Techcrunch’s Mike Butcher interviews Alex Hawkinson of Smart Things and Fabrice Boutain of HAPILABS in an interactive chat on the Web Summit stage in London last week. Below is a video of their conversation, which includes demos.

LeWeb Paris continues to grow year after year, with this year reaching over 3,500 attendees. From a couple of hundred attendees in the first year, they had 5,000 attendees this past year alone for both their London and Paris events, London being a test, something that they plan to continue doing in the years ahead. They attract big players like Orange, Microsoft and others and mid-tier players known in Europe and beyond, like Parrot, as well as tons of start-ups eager secure funding and entrepreneurs looking for the next big thing. It’s also an incredible place to “schmooze” on the floor at the event itself as well as the umpteen after parties and events they hold in the evenings throughout the center of Paris. I returned to San Francisco from an exhausting trip of meetings and pow-wows to hear that LeWeb was acquired by Reed MIDEM, one of the leading events organizers in the world. How that changes the format of LeWeb moving forward is yet to be seen, but more budget and marketing should ‘in theory’ lead to more “high-touch” events, better food and higher profile speakers. That said, it could also drive ticket prices up. Acquisition aside, Loic and Geraldine LeMeur managed to pull off yet another fabulous event, from A-list speakers to entertainment and networking. So, who showed up there and unveiled their latest? Parrot’s CEO Henri Seydoux, who I had an opportunity to meet several years ago when they hosted the TravelingGeeks trip I organized to Paris, was as charming as ever on the LeWeb stage in an interview with Loic LeMeur. Within LeWeb’s theme of the “Internet of Things,” he made what could have been a ‘faux pas’ by saying that you can’t reference women as things or you’ll be in trouble for a long…

LeWeb Paris continues to grow year after year, with this year reaching over 3,500 attendees. 

From a couple of hundred attendees in the first year, they had 5,000 attendees this past year alone for both their London and Paris events, London being a test, something that they plan to continue doing in the years ahead.

They attract big players like Orange, Microsoft and others and mid-tier players known in Europe and beyond, like Parrot, as well as tons of start-ups eager secure funding and entrepreneurs looking for the next big thing. It's also an incredible place to "schmooze" on the floor at the event itself as well as the umpteen after parties and events they hold in the evenings throughout the center of Paris.

I returned to San Francisco from an exhausting trip of meetings and pow-wows to hear that LeWeb was acquired by Reed MIDEM, one of the leading events organizers in the world. How that changes the format of LeWeb moving forward is yet to be seen, but more budget and marketing should 'in theory' lead to more "high-touch" events, better food and higher profile speakers. That said, it could also drive ticket prices up.

Acquisition aside, Loic and Geraldine LeMeur managed to pull off yet another fabulous event, from A-list speakers to entertainment and networking.

So, who showed up there and unveiled their latest?

Parrot's CEO Henri Seydoux, who I had an opportunity to meet several years ago when they hosted the TravelingGeeks trip I organized to Paris, was as charming as ever on the LeWeb stage in an interview with Loic LeMeur.

Within LeWeb's theme of the "Internet of Things," he made what could have been a 'faux pas' by saying that you can't reference women as things or you'll be in trouble for a long time. It didn't turn into a faux pas though at least from what I could tell, since everyone laughed — including women. I happen to like their products and team. As an aside, rumor has it that his actress daughter played a role in the latest James Bond film. Ahh yes, the things you learn at LeWeb.

Chris Shipley ran the start-up event; the finalists were: Be-Bound, Qunb and Recommend.

Be-Bound
gives you access to the Internet without wifi, aka stay connected to the web
without the Web.

A stat for the taking: 3G/WIFI = 14% and 2G = 86%. These guys use the SMS layer. Their business model is using prepaid credits called B-Miles. For example, 3 Euros = 35 Be-Miles, 10E =
200 Be-Miles and so on. They'll also use advertising and couponing to drive revenue.

Their objective is to reach 3.2% of this business over the next 3 years.  They said on stage,
“our business is cash generating. We hope to achieve cash-even in three years.”

Qunb's platform is all about quantitative data. The idea is you can now visualize and broadcast your own data! How it works: their platform understands your data semantically so your data becomes compatible with other data so they can make sense of each other. They’re going after large
corporations who are willing to understand their data and compare it so it
makes sense in a meaningful way. Currently, their product is featured on the SAP
marketplace.

