Tuesday night San Francisco’s would-be Technorati showed up in droves at an event hosted by SF Beta, a networking group for founders, investors and fans of new technology companies. The event was held at trendy bar-gallery 111 Minna and was billed as a product demo and networking event for founders of tech- and web-based companies and the folks who love them (aka lawyers, geeks, recruiters, groupies, investors and everybody else). All of the above, and lots of curious cats from established tech companies, showed up 400 strong.
Natural language search company, Powerset, was the centerpiece of the product demo offering. Powerset demonstrated their search algorithm to much applause. Other upstarts, including Kosmix (aggregator), ServePath (hosting), Lucky Oliver (stock photos) and QuantCast (web analytics), pitched their products from cafe tables scattered about the two-room venue.
Eager beavers like myself gathered around the laptop-laden tables, leaned in close and strained to hear the founders’ pitches. Most offered convincing, if not compelling, value propositions; most had no paying customers and/or were not yet profitable. While I’m not sure if any of the entrepreneurs found new investors, I’m certain that they earned valuable PR and goodwill that will be emailed and blogged about the webosphere for days to come.
While I enjoyed the product demos, I most enjoyed the vibe and the people there. This was one of the easiest networking events I’ve ever attended. People were eager to engage one another, learn more about their fledgling ventures and, of course, pass out their business cards.
These events are great opportunities to meet like-minded counterparts, but they’re also great ways to check out your competition, meet collaborators and build up your courage.
Check out other upcoming networking events:
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