be a full community calendar… these are the events I am planning to hit, because I think it likely they’ll have a lot of value.  Are there events that you have coming up that are so cool that we should be sure not to miss them?  Are there events you attend that you would be willing to give us a writeup on, so we know what we missed out on, and can be sure to catch it next time?  Is your tech so immensely cool that we should be Spotlighting it, so the world can know?  If so, be sure to comment on this post, or send me feedback.

• 2 Comments
• Posted in Cool Utah Tech

Review: Investors Symposium (and ravings about Klymit)

• Posted by Steve Spencer

Article posted on Oct 29

Today on the Tech Spotlight we have a review written and sent in by a guest poster (I know, exciting, huh?) But first let me introduce the writer of the post below (mainly because I think his company is really neat.) Last week I wrote about the Speed Pitching event I attended, and how neat some of the businesses there were. Well, one of them is Klymit, by the guys over at ArgonGear. For those of you who may not know, I am an avid snowboarder. As such, I was on the edge of my seat when these guys came in with a fuly functional jacket liner that is three times more insulating than thinsulate, AND actually allows you to dial in the level of insulation you need (there is actually a dial on the jacket! functional, effective, and cool enough to impress the best of the techno-geeks, and the Extreme sports crowd!!!) Summary: freaking cool jacket liner. I will be buying one.

But, enough drooling over their products… On to the post about the event (Written by Nick Sorenson):

(As a note:  If you would like to see your review of a local event here, please let us know.)

I attended the Utah Inventor Symposium on Oct. 26 at the SLCC Miller Campus not realizing how valuable an investment my $20 membership fee would be.

I heard about it through Connect Magazine’s newsletter and decided to attend because of its relevance to a startup venture I’m currently working on. Throughout the conference I was overwhelmed at the caliber of speakers Vaughn North and his team had assembled.

Some of the big-hitting speakers included Dr. Stephen Jacobsen—who holds over 200 patents; and Woody Norris—the 2005 MIT inventor of the year. Topics included cutting-edge technology, product development, and commercialization of inventions.

Here are a few of the many insights I gained from the two (out of 12 available) breakout sessions I attended:

Dennis Wood, Human Capital VP, Vspring Capital

• The management hiring process for a startup follows a general pattern. You should probably think about building a team in this order:
o During Product Development: CEO & Advisory Board
o BETA Phase: Board of Directors, CFO (or outsourced comparable services), Sales & Marketing VPs
o Shipping Product: HR & Administration
o Profitability: looking for new members to take it to the next level
• Utah has an economic and community climate that is very attractive to potential companies and executives—use it to your advantage
• A good manager with broad startup skills and excellent ability to build a team may end up being more valuable to your startup than a “big ticket” executive with enormous industry/product experience at a successful company, but less of the team-building/manager skills.

Dennis gave a very entertaining breakout and is a super-kind individual. He spent over 20 minutes talking with me afterword and I really learned a lot from him. A top-quality man!

Brad Bertroch, The Wayne Brown Institute

Tips for Raising Capital

• When in doubt, everything is a security
o You need to know the laws that govern the money you will take and how you’ll take it
• Seek competent legal counsel
• Beware of finders
o Those who help you raise money for a fee; this may violate securities laws
• Deal with people who can afford the risk
• Keep it simple
• Keep good records

Brad was an energetic speaker with very extensive knowledge. He handled a lot of good questions and explained many difficult concepts simply.

Overall, I felt like I had received a couple thousand dollars worth of training by the time I left the symposium. I will definitely be there next time. I would encourage all of you who are starting a business or creating new products to attend, because, after all, you’re inventing things too. Visit www.utahinventor.org for more resources, video links to the presentations given, and updates on future events.

Nick Sorensen
Argon Technologies Inc.
www.argongear.com

• 1 Comment
• Posted in Cool Utah Tech, Local Review

Lots of local events to announce

• Posted by Steve Spencer

Article posted on Aug 28

Well, 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

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!

• 2 Comments
• Posted in Cool Utah Tech, Events