The last finalist was Recommend, which is a platform that gives you recommendations from people you
trust. There seems to be a lot of 'recommendation engines' out there, so I thought this one had the least potential from running a sustainable business in the long run vis a vis the others.

Their pitch is quality not quantity: recommendations from friends only
in your network. (friends + friends of friends). They say they will succeed because it’s
viral and sticky, sticky because it’s recommendations for every day things and apparently there's also notifications for extra 'value.'

Then, Team Blacksheep gave a demo – well sort of. A flying plane was let loose in the LeWeb audience. The TBS DISCOVERY frame is an upgrade for all Flamewheel F450 frames, using F450 arms and a custom TBS top and bottom plate including power distribution board. It's cool to watch and for geeks who are interested in this, apparently easy to build.

I thought that Netatmo's concept was interesting – they're offering a personal weather station for the iPod and iPad, where you can monitor weather and air quality. Says the team, "we spend 80 percent inside – our lifestyle is indoor and we have to think about indoor air quality as well as outdoor air quality."
They have created a weather station to monitor inside and outdoor environments and then they send this data to the cloud.

The team showed real time data across a map of Paris where we could see weather patterns across different sections of the city. They take measurements of environment and are using crowdsourcing to bring this data to people in a way that is usable and "useful."

They think that real estate prices will rely on data like this and can impact prices and other things. The more co2 you have, the more dense your space is, which decreases the quality of your air.

Then, MG Siegler interviewed Instagram's Kevin Systrom, who's always at his polished best. I saw him a few months back in a similar "question exchange" with Sarah Lacy at one of her PandoDaily events in San Francisco.

Polished aside and interesting app or not, I still just can't get over or accept that their app could have been worth $730 million when the Facebook acquisition 'completed' back in September or ever could be. And, I'm a serious photography geek and still don't 'get it.'

Stephanie Hospital and team at Orange hosted a power girls networking bash one afternoon, which I ironically went to with Yossi Vardi, most definitely not a woman.

While it was indeed mostly women, a few male stragglers were there including French photographer Olivier Ezratty who is working on a photo exhibition of powerful women in the digital age. I'll share the latest as his work progresses. He also does a wonderful round-up of LeWeb every year, so check out his coverage here.

Speaking of Yossi, he gave a talk on things start-ups need to think about and tips of the trade. He says, "Pivoting is important because of the feedback you receive along the way, however doing more than 2 pivots is bad."

Additionally, he encouraged young entrepreneurs to network more often, always look for ways to provide value, and to try to find a funder from a mutual contact (someone you trust and someone the funder is likely to trust). He says of investors, "they need assurances and recommendations from people they trust." His main source of deal flow is through
friends with credibility. 

On exits, he says there's a big debate in Israel at the moment about whether early exits are good. Pros and cons, he notes. Having an early exit leaves a lot of value on the table but if you want a bigger exit, later…you obviously increase the risk because it will take more time.

I also ran into Stephanie Czerny who is one force behind the DLD Conference, held every year in Munich Germany. If you haven't been, you MUST – I keep meaning to return it was so good, if only January didn't present so many deadlines. I love these guys! Not only is the content and networking top notch, but their hearts are in the right place — they're doing great things for the industry and world.

In the main room, we then moved into physical objects, you know, real tangible products you can feel. The team from Sphero gave a demo on stage of their robotic ball, which has mechanics and two way
wireless communication.

They're using 6 axis IMu (essentially a navigation system) so they
know where Sphero is going. Think of it as a robotics gaming system.

They said on stage, "We think there's a continuum where games live inside augmented
reality and we're trying to mash and bridge the virtual and the real." He adds, "a system of this nature requires strong computational power and you
have to build interfaces in virtual and physical world."

Ubooly also wants to bridge this world, but for kids aged 4-9. CEO Carly Gloge was on the LeWeb stage showing a stuffed animal that comes to life when an iPhone is stuck inside it using voice recognition.

The "toy" suggests games to the kids in real time and gives feedback on their participation based on the phone’s accelerometer. Price point is cheap and perhaps one of the reasons, it seemed to receive positive feedback. Current going price is around $29.95.

Lockitron also got quite a bit of buzz at the event and apparently others think its cool too – they've already placed some $2.2 million in pre-orders for the device.

