Since my last post, a lot of new information has been released regarding the ill-fated NewBo Evolve weekend. Lies, deceit, and utter incompetence of the board of directors seem to be the overarching themes surrounding the event and the months of planning leading up to the event. I do appreciate that the GoCR board of directors released meeting minutes from the past 18 months (even though most of it was redacted.) However, the only reason they did this was to try to deflect from the complete incompetence of the board chairman.
My opinion still stands that the entire board should be removed if GoCR wants to fully recover from this mess. Clean out all the lemmings and start over. The ultimate rot of this organization, like other organizations of this ilk, is that new board members are chosen on the recommendation of current board members:
[Executive Board Chairman] Myers said new board members are recommended by other board members and as the executive director, reviewed by a selection committee and then voted on by the board to three-year terms. The goal is to have a mix of specialties such as legal, human resources, arts and culture, hotels, business community, city representation and others.
New members chosen by existing members? Sounds like another overhyped local vanity project.
But, I digress. To continue harping on that debacle is starting to feel like beating a dead horse. It’s Cedar Rapids’ mess to fix, and there’s more important work to be done… like what to do with the mess that is my yard. The last time I tried to mow the yard about a month ago, my mower broke with just a few strips of grass left to be tamed. Then, it rained for two weeks straight. Then, the remnants of a tropical storm passed just to the south and east of the Oasis. I’m going to have one opportunity next weekend to fix the yard before I start my fall travels, and it looks like the weather is finally going to cooperate. Sunny, cooler, and minimal humidity – the perfect combination for the back forty to finally dry out.
Looking ahead and seeing that there’s only one more weekend between now and my trip to Denver Startup Week is astounding. When I booked my flight and my lodging, I was still two months out from the trip. I was planning to stay in the same place as I stayed last year, right in the heart of LoDo, but I would have had to pay about 25% more, and get a room without a balcony – this was a non-starter. So, I started looking into AirBnBs and similar type short term rentals in the same part of town. I found an entire apartment in a new building with a rooftop patio, and will be paying about 25% less per night than I was for just a small hotel room. This was a definite winner.
Looking through my schedule for Denver Startup Week, it seems like the sessions are considerably more spread out this year, and less concentrated in the LoDo neighborhood and downtown. The apartment where I’m staying looks like it’s pretty close to the geographic center of the action (as was the hotel where I stayed last year). I didn’t know this until Denver Startup Week organizers started to fill in locations for the sessions, after I’d booked the place. There’s about a 30-block east to west span, and about a 10-block north to south span that most of the sessions I’m planning to attend are located. If you’re reading this post and are planning to be in Denver during Denver Startup Week, I’d love to meet up with you, either at one of the sessions, or preferably during some of the down time in between, where we can grab a beverage or a bite to eat. Send me an e-mail if you’re going to be around!
Here’s what I’m looking forward to the most during Denver Startup Week:
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The Kickoff Breakfast: I was fortunate enough to snag a ticket to this event last year, and I was able to grab a ticket for this year’s Kickoff Breakfast right before they ran out. As of yet, they haven’t made any major announcements about the keynote speaker for this year’s breakfast – last year featured Casey Neistat. It should be a great way to start the week’s events.
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Going Up?: I participated in this event last year, and it was an experience like no other. Crammed on an elevator with staff from 6 different accelerators and the motion of the elevator moving down to ground floor, then back up to the top floor of the building, it’s an experience that I can’t wait to have again. This year, I’ll be pitching Cider Finder to the judges – we’ll see how things go!
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The Opening Block Party: This event was at Union Station on a rainy, cold day last year. This year, the event is uphill at a park in the middle of downtown, which is going to be a major problem if it is another cold, rainy day. I made a ton of connections at the opening party last year, and I’m hoping to do the same again this year.
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In Real Life: Physical Product Showcase: As one of my businesses creates a physical product, I’m always intrigued by what other makers are creating. I’m hoping to make at least a couple of connections that could be useful in the future, either for BondingBox or another future venture, yet to be discovered.
