Today on the Tech Spotlight we have a review written and sent in by a guest poster (I know, exciting, huh?) But first let me introduce the writer of the post below (mainly because I think his company is really neat.) Last week I wrote about the Speed Pitching event I attended, and how neat some of the businesses there were. Well, one of them is Klymit, by the guys over at ArgonGear. For those of you who may not know, I am an avid snowboarder. As such, I was on the edge of my seat when these guys came in with a fuly functional jacket liner that is three times more insulating than thinsulate, AND actually allows you to dial in the level of insulation you need (there is actually a dial on the jacket! functional, effective, and cool enough to impress the best of the techno-geeks, and the Extreme sports crowd!!!) Summary: freaking cool jacket liner. I will be buying one.
But, enough drooling over their products… On to the post about the event (Written by Nick Sorenson):
(As a note: If you would like to see your review of a local event here, please let us know.)
I attended the Utah Inventor Symposium on Oct. 26 at the SLCC Miller Campus not realizing how valuable an investment my $20 membership fee would be.
I heard about it through Connect Magazine’s newsletter and decided to attend because of its relevance to a startup venture I’m currently working on. Throughout the conference I was overwhelmed at the caliber of speakers Vaughn North and his team had assembled.
Some of the big-hitting speakers included Dr. Stephen Jacobsen—who holds over 200 patents; and Woody Norris—the 2005 MIT inventor of the year. Topics included cutting-edge technology, product development, and commercialization of inventions.
Here are a few of the many insights I gained from the two (out of 12 available) breakout sessions I attended:
Dennis Wood, Human Capital VP, Vspring Capital
• The management hiring process for a startup follows a general pattern. You should probably think about building a team in this order:
o During Product Development: CEO & Advisory Board
o BETA Phase: Board of Directors, CFO (or outsourced comparable services), Sales & Marketing VPs
o Shipping Product: HR & Administration
o Profitability: looking for new members to take it to the next level
• Utah has an economic and community climate that is very attractive to potential companies and executives—use it to your advantage
• A good manager with broad startup skills and excellent ability to build a team may end up being more valuable to your startup than a “big ticket” executive with enormous industry/product experience at a successful company, but less of the team-building/manager skills.
Dennis gave a very entertaining breakout and is a super-kind individual. He spent over 20 minutes talking with me afterword and I really learned a lot from him. A top-quality man!
Brad Bertroch, The Wayne Brown Institute
Tips for Raising Capital
• When in doubt, everything is a security
o You need to know the laws that govern the money you will take and how you’ll take it
• Seek competent legal counsel
• Beware of finders
o Those who help you raise money for a fee; this may violate securities laws
• Deal with people who can afford the risk
• Keep it simple
• Keep good records
Brad was an energetic speaker with very extensive knowledge. He handled a lot of good questions and explained many difficult concepts simply.
Overall, I felt like I had received a couple thousand dollars worth of training by the time I left the symposium. I will definitely be there next time. I would encourage all of you who are starting a business or creating new products to attend, because, after all, you’re inventing things too. Visit www.utahinventor.org for more resources, video links to the presentations given, and updates on future events.
Nick Sorensen
Argon Technologies Inc.
