In 2009 when Makerbot was just coming out people thought Bre Pettis was crazy. "No one is going to print plastic stuff at home". There was a certain novelty to the toys the company printed at TechCrunch Disrupt New York that spring, but visionaries clearly saw the future. In the ensuing four years the 3D [...]
The world of Apps is exploding. It seems these days that everyone has an app and if they don't they want one. But where do you go after that initial idea? How do you take your app from the basement to the board room? Where can you learn the ins and outs of the app [...]
Since taking over as CEO of yahoo in July of 2012 Marissa Mayer has been turning heads in the tech community. She's re-focused Yahoo by bringing the site back to what it was known for, streamlining some operations and making bets on startups. Mayer stunned the tech community when she announced that she was pregnant [...]
If you're hardcore into tech and gaming or a game developer than you are more than familiar with GDC or the Game Developer's Conference. Unlike conventions like E3 GDC brings the best game developers from across the country and around the world together to share ideas, hear great speakers, learn and see the next generation [...]
Branding is much wider than a logo and color scheme. It is the entire ecosystem of touch-points a business has with the outside world. It is important to note that you - as a company - can only control one side of the branding equation. You control what you send out into the world, but you can not control how it makes people feel. Perhaps the best quote from Everywhere Else Cincinnati on branding came from Derek Flanzraich: "Don't Suck!"
The significance of this conference goes way beyond the actual substance of the event. The quality and turnout of the event speaks volumes, and in some was affirms, everything that we and others have been saying for some time: the Southeast is becoming a hotbed of innovation and technology.
"When people have these conferences, they tend to become most interested in founding stories," Bell began, "And then they talk about the end, 'how did you exit?' But they usually skip over the middle." The middle, Bell went on to argue, is a series of doublings.
"Often times the company is worth no more to us with $10M in revenue than it was with $5M, or even $50M for that matter, because the way we're thinking about it is the impact that they can make on our business. That is not going to be necessarily driven by their existing mode of generating revenue."
There is much that we will cover in the coming days, but the "Lightning Round" quick pitches were excellent, and a great place to start. Here is the winning pitch, and some of the most promising startups on display at CEDTVC
The North Carolina Council for Entrepreneurial Development, or CED, is kicking off their Tech Venture Conference tomorrow. This conference is set to focus on uniting technology entrepreneurs, businesses, and capital. The CED has been wildly influential to the growth of the STEM companies within the Research Triangle region of North Carolina.
