I'll Be Speaking at The Perfect Pitch Conference!

I'm super-excited to be speaking at The Perfect Pitch conference with Tony Adam here in LA in October. Sir Richard Branson will be the keynote speaker. I'm a HUGE Branson fan, so that makes it doubly exciting for me.

Startups - you can submit your pitch for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to pitch your idea to Sir Richard Branson and a conference full of VCs!



Did the Recession Prevent Bubble 2.0? And, is it Possible That Tech IPOs Will Help to Tame the Financial Crisis?

I'd like to open up discussion based on a pair of symbiotic hypotheses: the recession prevented Bubble 2.0, AND there's the possibility that tech IPOs could potentially help to tame the financial crisis. One wouldn't be possible without the other. Here's the situation as I see it:



Twiistup Gets Bigger, Badder, and Straight Up Off the Hook

Twiistup LogoMy first experience with Twiistup was as a sponsor at Twiistup 4. Twiistup does an amazing job of providing some serious opportunities for startups, investors, and the community inside of a serious party atmosphere. It's a chance for everyone to unwind and have fun; maybe it's the relaxed atmosphere that allows the conversation to flow so smoothly. When I approached Twiistup founder Mike Macadaan with the idea to bring a bed to Twiistup 4 in place of our sponsor table I wasn't sure what kind of reaction I'd get. I think it was an ear-to-ear grin.



iLike Makes Music Happen at Web 2.0 Expo NY

Web 2.0 expo logoThe Disruption in the Music Industry session at Web 2.0 Expo NY was one I wanted to make sure I attended.



Breaking Out of the Echo Chamber-Identifying Early Adopters and Setting Sights on Mass Markets (Presented at NextWeb NY 9/15/08)

Breaking Out of the Echo Chamber - Early Adopters vs. Mass Markets

Breaking Out of the Echo Chamber - Early Adopters vs. Mass Markets Jackie Peters

(visit Scribd for the sideshow of this talk)

Below is an approximate transcription on the presentation, actually, it's my notes, which are probably a better read than the actual transcription...

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Has everyone seen Forrester’s technographic ladder?



Breaking Out of the Echo Chamber - Finding the Blance Between Early Adopters and Mass Markets

Shiny New ToyI like to take a holistic approach to marketing. Most people think that marketing is about promotion, or advertising, but that's a misconception. Marketing encompasses everything a company does to acquire customers and maintain relationships with them. It's about aligning a product with a market.



Caught in the Echo Chamber - Insights into the Marketability of Technology Companies

This is a guest post I wrote for Mashable - I've republished it here.

I am pretty heavily involved in the expanding startup community here in LA, and make my way up to the Bay area on a regular basis. I meet a lot of entrepreneurs and see new startups every day. Many of these companies, and the entrepreneurs who found them are deeply ensnared in the echo chamber, they’re all drinking each other's Kool-aid. We’re talking about people who are not just at the top of the technographic ladder, they’ve gotten to the roof and are looking down on everyone else like they are a bunch of ants.