• fast company

    Fast Company ran an article praising personal finance site Mint in its December issue, and shafted TechCrunch editor Michael Arrington in the process. Nice!
    Meanwhile, the Axe Bodyspray of personal finance — cool, fresh, and even sexy — is an upstart named Mint. Its unique features, wrapped in an exceedingly clean and appealing design, are winning tech-industry plaudits and brisk traffic. Mint went live on September 18, the same day it won $50,000 in the TechCrunch40, a demo derby run by Web impresario Jason Calacanis.
    We know Calacanis didn't mind the plug, but he shared his TC40 responsibilities with Arrington.
    01/21/08
    231
    1

    Comment by categorically: Calacanis invented blogging as well didn't he? I can't remember if it was he or FatScoble. more » | Other threads

  • geeks gone wild

    In your face! BusinessWeek columnist throws drink at TechCrunch editor

    The Lobby, David Hornik's Hawaii funconference, may have no agenda — but a lot is happening all the same. One delicious incident recounted to us: TechCrunch editor Michael Arrington, who'd previously wooed BusinessWeek columnist and Valley fox Sarah Lacy onto his TechCrunch40 judges panel, apparently said something that made her throw a drink in his face. That's the first thing I've heard about The Lobby so far that actually made me wish I was there. Update: We hear the glass was empty. Okay, so make that two wishes: That we were there, and that Lacy wasn't so quick to sling back her booze.
    10/26/07
    9,147
    12

    Comment by DaveMcClure500Hats: @Twig: he probably wasn't sure what it really means. also, that's a cutout from photo of mike & tara both throwing... more » | Other threads

  • blogging for dollars

    Henry Blodget keeps teasing his critics

    I noted yesterday how stock analyst turned blogger Henry Blodget was deftly yanking the chains of tech bloggers everywhere by merely asking, playfully, whether TechCrunch might be worth $100 million. Asking, mind you — he never once, in his original post, suggested he actually thought it was worth that much. In a followup post that's sure to engender more misplaced outrage, Blodget dives deeper into the numbers and suggests that yes, maybe some day in the future — by no means today — TechCrunch could, conceivably be worth $100 million. Conceivably. In the future. Then again, he's functioning under the delusion that the TechCrunch40 conference was a "major hit" instead of a rolling disaster, so who knows? On that line, at least, one hopes he was kidding, yet again. (Photo by Getty Images)
    10/05/07
    201
    2

    Comment by Jeremy: When's Mary Meeker starting her blog? Then the gang will all be here! more » | Other threads

  • clips

    Angel investor Ron Conway bores startups silly

    Hooman Khalili interviews Google backer Ron Conway at the recent TechCrunch40 conference. He describes the event as showcasing "40 great Silicon Valley companies," which shows he wasn't really paying attention, and doesn't say much else of interest. But his relentless monotone raises a question: How does the Valley's most successful angel investor manage to keep entrepreneurs awake long enough to sign a termsheet?
    10/04/07
    543
    1

    Comment by waynelambright: Ron's a good sport. more » | Other threads

  • capitalism

    Why Demo's conference beat TechCrunch40

    Techdirt, the ever-opinionated analysis blog, has weighed in and found Demo's lineup of startups and new products more compelling than last week's TechCrunch40. Why? Mike Masnick doesn't come out and say it, but his implication is clear: Unlike the parade of Web 2.0 one-note-Johnnies drummed up by TechCrunch editor Michael Arrington and entrepreneur Jason Calacanis, most of experienced Demo organizer Chris Shipley's picks were focused on useful improvements to existing technology, not gimmicky new ideas. Arrington and Calacanis launched TechCrunch40 because they felt that it was somehow wrong for conferences to charge startups to present. Nonsense, of course. I think that the fact that Demo charges presenters — reportedly $18,500 apiece — was actually what makes it a stronger event. More »
    Feature Feature
    09/28/07
    1,591
    10

  • followup

    Demo's outcasts revealed

    We hear there were actually two companies who chose to forgo this week's Demo conference and present at Jason Calacanis and Michael Arrington's TechCrunch40 conference instead. The startups in question? Media-sharing service Wixi has confirmed that they will not be presenting at Demo, and we hear that avatar service mEgo is also off the list. (Two flacks for mEgo didn'tt return our call from this morning and sent us straight to voicemail when we followed up a few minutes ago.) Both companies presented onstage during Tuesday afternoon's "Rich media and mashups" section. If Demo followed its usual cancellation policies, these companies would seem to have lost their $18,000 entrance fees. (Representatives for Wixi had no comment on the fee.) We hope these two companies were able to get a worthwhile experience from TechCrunch40. They may not have won the $50,000 grand prize, but they learned something about the value of a contract.
    09/24/07
    485
    1

