Check in attendees using your Phone

Now you can check in your attendees using your phone!  Throw away that paper & pen!

Our new professional ticket will impress you and your attendees.   This new ticket format includes a bar code that can be scanned in when your attendees arrive. 

This allows you to automate the process, saving you valuable time while providing valuable reporting.  Your attendees will appreciate not waiting in a cue just to check in!

Other exciting upgrades are on the way!  Stay tuned...

EVENT: Accelerating Startup Growth: Seed Funding and Incubation

Attended a fantasic event tonight hosted by The MIT Enterprise Forum http://www.mitforumcambridge.org/iseries/accelerating-startup-growth-seed-funding-models.html in Cambridge, MA.  They hold events on a regular basis and they are usually worth going.  Check out the cool building on MIT campus called the Stata Center where the event was held:

Tonight was a roundtable discussion involving mostly technology based startups, basic challenges faced, and what entrepreneurs (especially first timers) could expect to face in terms of the funding process.

There was some lighthearted fun between the VC and Angels on the panel.  But the consensus was that the VC's (or bigger funds in general) were having a difficult time getting returns.  Most agreed that the economy and large scale funding (perhaps overfunding to reach certain thresholds) are the main reasons.  It's actually the Angel investors that are more active and having better returns.  They seemed to agree that the barrier for market entry has now become a lot smaller.  The technology is relatively cheap (relative term here) to produce and essentially seed and Angel funding has been more frequent and successful.  The downside is that the current trend for Angels to undervalue the worth of the company.

The other big topic was the emergence of incubators - or accelerator companies.  These appear to have an immediate impact on companies and are typically a 3 month intensive boot camp.  You typically have a built in mentor/advisory board as well as receiving valuable feedback from a trusted internal source.  They give you the extra leg to stand on especially in regards to the mental stress involved.  The downside here is having the necessary time to devote to an intense program.  Apparently a full time job or class schedule is a major hindrance.  Oh yeah, and if you don't mind surrendering up to 6% of your company then jump in with both feet.  They do come highly recommended.

What are the Angels / Investors looking for?

• First and foremost you have to bring a good idea to the table.
• You must have conviction in your idea.
• You don't need a business plan - plan for the near term.
• Have a product/project roadmap if you haven't built it yet.
• Focus on distribution / distribution platform - scalable measures.
• Have a plan for feedback / usability testing.

Some good tips & challenges to expect:

• Running a startup is not for the faint of heart
• You will hit many barriers - keep crashing into them until you break through
• Mentors / advisors are key - but only in their SPECIFIC expertise (they don't know it all)
• They will help direct you if you need to change gears, assist in crisis situations
• Pick your mentors/advisors wisely - based on experience, specific competence, and contacts
• Don't worry about dilution (% of company to investors) - focus on where the amount of money provided will take you
• Make sure your exit strategy aligns with your investor
• A VC may be inclined to not sell and go for a bigger payday
• Most people want to get out if a deal will yield them $5M (after tax) - or some similar "life altering" amount.
• Make sure you discuss at the outset and if you can't align, include a provision that will liquidate some or all off your position.  If there is no flexibility you may want a different investor.

In closing, the stigma surrounding the sluggish Angel community in Boston appears to be accurate.  The panel agreed that we need to get the younger and brighter minds involved in the entrepreneurial process.  There is also a lack of expertise - or at least access to the expertise for these folks. 

You can find more of these types of events on our site http://www.myeventguru.com/


The Panel:

Sim Simeonov: http://fastignite.com/

Dave McClure: http://500hats.typepad.com/

Hermant Taneja: http://www.generalcatalyst.com/

David Cohen: http://www.techstars.org/

Laura Fitton: http://oneforty.com/Pistachio

How to prevent being scammed: Boston Bridal Show

If you hadn't heard the news, about 6,000 people were duped out of $15 and vendors out of almost $4,000 each:
.

Here's an excerpt from CBS news:

Thousands of brides-to-be and wedding vendors will be disappointed if they show up for the Spring Home and Bridal Show at Boston's Hynes Convention Center this weekend. The show doesn't exist; it was a scam.

Police say a website advertised a bridal show featuring "fabulous gifts and prizes" and about 6,000 people fell for it. The victims of this scam paid registration fees and bought floor space through the website which promised elegant wedding displays and free samples.

