Archive for the 'Conversations' CategoryPage 2 of 3

Feb20th2008

Don’t Forget: OpenCoffee Club is Tomorrow - Thursday, Feb. 21

Published
by
kurt
on February 20, 2008
in Conversations, Events, General, Houston OpenCoffee Club, Houston Venture Capitalists, IT and Web 2.0 and VC and Angel Funding
. 1 Comment

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Join us for the next OpenCoffee Club!

About : The Houston OpenCoffee Club encourages open and informal discussion and networking among entrepreneurs, technology enthusiasts, and investors to help grow startup companies in the Houston area.

Thursday, February 21st, 2008
8:00AM - 10:00AM

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The Coffee Groundz
2503 Bagby St
Houston, TX 77006
(713) 874-0082
Map

You can RSVP and see who else is attending here.

You can find additional information on the Houston OpenCoffee Club on our Meetup page and on the StartupHouston blog. You can also find information about how OpenCoffee Club got started and what it is all about here and here.

Feb11th2008

Great NY Times Article on Seattle’s Startup Scene

Published
by
Josh Tabin
on February 11, 2008
in Conversations
. 3 Comments

The New York Times makes a compelling case for Seattle’s tech startup scene as a promising future competitor to Silicon Valley. The statement that resonates the most is:

“A start-up ecosystem needs social networks, support businesses and a business culture that views failure as a badge of honor, not shame.”

I think Houston has elements one and two, but lacks three. Agree or disagree. Let’s hear your thoughts.

Jan27th2008

The Importance of Being Money Smart

Published
by
Josh Tabin
on January 27, 2008
in Conversations and General
. 2 Comments

Tightening the Belt

I was listening to Colin Cowherd on ESPN Radio this past week and the topic was baseball salaries. Colin made note of the fact that the New York Yankees have, what amounts to an almost unlimited supply of cash to acquire as much talent as they can bring in. Unfortunately, this has not translated into any marginal success for the Yankees over the past several years. In contrast, many teams have been able to match the Yankees post-season success on a much smaller budget.

If any of our readers are baseball fans, you’ll have undoubtedly read Michael Lewis‘ baseball classic, Moneyball. If you have lived under a rock or in a cave for the past 5 years, Moneyball is a book about the hypothesis that the collected wisdom of baseball insiders over the past century is subjective and often flawed. Statistics such as stolen bases, runs batted in, and batting average, typically used to gauge players, are relics of a outdated view of the game and the statistics that were available at the time. By using sabermetrics (econometrics for baseball), Billy Beane, General Manager of the Oakland Athletics, was able to assemble playoff caliber teams for almost a decade with one of the lowest payrolls in the league.

Whereas I feel that the book offers the business world a fantastic analysis and case study of the opportunity of market inequities and arbitrage, I think the point I want to make here is that a team like the Yankees has an excessive payroll and makes bad spending decision while the resource constrained A’s make much smarter decisions and garnered the same effective results (obviously something worth discussing since many of the arbitrage opportunities in the market have been discovered and eliminated).

Translate this to the business world and you will hear terms like “capital efficient” and “bootstrapped” to identify savvy entrepreneurs and startups that make do with less and identify better ways to enact a successful startup. I leave you with this quote from Sun Tzu’s The Art of War:

“Throw your soldiers into positions whence there is no escape, and they will prefer death to flight. If they will face death, there is nothing they may not achieve.” 

Jan17th2008

Blair Garrou with DFJ Mercury featured in Houston Business Journal

Published
by
kurt
on January 17, 2008
in Conversations, General, Houston Venture Capitalists, IT and Web 2.0 and Interviews
. 0 Comments

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The Houston Business Journal put together a great interview with Blair Garrou of DFJ Mercury on what he thinks are some of the hot areas for investment and growth in Houston.  Here are a few excerpts I found interesting.

“Blair Garrou, managing partner of Houston venture capital firm DFJ Mercury, is bullish on the Bayou City as fertile ground for start-up companies.”

