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BarCampManchester was great. Ian Muir is a northern Shimon Rura. (The latter held two great sessions, by the by.) It had the feel of BahCamp day two - smaller group, odd assortment of topics. The participation by locals changed the age dynamic (I didn’t feel like a dinosaur) and the focus. A mixed bag, but that is what I would hope from an event like this - learn three things, profit from the day.
Particularly interested that there were so many treatments on the business aspect of it all, and that we had people in the room who gave as good as they got in this regard. I gave a talk in this area (much better executed than my previous one, mainly because I discussed a much more compact issue), but Sudha Jamthe and even Shimon held sessions that related to the business aspects. (I still need to think about Shimon’s - I think there is an opportunity if he is really interested in pursuing a communitarian effort).
An angel investor visiting had sharp comments (including the idea of heading to North Conway to score funding), and others beyond the twentysomething demographic spoke from experience. I listened - I hope others did as well.
And the drive was really no worse than that to Monster Labs - a little longer, but all highway, very straightforward. My gratitude to ABI for the venue.
And here is my presentation from my talk for those interested: Strategy for Startups Slides
November 20th, 2006 at 2:52 pm
Ray,
I really enjoyed your talk. Is it alright if I use some of your graphics and points in a blog post wrapping up BarCamp?
I also will subscribe to your blog. You communicated a great message that I want to help pass on - a solid product is only 1/3 of a successful business formula.
November 20th, 2006 at 3:42 pm
Go for it - the PTO bounced my application to patent intersecting circles. Glad to be helpful.
November 24th, 2006 at 9:04 pm
[…] My favorite speaker was Ray Deck. He spoke about Startups and Marketing (his slides can be found here). One of his very profound points is that there are 3 things necessary for a successful business model: customers, their need, and a product that satisfies the need. The cool part of this he helped us realize - your product is only 1/3 of the equation. Often, I think having cool technology can fool us into thinking that a market is there when it’s not. You have to have the other two pieces of the pie. Without a customer and what Guy Kawasaki describes as “pain” (a need), you will not succeed in the business world. You have to have all three elements for a successful business model. […]