Startup Happy Hour Tonight!
September 29, 2008
Remember, tonight is Startup Happy Hour between 5PM and 8PM (feel free to show up at 6PM or 7PM). The intent of the meetup is to get entrepreneurs together to share ideas and experiences. The event is the talk of the startup community in Dallas. Check out the coverage in the Dallas Morning News: http://tinyurl.com/sshhdfw As a result of the events, several startups have found a) employees, b) co-founders, c) angel investors and d) had a few free drinks.
Are you interested in connecting with the local startup community? We are working to build a vibrant startup community here in Dallas every bit as interesting and dynamic as San Francisco, Boulder, Boston or Austin. The first step is engagement.
Sponsored by SpringStage - you are invited to attend. Please RSVP HERE.
What: Startup Happy Hour
When: Monday, September 29th, 5PM-7PM
Where: High Tech bar at the INFOMART (corner of Oak Lawn and I35)
Why: To meet entrepreneurs like you
Cost: FREE
NOTE: Please don’t come to sell your goods or services. The purpose of the event is for entrepreneurs to connect to empower each other through the development of a community of startups. The purpose is NOT to build a business networking group or lead generation group. Again, PLEASE DON’T COME TO MARKET YOUR SERVICES OR SELL YOUR GOODS.
Muse: Reality will kill 90% of startups!
September 28, 2008
Jason Calcanis suggests, “Collapsing Economy Will Kill 50%-80% of Startups” as reported by Silicon Alley Insider (since then the post has been removed at the request of Calcanis). I suspect, however, that REALITY will kill 90% of all startups anyway. Get it? The conventional wisdom is that 10% of startups survive. I suspect that what might be more true is the fact that “The Collapsing Economy will prevent 50%-80% of new startups from getting started”. Those startups that were going to make it (i.e. the proverbial 10%) are STILL going to make it. Those startups that were going to fail will fail. The problem is for new startups - how long will it take for a new startup to get funded? When does confidence return?
Holy Cow! All Android G1 devices are sold out!
September 27, 2008
If you are interested in becoming part of the Android developer community in Dallas we invite you to join us at AndroidDevCamp on October 25th (RSVP here). In the spirit of iPhoneDevCamp, AndroidDevCamp seeks to capitalize on the release of the first mobile phone running Google’s open source operating system, Android. The power of Android isn’t grounded in a particular carrier or handset maker, instead the power of Android comes from you - the developer. The promise of Android is great, with backers including Google, HTC, Intel, Motorola, Qualcomm, Samsung, LG, T-Mobile, Nvidia and Wind River System (all members of the Open Handset Alliance).
Come be a part of the future of mobile phones and build applications based on a set of open standards for ALL mobile devices. Dallas is home to not just one Android Challenge Winner, but TWO! Rylan Barnes, the original developer of GoCart (now ShopSavvy) will be demonstrating his application and sharing his year long odessy of development on the Android platform. Jason Hudgins, part of the team that developed TuneWiki, will also be demonstrating his application and sharing his experiences with Android as well.
How much the bailout will cost you!
September 26, 2008
If you have been following the discussions around the proposed $700,000,000,000 bailout (rescue plan, whatever) of Wall Street you may have seen a $2300 cost for every citizen of the US. Of course, only 138 million US citizens pay taxes and the share of taxes is not equal as described in the chart below:
So if you fall into the bottom 50% of taxpayers you will only have to pay 3.5% of the bailout cost - $24 billion spread across 69,000,000 taxpayers - $347.83 each. That isn’t cheap, but it is a far cry from $2300 each. But if you fall into the 25% you will have to pay 83.9% of the bailout cost - $587 billion spread across 34,500,000 taxpayers - $17,014.49 each! Lovely! Of course if you fall into the top 1% of taxpayers you will have to pay 34.4% of the bailout cost or $240 billion spread across 1,380,000 taxpayers - $173,913.04 each. OMG!
So this program isn’t a bailout for the rich, it is a bailout paid for by the rich…
AndroidDevCamp: Going International! (Save the Date: Oct 25th)
September 25, 2008
Big in Japan is hosting AndroidDevCamp Dallas on October 25th (the first Saturday after the release of the first Android phone - the T-Mobile G1). SInce I posted the Upcoming notice we have been talking to Android developers around the world and our plans have expanded. Beside the event in Dallas we are working with developers to host events in major cities throughout the U.S. and Canada. In the vein of the success of iPhoneDevCamp, we are hoping to generate community interest around the Android platform. If you are interested in coordinating/organizing an AndroidDevCamp in your city just ping me and we will work to coordinate our activities. More details and information to follow!
