STIRR

Our good friends over at Women2 are running more great events in 2009.   If you have a team with at least one woman founder, check them out:

http://www.women2.org/jumpstart-your-startup
January 17 – February 26, 2009

Have an innovative idea, or just launched your startup? Women 2.0 is all about ideas and startups (oh, with at least one female founder).
“Jumpstart Your Startup” is a new workshop series for the aspiring entrepreneur.

Join fellow entrepreneurs with great ideas and go from big idea to a great business plan in just 7 sessions! Classes are led by a UC Berkeley Haas School of Business entrepreneurship professor, and supplemented by guest speakers who will share lessons from their “in-the-trenches” entrepreneurial experiences. Learn how to evaluate and plan your idea from the CEOs from Women.com (NBC), Squidoo.com, Styledairy.com, mashery.com and allvoices.com

Register now as seating is limited to 10 ideas/startups: http://www.women2.org/jumpstart-your-startu

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==PITCH 2009: Napkin startup competition==
Michael Moritz of SEQUOIA Capital is listening.
http://pitch.women2.org
DEADLINE: April 10, 2009
Do you have the world’s next big idea? Here’s your chance to PITCH. Michael Moritz (Sequoia) is listening! Put it on a paper napkin.

Women 2.0’s third-annual Startup Competition will provide your alpha, beta, or prototype-stage startup with exposure to early stage investors. Our judging panel includes investors and experienced startup executives who will provide valuable written feedback on your business.

HUNDREDS of submissions will receive valuable feedback from the judging panel of investors and experienced startup executives.

FIVE startups will be chosen to pitch live on Pitch Night: May 7th, 2009.

ONE winning startup gets a meeting with legendary investor Michael Moritz from Sequoia Capital in addition to free office space, legal services, marketing support, PR support, and more – everything you need win with your new idea.

Entering the competition is easy. Just fill out information about your startup online, record a 2-minute video pitch, and snail mail us a cocktail napkin with your business plan scribbled on it. Deadline to submit your startup is April 10th, 2009.

A warm thank you to everyone in the STIRR family for a terrific 2008.  Bay Area FoundersTable and Salon events kick off again in Feb 2009 and we look forward to seeing you then.

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WOMEN 2.0 “MUSIC MAKERS AND TECHNOLOGY SHAKERS”

Event details - http://www.women2.org/october-2008-music-and-tech/
Eventbrite registration - http://musicandtech.eventbrite.com/
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Women 2.0 proudly showcases an impressive lineup of artists and entrepreneurs in the music space. Join us for “Music Makers and Technology Shakers” on Wednesday, October 15, 2008 from 6pm to 9pm at Slide in San Francisco.

Our esteemed panelists will discuss current trends in music and alternative business models.

» Elise Nordling - Panel moderator - (Music Director and DJ for SOMA FM)
» Angelina Moysov (Singer / Songerwriter for Persephones Bees)
» Lucia Iman (top-selling artist on SellaBand)
» Pim Beist (Founder and Creative Director of SellaBand)
» Celia Hirschman (KCRW Commentator “On the Beat”)
» Cecily Mak (Senior Counsel at RealNetworks and Rhapsody)
» Jay Durgan (President of Raiden Holdings and former Head of Bus. Dev. at Warner Music)

Join the discussion with artists, seasoned executives and music industry disrupters who will join us from KCRW to Real Networks to Sellaband.com (all the way from the Netherlands). Hear influential technology and music leaders talk about the changes in the music industry, new business models, current trends and how the startup community can empower change for artists around the globe.

Rumors of a super Member Benefits package are floating around.  Great stuff for startups in early Nov? Stay tuned.

Founders Table fall 2008 is kicking off in Oct.  Initial invites should be rolling out in the next week and a half.

The 3rd Annual Startups-only Holiday Gala is on for early December.  If you’re a vendor or a VC and would like to attend, please contact us for sponsorship details.  Email sanford [at] stirr .dot. net.

