Article posted on Apr 24
You all know that I am a huge fan of the Speed Pitching events put on by Funding Universe. Well, next week is a great opportunity for all of you to do more than just read about how cool these events are. Funding Universe is putting on their first ever Livepitch and Networking event. What is this? Well, for starters it is a great place to come meet local investors and entrepreneurs in a social setting. Each person attending will get a certain amount of “funny money.” Like an entrepreneur’s pitch? Vote with your dollars (or funny dollar int his case.) Additionally, a panel of investors will be judging all of the pitches. At the end, the two winners will be chosen: one by the investor judges, and one by you, the audience based on your contributions of “funny money.”
This is an amazing chance to see what is going on in Utah, and meet the people who are making it happen! Don’t miss it!!!
When: Friday May 2, 2008
Venue: Miller Business Innovation Center
Building: Karen Gale Conference Center
Rooms: Wasatch and Cottonwood
Time: 9 am - 10:30 am
Cost: FREE! ($10 to apply to present)
Go to http://www.fundinguniverse.com/services/339/420/utah-livepitch-and-networking.html for more information or to register.
Article posted on Apr 17
(Warning… Passionate rant and possible arm-waving begins now)
Last night I was fooling around with my DansGuardian server at home… again. I have it running on a crappy little server that always seems to have problems. Not only that, but I really haven’t been all that pleased with the lag from the squid caching, or the painful fine-tuning of Dans Guardian from time to time. Plus, I did not have it inline with my network, so any intelligent kid could easily bypass it. But I didn’t want to go to the trouble of inserting another NIC and setting up by Linux install for bridging… just a pain.
Enter Untagle. Let me just say “HOLY CRAP!” I went to the website (very professionally done BTW), pulled down an ISO (for free), and burned a disk. I inserted the disk into a computer and booted from it. The install was the easiest install I have ever done. No hard questions… no troubleshooting. It just worked. My mother in law could have installed this! I did have to throw in a $17 network card to ensure complete protection by putting it so it can’t be bypassed.
Done. Within 10 minutes of EXTREMELY easy configuring I had virus protection, spam protection, spyware, adult content filtering, and a bunch of other stuff all running. The UI is super easy to understand and use. Once installed everything can be done remotely. Performance seems great. All of this at absolutely no cost. These guys are amazing. Seriously, I cannot recommend a product any higher than I can this one. If you are, or know someone who is looking to protect their kids from porn, this is your solution. I have shied away from pointing anyone at DansGuardian in the past, as I knew they would bug me for tech support questions forever on it. It is just too difficult for a non-tech person.
Untangled. Don’t have it? Get it! Curious? Watch the video.
Article posted on Apr 17
It’s been a few month’s since I made it out to one of the CTO breakfasts put on by Phil Windley. I am pleased however, that I made it out to one this morning. The caliber of people and discussions at these is just amazing. Phil really does manage to bring the best of the best into these breakfasts (and a few of the rest of us managed to sneak in as well 
)
Topics today were all about the App Engine by Google, and EC3 by Amazon. Odd to see these two be the players going head to head in this space, but I think we’ll all be the winners in the end. They are really doing with hardware infrastructure what has been done with pipe and power in the past by the Datacenters. The ability to have hardware not only managed and provisioned by someone else, but allocated near real-time when needed. Additionally, the distribution is reported by some to be near as performant as they have seen from some Content Delivery networks… yet another problem solved as part of the outsourcing strategy presented here. I think the key question is not if, but when will these solutions reach a price model that makes more sense for more mature, more stable platforms? And do they intend to? (I personally think the answer to that is yes.)
Thanks to Phil for putting these together! If you are reading this now, wondering if any local events are really worth carving time out of your calendar, and wondering if you will really meet anyone worth meeting, let me just shout a resounding YES for this event. I never walk away hungry.
Article posted on Apr 14
One of the programs that I really love here in Utah is the Utah Entrepreneurial challenge. I was really pleased and blessed this year to have been given the opportunity to be a mentor to one of the teams. The team I was working with is called Qgia. Qgia’s product is pretty slick. It’s a very inexpensive solution for companies (and even individuals in the case of yahoo or ebay stores) to be able to either upload video they have produced, or even point at video hosted somewhere else, and then have it played on their site/online store. What makes it cooler though, is that you can upload images to be used as “buttons”, and tell how many seconds into the video there popup, where, and what url they should direct to. So imagine a Convention/visitor’s bureau video that hi-lights Utah destinations, and then as each one is show there is a button right on the video for a call to action for that section of the video. Further, this can be directly integrated into a shopping cart… so if the image is someone boarding at Brighton, the “buy now” button might jump right to a cart with a pass in it already. I know their website is still under construction, but if you want to talk to these guys sooner, just let me know and I’ll help. I know that Mark and his team are headed for grea things (Heck, I’m ready to star using it!)
