Jeff Maurone

Startup demo lab coming up next week

The last event in our spring season at Venture Lab is coming up next week. We've selected a handful of interesting startups operating in and around Seattle to present a series of production demos. Below is the official marketing text and you can register here.

Thursday, June 5th, 2008
6:00 to 8:00pm
Doors open @ 5:30

"Startup Demo - Spring 2008"
One Union Square Boardroom
600 University St., First Level
(Lower lobby, 6th Avenue level, behind the escalator)
Seattle, WA 98101

For years, the Venture Lab team has brought in outside speakers and industry leaders to share insight and wisdom with our attendees.  During that time, we’ve been able to meet our attendees and marvel at the cool ideas and companies they are building.  For our Startup Demo - Spring 2008, we’re turning the stage over to them, the entrepreneurs.

Our Startup Demo - Spring 2008 will feature six early stage startups from the Seattle area demonstrating their new products and services to the audience.  The products vary from enterprise software to renewable power generation.  

If you’re interested in getting an early look at what could be the next big thing or you’re an entrepreneur that would like to see what your peers are up to, please join us at the Startup Demo - Spring 2008 event. 

In addition to their demo, presenters will discuss:

• How they built the product
• How the team funded the product development & how long it took
• What outside resources were leveraged
• Why the company was created in the first place

Judges:

John Cook – Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Brier Dudley – The Seattle Times
Paul Bialek – General Partner – Frazier Technology Ventures
Enrique Godreau III – Managing Director – Voyager Capital
Nathan McDonald – Director – Keiretsu Forum
Rebecca Lovell – Program Director – Alliance of Angels

Presenters:

DiagnosisPlus: Has developed personalized, visually based web software for patients and healthcare providers for the screening, prevention, and management of chronic diseases.

Hydrovolts: Has developed small in-stream hydrokinetic turbines that make renewable power from fast-flowing currents in irrigation canals, constructed waterways, rivers and tidal channels. 

InterviewStudio.com: Has developed a bleeding edge software platform offering the newest and quickest way to screen job applicants.  

ForWord Input: Has developed a patented software text input system for stylus- or finger-based touch-screen devices that allows the user to input text at speeds exceeding 40 to 50 words per minute. (SwypeTM)

Ameritocracy: Has developed a social networking site for verifying “factualness” of statements made by media, business, and government. 

Snowflake ITM: Has developed a hosted enterprise platform that dramatically simplifies and improves the way today’s dynamic organizations manage people and tasks.

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Above picture I took in Pioneer Square. It's cliché, I know it. Enjoy! [Link]

There's gold in them thar...

Next up is a set of shots I took in Rhyolite, Nevada. Rhyolite, according to Wikipedia, "is a ghost town in Nye County, Nevada, United States. It is located in the Bullfrog Hills, about 3.8 miles west of the town of Beatty, near the eastern edge of Death Valley."

"Gold was discovered in the area by Shorty Harris and E.L. Cross on August 4, 1904. Their 'Bullfrog strike' gave rise to a number of gold rush towns that drew prospectors and speculators from surrounding towns such as Goldfield and Tonopah. Rhyolite, named for the deposits of the rock which contained much of the gold, would become the largest of these settlements."

"By 1907, the town had electricity with an estimated population of 3,500 to 10,000."

"Production began to slow down by 1908 and the mine and mill were closed in 1911. By 1910 only an estimated 675 people remained in Rhyolite."

"The lights and power were turned off in 1916. By 1919, the post office had closed and the town was abandoned."

You can find the full set here, on Flickr. Enjoy!

Wandering Manzanar

I'm back from a week wandering Death Valley and the eastern Sierra Nevadas. I've got loads of photos to share but for now we'll stick with a baker's dozen.

Click here to view a thirteen shot slide show from Manzanar, one of a number of Japanese Interment (or War Relocation) camps used during the second World War. I developed all of these using an "aged photo" technique. Hope you enjoy.