The TechZulu Crew has a treat for you all.  We caught up with Mike Macadaan at the Dealmaker L.A. to discuss about Twiistup 4.  If you have yet to get your tickets go and get them now, and they will be available until June 2nd.  To get them through here click on the Twiistup sponsor on the top right to get your tickets.  He also gave us some really cool exclusive content that he has yet to make public.  So you heard it here first folks.  Check out the video and get in the know. ;)

When we first bumped into EtchStar at TOMS shoes, one might think that EtchShar isn't tech enough. Lasers are etched to customize and personalize iPods, phones and etc. How techie is that? Well, Karina Grotz and Ben Katz showed us how technical and cool etching can be. Karina and Ben were nice enough to invite the Zulu crew into their office in Santa Monica off of Melrose Ave. Ben walked us through the entire operations and showed us how it worked. Through Karina, we found out how popular etching has quickly become. For example, stars like Paris Hilton and Nicky Hilton got their iPhones etched at Coachella Music Festival. To see what EtchStar is all about, check out the video and pictures here. We're also able to share the love by offering FREE SHIPPING on your order and it’s good until the end of June. Just use the coupon code: ETCHZULU when you order.

Here's the video tour:

Here are some pictures from Coachela taken by Etchstar:

Paris and Nicky with their Blackberries etched.

Examples of some of the other images that you can personalize with Laser Etching.

Here's an example of the etching up close.

For many people the ultimate dream is to start their own business. But that difficult and elusive task can have many obstacles. The E.Factor attempts to solve a major impediment of entrepreneurial ambitions by bringing together individuals with similar aspirations but different skill sets, allow them to share ideas, collaborate and potentially become business partners. Often the creative, technical and business elements required for start-up business success aren’t embodied in one person so creating a social network for entrepreneurs certainly has value to a niche market.

The E.Factor has free-membership and is divided into several easy to use sections: Control Room, Lounge, Biz Exchange, Finance Corner and Market Place. First, the Control Room, which includes the Message Center, is where users create personalized profiles, manage preferences and communicate with other users. Next, the Lounge, which is an informal place for users to gather for either casual conversation or off the cuff comments about whatever suits the fancy of the online consortium. Currently, the Lounge enables users to communicate using chat or multimedia messaging and promises to incorporate other communication technologies as users request them. Third, the Biz Exchange is one of the applications of the E.Factor that can be considered the nuts and bolts. It is difficult to assess the actual value of this feature because it’s still under construction. But it pledges to be where users will find partners and employees or get an answer to a specific question. It will also be where users will offer products and services, do promotions, place ads, post blogs, etc. According to the site, this section will be completed before the end of May 2008.

Another feature that will provide indispensable assistance is the Finance Corner. This section will help users locate, inquire about and secure funding. E-Factor has accumulated over 100 Venture capitalists, Angel Investors and Financial Institutions. Seemingly privacy and security of financial information is of the utmost concern, so the E.Factor has taken the necessary precautions to secure personal information. Finally, the Market Place guarantees to be a cornucopia of benefits and discounts for members that include but are not limited to flights, products and technology events. This section won’t be fully up and running for 4 to 8 weeks.

The E.Factor management team has over 60 years of combined experience in entrepreneurship, a couple books published and includes Adrie Reinders, Roeland Reinders, Marion Freijsen and Rodney Sampson.

As many of you may know, Mashable has been known through the country for putting together awesome events for connecting people. If you're looking to make some important connections, your chances are high when you attend one of these events. Mashable's events have been so popular that they have spread internationally to Tel Aviv with MashBash kick off party sponsored by Yedda and continuing through Israel with a Media Tour. This week we caught up with Pete Cashmore at the Web 2.0 Expo Conference, where he co-hosted the Evolve party with Chi.mp at Mighty's Bar in San Francisco. In this interview, he gave us thoughts about his Mashable's events, his purpose for putting them together, and the state of Southern California startups. Enjoy.