DemocampBoston1 was a success. Thanks to Alex and everyone at the Hult International Business School.

Presenters included:

• Localytics
• AdaptiveBlue
• WherePhone
• Ramamia
• Raizlabs
• Amigle
• Mideo Factory
• Vanquish Labs

Check out some media from the event:

• Flickr
• Twitter
• Youtube

I’ll be posting more videos to Youtube as I’m able to.

I also want to say thanks to Tom Summit for introducing himself to me. I’ve been reading his blog for a while and it was great to put a face to the name.

Here are some recent news items and essays. I’ll try to make this a regular habit.

News

• Y Combinator discontinuing its Boston summer round of funding
• Mark Cuban Stimulus Plan - Open Source Funding
  • Mark made a post on his blog offering to fund startups that meet his set of criteria. One requirement is that the business plan is posted openly. It’s an interesting read if for no other reason than to see what he considers as investment worthy. Noticed on Buzz in the Hub.
• HubSpot’s Valentine Link Love campaign is kind of amusing. HubSpot is Boston based, and they clearly shot the campaign videos in Boston.

Events

• TheFunded is hosting an event in Boston on Tuesday, March 10 at 7pm at MIT. Noticed this on altgate.

Boston Startup Blogs

Either about Boston startups or written by Boston based startup people.

• altgate by Furqan Nazeeri, CEO of Viridus
• Buzz in the Hub - a blog that’s part of the Genotrope, a career site with a focus on Boston
• Innovation Economy by Scott Kirsner, writer for the Boston Globe. A blog with a heavy focus on Massachusetts. For example, Scott writes about the need to rebrand Massachusetts as a technology friendly state.

I noticed this post on Innovation Economy. Alex Hodgson was kind enough to organize Democamp Boston, and the date is soon approaching. For anyone who went to Barcamp last year, the idea is similar - a participant generated, informal conference for idea sharing and demos from startups.

Date: Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Time: 6:30pm - 9:00pm
Where: Hult International Business School, 1 Education Street, Cambridge MA

My company has lined up one of the presentation spots, so I’m excited.

Stas Antons contacted me recently about his startup called Jump To Green, Inc. Their mantra is “Making Green Visible.”

Jump To Green, Inc. is a visualization technology developer and online green retailer from Newton, MA.  They focus on developing technologies that allow consumers and businesses to make more environmentally responsible decisions.  JumpGauge is one such technology - its purpose is to make “green” more visible.

JumpGauge™ visual labeling technology has been applied to thousands of green and eco-friendly products, ranging from organic clothing, to toys, books, health & beauty as well as home & garden products (www.JumpGauge.com).  Green consumers do not need to decipher technical jargon or read through government and industry certifications.  Simply by looking at the product’s JumpGauge™ they can see why the product is green and eco-friendly.  In addition, JumpGauge Visual Search™ is the first visual search engine to utilize JumpGauge™ labeling technology to make searching for and purchasing green products quick and easy. Instead of typing lengthy search strings or guessing keywords, a user just selects pictures representing various green attributes and JumpGauge Visual Search™ automatically verifies product matches to deliver accurate results, which means that ‘going green’ just got easier.

During their market research Jump To Green discovered that many consumers want to purchase green and eco-friendly products, but have avoided doing so due to the technical jargon, lack of standards and unfamiliar descriptions found on the product’s label. JumpGauge™ labeling technology solves this problem.

If you are a Boston area startup and are interested in being spotlighted, please contact me.

WebInno20 happened yesterday, and it was by far the largest Web Innovators Group meeting. It felt like there was close to double the amount of people from last time. My estimates put it somewhere around 700, though I could be wildly wrong.

Some changes were in effect this time. The side dishes were moved to another room. This really opened up the crowd and allowed for more chairs in the main presentation room. Also, there was a separate breakout session in the main room titled “Raising Angel Financing 101″ (notes on that to follow).

Before I go on, I have a suggestion for future WebInno attendees: write some keywords on your name tag that describe what you’re interested in. For instance, I wanted to talk to mobile app people, so I wrote “mobile apps?”. Not enough people do this, so it’s really hard to find the right people to talk to.

Raising Angel Financing 101

James Geshwiler, Managing Director of the Common Angels, hosted a session called “Raising Angel Financing 101.”

The presentation was mostly about the contrast between angel financing and VC financing.  In contrasting the two, James suggested that startups find the fit that is right for them. VC funds have grown over the last decade, and as funds grow, they invest larger amounts and need larger exits. While this sounds good, the reality is that many startups can’t justify high exits. Angels, on the other hand, invest in smaller amounts and require smaller exits. A $5 million acquisition in a couple years is a win-win when you are angel funded, but it’s a no-go when you’re already $10 million deep in VC funds. Ask yourself what makes sense and find investors that fit your strategy.

As a side note, James pointed out that he didn’t like the term “angel investor” and prefers “private investor.”

If you are looking for angel funding, one web site he suggested was Angel Capital Association.

Some other points from his slides:

• The recession and how it affects us:
  • Financial risk is up, but competitive risk is down.
  • Many angels now seek startups that can reach cash-flow break even with only one round of funding. They don’t want to depend on additional investors and a second round to keep your company afloat.
  • Exit in 5 to 7 years is realistic.
  • Having a low burn rate in this economy is one of the best things you can say in your pitch.
• Common Angels typically invests 1 to 3 million in exchange for 25-40% of a company.

Out of the seven companies named Friday as finalists in Amazon’s latest AWS Start-Up Challenge—designed to reward the most innovative companies using the cloud-based Amazon Web Services infrastructure to deliver their products or services—three are based right here in the Boston area.

Original story on Xconomy.

Mobile Monday Boston is hosting an event where 10 early stage mobile companies will demonstrate their new products.

When:

Nov 17, 2008, 7-9pm

Where:

Omni Parker Hotel - Rooftop Ballroom
60 School Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02108

Register

Mobile Monday Boston is hosting a reception this week.

When:
Wednesday, Oct 22 at 6:30pm

Where:
As part of Mobile Internet World 2008, which will be at the Boston Convention Center.

Registration required (this is just for the MoMo event, not for MIW).
 
Mobile Internet World is a three day event from Oct 21 - 23 at the Boston Convention Center. It has two components, an expo and a conference. The conference part costs money (lots), but the expo part is free. Register for the MIW conference or just the expo here.

“Social Media for Social Change is a chance to bring social media people together, like we love to do on a regular basis, but with a specific focus on helping a generous cause. One of the goals of Social Media for Social Change is to explore how social tools can put a spotlight on important causes and bring about real change.”

Event web site.

When
Friday, October 10, 2008, 6:30-10:30

Where
The Harvard Club
374 Commonwealth Ave.
Boston, MA 02215

Google Map

RSVP here. This event costs $25 and only has 5 tickets remaining as of this writing.

The event is titled Boston’s Most Successful Mobile Entrepreneurs. “This Mobile Monday Boston event will connect Boston’s leading mobile entrepreneurs with 15 tech and entrepreneurship-focused student groups from local colleges and universities. The event will highlight Boston as a global center in mobile and wireless and expose local students to the professional opportunities available in Boston’s mobile industry.”

There will also be a panel with an impressive list of panelists.

Where: Boston University School of Management, 595 Comm Ave, Boston

When: 6pm to 9pm

Registration on EventBrite is required.