How to Find a Lost Phone | PhoneHalo

DEMO unplugged – the Entrepreneur’s experience

My experience at DEMO did not begin with nearly the emotion with which it ended.  When one of our key advisors Matt Stotts recommended DEMO as our launching pad, I did some basic research.  I checked out www.demo.com, read some articles, and chatted with my partners Christan and Chris.  So many people spoke of the conference with such respect and honor.   We all agreed it was a prestigious place to launch.

Upon further analysis, I found  some really smart ideas launched at DEMO.

One of my favorite DEMOs and one that actually won DEMOgod (more on this later) was a company called Skout, Inc.  The concept is simple.  Use mobile technology to help you in your dating endeavors.  Figure out who’s around you at any given time and connect with them based on shared interests, profiles, etc.  I really dug that concept.  After all, if you’re out and about for an evening and you’re out to meet someone, technology that helps you narrow in on people that you would have a greater likelihood of connecting with sounds efficient and smart.

Here is the Skout DEMO:

In addition to Skout being an innovative, fun idea, Christian and Reg did a terrific job of:

1. Immediately capturing the audiences attention;
2. Explaining the product;
3. Demonstrating value;
4. Finishing strong;

That’s a big part of what it takes to win DEMOgod.  DEMOgod is awarded to a handful of companies at each DEMO event.  These companies have the most innovative concepts, coupled with brilliant DEMOs, and a management team that fuels the DEMO ecosystem during the intensive 2 day experience.  I was excited at the prospect of joining this alumni of startups and entrepreneurs.

Now back to our situation.  Phone Halo had softly presented the concept at CES earlier that year.  The product was not available to the street and we wanted a powerful launching pad to make the announcement for public sale.  We also wanted the most bang for our buck.  As a startup, you have hundreds of options on how to launch your product/service.  You can do it in-house, using social media, internet, and grass roots mechanisms.  You can outsource the launch to a public relations agency.  Or you can attend a conference like DEMO.  Upon further investigation, we learned that DEMO was THE PLACE to launch.  Matt Marshall, executive director of DEMO, has been doing this for 20 years now.  This crew knows a thing or two about positioning technology products for best consumption by the national media, partners, and investors.

You take a closer look and you read stats like approximately 25% of companies that launched at DEMO were acquired within a few years. As a serial technology entrepreneur, I can tell you that such success rates are nothing short of incredible.  Without getting into the science of DEMO, there are very key reasons that DEMO is such a successful launch.

1. The companies that DEMO are very carefully selected.
2. The media relations of DEMO are the creme de la creme.  You get ALL the major technology writers in one place.
3. Investors respect DEMO.  Even in challenging economic times, the main angel and VC firms follow the DEMO launches knowing this is where the top startups launch.

Then you look at prior brands that have launched at DEMO, here’s an abbreviated list:

Needless to say, it’s a prestigious place to launch.  So, we’re now 4 weeks away from DEMO Spring 2010 and commit to attending and launching.  The real work begins.  We focused on the DEMO.  6 minutes to showcase your product and business offering to thousands of media, investors, potential partners.  Part of me really believes knowing less about what we really were about to get into gave us an advantage.  Like everything Phone Halo does, we went into the DEMO experience with a positive attitude, confident we would have one of the most innovative products, and believing in each other as business partners.

When we first arrived at DEMO, what really impressed me was the quality of the companies and people.  Everyone I met was on their game – they knew the pros and cons of their industry, they were seasoned entrepreneurs, and very passionate about their product/service.  We felt right at home. 

The DEMO crew met all expectations of professionalism and support.  The DEMO crew takes every startup under their wing and brings the best out of them.  I cannot thank those folks enough.  You know who you are – the guys handling the A/V during our practice, the DEMOcoach, the DEMO photographer, the executive team.  While part of the experience is a competition in terms of who wins DEMOgod, it feels like a fraternity of ambitious entrepreneurs and very well connected media interested in the success of each company.

The 6 minute DEMO is your single shot to showcase your product to a relatively captive audience of investors, media, and partners.  6 minutes.  If you go over by even a couple of seconds, you are MUCH less likely to be considered for DEMOgod.  If anything goes wrong during your DEMO, you have to find a way to push through or you will lose points and credibility.  And, those 6 minutes are precious.  360 seconds to capture the audience, explain what you have to offer, and make the business compelling enough to draw media interest, investor follow-up.

We practiced our 6 minute presentation many, many times.  We refined the script, we carefully considered each physical motion, we video’d ourselves and brought in advisors and friends to give us critiques.  Looking back, I believe one of the most valuable parts of our preparation was how ‘ego-less’ Chris, Christian, and I were.  Even though we had practiced dozens of times and felt we had chosen every word so very carefully, we always stayed open to critique and feedback.  We wanted our DEMO to be perfect.  Once we accomplished that goal, we wanted to execute perfectly.

We went into DEMO with the attitude that DEMOgod was ours to win or lose.  That’s how we felt about our product, our company, and our ability to communicate the value proposition.

Our DEMO was scheduled for day 2.  We sat through day 1 of DEMOs.  As we expected, there were many impressive companies and several notable DEMOs.  The more we saw of the culture of DEMO, the more humbled we felt to be there.  Each company had designs on owning a marketplace.  Each company had leadership that I would follow.   What remarkable entrepreneurial energy bottled in one place for 2 days.

The night before our DEMO was the Karaoke party.  Since our product has a very key song attached to it, “Always something there to remind me” by Naked Eyes, and we’re a trio of fun loving guys, we did a little ditty.  The video is for private eyes only, but here’s a glimpse of the debauchery.

Photo Credits:  DEMO and Margaret Silverman

Even before our DEMO, we already felt like winners being surrounded by talented people, compelling business concepts, and part of an established culture of entrepreneurship.  I felt like a big loser when I realized my mic was the only live one during the above attempt at singing – alas, that’s another blog post.

So Tuesday morning comes and we are ready.  We’re in the DEMO green room a few minutes before our DEMO, watching the DEMOs just ahead of ours.  Trying to relax and getting ready to put on our show.  Staying calm, collected, and fusing that energy of anxiety and tension with focused determination.  Much to our chagrin, the two prior DEMOs had some technical glitches.  What if this happens to us?  We’re about go on stage.  All sorts of ‘what ifs’ and back-up plans start flooding my mind.  After all, these two brilliant first-time entrepreneurs are looking to me to tie this all together, to make sure we do what we set out to do.  In that moment, I meditated back to the script, back to the images of our preparation in front of the mirror, to the smiles we always garnered in practice sessions, to the 2-3 person sessions of applause we received along the way.

Matt Marshall went on stage and made the announcement for Phone Halo.

Behold the Phone Halo 2010 DEMO:

Later that evening at the DEMOgod awards, Matt Marshall made one more announcement that we wanted to share with you:

DEMOgod Awards – Spring 2010- Phone Halo from SB Click on Vimeo.

The team enjoying Chris’ ‘funding call-out’.

In the end, DEMO was a lot more than the DEMO, it was about the the people.  I left DEMO inspired by the people and ideas; and the spirit of support cultivated by the DEMO team.

If you’re fortunate enough to experience DEMO as a spectator, participant, or demonstrator, you’ll be glad you did.