Archives for February 2010

Day-Long Conference Highlights Mobile’s March

February 11, 2010 By Tim Elliott

What organizers hope will be the first of an annual event dedicated to Mobile technology and it’s application, Mobile March is scheduled for March 27th at the Hilton Garden Inn in Minneapolis.

The two track conference will offer sessions that appeal to active software developers as well as mobile users including marketers, advertisers and enthusiasts. Attendees can choose a single track of learning and information or pick and choose from either track to maximize their experience.

According to event founder and organizer, Justin Grammens, “There are plenty of meetings focused on mobile development or mobile marketing and use. We wanted to bring the two groups together to better understand the overall mobile platform.” Grammens, President of mobile development firm Recursive Awesome and founder of Mobile Twin Cities noted, “We have assembled an agenda of mobile experts and users that will offer unique perspectives on the opportunities with the local, national and global mobile community.”

The agenda, available online at www.mobilemarchtc.com, includes technical sessions addressing the development of applications for the iPhone, Android and Blackberry mobile devices. These sessions will be presented by local developers Aaron Kardell, Robert Green and Shawn Butler respectively. The technical track also includes Beyond the Code: User Experience, Testing, and Support presented by Breon Nagy.

The non-technical mobile users track includes What Do They Want, providing results from a consumer study presented by Carlson Marketing’s Doug Rozen and On the Air and In the Papers, featuring a panel of representatives from local TV, Radio and Newspaper companies. Other sessions slated are Show Me the Money, discussing the future of mobile commerce with Farhan Muhammed, and Mobile Marketing: Watch That Step presented by a panel of marketers highlighting the process of initiating a mobile strategy.

Other agenda items including a keynote to start the day will be announced in the near future.

Registration is now open for Mobile March, Saturday July 27th at the Hilton Garden Inn in Downtown Minneapolis via the Mobile March website or directly through Eventbrite. The cost is $20 and includes lunch.

Minnov8 is pleased to be a sponsor of this event* and joins other event sponsors including: Verizon Wireless, Fusion Room, Best Buy, The Nerdery, Recursive Awesome, Focus Business Development, and RemainComm Media Strategies.

*Minnov8 contributor Phil Wilson is a Mobile March organizer and is the founder of sponsor RemainComm.

Event: Grow Your Own IT Business

February 10, 2010 By Steve Borsch

With I.T. spending beginning to accelerate nicely, now is the time to look seriously at an entrepreneurial adventure in this area. Bill Coleman from Community Technology Advisors reached out to me this morning about an upcoming event that Minnov8 readers would likely have an interest in attending. With support from the Dakota/Scott County Workforce Investment Board, Minnesota Workforce Center, Dakota Future and the Dakota Scott IT Entrepreneur LinkedIn group, it’s shaping up to be a solid session.

A panel of successful IT entrepreneurs will talk about their startup success and will include: Kelly Schaefbauer of Danbury IT, a 14 year old I.T. services firm; Mike McBrady of ImageTrend, a 120 employee software firm; and Michelle Jennings of Netmajic, a web asset development shop; all people with solid companies and a wealth of experiences.

It will be held Thursday, February 18th from 4-6 pm at Old Chicago Pizza (map) in Apple Valley. Cost is $10 (appetizers are provided). If you’re interested, RSVP/register by contacting Cindy Johns (email).

Get in Their Shoes: 1:1 Interviews for You

February 8, 2010 By Steve Borsch

Wouldn’t it be great to have a chance for a 1:1 mentoring from former Apple evangelist and current VC Guy Kawasaki? Or time with the former CEO of GE, Jack Welch? Or a chance to ask Wired magazine’s Chris Anderson about all the things he sees that might be germane to your startup? Or talk about your social media startup with Charlene Li, co-author of Groundswell?

Here’s your chance.