The device is a smartphone=controlled keyless door lock. You can reserve one with a shipping date of late May 2013 for $179.  

I hung out with the HAPILABS guys who were showing off their HAPIfork, which will be unveiled at CES next month. The HAPIfork is an electronic fork that monitors your eating habits, giving you precise information about your eating schedule and alerting you with the help of indicator lights and a gentle vibration when you are eating too fast.

Below is CEO Fabrice Boutain showing off their first prototype.

The other cool thing I saw was Australian-based LIFX, a revolutionary new lightbulb that takes something that we all use in our homes, and makes it smarter and more efficient. It was launched on Kickstarter, where they raised over $1.3 million.

The LIFX lightbulb is a WiFi enabled, multi-color, energy efficient LED light bulb that you control with your iPhone or Android. How cool is that? See the below video to learn more.

I had an opportunity to meet and chat with the founder of San Francisco-based ReAllocate, who is not about launching a new social media apps or anything that will connect things to the Internet or the Internet to things. 

ReAllocate is a global network of engineers, designers and entrepreneurs empowering under served communities through technology and innovation to improve quality of life. I love what they're doing!

They call themselves "ReAllocators" and they engage in digital storytelling to inspire participation, promote collaboration, and raise awareness about humanitarian causes. I hope to visit them state-side.

They supports three program areas that intertwine to create an infrastructure that supports sustainable development through education, ecosystems, equality, and economics. Learn a little bit more about what they're doing in Alaska and in Japan.

I also had fun hanging out with the UK Trade & Investment folks as well. Did I mention all the after events? It's no wonder everyone who ventures to Paris every December for LeWeb is so happily wiped out at the end of it – fois gras, French bordeaux, dark chocolate, crepes, fabulous coffee and more.

In traditional Loic and Geraldine style, they managed to nail a top notch act for the speaker dinner. Four girls in an act called ESCALA wowed the crowd with their violins and energy. See my write-up on them in We Blog the World's Music Section.

The Dublin guys also did a meet-up at a place called Delaville Cafe on Boulevard de Bonne Nouvelle. It's a place my Paris buds didn't know about, but the ambiance was great, especially for group gatherings. They too do great things for the industry between their Founders event, Dublin Web Summit and other initiatives. And, I have to admit, like the French, I have a soft spot for the Irish and I love Dublin.

Yet another successful LeWeb, an event I look forward to every December. Loic and Geraldine know how to curate an incredibly bright group of people who are working on things that will help shape technology as we know it and as a result, life as we know it.

I love the initiatives coming out of Europe and LeWeb is the best place in Europe for that global conversation that bridges what's happening on the continent and the rest of the world!!

For hoots, check out my review on UBER's launch at LeWeb (aka in Paris) last year, my LeWeb round-up from 2010, as well as a fun post from 2006 praising the food, suggesting that American conference organizers could learn a lot from their French counterparts.

For general blog posts on Paris, check out We Blog the World's Paris page. All photo credits: Renee Blodgett.

LeWeb Paris continues to grow year after year, with this year reaching over 3,500 attendees. 

From a couple of hundred attendees in the first year, they had 5,000 attendees this past year alone for both their London and Paris events, London being a test, something that they plan to continue doing in the years ahead.

They attract big players like Orange, Microsoft and others and mid-tier players known in Europe and beyond, like Parrot, as well as tons of start-ups eager secure funding and entrepreneurs looking for the next big thing. It's also an incredible place to "schmooze" on the floor at the event itself as well as the umpteen after parties and events they hold in the evenings throughout the center of Paris.

I returned to San Francisco from an exhausting trip of meetings and pow-wows to hear that LeWeb was acquired by Reed MIDEM, one of the leading events organizers in the world. How that changes the format of LeWeb moving forward is yet to be seen, but more budget and marketing should 'in theory' lead to more "high-touch" events, better food and higher profile speakers. That said, it could also drive ticket prices up.

Acquisition aside, Loic and Geraldine LeMeur managed to pull off yet another fabulous event, from A-list speakers to entertainment and networking.

So, who showed up there and unveiled their latest?

Parrot's CEO Henri Seydoux, who I had an opportunity to meet several years ago when they hosted the TravelingGeeks trip I organized to Paris, was as charming as ever on the LeWeb stage in an interview with Loic LeMeur.

