StartPad Countdown Series

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Dr. Vj Anma, one of the 40 students selected to attend Singularity Univeristy (SU) over summer, will be sharing the lessons he learned and experiences he had while at SU. Singularity University aims to "assemble, educate and inspire a cadre of leaders who strive to understand and facilitate the development of exponentially advancing technologies and apply, focus and guide these tools to address humanity’s grand challenges."

The University was founded by futurist Ray Kurzweil, author of the book "The Singularity is Near" and Peter Diamandis, Founder and CEO of the X-Prize foundation. The inaugural class consisting of medical doctors, entrepreneurs, advisers to prime ministers and CEOs, were selected from more than 1200 candidates. SU located in Silicon Valley is backed by Google and NASA Ames Research Center. 

Who: Vj Anma
When: 6:00 pm, Tuesday November 3rd, 2009
Where: StartPad offices -- 811 First Avenue, Suite 480, Seattle, WA 98104
Cost: Free!

Pizza and drinks will be served.

About the presenter: Dr. Vj Anma is an entrepreneur and is working on a startup idea for visual navigation. He holds a Masters Degree from University of Illinois at Chicago specializing in Human-Computer Interaction. He is a member of Mensa, a Mind Mapping enthusiast and a philanthropist. Vj was recently awarded "Most Inspiring Student" while attending Singularity University. 

StartPad Countdown 3 - Lessons from Singularity University from StartPad on Vimeo.

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John Bravenec from the Windows Azure team will provide an overview of the Service Management, Storage, Compute, and Developer Experience in Windows Azure. John will discuss how Windows Azure enables developers to focus on their business logic as opposed to operational details like patching OSs, maintaining servers, and ensuring fail-over.

Who: John Bravenec, Microsoft
When: 6:00 pm, Tuesday October 6th, 2009
Where: StartPad offices -- 811 First Avenue, Suite 480, Seattle, WA 98104
Cost: Free!

Pizza and drinks will be served.

StartPad Countdown 4 - Viewing The Cloud Through Azure-Colored Glasses: An Overview of the Windows Azure Experience from StartPad on Vimeo.

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Mapping technologies and mobile technologies have often been at odds with each other. Mobile technologies require compact, high performance applications, and maps require massive amounts of data and special interfaces. Recently, mapping technologies have been optimized for the increased power of modern mobile devices. This talk will give an overview of what Google offers to mobile developers, including Android MapView and iPhone MapKit, and will demonstrate how to get started with the new Google Maps API version 3, which has been optimized for mobile devices.

Who: Mano Marks, Google
When: 6:00 pm, Tuesday September 1st 2009
Where: StartPad offices -- 811 First Avenue, Suite 480, Seattle, WA 98104
Cost: Free! (Pizza and drinks will be served)

About the Presenter: Mano joined Google's Geo API team in 2006. He helps people all over the world develop and deploy their content in KML and Google Maps, working with large companies, small startups, and international aid organizations. Before coming to Google, Mano had an eclectic career that involved getting a Masters in History, a Masters in Information Management and Systems, and working as a data manager in small and mid-sized organizations for over a decade.

**This talk was followed by a Google Geo Hackathon on Thursday, September 3rd at Google Fremont! Find out more.**

StartPad Countdown 5 - Google Geo: Mobile Mapping from StartPad on Vimeo.

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The ACLU, emerging technology, and business leaders may sound like the setup of a bad joke, but it’s not. Join us to learn more about the ACLU of Northern California’s soon-to-be-announced “Demand Your dotRights” campaign linking online privacy and government surveillance. We will focus in particular on the role that companies play in establishing and safeguarding the privacy and free speech rights of their users – and how companies can benefit from having strong policies that favor these rights, as described in our recent publication, “Privacy and Free Speech: It’s Good for Business”

Who: Chris Conley, ACLU of Northern California
When: 6:00 pm, Tuesday August 4th, 2009
Where: StartPad offices -- 811 First Avenue, Suite 480, Seattle, WA 98104
Cost: Free! (Pizza and drinks will be served)

About the Presenter: Chris Conley is the Technology & Civil Liberties Fellow at the ACLU of Northern California where he focuses on launching the organization’s new online privacy campaign, “Demand Your dotRights.” He started out on the technology side, earning a B.S.E. summa cum laude in Electrical Engineering from The University of Michigan and a S.M. in Computer Science from M.I.T., and spending several years as a software developer and consultant. He later received his J.D. cum laude in 2007 from Harvard Law School, where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Harvard Journal of Law & Technology. Prior to joining the ACLU in September 2008, he was a Resident Fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, where he studied international Internet censorship and surveillance.