    Comment by Trackback: The annual Demo conference, which requires participating companies to show only products never before unveiled, reportedly KICKED OUT startups Wixi... more » | Other threads

  • valleyspeak

    "Curation"

    In Silicon Valley, one no longer picks, chooses, selects, or even edits. One "curates." Take, for example, Jason Calacanis's self-congratulatory wrap-up of TechCrunch40, a blog post titled "Conference Curation." What does that mean, exactly? More »
    09/24/07
    575
    3

    Comment by ScalaWag: Keep curating the gossip, Owen more » | Other threads

  • rumormonger

    Who's not coming to Demo? The startup that got kicked out

    We hear that Chris Shipley and the rest of the Demo conference team are coming down hard on companies who violate their exclusive contract. A tipster "has it on on good authority" that one presenting company has been "yanked off the stage" at tomorrow's fall Demo conference in San Diego, because it demo'd its wares at Michael Arrington and Jason Calacanis's competing TechCrunch40 conference last week. No surprise there: The whole point of these startup-demonstration conferences is to show something new, and an already-launched product won't make the cut. But Shipley's crew is being especially tough: We hear that the company isn't gettting its $18,000 entrance fee back either. So who is the culprit? And did they make the main stage, or did they lose out on Demo just for debuting in TechCrunch40's also-ran DemoPit? If you know anything more, fill us in.
    09/24/07
    1,175
    8

    Comment by Jimforbes: nothing is free. Companies selected to show at Demo sign a contract. I'm of the belief that contracts are binding.... more » | Other threads

  • embargo breakers

    Send me Demo's secret startup list

    Embargoes, in the age of instant journalism, are the silliest of PR conventions. In fact, they're counterproductive — especially for publicity-seeking startup conferences like this week's TechCrunch40 and next week's Demo, organized by Chris Shipley (left). And yet not everyone gets this. Blogger Paul Boutin sent TechCrunch40 organizer Jason Calacanis into a rage by committing an act of journalism: Going to the open site of the startup conference last Sunday and copying down, by hand, the names of the 40 startups due to present. What prompted Boutin to do this? Why, the organizers' ham-handed, ridiculous embargo demands. More »
    09/21/07
    533
    0

  • party report

    Wheeling and dealing with Dealmaker Media

    Dealmaker Media, best known for putting together the Under the Radar and Momentum conferences, held one of their periodic "Insider" parties last night at the Varnish gallery in SoMa. Dealmaker CEO Debbie Landa, the Sarah Jessica Parker lookalike pictured above with Yahoo executive Brad Horowitz, brought together a group of entrepreneurs from solid, growing companies, biz-devvers from the big boys, and the VCs who look to profit from both of them. Call it the anti-TechCrunch40. Sure, there was business-card swapping, but unlike every other Valley mixer, you could actually have a conversation with someone. Imagine that. More »
    09/20/07
    676
    1

    Comment by penguin07: So why didn't they phone in a photo? I thought Web 2.0 was about sharing. more » | Other threads

  • great moments in journalism

    The TechCrunch40 aftermath

    Congratulations to entrepreneur Aaron Patzer, pictured above with an oversized novelty check. His financial-services startup Mint was the big winner in this week's TechCrunch40 conference, bringing home the $50,000 prize for being the "best in show." So, what was the overall view of TechCrunch editor Michael Arrington and entrepreneur Jason Calacanis's big event? This take, sent to us late last night from an out-of-town journalist, explains it better than we could. More »
    09/19/07
    2,367
    8

    Comment by MATIC: @STAWKER how about theory c. they knew that none of the companies were really worth writing about and that a... more » | Other threads

  • party report

    Liquidating the TechCrunch40 at Fluid

    My fellow Valleywaggers Owen Thomas and Nick Douglas were banned from the TechCrunch40 conference, and, odds are, I would have been banned from the afterparty at Fluid nightclub, had I asked permission to attend. So, I didn't bother asking, and scrounged up a ticket though back-channel connections, instead. Specifically, through the generosity of my new crush, the mysterious "TechCrunch40" Twitter guy, who left an envelope with an extra ticket and a cryptic note with the bartender at the House of Shields around the corner from Fluid. (Turns out "TechCrunch40" is a group effort — the note was signed by Rick Diculous, El Guapo, Mr. Gray, and Harvey Farquard.) More »
    09/18/07
    1,697
    1