MOBILIZE: The Next Generation Mobile Conference
presented by GigaOM
September 18, 2008
Mission Bay Conference Center, SF

Conference web site:
http://events.gigaom.com/mobilize/08/?a=stirr

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Friends of STIRR receive a 10% discount.
http://mobilize.eventbrite.com/?discount=stirr

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MOBILIZE will explore the advancements driving growth of the mobile web and what they mean for entrepreneurs and their investors. Despite big plans and visions, the promise of the mobile web and a truly untethered Internet hasn’t been realized yet. Now, developments in design, user experience, handset technology, location and wireless network technology are changing everything. The mobile web is about to take off like a rocket.

GigaOM just announced the mobile startups selected to demo onstage at the MOBILIZE LaunchPad. The sheer number of applicants shows the robustness of the mobile application market. Come see the next generation of the mobile web.

The lucky 13 are Fonemesh, Tunewiki, Heysan, Pinch Media, Fonolo, Skyfire, Zecter, LuckyCal, MotionDSP, Cumulux, Placethings, Fusion Garage Project, and Tapulous. All the details are here - http://gigaom.com/2008/08/25/mobilize-launchpad-contestants-announced.

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MEET THE SPEAKERS

Join 500 of the most influential, innovative luminaries in the mobile web industry to get a glimpse of the future.

Keynotes
•    Rich Miner - Google’s Android, Co-founder
•    Padmasree Warrior - Cisco, CTO

Speakers include:
•    John Roese - Nortel Networks, CTO (NEW!)
•    Fred Kitson - Motorola, VP of Applications Research (NEW!)
•    John Forsyth - Symbian Software, VP of Strategy (NEW!)
•    Lee Ott - Yahoo!, Global Director of Mobile Search (NEW!)
•    Gary Kovas - Adobe, VP and GM, Mobile and Devices (NEW!)
•    John Koller - Sony Computer Entertainment America, Director of Hardware Marketing (NEW!)
•    Clint McClellan - Sr. Dir of Market Dev, Health & Life Sciences, Qualcomm (NEW!)
•    Ken Kershner - Dash Navigation, SVP of Engineering (NEW!)
•    Michael Copeland - Fortune, Senior Writer (NEW!)
•    Ken Fisher - ArsTechnica, Founder and Editor-in-chief (NEW!)
•    Matt Murphy - Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Partner on iFund
•    Dan Mason - ESPN Mobile Web Global, Sr. Product Manager
•    Ian Freed - Amazon.com, VP of Amazon Kindle
•    Russ McGuire - Sprint, VP of Corporate Strategy
•    Marc Davis - Yahoo!, Chief Scientist of Yahoo! Connected Life
•    Rachel Hinman - Adaptive Path, Mobile Design Strategist
•    Jason Devitt - Skydeck, CEO
•    Ted Morgan - SKYHOOK Wireless, CEO
•    Scott Richardson - Clearwire, Chief Strategy Officer
•    Scott Raney - Redpoint Ventures, Partner
•    John SanGiovanni - Zumobi, Co-Founder and VP, Product Design
•    Richard Wong - Accel Partners, Partner
•    Jeff Belk - ICT 168, Principal
•    Rick Segal - JLA Ventures, Partner
•    Jake Seid - Lightspeed Venture Partners, Managing Director
•    Raven Zachary - The 451 Group, Research Director, Open Source
•    Greg Sterling - Sterling Market Intelligence/Local Mobile Search, Analyst
•    Ryan Block - Engadget, Editor-at-large

SOME TOPICS TO BE EXPLORED
•    Next Generation Networks, Handsets and Chipsets
•    Rethinking Products in the Age of Hyper-connectivity
•    The Economics of Mobile Development Platforms
•    LTE or WiMAX: Which One Owns the Future?
•    Mobile Browsers
•    Location-Based Services
•    Emerging Mobile Business and Revenue Patterns
•    Mobile Investment Trends

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
•    Entrepreneurs
•    Venture Capital Professionals
•    Executives
•    Product Managers
•    Lead Technologists
•    Analysts

“The challenge in finding and retaining great sales and marketing talent” was one of the hot discussion topics at the STIRR Canada Founders’ Table held on July 3rd, at the Tribune Restaurant in Calgary.

