Reflections & analysis about innovation, technology, startups, investing, healthcare, and more .... with a focus on Minnesota, Land of 10,000 Lakes. Blogging continuously since 2005.

Category: Interviews (Page 11 of 13)

Defrag 2010: A Chat About Yolink

On the first day of Defrag, I stopped by to chat with Brian Cheek, Director of Business Development for TigerLogic, about his firm's product Yolink, which is a next-generation technology that enhances search by extracting information from behind links and inside of documents.  Yolink-graphic I was amazed I hadn't heard about Yolink until a few days prior to Defrag, and found it pretty amazing as I started to play with it.  See the following coverage for more about this technology: Yolink Helps Web Researchers Search Behind Links (Mashable) … Yolink's Next Step Search Pulls Info from Behind Links and Inside Docs (ReadWriteWeb) … and Yolink – A Search Accelerator for Deep Internet Research (MakeUseOf.com).

It's available as a plugin for all the major browsers. It's also available as a desktop app for Windows PC users. You can even get a Yolink widget for your site or blog (again, all the major platforms). Also be sure to look at some cool lab experiments created by Yolink engineers that showcase the use of the Yolink API. The API allows integrating Yolink into any web service. It can be used to enhance existing search engine results, or to provide site or app search functionality outright. The API is simple to implement and completely customizable.

Download or listen to my interview with Brian Cheek of TigerLogic about Yolink… (MP3)

My Adventures as a Connoisseur of the Fine Art of Startup Pitching

Mobicart-DEMOfall2010 Can one learn anything listening to a lot of startup pitches?  I mean even if your job, like that of a VC, doesn't require it, per se.  Yes, I believe you can, and I've invested a large part of my time and attention over the years to this practice, betting that doing so brings value to my clients. 

I began attending and reporting on many of the large, national tech conferences (most in California, but some in other U.S. cities and resort locations) more than 12 years ago – as a way to juice my own knowledge as a tech marketing consultant and startup advisor, and to keep out in front of tech trends. (Not to speak of being able to meet and network with lots of heavyweights.) This pastime of sorts is what basically turned me into a blogger, and even an accidental part-time journalist — actually getting paid occasionally to write about what I learned at these events.  Imagine that.  (That was before the intrinsic value of a blog post starting going to zero. But I digress…)  After proving myself early-on as a good event reporter, the conferences began granting me press passes.

I've heard so many startup pitches over my career, especially during the last 12 years, that I've lost count.  But I have no doubt it's more than 1000.  And I've been lucky enough to document most of them — certainly hundreds — in my writings.  Twitter and live-blogging tools in recent years have only added to my output.  Someday, maybe I'll even turn my blog archives into a large coffee-table book. (Yeah, right, like I'd ever have the time! And a large percentage of these startups are now either out of business or acquired, so who would care?)  Just one live-blog I did of a two-day conference last month totaled 9000 words.  More on that below.

The many conferences I've attended include top events like DEMO (11 times), Esther Dyson’s PC Forum 2006 (the swan song), Under The Radar, TechCrunch 50, several O'Reilly events, those sponsored by leading publications (e.g., Forbes, Fortune, WSJ), Defrag and Glue, and many smaller, newer, or regional startup events such as CrowdPitch as well.  The collective intelligence I gather from this investment of time (and money) has been remarkably valuable to me personally, and to my clients. 

How?  Well, in several areas:  understanding and assessing trends, messaging, strategy, business models, and what I'll call style, or stage presence. By observing the best-of-the-best pitch their businesses (all these conferences closely vet applicants), I'm better able to understand not only where technology startup trends are going, but I can hear the best stories, the best messaging.  I get to see with my own eyes what resonates, what hits the mark — meaning the startups that best get people to pay attention, take action, elicit media interest, attract customers, and (not the least) cause investors to write checks.  Sure, not all these technology startups will make it.  But, because I'm getting extensive exposure to this cream-of-the-crop with the best potential, I've found that I'm in a much better position to help guide my clients back home in their own business planning, marketing and launch strategy, media strategy and tactics, and even in coaching the founders in their own on-stage startup pitches. I can also teach them to avoid the mistakes I see others make.

DEMOfall2010-graphic Just a few weeks ago, I attended my 11th DEMO conference, and my 10th in a row.  (The event is held twice a year, and the recent one, called "DEMOfall 2010," was held in Santa Clara, CA.)   Long ago dubbing itself "The Launchpad for Emerging Technology," DEMO is generally regarded as the inventor of the startup pitch fest, and certainly has the longest, continuous track record.  Launched in 1991 by Stewart Alsop (whom I've had the privilege to meet at more than one DEMO), this venerable event was acquired by IDG many years ago, and is still the gold standard.  It is extremely well run, and remains my favorite conference of them all.  It never disappoints. The main thing to remember about DEMO is that it attracts a large, prestigious press and blogger contingent, and generates more than 200 million media impressions for the collective participants of each conference.  Not to minimize the importance of the many investors that regularly attend, too –- it attracts those, and the presenting startups, from around the globe.  Over the years, startups pitching at DEMO events have collectively raised hundreds of millions of dollars — billions, I'm sure — in funding. And many of them, household names now, have been acquired or gone public. Check this list of DEMO alumni companies, and it only includes those for the years 2006-2010.