“DFJ Mercury typically invests between $100,000 and $1 million in seed and early-stage companies and also builds syndicates through its DFJ network for larger investments. The company has invested in six Houston start-ups over the last two and a half years — three in bioscience and three in technology. ”

“I’m a proponent that this is a fertile ground for start-ups. You can’t compare Houston to San Francisco. Start-ups are in the DNA in San Francisco — it’s been a way of life for generations. You don’t have those kinds of conversations around the dinner table here yet. I think Houston has the ability to be strong in three areas — life sciences, software and Web 2.0 deals.”

You can read the complete article here.  You can also see our previous interview with Blair on StartupHouston here.

Jan14th2008

5 Ways Networking can help your Startup stand out in 2008

Published
by
kurt
on January 14, 2008
in Conversations, General, Houston OpenCoffee Club, Houston Startup Happy Hour, IT and Web 2.0 and VC and Angel Funding
. 0 Comments

For 2008 Startup Houston has invited some of Houston’s best and brightest to provide guest posts on topics that they feel can help the Houston startup community to experience more success in 2008. 

MistyKhan_profilephoto We are proud to have Misty Khan as our first guest blogger for January.  Misty is the President and CEO of Advena Artemis, which provides sales consulting and the HuntressPro sales productivity software package for Microsoft Outlook, and has a wealth of experience in the areas of entrepreneurship, business development, CRM implementation and optimization, business process mapping, project management, and engineering.

We look forward to many more great posts in the months to come from Misty and others.

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Feeling a Little Lost & Overwhelmed as a Start-Up Company?

If you are, then as one of my old bosses used to say “don’t feel like the lone ranger.” I see a lot of questions on LinkedIn.com from start-up principals who feel the same way (especially in the technology sector) where founders may have more technical than business skills. But never fear, because there is a great solution to help ease these feelings called ‘networking’ and you may be surprised how much it can really help you out.Here are a few things networking can do for you as a start-up:1. Introduce you to other start-up principals who are or were in the same boat as you. These folks can be a great source of not only a sympathetic ear (don’t underestimate the value of the ear), but also of solutions they used to get past common hurdles. Why reinvent the wheel when someone else has probably already come up with a great solution that they are more than willing to share with you.

2. Introduce you to potential investors, advisors and board members. I see a lot of VCs and angel investors hanging out at OpenCoffee Club meetings as well as the Houston Technology Center (HTC) and other great networking events here in Houston. These guys are interested in hearing about new opportunities to invest in, and you have one, so why not seek them out where they congregate. Even if you don’t find a willing investor, you are going to get some great feedback from these folks on what you need to do to get an investor’s attention or where to find the kind of investors that will be interested in your opportunity.

Continue reading ‘5 Ways Networking can help your Startup stand out in 2008′

Jan2nd2008

Don’t Miss the Houston Startup Happy Hour tomorrow (Thursday)

Published
by
kurt
on January 2, 2008
in Conversations, General, Houston Startup Happy Hour, Houston Venture Capitalists and IT and Web 2.0
. 2 Comments

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Start your New Year right by joining us for the next Houston Startup Happy Hour this Thursday (tomorrow), Jan. 3rd!

Our first Houston Startup Happy Hour was such a smash (over 100 people) that we decided to make it part of a full time schedule. From now on the happy hour will always be on the first Thursday of every month, starting with our next event on Thursday, January 3rd (tomorrow). Sonoma Wine Bar has a great venue where everyone feels instantly relaxed, can try some great wines (and other mixed drinks), and share the latest and greatest info on themselves and their new tech ventures.

So here is your chance to meet Houston’s growing network of emerging startups, entreprenuers, investors, and technology enthusiasts to share drinks, tips and beta invites. Swap business cards and war stories and learn something new about Houston’s Tech Scene!

Here are more of the specifics:

When: Thursday, January 3rd (tomorrow), 6pm - 9pm
Where: Sonoma Wine Bar
Map: Click Here
RSVP: Click Here

Hope to see you there!

