Startups, WPI Venture Forum, September 15, First Hosted Event, First Event, Tonight, Lean Into Spring, Mass Innovation, TEDxBoston, EditMe, 2010 Acquia, May 12, Lean Startup Circle, 2011, Enzee Universe Conference, Ditto Labs, countdown

Lean into Spring – Lean Startup Circle/Mass Challenge Event

Lean into Spring

On May 27, 2010, I attended the Lean Into Spring gathering held by the Boston Lean Startup Circle Meetup group.

I was attending not only for myself, but also to represent my new employer, Neuron Robotics. However, I was such a new employee, I didn’t even have business cards yet, so I wrote the company’s web address on the back of some of mine.

The event was huge! According to the Meetup calendar, almost 300 people attended! Hence it was tough to hear most people and there was a lot of shouting. Fortunately, I suppose, I’ve mastered the art of gesturing while holding an ice water in one hand and a stack of business cards in the other.

Acknowledgements

Many, many thanks to Matthew Mamet of EditMe and John Prendergast of the Mass Challenge for hosting the event.

It was a joy to see old friends Paul Geffen, Rama Nandiwada, Bobbie Carlton and Mark Newcomer, and briefly see Chuck Tanowitz, Lorenzo Geraci, Josh Bob, Craig Krigsman, Rebecca Xiong, Rachel Blankstein and Daphne Allanore de Baritault.

Special shoutout to Kelly Moeller, who I’ve known for a few years (she had been a recruiter, and had gotten me my last job before Neuron Robotics). Kelly hasn’t seen me in two years, and I look a little different these days. She yelled, I yelled, it was all good.

Networking!

And, I made new friends! Michael Mish told me all about the Mass Challenge. Brian Gilbert of Pearson was a pleasure to speak with. Palle Pedersen had a beautiful accent – I wish I could have heard him even better. Mark Lewis was so kind and inspiring. Noah Malgeri talked patents with me. Cliff Pollan has a great company, Visible Gains, that can help people like me make interactive video. Colin Kennedy was very interested in the DyIO and how it works.

And Abby Fichtner! A woman after my own heart! I’m so glad she came in from the wilds of New Hampshire. Paul Geffen took some video of us. Yet since it was virtually impossible to hear anything, you’ll only get our conversation via intertitle cards. But the subject was, mainly, the enormous mountain of cheese provided by The Rattlesnake Bar.

But it was rather tiring. And didn’t have much of a voice left. Good thing I could still type! The next event is coming on June 24th, and will be held at 6:00 PM at the Cambridge Innovation Center, Training Conference Room 5th Floor, One Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02142.

I’ll be bringing brand-spanking new business cards, and maybe even a DyIO.

It really was a lot of cheese.

Tags: ,