Mark gave a great talk about b5media that he runs with Jeremy Wright here in Toronto. Mark talked about the differences between starting and operating an early stage company in the dot-com boom and now. It was a fun look at how the democratization of technologies have reduced the costs associated with the infrastructure to starting a company. Mark is in great company talking about the cost reductions. Evan Williams of Obvious Corp talked about running Odeo on web apps. Joe Kraus discussed why it’s a great time to be an entrepreneur. Mark along with his plug for mesh conference made a plug for DemoCamp and Third Tuesday to continue to help build the community.
Rick Segal talked about future TVG events including:
From the moment you sign the non-binding, exclusive, confidential, promise not to tell, term sheet, until the glorious moment when you receive your funding’s closing books, you will be subjected to a hailstorm of paperwork which will be potential landmines, that if touched, could blow up your deal. On January 10th, 2007 TVG will present a one of a kind power breakfast entitled ” Avoiding the Landmines”.
The premier Canadian showcase event where over 60 of the brightest and best, carefully screened quality investment opportunities meet Top Tier North American Investors & Angels.
It felt a little strange to be one of the non-suit-wearing and non-tie-wearing individuals in the room, it was a good thing I left my sneaks at home (I was planning on wearing sneaks but decided against it on the way out the door at 7:15am). But I wasn’t alone Tom Purves, Jevon MacDonald, Ryan Coleman, and Matt Dickinson helped bring the dress code down to a funkier level.
The other thing I’ve noticed is that I take way less photos since I switch from my Treo 650 and d-807 combination to the Nokia E62 . I’m still on the look out for the right mobile device for me. The Cingular 8525 looks pretty close. I’m a little concerned about the usability of Windows Mobile. Specially since I’ve used a 700w and been unimpressed with the user experience (and I’ve been told it’s better than most). Time will tell.
Toronto continues to have fantastic individuals like Mark Evans to inspire entrepreneurs. Check out what he and Jeremy are doing at b5media.