Entrepreneurs

I volunteered at a networking event for software professionals on Saturday. It was a whole day event that started around 8:30 a.m. and finished at 5p.m. Us volunteers reported at 7 a.m., which meant I was up on my feet for well over ten hours. I was tired at the end and my feet hurt, but I think the experience I gained was well worth it.

The experience of mingling with entrepreneurs of various stripes was inspirational. You can't help be motivated to see folks who have staked out on their own and built companies from the ground up. The other side of the pasture always looks greener, but I'd imagine that building a company from scratch is a more entertaining and fulfilling ride than being in a deadend job.

I was also fortunate to run into some old college friends of mine who I hadn't kept in touch with. There was one friend who I always knew had great things in store for him. I was elated to find out he is now an author and runs his own company. I got him to sign his book for me and I intend to read it soon.

The first panel featured Joe Krauss, co-founder of JotSpot. Joe is well known for his first venture Excite.com during the glory days of the late 90's. It was easy to see why Joe is a successful entrepreneur. He was articulate and passionate in his views and extremely charismatic. And indication of how well he came across was evident at the end of the panel discussion when a crowd gathered around him and picked his brains for well over 45 minutes while the other panelists were relatively undisturbed.

Unfortunately as a volunteer I had to run in and out and couldn't quite sit down and hear the panelists out fully. There were quite a few folks taking notes and I hope someone or the other has a blog and will post those notes soon.

At the end, a person billed as a motivational speaker took the stage. He started out on a promising note, but then flattered to deceive. I thought he was all over the map and though his intention was to leave us with just a couple of thoughts to ponder over, I got a hundred different incoherent messages that taken together added up to a lot of noise.