The Costs to Live Stream
At every conference I produce, I am asked “is it live streaming?” and generally get complaints when it is not. I seem to be in the minority in feeling that live streaming is more a cost then a benefit to a conference and should generally be avoided, with a few exceptions. That said, I would love to hear both attendees’ and organizers’ opinions on this, as I know many seem to disagree.
WHY NOT TO LIVE STREAM:
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Properly Completing Registration Forms
So you may be asking yourself, “Does she really need to write a post on this? Its a web form; how hard can it be?”
Judging by the amount of time I spend correcting people’s forms, adjusting badges, and replying to “oops” emails, VERY HARD!
Please remember, we have NOT hired monkeys to retype your form properly. What you type is going on your badge, as it is. So let me walk you through preparing a proper and high-quality badge registration form:
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Observations from a Women Only Show
I just wrapped up the Girls in Tech Catalyst Conference, which took place yesterday (1/26) in San Francisco, CA. First off, this was one of the most inspiring, informative, and no-bullshit shows I have attended in quite some time. A few people have asked “Well, was it better than FailCon?” and I have to honestly answer, “Yes.”
So of course, I wanted to figure out why, and how I could use my experience to improve my own conference in the future. Hopefully you can learn from it, too…
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Events: Catalyzing Social Media Campaigns
(This is a guest post I did for Jennifer Lindsay’s Digital Blog. You can find it at http://blog.jenniferlindsay.com/)
As the economy improves, more companies have been approaching me asking about the costs associated with producing a conference or a series of evening panels, and what the benefits would be for them. It’s as if something in their entrepreneurial brains tells them this is a good step for their businesses, but they just aren’t sure why.
Events Increase the Power of Social Media
As social media grows and connects businesses, communities, and individuals on a global scale, the time given for in-person interactions dwindles. While I 100% endorse companies using twitter to connect with customers, or LinkedIn to talk with clients, there will never be a stronger way to develop a loyal bond with your users and community than through events. SnarkMarket puts it well: “The great virtue of events today … is that their value seems durable in a way that the value of super-abundant copies of digital media does not. They provide ‘embodiment,’ to use Kevin Kelly’s taxonomy—and that’s something you can still charge for.” Done right, events can work with social media to empower and engage users on a smaller but more effective scale.
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Finding an Entrepreneurial Valentine
(Please note, this was written for V-Day LAST year on an old blog. But I am trying to collect all my writings in one place.)
I’ve talked about how to get and prepare for your first Investor Meeting. With Valentine’s Day coming up, I figured some tips on getting and preparing for a first romantic date would be more helpful for the season. (This post will be very hetero-normative, and aimed primarily at geeky/start-up men. Here are some neat articles for those this will annoy, like it normally would me.)
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Getting The First Investor Meeting
(Another old post – trying to get all my writings in one place.)
So we are thinking of raising a round of angel investment in the next few months. While we’ve been reading up on Cap Tables, Executive Summaries, Slide Decks, and things needed for official suit and tie meetings, we aren’t sure how to get that first cup of coffee with potential investors. Here’s some great advice our adviser told me:
You Are The Star:
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Sponsoring an Event – Lesson 1
I am often surprised at just how rarely I am asked “When should we sponsor an event? Why? and How?” These all seem like pretty pertinent questions to me, especially when you’re considering investing anywhere from $1,000 – $50,000 at an event. With advertising, social media, and even customer engagement getting their ROI measured under a microscope, shouldn’t these issues at least be addressed?
And I’ll be blunt. By not asking them, you are setting yourself up to lose money with almost any sponsorship or event support you do. Hell, you should be asking them even as an attendee: “When should I attend an event? Why? How?” (I do address this somewhat in my post “4 Reasons to Pay to Network“) You need to know how to best prepare, what to invest, and what type of response to expect from attendees (scrutiny, curiosity, a level 1 understanding of your company, or a level 10? etc.)
So despite not being asked these questions enough by sponsors, I’ve decided to answer them nevertheless:
Thanks to Myles – info on my Events List
So rumor has it that Myles sent out a note about the bi-weekly event mailing list I provide to startups, founders, and investors in the Bay Area. If you are visiting this blog from that email, interested in joining the list, shoot me an email and I can sign you up (cassiph[at]gmail[dot]com). Or head over to http://snapsummit.com and sign-up on the side bar.