Another company that I have written about several times is Klymit. These guys have got a really neat product that uses Argo, among other gasses inside of a jacket liner. Combine this with a small pressurized canister (the size of a CO2 can that might be used ina BB gun), a adjuster dial, andSHAZAM! What you have is an unbelievably lightjacket (so they tell me… I am still waiting in line to buy one) that let’s you literally “dial-in” the appropriate level of insulation. Dial it up while riding the lift up, dial it down when you’re carving moguls. Cool stuff. (as a note: Nick Sorenson’s presentation was very polished. Nice job.)
The winner this year was Amwell (not sure if they have a website… anyone know of one?) Amwell is one of those companies that really makes you feel good to be a human bieng. They have developed a product with innovative technology for vaginal application of medecines. They use case they are headed into trials for is supposed to prevent pregnancy, HIV, and other STD’s. I apologize that I don’t know more about it… but I’ll see what I can find out as far as web resources to point you to.
The winner this year walked away with $50,000. Second and Third took $10,000 each, and the rest of the top ten walked with $2,000 each. Not a bad jump to your business. Good job to everyone involved, and a shout out to Qgia, good job for making the top ten!!
Article posted on Mar 12
Yesterday I attended a UTC event at the Desert Star Theater in Murray. I few notes before I event get into the topic or the speakers: This was my first time at the Desert Star. It is really neat inside, plus even though it looks tiny from the street, there is a ton of parking in the back. I am definitely planning to hit some of their upcoming shows.
This event was dedicated to the use of domain names, and how they can help you:
The speakers were Chris Finken, CIO and co-founder at Orange Soda, and Michael Taylor Alvarez from Ochoa and Taylor. This was my first time meeting either of these gentlemen, but I found them both to be very intelligent, and extremely knowledgeable about the topic of discussion.
I want to pass along a few key items fromt he presentation that I thought were really good:
Keywords
When getting a domain name for your website, or a domain name for a secondary site about your company that then links into you main site, it’s important to remember that not everyone cares who the heck you are. You ahve to ask yourself what they are really looking for. If you think they will be specifically looking for your comapny by name, then a domain name that is your company makes sense. But that may not be the case. If for example you produce frozen meals that can be cooked quickly, even though you company name is Susan Foods, a domain name like “fastmeals.com” might make more sense for you, as that is what the customer is really looking for.
Additionally, even if you don’t get the value from a domain like “fastmeals.com” it is a domain name that someone else might want in the future and you might be able to monetize in other ways.
Missssspellings
You can protect your own company from losing intended traffic, and potentially capitalize on intended traffic for other domains by grabbing common misspellings. What are some of the ways that people misspell you company, product or value proposition? Grab those domain names to make sure people end up were you want them to be.
My opinion on the event:
My opion on the event would have to be that I was very impressed with the people they found to speak on the topic. Very sharp guys. I was also pleased with the presentation on domains. But where I was left wanting a little bit was the narrowness of the scope. Domains are very very key to driving SEO, which we know is Orange Soda’s specialty. but since the scope of the presentation was just on domains, we never got into the questions that were right there, waiting to be answered in regards to URL structure, blogs, and so many other areas. It was like we had a meeting to explore baking cakes, but chose to focus this first meeting on only discussing what eggs to use. This may sound more harsh than I mean it. The meeting was wonderful. I just hope they follow it up with a few more int he “series” to round the picture out, and that as the series progresses there are recaps on the other, relevant data that has been presented.
All in all, nice job UTC, Chris, and Michael. Also, thanks to the Desert Star.
Article posted on Mar 10
At the end of last week I had the pleasure of going to hear Jason Alba from Jibber Jobber speak at Utah First Friday on Linked In.
Now, many of you have heard me speak before as to what a huge mentor on social media Jason has been to me over the last year, and I am pleased to say that he did not disappoint. Jason realy does a great job of conveying some of the core key value propositions of Linked in. He really cut right through the crap, and into the meat of the matter. It was not a speech on “What can Linked in do?”… it was a speech on “What can linked in do for ME, and why the heck should I care?”