Dec31st2007

StartupHouston visits FireSabre Consulting in Second Life

Published
by
kurt
on December 31, 2007
in Conversations, General, IT and Web 2.0, Interviews and Video
. 2 Comments

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Recently myself and Josh Tabin interviewed the founders of FireSabre Consulting who have built a business in Second Life constructing virtual environments for businesses, schools and nonprofits.  The founders, Fred Fuchs and Kevin Shaum, who go by their avatar names of Gus Pliskin and Tinker Lafollette, are based here in Houston and took us for a tour showing us some of the worlds and models they have created.

http://www.vimeo.com/462611

One of the great things about using Second Life for school environments is the ability to demonstrate physics concepts in 3D space. Gus and Tinker showed us some of the recent projects that they have been working on, which include projects on both what are called the Main Grid and Teen Grid (separate areas with different permissions and protections for the age groups involved).  One of FireSabre’s biggest projects, and most long-running, is the Suffern Middle School on Ramapo Islands, a private estate in the Second Life Teen Grid. The Ramapo Central School District Suffern was the first school or school district to develop a presence in Second Life.

FireSabre represents what the future could look like for schools and other training institutions. The Future Room (which you can see in our video) is another example of an environment that FireSabre created to demonstrate different communication methods and concepts in Second Life.  Based on what we saw and heard, we look forward to seeing more of what FireSabre and Second Life will bring in the near future.

You can see the latest news on what FireSabre Consulting is up to here.

Dec20th2007

Start Your New Year off right with The Houston Startup Happy Hour

Published
by
kurt
on December 20, 2007
in Conversations, Events, General, IT and Web 2.0 and VC and Angel Funding
. 1 Comment

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Our first Houston Startup Happy Hour was such a smash that we decided to make it part of a full time schedule.  From now on the happy hour will always be on the first Thursday of every month, starting with our next event on Thursday, January 3rd.  For now we will be calling Sonoma’s Wine Bar our home base (unless we get a more attractive offer from some other venue - hint,hint).

This now makes for two events that we are organizing every month (The Houston Startup Happy Hour on the first Thursday of each month -and- The Houston OpenCoffee Club on the third Thursday of each month) to give everyone in Houston’s startup community an opportunity to get together and compare notes, learn about what’s new, and meet new people who are doing great things in Houston. 

So here is your chance to meet Houston’s growing network of emerging startups, entreprenuers, investors, and technology enthusiasts to share drinks, tips and beta invites. Swap business cards and war stories and watch your network grow!

Here are more of the specifics:

When:  Thursday, January 3rd, 6pm - ?
Where: Sonoma’s Wine Bar
Map:    Click Here
RSVP:  Click Here

SEE YOU THERE!

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

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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.

Dec4th2007

Houston Loses Startup to Silicon Valley

Published
by
Josh Tabin
on December 4, 2007
in Conversations
. 0 Comments

Berggi

Berggi announced last week that they have relocated their global headquarters to Silicon Valley to build a global center for product marketing and product management for a series of new mobile services and solutions. Startup Houston wrote about Berggi upon their latest funding earlier this year.

Although I suspect that Berggi’s decision to relocate from Houston to Silicon Valley is more a matter of the management team in this particular case, there is reason for concern as another promising startup departs from the Houston scene. This departure usually happens for several reasons:

  1. The lead venture capitalist does not have a local investor partner to help manage the company;
  2. The investment community tells the company that it needs to be in the Bay Area to be taken seriously;
  3. The company feels that it will not have adequate access to talent in Houston.

Whereas these are all valid concerns, companies need be careful with this line of reasoning. I think back to my childhood reading of a favorite Dr. Suess book, I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew in which the protagonist:

“a typical Seuss hybrid who’s part bear, part puppy, and part beyond categorization–has an innocent, carefree life, until it’s ruined by minor problems. With a toe stubbed, and a tail bitten by a Quilligan Quail (”And I learned there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead, and some come from behind”), he sets out on an ill-fated journey to find a better, less troublesome place: the fabled city of Solla Sollew, no less, “on the banks of the beautiful River Wah-Hoo,/ Where they never have troubles. At least very few.” Like most dreamlands, Solla Sollew is harder to attain than expected–nobody seems to know how to get there, and the journey is far worse than anyone anticipated. When the fair city is finally attained there is, of course, a last straw; but a happy twist suggests troubles may be better faced than escaped.”

What do you think?