StartPad Countdown 6 - ACLU 2.0: Demand Your dotRights from StartPad on Vimeo.

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The whole point of consuming content is to *do something with it* -- but most of us are so deluged by incoming information that we barely have time left for execution. Marina Martin, owner of The Type-A Way, a Seattle-based efficiency consulting firm, demonstrates practical ways to take back control of your email, RSS, and responsibilities without declaring bankruptcy or writing mission statements. You'll leave with a blueprint for an organizational foundation that frees you, not restricts you, and proactively defends against overload.

Who: Marina Martin, The Type-A Way
When: 6:00 pm, Tuesday July 7th, 2009
Where: StartPad offices -- 811 First Avenue, Suite 480, Seattle, WA 98104
Cost: Free! (Pizza and drinks will be served)

About the Presenter: Marina Martin is a business efficiency consultant and owner of The Type-A Way. In addition to business consulting, Marina specializes in helping Type-A personalities become more efficient in their personal and professional lives, with the ultimate goal of being able to leave for Paris on 56 minutes' notice, anytime you like.

This Startpad Countdown event is sponsored by:

StartPad Countdown 7 - How to Manage Information Overload from StartPad on Vimeo.

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I Can Has Cheezburger? has really taken off over the last two years as LOLcats and FAILs have tapped into a cultural phenomena.  Scott will share the some of the ways they've approached technology to our advantage in running a content publishing website.  Mainly, these fit into three categories: embracing a user-driven content model, accepting the tradeoffs of working with strategic partners and adapting some Agile like practices to suit the needs of our business.

Who: Scott Porad, Pet Holdings, Inc.
When: 6:00 pm, Tuesday June 2nd, 2009
Where: StartPad offices -- 811 First Avenue, Suite 480, Seattle, WA 98104
Cost: Free! (Pizza and drinks will be served)

About the presenter: Scott Porad is the Cheezburger Technology Officer of Pet Holdings, Inc., the company behind the popular websites I Can Has Cheezburger? and Failblog.org. The Cheezburger Network is a collection of web sites where millions of people share moments of joy through the humor and wonder of LOL.

Before focusing on user-generated content, Scott focused on e-commerce and online retail as part of the initial launch team at drugstore.com, and online publishing and content management at ESPN.com.  And, prior to that, he worked for Seth Godin’s Yoyodyne Entertainment and Small World Software.

Scott's personal blog is http://scottporad.com and he tweets @scottporad.

This Startpad Countdown event is sponsored by:

StartPad Countdown 8 - Cheezburgers and LOLcats: A Look into the Lazy-Messy-Backwards Way of Starting Up from StartPad on Vimeo.

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You’ve arrived at the point where you want/need to add to your team. You’ve got way more to do than you can possibly get done with who you have on board now. What questions should you ask yourself before starting the process? Where do you start? What resources are out there to smooth the process? Come learn this and more about what you need to do to build a stellar team.

What: StartPad Countdown 9 -- How to Wrangle a Team to Build Your Company
Who: Kirsten Roth, The Laurel Group
When: 6:00 pm, Tuesday May 5th, 2009
Where: StartPad offices -- 811 First Avenue, Suite 480, Seattle, WA 98104
Cost: Free!

Pizza and drinks will be served.

About the presenter: Kirsten Roth, Principal at the Laurel Group, has been in executive search for 3 years and brings 20 years in management and strategic marketing with companies like Hughes Electronics, PanAmSat, Directv, AEI Music. Immediately prior to entering the search profession she ran a successful management consulting practice with clients such as National Public Broadcasting (NPR), Boeing, Fisher Communications and start-ups like MoodLogic (acquired by Macrovision). Her corporate experience allows her to understand client needs better so she is able to help them find just the right candidate for their positions.