I am a very acive user of linked in. I don’t mean that I have more connections that everyone else… because that’s counter to how I use linked in. What I mean is that I actually USE it, and derive value. If I am looking to hire people wit key skill sets, I look for them on linked in. If I have a business meeting with someone later in the day, I first research them on linked in to find out about them, and possibly even call connections we have in common for more details. Applicants? I always call people who I know and have in common with them to find out what they are really like. But tha’s just what I do. Jason pointed out so much more.
Linked in is a great job finding tool, applicant tool, and marketing tool. Additionally, Jason is one heck of an engaging speaker… although he is fairly new to this, and I know will improve with polish and time, it is his personality and wit, and genuineness that keep the audience engaged. Jason, if you are reading this… I have a question: I would guess that sales, marketing , and even HR teams in many companies could really benefit from a short, personal level perentation to their group on what you went over. Is that something you’re interested in doing? How might people contact you for that?
Article posted on Mar 03
Howdy all!
Wow. I don’t know about everyone else, but altough there may well be a financial downturn around the corner, we are definitely not feeling it yet. I have never in my life been busier. But I did want to update you on a couple of local events that I attended recently, and an upcoming item for the Tech Spotlight.
40 under 40:
Utah Business Magazine held their awards luncheon for the annual 40 under 40 last week. The luncheon was really nice, and it was a great bunch of people to hang out with. I also really like how diverse the field was. There were companies represented from all different areas from Tech, Financial, Health, Modeling, Outdoor, Construction, and pretty much everything else under the sun. What I would really LOVE to see as a side benefit of this type of event is a quarterly Alumni type get together. It was just so neat to hang out for a couple of hours with these folks, that it would be good to keep in touch. UTC, here’s a suggestion for you, Utah Business, and Digital IQ: You guys do sucha great job with your CEO Peer 2 Peer meetings, and really get discussion and comradery going. A similar event to get the 40 under 40’s interacting at that same level would be inredible!
Utah Entrepreneurial Challeng, Meeting of the Minds:
The Utah Entrepreneurial Challenge had their Meeting of the Minds event last week. This is an opportunity to pair up local entepreneurs to brainstorm with these up and coming companies. Officially, the entrepreneurs are referred to as “Mentors”, but I think I speak for all of us who were sitting at a table, brainstorming with our team, that the learning was definitely flowing both ways. Perhaps, “older pupils” is more apt
I am working wit Qgia, a really exciting idea around video (sorry can’t share much more than that yet.) I am really impressed with how events like the Entrepreneurial Challenge, Funding Universe’s Speed Pitching events, and so many of the student mentoring programs that folks like Alan Hall and others put in place to help grow the future innovators of this state. It’s amazing how much some people are doing to ensure the futures of our children for generations to come.
You oughta be in pictures:
The last week of March I am having my crew ready to do a several video podcast sessions. We will then be trickling these out once per month. So if your company is super cool, or you know of one who is, let us know. Will do a video with them, and have it transcribed (so anything said will also be searchable), and get them plenty of exposure, all for free. Just trying to help bring more visibility to Utah and all the cool stuff going on here!
Article posted on Feb 20
As followers of this Blog know, we strive at the Spotlight to bring more visibility to Utah in two key areas:
1- What cool companies and products are there in Utah.
2- What events and organizations in Utah seem to be worth attending to bring value to your business.
For this post I want to focus specifically on the second of those two items. About a year ago I joined EO Utah (Formerly known as YEO, or the Young Entrepreneurs Organization.) EO is basically aforum that allows fellow business owners to get together wit other business woners in a sae environment, and learn from eachothers’ experiences. It has a very strict non disclosure policy, and is a wonderful, safe environment to discuss things with people who have gone through things like what you might be facing. It can be hard as a business owner sometimes… who do you confide in? If you are troubled about your financing, or that new sales VP, or what have you, is there anyone in your company you can really discuss it with? Do your friends or spouse really have any valuable insight? Well, here is a group of a dozen or so people who will, over time become your closest friends, who have faced just those types of challenges and opportunities.
EO is no easy to get into. You need to have $1m in revenues (amoung other criteria), and it costs $2k per year to be a member. Additionally, it really takes time to get value out of. Unlike most organizations where I can write a glowing or a scathing review after one or two meetings, EO really takes about a year to really hit your stride.
