Migration Hiccups (Broken Images, Links, etc)
We’re migrating the main STIRR site over to a shiny new Wordpress blog. Pardon the chaos until things are settled. Much is broken: images, broken links, duplicated posts and all sorts of fun. More updates soon.
RSS Subscribers, you may wish to re-subscribe to STIRR (see links on right via feedburner).
Women 2.0 Business Plan Competition
Most good business ideas are not germinated from a spreadsheet or powerpoint. All you need is a pen and a cocktail napkin. Doodling is a universal language and visual thinking has created many great companies (e.g. Southwest Airlines). Check out these great doodles on napkins on BusinessWeek, or the cool doodles at thebackofthenapkin.com.
The deadline to enter the Women 2.0 Business Plan Competition is EXTENDED TO APRIL 15, 2008. So pull together a team of at least 50% female representation to be eligible to enter (you can also enter as a solo female entrepreneur) and get started! All submissions will receive written feedback from the judges (read their bios here).
Top 5 finalists present LIVE to the judges at the Women 2.0 and Stanford Women in Business Conference on May 10, 2008 at Stanford. Winner is announced at the end of the conference and scores a meeting with the iconic Esther Dyson, along with a grab bag of legal and PR goodies.
ARE YOU IN? More info at http://pitch.women2.org
Ev Williams “the accidental entrepreneur” in the Economist
You may have seen him share a hack at FounderHacks III (talk video is here), but if you’d like to know more about Ev Williams there’s a great writeup about accidental entrepreneurship in the December Economist.
Aydin Senkut Writeup in the NYT
The New York Times is running an article including Aydin Senkut from Felicis Ventues (STIRR Soiree 2 sponsor). Congrats Aydin!
STIRR’s Startup Holiday Soiree 2 Writeups and Photos
Photos and writeups of Soiree2 have been coming in:
STIRR Swings into the Holiday Season “STIRR has outdone themselves, yet again, with this year’s elegant and stylish Holiday Soiree in San Francisco. It summoned the a-listers and the up-and-coming entrepreneurs alike, and everything in between. All adorned suits and gowns - who knew geeks cleaned up so well. Champagne flowed, chocolate paired, conversations planted clusters of entrepreneurs in their place, and Lavay Smith decorated the ambiance with sultry swing.”
Stay Classy San Francisco: “Can a city go, in a year, from geek to chic? Unlikely. But consider this: A year ago, Stirr held its holiday mixer in the Exploratorium, a children’s museum full of science exhibits. This year, the place was the Julia Morgan Ballroom in the Merchants’ Exchange Building, right on the California Street cable-car line. Last night, as I made my way in, I was thinking to myself, “2007, or 1907?” Alas, the aura of gilded-era chic didn’t last much past the elevator ride up to the 15th floor. The first person I met was ubiquitous egoblogger Robert Scoble. Check out our gallery for pictures of actually-not-bad swing dancing — Stirr cofounder Sanford Barr, above, showed off his moves — and people in formal attire playing Wii.”
Julia Morgan Ballroom Elevates Startup Scene Thanks to STIRR.: “Sanford Barr, Sean Ness, and Dan Arkind have outdone themselves. The amazing organization of guests and kind hearted sponsors benefitted as well by mingling with the big personas that attended such as Robert Scoble and Brian Solis. The special details that kept on coming throughout the night were hors d’oerves from Chef Paul, Lavay Smith performing, and magician Robert Strong. It was obvious that everyone enjoyed their evening with these special touches that were promised and delivered by the thoughtful men of STIRR. Gold Sponsors Felicis Ventures, Gabriel Venture Partners, and Sun Microsystems made this event possible and I for one appreciate their support. After a night like last night, I would have to go way back to my college Prom in Manhattan to compare the venue.”
It sold out in under 6 days. All told we had about 420 people attend and a knockout time. There are additional photos from the event from Brian Solis, Alex Ho and if you have more, send us a note to ‘photos’ at this domain. Wishing everyone a terrific New Year. More photos after the fold:
Details for Soiree2
Hello Soiree2 Ticket Holders. Have we got an evening in store for you! More info after the fold:
Soiree 2 is *SOLD OUT* (in 6 days)
It happened in less than 6 days, but Soiree2 is *sold out*. In case we receive additional sponsorship to offer more tickets, you can add yourself to the waitlist here.
The talks from FounderHacks III
Evan Williams, Jonathan Abrams and Michael Cerda shared their insights at STIRR’s FounderHacks III.
There were over 300 in attendance. Over 75% founding teams of early stage startups.
Here are the talks:
Ev Williams “Just Say No”
Jonathan Abrams “Common Wisdom sometimes isn’t”
Michael Cerda “Stick to your DNA”
The good folks over at Found|Read wrote about the talks here.
Kudos to Chef Paul for catering and the STIRR Armored Door Team for keeping the flow moving smoothly.