Within LeWeb's theme of the "Internet of Things," he made what could have been a 'faux pas' by saying that you can't reference women as things or you'll be in trouble for a long time. It didn't turn into a faux pas though at least from what I could tell, since everyone laughed — including women. I happen to like their products and team. As an aside, rumor has it that his actress daughter played a role in the latest James Bond film. Ahh yes, the things you learn at LeWeb.

Chris Shipley ran the start-up event; the finalists were: Be-Bound, Qunb and Recommend.

Be-Bound
gives you access to the Internet without wifi, aka stay connected to the web
without the Web.

A stat for the taking: 3G/WIFI = 14% and 2G = 86%. These guys use the SMS layer. Their business model is using prepaid credits called B-Miles. For example, 3 Euros = 35 Be-Miles, 10E =
200 Be-Miles and so on. They'll also use advertising and couponing to drive revenue.

Their objective is to reach 3.2% of this business over the next 3 years.  They said on stage,
“our business is cash generating. We hope to achieve cash-even in three years.”

Qunb's platform is all about quantitative data. The idea is you can now visualize and broadcast your own data! How it works: their platform understands your data semantically so your data becomes compatible with other data so they can make sense of each other. They’re going after large
corporations who are willing to understand their data and compare it so it
makes sense in a meaningful way. Currently, their product is featured on the SAP
marketplace.

The last finalist was Recommend, which is a platform that gives you recommendations from people you
trust. There seems to be a lot of 'recommendation engines' out there, so I thought this one had the least potential from running a sustainable business in the long run vis a vis the others.

Their pitch is quality not quantity: recommendations from friends only
in your network. (friends + friends of friends). They say they will succeed because it’s
viral and sticky, sticky because it’s recommendations for every day things and apparently there's also notifications for extra 'value.'

Then, Team Blacksheep gave a demo – well sort of. A flying plane was let loose in the LeWeb audience. The TBS DISCOVERY frame is an upgrade for all Flamewheel F450 frames, using F450 arms and a custom TBS top and bottom plate including power distribution board. It's cool to watch and for geeks who are interested in this, apparently easy to build.

I thought that Netatmo's concept was interesting – they're offering a personal weather station for the iPod and iPad, where you can monitor weather and air quality. Says the team, "we spend 80 percent inside – our lifestyle is indoor and we have to think about indoor air quality as well as outdoor air quality."
They have created a weather station to monitor inside and outdoor environments and then they send this data to the cloud.

The team showed real time data across a map of Paris where we could see weather patterns across different sections of the city. They take measurements of environment and are using crowdsourcing to bring this data to people in a way that is usable and "useful."

They think that real estate prices will rely on data like this and can impact prices and other things. The more co2 you have, the more dense your space is, which decreases the quality of your air.

Then, MG Siegler interviewed Instagram's Kevin Systrom, who's always at his polished best. I saw him a few months back in a similar "question exchange" with Sarah Lacy at one of her PandoDaily events in San Francisco.

Polished aside and interesting app or not, I still just can't get over or accept that their app could have been worth $730 million when the Facebook acquisition 'completed' back in September or ever could be. And, I'm a serious photography geek and still don't 'get it.'

Stephanie Hospital and team at Orange hosted a power girls networking bash one afternoon, which I ironically went to with Yossi Vardi, most definitely not a woman.

While it was indeed mostly women, a few male stragglers were there including French photographer Olivier Ezratty who is working on a photo exhibition of powerful women in the digital age. I'll share the latest as his work progresses. He also does a wonderful round-up of LeWeb every year, so check out his coverage here.

Speaking of Yossi, he gave a talk on things start-ups need to think about and tips of the trade. He says, "Pivoting is important because of the feedback you receive along the way, however doing more than 2 pivots is bad."

Additionally, he encouraged young entrepreneurs to network more often, always look for ways to provide value, and to try to find a funder from a mutual contact (someone you trust and someone the funder is likely to trust). He says of investors, "they need assurances and recommendations from people they trust." His main source of deal flow is through
friends with credibility. 

On exits, he says there's a big debate in Israel at the moment about whether early exits are good. Pros and cons, he notes. Having an early exit leaves a lot of value on the table but if you want a bigger exit, later…you obviously increase the risk because it will take more time.

