Back in February, I visited New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. My primary function was a recruiting trip for Zappos but I also had the chance to visit TechStars Boston and Betaspring, a TechStars affiliate as a member of their Global Accelerator Network. Each day, I was set up as a mentor of 5 of the companies in their spring programs. Those who know me know that this is something I do on a regular basis for VegasTech companies.

I’m going to confess a little secret here (just between us). I was a bit nervous. Here I was going from Las Vegas to one of the premier accelerator programs in the entire world. How would I stack up as a mentor? Fortunately, that was quickly alleviated when one of the people I was talking to said, “You’re the best mentor I’ve had so far in the program. You’ve given us the most direct, actionable advice.” Whew! Concern alleviated.

Okay, stop twisting my arm. I have another secret (again, just between us). How would VegasTech companies stack up against the best? Would our efforts over the past year measure up to the world-class companies that get accepted into the TechStars programs?

The answer is a resounding “Yes!”. There is no doubt that I talked to some really talented entrepreneurs. But the kinds of questions I got there are the same kinds of questions I get from VegasTech entrepreneurs. The same concerns. The same uncertainties. “Does this concept make sense to you?” “What’s the best way to market this to a larger company?” And on and on.

I was pretty sure this was going to be true, but it was nice to have it validated.

So congrats to you, VegasTech. Now go out and kick some ass!

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VegasTech, we’re in for a treat.

The week of June 18th, 3! (well, okay, not 3 factorial) lean/agile classes are coming to Las Vegas at /usr/lib.

On Monday, June 18th, and Tuesday, June 19th, Daniel Vacanti, who spoke about kanban at Vegas Jelly on March 29th, will be giving a full 2-day course entitled “Introduction to Kanban”.

On Wednesday, June 20th, Adam Beck will be giving a one day course on “Scaling Lean and Agile Teams: The Scaled Agile Framework”. This is a great course for teams trying to adopt agile within a medium to large enterprise.

Finally, on Thursday, June 21st, and Friday, June 22nd, Arin Sime will be giving a course on “Acceptance Test Driven Development”. This course is designed to get teams up to speed quickly with hands on activities related to test driven development, a way to build testing and quality into your software right from the beginning.

I’ve previously worked with Adam, Dan got a great reception at the Jelly, and I know Arin a bit as well. All 3 know their stuff, and this is a great opportunity for lean/agile fans in Las Vegas to get in some world-class training without having to leave home. I’m personally attending the first 2 classes and only missing the third due to a previous commitment.

For more information, please check out Lean4ward’s event description. To register, visit lean4ward.eventbrite.com.

UPDATE: If you are coming from out of town, we have set up a hotel deal with the El Cortez Hotel & Casino directly across the street from /usr/lib. Please use code ZAP0612 for $32 / night tower rooms and code ZAPCS0612 for $42 / night Cabana Junior Suites. Codes can be used on other room types as well.

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At last night’s Vegas Jelly, Demont Daniel asked me how Las Vegas unlocked FounderDating so quickly. For those not familiar, FounderDating is a web site designed to help solve one of the classic startup problems: how to find a compatible partner to get started. Their site describes their mission best:

FounderDating aims to bring together super talented entrepreneurs with different backgrounds and skill sets to start innovative new companies.

When FounderDating first launched, they pre-selected several cities, including many of the typical well-known tech cities: Boston, San Francisco, New York, Seattle, Los Angeles, and Austin. They then put out a call to any other city with a challenge: get 50 people to sign up for a (free) account and they will “unlock” your city. Unlocking a city means an in-person launch event open to those who signed up plus giving access to the FounderDating network so that people can search for others online. Note: it appears that FounderDating is still looking for folks in those main hubs to get enough members signed up. CORRECTION: They are just looking for more members in those cities. I regret the error.

The team behind FounderDating never thought Las Vegas would be first. I saw the first tweet on April 23rd and started promoting along with many others (in fact, I was not the first to start the process). Early on, Portland looked strong. But soon, Las Vegas started rising up through the ranks. By April 30th, Las Vegas became the first city in the world to unlock FounderDating. And of course, in many senses it’s not a competition, and I’m not saying Las Vegas is “better” than the other cities. In fact, the more cities that unlock FounderDating, the better is it for everyone, since the network allows users to search for co-founders both locally and online around the world.

But there is an interesting dynamic in how Las Vegas was able to rally folks faster than cities with much larger populations. And tonight, I saw another tweet that made me think about this more (and inspired this post). In short, the question was about rallying Chicago to sign up. Now, I’m not familiar with the Chicago tech community, but I took a guess and tried the obvious hashtag #chitech on twitter. There were only two posts that came up. Maybe there’s another hashtag that that community uses. But the point is this: an online home where people can “hang out” is as important as a physical space. It ties things together and creates an underlying theme. No longer are people limited by who they follow. A good community hashtag multiplies the power of every member, even if they don’t follow each other yet. And of course it allows for community members to find each other as well.

That was a long set up before providing the answer to Demont’s question. The reason I think VegasTech was able to unlock FounderDating so quickly was our community-driven focus. When one of us asks for help, others respond. In classic “Pay It Forward” mode, we jump in to help, not looking for benefit for ourselves, but to benefit whomever asked for help. But we also know that when we need help, it will be there for us. As just a small example of this, I forgot to bring a projector to the Jelly last night. I put out a tweet asking if anyone else could bring a projector, and within 20 minutes had 2 offers. What’s more, David Gosse dropped it off around 7pm and wasn’t even going to the Jelly yet. He had another appointment to go to first, but stopped by to help me out. That’s #VegasTech, folks.

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I remember when TechStars TV was first put on TV (Bloomberg TV I believe). I didn’t have a way to watch Bloomberg TV, so the show just kind of fell through the cracks for me. I definitely wanted to see how they’d done in production of TechStars (the TV show). For those that don’t know TechStars is a highly successful startup incubator program. It follows a similar model to Y Combinator which is the other powerhouse startup incubator program out there. TechStars (the TV show) follows the TechStars New York class of startups.

I still haven’t had a chance to watch the episodes of TechStars, but I just learned that Mashable has put the episodes up on their video page. In fact, this post is almost as much a bookmark for me to watch them later. However, knowing the people behind the video, I’m quite sure those of us who love startups will love these videos.

I watched some of the videos of the producers and David Cohen talking about TechStars the TV show. One of the things I remember well is the producer talking about how much terrible video footage they shot. I think she said something like, it turns out that the vast majority of time at a startup is a bunch of people working at computers. It’s funny, because it’s true (at least in a tech startup). However, I’m most interested to see the mentor sessions they caught on film. I think those will be incredibly enlightening.

If you check these out, let me know what you think.

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That’s right. Last night was the 1 year anniversary of the Vegas Jelly. Anyone who has been part of Vegas Tech this last year knows the importance of the Vegas Jelly. What 1 year anniversary wouldn’t be complete without a cake?

My favorite tweet from last night said, I can’t believe we could pack that many people into the /usr/lib Don’t let the fire people know!

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I recently got a message from Matt Engle about the kick-off of the Rebel Business Network. I know that many in Vegas Tech are graduates of UNLV and I know that many of them are big fans of rebel basketball. This kick off event seems like the best of both things. Plus, we all know that one of the keys to a good tech community is good feeder schools.

Here’s the message I got with all the details:

Please join me and notable business leaders as we kick-off the Rebel Business Network, a program of the UNLV Alumni Association. The featured speaker will be Dave Rice ’91 ’93, Head Coach of the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels.

Wednesday, May 16
11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
Richard Tam Alumni Center (NW corner of Maryland Pkwy/Harmon)
4505 S. Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas NV 89154

Register Now – $25 per person (through below link); $35 per person after the registration deadline of May 7

Ticket includes lunch, parking, program, and a chance to win an autographed basketball from Coach Rice.

About the Rebel Business Network:
In today’s tough economy, alumni can help each other by seeking networking, products, and services for personal and business needs through fellow alumni in their area.

Benefits of being part of the Rebel Business Network include:
1. Business Directory – A searchable database of alumni professionals available for view by the general public – similar to electronic yellow pages. The business directory is a convenient way to find alumni who offer products and services for your use.
2. Hire a Rebel – Gain introductions to alumni and UNLV leaders for hiring and other employment opportunities by searching the listings.
3. Networking – Members will have the opportunity to build relationships with each other and UNLV leadership through luncheons and mixers.

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As a past winner of the Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup Collegiate Business Plan Competition I’m always excited to see who showed up as the winners in the 2012 nevada business plan competition. I know first hand how winning the competition can change your life. Sure, you get a nice cash prize, but more important you get the opportunity to mingle with some really smart and successful entrepreneurs in the process.

Plus, I was even more excited by this year’s competition because UNLV swept the top 3 spots in the graduate competition and also took the 2nd place spot in the undergraduate. A big congratulations to MASH Tool USA, Geyser Flow Control, Dating Brouhaha Animated Series, and Wire Ideas. Plus, thanks to Andrew Hardin, David Hames, and Janet Runge who served as their UNLV faculty advisers.

Here’s a list of the UNLV winning teams:

GRADUATE WINNERS

1st Place – $25,000: MASH Tool USA

MASH Tool brings you all your landscaping and construction needs!

Team Captain: Angela Douglas, MBA, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Elizabeth Lewis, MBA, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Sarah Zalas, MBA, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Brandon Peters, MBA, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Peter Nazarechuck, MBA, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Angela Douglas, MBA, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Faculty Advisor: Andrew Hardin, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

2nd Place – $15,000: Geyser Flow Control

Geyser Flow Control created the patented GFC Device. A low-cost, easy to install water flow restrictor for irrigation systems, it minimizes water loss if a sprinkler head fails and corrects over-pressurization. It is set to save Vegas 2.5B gal water.

Team Captain: Michael Giannini, MIS/MBA, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Seth Ostrowski, MIS, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Paul Kotchka-Smith, MBA, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Erin Johnson, MBA, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Joshua Ellison, MBA, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Faculty Advisor: Andrew Hardin, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

3rd Place – $10,000: Dating Brouhaha Animated Series

Dating Brouhaha Animated Series is an animated cartoon series that is comedic in nature, eccentric in context, energetic in form and explores facets of current American dating life through the eyes of a multi-generational family.

Team Captain: Lora Hendrickson, MBA, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Shanna Elhard, MBA, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Faculty Advisor: David Hames, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

UNDERGRADUATE WINNERS

2nd Place – $15,000: Wire Ideas

To inspire young individuals to discover and learn about electronics and programming in a creative and entertaining way.

Team Captain: Sergio Flores, Electrical Engineering, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Jorge Carrasco, Civil Engineering, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Daniel Silva, Mechanical Engineering, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Miguel Murillo, Electrical Engineering at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Faculty Advisor: Janet Runge, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

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Terence Carroll recently emailed me about the need for more iOS and Android developers in Las Vegas. In fact, I think the need for iOS and Android developers is out there almost anywhere you go since mobile apps are so hot right now. In his email Terence talked about his plans to do something to help increase the number of iOS developers in Las Vegas. Here’s his solution:

I think the solution is to take existing developers who understand programming fundamentals like variables and objects and get them up to speed quickly building their first iOS app. That’s the
motivation behind iOS Bootcamp.

That’s right, an iOS Boot Camp is coming to Las Vegas on Saturday April 28th and only costs $50. I think the description on the event page says it all:

This is a 1-day intensive course on developing your first iOS application. It is targeted to experienced developers and the pace will be quick. We start at 9am and go until we’re done sometime after 6pm.

The class is going to be taught by Tom Ortega who was one of the founders of the 360iDev Conference and is coming in from Phoenix to teach the class. Terence tells me that Richard Hoppes has also been an important part of making it happen as well.

Thanks to Terence, Richard, and Tom for bringing together this great opportunity for Vegas Tech.

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Hands down, the most important event of the Las Vegas tech community right now is the Vegas Jelly. Anyone who wants to learn and understand something about Vegas Tech should start by attending the Vegas Jelly. Every Thursday evening (yes, pretty much all evening) members of the Las Vegas tech community gets together at The Beat Coffeehouse and Usr Lib to share a drink, co-work, network, connect, share war stories, help, and have fun together as a community.

I don’t think that Dylan Bathurst knew what he was doing when he started the Vegas Jelly. I know I certainly didn’t. Dylan likes to regularly remind me my response when he first told me about the Vegas Jelly. I told him it was unlikely that I’d be making it out to a Vegas Jelly. Almost a year later, and I go to the Vegas Jelly as much as possible.

I first attended as a way to support Las Vegas Startup Weekend. That Vegas Jelly was the perfect event to bring together the Tech community before spending the weekend together hacking away. Plus, I quickly realized that the Vegas Jelly was becoming as much about meeting and helping people as it was co-working (Dylan’s original vision). So I was hooked.

I love some of Dylan’s comments on the Vegas Jelly website from those first jellies. Here are a few:

“Leading up to Startup Weekend Las Vegas on June 24-26, 2011 we’ll be having a number of Jellies to get people interacting and sharing ideas with one another. Don’t worry we’ll continue having them after SWLV as well.”
Seems like quite the understatement now.

It’s on and catching on! Jelly #2 was once again totally awesome. We had a couple more of the awesome Ruby meetup dudes come hang out. We also had Josh, a freelance web developer, that is living/traveling with his family around the US in an airstream! As he and his family rolled through Vegas they heard about the Jelly and stopped by.
The serendipity started as early as the second Jelly with Josh and his family showing up. So cool.

“I’ve noticed that some of people that have met at the Jellies are starting to chat/collaborate/work together outside of the Jellies. This brings a proud tear to my eye. So don’t be afraid to strike up a conversation with the person sitting next to you.”
I bet he’s shed a lot of proud tears with how great the Vegas Jelly is now.

Extending the Vegas Jelly Movement
What I don’t think any of us expected was how the term Jelly would start being used for all sorts of different meetups in downtown Las Vegas. Here are just a few examples:

SoundFoundry’s Jelly and Jam – Bring your instrument and play! (21+) Writing a concerto, need help mixing your latest dub-step, looking to collaborate, or just want to hang out and play? This meet-up is for musicians, by musicians… & open to all music aficionados. What is Jelly & Jam, you may ask? Jelly: a casual working event. Jam: a musical act where musicians play (i.e. “jam”) by improvising without extensive preparation or predefined arrangements.

Content Jelly – Do you blog? Write poems, short stories or novels? Create narrative or documentary films? Produce a podcast? Have a passion for photography? Write and/or perform music? Design games? If you answered “Yes” to any of the above, you are a “content creator”. We’ll meet every other Wednesday for an hour in the /usr/lib/ classroom for a quiet “get to know you” and updates on the various projects & initiatives going on around town. After that first hour, we’ll head down to the Beat for drinks & casual conversation.

Green Jelly – A gathering of Las Vegans interested in making downtown Vegas greener and more sustainable.

I’m sure there are other Las Vegas Jelly events as well that I either don’t yet know about or are in the planning stages. For example, I know there’s some people working on a Vegas Jelly West (although, I think they’re going to use a different name). That will be nice for those that live on the West side and provide a great outreach to many Las Vegas tech startups who don’t necessarily want to come downtown.

Tonight’s another Vegas Jelly and it should be a packed event. Here’s the breakout sessions they have on the agenda:

Hackers & Painters by RayMorgan and Mark Johnson!!!!

Pitch practices by:
v-by – Deborah
shipping containers — Kat
CareAbout.it — Patrick Gibbons
Wishfrogs – Dan Worthington
CleanTechOpen – Lori Glauser
Bob Sweitzer – Business Models – turning clicks into dollars

Get a seat early for these breakout sessions. I’m sure it will be standing room only again this week. I wonder when we’ll get the live video stream going.

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Fox Channel 5 in Las Vegas just did a report on a number of Las Vegas startup companies along with Usr Lib and the Downtown project. The report includes Vegas Startup founders Judd Lillestrand, CEO of ScripSmart, Mark Johnson, Chief Brand Officer of Ayloo, and Dylan Bathurst, CEO of Rumgr. Zach Ware also talked about the Downtown project.

It’s always great to see the local TV stations and other local press covering what’s happening with Las Vegas startup companies and the broader Vegas Tech community. I have a feeling Matt DeLucia and Fox are going to be filing a lot more stories about Las Vegas startup companies.

Here’s the video of the coverage in case you missed it:

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