Sessions

Breakfast Keynote: Enabling Communities Online and Face to Face

Across the world in more than 11,500 cities people with like interests are forming local communities online and face to face. Millions of people convene to share, learn and make a difference. Meetup has more than 58,900 local groups meeting on 8,300+ topics and 6 million monthly visitors. The internet is changing not only the way we meet people, but the way we organize our different interest groups.

Breakfast Keynote: Retail Recession? What Recession?

Despite the tough economic environment, Shutterfly (NASDQ: SFLY) the leading Internet-based social expression and personal publishing service, grew nearly 10% during the second quarter of 2009. During the recession, the number of times Shutterfly's 2.5 million shoppers visited the website each month has grown from about 2.0 to 2.4 times per month (according to Compete.com). While other companies have been focused on cutting expenses, Jeff Housenbold, Shutterfly's CEO and former marketing executive at eBay, continues to invest in innovation. Jeff will talk about how his strategic investments in innovative products and services resulted in a diversified offering that continues to delight customers and improve revenue growth.

Breakfast Keynote: Customer Driven Innovation in a Socially Connected World

Founded in 1997, Go Daddy now dominates the domain, Web site hosting and SSL industries. The Company owns and operates its own services and equipment, which enables it to keep prices low and quality high. The Go Daddy Group includes Wild West Domains, Inc., Domains by Proxy, Starfield Technologies, a research and development affiliate; and Blue Razor Domains. Go Daddy has more than 36 million names - more than any other registrar - under management. As the sole developer and proprietor of our technology, Go Daddy does not license any products from others, and does not outsource or offshore any operations.

Its All About Usability

How Do You Drive User Generated Content AND Make Millions?

Here, you'll find out how usability led to the sale of Virtual Tourist to TripAdvisor. And how it led to the successful $20+ million sale of HotOrNot.com. Everybody knows the frustration of poor usability, from the blinking VCR clock to the computer and web-surfer life style we have all come a custom to. But how do you provide grace and clarity within the interaction between the technology and the user. How do you take it one step further and allow complete user generated content? Usability testing has become a cornerstone to business strategy, and it’s no wonder because good usability can mean big bucks for companies who accomplish it, and even more for those who have accomplished complete user generated content.

Online Revenue via Advertising or Subscriptions

What's the Winning Combination?

Traditionally, advertising has been the avenue of revenue, and subscriptions, though have been a small fee consumer’s pay, mainly served as the guarantee to the advertisers of who would see their ads. The rules changed with the introduction of the world wide web in the early 90s. Users don't want ads on sites, and they don't want to pay to use your site. The battle between internet entrepreneurs and web is well underway. How have these successful companies won?

The Power of APIs

How to Leverage them for New Revenue Channels

Think of the potential if dozens of websites were using your application programming interface (API) only to share it with their audience in a new experience. Your market potential would increase with minimal costs and time. More and more companies are taking advantage of this technology to gain new revenue. Mashery's clients include: LinkedIN, Hoovers, Whitepages.com, Netflix, Best Buy. Mochi Media not only provides a platform for game developers to build and earn their own revenue, but is helping companies find new revenue streams through online games.

Building Your Business on a Shoestring and Avoiding Losing Control

One of the first things that comes to mind when starting a new business is, "How I'm I going to fund this?" Many entrepreneurs are taking different approaches to funding including boot strapping and partnership. What are some best practices for thinking out side the box, and what are the cautions? Has the world of funding become a barter of control or money?

SaaS, Shaping the Future of Web Apps

How long will large software integrations and expensive integrations be around? LiveClicker, based in Silicon Valley, powers video and rich media on retail websites like Costco.com and eBags.com - yet no one had to buy a server or install software. Implementations were fast. Swiftpage powers email communications, drip marketing, surveying and more, all while being integrated with your CRM and still with no server purchase. Combined with Cloud Computing, the world is changing - and Software as a Service (SaaS, typically pronounced 'sass') is leading the charge. According to Wikipedia, "Saas is a model of software deployment whereby a provider licenses an application to customers for use as a service on demand. SaaS software vendors may host the application on their own web servers or download the application to the consumer device, disabling it after use or after the on-demand contract expires. The on-demand function may be handled internally to share licenses within a firm or by a third-party application service provider (ASP) sharing licenses between firms." Learn where these CEOs see the future of the software world.

Exit Strategies When There Is No Exit

Is There A Way To Alleviate A 10-Year VC Overhang?

Over the past year, more than $50 million worth of Facebook shares have traded hands - some from employees to Russian investors. Accredited investors are buying Tesla Motors stock from employees. Zappos shares traded hands prior to their sale to Amazon. With 5,000+ private VC funded companies in America, and only 400 some exits per year, there are a lot of illiquid companies holding onto millions of dollars (each) of VC funds. VC's typically need liquidity within 10 years. Employees leave companies and want liquidity for their vested options. Entrepreneurs get tired and get replaced - often without getting any money - yet they could use some liquidity so they can invest in their new ventures. After 6, 7, 8 years, VCs and entrepreneurs are trying to get liquid. The result of this are more funds (like Delta V here in Denver) devoted to buying "secondary shares" and companies like SecondMarket helping to facilitate the sale of those shares. So, what practices are in place to help create more transparency into private company finances, which create new investor confidence? How does an investor find entrepreneurs who are interested in selling shares in a company he or she funded? How do you get past Right of First Refusal language in company documents? What role is the Internet playing in this new market? Is the secondary market good or bad for entrepreneurs and early stage VC funds?