I also ran into Stephanie Czerny who is one force behind the DLD Conference, held every year in Munich Germany. If you haven't been, you MUST – I keep meaning to return it was so good, if only January didn't present so many deadlines. I love these guys! Not only is the content and networking top notch, but their hearts are in the right place — they're doing great things for the industry and world.

In the main room, we then moved into physical objects, you know, real tangible products you can feel. The team from Sphero gave a demo on stage of their robotic ball, which has mechanics and two way
wireless communication.

They're using 6 axis IMu (essentially a navigation system) so they
know where Sphero is going. Think of it as a robotics gaming system.

They said on stage, "We think there's a continuum where games live inside augmented
reality and we're trying to mash and bridge the virtual and the real." He adds, "a system of this nature requires strong computational power and you
have to build interfaces in virtual and physical world."

Ubooly also wants to bridge this world, but for kids aged 4-9. CEO Carly Gloge was on the LeWeb stage showing a stuffed animal that comes to life when an iPhone is stuck inside it using voice recognition.

The "toy" suggests games to the kids in real time and gives feedback on their participation based on the phone’s accelerometer. Price point is cheap and perhaps one of the reasons, it seemed to receive positive feedback. Current going price is around $29.95.

Lockitron also got quite a bit of buzz at the event and apparently others think its cool too – they've already placed some $2.2 million in pre-orders for the device.

The device is a smartphone=controlled keyless door lock. You can reserve one with a shipping date of late May 2013 for $179.  

I hung out with the HAPILABS guys who were showing off their HAPIfork, which will be unveiled at CES next month. The HAPIfork is an electronic fork that monitors your eating habits, giving you precise information about your eating schedule and alerting you with the help of indicator lights and a gentle vibration when you are eating too fast.

Below is CEO Fabrice Boutain showing off their first prototype.

The other cool thing I saw was Australian-based LIFX, a revolutionary new lightbulb that takes something that we all use in our homes, and makes it smarter and more efficient. It was launched on Kickstarter, where they raised over $1.3 million.

The LIFX lightbulb is a WiFi enabled, multi-color, energy efficient LED light bulb that you control with your iPhone or Android. How cool is that? See the below video to learn more.

I had an opportunity to meet and chat with the founder of San Francisco-based ReAllocate, who is not about launching a new social media apps or anything that will connect things to the Internet or the Internet to things. 

ReAllocate is a global network of engineers, designers and entrepreneurs empowering under served communities through technology and innovation to improve quality of life. I love what they're doing!

They call themselves "ReAllocators" and they engage in digital storytelling to inspire participation, promote collaboration, and raise awareness about humanitarian causes. I hope to visit them state-side.

They supports three program areas that intertwine to create an infrastructure that supports sustainable development through education, ecosystems, equality, and economics. Learn a little bit more about what they're doing in Alaska and in Japan.

I also had fun hanging out with the UK Trade & Investment folks as well. Did I mention all the after events? It's no wonder everyone who ventures to Paris every December for LeWeb is so happily wiped out at the end of it – fois gras, French bordeaux, dark chocolate, crepes, fabulous coffee and more.

In traditional Loic and Geraldine style, they managed to nail a top notch act for the speaker dinner. Four girls in an act called ESCALA wowed the crowd with their violins and energy. See my write-up on them in We Blog the World's Music Section.

The Dublin guys also did a meet-up at a place called Delaville Cafe on Boulevard de Bonne Nouvelle. It's a place my Paris buds didn't know about, but the ambiance was great, especially for group gatherings. They too do great things for the industry between their Founders event, Dublin Web Summit and other initiatives. And, I have to admit, like the French, I have a soft spot for the Irish and I love Dublin.

Yet another successful LeWeb, an event I look forward to every December. Loic and Geraldine know how to curate an incredibly bright group of people who are working on things that will help shape technology as we know it and as a result, life as we know it.

I love the initiatives coming out of Europe and LeWeb is the best place in Europe for that global conversation that bridges what's happening on the continent and the rest of the world!!

For hoots, check out my review on UBER's launch at LeWeb (aka in Paris) last year, my LeWeb round-up from 2010, as well as a fun post from 2006 praising the food, suggesting that American conference organizers could learn a lot from their French counterparts.

For general blog posts on Paris, check out We Blog the World's Paris page. All photo credits: Renee Blodgett.

