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Five powerful speakers all from different industries motivated approximately 700 members of the startup community this morning in the Seawell Ballroom of the Denver Arts Complex.
Desi McAdam (thoughtbot) got the awkward insecurities out of the way by instructing everyone to hug their neighbor. Even in a community that is built on networking and building relationships, the simple act of hugging your neighbor pushed the boundaries of comfortability for most (especially for those who were sitting next to their potential investor).
Love Grown Foods founder and head granola cruncher Maddy D'Amato recounted the miraculous series of events that lead to the visibility of their product today. Love Grown went from selling 300 bags of granola in the tiny Aspen City Market in a weekend to filling shelves in 7,000 stores nationwide in less than five years. Maddy's story is quite the example of hitting the ground running, especially when she was running of a straight diet of granola. Her genuineness and youthful energy was perfectly contrasted by FullContact's CEO Bart Lorang's epic (and absurd) adventure throughout Italy. Bart literally provided a storyform definition of what it means to be persistent, and for the details, you'll just have to ask Bart.
Patrick Quinlan of Convercent rattled the beanstalk with a shake of reality- a $125,000 credit card statement of reality. Back in 2008, Patrick had to worry about shutting doors and the future of his14 employees. Now in the director's chair of a different company and on the 2nd round of investor funding, he's gone from "scooping the mud from the basement" to a too-cool-for-school office on Broadway. Although he's emerged from the dark tunnel that once was, his message was loud and clear: be ready to worry about the success of the people involved when starting your company. It is a lot of schlepping to get to the clear.
Seth Godin closed the luncheon by analyzing the market today and its departure from being an industry-based economy to a network revolution. Traditional advertising is dead and the cogs in the wheel- the middle men that are working hard to breathe life into struggling markets- are in the wrong wheel all together. It's time to revolutionize your company and your worth through horizontal community connectivity. By building your company through the horizontal market instead of the targeted market, the word spreads fast and free on it's own- the time is the only cost associated. So spend your time on making those connections and knowing your tribe.
It's time to challenge yourself and your superiors- to set the bar high, instead of holding back for fear of missed expectations. Denver Startup Week is ready to equip you with the means to do it- all in our lovely state of Colorado.