Oh and if you are local (i.e. Dallas) and interested in building applications for Google’s new phone platform please RSVP here.
Are you looking for an investor referral?
September 25, 2008
Most people who know me, know that I have an open door policy when it comes to sharing my time. I will talk to most anyone about most anything (at least for a little while). More and more people seem to think I have an ‘inside track’ when it comes to investors in Dallas. This isn’t really the case. In an effort to be helpful I will make referrals when I am asked, but I have had to rethink this policy for a number of reasons.
Going forward I will make investor referrals in the following cases: a) if I am willing/planning to invest my own money in the deal I will make a direct referral or b) I am generally interested in the deal, but I lack subject matter expertise to determine whether or not I would be willing to invest my own money I will make a direct referral with that caveat.
I am happy to suggest people YOU should talk to, but please don’t use my name to suggest somehow I endorse you or your company. Trust me, it ALWAYS gets back.
Whitebox Startup Update: Everything takes longer!
September 25, 2008
With most startups (except for ShopSavvy) everything takes longer than you expect. That is certainly true for our Whitebox (electronic contract and finance system for auto dealers) business. Basically a month after launch and our system accepted its first finance contrac last nightt! We had assumed we would have processed our first contract weeks ago. The rollout is going well, with more than 16 dealers in the system.
The ShopSavvy and G1 Android Launch!
September 24, 2008
You may have noticed a ‘lull’ in my blogging over the past couple of weeks. Blame Google’s Android phone platform and T-Mobile’s launch plans. The team from Big in Japan headed to Manhattan earlier this week to participate in the launch of the T-Mobile G1, the first Google Android phone (pictures here). Larry Page and Sergy Brin showed up to bless the event - it was quite the show. T-Mobile and Google are putting significant resources behind the development of a ‘community’ of application developers for Android, an open source mobile operating system. To showcase those efforts two applications were highlighted at the launch - ShopSavvy (our application) and Ecorio. Rylan, Jason and I spent hours doing interviews and demonstrating the application for reporters from around the globe. It was a fantastic event.
Our new strategy at Big in Japan will be an ‘open-first’ or ‘Android-first’ development process whereby we will develop applications initially for Android and then port those application other platforms such as the iPhone. Our thought process is that by focusing on open platforms first we will encourage non-open platforms like the iPhone to become more open. Not that we will have much of an impact, but if more developers like Big in Japan opt for an ‘open-first’ strategy, open will win.
In the meantime, ShopSavvy garnered quite a bit of press yesterday including these mentions:
http://techblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/09/dallasbased-big-in-japan-inc-t.html
http://www.phonesreview.co.uk/2008/09/23/t-mobile-g1-android-gets-big-in-japan/
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/151459/hands_on_with_htcs_google_phone.html
http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2008/09/24/google_makes_its_move_on_smartphones/
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews/index.cfm?reviewid=104757
http://www.betanews.com/article/Google_and_partners_roll_out_first_apps_for_Android_Marketplace/1222206519
http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/eric2_0/2008/09/googles-web-sur.html
http://www.internetretailer.com/dailyNews.asp?id=27874
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/AheadoftheCurve/story?id=5870750&page=1
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=google-t-mobile-launch-g1
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/09/23/a-sneak-peak-at-the-android-app-market/
http://biz.yahoo.com/paidcontent/080923/3_327871_id.html?.v=2
http://blogs.zdnet.com/gadgetreviews/?p=368
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080923/BLOG01/80923035
http://www.bostonherald.com/business/technology/general/view.bg?articleid=1121173&srvc=rss
http://www.switched.com/2008/09/23/t-mobile-officially-unveils-the-g1-google-phone/
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/23/live-blogging-from-google-phone-event/?apage=3
http://www.macworld.com/article/135714/2008/09/g1handson.html?lsrc=rss_main
http://www.mad.co.uk/Main/Home/Articlex/0f33bdf52bd0444ab3ba14ceb95fbecd/T-Mobile-to-sell-first-Google-mobile-in-November.html
Save the date: Pitch Camp Oct. 18th, 2008
September 20, 2008
Christopher St. John and I are hosting ‘Pitch Camp‘ on October 18th, 2008 at the INFOMART (in Dallas, TX). The all-day event (10AM to 5PM) is designed for up-to 50 entrepreneurs. Pitching your startup to prospective employees, angel investors, venture capitalists or journalists can be daunting for the most experienced entrepreneur, must less the startup novice. Pitch Camp will be very interactive and hands-on – come prepared to work. This isn’t a spectator sport (oh and you won’t be getting funded, this is purely an educational event). Here is the tentative agenda:
- 10:00 – 10:30 How to pitch to angels and venture capitalists.