Steven Pinker recently spoke at the Singularity Summit in San Francisco this past October. His topic amongst a large group of singularians, scientists, authors, thinkers, students and technologists? Violence. He took is on a journey of the decline of violence over time as a persistent development, showing methods that showed prehistoric violence versus the modern violence of today aka life before states and life after states. It’s obvious that literacy matters for a decrease in violence since it brings reason into the conversation ruling out and winning over superstition, which is still alive in a lot of more primitive cultures today. See my latest write-up on singularity and the future of technology based on my most recent experience at the Singularity Summit. Below is a short video excerpt from his talk. Video and photo credit: Renee Blodgett.

Steven Pinker recently spoke at the Singularity Summit in San Francisco this past October.

His topic amongst a large group of singularians, scientists, authors, thinkers, students and technologists? Violence.

He took is on a journey of the decline of violence over time as a persistent development, showing methods that showed prehistoric violence versus the modern violence of today aka life before states and life after states.

It’s obvious that literacy matters for a decrease in violence since it brings reason into the conversation ruling out and winning over superstition, which is still alive in a lot of more primitive cultures today.

See my latest write-up on singularity and the future of technology based on my most recent experience at the Singularity Summit. Below is a short video excerpt from his talk.

Video and photo credit: Renee Blodgett.

Steven Pinker recently spoke at the Singularity Summit in San Francisco this past October.

His topic amongst a large group of singularians, scientists, authors, thinkers, students and technologists? Violence.

He took is on a journey of the decline of violence over time as a persistent development, showing methods that showed prehistoric violence versus the modern violence of today aka life before states and life after states.

It’s obvious that literacy matters for a decrease in violence since it brings reason into the conversation ruling out and winning over superstition, which is still alive in a lot of more primitive cultures today.

See my latest write-up on singularity and the future of technology based on my most recent experience at the Singularity Summit. Below is a short video excerpt from his talk.

Video and photo credit: Renee Blodgett.

I attended an event on crowdfunding recently. Entrepreneurs are dabbling in anything and everything “crowd” lately – from attracting vendor and engineering talent to volunteers and now, funding. I’ve had friends test out Kickstarter which is an interesting model if you don’t need a lot of cash to jumpstart your project. It’s easier to get low-level investors on board since the commitment on the part of the ‘investor’ is minimal (mostly zero) and there’s a reward kick back. I’ve contributed as little as $5-50 to a Kickstarter project and did it because it was a cool idea and just wanted to help. You’d need a helluva lot of “me’s” to make it worthwhile at that level but there are others who will invest $100, $1K or $10K into the pool depending in their interest and wallet size. Other reward based crowdfunding platforms include IndieGoGo and RocketHub, all of which are operating in the new paradigm without a lot of rules and regulations, aka pre the implementation of the 506c Act. In a conversation on crowdfunding and alternative funding for start-ups, below are two videos (Part I and Part II) that discuss the pros and cons. Note that it IS a VERY Silicon Valley viewpoint and I haven’t met a whole lotta venture capitalists from major firms who want to deal with the aftermath of early investors no longer being one or two angels but being 25 random no-names instead. There are complications AND implications. On the panel included Gerd Goete, Siemens Venture Capital, Partner, Don Ross, HealthTech Capital, Managing Director and Founder, Sand Hill Angels, Board Director and Life Science Angels, Member Carol Sands, The Angels’ Forum, Managing Member, Graham Burnette, SBV Capital Partners and Red Planet Capital, General Partner and Royse Law’s Roger Royse. I didn’t get the sense…

I attended an event on crowdfunding recently. Entrepreneurs are dabbling in anything and everything “crowd” lately – from attracting vendor and engineering talent to volunteers and now, funding. I’ve had friends test out Kickstarter which is an interesting model if you don’t need a lot of cash to jumpstart your project.

It’s easier to get low-level investors on board since the commitment on the part of the ‘investor’ is minimal (mostly zero) and there’s a reward kick back. I’ve contributed as little as $5-50 to a Kickstarter project and did it because it was a cool idea and just wanted to help. You’d need a helluva lot of “me’s” to make it worthwhile at that level but there are others who will invest $100, $1K or $10K into the pool depending in their interest and wallet size.

