Monthly Archive for December, 2007Page 2 of 3

Dec12th2007

PayPal Developer Day - December 13

Published
by
Josh Tabin
on December 12, 2007
in Events
. 0 Comments

PayPal Developer Central

This is an interesting opportunity for those of you who are working with payment/e-commerce applications. It’s kind of last minute, but there will be a free day-long workshop for PayPal developers tomorrow. See below for more details:

______________________________________________________________

I have a rare last minute opportunity to share with experienced developers working with e-commerce applications. I have some open seats for PayPal’s Developer Day on December 13th @ the Hilton Americas in Houston. (Breakfast, lunch, and beer party provided) These seats will be filled quickly so if you are interested please contact me at the number in my signature ASAP.

PayPal Developer Day is a free, day-long workshop for the PayPal developer community.

Who should attend

- Experienced developers who work on e-commerce applications.
- Developers interested in increasing their business and services.
- Developers interested in obtaining a PayPal Certified Developer Certification.

At this exciting event, you’ll:

- Gain insight into the latest PayPal payment technologies.
- Get answers to your technical integration questions.
- Connect with developers in your community.
- Learn about business opportunities PayPal can bring you.

Plus, you can take the PayPal Developer Certification exam for free: a $150 value. Limited space.

Thanks!

Russell Evans - Sr. Project / Account Manager
Chalant Media
8500 Winterstein Dr.
Austin, TX 78745
p | 512.291.4673
efax | 509.355.7549
www.chalantmedia.com

Dec11th2007

Vibrant Night at Houston NetSquared

Published
by
Josh Tabin
on December 11, 2007
in Events
. 0 Comments

NetSquared

This was my first NetSquared meeting and was impressed with the diverse attendance tonight. Jay Drayer of CareFlash presented (I will link the presentation in here once it is made available) to a lively and direct crowd. Ed Schipul should be shooting me some pictures to share as well.

For those of you not familiar with NetSquared, its mission is to “spur responsible adoption of social web tools by social benefit organizations.” Houston is one a a few select cities that have their own group. Kudos to the Schipul team for spearheading the effort.

The next meeting will be held on January 8, 2008. You can learn more and RSVP here. Try and come if you can. Remember that what comes around, goes around so make sure your startup has a “give back” attitude.

Dec11th2007

Houston Web 2.0 & Social Media Happy Hour Packs the House

Published
by
kurt
on December 11, 2007
in Conversations, Events, General and IT and Web 2.0
. 15 Comments

crowdedclub_v1

The attendance for the Houston Web 2.0 & Social Media Happy Hour far exceeded everyone’s expectations last night (75+ people at the last count).  OK, we get points off for not having any photos, but you get the idea.

A Big Thank You goes out to Marc Nathan with HTC, Erica O’Grady with PeanutButterMedia, and Laura Mayes with Sk*rt for getting this great event kick-started and to everyone else for showing up.

Here is some of what was seen and overheard:

I’m sure that Josh will have a few things to add to this post, but I can say that based on the turnout last night, we will definitely be turning this into a monthly event, with the next one in January. Stay tuned for details…

Did you go?  Tell us what you think in our comments section.

Dec11th2007

Update: Registration Open for 2008 Nanotechnology Venture Forum

Published
by
Josh Tabin
on December 11, 2007
in Events, NanoTech and VC and Angel Funding
. 0 Comments

Updating a previous post…

Rice Alliance Nanotechnology Venture Forum

7th Annual Rice Alliance Nanotechnology Venture Forum
Event Date: Thursday, January 24, 2008
Rice University, McNair Hall, Jones Graduate School of Management
9:00 am to 5:00 pm - Program
5:00 pm - Networking Reception & Company Showcase

To register and more Information: click here
Early Registration Deadline: Monday, January 21st at 5:00 pm

WHY ATTEND?

  • Hear renowned nanotechnology experts discuss, in plain-English, today’s real applications of nanotechnology
  • Learn about the latest nano developments in cancer treatment, energy, electronics, & other applications
  • Better understand investment opportunities in nanotechnology
  • Learn how nanotechnology will change our lives and shape the future of business
  • Gain insights from some of the nation’s most prominent venture capitalists in nanotechnology
  • Learn about nanotechnology commercial applications from 15-20 companies

Here are the keynote speakers and members of the venture capital panel:

Opening Keynote:
Ray Johnson, Ph.D., Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer
Lockheed Martin Corp.