Thanks!
5 things I've learned from 50+ demos
From SFbeta to SF NewTech, MusicTech demo rooms to my own, I have seen a LOT of demos. I’ve seen demo presentations and demo stations, pitches and slide shows. And it is maybe 1 in 15 that actually makes me say “Wow, that was a good demo.”
Now I’m not a VC, or one of those experienced entrepreneurs with a half dozen companies under my belt. But I am your audience in each of those rooms; I am your average user; I am your virality; I am your first step. So, take it or leave it, here’s the 5 tips I’d pass on to you that everyone seems to get wrong.
5) Know your audience. Are you pitching to a bunch of marketers, or to developers? Are they going to be users, investors, or partners? For example, a demo for investors should show how you are getting users fast and making money. To users, it should show practicality to THEM. You wouldn’t show your comic book collection to someone hiring you to work on their car. Don’t show your metric software at a medical convention. Regardless of audience, however, one thing is ALWAYS true:
4) You’ve got 30 seconds. Go. One of the biggest problems I’ve seen in demos is the time it takes them to get to the point. I want to know, in 30 seconds, what it is and why it is important to ME! I don’t want a snazzy drum roll, and 2 minute anecdote. Not at the start, at least. If, in 30 seconds, you can convince me it’s worth listening to you, then you can tell me the ins and outs, the hows and whys. When it takes a demo company more than 30 seconds to get to the point, I generally assume even they don’t know what it is, themselves.
3) Show and Tell. If you have to sell your product to me, argue why it is good, explain it in more than a dozen words, it probably isn’t developed enough to be demoing. Take it back to alpha testing and start again. You should be able to say “Xyjizio makes measuring your brand’s social media influence in real-time easy” (only with a GOOD company name and less buzz words) and then type in a few words, click a few buttons, and I watch while the numbers roll in. I understand you may not have enough reach or users to do this yet when you demo, but find SOMETHING visual that makes me go WOW, and isn’t you trying to convince me it would, hypothetically, be cool. Because yeah, so would teleportation abilities.
2) Be Energized! I cannot believe I am writing this here, but easily half of the demos I have seen have people talking like Ben Stein, being too quiet, staring at a screen rather than me, etc. If you can’t even be excited about your product, why should I be?
1) Practice. Again, this should be common sense. But I see too many demos where people stutter, lose their place in a slide, seem unsure how to answer a question or proceed. First, stand in an empty room and demo to yourself, then ask your self questions and answer them. All out loud. Speaking out loud changes the dynamic, they way you think, and gets you better prepared. Then ask friends to listen and ask questions. Then colleagues. This will not only make you get to the point faster and more efficiently (I promise, the first few times you do this, your audience will fall asleep), but it will make your answers sound intelligent and relevant, and convince me you know your shit. This one step will pretty much make the other 4 come naturally.
AN ANECDOTE: Well if you’ve gotten this far, if I’ve won you in 30 seconds, I can now tell a helpful, relevant anecdote that illutrates these points well.
I sat in an SF NewTech this last year, listening to a bunch of site and app demos. For the first time in awhile, I saw a product I would actually use. It made my travels online easier, it organized my information. But the demo itself was dull. The presenter was too quiet and couldn’t take his eyes from his computer screen. He’d complete a bunch of tasks, but never seem to be excited about any of them. He used an example totally irrelevant to most of us there (organizing apartment search information. Why not organize job search information? Resume review information? App metric information?) and never once summed it all up for me in a nice memorable blurb. Notice in #3 that I do say you must Show AND Tell. Dont JUST illustrate, make sure you tell me exactly what problem you solve and why I need it, concisely!
That same night there was a product I thought was completely useless. It had dozens of competitors and nothing made it stand out from them. I would personally never use it, and couldn’t see even an active user needing it more than a half dozen times. What a waste of internet space. But the presenter was SO excited. He was convinced this was THE answer to THIS problem. He gave an example from his personal use of the product – and as a fellow entrepreneur, this was relevant to me – and then showed how his use generated immediate revenue for the company. His slides were colorful, his message simple and clear, his examples relevant, and he even wrapped up 30 seconds early. If the product itself has just been a LiTTLE stronger, he would’ve had ME investing.