A group of 10 emerging and established tech startup founders and funders were invited to the dinner, hosted by STIRR Canada’s Patrick Lor and Claudia Moore. Among the companies represented were Acceleware, Calgary Scientific, VoodooPC (HP), Userful, and Evoco, as well as the evening’s sponsor Macleod Dixon.

Discussions covered a range of other topics including: best practices in working with international partners and resellers, startup culture, the ins and outs of tax credits and government funding, when to outsource, and more … talk continued on past dessert.

Some of the attendee feedback included:

• “It’s nice to have exposure to raw entrepreneurial spirit/DNA …”
• “I lost track of the time owing to the terrific conversation.”
• “I appreciated the small format discussion - and the ability to ask questions and share experiences.”
• “It was interesting hearing about the common issues all our companies suffer …”

More Founders’ Tables are planned for this summer, with a larger Tech Mixer planned for the fall. Stay tuned for dates, locations and times.

A Founder’s Table dinner is planned for Thursday July 3rd, 5 pm in Calgary [revised date]

Following the success of our kick-off May 2008 STIRR Canada event (which hosted 50 Alberta-based guests) this July 2008 invitation-only dinner will return to the classic STIRR single-table gathering comprised of 10-12 founders of tech-driven companies.

FOR MORE DETAILS, please email: Info{at}stirr{dot}ca

If you’re not already a member of STIRR Canada, please complete the APPLICATION FORM.

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A range of Calgary-based events are planned for the coming year:

• A Founder’s Table will be held each month.
• Pitch Labs are planned for August, October, December, January, and February.
• Popular Tech Mixer main events will be held in September and February.
• STIRR Canada will also hold on-campus events for Calgary students this fall, as well as participating in various BarCamp and DemoCamp activities.

BarCamp Calgary breaks for lunch (left) and Nexopia Founder Timo Ewalds (right) chats with BarCamp attendees.

On May 14th, we brought STIRR back to the location that started it all over two years ago. The new Bistro 412 (formerly F&A’s) is where STIRR first launched back in April of 2006. This time we gave the crowd of entrepreneurs and investors a special prelaunch sneak peak at the new Involver (and if you’re familliar with the older Involver this is something entirely new), and put a twist on our hacks format by inviting two early stage VCs and The Funded to be in the same room. The talks are included after the fold.

(more…)

On Thursday evening, Albertan tech startup founders, funders, and emerging young guns filled the main floor of Calgary’s Bonterra Trattoria restaurant at STIRR Canada’s kick-off Founders & Funders Dinner event. Five hours later, after some great networking and facilitated dinner table conversations, people were still buzzing.

Participating companies included: Active Conversion, Broadramp, Calgary Scientific, Cambrian House, Cognera, CoolIT, Coril Holdings, Cornerstone Technologies, Datagardens, DirectVoxx, Dynastream, eSchedule, GamesCafe, iNovia Capital, Intervera, Loa Corporation, Mobovivo, Octane Venture Partners, Ph03nix New Media, Preo Software, Psyko Audio Labs … … Renoworks, Shopster, SpatialQ, StockVantage, StumbleUpon, Techvibes, Tynt, and Xtreme Technologies.

Calgary native, and StumbleUpon (acquired by Ebay) co-founder, Garrett Camp, talked about the ups and downs of his friends-and-family funded early startup days and how he ultimately moved to Silicon Valley to be closer to his advisors. He also revealed that his first investor was a StumbleUpon user from the Valley who simply contacted him by email.

Read the rest of the article and see more photos at STIRR Canada

The early reviews have been great and we’ll have a full post with video soon. As a teaser here are some photos from our photographer (thanks Andrei) and our pocketcam