    Comment by mblevin: Alternative caption: What's fat, sweaty, and green all over? more » | Other threads

  • techcrunch40

    The TechCrunch40 attendee who's been brutally parodying the conference on Twitter as "Techcrunch40" says that the service — whose founder, Evan Williams, is a TechCrunch40 panelist — abruptly changed his username to "NotTechcrunch40." [Twitter]
    09/18/07
    283
    1

    Comment by Keymaster: Who else thinks the latest batch of WiFi interrupts were the result of putting blocks in place to keep our... more » | Other threads

  • geeks gone wild

    TechCrunch40 is the Comdex of Web 2.0

    More »
    09/18/07
    1,621
    5

    Comment by waynelambright: That business model always works. more » | Other threads

  • techcrunch40

    Michael Arrington's pet photo copier

    ProfileBuilder is a sponsor of TechCrunch40, the startup conference organized by TechCrunch editor Michael Arrington. It's also the subject of a glowing, "exclusive" writeup in TechCrunch today. Coincidence? I'll let you decide. The writeup celebrates ProfileBuilder's acquisition of ZingFu. Say who buys say whom? Exactly. These are companies you're unlikely to need to care about, ever. Except to note this: The friendly TechCrunch article doesn't mention ZingFu's nasty habit of nicking copyrighted images, like this photo of Arrington by Laughing Squid blogger Scott Beale, with no fair-use rationale in sight.
    09/18/07
    309
    3

    Comment by Owen Thomas: @Duncan: We need to get you sleeping more, clearly! Australia-to-U.S. jet lag is a pretty decent explanation, I've got to... more » | Other threads

  • techcrunch40

    Mark Cuban disses Jason Calacanis

    So much for old pals. Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks and billionaire founder of Broadcast.com, was Jason Calacanis's original backer at Weblogs Inc. And Cuban had agreed to show up at Calacanis's latest venture, the TechCrunch40 conference, as an expert judge. Cuban's still listed on the site, but he's a no-show at the conference, attendees say. Why? Apparently he's taping the ABC reality series "Dancing with the Stars." He's surely having a better time being critiqued for his soft-shoe technique than debating the merits of startups like Orgoo, Kerpoof, and ZocDoc. Once again, old media trumps new media.
    09/18/07
    580
    1

    Comment by Alaska Miller: The luckiest man in the world. more » | Other threads

  • media relations

    Don't mess with Michael Arrington

    Prickly TechCrunch editor Michael Arrington is given to griping about PR people and their capricious rules. But he's not above setting his own rules when it comes to his TechCrunch40 conference. Specifically, presenting companies have been required to observe a press embargo until their turn on stage, and violators may be yanked from the lineup. With only 10 companies left to go, it seems like most of the startups have been sheepishly obedient to this rule. Anyone get yanked? Let us know. The full rules and regulations after the jump. More »
    09/18/07
    1,482
    2

    Comment by teleprax: What's all this about presentations? I'm a bit more interested in finding a list of the 39 types of appetizers... more » | Other threads

  • picture of the day

    Letting loose at TechCrunch40

    Microsoft executive Don Dodge captures a moment from the TechCrunch40 conference. Or, more specifically, after the conference, in the limo ferrying VIPs from the TechCrunch40 VIP dinner to the after party at Fluid. Pictured, from left, Mayfield Fund VC Raj Kapoor on the floor of the limo; Allen Morgan, also from Mayfield, throwing gang signs; DanceJam cofounder MC Hammer; and angel investor Ron Conway, looking bewildered.
    09/18/07
    840
    3

    Comment by categorically: Damn, that is so sad. What a bunch of losers. Why people continue to give these bozos money is beyond... more » | Other threads

  • xobni

    I'm too sexy for my install script

    It's traditional for software developers to put their names on a product. When you launch Photoshop, for example, a long list of small-type names flashes on the screen while the product loads. But pictures? That's an innovation, as far as I know. Engineers at Xobni, the email-software startup which just presented at the TechCrunch40 conference and launched its first product in beta, pasted in photos of themselves that display when their software finishes installing. Perhaps they'll get some dates for their trouble. If not users.
    09/18/07
    1,951
    3

