Graeme Thickins on Tech

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

Tag: evangelism

MEETUP! Before Guy Kawasaki’s Talk This Friday…

January 15, 2007 / / 9 Comments

To everyone I know or anyone who reads this blog: meet me at the University of Minnesota McNamara Alumni Center at 11:30 am this Friday, January 19th. Let’s get to the Guy Kawasaki talk early and schmooooze!!! I blogged about the event earlier here. (It starts at 1:00 pm.) The event quickly sold-out, but I’m sure many of you already have tickets. Even if you don’t, show up anyway! You can always try for standing-room-only space, or maybe you can nab somebody’s no-show ticket. Hey, Guy’s worth it! He packs ’em in everywhere he goes. Guykawasakistanleycup

We can talk about all kinds of stuff in advance of the talk: why Guy would come from California when we’re freezin’ our asses off here right now (it’s to play in the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships on Lake Nokomis)….what his topic is (it’s his classic “Art of the Start” talk)….or anything else you want to talk about, including my BlogHaus experience in Vegas last week. And getting there early should help us get locked-in for the best seats, or maybe those of you who need tickets can get on the list early for the no-shows.

Should be plenty of room to gather in the lobby area that’s closest to the auditorium where Guy will speak. (Check the signage on the way in.) And maybe we can even get coffee there…

Please spread the word to your lists and communities!
Let’s show Guy we’re one great startup community here in Minnesota!!! Indicate your interest here on my blog by adding a comment, and I’ll forward the whole thing to Guy beforehand. One of my VC friends tried to get me into a special lunch being held for Guy prior to the talk, with the local U of M muckety-mucks, etc, but I missed the cut. Who cares! This meetup will be lots more fun for me — and you! And maybe we can even continue the blog comments afterwards to tell Guy what we thought of his talk… See ya Friday!

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Guy Kawasaki Is Comin’ to Town

December 21, 2006 / / 3 Comments

Was I surprised yesterday morning to learn that Guy Kawasaki, master evangelist/author/speaker from Silicon Valley, would be speaking at the U on January 19!  After grabbing tickets for myself and a guest, I immediately emailed Guy and asked him how we could be so lucky to entice him here to Minnesota smack in the middle of winter. [I email with Guy once in a while, and we have a mutual friend in Rich Karlgaard of Forbes. See my coverage of Rich’s latest MN speech.]

Guykuofm

Well, guess what what brings Guy here? [Other than a chance to talk "The Art of the Start."] It’s about pond hockey!  Which has quietly become a really big deal, and Minneapolis is ground zero for this newly revived and now organized sport. I should have known hockey had something to do with this, because I knew Guy was huge into playing the game.  Not that he doesn’t like coming to our state on general principles, mind you. I was instrumental in recruiting him to speak at a MN High Tech Association event several years ago, and I remember hearing him speak here in the mid-’90s when he was still an Apple Fellow. Guy, as you’ll recall, was the original evangelist for the Mac starting in the mid-’80s, which he wrote about in his first two books, "The Macintosh Way" and "Selling the Dream."

So, I asked Guy in my email  if I could do a little interview to use in my blog post.  He was game, so here ya go…

Me:  Guy, what did we do to deserve this?
Guy:  I’m playing in the pond hockey tournament. That was the enticement. 🙂

Me:  What’s the gist of the talk?
Guy:  I’ll be talking about "The Art of the Start" — based on my book, of course. It’s my guide for anyone starting anything.

Me:  How long will it be, and what’s the format?
Guy: Sixty minutes, top ten format with a bonus. [If you read Guy’s books or blogs, you know he loves lists of ten.]

Me:  Will you bad-mouth VCs (we hope)?  <ha, ha>
Guy:  I always tell the truth.

Me:  Will you talk story about Steve Jobs and Apple?
Guy:  Yes, a great deal.

Me:  How much will you talk about hockey? Hey, how can you NOT here?
Guy:  Depends on how we’re doing in the tournament. I think I play in a game before I speak.

Me:  Will you have books for sale?  And will you sign my entire collection ?  🙂
Guy:  I should arrange for a bookstore to be there. I’ll try to make this happen. See you soon!

What a guy!  If you haven’t yet registered, act fast — word is spreading. Complimentary tickets for Guy Kawasaki’s talk on January 19th at the U of M are available by RSVPing at www.TheGuestRegister.com/start. You can register yourself and guests at the same time. Or call 888-889-7787, Event #932.  Mucho thanks for this event go to the sponsors: the U of M’s Venture Center, the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at the Carlson School, the James J. Hill Library, SDWA Ventures, and PR firm Haberman & Associates. I see Haberman is a co-producer of the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships here in January. Way to go, guys!

[By the way, Guy’s latest blog post is an interview of my friend Marti Nyman at Best Buy.]

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