Other reward based crowdfunding platforms include IndieGoGo and RocketHub, all of which are operating in the new paradigm without a lot of rules and regulations, aka pre the implementation of the 506c Act.

In a conversation on crowdfunding and alternative funding for start-ups, below are two videos (Part I and Part II) that discuss the pros and cons. Note that it IS a VERY Silicon Valley viewpoint and I haven’t met a whole lotta venture capitalists from major firms who want to deal with the aftermath of early investors no longer being one or two angels but being 25 random no-names instead. There are complications AND implications.

On the panel included Gerd Goete, Siemens Venture Capital, Partner, Don Ross, HealthTech Capital, Managing Director and Founder, Sand Hill Angels, Board Director and Life Science Angels, Member Carol Sands, The Angels’ Forum, Managing Member, Graham Burnette, SBV Capital Partners and Red Planet Capital, General Partner and Royse Law’s Roger Royse.  

I didn’t get the sense that VCs (or at least traditional VCs) would be in full support of coming in after crowdfunders, largely because of what’s involved: complicated, too many heads at the table, dillution and more. Silicon Valley focused, their mantra was more around the traditional tools that make a startup successful in the long term: domain expertise, access to the right people, advice and coaching and the amount of due diligence that goes into a deal.

There’s no question that access to the right people and being ‘aligned’ with the right people accelerate deal flow and increase the likelihood of a successful exit. If you’re Kleiner backed, your chances of success go up regardless of what kind of “useless” app you have.

There are the notorious three risks, which include:

1. Technology Risk – do you have a kick-ass technology? (my words, not theirs?). Can it do what it says it will do? Will it live up to the promise?

2. Market Risk – is there a big enough market for your products?

3. Expansion Risk – this comes into play as you start to scale. Can you make a big enough return that is attractive for YOU and for them? (aka, your investors)

Their argument was that dozens or possibly hundreds of ‘crowdsourced’ investors can’t help with 1, 2 or 3. That said, my argument would be that there are a ton of businesses who don’t need to go through the traditional Silicon Valley funding route and while crowdfunding may not give them millions, they still may be able to find advisors for a point or two who can leapfrog them into the right ‘tribe’ so they can be successful without giving away the store to a traditional VC firm.

It is indeed an alternative and some business models and businesses will work and some won’t.

Points for considration include: public solicitations and use of social media, advertising terms of offer being restricted to the fact that the issuer can only direct investors to a broker/funding portal, the additional costs invovled with disclosure and reporting, use of an intermediary, risk of fraud (goes up as this model expands), and the point that the VCs and angels on the panel referenced again and again: the high number of unsophisticated investors (which leads to fiduciary duties to all investors and as our Silicon Valley finance pals pointed out, all of “it” a concern for VCs for future fundraising rounds).

We learned a bit more about new guidelines under the proposed 506 regulations.

For example, it would allow for public advertising and general solicitation in Rule 506 offerings, provided that the issuer takes reasonable steps to verify that potential investors are accredited, and all investors are accredited (or the issuer reasonably believes they are) at the time of the sale of securities.

This results in all sorts of issues we haven’t faced before under traditional models, including the nature and terms of the offering which are unique. Is it a low verus high investment? What are the terms? Who has a voice and doesn’t? And of course bearing in mind that there will be more steps needed to verify ‘accredited’ status. 

Proposed crowdfunding regulations are slated to be released in January 2013. Videos below in Part I and 2 of the panel (roughly 20 minutes for each video – feel free to view the whole thing or catch snippets in stages to get an overview).

The event was part of iHollywood Forum, and their new brand Angel Launch, which produces dinners, venture forums, and seminars for entertainment, Web, Internet, mobile and tech ventures and startups.  

Also refer to a Forbes article on crowdfunding where they also talk about the above legislation and a bill that had full bipartisan support this year called JOBS (Jumpstart Our Business Startups) Act, which is a series of 6 bills tied together designed to make it easier for startups to gain access to capital.

Photo credit: Forbes.

I attended an event on crowdfunding recently. Entrepreneurs are dabbling in anything and everything “crowd” lately – from attracting vendor and engineering talent to volunteers and now, funding. I’ve had friends test out Kickstarter which is an interesting model if you don’t need a lot of cash to jumpstart your project.