But thus far, neither has made it. Yes, you need a good product. We all know that. But despite what I know dozens of people say, a good product alone doesn’t sell. You need the character, skills, and tools to sell it. And a good demo presentation is right at the top.
4 types of men
(View Discretion Advised: This post is in fun.)
While next week will be packed with professional networking events, this week was one of parties and mixers, drinks and hors d’oeuvres, friendly conversation and new connections. This meant a lot of interaction with men and booze, together, which can make for quite a variety of intriguing conversations. Over the course of the week, four distinct characters began to make themselves known to me.
1) The Don Juan. He’s flirting with you. Its clear, he knows it’s clear, you know it’s clear, and he knows you know it’s clear. But he’s good at it, and pleasant to the eye, and you’re flattered. The conversation is flowing, a hand is laid on a shoulder, an easy smile is exchanged. He doesn’t talk too much business; you both explore a few topics, and he shares as much as he listens. He knows not to hover; he wraps up the conversation as easily as he began it in just the right amount of time. He talks with those who are worth talking to, and not just the women. He passes a look your way now and then, but is just as attentive to a half dozen others. It’s fun, light-hearted, and not really meant to end in a date. He’s out to make a girl smile, and he’s probably done it a few times tonight. (Though don’t be completely surprised if he ends up with your number…or at least your twitter handle.)
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2) The Desperado. This guy thinks he’s a Don Juan, or at least wants to be one, desperately. Really what he wants is a date, and that is the key distinguishing feature. The minute your primary goal is to get a date, you move from Don Juan to Desperado. This guy stands a little too close for comfort, and doesn’t know when to move on. He may even travel with you from one conversation to another, if you even begin to suggest interest what he’s saying (this can be as simple as continuing the conversation, smiling, or even maintaining eye contact.) He only talks business, since this is a networking event and he isn’t comfortable switching topics. And if you are able to make it clear you aren’t interested, watch as he immediately pursues the next girl in the room. (And, I learn, don’t be surprised if he DOES hook up with someone. There are female Desperadoes too…)
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3) The Networker. This fine sir could care less about gender. He’s talking business; and while that can mean personal stories and friendly interactions, he is sizing you up for your worth. He’s learning what you do, and contemplating if you’re a good connection for him. He’s sharing his story, and watching to see if you’re interested…in his business, not him. He won’t tend to talk more than 10 or so minutes before finding a polite reason to step away, not before passing over a card if the conversation was positive. He may follow-up, but strictly for a business deal or additional information. Men can transition pretty easily from this to Don Juans or Desperados (depending on their personality and social skills), but it is a distinct category.
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4) The Friend. It seems most men hate to be this, but I don’t see why. While it may take the longest to get you laid, you usually get the deepest relationships. But anyway, I wouldn’t dare mar this otherwise perfectly objective post with personal opinion. The Friend is something a guy needs to earn; not so defined by his behavior as by his relationship to you. Its the guy(s) at the event you can go to in order to escape any of the above: the awkward Networker, the pushy Desperado, the touchy Don Juan. Its who you come with to feel confident, to know you have friends and aren’t alone. You rarely talk business with the Friend; generally you gossip about who’s there, what your plans are later, how other friends are, etc. If you even talk at all at the event. You know you’ll go out with a much smaller group (or 1-on-1, but NOT a date) before or after, so you may not need to connect at all there. You need feel no physical attraction to the Friend, but be forewarned: if you do, it can be likely to become something more.
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There was a 5th, The Taken, until I realized The Taken would act just like The Friend or The Networker – or The Don Juan or Desperado, depending on his partner and personal character – so he went away.
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Now of course my pool is small and distinct: the men who attend mixers and networking events in the tech industry. I make no promises that you’ll meet these gents in a bar, or that they are the only types to expect. But I bet you’ll find some pretty strong correlations any time you go out to a social event with some strangers around. So men, think about this the next time you go out, judge your own actions, and make sure you are falling into the right groups for your desires.