- 10:45 – 11:15 When to use a deck and when to demo.
- 11:15 – 11:45 How to pitch to journalists.
- 12:00 – 1:00 Lunch/Networking
- 1:00 – 3:00 Pitching workshop (the group assists 1-3 entrepreneurs prepare a pitch)
- 3:00 – 3:30 Real live pitching (1-3 entrepreneurs, prepared by group will pitch)
- 3:30 – 4:00 Pitch feedback from panel of 1-3 real live venture capitalists and angel investors
- 4PM-5PM Beer/Networking
What we need (i.e. how you can help):
Christopher is working to select 1-3 entrepreneurs who would be willing to become the guinee pig or case study for the workshop. If you would like to be one of three entrepreneurs whose pitches we work on, please comment on this post with a) who you are, b) what you are working and c) what stage is your idea/business.
While Christopher is working to recruit pitchers, I am responsible for finding the coaches/trainers. We need two or three venture capital or angel investors and one journalist who are available to give a 20 minute talk on how to pitch between 10AM and Noon. Additionally, we will need two or three venture capital or angel investors who would be willing to judge and critique pitches between 3PM and 4PM. If you can help out with the morning or afternoon please ping me at amuse@m-ven.com. If you are simply interested in providing advice or suggestions please post those to the comments.
If you are interested in attending, please RSVP on the Upcoming site here. The event is sponsored by SpringStage startup network.
Android is Big in Japan
September 20, 2008
Well, at least for Dallas-based Big in Japan. The Android Community guys stopped by the office last week and interviewed us in preparation for next week’s T-Mobile announcement. Love the photo, not sure about the video:
My Jesus Phone Died and Didn’t Come Back. . .
September 20, 2008
My iPhone is dead, less that two months after I bought it - I am now waiting on the resurrection. I have been a fan of Apple for years. I bought the first generation iPhone on the first day and attended the first iPhone Developers Camp in San Francisco later that week. The iPhone was by far the best phone I had ever owned. When the 3G iPhone was released it took me a month to actually get one in my hands. By the time I did I was less than pleased; I wrote my review of the 3G on August 13th. It is now September 20th and my iPhone is no longer working.
For some reason, starting this morning, my iPhone thinks I have the headphones plugged in and has disabled the handset speaker. Fortunately I was in the mall when my phone stopped working. With Ethan and Erin in tow I went to the Apple store and consulted a Genius. He suggested that I had water damage. I explained that my phone had worked fine when I was at the toy store, but stopped working by the time we were in Nordstroms and that we hadn’t visited a pool between the two stops. He was insistant indicating that there was an indicator in the phone that was like a pregnancy test and my iPhone was pregnant. I joked that my iPhone really was the ‘Jesus Phone’ since I was certain it never got wet. I tried to explain I was going to be in Manhattan next week and really needed a working phone before I left on Monday. They indicated that my phone had water damage and could not be replaced.
Realizing I had a limited amount of time in the mall (Erin is 8 months old and can only last so long) I walked over to the AT&T store and asked them if I could just BUY another iPhone. They would sell me one for almost $500, but they would not allow me to purchase one at the subsidized price. I tried to explain how silly this was. Anyone walking in off the street could buy the same phone for $200, but me a longtime customer with 5 active iPhones on my account would have to pay the non-contract price of almost $500? They suggested I talk to Apple since it had been more than 30 days since I bought the phone. I explained that Apple had determined that my iPhone had been damaged by water.
So I left the mall pissed. I will end up buying the phone for $500 tomorrow because I don’t have a better option (despite the fact that Apple is going to refresh their phone in a few months). I am considering buying it with my AMEX and reversing the charges letting Apple deal with the hassle of trying to get their money from them (at least as much hassle as I have had).