Kirsten has worked with entrepreneurial ventures for many years and has been actively involved with the MIT Enterprise Forum of the Northwest where she is a Past President, Chair Emeritus and a member of the Board of Directors.

She has a keen interest in helping young companies be successful so is pleased to have this opportunity to provide guidance on building teams.

The Startpad Countdown series is sponsored by:

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You've got a website with a fair amount of traffic.  You're also using Google Analytics to measure that traffic, but you don't feel like you're using it to its full potential.  Well, help is here.  Loren Bast, self-proclaimed "Google Analytics Junkie", will take you beyond the basics.  He'll show you how to make sure your setup is correct (it often is not), how to tweak your profiles to get a more canonical view of your data, and show you hacks to give you insight into your new channels of traffic (your twitter feed, your blog) and how GA can help you in the SEO front.

Loren will be showing examples from Seattle area startup, Faves.com, which has historical traffic of over 1 million monthly visitors.

What: StartPad Countdown 10 -- Confessions of a Google Analytics Junkie
Who: Loren Bast
When: 6:00 pm, Tuesday April 7th, 2009
Where: StartPad offices -- 811 First Avenue, Suite 480, Seattle, WA 98104
Cost: Free!

Pizza and drinks will be served.

We streamed the presentation live. See the recorded stream below:

About the presenter: Loren Bast has held a variety of positions in local companies, ranging from development manager at drugstore.com to the Director of Product Management at HouseValues.  As the founder of Bellusi, he's currently consulting for a variety of Seattle companies, including Allrecipes.com.

The Startpad Countdown series is sponsored by:

LIFT-OFF!

Mike Mathieu, Founder and Chairman of Front Seat, a civic software company in Seattle describes the emerging civic software movement where tech-savvy heroes leverage rapid development and improving web infrastructure to build projects and services focused on social impact. You'll come away with a new understanding of some key players in the space, as well as some specific ideas for actions you might take with your professional skills. If you're looking for some brights spots amidst the economic storm clouds, this talk is for you.

Come join us for the final Countdown for this series! In celebration of the end of a successful Countdown series and the 1 year anniversary of StartPad's opening, we will be holding a donation drive for the Technology Access Foundation -- donate $20 and receive a free StartPad anniversary shirt!

What: StartPad Countdown 0 -- Save the Programmer. Save the Planet.
Who: Mike Mathieu, FrontSeat.org
When: 6:00 pm, Tuesday February 24th, 2009
Where: StartPad offices -- 811 First Avenue, Suite 480, Seattle, WA 98104
Cost: Free!

Pizza and drinks will be served.

About the presenter: Mike Mathieu is the Founder and Chairman of FrontSeat.org. Mike founded Front Seat following the successful sale of his Internet publishing company to a private equity firm.

The Startpad Countdown series is sponsored by:

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*Note: There is NO December Countdown*

It's easy (and perhaps necessary) for a new entrepreneur to be very optimistic about the business opportunity before them.  But not every great idea translates to business success.

Mohit Srivastava and Mikhail Seregine, previously of Faves.com and ClayValet.com respectively, discuss the rise and fall of tech startups. We will hear from these two experienced entrepreneurs who have learned the hard way how difficult it can be to achieve a successful outcome.

The goal of this talk is to arm you with knowledge of potential pitfalls and to help you recognize realistic and achievable goals for your own project.

What: StartPad Countdown 1 -- The best laid plans of startups...
Who: Mohit Srivastava (Faves.com) and Mikhail Seregine (ClayValet.com)
When: 6:00 pm, Tuesday January 27th, 2009
Where: StartPad offices -- 811 First Avenue, Suite 480, Seattle, WA 98104
Cost: Free!

Pizza and drinks will be served.

About the presenters: Mohit Srivastava helped found Bluedot (Faves) in 2004 and worked with the company until late 2008, when it was placed in "low-burn mode." He currently works on the Azure team at Microsoft. Mikhail Seregine founded ClayValet in January 2007 and closed the doors in October 2008. He currently works for Jambool.

The Startpad Countdown series is sponsored by: