Entrepreneurial Connections Conference 2006 (EntConnect 2006) coming up on March 23-26, 2006

Every year there is a small but loyal group of former readers of the former Midnight Engineering magazine who gather in the Denver, Colorado area for a conference known as Entrepreneurial Connections, or EntConnect for short. These are people who have a background or interest in technology and are either running their own businesses or would like to be running their own businesses. Some attendees don't have quite the depth of technical background, but are simply interested in the special angle on business that the conference offers.

This year's conference is being held on March 23-26, 2006.

The conference is run by John Gaudio. Details on the conference can be found on his official conference web site at www.EntConnect.org, or you can check out descriptions of past conferences at my Enrepreneurial Engineers web site.

So, if you're in the Denver, Colorado area, or you live in a galaxy that is within teleportation range, and you're a technical entrepreneur or have entrepreneurial aspirations, consider checking out EntConnect this year. Even if it sounds as if you might not fit the profile of a typical attendee, you might consider the conference anyway. Sure, a lot of technology gets discussed, but the focus is running your own business and thinking like an entrepreneur.

Tell John that I sent you. [Really -- I get a commission!]

-- Jack Krupansky

More details for Entrepreneurial Connections Conference 2006 (EntConnect 2006) coming up on March 23-26, 2006

John Gaudio has published some additional details for the Entrepreneurial Connections (EntConnect) conference that is coming up on March 23-26, 2006 in Denver, Colorado. See his official conference web site at www.EntConnect.org, or you can check out descriptions of past conferences at my Enrepreneurial Engineers web site.

So, if you're in the Denver, Colorado area, or live in a galaxy that is close enough to hop over to Denver via teleportation, and you're a technical entrepreneur or have entrepreneurial aspirations, consider checking out EntConnect this year.

Tell John that I sent you.

-- Jack Krupansky

Entrepreneurial Connections Conference 2006 (EntConnect 2006) coming up on March 23-26, 2006

Every year there is a small gathering of former readers of Midnight Engineering magazine, as well as other interested entrepreneurial types, out in Denver, Colorado, called Entrepreneurial Connections or EntConnect. This year's conference EntConnect 2006 is coming up very shortly on Thursday-Sunday, March 23-26, 2006. Details have not yet been finalized.

The official conference web site is at www.EntConnect.org, or you can check out descriptions of past conferences at my Enrepreneurial Engineers web site. And I expect that conference MC John Gaudio will shortly be posting some information about the conference on his Great People, Places, and Products Blogsite. Until John get's his latest conference info up, my EntConnect 2006 web page has some pictures of the conference hotel (same as last year).

-- Jack Krupansky

Locust years

The term is not in common use these days, but it seems so appropriate for so many of us struggling entrepreneurs: locust years, which is defined as "a period of economic hardship." I know the feeling.

-- Jack Krupansky

What is GEMAYANI?

In case you run across the acronym GEMAYANI, it was contrived (I believe) by venture capital consultant Jeff Clavier as an acronym which stands for the big technology players in the internet space:

• Google
• eBay
• Microsoft
• Amazon
• Yahoo
• AOL
• News Corp.
• IAC/InterActiveCorp

-- Jack Krupansky

Practical Advice for Software Startups

I just ran across an interesting blog/website entitled "Practical Advice for Software Startups" by Dharmesh Shah. His articles have titles such as:

• Raising Capital: Friends, Family and Fools
• On Demand Software and Customer Relationships
• Building It Well: Increasing Acquisition Value
• Building To Sell vs. Building It Well

-- Jack Krupansky

What is AGILEAMY?

In case you run across the acronym AGILEAMY, it was contrived by venture capitalist Brad Feld:

In case you were wondering about the new category “AGILEAMY”, it’s for news and thoughts on the following companies: Aol, Google, Iac, Liberty, Ebay, Amazon, Microsoft, Yahoo.  I figured this was an acronym that could actually be pronounced (vs. GAAMEILY or YIEMALAG) – plus it’s named after my wife. 

-- Jack Krupansky

Thinking outside the search box

There's an interesting article in BusinessWeek entitled "A Search Engine For Every Subject - Google and Yahoo rule, but a flock of upstarts is offering new ways to find info", which talks about how venture capitalists are betting on a whole new flock of search engines, to the tune of $263 million on 47 new ventures. Even one of the backers of Google is betting on some of the newcomers.

Hmmm... maybe I need to refocus some of my energy and recast some of my ideas in a "search engine" metaphor.

Actually, my new white paper, "The Consumer-Centric Knowledge Web - A Vision of Consumer Applications of Software Agent Technology - Enabling Consumer-Centric Knowledge-Based Computing" does offer an intriguing alternative to current search methods, but unfortunately it's a research vision roadmap rather than a concrete plan for using COTS (Commercial Off The Shelf) technologies.

