Archives for February 2009

Quick update on some good news, some great news… and some sad news, too.

First, the great news…

If you’re looking to hire folks, find a job, promote an event or discuss all-things-SF New Tech we’ve created some brand new forums for the SF New Tech community so we can continue to help each other out. You’re hereby invited to chime in! The SF New Tech forums can be found at our newly made-over presence at Meetup.com (what do you think?). Visit http://www.meetup.com/sfnewtech and click on "Message Board" on the left. GO!

And here’s some really good news…

SF New Tech is proud to announce we’ll be working with geekSessions, led by geek extraordinaire and all-about-good guy, Shon Burton. Stay tuned for some really great events we’re scheming for the coming months… Starting with a can’t miss event, "geekSessions 1.5: Cheaper, Better, Faster, Stronger" taking place TOMORROW (Tuesday, February 24th, 6:00pm-10:00pm) at our favorite haunt, Mighty. As a member of SF New Tech, you’ll get a hefty 50% discount on your ticket when you sign up! (See below).

geekSessions 1.5: Cheaper, Better, Faster, Stronger will look at how startups are doing more with less. How smaller teams and are getting more done in less time with less money. From development to infrastructure –nature is demanding more efficiency across the board. We’ll look at how startups using modern frameworks, automation, sane capacity planning, and solid analytics to do more with less. Way more. Panelists include Justin Kan, Founder & President, Justin.tv; Daniel Lieberman, Founder & CEO, Bitpusher; Gary Swart, CEO, oDesk; Zachery Coelius, CEO, Triggit, Richard White, CEO, UserVoice, and will be moderated by Jason Hoffman, CTO, Joyent.

6:00pm – Registration, open bar, and dinner
7:00pm – Panel discussion and Q&A (bar closed)
8:30pm – Open Bar, and networking

Get your 50% discount code by clicking here: http://gs15-sfnt.eventbrite.com/?discount=SFNewTech

Hope to see you there!

And finally, some really sad news…

Last week on Thursday 2/19, Brandt Cannici, SF New Tech member and demo alumni, was tragically killed in a car accident. You may remember Brandt from our 10/07 SF New Tech Rocks event when he demo’d his company Strayform, which provided services and tools to help artists get paid for their work. Brandt always had exciting things going on. His most recent endeavor was starting MedicareSaver.com, a company designed to help lower prescription drug costs for the 35 million people on Medicare. Brandt came out to our events regularly and touched me in a way few do. He inspired me greatly and he always exhibited a level of graciousness and sincerity few people can match. Although I only knew him from our tech-centric world, Brandt was kind of enough to snail-mail my wife and I a handwritten card after the birth of our daughter. He was that kind of guy. It’s with great sadness and sorrow we’re off to the races without Brandt. If you knew Brandt (or even if you didn’t) and you’re a member of Facebook, you’re invited to share your thoughts at this special Remembering Brandt Facebook group: http://bit.ly/DXQkL

RIP, Brandt. We’ll miss you.

Thanks to everyone who made it out to play with us on Wednesday!

Big thanks to AdoRoi, OneRiot, Metaio, Carticipate, SonicLiving, and Ricoh’s iCandy who all did a stellar job!

Check out some photos ….

 

 

… and this fun video clip I mashed together.  It almost feels like you’re there!

 

Other fun notes and links from Wednesday’s event :

* 60-Second Soapbox Spots: http://sfnt.wufoo.com/reports/21109-60-second-spots/
* Photos up on Facebook: http://bit.ly/4iJbG (Go tag your friends!)
* Photos up on Flickr too: http://bit.ly/16obHh
* A taste of what it was like last night — in under 8 minutes: VIDEO: http://bit.ly/rv599
* Big thanks to http://www.buzzconnect.com for the famously awesome El Toyanese Truck tacos! (If you’d like to sponsor tacos at one of our events in the future – let’s talk!)
* Tweet’d up! http://search.twitter.com/search?q=sfnewtech
* Follow SF New Tech on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/sfnewtech
* Follow Myles on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/mylerdude
* Apply to do a demo at a future event: https://www.sfnewtech.com/demo

Posted!

Lots of folks looking for work.   Help ’em out if you can.

http://sfnt.wufoo.com/reports/21109-60-second-spots/

Dear SF New Tech friends –

It’s rare form for me to send a note like this but here goes:  SF New Tech is on the hunt for sponsors for 2009. 

It’s safe to say SF New Tech is San Francisco’s largest and longest-running monthly technology event series and community group.

Here are the numbers:
* 4500+ members (C-level executives, VPs, developers, marketers, and more.)
* 3 years of consistent monthly events
* 35 of which have been "sold out"
* 160+ companies have taken to the stage to present live demos of their new tech
* 1800+ companies have attended through the years

That said, SF New Tech is seeking to connect with forward-thinking companies who want to build relationships with some of the Bay Area’s best early adopters.

As we make our way in to 2009, one of the best ways for companies to connect with early adopters, technology buyers, and the like, is through on-the-ground relationships.  Forget big ad buys on big web sites or magazines.  The real — and as far as I’m concerned, ONLY — way to really connect with present and future customers is by building experiential relationships with them.   Tactile, with a smile — not a poster on the wall or a piece of glossy advertising.  (If you’re not investing in building relationships with your customers because you’re nervous about the economy, you may want to reconsider.  Now’s the time to get on the ground and into the community.  Now’s not the time to go "dark".  Unless, of course, you still want it to be dark for your business when all the dust clears.)

We’ve got a number of wonderful opportunities available.  From our top-of-the-line Platinum Sponsorship package right on down to our "Drinking Buddy" Sponsorship package.   Or something in between: we’re all about working with companies to help them achieve their objectives.

Here’s what Platinum Sponsor Sun Microsystems has to say:

"Our long-standing sponsorship of SF New Tech has been a great asset in our arsenal to expand awareness of and increase membership in our Sun Startup Essentials program.  We have gotten great exposure and access to the SF startup community, and have established Sun’s dedication to this community.  For Sun, the ROI has been very high, and we plan to continue our sponsorship well into the future!"  — Joann Yates, Sun Startup Essentials

If you’d like to sponsor SF New Tech — now is the time to jump into the fray. 

Or, if you’d like to earn a few dollars, consider working with us to find new sponsors and we’ll toss you upwards of 20% of net proceeds.  Sometimes all it takes is a single introduction and wham-o, you’re in the money.

Please email myles@sfnewtech.com if you’re interested in learning more about our sponsorships.

Thanks and regards,

Myles Weissleder
Founder, SF New Tech.
415-332-3205
myles @ sfnewtech.com

PS:  Wednesday’s big event (2/11) is almost sold out!   Check out Augmented Reality, QR Barcode wizardry, neat-o Web 2.0 efforts, and yes: free (sponsored!) tacos!  See http://feb11sfnewtech.eventbrite.com  Hope you can make it!