WeMedia, BarCamp and FoWA: Big Month in Miami

Miami's social media scene continues to grow. Next week is one of the bigger weeks in awhile, with three great conferences.

Feb 26-28: WeMedia
Location: The conference is conducted at the University of Miami, located in Coral Gables, south of Miami International Airport and southwest of downtown Miami. US 1, or Dixie Highway, bisects Coral Gables and is a good pathway to the University.
Schedule

Feb 28: BarCamp Miami
Location: Carnival Center, 1300 Biscayne Blvd, Miami, FL 33132
Schedule

Feb 29-Mar 1: Future of Web Apps
Location: Carnival Centre, 1300 Biscayne Boulevard Miami, Florida 33132 USA
Schedule
Confirmed speakers include: Kevin Rose, Kathy Sierra, Cal Henderson, Erick Schonfeld, Kevin Marks, Matt Mullenweg, Blaine Cook, Leah Culver, Emily Boyd, Kevin Hale, Dan Rubin, Gary Vaynerchuk, Joseph Smarr, and the ScrapBlog crew


Related images: miami, wemedia, barcamp, fowa, kevin rose, kathy sierra, cal henderson, erick schonfeld, kevin marks, matt mullenweg, blaine cook, leah culver, emily boyd, kevin hale, dan rubin, gary vaynerchuk, joseph smarr, scrapblog

Will I See You at NextMiami?

I know it's late notice, but I am now confirmed for the NextMiami shindig tomorrow night. Jason Baptiste, Nathaniel McNamara and a bunch of other smart folks are getting together Wednesday, July 25, 7:30-11:30pm at 510 Ocean Drive, Miami, FL. You can check the Facebook event page or the NextMiami Ning for more details.

Miami's startup network is buzzing and gets me excited every time I visit. I look forward to seeing some new faces and old friends...

American Venture Network

Tim and his team over at American Venture have been building a good brand and business, one brick at a time. The network has grown beyond American Venture Magazine -- a nice mag I've enjoyed reading for a few years -- to include VentureCapitalConference.com, BusinessPlanPosting.com, and American Venture Capital Exchange.

Although BPP and AVCE serve a theme I've seen on multiple sites, AV's unique venture conference ticket deals are kind of interesting. AV's participating conferences will grow with usage, so I've been checking for each conference I consider attending -- you might want to bookmark and do the same....

GUT: Gainesville Underground Technology

Steve/Colin: you guys can relax now. GUT was a success, big success, like "I can't wait for GUT 2" success.

For those of you who weren't there Wednesday night, the guys behind Orangeply pulled together a great unconference in Gainesville -- for the underground tech set. The speakers were informative and entertaining. The panels were open conversations and packed with juicy digital music and news distribution nuggets.

If you couldn't attend, the comic below hits the highlights. If that's not enough for you, I guess you'll just have to join us next time.

I've also attached one of GUT's assigned viewings below -- Steve Jobs' Stanford graduation speech (nice tip Todd):

Gators Put on A Show(case)

Yesterday was Pro Day in the Swamp as draft prospects from the National Champion Gators put on a show for over 100 NFL coaches and scouts. It sounds like Reggie Nelson (running a 4.3 40), Chris Leak (completing 64 of 65 passes) and others left a pretty strong impression on those in attendance. That show, however, is not what this post is about.

Last Friday I attended the University of Florida Technology Showcase 2007, A Celebration of Innovation. The birthplace of Gatorade, Sentricon, Trusopt and Regeneration Technologies has become a nursery of world-changing technologies busting at the seams, with entrepreneurs and investors completing the spinout equation. The Showcase brought together over 200 entrepreneurs, investors, researchers and corporate partners to network, matchmake and gather feedback on this year's top prospects.

UF's Vice President of Research Win Phillips and UF's Office of Technology Licensing dynamic duo of David Day and Jane Muir deserve every kudo they received on Friday, having created a refreshingly open and proactive approach to licensing and company-building. My experience with other university licensing offices pales in comparison. If you're an early-stage entrepreneur or investor and you haven't met David or Jane, you should. They're an investor in our fund and I'll gladly make the introduction if you ping me with an email.

After various welcomes and introductions, the show started with a diverse set of 3-minute technology briefs -- some of UF's youngest technologies, looking for a partner or entrepreneur. Following that, the core agenda involved two concurrent tracks of presenting companies: Technology and Biomedical.

Because I couldn't be in two places at once, I focused my time on the Technology track that included:

1. Prioria (Bryan daFrota): Unmanned aerial vehicles and visual navigation
   
2. Pervasa (Sumi Helal): Sensor network adapters and middleware
   
3. ChaoLogix (Eric Buffkin): Chaos-based run-time reconfigurable chips
   
4. DsPherical (Don Beech): Signal recognition/extraction
   
5. GrooveShark (Sam Tarantino): Legal P2P music sharing
   
6. ViewRay (Will Wells): Full-motion radiation therapy
   
7. Underground Fiber (Huikai Xie): Underground power fault detection
   
8. Walleye (Chris Adams): Portable X-ray camera/viewer (yes, like Star Trek)
   

In parallel, the Biomedical track included:

1. AxoGen (Karen Zaderej): nerve regeneration
2. Sabine Neurotechnology (Ryan Kern): DBS surgical guidance system
3. Ruperion (Chris Stevens): Pancreatic cancer treatment
4. NeuroPoetix (Caroline Popper): Regenerative medicine therapeutics
5. Breast Cancer Targeting (William Cance): FAK-based therapeutics
6. Innovative Diagnostics (Weihong Tan): Chemical biomarker discovery
7. Ixion (Robert Harris): Cellular therapy for disabetes
8. Neurological (Anatoly Martynyuk): CNS treatments

I'd seen some of these before, while others were new. On the whole, they did a great job of sharing their excitement and explaining the business opportunities well beyond the science. After canvassing some of my fellow attendees, I'd have to give "Best of Show" golden KangaRuas to Will Wells of Viewray for a very strong presence and presentation, and to Ryan Kern of Sabine for sharing what's possible when Deep Brain Stimulation moves from disjoint guidance tools to a dedicated, integrated probe guidance system. New readers should see my post last year covering DBS-patient Tyler Staab's fight against Dystonia and his Tyler's Hope for a Dystonia Cure Foundation.

The day ended with an interesting lunchtime talk by Edward Iacobucci, co-founder of Citrix and current President and CEO of DayJet. He seems to savor the entrepreneurial fight at DayJet as much today as he did when founding mega-success Citrix.

Overall, the show was very well run and I feel lucky to live in a town creating this much good stuff. Congratulations to all the entrepreneurs that presented and here's hoping your first round fortunes shine as bright as Reggie Nelson's ;-)

Selections Announced for 2007 Florida Venture Capital Conference

Congrats to all of the entrepreneurs selected to present at this year's Florida Venture Capital Conference. The announcement press release is here (list with descriptions included below). Given how many entrepreneurial hotspots exist in the state, it was interesting to see the list broken down by geographies. Many of these names won't be new to FVB members -- we have a talented crop of startups making an impact at home and afar.

Central Florida

• Avant Healthcare Professionals, LLC (www.avanthealthcare.com), Winter Park: Provider of international nurse and allied health professional recruitment, placement and transitioning services to healthcare systems throughout the U.S.
• ClearSky Mobile Media, Inc. (www.csky.com), Orlando: Provider of relevant, market-specific mobile data offerings including downloadable content, mobile web browsing, MMS services and managed data services across all wireless technologies
• Controlled Semiconductor, Inc. (www.consemi.com), Orlando: Manufacturer of lased-based LCD, PDP and semiconductor process equipment
• Informa Software (www.informasoftware.com), Maitland: provider of specialist information to the global academic and scientific, professional and commercial communities via publishing, events and performance improvement
• Nanotherapeutics (www.nanotherapeutics.com), Alachua: Biopharmaceutical company that employs its proprietary nanotechnology platform to create innovative delivery methods for new and existing pharmaceuticals
• Pasteuria Bioscience, LLC (www.pasteuriabio.com), Alachua: Developers of a fermentation process that allows commercial-scale production of naturally-occurring bacteria to prevent crop damage
• PayPerPost, Inc. (www.payperpost.com), Orlando: The first marketplace for consumer-generated advertising, with a platform that connects advertisers and consumer content creators to deliver marketing messages
• PlusOne Solutions, Inc. (www.plusonesolutions.net), Oviedo: Provider of software and disruptive business process solutions to manage service networks for retailers, manufacturers and service fulfillment companies
• PowerPad, Inc., Orlando: The winner of the Florida Collegiate Business Plan Competition, the principal has developed a technology that will unlock the multi-billion dollar wireless power industry with a patent-pending wireless power transmission system designed to power virtually all consumer electronic devices.
• Quality Assured Services, Inc. (www.ptinr.com), Orlando: Provides fast, accurate, easy to use and cost-effective technology to link consumers with disease conditions that require regular diagnostic monitoring with their physicians, resulting in changing and responsive therapies
• XOS Technologies, (www.xostech.com), Sanford: Product lines that maximize the value of content, commerce and services for sports organizations and fans by integrating video, data and fan management technologies
• WiDeFi (www.widefi.com), Melbourne: Fabless wireless communications semiconductor company that develops technology, integrated circuits and reference design products to improve the coverage and performance of wireless systems

Northern Florida and Panhandle

• Datamaxx Group (www.datamaxx.com), Tallahassee: Designs, delivers and maintains advanced communications and applications technology to the law enforcement, criminal justice, public safety and homeland security markets.

South Florida

• Blue Frog Solutions (www.bluefrogsolutions.com), Pompano Beach: Provider of software technology and business process outsourcing to the insurance industry
• BroadBand National, Inc. (www.broadbandnational.com), Vero Beach: Operator of e-commerce platform for comparative shopping by residential and business consumers of digital services
• DailyMe, Inc. (www.dailyme.com), Hollywood: Allows subscribers to build completely personalized, free, print newspapers, focusing on taking online content to print
• DayJet Corporation (www.dayjet.com), Delray Beach: Developer of on-demand short-haul jet service of less than 600 miles, designed for regional business travelers, offering reserved individual seats as well as entire planes according to customer schedules
• Latin3 (www.latin3.com), Hollywood: Provider of “exponential marketing” services in Latin America and the U.S. Hispanic markets, using unique approaches across an array of channels and formats
• Multiply, Inc. (www.multiply.com), Boca Raton: Distinctive message board that not only allows users to share media and discussions, but also alerts users to everything being shared by people in their network
• SAF-T-PAY (www.saftpay.com), Miami Beach: Global Internet payment system company catering to the untapped market of non-credit card users around the world who want to use their local currency and also do not choose to reveal personal financial data
• STS Telecom (www.ststelecom.com), Cooper City: Next generation facilities-based provider of traditional IP and TDM-based voice and data communications services, primarily through T-1 connections

West Central Florida

• Creative Loafing (www.creativeloafing.com), Tampa: The nation’s second largest publisher of alternative newspapers and websites, reaching 750,000 young, educated readers in the Southeast each week
• DTI-NanoTech (www.dti-nanotech.com), Sarasota: Division of Discovery Technology International that specializes in the design, manufacture and distribution of novel motorized nano-robotic and nanopositioning systems
• RedVector.com (www.redvector.com), Tampa: Online education for professionals in the engineering, architectural, interior design, construction, land surveying, building inspection and landscape architecture industries
• Network Liquidators (www.networkliquidators.com), Tampa: A leading source for buyers and sellers of used networking equipment and accessories that serves more than 8,000 end-user and reseller customers nationwide with top-name manufacturer products that have been rigorously inspected and quality tested by knowledgeable industry-certified technicians
• Ultramatics, Inc. (www.ultramatics.com), Oldsmar: Sells and delivers highly effective solutions from the position of “best practices through real life implementations” that require complex system integration

Break a leg and check back afterwards to see who garnered a "Best of Show" KangaRua!

Florida Collegiate Business Plan Competition

Congratulations to student entrepreneurs Ryan Tseng (left) and Alex Nogueras (right) who won Florida's inaugural statewide Collegiate Business Plan Competition.

I've judged plenty of schoolwide business plan contests, but this statewide effort was the best I've been a part of. The two-day competition at the Gaylord Palms Resort (cool place) in Orlando featured 12 teams from nine Florida colleges and universities. The teams delivered written business plans and gave live presentations to a panel of judges interested in start-up business investments. Nearly 100 business, government and academic leaders attended the competition.

The track I judged included everything from alternate energy businesses, to a jet taxi service, to a new in-line game for amusement parks. The winner was Alex Nogueras, graduate of Florida International University, and his G-Force line of ergonomic garden tools. The other track was taken by University of Florida graduate Ryan Tseng and his PowerPad patent-pending wireless power transmision system.

Wireless power is an area I've been researching independently so I'll be following up with Ryan. I'm also trying to recruit one of the entrepreneurs to join a company I've funded.

I'm hoping this is just the first of many years for the competition. If you're a student entpreneur, consider entering next year. If you're an investor that reviews student-founded businesses, consider volunteering. The competition is well run and great for entrepreneurship across the state.

2007 Florida Venture Capital Conference

Just a get-your-reservations-now reminder for the upcoming Florida Venture Capital Conference at the Boca Raton Resort & Club, February 6-7, 2007. Note that February 4th is Superbowl XLI, being played in South Florida so hotel rooms could be in short supply.

Now is the time to apply if you'd like to present. As a past attendee, sponsor and volunteer ping me with any questions about the conference, presenters, tickets or sponsorship. You can also get the official word at the conference home page.

For a taste of the 2006 conference, check out my recaps here, here and here. FVF Executive Director Robin Kovaleski always runs a great show and 2007 should be no exception!