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Pictures from Lunch 2.0 Mixer at Experian
Yesterday I did a Lunch 2.0 @ Experian Interactive Media.
You may not know EIM, but you know their companies: LowerMyBills.com ClassesUSA.com Instant Approvals.com ExpertsOnCredit.com AffiliateFuel.com.
Full picture set here. I was asked not to shoot video, but I think Vak at TechZulu got permission so check out his site.
Thank you Barbara Mayo for inviting us to your office. And thank you Experian Interactive Media for having us.
Traffic Panel Survey
Soon, I’ll post details, pictures, videos, thanks-yous and more from the Mixergy Traffic Panel. For now, if you attended, could you please give me your feedback?
Why Woody Pewitt Brought Lunch to Microsoft
If you’re considering bringing Lunch 2.0 or any other Mixergy event to your company, I think this video will help understand the benefits of doing it. (Contact me for details on getting started.)
Thank you Woody Pewitt for bringing Lunch 2.0 to Microsoft. You’re a big reason why the tech community is growing in SoCal.
Pictures and Videos from the Microsoft Lunch 2.0
More pictures here.
I’ve also started shooting video of some of the guests to help you get to know them.
Randy Merritt is with Vencore Capital. He talks about how he finds potential deals at Mixergy events.
Deepu John is with iSherpa Capital. The lunch was at its height when I shot this video, so it’s a little hard to hear. The company he’s referring to is taaz.com.
These guys always stand out at events. They’re twins who come to events wearing similar outfits–always with a prominent reference to their site trigeia.com. I finally got to meet them and ask about their marketing strategy. My favorite part of the interview is hearing them talk candidly about how much they’re spending on their site.
How to Host a Party
I interviewed “Party Charlie” Scola (whose book party you’ve got to attend) to ask him for tips on how to organize events–because I want to make it easier for you to host your own parties.
I created Mixergy so *I* could organize events, because I knew the connections I’d make would help me launch any business I wanted. I eventually opened up Mixergy.com as an invitation site that anyone could use, to encourage others host events–because I knew they’d see the same benefits I did.
If you’re considering hosting an event, do it and listen to my interview with Charlie to guide you. We talked about everything a business person needs to know to host a party, including these 5 steps for putting a party together:
Step 1: Use high-energy words in your invitation - Let people know that they can expect to have a good time.
Step 2: Greet people at the door - Don’t force people to stumble around until they find someone they know. As soon as they come in, make them feel wanted. And if you don’t have the personality to do that, get somebody in there who does.
Step 3: Create the ambiance
- If the party is in your home, recognize that your place is setup for every day living, not for parties. Get rid of the clutter. Rearrange some of your furniture to give people some room to talk. Use soft lighting.
- Put on some light music at the beginning. It’ll keep the place from feeling empty when the first guests come in.
- If it’s a networking party, give people name tags so they don’t have to struggle to remember new names.
Step 4: Give guests something to do - Eating and drinking isn’t enough. You need to help people interact. Some suggestions that Charlie and I discussed are
- Put a bowls of mind-benders around the party. People will pick up these cards and ask each other questions.
- Let guests make food together.
- Have a wine or cheese or chocolate tasting party.
Step 5: Food and drink - You don’t have to have expensive food and beverages. You can put out good food cheaply.
Charlie Scola’s book is called Party Planning Secrets and you can get it at Amazon.
My 30-minute interview with him is here (right-click this link to save).
New Mixergy Panel: Secrets for Growing Your Site’s Traffic
This panel is about growing your traffic through sites like these:
Putting this event together was hard, because most of the people who know the secrets of getting traffic through social media and search engine optimization refuse to talk publicly about it. With all the hushed conversations I’ve had with startups about how they get their traffic, you’d think we were plotting a bank robbery, not talking about how to grow our sites.
(For those of you who asked me to keep quiet about all or part of a conversation about your traffic, I promise to keep my mouth shut.)
I finally found a few people who were so “Internet famous” that they were comfortable revealing their methods.
Here’s who’s presenting at the Mixergy Traffic Panel and why I asked them to join:
Elmer Thomas - I picked Elmer because he studied sites like digg the way law students prepare for the bar, and he’s written articles on how to get traffic from them.
Andy Sorcini - Elmer recommend I invite Andy because he’s a top user on digg and other social media sites. He’s such a strong user that when Andy “Mr. Babyman” Sorcini has a problem with digg, it makes the New York Times.
Michael Dorausch - At the PR Panel, Brian Deagon of Investor’s Business Daily told me to learn from Michael’s methods of getting traffic. After one conversation with him, I became convinced others need to learn from him too.
