Entrepreneurship

When we think of our neighbors to the North in Canada, we think of bountiful natural resources, open land, and flannel shirts; we don’t necessarily think of tech. The major cities are dominated by industries such as oil, resource exporting, and politics. With the latest in RIMs downward spiral, Canada should be expected to leave this industry to the Valley. So, when I arrived back in my home country after six years of sunny and buzzing California, I thought that finding a tech scene would be a needle in a haystack. I couldn’t have been farther from the truth.

Have you ever found yourself standing in a crowded bar during happy hour, waiting for what seems like hours to get a drink or food? Don’t feel bad, we’ve all been there before. You stand around hoping to catch the bartenders attention. When you finally do, you order up your round and snacks. Then you get to think about starting a tab or cashing out? Should you have ordered an extra drink so you don’t have to fight through the crowd again?

This weekend UCLA has put together 48hr Startup and TechZulu will be there to bring you all the final startup presentations live. UCLA 48hr Startup brings together people with technical, design or business background to share ideas, form teams, build products and launch startups. Although put together by UCLA its not just a UCLA Student event.

For those who may think Las Vegas is just the home of Zappos, Conferences, and day/night entertainment, well you are right.  However, there is a whole new breed of entrepreneurs and startups starting to emerge from the #VegasTech scene.   TechZulu had the honor of being invited out to the Tracky Launch event last week.  Tracky is an all new startup based out of Las Vegas focusing on social collaboration.

Wow — what a weekend. Startup Weekend LA has grown to become a very special event here in Los Angeles. This past SWLA (February 24-26) was like non other and the 5th event to take place at Coloft here in Santa Monica. It’s also a very exciting time here in LA Tech with over 6 accelerators and incubators springing up over the past year.

With Startup Weekend EDU happening just around the corner in the Bay Area this weekend, we at TechZulu thought those participating might find this infographic of the use preparing for the event. If you’re not apart of the Startup Weekend EDU event, you may still find the Q1 2012 report interesting, especially if you’re looking to…continue reading.

To begin our recap of last week’s winter TZ Spotlight, we’d like to say our list of thank yous. Thank you to the supporters who told their colleagues and friends about the event, to our attendees for the attention towards the center of the room, to our supporting sponsors, our Spotlight judges, and to Bill Gross, our inspirational keynote speaker for the evening.

As we turn our ideas for the future into the latest startups and companies of today, there’s always a need for resources to help guide one through the process of it all. As that idea grows into a business there may come a time where the need for outside funding in necessary to further grow and scale.

The time has finally arrived! Months of submissions and the amazing help from our judges, the Spotlight is shinning down on awesome companies that were born right out of Southern California. For those who still might be wondering what Spotlight: LA Tech is all about, It’s a screening room for new technology homegrown in our region. It’s a gallery of great entrepreneurship. It’s a toast to those who build and innovate. It’s a gathering of friends and tech enthusiasts of all stripes.

I know you all have been dying to know who the Spotlight: LA Tech Winter SuperDemo is going to be. We have been holding off on this announcement for quite a bit and now we can officially announce Bill Gross of Idealab as our SuperDemo presenter. Always looking to provide the very best for our community so that you may learn and grow as a startup or entrepreneur, Bill Gross is one of the best experts we could provide.