I can say that, becuase I feel I really have now. If you had asked me even six months ago I would ave given EO a mixed review. But having just come back froma three day offsite with my group, I can say that this is one of the most valuable organizations I participate in. I learn so much, and feel like I am building such valuable relationships with very special people.
Sorry, I can’t share much mroe detail than that… that’s what makes it safe, and that’s what makes it so valuable. If you’re abusiness owner you should check it out.
As a note: When I linked to the EO site, I noticed how terribly out fo date it is. Please don’t judge it by that :) after all, these people all ahve companies to run… just like you do.
Article posted on Feb 07
As I have often said in reviewing local events, it is hard to really say that an event is good or bad in some respects, as it really comes down to rather or not you are really the target audience or not. As such, I asked a great friend of mine, Jason Alba from Jibber Jobber to help me out a bit. I know Jason often attends and has spoken highly of the Utah First Friday events. As such, here is a review of Utah First Fridays from Jason (Thanks much Jason!!):
I went to the Utah First Friday meeting at the Miller Center last week. The featured guest was John Arnold, flown in from Denver. John works for Constant Contact, wrote E-Mail Marketing or Dummies, and regularly gives seminars in Salt Lake to help businesses get more out of their e-mail marketing campaign.
I needed to go to this presentation for several reasons:
As an author, this was one of my first opportunities to see how a “big” author does presentations. I have a bunch of presentations this month in Silicon Valley and I really wanted to see John – he does this all the time, he has a Dummies book… I figured he’d be an excellent example to learn from.
I’m presenting at UFF next month, on March 7th, and I wanted to get an idea of what the quality of the presentation would be. At the very least, I wanted to know what I would be compared with.
I’m always looking at different marketing techniques to incorporate into my own business. I figured this would be an excellent opportunity to hear from the expert on something that I think is kind of boring, but I know companies are using it effectively.
I’m always curious to see what kind of people end up at a First Friday meeting. I’ve been about five times now, and the mix is always diverse. I wanted to see if that’s changing.
Regarding the presentation style, it was great. Definitely the type of caliber you hope to see at an event like this. The audience was engaged, and at the end with Pat Vaughn asked if there was any interest in learning more from John almost half the audience raised their hands.
Two things I found interesting. First, he only had one book for sale. I’m sure it gets old lugging around a bunch of books for sale. He did have a slip you could fill out to get an autographed copy. I’m not sure I’ll do that. Second, he gave away $20 in a little experiment/contest. The guy that got the $20 didn’t know he could keep it – this was actually pretty cool.
Regarding the content of John’s presentation, it was really good. He basically had five main points and shared examples, stories and “how-to’s.” I don’t remember any examples that were similar to my company, but just hearing the specifics of what other companies are doing, and things that he thought was cool, was good to hear. I think I’m on-track with what I’m offering. His examples had a more local, store-front appeal to them but still it was good stuff.
Regarding the people, I didn’t actually get to do much networking. The roads were horrible and I ended up quite late. I recognized a buddy, who introduced me to Carl Baumeister, CEO of Fruition Consultants. This was all the networking I did
I would actually like to hear about e-mail marketing from Twelve Horses, seriously. John is going to be more at the beginner, small business level, the Dummies. Twelve Horses is doing stuff at the huge company, very interesting stuff that goes beyond the basics. Not that I’m as big as those companies, but I want more leading edge information.
Overall, though, I was glad I went.
If you come next month, March 7th, you’ll see me present on LinkedIn. I’ll even have a few books with me, if you haven’t picked one up yet. Hope to see you there!
Article posted on Feb 05
Just a reminder to everyone that there will be another investor speed pitching event tomorrow. For those that are not yet aware of what these are, just real quick:
It’s like speed dating, but between investors and local entrepreneurs. You have 5 minutes each to pitch your idea to a table of investors. Then you move on to the next table and pitch again. If you would like to participate head on over to Funding Universe to learn more.
For those that have heard me gush a bit about these in the past, I wanted to pull together a bit of info to make sure I was being entirely objective on these… so here’s to scoop: Of the last 150 ideas pitched, 147 of them got at least one of the investors to request a followup meeting to learn more. Additionally, I have spoken to a couple of different companies who have received funding through the event, and asked them to tell me the good, bad and even the ugly. The only negative vibe I got back at all is that Funding Universe decides what ideas to include in the event based solely on reading the business plans, rather than hearing all of the presentations (I am guessing due to time constraints,) so make sure your plan reads well if you want to make it in!
I’ll be at the event again this week, so be sure to say hi!