    Comment by fitt: So far I like it, quite helpful in organizing the trainwreck that is outlook. Threaded conversations, files exchanged, and "Keep... more » | Other threads

  • conflicts of interest

    TechCrunch40's VC sponsors

    A Valleywag tipster whispers that a company that had made the initial cut of 20 companies for the Techcrunch40 conference — back when it was known as "TechCrunch20" — got bumped when conference organizers "doubled down" and expanded the list to 40 startups. The company's sin? Competing with a startup funded by one of TechCrunch40's four VC sponsors. The competitor got bumped, and room was made for a sponsor-backed startup. "Ah, the Valley mafia at its finest," the tipster concludes. Of course. Sand Hill Road was built on conflicts of interest. More »
    09/18/07
    895
    0

  • the chart

    Do the TechCrunch40 startups need a $50,000 prize?

    TechCrunch40 is different, organizer Jason Calacanis claims, from most startup conferences in not charging companies to present there. Never mind that, in fact, he and TechCrunch editor Michael Arrington are charging 100 companies to present at the conference's subsidiary DemoPit. The notion was that TechCrunch40 might discover promising companies that couldn't afford to present at a pay-to-play conference. But in reality, most of the 40 startups presenting here don't even need the $50,000 cash award. For them, at most, it might fund a nice victory bash. More »
    09/18/07
    575
    0

  • mahalo

    We don't need no stinkin' promotion!

    You would think that relentless self-promoter Jason Calacanis would take advantage of the attention he's receiving for his TechCrunch40 startup conference and use the spotlight to further push his new project, people-powered search engine Mahalo. You'd be wrong. Mahalo's sole contribution to TC40 is a Mahalo-branded baseball hat in the conference schwag bag. Why? Because the sharer in Calacanis wants the attention on the actual participants... and because Mahalo needs no promotion. That's right. The mere suggestion that Calacanis would promote Mahalo or that Mahalo even needs promotion is "so silly." Calacanis says, "We're in 'put your head down and make the product great' mode and we will be for the next four years." Indeed, Jason. We agree that Mahalo needs no promotion. Now please stop pitching Mahalo in search engine presentations, conducting interviews about the company, and signing blog comments with "Mahalo" for the next four years. Sadly, we suspect his no-promotions promise is just as binding as a Robert Scoble blog break.
    09/17/07
    334
    1

    Comment by Figaro: Hey Tom, is calanacis guy paying you to push his crap?! Your every post is about that god-awful website.... just... more » | Other threads

  • techcrunch40

    Jason Calacanis is Willy Wonka

    I've always had trouble understanding Jason Calacanis's rationalizations for DemoPit, the sleaziest part of the TechCrunch40 conference. Calacanis and his partner-in-wasting-time, TechCrunch editor Michael Arrington, launched the conference promising not to charge companies to demonstrate, as other startup conferences did. But then Calacanis turned around and announced DemoPit, a side room for also-rans to hawk their Web-based wares. He snuck in the news that the 100 DemoPit participants would have to buy a ticket — a sneaky way to charge, after all, for the right to demonstrate. Taking into account all the direct costs, Calacanis should turn a tidy profit on the sideline, I calculated. When I called him on it, Calacanis blustered and blathered, calling me a "pariah" for daring to question him. Charming. But then I figured it out: Jason Calacanis is Willy Wonka, the magical candyman. And the DemoPit participants are his Oompa Loompas. More »
    09/17/07
    1,291
    8

    Comment by Fetterman_07: duncan that is the problem. did anyone think about the audience - they are the customer. when you waste their... more » | Other threads

  • techcrunch40

    Powerset's party time

    Conference paraphernalia is normally comprised of useful but boring office supplies and t-shirts. Except, it seems, at Michael Arrington and Jason Calacanis's TechCrunch40 conference. Rafe Needleman of CNET blog Webware is shocked by one giveaway from "natural-language" search engine Powerset — test tubes of cranberry juice and vodka. We're not shocked, of course. We just suspect Powerset CEO Barney Pell is pulling the usual bar pick-up trick of buying drinks for the person you're trying to seduce. Everyone knows you're prettier when they're drunk.
    09/17/07
    2,023
    3

    Comment by sggrf: Are these guys ever going to launch a product? We keep hearing about one thing after the other from these... more » | Other threads