Entire article can be seen here at:

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-6258846-504083.html

There is good news for some of those folks however...

The Plimoth Plantation (http://www.plimoth.org/) stepped up & invited the duped public to their event this weekend on March 7th at 12pm - 4PM :http://plimoth.org/features/bridal/

How to recognize similar scams:

1. Check the website to make sure it has some type of secure seal or site certificate - but also click on the seal to verify it. See an example from our site http://www.myeventguru.com/ below. These sites have verified themselves and the proper authorities can track them down.

2. Check with the event location/venue to make sure an event is actually scheduled.

3. If it is a smaller event, do some research on the event provider. They typically will not have the technical savvy or resources to implement a site certificate. Use Google to search for their company, news, or past events.

4. Use common sense. If something just doesn't seem right then question it. This applies to any purchase or online transactions.

Making Business Connections: Technology Meets Old School

Welcome to the new business hub where old school meets technology. Our interactive business event portal brings professionals and businesses together.















Nothing beats traditional face-to-face interactions. Our BUSINESS ONLY event listings allow you to find local events and connections that make a difference for YOU. Our interactive on-line tools enable you to stay informed, network with other members, and much more...



We have integrated the physical & electronic handshake! Make new connections on-line and at local events. Relationships that matter require more than just an email introduction. We provide the tools to make your relationships successful.



Our dedication to listing only business and industry events in a local area like Boston has created a unique and growing niche of business professionals. We ensure high quality and volume of event listings in order to maintain and grow a savvy business professional audience.


Who is our audience comprised of?

They are a successful, savvy, and proactive collection of business professionals. Here’s a small sampling of our user’s affiliations in the Boston area:


Aramark
Blue Cross
Bose
Brown Brothers Harriman
EMC
Fidelity
Harvard University
JP Morgan
NE Baptist Hospital
Northeastern University
Price Waterhouse Coopers
Robert Half
Ropes & Gray
Staples
State Street
Sovereign Bank
WebMD
Weber Shandwick


What are they up to???

There are many diverse industries and high powered individuals that have different goals for making new connections. Our event listings allow them to find and make new connections. Here's a number of tasks our users have performed:

• Promote yourself - find new career opportunities
• Find new talent through connections
• Promote and grow your business
• Generate new sales leads & reciprocate business
• Attend roundtables to solve business issues
• Find job training & seminars
• Find entreprenurial & start-up events
• Locate industry events, Expos, and Trade Shows

What other benefits do professionals have???

Membership is always free!

On-line tools include:

• Interact with other members on-line
• Invite colleagues to join your network
• Bookmark & email events
• Download events to your own calendar
• Set-up notifications - receive alerts when a specific event type is posted
• Reminders - receive an email days or hours before your event happens
• See profiles of others attending events - attending might pay off if the right person is there
• Indicate if you are attending and rate the events you attend
• Careers - upload your resume and even apply to jobs directly

How do we impact businesses???


We provide them a built-in marketplace of business professionals! By listing their event, they are reaching an audience of professionals already searching for new events.

• It’s the perfect marriage - which is also fast, easy, and effective.
• Associations & Non-profits can use most of our services for FREE!
• Businesses no longer need to spend thousands of dollars in print or radio advertising in the hope to get returns on attendance.

What are our Business Event Services???

We are an integrated event solution. Market your event, register attendees, create surveys, upload presentations & content, and manage it all on-line. Our integrated tools eliminate your manual & administrative headaches.

• Market: Publish and promote your event in just a couple of minutes and instantly reach your target market. Invite your contacts directly from our site and track the level of interest in your event.
• Register: Set-up on-line registration and begin taking credit cards immediately. Manage your attendee list on-line, export to excel, and even print. Create a registration button to integrate into your website instantly.
• Surveys: Our survey engine is fully customizable and provides both detailed and summarized results. Create a survey button to integrate into your website instantly.
• Content: Upload your presentations, audio, and video. Make additional revenues by charging for downloads or simply allow your members to access it.
  
  

Where are we going???

National!

Once we’ve perfected our model here in Boston, we’ll be expanding into every major metro area. Stay Tuned!