-- Jack Krupansky

Selling, AKA rainmaking

Guy Kawasaki has a great blog post on sales entitled "The Art of Rainmaking". He gives some great advice, categorized in these pithy terms:

1. “Let a hundred flowers blossom.”
2. See the gorilla.
3. “Sell,” don't enable “buying.”
4. Find the key influencers.
5. Go after “agnostics,” not “atheists.”
6. Make prospects talk.
7. Enable test drives.
8. Provide a safe, easy first step.

Please read Guy's post for the details. Sure, try to imagine what each item must be before you read his descriptions, but who's going to guess the gorilla advice unless you already know the answer.

-- Jack Krupansky

Demo 2006 Demonstrator Presentations and Profiles

In case you didn't make it to the DEMO 2006 conference, here are the Demonstrator Presentations and Profiles:

• Accomplice™ Software
• America Online,Inc.
• ASTAV, inc.
• Avokia
• Azos AI, LLC.
• BiggerBoat
• Blurb, Inc.
• Bones in Motion,Inc.
• BroadRamp, Inc.
• CNET Channel
• Cosmix Corp.
• Digislide Holdings, Pty Ltd.
• Eeminder, Inc.
• EQO Communications, Inc.
• eVoke TV Corp.
• Extricom, Inc.
• Fortify Software
• Front Porch, Inc.
• GarageBand.com
• Grass Roots Software
• Gravee
• GuardID Systems, Inc.
• iGuitar, Inc.
• Interprise Solutions USA, LLC.
• Iotum Corp.
• IPswap
• IronPort Systems, Inc.
• Jitterbit, Inc.
• Kaboodle, Inc.
• Krugle, Inc.
• LocaModa, Inc.
• LogLogic, Inc.
• Mi5, Inc.
• MooBella, LLC.
• Mp3Car.com
• my people, LLC.
• NetworkStreaming, Inc.
• NewsGator Technologies, Inc.
• Nexidia, Inc.
• OpenConnect Systems, Inc.
• Panoratio Database Images, Inc.
• Pay By Touch
• PayWi Corp.
• Persystent Technologies, Inc.
• Plum
• PolyVision
• RawSugar
• Riya.com
• Sharpcast, Inc.
• Shimon Systems, Inc.
• SimpleFeed, Inc.
• Smilebox, Inc.
• Sprout Systems, Inc.
• StrikeForce Techologies, Inc.
• TagWorld
• Tested Technologies Corp.
• The Multiverse Network, Inc.
• Tiny Pictures, Inc.
• Transparensee Systems, Inc.
• Ugobe, Inc.
• Vivid Sky, LLC.
• Vizrea Corp.
• VSee Lab, LLC.
• Yahoo!
• Zimini
• Zingee, Pte Ltd.
• ZinkKat, LLC.

Even if you don't want to watch the actual videos, the profile descriptions are reasonably informative.

-- Jack Krupansky

In praise of the entrepreneurial spirit

Here's a marginally humorous joke that illustrates one of the biggest problems we face today, a lack of significant new innovation and a willingness to focus more attention on minimally exploiting existing technology rather than really reaching way out for the exciting and the new:

A self-important university graduate attending a recent England-Wales rugby match, took it upon himself to explain to a senior citizen sitting next to him as to why it was impossible for the older generation to understand his generation.

"You grew up in a different, actually almost primitive, world," the grad said, loud enough for many around him to hear, "The young people of today grew up with television, jet planes, space travel, man walking on the moon, our spaceships have visited Mars... We even have nuclear energy, electric and hydrogen cars, computers with light-speed processing and..."

Pausing to take another sip from his beer, the senior took advantage of the break in the grad's litany, and said:

"You're right, son. We didn't have those things when we were young... so we invented them. Now, you arrogant little shithead, what are you doing for the next generation?"

Yes, what are we doing for the next generation?

-- Jack Krupansky

Company Building For Eight Year Olds

Here's an interesting, amusing, and enlightening post on the topic of what VC's do from David Hornik of VC firm August Capital in a post entitled "Company Building For Eight Year Olds." David tells us that...

When my eight year old asked me what it meant to be a VC, I tried to explain it in terms that he could appreciate. He is a skate board fanatic and has been talking about starting a "skate brand" where he could sell shirts, hats, decks, etc. with his particular logo (needless to say, practically everything he wears has some skate logo or other on it -- Etnies, NorCal, Element). He spends his day drawing potential logos, shirt and skateboard designs, and telling me which professional skateboarders his brand will sponsor. So I tried to describe venture capital in the context of a skate brand... (read on).

-- Jack Krupansky

What's The Best Corporate Structure For An Early Stage Company?

Venture Capitalist Brad Feld has a post entitled "What's The Best Corporate Structure For An Early Stage Company?" which gives a nice answer to that question, including pros and cons for S-Corp, C-Corp, and LLC. Of course, you'll have to consult your own legal and accounting professionals to determine what structure is really best for your own particular situation.

-- Jack Krupansky