  • geek love

    Your Twitter makes my heart go flitter

    FROM THE DESK OF MEGAN MCCARTHY — Is it possible to have a crush on a Twitter stream? Cause I do. Whoever you are, mysterious TC40 guest posting as "TechCrunch40" on Twitter, you need to call me. Now. A girl has needs.
    09/17/07
    1,033
    3

    Comment by mandarin: Thats all it takes to get attention? Wow all those wasted flowers Ive been sending out... more » | Other threads

  • techcrunch40

    Meanwhile, in the real world of business

    The Web 2.0 startups featured at TechCrunch40 are adorable, really. But they can't compete with the draw of a real business with real, paying customers, Six Apart executive Michael Sippey points out: "Around the corner from tc40 there are 7000 people at salesforce.com's conference." Salesforce.com, unlike most of the startups on display at TechCrunch40, dares to charge for its Web-based software — a recipe for disaster, according to TechCrunch40 organizer Michael Arrington. Right. If you consider half a billion dollars in annual revenues to be a disaster, that is.
    09/17/07
    410
    2

    Comment by Rock tha Hizzee: @fatbastard: I'll take that bet and even do you one better. Who wants to bet that five years from now... more » | Other threads

  • techcrunch40

    Startups face a wireless disconnect

    TechCrunch40 organizer Jason Calacanis is madly spinning the glitch-filled presentations at his conference as a success. The back channel — on Twitter and IRC — begs to differ. The biggest problem: There's no cell phone service deep inside the Sheraton Palace, the hotel in which the conference is being held. You'd think organizers might have checked such a thing before scheduling wireless startups to go on stage with live demos, but no. Instead, with no canned presentations to show, entrepreneurs are attempting to talk about how cool their mobile Web products would be ... if they worked.
    09/17/07
    295
    2

    Comment by Whocares: They should feel right at home.. I dont' get coverage at most of the VC firms on SHR. Especially 3000... more » | Other threads

  • loser-generated content

    TechCrunch40 gets a bitter Twitter

    Brilliant. Someone — apparently a rejected applicant for the TechCrunch40 conference going on now in San Francisco — has hijacked the shindig's name for a Twitter account and is skewering the presenters' every misstep live. Already, the organizers' lack of selectivity — if you'll recall, it was originally supposed to be 20, not 40, startups — is becoming clear. "Thus far, 50% of presenters have a better way to search for Britney Spears... GENIUS! (psych)" reads one Twitter.
    09/17/07
    1,472
    3

    Comment by ebourqui: Come on, you know it's Uncov, they vowed to do something like this. more » | Other threads

  • to do

    Valley rallies for TechCrunch borefest

    I have never been more grateful to Jason Calacanis. The prickly Internet entrepreneur disinvited me, you see, from TechCrunch40, the conference opening today in San Francisco that he organized with TechCrunch editor Michael Arrington. And thereby saved me from a long nap at the Sheraton Palace. The conference was originally supposed to highlight 20 companies, but Arrington and Calacanis couldn't decide on just 20, so they "doubled down" and expanded the list to 40, ostensibly because all the companies were so great. But then we all saw the list last night. I'd considered jumping off my red-eye flight and heading to the Sheraton Palace — indeed, friends begged me to just show up and see what happened. But going by the list of startups presenting there — Zivity? Orgoo? — I'm just as content to get your reports and post the best of them.
    09/17/07
    422
    1

    Comment by MATIC: I liked the idea of the conference, letting interesting startups lead the way and making that process more egalitarian. However,... more » | Other threads

  • embargo breakers

    The TechCrunch40 List

    Since mini-moguls Jason Calacanis and Michael Arrington both made their fortunes from New Media, one would assume that their conference TechCrunch40 (the one that Valleywag is banned from) would be a modern affair where bloggers wouldn't be ignored while big-time journalists got special treatment. But the founders hid the names of their conference's forty featured companies. They're telling journalists tomorrow but putting an embargo on the names. An embargo usually means they've promised someone an exclusive. My bet is that Arrington and Calacanis fed the list to the New York Times. But they also put it on a big sign that's already set up at the venue, San Francisco's Palace Hotel, where journalist Paul Boutin saw all 40 names. Guess he wins the exclusive!
    09/16/07
    2,587
    4

    Comment by waynepan: I went to each website and poked around and tried to pull a short short elevator pitch from each. Most... more » | Other threads

  • 1

  • 1-30 of 30 for "Valleywag, techcrunch40"