Lockheed Martin is a leader in the application of nanotechnology to make products smaller, lighter, and smarter. Dr. Johnson guides the Company’s technology vision and provides corporate leadership in the strategic areas of Technology and Engineering, which include more than 65,000 people working on more than 4,000 programs. Dr. Johnson also leads the Corporation’s Advanced Concepts Organization and the Center for Innovation, a world-class laboratory for collaborative experimentation and analysis involving Lockheed Martin, its customers, and industry partners.

Afternoon Keynote:
Josh Wolfe, Managing Partner and Co-Founder
Lux Capital

Josh is a co-founder of The NanoBusiness Alliance, a columnist with Forbes Magazine and Editor of the monthly Forbes/Wolfe Nanotech Report. Josh focuses on investments in nanotechnology, semiconductors and life sciences, and manages the firm’s investments in Nanosys and Cambrios. Josh Wolfe has been called “America’s Leading Authority on Nanotechnology” and was awarded as a “Top 40 under 40″ most influential business leaders.

Closing Keynote:
Chris Anzalone, Ph.D., President and CEO
Arrowhead Research Corp.

Chris Anzalone became President and CEO of Arrowhead Research on December 1. Arrowhead Research is a publicly-traded company whose mission is to commercialize products based on nanotechnology in high-growth markets. Dr. Anzalone is the founder of the Benet Group, a private equity firm focused on launching NanoBiotechnology companies from university research. His portfolio includes Leonardo BioSystems, based on a drug delivering technology for treating cancer developed by Dr. Mauro Ferrari.

Venture Capital/Investor Panel:
- John Hanten, Chevron Technology Ventures
- Mike Samouce, Texas NanoTech Ventures
- Katie Szczepaniak, Wasatch Venture Fund
- Barry Zhang, Kenda Capital

Cost: $65: non-members and members of the general public (early registration by Jan. 21st deadline)
No charge: 2007-2008 Rice Alliance Members and full-time Rice faculty/staff/students
$75: Walk-up Registration

Event Underwriter: Winstead

Company Presentation & Afternoon Break Sponsor: Comerica Bank

Lunch & Networking Reception/Company Showcase Sponsor: Fish & Richardson

Co-Host: The Richard E. Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology at Rice University

More information or information on sponsorships: www.alliance.rice.edu or alliance@rice.edu or 713-348-3443.

Dec7th2007

Getting Serious About Gaming

Published
by
Josh Tabin
on December 7, 2007
in BioTech/Life Science, Gaming, General and IT and Web 2.0
. 0 Comments

Playnormous
CBS Channel 11 News KHOU - TV aired a story last night on the use of video games for serious purposes. Archimage was featured as an innovative Houston-based company that is creating video games designed to improve the health of children, specifically obesity and type 2 diabetes prevention.

Archimage’s president, Richard Buday, was interviewed along with two of their partners, Dr. Tom Baranowski of Baylor College of Medicine CNRC and Dr. Cliff Dacso of the Abramson Center for the Future of Health. Several clips were shown from Archimiage’s two NIH-funded role-playing video game adventures in healthy eating and exercise, Escape from Diab and Nanoswarm: Invasion from Inner Space.

Archimage is the parent company of a Houston startup, Playnormous. You may recall Jerald Reichstein from Archimage presented Playnormous at the Rice Alliance 5th Annual IT and Web 2.0 Venture Forum (which we covered here and here). If you did not get a chance to attend the event, you can watch Reichstein’s presentation here courtesy of the BusinessMakers Radio Show.

What I love most about serious games for health is that it brings several Houston specialties, life science and IT, together to address a burgeoning and under served market. As a parent, I also like the opportunity to have my kids play something other than Barbie and Nickelodeon (I also eagerly await Konstruction Zone’s launch).

DISCLOSURE: Playnormous is a client of Mosaic CFO, a financial advisory firm owned by Josh Tabin.

