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LaunchUp #2 - Wednesday May 27th, 6:30 p.m. - @ Utah Association of Counties in Murray

Posted by Chris Knudsen on May 26th, 2009

Please plan on attending Launchup tomorrow night. For more details on the event click here.

See you there!

My blog turns three on April 10th. It lived a short life.

Posted by Chris Knudsen on April 4th, 2009

We’ll next week my blog will turn three. I haven’t blogged much lately. I think I’m losing my will to keep this thing going on a regular basis. I think Russ Page is right - micro-blogging sites like Twitter and Facebook news feeds are killing blogging. I know my blogging activity has taken a major dive ever since I took up Twitter and became more active on Facebook (I’ve been on FB since 2005 when I joined to follow my students at Westminster College). If I go back and look at my history I only have a couple posts with true original thoughts since I started with Twitter back in November 08. That proof enough that I need to think about putting this baby to bed.

I think we’re see the new dawn of social media - that is mass adoption of social media and micro-blogging outside the tech crowd and early adopters. Blogs will still be around. They will melt into many corporate Web sites as people come to expect to find them there. The high traffic blogs will still exist but will also morph into more than just blogs. Many already have. Millions of smaller blogs, like chrisknudsen.biz, will continue to stick around but will be less and less relevant in the world (if they ever had any relevance in the first place). My blog traffic has dropped off dramatically in the last couple of months and I don’t care. I get a couple thousand unique visitors per month. Most of that coming in from searches for old topics I blogged about long ago. So who cares? You can only talk to a wall for so long before you start to lose interest.

At any rate, please drop by occasionally. I’ll post something a couple times a month - maybe - but the days of blogging daily and spending hours of time creating original posts are probably over. A part of me will miss that but a big part of me is excited about moving on to other things.

Please follow me on Facebook here or on Twitter at twitter.com/chrisknudsen as I evolve my social media footprint on the Web.

Out…

2009 v|Spring v|100 - Congrats to this Years Winners!

Posted by Chris Knudsen on March 31st, 2009

Full Name   Company           Work Title    Website

Pete Abilla Schmula & Company Founder       www.shmula.com

Jayson
 Ahlstrom   ClassTop          President/COO www.classtop.com

Rick Alden  SkullCandy        Founder/CEO   www.skullcandy.com

Nate Alder  Klymit            Founder/CEO   www.klymit.com

Paul Allen  FamilyLink.com    CEO           http://corporate.familylink.com

Curt Allen  Agilix            President/CEO www.agilix.com

Dallin
 Anderson   Code Genetics     President/CEO www.codenutrition.com

Amy Rees    Mediconnect
 Anderson    Global           CEO           www.mediconnect.net

Jeremy
 Andrus     SkullCandy        President     www.skullcandy.com

Coleman
 Barney     Infopia           President/CEO www.infopia.com

Don Basille FusionIO                        www.fusionio.com

Jay Bean    OrangeSoda        CEO           www.orangesoda.com

Grant       Logitech          VP Digital
 Beckmann                      Video Bus.   www.logitech.com

Justin
 Bergener   Schooltipline     CEO           www.schooltipline.com

Brian
 Beutler    Alianza           CEO           www.alianza.com

Clay
 Blackham   SnappConner PR    Partner       www.snappconner.com

Brock Blake Funding Universe  CEO           www.fundinguniverse.com

William
 Borghetti  Sendside Networks CEO           www.sendside.com

David Boyce Oracle            VP of
                               Strategy
                               of Retail
                               Business
                               Unit         www.oracle.com

David
 Bradford   FusionIO          CEO           www.fusionio.com

Jeff
 Brimhall   Credibli          CEO           www.credibli.com

Paul        MarketSplash by
 Brockbank   HP               CEO           www.marketsplash.com

Craig
 Burton

Gregory     SageCreek         Managing
 Butterfield Partners          Partner      www.sagecreekpartners.com

Ryan
 Caldwell   Entice Labs       CEO           www.enticelabs.com

Scott       BlueStar Home     CoFounder/
 Carman      Health            CEO          www.bluestarhomehealth.com

Don Cash    Omniture          VP Mid
                               Market Sales www.omniture.com

Nathaniel   Mangia            President/
 L.          Technologies      Founder      www.mangia.net
 Checketts

Josh Coates Mozy              Founder       www.mozy.com

Tom         FamilySearch.org  Application   www.familysearch.org
 Creighton                     Architect

Brian       University of
 Cummings    Utah TCO         Director

Ed Donakey  LDS Church/       Mgr of
             Family History    Strategic
             Dept.             Relationships

Adam
 Edmunds    Allegiance        President/CEO www.allegiance.com

John
 Edwards    Move Networks     President/CEO www.movenetworks.com

David
 Elkington  InsideSales.com   CEO           www.insidesales.com

James
 Endicott   Exact Wave        President/CEO www.exactwave.com

Bjorn
 Espenes    Infopia           Chairman      www.infopia.com

Ildar       Sterling CFOs     Managing
 Fazulyanov                    Partner      www.sterlingcfos.com

Martin Frey Powercode Systems CEO           www.powercode.com

Stephen
 Fulling    Kynetx            Founder/CEO   www.kynetx.com

Jeremy      9Aisle            CoFounder/
 Hanks                         CEO          www.9aisle.com

Nathan      C7 Data Centers   President/
 Hatch                         CEO          www.c7dc.com

Greg Heaps  Allegiance        COO           www.allegiance.com

Eliot       Lumiport          CoFounder/
 Jacobsen                      COO          www.lumiport.com

Josh James  Omniture          CoFounder/    www.omniture.com
                               CEO

Steve Jones Alianza           VP Bus. Dev.  www.alianza.com

Dr. Greg    University of     Associate
 Jones       Utah Scientific   Director
             Computing &
             Imaging
             Institute

Stan
 Kanarowski Park City Angels

Jeremy
 Kartchner  SnappConner PR    Partner       www.snappconner.com

Jeff Kearl  SkullCandy        Chairman
                               of the Board www.skullcandy.com

Maile Keone Alianza           VP Marketing  www.alianza.com
                               & Client
                               Services

Kristen     NuSkin            Sr. Dir. Of
 Knight      Enterprises       Global Product
                               Marketing    www.nuskin.com

Chris       Doba SMB/9Aisle   VP Sales
 Knudsen                       & Marketing  www.smb.doba.com

Ken Krogue  Insidesales.com   President/
                               CoFounder    www.insidesales.com

Bruce Law   Sprout Marketing  President     www.sproutmarketing.com

Darren Lee  NextPage          CEO           www.nextpage.com

Scott C.
 Lemon      HumanXtensions    CTO           www.humanxtensions.com

Dan Levine  SkullCandy        VP            www.skullcandy.com

Shawn       Omniture          Chief Legal
 Lindquist                     Officer      www.omniture.com

Lane
 Livingston Fibernet          CFO           www.fiber.net

Kyle Love   Direct Controls   CEO           www.directcontrols.com

Drew Major  Cisco             Fellow        www.cisco.com

Ty D.                         Managing
 Mattingly  Primay Colors      Partner

Ned         Utah Business     CEO           www.utahbusinessaccelerator.com
 Maxfield    Accelerator

Dave McGinn Agilix            COO/CFO       www.agilix.com

Glen Mella  Control4          President/    www.control4.com
                               COO

John F.     Omniture          Exec. VP of   www.omniture.com
 Mellor                        Bus Dev. &
                               Corporate
                               Strategy

Derek Miner OrangeSoda.com    CoFounder     www.orangesoda.com

Clarke
 Miyasaki   SkullCandy        VP Bus. Dev.  www.skullcandy.com

Ryan Money  Franchise Foundry VP Bus Dev.   www.franchisefoundry.com

Mark Newman HireVue           CEO           www.hirevue.com

Russell
 Page       Fifty Studio      COO           www.fiftystudio.com

Dr. Michael
 Paul       LineaGen          President/CEO www.Lineagen.com

Ben
 Peterson   HumanServicesHQ   Co-Founder    www.humanserviceshq.com

Greg        Aptus Advisors    Managing      www.aptusadvisors.com
 Peterson                      Partner

David       Politis           President     www.politis.com
 Politis     Communications

Michael
 Proper     CentralPointe     President/CEO

Brad
 Rencher    Omniture                        www.omniture.com

Professor   Allegiance/BYU    CoFounder of  www.allegiance.com
 Gary                          Allegiance &
 K. Rhoads                     Associate
                               Director of
                               Rollins Center
                               of Entrepreneurship
                               & Technology

Kevin
 Santiago   Cymphonix         CEO           www.cymphonix.com

Todd
 Shepherd   Studeo            CEO           www.studeo.com

Allan Smart Voonami           COO           www.voonami.com

Eric Smith  Control4          CTO           www.control4.com

Cheryl      SnappConner PR    Managing      www.snappconner.com
 Snapp                         Partner
 Conner

James Lee   Sorenson
 Sorenson    Companies        Chairman      www.sorensoncompanies.com

Steve
 Spencer    Twelve Horses     President/CTO www.twelvehorses.com

Tim Stay    Perfect Search    President/CEO www.perfectsearchcorp.com
             Corporation

Joshua
 Steimle    MWI               CEO           www.mwi.com
Thomas
 Stockham

Joe Strom   Alpine Capital    Owner
             Investments

Jack W.
 Sunderlage ContentWatch      President/CEO www.contentwatch.com

Benoy
 Tamang     Sapha             Founder       www.sapha.com

Cydni Tetro NextPage          CMO           www.nextpage.com

William     Glycosan          Founder/      www.glycosan.com
 Tew, PhD    BioSystems        President/CEO

Kent Thomas CFO Solutions     Founder/      www.utahcfo.com
                               Managing
                               Member

Brent       Jive
 Thomson     Communications   CEO           www.getjive.com

Nicole      Governors Office  Director      www.goed.utah.gov
 Toomey      of Economic Dev.
 Davis

Brad        EarlyRun
 Walters     Ventures         CEO           www.earlyrun.com

Russ Warner ShipNomics        VP Sales      www.shipnomics.com
                               & Marketing

Will West   Control4          CEO           www.control4.com

Greg
 Whisenant  CrimeReports.com  Founder/CEO   www.crimereports.com

Tyler
 Whitaker   TM Ventures       CTO & Founder www.tylerwhitaker.com

Hal         Mangia
 Widlansky   Technologies     CEO           www.mangia.net

Dr. Phillip
 Windley    Kynetx            CTO           www.kynetx.com

Gary S.
 Winterton  OrangeSoda.com    President     www.orangesoda.com

Ralph       ThinkAtomic       Founder/      www.thinkatomic.com
 Yarro III                     President/CEO

Launchup Details

Posted by Chris Knudsen on March 18th, 2009

Here are the details for next weeks Launchup event:

Specifics:

Date: Wednesday March 25th

Time: 6:00 p.m.

Location: Doba - 1530 N Technology Way, Orem, UT 84097 - Canyon Park Technology Center Building D (or online) - third floor conf. area.

RSVP: If attending in person, PLEASE RSVP. If on Twitter, tweet: I’m going to #LaunchUp, are you? If not on Twitter, email jeremy @ jeremyhanks . com.

You can attend the event online at http://doba.acrobat.com/launchup1/

Agenda:

Amp Session: 15 minutes: Ben Peterson  Ben is one of the smartest and successful entrepreneurs I know. He also knows a thing or two about online marketing. He started MingleMatch in 2000 which he sold to Spark Networks in 2005. He’s been active with the Utah Angels since then, and is currently working on his new startup, Human Services HQ.

Barn 1: 15 minutes: Tweetbooty  http://tweetbooty.com/ Tweetbooty is a new way to access amazing discounts and giveaways from qualified local retailers. Our users want to know the answer to one simple question: What are you offering us right now?

Barn 2: 15 minutes: Entice Labs  http://www.enticelabs.com/ TalentSeekr™, a patent pending technology from EnticeLabs, connects employers with these “passive candidates” by placing relevant and enticing career opportunities directly in front of them. Both employers and job candidates are given opportunities neither would have had otherwise.

Open Ideas 10 Minutes: we’re going to try an Open Idea period where the floor is anyone’s for 15 seconds

Break for Food: around 7:30, pizza/drinks

Networking: till whenever

I’ll be moderating one of the Barn sessions so I hope to see you there!

Observations from the Utah Valley Big Business Expo

Posted by Chris Knudsen on March 11th, 2009

I dropped in on the Utah Valley Big Business Expo over lunch on Wednesday. More than anything else I was curious to see if the state of the economy would dampen the mood at the annual gathering. Here are some observations:

The show was busy and most of the booth space was filled. That’s a good sign.

I talked to several accounting firms at the show. They say business is stead but for the most part they weren’t hiring or taking on new clients.

Rand Bateman of Bateman IP Law had a great booth. We played some blackjack and caught up on events. He said he was tired of people being so down on the economy and decided to do his part by exhibiting at the show. Good stuff!

I ran into my old partner in crime - Benoy Tamang of Sapha. Sapha seems to be keeping up and doing well.

The guys from Griffen Hill were exhibiting. If you need a good consultative sales training program they are the guys to talk to.

I ran into Lance Black from Eli Kirk. Their business seems to be doing very well. We mainly talked about what a studly programmer Connor Boyack is and how the only time he and I ever see each other is at the Big Business Expo. It was good to catch up.

I also ran into a guy who was my neighbor when I lived in Springville five years ago. He was an electrician back then but graduated from school and started working in marketing for a very well known Utah company. That company has since laid off all their marketing staff except for my friend. He said he tries to do some side electrical work but the market is completely dead.

In Utah, our unemployment rate is up but we seem to be doing better than most places. If you look at the unemployment numbers only Wyoming and the Dakotas are doing better than us. So in my assessment, that means the Wasatch Front probably has the best employment situation for a large metro area in the United States. Maybe that’s one of the reasons we were recently observed as being some of the happiest people in America.

Go team!

Update on Launchup

Posted by Chris Knudsen on February 27th, 2009

As many of you are aware the first Launchup will be held at Doba in about a month. What’s a Launchup? Basically the idea is the 2009 version of a good old fashioned barn raising applied to technology entrepreneurship. Here are some details on the event:

Date: Wednesday March 25th

Location: Still planning on Doba, although we’re checking on one other option here at the auditorium at Canyon Park in Orem. Stay tuned.

Technology: We will be streaming the event in case you can’t make it in person. More details to come.

Time: 6:00 p.m.

Session Presenter:
Ben Peterson (Sold MingleMatch to Spark about four years ago - awesome under the radar Utah entrepreneur).

Barns: I’m not sure if I can announce what start ups will be presenting at this time. We have two great companies in the bullpen. More details to come.

Open Mic/Ideas

Break for Food: pizza/drinks after event

Networking

So mark your calander for March 25th and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Find joy in the journey

Posted by Chris Knudsen on February 26th, 2009

This is something I am trying to keep in mind. Everyday is just one more step in a journey that started long ago.

This life has a purpose. What’s yours?

“This is our one and only chance at mortal life—here and now. The longer we live, the greater is our realization that it is brief. Opportunities come, and then they are gone. I believe that among the greatest lessons we are to learn in this short sojourn upon the earth are lessons that help us distinguish between what is important and what is not. I plead with you not to let those most important things pass you by as you plan for that illusive and non-existent future when you will have time to do all that you want to do. Instead, find joy in the journey—now.”

- Thomas S. Monson

Four newcomers you should consider for the 2009 v|Spring v|100

Posted by Chris Knudsen on February 10th, 2009

After going through the v|100 nominations this afternoon I have to admit that I’m a little annoyed. Some people didn’t learn how to follow instructions in school. At any rate, I would really like to see a high quality group of people who truly deserve to make the list for 2009. Here are four v|100 newcomers you should consider voting for in 2009.

Steve Spencer - Twelve Horses

As President and CTO, Steve Spencer determines the technological direction of the company, while holding all business units within Twelve Horses to their financial and strategic goals.  Spencer has more than 18 years of leadership experience in the messaging and data replication industries where he has successfully built various industrial strength messaging solutions sold by such companies as Premier Global Services, MCI WorldCom, Sprint, Pitney Bowes, and Qwest; and data integration products for dotOne Corporation, MCI WorldCom, and Critical Path.  He was recently featured in the Utah Business magazine’s cover story,“Forty Under 40: Utah’sRising Stars” - the sixth annual 40 Under 40 list assembles the key leaders andentrepreneurs from the state of Utah. Spencer shares his experience, dedication, and passion for technology with the Email Service Provider Coalition (ESPC), Young Entrepreneurs Organization (YEO), Utah Technology Council (UTC), as well as his new pursuit, the Utah Tech Spotlight.

Blaine Neilson - Doba

As Chief Executive Officer, Blaine Nielsen leads the company in executing against its strategic vision and coordinates and oversees day-to-day operations of the business. Blaine has been instrumental in building the company’s operations to facilitate the rapid growth the company has realized. Blaine has a wide range of financial management, strategic and operational experience. Blaine came to Doba from Dell where he was responsible for conducting financial/operational audits of various business segments and departments, and providing operational and business controls recommendations. Prior to Dell, Blaine served as a senior auditor with Ernst & Young where he supervised and performed financial audits of SEC and privately held companies. Blaine holds a Masters of Accountancy in Professional Accounting degree and a Bachelors of Science degree in Accounting from Brigham Young University.

Justin McHood - Fast Dynamite

I’ve been working with Justin on various projects over the last two years. He is currently building some cool technology that could revolutionize content distribution on the Web. His previous background is in mortgage banking and lead generation. Justin has also worked for companies like Oracle and Novell. Give him a vote.

Russ Page - FiftyStudio and RegMeUp

From Russ Page’s Bio: Russell Page is a founder and the COO of Fifty Studio, a web development and internet marketing firm based in Salt Lake City. He is also a member of the Utah Jazz game night staff and a partner in a home theater and home automation company.

Russ also has a new start up - RegMeUp - keep an eye out for that one!

Let’s make the 2009 v|100 list the best list yet!

Cydni Tetro: Venture-Backed Startups Are On The Brink Of Extinction

Posted by Chris Knudsen on February 4th, 2009

Here’s a must read from my good friend and former cohort, Cydni Tetro on the future of venture-backed start-ups:

So I am very concerned about the future of venture backed startups and I think we need a community voice around it. Here is the issue (and it is a tad long)

Summary: If you give me $10B I can create 35k jobs. Those people don’t need unemployment or COBRA or Medicaid extensions they need meaningful jobs.

I have not been able to come to grips with the lack of focus on actual job building in the current $850 B proposal and the fact that any of our public servants would actually support it. We all agree that the problem we face is job creation. Therefore, it makes complete and simple sense that what we have to do is focus on job creation. We are a capitalist market and the majority of jobs in our economy are created by people with great ideas, who build companies and provide jobs. They are not created by government programs that include research, proposals, tax cuts and Medicaid.

I work in the venture-backed technology community and the bubble is about to burst with such huge ramifications that we don’t quite appreciate the impact. Both the WSJ and Forbes recently posted articles about the rate of return on VC funds over the last ten years and the numbers are sobering. Our industry was hit by two major downturns, bigger than any before and it shows. But the bigger story is what is happening in the funding communities. Here is how it works: VC’s have funds, they have a 10 year life, most were raised in 1999 and 2000 so they are coming to an end which means new funds have been raised but not all of the capital has flowed to them and then here comes the recession and it looks like this:
• Most existing VC’s, that I am aware of (local and Sand Hill) cannot realistically fund new deals
• For the first time in the history of VC’s LP’s are defaulting on capital calls
• Word on the street is that the biggest endowment in the country is defaulting on capital calls
• LP’s are telling funds to ramp funds down to 30% of where they were
• For the first time General Partners are being laid off from VC’s
• VC’s are having to crush down their portfolio and close startups
• Startups who could be to break even or even profitable in 12 months can’t get funding, so they close the door, creating more job loss vs job creation which could happen if they could get just $3M more dollars to get to break even

My prediction in the next 12-24 months
• We are left with half of the VC funds we have today
• There is little money to fund new deals (In 2007 $30 B went to start ups)
• There are limited exits (M&A or IPO)
• A very small percentage of startups will get any funding
• Trying to raising capital will be incredibly hard with thousands competing for the same dollars
• No new jobs are created because there is no money to fund the startups

Our best path on job creation is empowering people who build companies, innovate and create jobs. There is no money to do this. Even if you were to assume that you only breakeven on startup companies what they did in the meantime is they provided jobs, which gave money to people to spend in the economy, they will inspire others to innovate and launch startups, they will export goods and services, they will contribute to society. Business leaders, innovators, company builders they are who we need to recover and they need capital.

You can assume that for every $1.5B spent on building new companies – startups – you create 5000 jobs. So do the math, give me $10B and I can create 35k jobs. Does this not make sense? It is not over leveraged, it doesn’t mean every person with an idea gets funded. It means it is how you create jobs and growth and innovation and opportunity and money for consumers to spend.

Instead of losing 65k jobs this week give me a $1.5Billion and I will find some great companies to build. But do not even think that $150M at the Smithsonian is doing one thing for the economy – give me that and I will create 1500 jobs, sounds like a better deal to me. Don’t spend the money to increase unemployment benefits – hello – put the money into hands of the people who create economy.

Great analysis. Nice work, Cyd. Now maybe you ought to get that blog up and running :)

Stop and enjoy the view

Posted by Chris Knudsen on January 29th, 2009

I’ve had one of those weeks at work. In the middle of some hard issues on Wednesday evening I walked into my office and was hit by a beautiful sunset. Here’s the picture:

Lesson learned: Life is just life. Deal with it. Stop and enjoy the view and things will work out.

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