UPDATE: Bradley Joyce read my post and suggested that this is a known problem (i.e. he had it) and there is an article suggesting a fix here. I FOLLOWED THE INSTRUCTIONS AND NOW MY PHONE WORKS! How come I get better help from readers of my blog than I do at the Apple store? My only question, ‘is my phone still water damaged?’
Conway’s take on the ‘all angel’ investment path
September 18, 2008
Carleen Hawn writes a post in found+read that resonated with me, perhaps because I have been saying the same things about angel investors for a while now. Carleen, sources Ron Conway and his “all angel” investment path:
Angels are not fiduciaries. Angel investments are always going to be smaller, but the due diligence process is also going to be less rigorous, because angels are not acting as a fiduciary to another investors. VCs are duty-bound to put your company through a thorough review process because they are investing other people’s money. This is why I enjoy being an angel and not being a fiduciary: I can make my own decisions based on my intuitive process, my own opinion and gut feel about a company, because I am investing on my own account. This means I can make decisions faster, which is also good for the entrepreneurs.
Angels are often vertical specialists. Some VCs tend to be generalists when it comes to an industry (e.g., retail), or technology (e.g., mobile). Because angels often come from a successful industry background, you can do a better job of hand-picking a partner who will add expertise and value relevant to your precise market area — not just money. If your company operates in social networking, you might be enticed to go to a bulge-bracket, or marquee VC firm—and they would consider you because the space is so hot. But chances are that even some of the biggest VC firms won’t have someone with deep domain expertise in social networking, it’s just too new. But you could go see Owen Van Natta, who just left Facebook. You’re in cloud computing? Go get Diane Greene, the former CEO of VMWare. They’d both make great angels.
Angels have one-degree of separation from people in their professional network — not two, or three, or four. But because angels tend to be operational types, the business relationships they bring to the table are personal, not transactional. Angels also tend to invest in concentrated themes, consistent with their operating experience. So when it comes to accelerating your business development — through things like recruiting, partnerships, cultivating sales, etc. — angels tend to connect the dots. The combination of first-hand relationships and focus means an angel can might get your company to an “exit” sooner.
Big in Japan in the News. . .
September 17, 2008
Two nice mentions of Big in Japan today. The first the Dallas Business Journal here and longer piece in VentureBeat here.
The SpringStage Opportuntity
September 15, 2008
THE OPPORTUNITY: SpringStage is recruiting local catalysts, local contributors and national contributors. Our goal is to have a SpringStage Catalyst in every major city in the United States by the end of 2009. Over the next three years our network of catalysts will work together to help promote entrepreneurship through by working to create startup communities in their areas.
Catalysts select a specific geographic location, usually covering a specific city or state. Next a SpringStage resource will setup a blog where the catalyst should begin to write about their local startup scene. One or two posts each week are required and it is recommended that a catalyst write one or more posts per day. The catalyst should be available for a conference call every other Friday to share experiences, coordinate activities and contribute ideas. Stage two includes hosting offline events such as happy hours, startup mixers, demos and other ad hoc type social events for startups.
Local contributors are usually writers or bloggers who cover startups and entrepreneurs, but who do not have the time to commit to becoming a catalyst. The local contributor simply continues to write or blog wherever did previously, but tags appropriate content with the ‘springstage’ tag and that content is reblogged on the SpringStage startup blog in his or her area. The local contributor owns the content, but gives SpringStage a non-exclusive license to use the content. Local contributors are given a byline and a link back to their blog.
National contributors are similar to local contributors, but do so on a national basis. Their contributions consist primarily of blog posts covering startups and entrepreneurship on a general basis, not necessarily associated with a particular area. Again, the national contributor simply continues to write or blog wherever did previously, but tags appropriate content with the ‘springstage’ tag and that content is reblogged across the entire SpringStage startup network. The national contributor owns the content, but gives SpringStage a non-exclusive license to use the content. National contributors are given a byline and a link back to their blog.
