coolTECH 2010 – June 4 at MOSI

At coolTECH, you will find some of the coolest products in the hottest technologies sectors showcased in an interactive expo environment.  On display will be everything from the latest consumer gadgets to cutting-edge advancements in biotech.

coolTECH is TBTF’s annual event featuring the coolest innovations in and around the Tampa Bay region. At this year’s event, attendees will be able to check out cutting edge technology, gain insight from industry leaders and take part in interactive voting for the coolTECH Awards. You can experience firsthand emerging technologies including a Halo Aircraft with vertical takeoff and landing, personal electronic transportation vehicles, motion activated video game technology, a balancing belt by Draper Labs, and much more!

• Learn about emerging technologies, Tampa start-ups and hot trends
• Keynote on Innovation by Frank Farro, New Tech R&D Lead at Disney
• Network with hundreds of business leaders and start-up founders
• Explore over 400 exhibits at MOSI and take in a special IMAX Dome presentation

Details:

Friday, June 4, 2010

9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

StarupMonkey fans get a special discount to attend. Click HERE to register and use discount code “Cool2010″ to receive the TBTF member rate which is a $20 savings.

IdeaField Coworking received a visit from Bay News 9 reporter Kristi Wolski who joined us to discuss the value of coworking for freelancers and emerging tech businesses. Interviews with IdeaField Co-founder Dan Davie and coworking member and CEO of Hielix, Patty Dodgen, highlighted how coworking helps emerging business develop more efficiently through shared office space and access to the collaborative resources found within the grass roots tech community.

You can read the full article and view the video segment at Bay News 9.

Sign-up for the TechVenture Workshop April 15th & 16th

Are you looking to start the next big thing? Startups have a better chance of success when they leverage the resources and experience of their community.

TechVenture is a peer-to-peer training program created by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation to help early stage technology entrepreneurs build their ideas into successful high-growth business ventures.

The emphasis is on building practical strategies for startup success and connecting technology entrepreneurs to the best resources available in our community.

Pinellas County Economic Development is recruiting both early stage and experienced technology entrepreneurs to participate in the FastTrac® TechVenture Program.

Details:

View on Map

Fee: $99 per person (includes all materials)

Sign-up now, space is limited to 20 companies.

To register, contact Kurt Forster at KForster@PinellasCounty.org or (727) 464-8113

Checkout “How Entrepreneurship Really Works” from Dave Troy, entrepreneur and founder of Beehive Coworking located outside of Baltimore. In this post Dave summarizes the findings from research by Dr. Saras Sarasvathy on the defining characteristics of entrepreneurs and how rather than being aggressive risk takers they are more often just good problem solvers with a passion.

The key message of Dave”s post is that effectual thinking is at the core of good entrepreneurial behavior and that while many authors, speakers and social media experts create a cult-like hype and package it as breakthrough thinking, it all comes back to basic blocking and tackling.

I have been asked to speak at the monthly TECTalk breakfast in March about IdeaField Coworking and how we are coordinating with STARTec to position the coworking community as a component of local economic development. While the main topic is coworking, the underlying theme will be similar to Dave”s post on how to be an effective entrepreneur and how leveraging the power of community increases your chances for success.

This year”s BarCampOrlando is taking place Saturday, April 3rd at Wall Street Plaza, and registration for the event is NOW OPEN.

As always, BarCamp Orlando is Free, but don”t just show up for the T-Shirt. BarCamp is successful when people come ready to participate, present and become involved in fostering the growth of the local tech and creative community.

Schedule:

Saturday, April 03, 2010
9:30 AM – Doors open, people can sign up for talks on the big writeboard.
10:00 AM – Talks start
1:00 PM – Lunch is served, we take an hour break
2:00 PM – Talks resume
6:00 PM – Barcamp ends and the afterparty starts at Slingapour

Where:

Wall St Cantina       Map
19 North Orange Avenue
Orlando, FL 32801

2010 State of Entrepreneurship Address

Carl Schramm, president and CEO of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, delivered the “2010 State of Entrepreneurship Address” on January 19, 2010, on the heels of alarming unemployment numbers and citing sobering new data that show a majority of American entrepreneurs do not expect to create jobs in 2010. He called on policymakers to make this cornerstone of American capitalism a priority.

During an event at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. that included perspectives from entrepreneurs and remarks from U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke, Schramm underscored the importance of entrepreneurs to economic recovery, emphasizing that hundreds of new companies are being created each day.

Comments worth repeating from this speech and the panel:

• Reform immigration policy to accommodate founders (and investors) who will start new companies and create jobs.
• Revise Sarbanes-Oxley to allow company shareholders to make a choice based on the costs of compliance vs. the benefits.
• Provide a temporary payroll tax holiday to companies less than five years old.
• Give academic entrepreneurs the choice of multiple avenues to commercialize their research so their innovations can reach consumers more quickly.
• Offer fellowships for doctoral graduates in scientific fields to educate them about how to start companies.
• Provide entrepreneurship education and training to students in high school and college.
• Encourage universities with formal entrepreneurship programs to tenure ONLY those professors that have started a business