Dec6th2007

Celebrate the Season at the Houston Social Media & Web 2.0 Holiday Happy Hour

Published
by
Josh Tabin
on December 6, 2007
in Events
. 2 Comments

Startup Houston, in coordination with the Houston Technology Center and Sk*rt and  invite you to attend the Houston Social Media and Web 2.0 Holiday Happy Hour on Monday, December 10th from 5:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m at the Sonoma Wine Bar and Boutique, located at 2720 Richmond (1 Block West of Kirby) in Houston, TX (phone: (713) 526-9463)

This will be an informal gathering of Houston area entrepreneurs, web developers, designers, marketing and PR folks, and everyone else interested in Social Media and Web 2.0 to celebrate the Tech community. Stop by and share a glass of wine with like-minded people. Think of it like OpenCoffee but with the wine out of the cases and in your glasses.

RSVP here at the Upcoming Page.

Dec6th2007

PHP Meetup is tonight and RoR Meetup is next week

Published
by
kurt
on December 6, 2007
in General
. 0 Comments

logo_tilt_small_1

The Houston PHP and MySQL User Meetup is tonight at UofH Central Campus (lookout for lots of construction).  You can find out more information on time, topic, & directions here.

Josh and I actually attended the last PHP user group meeting to share with them what StartupHouston is trying to do for Houston’s startup community.  The group had great attendance and we learned of some new startups in town that we hadn’t heard of before (Example = FireSabre, who have created a teaching environment for kids in Second Life, which I will be doing a post on shortly).

 

RoR_UserGroup_logo1b

The Houston Ruby on Rails group is meeting next Tuesday.  Also, the Houston RoR just added a Google calendar which you can find here.

More info here.

I also encourage any technology entrepreneurs to consider attending these meetings in the future as there is a lot of great talent here that are very entrepreneurially minded.

Dec5th2007

Get Ready for BarCamp Texas (TX)

Published
by
kurt
on December 5, 2007
in General
. 0 Comments

BarCampTX_logo1

Here it is, not even the end of the year quite yet and already I can’t wait for 2008.  Why is that you ask?  Because BarCamp Texas is coming in January (Jan. 26th to be precise).  This year, BarCamp Texas is being held in Bryan / College Station and is being organized by the same crew that run RefreshBCS, which we wrote about here. 

If you haven’t been to a BarCamp before, let me tell you that you are in for a real treat.  You can see what BarCamp in general is all about here.  And you can see our previous coverage of BarCamp Houston here, here, and here.

Find out more about the upcoming BarCamp Texas here.

Dec5th2007

Rice Alliance Nanotechnology Venture Forum - Dates Announced

Published
by
Josh Tabin
on December 5, 2007
in Events, Houston Venture Capitalists, NanoTech and VC and Angel Funding
. 1 Comment

The Rice Alliance has announced a date for the 2008 Nanotechnology Forum. It will be January 24, 2008 at the Jones School (McNair Hall) at Rice University (map here). Please mark your calendars for a mind blowing time.

I went last year and was thoroughly impressed with the nanotech growth we have seen here in Houston. I can only imagine what developments there have been in the past year.

I also got a free copy of Nanotechnology for Dummies; trust me when I say it helped!!!

Dec5th2007

MLS on Steroids (not MLB)

Published
by
Josh Tabin
on December 5, 2007
in General and IT and Web 2.0
. 0 Comments

MLBroadcast

Today I had lunch with an old friend and learned about a new startup he is involved in, MLBroadcast. MLBroadcast is a service that allows real estate professionals to promote listings and communities through a unique web broadcasting system. By combining the power of video podcasting and web video syndication, MLBroadcast allows agents, brokers and builders to maximize the exposure of your content.

The process works likes this:

  1. Build your broadcast channel;
  2. Add video episodes for listings and communities;
  3. Upload content.

Once that is complete, MLBroadcast then distributes the episode through various directories and search engines which include iTunes, YouTube and Yahoo Video.

Having been through the home buying and selling process several times, I understand the power that the web has brought to the real estate industry. Almost all MLS listings in the US and Canada are online through a variety of sites including Houston’s own Houston Association of Realtors.

I told my friend to make a point of coming to the next OpenCoffee event so you can talk more about it with him then. I will introduce you if you ask.