BACKGROUND: Founded by David Cohen, Micah Baldwin and Alexander Muse, SpringStage seeks to build a network of catalysts who are interested in promoting entrepreneurship in their local communities. United in the belief that vibrant startup communities can spur entrepreneurship, our team is building a blueprint or toolbox of resources that can help you help you create a vibrant startup community in your hometown. There are scores of stories about entrepreneurs from all over the United States and Europe who are encouraged to move to Silicon Valley to start their businesses. If you have ever spent time in San Francisco or Palo Alto you can’t help but run into entrepreneurs and startups; it is almost impossible not to become inspired to start your own business. Have you ever asked yourself why your city doesn’t have the sort of startup community found in the Valley?
Over the past three years David in Boulder and Alexander in Dallas have sought to engage their community in conversations and activities relating to startups, entrepreneurship and venture capital. David began his quest by authoring a simple blog called ColoradoStartups.com around the same time Alexander started the TexasStartupBlog.com. Working entirely independently, the two began writing about local startups, entrepreneurs and venture capital. Initially, their two blogs were a one-way communication medium where David and Alexander would simply write about what they saw in their respective cities. Over time the blogs became the go-to source of local news related to entrepreneurs and startups resulting in conversations between entrepreneurs. These online conversations resulted in offline conversations and meetings. Some of these meetings were organized and some were ad hoc. Startup communities began to spring up around David and Alexander.
Micah, while new to blogging, is not new to the startup scene having been a serial entrepreneur. After selling his latest company, Micah began blogging and saw the power that blogging brings to the local community. Now a strong member of the Boulder startup scene, Micah looked to find ways to help augment that scene and attract entrepreneurs to Boulder.
In May of 2008 David, on the advice of Micah, reached out to Alexander and the three decided to join forces share information, help better support their local communities and eventually to help other startup communities spring into action. Later that summer the pair, along with Micah Baldwin, founded SpringStage and began recruiting catalysts around the United States and the world.
WHY: There are perhaps a hundred reasons why someone would want to join SpringStage as a catalyst. David and Alexander initially became catalysts to generate deal flow for their investment activities. Over time the pair realized that being part of the communities they helped create was reason enough. The reality is we all win if we can create cooperative environments that are friendly to entrepreneurs and startups. They attract early and late stage investors and potential employees.
WHO: Anyone can make a great catalyst. It simply takes a) five to ten hours a month, b) a desire to connect with local entrepreneurs, c) the ability to write a few blog posts a week, and d) the dedication to stick with the effort for at least a year. Each SpringStage community will look different depending on the catalyst; there is no right answer.
* Angel Investors
* Venture Capitalists
* Entrepreneurs
* Would-be Entrepreneurs
* Academics
HOW: Becoming a SpringStage catalyst or contributor is very easy. Complete our short application: http://tinyurl.com/springstage-app. If there is already a catalyst in your area we will immediately connect you. If there isn’t a catalyst in your area a member of our selection committee (consisting of David, Micah and Alexander at this point) will give you a call to determine if there is a good fit.
Low Key Startup Happy Hour Tonight!
September 15, 2008
On the heels of last week’s happy hour (we moved the date to accomodate the Peruvian entrepreneurs) we have yet another happy hour this week. Ug, even I am worn out. To preserve the ‘every other Monday’ scheduling schema, I decided not to try to move the remainder of the calendar and simply keep tonight’s happy hour on the schedule.
In light of the fact that the Cowboys are playing tonight and I am happy hour fatigued, we are going to keep it small. I am not going to promote the event, email anyone or do anything other than mention the happy hour right here in this post. I figure we will turn up the TVs in the High Tech bar and chill out. You are all welcome to join us for ‘startup happy hour-light‘. The next full-scale startup happy will be on September 29th - hope to see you all there.
Here are the details of tonight’s event (please RSVP on upcoming):
The Dallas Startup Happy Hour is the talk of the startup community in Dallas. Check out the coverage in the Dallas Morning News: http://tinyurl.com/sshhdfw As a result of the events, several startups have found a) employees, b) co-founders, c) angel investors and d) had a few free drinks.
Are you interested in connecting with the local startup community? We are working to build a vibrant startup community here in Dallas every bit as interesting and dynamic as San Francisco, Boulder, Boston or Austin. The first step is engagement.
Sponsored by SpringStage - you are invited to attend. Please RSVP.
What: Startup Happy Hour
When: Monday, September 15th, 5PM-8PM
Where: High Tech bar at the INFOMART (corner of Oak Lawn and I35)
Why: To meet entrepreneurs like you
Cost: FREE
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