The BlueSEO team - I wanted a search engine optimization company that could get itself to the top of google. If they can’t get their own site to the top, then I find it hard to believe they can teach you how to get your site to rank high. So I Googled “Los Angeles SEO,” called the first person on the list and persuaded them to join the panel and teach us.
Interview with Chuck Longanecker
Chuck Longanecker co-founded digital-telepathy, a company that designs online businesses. He started his company after getting laid off from another startup. In my interview with him, he talked about how early on, when he could only afford to pay himself $300 a month, he realized that entrepreneurship let him make up his career and his destiny.
We talked about how dt built itself up as a multimedia and Web design company that worked with larger brands. Chuck told me what he learned by building Web sites for others and how he’s using that knowledge to build dt’s collection of Web apps.
I met Chuck when I did the first Lunch 2.0 in San Diego.
Nicole Jordan - Your PR Director
I just got off the phone with Nicole Jordan. She was putting together another list of Internet companies for a reporter. Technically, Nicole does PR for the Rubicon Project and Clearstone Venture Partners–but she promotes every company she knows about.
And that’s the thing. If she doesn’t know about you, she can’t help promote you. I’ve seen reporters, investors, conference organizers and others ask Nicole about the companies they need to be aware of. She mentions the Rubicon Project and then she lists the people who are on her radar. If you’re not on her radar, you need to get on it–especially if you’re running a startup or planning to launch one.
When you see her at an event get to know her, and add her on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
I don’t know why she does it. Most people can’t even thank her for the PR she does for them because they’re unaware of it. There’s no way that Jon Bischke has a clue that she talked up his EduFire.com recently.
Over drinks one night, I asked her what she wants in return for all this help. She laughed at me for even asking.
Ray Got Press From the Mixergy PR Event
Ray Doustdar was a huge hit at the Mixergy PR panel. He’s an entrepreneur who had the audience laughing and taking notes on the clever ways he generates publicity for his Web site, TeamDating.com.
He’s a good speaker, but more importantly Ray’s ideas are practical and effective. That’s why I wanted him to present.
As further evidence of how effective his ideas are are, Ray was able to parlay his appearance on the Mixergy panel into an article from one of the other panelists: Brian Deagon of Investor’s Business Daily.
If you’re trying to get media attention for your startup, go read Brian’s article. It’ll help you understand what Ray does.
Ray emailed me and said, “I have you to thank as it all happened due to the PowerPR event.” I think it’s because he used the same techniques he taught us. Thanks Ray!
Entrepreneur Lunch at the MailRoom Fund
When I read that Richard Wolpert was heading a new fund, I offered to introduce him to some of the great startups that I met by organizing Mixergy events. He said that as soon as he was settled in his new office we could meet at his place, which is what we did today.
Here are some of the great people who came:
Richard Wolpert - Founder of the MailRoom Fund. (Web site coming soon, but you can read about him here.)
Andrew Warner (Me) - Founder, Mixergy.com, invitations that help guests meet before events. (And host of events like this one.)
Ryan Scott - He invented opt-in email, patented the technology, built a publicly traded company around it and sold it. He’s now working on an unlaunched site: CauseCast.org.
Emad Fanous and Ask Bjørn Hansen - They used to work for CitySearch. They recently launched a competing site called YellowBot.
Jon Bischke - He launched EduFire.com recently using a little angel funding. He’s obsessed with online & multimedia learning.
Kareem Mayan - Launched EduFire.com with Jon. Previously worked at Fox Interactive & ESPN.
Christophe Louvion - He’s Gorilla Nation’s CTO. He’s working on integrating Gorilla’s acquisitions.
Daniel Gould - Founded NewRoo.com, which was bought out by FIM and is now MySpace News
John Hering - He hacked celebrities’ phones during the Oscars to prove that cell phones were vulnerable to attack. Now his company, Flexilis, is developing mobile security.
Otis Chandler - Launched goodreads.com, a social network for book lovers.
Jade Van Doren - Founded TechForward.com. Bascially they sell puts on electronics. For a few bucks, anyone buying a gadget has the right to sell it back to TechForward whenever they want.
Roy Rubin - Building Magento, an open source eCommerce platform.
Rich DeMuro - Tech reporter for KCAL-TV & KCBS-TV. Check out his tech podcast on iTunes.
Rob Williams - Founded Conectados, the first Spanish-language social network
Chad Boyda and Joel Thoms - Founded Launch 10, a social gaming Web site.
MIchael Khalili - Developer and entrepreneur.
Mallika Chopra - Co-founder of IntenetBlog and soon to launch Intent.
If you want to come to a future entrepreneur lunch or want host one, contact me.