Patrick Tedjamulia, one of the founders of a non-profit in Utah called the International Mentoring Network Organization (IMNO.org) reached out to me about a “Mentorship Auction” they’re holding and their Get in Their Shoes Campaign to promote it (thanks to Doug Pollei for the connection). Thinking a post about it might be a bit of a stretch for Minnov8’s mission focused on internet and web innovation in our state, I reached out to Patrick by email and tossed the ball in his court to give me a call so we could kick it around.

Tedjamulia is a brand manager at General Mills and he grabbed a few minutes to launch a call to me this morning. As we talked I quickly realized that yes, this sort of thing would definitely be of interest to the Minnov8 readership!

The first auction is currently running and is a 1-on-1 mentoring opportunity with one of my favorite authors Daniel Pink, the NY Times Best Selling author of “A Whole New Mind”, and “Drive”. Daniel’s auction ends Feb. 11th so there is still time for you to bid. The winning bidder will get a thirty-minute phone conversation (mentorship) with Daniel Pink.

Today, Feb. 8th, the next auction is opening and will be a mentoring opportunity with Caterina Fake, the co-founder of Flickr and now Hunch. Coming up are auctions posted for mentoring opportunities with the following individuals:

Fernando Aguirre, CEO and Chairman of Chiquita brands: Feb 15- 24
Lawler Kang, author of Passion at Work: Feb 22-Mar.3
Dave Logan, author of Tribal Leadership and The Three Laws of Performance: Mar. 1 – 10
Chris Anderson, editor of Wired magazine and author of Free!: Mar. 8-17
Charlene Li, founder of Altimeter Group and co-author of Groundswell: Mar. 15-24
Stephan Roche, CEO of Kapitall: Mar. 22 – 31
Dr. Clotaire Rapaille, author of The Culture Code: Mar. 29 – Apr. 7
Geoff Colvin, Senior Editor, FORTUNE and author of Talent is Overrated: Apr. 5 – 14
Robbie Vitrano, CEO of Trumpet Group: Apr. 12 – 21
Jeff Hayzlett, CMO of Kodak: Apr. 19 – 28
Jeffrey Veen, web design and development guru and co-founder of Adaptive Path: Apr. 26 – May. 5
Aaron Magness, Director of Brand Marketing, Zappos: May 3 – 12
Rafe Furst, entrepreneur, investor and business leader: May 10 – 19
Guy Kawasaki, managing director of Garage Technology Ventures: May 17 – 26
…and more.

Proceeds from the campaign will go directly to the International Mentoring Network Organization (www.imno.org), a 501c3 non-profit organization aimed at making professional mentoring available to everyone and truly founders of what they term the “Open Source Mentoring Movement”. Also, stop by their site to listen to some recorded calls to get a sense of what these sorts of mentorship opportunities are like.

Don’t miss the chance to be mentored by Daniel Pink, Guy Kawasaki, and many others and bid today at Get in Their Shoes.

Minnov8 Gang 66: Flat Is The New Up?

February 6, 2010 By Steve Borsch

Is it true that “Flat Is The New Up?” Not if you’re a company just outside St. Cloud, Sartell-based w3i, which is consistently proving that “Up Is The New Up” every quarter through quite impressive and sustained growth. Our guest on this week’s podcast, co-founder Rob Weber (@robertjweber), tells us how they got started and what they’re up to now.

W3i was marketing apps when apps weren’t even cool and their founding is a great story. In 2000, the three Weber brothers (Ryan, Aaron and Rob) discovered the power of free and launched Freeze.com. Along with their team, they developed applications to satisfy users’ pent up demand for free content while pioneering new revenue models to spread the development and marketing costs across millions of installations — over 250 million to date.

This Week’s Show Hosts: Steve Borsch, Tim Elliott, Graeme Thickins and Phil Wilson (and thanks to Phil for tossing out the meme “flat is the new up” on the podcast!)
Music by Josh Woodward and the tune is “Stickybee”. From the podsafe music network Music Alley.

Discussed during the show notes: