It is with frustration and disappointment that I let everyone know that we suspended regular operations for Event Seek and Digital Lodestone Group at the end January and have been examining possible exit strategies. Prior to this shift, we spent the last few weeks meeting with a number of potential investors, customers, and advisors to examine potential opportunities to keep our business afloat. While there were some potentially promising opportunities, we could no longer afford to pay our employees, our bills, or ourselves. We had and continue to have significant successes with the product (500+ launched and functioning websites) and with sales (selected as one of two final solutions to be employed by the AJC), but we struggle trying to raise the necessary funding to support operations.

As all of you know, our business requires significant capital investment to grow to necessary scale. We have pursued a number of different options to secure this investment, but frankly it has taken us too long to achieve the necessary milestones to become a viable early-stage angel or VC investment. This is not to say that we weren’t able to accomplish these milestones - on the contrary we’ve done exactly what is necessary. Simply put, we ran out of time and money. For this, I take full responsibility. Tristan has been an excellent partner and managed production beautifully throughout this process. While he was responsible for product development, I was in charge of sales and fundraising and was not able to achieve the appropriate milestones in the amount of time we had to do it. I don’t blame the economy, customers, or the investment community. In time, I’m sure I’ll appreciate that much more was out of my control than in, but for the time being, I shoulder this burden alone.

Since suspending operations, Tristan and I have been examining future possibilities for Event Seek and our software. We are in several conversations with companies who are interested in buying the software, are considering the idea of shifting to a custom development shop, and are even toying with the idea of opening up the code to other developers and creating a non-profit foundation. I’ll be sure to keep you all in the loop as we examine these potential opportunities. In addition we will take a very hard look at our successes and failures and spend some time reviewing these and preparing a debrief and business case outlying the factors that were responsible for our eventual end.

As always, I thank you for your support throughout this process. Our friends and supporters have been critical to holding us together as we’ve worked through this process. You haven’t seen the last of Event Seek, and you certainly haven’t seen the last of Tristan and I.

We’ve talked to countless numbers of people about Event Seek: investors, advisors, potential customers, friends, family, and even strangers. To say that we’ve gotten a series of reactions is an understatement. I’ve heard everything from “brilliant” to “seriously? are you kidding?” And I’ve come to realize that in these conversations I’m not talking, not sharing, not storytelling, but evangelizing. Every business conversation is an opportunity to spread the gospel that is Event Seek.

Certainly I’m not trying to compare myself to any of the greats here - I don’t have that kind of hubris! But I do have a significant appreciation for what they experienced. The moment of epiphany you see in the faces of your listeners, the joy that comes from seeing someone convert, the excitement of seeing disciples preach the gospel for you, the disappointment you feel when someone just doesn’t get it, and the awkward feeling that comes after you’ve tried your best to tell this amazing story only to realize you’ve solidified another non-believer.

Ahh, the non-believers. Those all-to-intelligent individuals who understand what you’re preaching and just don’t believe you can do it. Conversations with non-believers is like banging your head against a brick wall. Once someone has made up their mind about you, there is often no changing it. You can huff and puff all you want, but often these are bricklayers and you aren’t about to blow that house down.

Non-believers are also wonderful people. They don’t believe in you and your idea - can you imagine that? Nothing riles up an entrepreneur like non-believers. We often will put in that extra hour, that extra call, that extra meeting simply because we know we can prove you wrong. Non-believers are simply believers who haven’t been convinced yet. You know how non-believers are often convinced? Miracles.

No, not walk on water or anything truly miraculous like that. Simpler miracles. Non-believers don’t think you can sell the product, raise investment, or get people to use it. So anytime someone does any of those things it is like a small miracle to a non-believer. So the best way to convert non-believers is execute on all the things you told them you would execute on. Do exactly what you set out to do!

Sure it’s exciting when all the people who beleived in you congratulate you for your accomplishments and achievements. It feels great, it makes your day, its a needed shot of confidence. But when a non-believer says: “Hell, maybe its not such a bad idea after all…”. Now that makes for a good day.

This weekend, Event Seek signed our first customer/distribution deal. Hometown Times, a provider of the technology supporting local news websites, has selected Event Seek to provide local events support for 250 of their corporate websites and all future franchise websites. This partnership allows us to support small local websites that we would not be able to sell to on our own. Through Hometown Times, we can expand our market coverage and serve customers both large and small. We’re absolutely thrilled about the Hometown Times partnership and the impact it can have for both companies. We believe this is the beginning of a long-lasting mutually beneficial relationship. 

This is the first of many deals to come for Event Seek. I don’t believe we have a good product and interested buyers - I know it. Our development team is really excited about launching our first customer, but little do they know it’s not going to slow down anytime soon.

There are non-believers among you, and to them I say begone!

I was so sure way back when that we would launch one customer, and then a month or so later another, and then another month another customer. Now as we prepare to bring on our first customers it looks like it won’t work that way at all. It turns out we may launch 2-3 (or 250) all at once. More on that random 250 comment later. For now, all you need to know is that the customers are coming and soon….

Keep your fingers crossed!

Event Seek provides a private label event calendar service for media providers, increasing online revenues through personalized event recommendations and targeted advertising. In simple terms, we make it possible for your favorite newspaper, tv station, or radio station to have a great local events calendar - and make significant revenue while doing it!

We provide a much needed lifeline to media providers. With offline revenues rapidly declining, consumers moving online, and advertising dollars following quickly behind, media providers are looking for a way to become relevant in the age of the internet. The local newspaper is no longer the go-to source for national news - CNN.com is. You don’t get your business updates from the CBS affiliate, you go to WSJ.com. Even amid these troubles, local media providers have something you want that you can’t get anywhere else - local content. News, stories, information, and events! Events are timely, geographic, and rapidly changing - so our customers need a new way to tackle this tricky content in a way that drives traffic and revenue. Enter Event Seek!

By helping our customers use events to create an online community, we drive new revenue. Our customers can sell advertising, earn ticket commissions, and even sell specialized event placements to event organizers. Event Seek goes beyond these obvious revenue opportunities however to create meaningful profit dollars. Using our personalized event recommendation engine, we track consumer preferences and interests. Just as Amazon can recommend products you might like, we can recommend events. This same technology allows us to create unique profiles for each user and study them and their behaviors and habits. With detailed consumer data and analysis we target advertising unique to each user and help our customers command 25% - 50% price premiums for the same advertising space.

That’s it. Simple enough right? Hopefully those of you who have been out of the loop for a while will enjoy the updated and simplified explanation.

You tube video

“Late night Rock Band/Guitar Hero” as it is generally called, does not happen by itself however. It takes a series of elements coming together to form the atmosphere necessary for a rock session. You might think you have a crew together and you’re leaving the bar to go rock when suddenly they start dropping like flies. You might be sure that you’ve got the makings of the greatest rendition of “Wanted Dead or Alive” when suddenly interest begins fading and like dominos everyone falls.

My roomate and I own both Rock Band and Guitar hero, and have for about a year now. As such, I believe that I am uniquely qualified to share my thoughts on how to instigate a great late night rock session. These are just my thoughts, so feel free to agree/disagree and share your own viewpoints. Who knows if we get good responses on this, maybe I’ll do a series of random “how-to”s.

Ingredients:

• 1 Rock Band or Guitar Hero Game - I personally recommend Rock Band because four people can play at once and there are more songs available for download on the PS3. Also, everyone can play to their strengths as opposed to Guitar Hero where only two people can play guitar. This is a preference call however.
• 1 TV - The bigger the better
• 1 PS3/Wii/Xbox - Required to play the game on. Any of the above will do, as you certainly don’t want to be buying a system just to late night rock. If you want advice on which system to buy, do a google search. I can’t tell you people everything!
• 1 Set of large speakers (subwoofer highly recommended) - Let’s be honest here, the whole idea is to ROCK. Those wimpy speakers that are part of the TV just aren’t going to cut it. At the house we’ve got a 5.1 setup and we’ve solved plenty a poor song or session with “Uhh, it just needed to be louder…”
• 2 - 4 Willing and engaged participants - Without the crew this whole thing is impossible, so this just might be the most critical ingredient. I thought about giving advice here on exactly who you want to join you for the session…but the fact of the matter is that skills don’t matter - you want people who are gonna be fun, won’t wimp out early, and aren’t afraid to make an idiot of themselves. One word of caution here: that girl who doesn’t really want to join you, but is tagging along because of some boy or lives nearby…get rid of her! She’s (or He’s) like a cancer that will only infect other players and drag everyone else down! She’ll get tired early, whine, and eventually kill the buzz. Seriously, get rid of her!
• 1-2 Rounds of Red Bull related alcoholic drinks - These are for drinking at the bar
• 1-2 Rounds of beers or other drinks - These are for drinking at your Rock Session

Instructions:

1. Meet up with your friends at dinner, a bar, or wherever your favorite hot spot is. Enjoy one another’s company, laugh, drink, and repeat. Regardless of a good rock session you might as well enjoy the night. Get this one right or everything else will be thrown off!
2. As the night goes on, keep an eye out for who might make up your 2 - 4 Willing and engaged participants. You want to scout the crew early and be prepared to prep them as the night goes on.
3. Plant the seed. Throw the idea of a late night rock session out there and see how your potential participants react. Actually this can be very helpful in screening your participants so this might arguably come before the previous step.
4. Drum up support and interest. Once people are talking about the idea, this is your chance to generate some buzz. You don’t want to seem pushy, but want to get a few people excited who will help you spread the gospel as the night goes on.
5. Step up to the bar and order those Red Bull related alcoholic drinks. I can’t stress this one enough! If you want to have a really great session, you’ve got to man up and buy the fuel. I’ve seen one too many sessions go downhill early simply because the participants weren’t adequately energized. Combining Red Bull with alcohol has additional benefits as well. Alcohol helps lower individual inhibitions, meaning the chances of you finding that participant who is willing to step up and sing go up with each drink (to a point). Note: Neither I, nor Event Seek condones abusing alcohol. Drink up and have fun, but seriously don’t be an idiot.
6. Just before you’re getting ready to leave the bar/restaurant remind everyone about their excitement to play Rock Band/Guitar Hero. This only serves to drive one last push to bring people to rock out. Whether you are going to your house or someone else’s, you don’t want to fumble the ball on the 10 yard line. One final push to put the ball in the end-zone.
7. Insert Game, turn on TV and Speakers, and enjoy!
8. Serve drinks to anyone who asks and don’t forget to be a gracious host. Remember you are laying the foundation for future late night rock sessions. Just like in life you don’t want to burn bridges, when it comes to late night rock sessions you want everyone to have a great time as well. Each satisfied participant only means it will be that much easier next time.