Lunch Keynote: Revolutionizing Cost Structures

By Aligning with the Open Source Revolution

"The internet's next billion dollar acquisition" – that's how many experts have described Varien. Varien is an eCommerce platform provider founded in 2001, and their new groundbreaking product, Magento, is the fastest growing open-source eCommerce platform on the market with 500,000+ downloads. Magento provides merchants with a sophisticated software platform to manage their online sales, it enables online businesses to develop and rapidly deploy multiple types of e-commerce sites from a single instance of the platform- globally. Magento is currently used by tens of thousands of merchants conducting billions of dollars in online transactions. Magento reached 1 million downloads by the end June 2009. In the first eight weeks since launching the Enterprise Edition Subscription, they had over 7,000 merchants get in touch to learn more about our new product. Who said open source couldn't be profitable?

How will Cloud Computing Fundamentally Change Our World?

Is it Just a Game for the Big Boys?

Will the laptop, or the PC, as we know it become a museum relic within 10 years? How is cloud computing enabling a computer grid to be built, similar to the electrical grid that changed our world in the early 20th Century? Will the impact be consequential in good and bad ways? Will networking jobs go away, as companies like Google and Amazon centralize hosting? Will software applications need to grow globally - like Google Apps as they go head to head with Excel and MS Word? Will this mean the end of Microsoft which specializes in desktop driven (versus grid driven) apps? How can we all prepare for this shift?

Intelligent Mapping is the Wave of the Future

Find out how businesses are using digital mapping technology for new revenue streams. Mapping is reaching new heights. It is incorporated in software, security, consumer convenience, even access to a market potential. This is unparallel with any other industry! These new technologies enable mapping to be monetized in ways we have never thought of before. PassTime uses GPS tracking which allows financial companies to figure out where stolen cars are. Businesses are now leveraging mapping tools for additional revenue streams. It's not just for finding directions and locations anymore. It your company taking full advantage of this?

Is Your Receptionist More Powerful Than You in Your Company?

Radical Employee Communication Upgrades

Have you ever wondered if the receptionist has more power in an organization than a Director of Research? How often have you worked with a boss who gets in the way? Who is your organizations best communicator? Do people just talk to the data entry person, while the supervisors don't even talk to each other? How do you discover hidden organizational and talent value in your company. This is a fascinating case study that proves you can radically upgrade your organization by figuring out organization network effects. As technology leaders, we talk a lot about “what” our teams do, but how many of us understand the organizational aspects surrounding “how” we do more with less in the new distributed environment? How can an IT team can accommodate company growth and technology changes, while still keeping support costs under control, how can an IT team can keep the best people in a competitive market, and how can an IT team work virtually and effectively to support a distributed work environment. Micki Nelson will show new useful tool that measures team “connectedness” and how MWH has used this tool, in conjunction with specific metrics, to measure overall team effectiveness.

The Business Value of User Experience (UX)

Whether you want to sell more software, improve employee efficiency or increase ad revenue, great user experiences (UX) better play large in your business strategy. In this session, you will learn why and how engaging software drives value to strategic business goals by increasing site stickiness, differentiating from competitors and making users hungry for your product or services. Armed with insider stats and research from industry analysts across verticals, Anthony Franco, president of EffectiveUI, defines the criteria behind usable, delightful software and demonstrates real-world examples of socially enabled experiences that are good for business. You will leave this session with proof of how UX impacts your bottom line, as well as a roadmap to help you cost-effectively put the theory into practice using the latest tools and technologies.

How Do You Value Customer Engagement Or Build A Social ROI?

Beyond Facebook, what is social media? How do we define it? What about Backcountry.com's leader board? Do companies like BlogHer or Examiner or Associated Content fit into this category? What about Buzzillions or PowerReviews? How are companies utilizing and monitoring social media? Are companies like Ning a factor? Retailers talk about Customer Frequency and Repeat Rates - what are ways to measure other types of social engagement. How is Facebook Connect being used? What about Twitter Connect? What are some best practice techniques used by consumer-facing companies? Do API's facilitate any social media or social engagement? How are mobile phones facilitating mobile interaction? Can revenues be tracked back to social media? What percent of a company's online marketing budget should be tied to social media? Are any retailers using it effectively yet - Social Retail?

How Does Innovation and Differentiation Play into the New World of M&A

What do buy-side companies (the acquirers) look for when they want to buy a company? Does a patent add value to a company, and is it worth anything in the software or technology world? When does market share become meaningful? How important is a good balance sheet when a transaction is in the works? After Amazon bought Zappos for about $900 million this summer (Amazon's largest acquisition to-date), Jeff Bezos said his knees go weak when he thinks of Zappos' customer service. So, what is a brand and what's the value of a brand? How do companies build "the goal of selling" as part of an exit strategy? Hear both perspectives from two Colorado power houses.