It’s easier to get low-level investors on board since the commitment on the part of the ‘investor’ is minimal (mostly zero) and there’s a reward kick back. I’ve contributed as little as $5-50 to a Kickstarter project and did it because it was a cool idea and just wanted to help. You’d need a helluva lot of “me’s” to make it worthwhile at that level but there are others who will invest $100, $1K or $10K into the pool depending in their interest and wallet size.

Other reward based crowdfunding platforms include IndieGoGo and RocketHub, all of which are operating in the new paradigm without a lot of rules and regulations, aka pre the implementation of the 506c Act.

In a conversation on crowdfunding and alternative funding for start-ups, below are two videos (Part I and Part II) that discuss the pros and cons. Note that it IS a VERY Silicon Valley viewpoint and I haven’t met a whole lotta venture capitalists from major firms who want to deal with the aftermath of early investors no longer being one or two angels but being 25 random no-names instead. There are complications AND implications.

On the panel included Gerd Goete, Siemens Venture Capital, Partner, Don Ross, HealthTech Capital, Managing Director and Founder, Sand Hill Angels, Board Director and Life Science Angels, Member Carol Sands, The Angels’ Forum, Managing Member, Graham Burnette, SBV Capital Partners and Red Planet Capital, General Partner and Royse Law’s Roger Royse.  

I didn’t get the sense that VCs (or at least traditional VCs) would be in full support of coming in after crowdfunders, largely because of what’s involved: complicated, too many heads at the table, dillution and more. Silicon Valley focused, their mantra was more around the traditional tools that make a startup successful in the long term: domain expertise, access to the right people, advice and coaching and the amount of due diligence that goes into a deal.

There’s no question that access to the right people and being ‘aligned’ with the right people accelerate deal flow and increase the likelihood of a successful exit. If you’re Kleiner backed, your chances of success go up regardless of what kind of “useless” app you have.

There are the notorious three risks, which include:

1. Technology Risk – do you have a kick-ass technology? (my words, not theirs?). Can it do what it says it will do? Will it live up to the promise?

2. Market Risk – is there a big enough market for your products?

3. Expansion Risk – this comes into play as you start to scale. Can you make a big enough return that is attractive for YOU and for them? (aka, your investors)

Their argument was that dozens or possibly hundreds of ‘crowdsourced’ investors can’t help with 1, 2 or 3. That said, my argument would be that there are a ton of businesses who don’t need to go through the traditional Silicon Valley funding route and while crowdfunding may not give them millions, they still may be able to find advisors for a point or two who can leapfrog them into the right ‘tribe’ so they can be successful without giving away the store to a traditional VC firm.

It is indeed an alternative and some business models and businesses will work and some won’t.

Points for considration include: public solicitations and use of social media, advertising terms of offer being restricted to the fact that the issuer can only direct investors to a broker/funding portal, the additional costs invovled with disclosure and reporting, use of an intermediary, risk of fraud (goes up as this model expands), and the point that the VCs and angels on the panel referenced again and again: the high number of unsophisticated investors (which leads to fiduciary duties to all investors and as our Silicon Valley finance pals pointed out, all of “it” a concern for VCs for future fundraising rounds).

We learned a bit more about new guidelines under the proposed 506 regulations.

For example, it would allow for public advertising and general solicitation in Rule 506 offerings, provided that the issuer takes reasonable steps to verify that potential investors are accredited, and all investors are accredited (or the issuer reasonably believes they are) at the time of the sale of securities.

This results in all sorts of issues we haven’t faced before under traditional models, including the nature and terms of the offering which are unique. Is it a low verus high investment? What are the terms? Who has a voice and doesn’t? And of course bearing in mind that there will be more steps needed to verify ‘accredited’ status. 

Proposed crowdfunding regulations are slated to be released in January 2013. Videos below in Part I and 2 of the panel (roughly 20 minutes for each video – feel free to view the whole thing or catch snippets in stages to get an overview).

The event was part of iHollywood Forum, and their new brand Angel Launch, which produces dinners, venture forums, and seminars for entertainment, Web, Internet, mobile and tech ventures and startups.  

Also refer to a Forbes article on crowdfunding where they also talk about the above legislation and a bill that had full bipartisan support this year called JOBS (Jumpstart Our Business Startups) Act, which is a series of 6 bills tied together designed to make it easier for startups to gain access to capital.

Photo credit: Forbes.