Thats it! Hope you have a few great rock sessions in your time. We should all be so lucky…
 

In addition to launching the beta product today, we are also celebrating our 1 year birthday. Exactly 365 days ago, we began full-time work on creating a product that would allow media companies, struggling with their current revenue, to expand their online offering and drive value from the website. Today we have completed our fully-functioning commercial product and are in several conversations with early-stage pilot program customers. Before you know it, you’ll see Event Seek powering the local events calendar of your favorite newspaper, tv, and radio station.

The year has gone by amazingly fast, far more quickly than I would have expected. As I look back over our accomplishments through the past year, I’m proud of what we’ve been able to do, but more importantly, excited about the future. In addition to closing several rounds of fundraising from friends and family investors, we’ve established a market need and developed a product that our customer contacts absolutely love. I can’t explain how exciting it is to demonstrate the product for potential clients and hear the words “this is exactly what we’re looking for - and more.”

Some of my favorite successes from the past year include:

• Leaving our full-time jobs with an idea and a few dollars in our pockets
• Developing a prototype in less than a month and presenting it to a wildly impressed top 20 newspaper nationally
• Being selected as one of the top 15 technology startups in Georgia as part of the GRA/TAG business launch competition
• Selecting an early-stage development partner and rapidly building the basis for what would become Event Seek
• Convincing a host of talented, successful, intelligent, and experienced professionals to join our advisory board
• Expanding our team to include the most talented front-end and back end-designers I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with
• Developing an alpha product, launching it, and using customer feedback to continue to improve the offering
• Honing our individual and corporate strategy to focus the business where we can drive the greatest value for customers, investors, and employees
• Being selected as one of the companies for CapVenture, a fundraising preparation boot camp in Atlanta
• Expanding skills we always knew we had, developing ones we never knew were there, and faking everything else
• Establishing our name in the Atlanta entrepreneurial community as a company to watch
• Being profiled in several technical trade journals
• Finally launching a product that not only are we proud of, but has real potential to help people and companies

I’d like to think that we’ve been able to get where we are today thanks to our hard work and determination, but I know better. We have been damn lucky and have been helped along the way by individuals of all walks of life. I’m not sure why these people see something in us, but I’m just glad that they do. I’ll be thanking each and every one of you over the next few years and for years to come. We couldn’t have accomplished what we have without you and for that I am eternally grateful. 

With all of that being said, stop reading and go to the website! Use it, tell us what you like, tell us what you don’t like, and tell your friends. Event Seek becomes more and more useful and valuable the more users we have. We’ll continue to add content, find great local events, develop useful features, and bring on new geographies - you just enjoy it and spread the gospel: “Stop searching for events…start discovering them!”

This article led me to reflect on all that we’ve been able to do in the past year and how we’ve been able to do it. Amazingly next Wednesday is our one year anniversary. Next week we can officially say that our company has survived for 365 days, which if you ask me is a pretty monumental accomplishment. We’ve done some really cool things along the way, but I’m not going to detail them in this post (we’ll save that for later).

This all seems pretty fitting for what will happen next Wednesday. On October 1st, we will launch the open beta of Event Seek - free for everyone who wants to use it. No closed doors, no invitation codes required, everyone is welcome. Event-Seek.com will be focused on Atlanta for the time being, but expect that to change moving forward. I’ve watched a lot of websites go up and down in the past year, some grow, some shrink, some explode, and some fold altogether. We’ve stuck to our singular purpose and the fruits of our labor are about to be exposed to the world.

Is the team excited? You bet. Are they nervous? Absolutely. Will we throw one hell of a launch party? Damn straight!

Pretty soon you’ll be hearing about Event Seek all over the place - get ready we’re about to take the events world by storm.

Oh and just for fun I took the test that compares you to a superhero, I’m Ironman. Who are you?

Today an article just came out in Tech Journal South that profiles Event Seek. It’s a short little piece on who we are and what we do, but its fairly flattering and highlights the majority of key points for our business. For those of you who haven’t gotten an update on the business in a while, its a good update on our current investment and sales messages.

Anyway, I just thought that it was a neat piece on Event Seek and you all would enjoy checking it out. Feel free to share your thoughts!

Tech Journal Article on Event Seek