Last month, I live-blogged the entire two-day-plus DEMOfall 2010 program, an agenda made up mostly of rapid-fire, back-to-back startups pitches, some 70 companies in all, with several great panels and interviews mixed in.  (In that live-blog archive, scroll down to get to the meat of the pitches, since, on the afternoon of registration, I allowed all those on Twitter posting tweets with the event hashtag to flow into my live-blog, as people were traveling to and arriving at the event, including me. Part of the fun is the anticipation!)

In addition, I did nine audio interviews of some of my favorite startups while I was at DEMOfall 2010:  here's the link to all my blog posts for this event, which include links to those interviews. I started doing audio interviews of startup founders several DEMO conferences back. Two of the companies I interviewed even went on to be named among the DEMOgod Award winners.  My photos of the event are here on this Flickr set.

DEMOfall 2010: A Chat With GoToCamera About Making WebCams Simple (Finally!)

VarunArora+LiYi_GoToCamera Can you set up a security web cam in 30 seconds? You can now. My last interview at this DEMOfall was one I vowed to do the moment I saw this company's pitch on stage. This was music to my ears. I love it when a startup takes on a previously complex, daunting technical task for consumers, and just makes it dead simple. Let me tell you about GoToCamera, from Pechora Technologies in Singapore. These guys homed in on one of those nasty problems, setting up a web cam, and developed what appears to be an elegant, low-cost solution that consumers (and businesses) will happily pay for. GoToCamera-logoSurveys show people want the security of monitoring their homes, businesses, children, or their yards or vacation homes — but few can set it up themselves, or afford expensive security monitoring services. And get this: GoToCamera's basic service (one cam) is actually free! GoToCamera does't sell cams — it lets you use any you have lying around, in your existing computers or laptops, maybe old ones you aren't even using anymore. By running their software, that cam can start recording video as soon as it detects motion. Or, you use any of the newer, inexpensive USB cams on the market (Logitech or many others) for as little as $25, and you're in business. The secret, of course, is in the software. This is a startup that could hit a home run. Time will tell, but they have a ready market out there, a smart team, a well-designed solution, a great looking web site, and investors who have seed-funded them. Now, it's off to the races!  I can't wait to sign up myself (they even have a special discount code: "DEMO2010"). In the photo: Varun Arora, left, CEO and cofounder, and Li Yi, CTO and cofounder.

Download or listen to Graeme's interview with GoToCamera about making webcams simple (finally!)… (MP3)"

DEMOfall 2010: A Chat With Needly About Your “Stuff” – Selling What You Have and Getting What You Need

JoeyHarward+FredKrueger_Needly For all of you who, like me, cringe every time you have to look at Craig's List and think, geez, there has to be a better experience — well, listen up: there is. Fred Krueger (at right in the photo, with Joey Harward, cofounder) has been hard at work with his team in LA for some some time building Needly. It's a great-looking site for all your stuff — yes, selling it and acquiring more of it, which we all love to do — but more than that: keeping track of the whole shebang, too (think for insurance valuation purposes, which is a great side benefit). Needly makes it as easy to get all your stuff and needs online as it could possibly be. One key way they let you do that is with a very nicely designed iPhone app. You just shoot a picture, add a price and a quick description, click submit, and it's up on the Needly site in seconds.  Needly-logo A key part of Needly's offering is an escrow payment service, which protects both buyer and seller. Fred is a three-time presenter at DEMO. He knows how to attract millions of people to sites — and how to raise money. I'm betting we hear a lot more about Needly, and I can't wait to get my hands on the iPhone app as soon as it's approved on iTunes.

Download or listen to Graeme's interview with Needly about your "stuff" – selling what you have and getting what you need… (MP3)"

DEMOfall 2010: A Chat With Sococo About Its “Team Space” Virtual Collaboration Environment

DavidVanWie-Sococo Okay, all you virtual-worlds people: you won't be able to contain yourselves once you get a look at Sococo. But even those of you who aren't will be highly intrigued — especially if you work "virtually" and really feel disconnected with your dispersed work team. It lets all of you interact in a rich, virtualized environment as if you were face-to-face.  I talked with David Van Wie, CEO and founder, about this always-on group communications service for distributed teams.  Sococo-logo It provides an intuitive, spatial layout, letting you see office interactions as they occur, and initiate ad-hoc meetings easily. It integrates IM and voice, and has a unique "Multi-Screenshare" technology.

Download or listen to Graeme's interview with Sococo about its Team Space virtual collaboration environment… (MP3)"

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