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Pitch Lab: 5 Comedy Techniques That Will Make You A More Engaging Presenter!: I missed out on this session last year, because it conflicted with what I thought was supposed to be a networking opportunity with free beverages that turned into a panel discussion about the company running the session. I won’t be making the same mistake twice. Call this one “correcting a past mistake.”
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1MC Denver: While not technically on the Denver Startup Week schedule, I’m planning to pay a visit to a fellow chapter of “church for entrepreneurs.” As an organizer of 1MC in Iowa City, I’m pretty sure there’s a legal obligation to go.
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Founders Live Denver: From the description, it’s sort of an elevator pitch competition, sort of a condensed 1MC, and sort of a networking hour with adult beverages. If they had this last year, it overlapped with something else I wanted to attend – the ultimate problem with an event as expansive as Denver Startup Week. I’d like to see if it’s something we could replicate here in eastern Iowa.
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The Closing Bash: I had to miss this last year, as I was making my way back to Iowa for Startup Weekend Fairfield. It sounds as though this is more of a party than a networking opportunity, taking place in a nightclub as opposed to the block party, which takes place in an open area. I’m looking forward to turning off “networking mode” for a couple of hours and catching up with people I’ve met over the week, similar to the Designer Nightcap last year.
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Finding Balance: Being a Parent and a Creative: Taking place after the closing bash (??) on Friday, this is probably the small group session I’m most looking forward to attending. I proposed something along the same line as this for last year’s Denver Startup Week, so this should be a great opportunity to connect with people who are in the same situation I’m in – trying to balance small kids while trying to accomplish something productive during the day.
The overall experience of Denver Startup Week is something that people who are trying to organize an entrepreneurial event of any size should have. We have much smaller events here with many fewer moving parts, but many of the processes are the same – a couple of major events, some networking time over either coffee or adult beverages, and plenty of educational sessions in between. Currently, I’m on the fence with regards to attending two local entrepreneurial get-togethers: the Young Entrepreneur Convention and EntreFEST.
Here’s my thought process:
I’ve proudly attended both the last two years, and YEC the year before that. I want to support what we’re doing locally, but I don’t know if I’m getting enough value out of either event anymore. I’m leaning toward the affirmative on attending YEC and toward the negative on EntreFEST. Why? YEC holds the edge in that it’s a weekend event – Friday evening through Saturday. It’s much easier to work it into the schedule because of that. EntreFEST is usually in the middle of the work week, which involves significantly more logistics on my end.
Content-wise, both events need a bit of work. Scott Belsky’s keynote at EntreFEST was great, and the “fest” part of EntreFEST, as they are now calling the Thursday evening parties, was fun until it turned into a massive in-group bro-fest about 2 hours in. YEC this year actually seemed the least “bro-ish” of the three years I’d attended, but they also eliminated some of the time spent networking over beverages. Educational sessions are starting to repeat content – great for newcomers, but not terribly interesting for someone who has attended for years.
EntreFEST 2019 might also overlap with Grand Rapids Cider Week (they haven’t released the dates, but it overlapped last year) – now, I know this isn’t a factor for anyone besides myself. Industry-specific travel for Cider Finder also is beginning to take priority over general entrepreneurial events. However, EntreFEST also potentially overlaps with another free entrepreneurial event, Boulder Startup Week (again, dates haven’t been released, but it overlapped last year.) If your event is attempting to bring in entrepreneurs from outside the area, perhaps you should see what you’re competing against. (NewBo Evolve, anyone?)
Since they’re switching to all entrepreneurship and tech program in 2019, I want to give YEC another shot. But, as of right now, I can’t commit to EntreFEST. I would like someone to strongly convince me to attend both. I want to support our local events, and I want local events to do well. I just can’t commit to things that cost a lot of money and take up a bunch of time, but don’t give enough benefit.
What would you do in my situation? Give me reasons to decide one way or the other.
There’s still time.