Tech Fights Back

I spent Monday and Tuesday at DEMOfall09 in San Diego (full disclosure or subtle chest beating? BluePoint is a Gold sponsor) and my three big take-aways from the event were:

1)      DEMO, like the stock market and hopefully the rest of the emerging technology sector(s) has pulled itself off the canvas, is on steady ground and is fighting back.  56 companies, plus another 14 more “AlphaPitch” stage companies, pitched their product, service or idea on stage to the 600 or so attendees.  So clearly, both the number  of demonstrating companies and attendees are back to healthy levels. This, just six months after DEMO’s last event in Palm Desert, which, not surprisingly, saw much lower level of attendance with the economic downturn the primary reason.

2)      It was all about the “four Ps”-no, not those four Ps, but these:  products, people, passion and potential. There were some really cool and many compelling products unveiled.  And, the blood, sweat, tears and long hours that each company sacrificed just to get to San Diego really shone through. These guys and gals LOVE what they are doing and they truly believe in their ideas and their ability to execute.

3)      And finally, to my point about entrepreneurs, DEMOfall09 was really a return to the roots of the true start ups  being on stage. Sure HP kicked things off with a lower priced version of its Halo product called Skyroom, but other than that, there really was not a household name among the 70 attending companies.

Many of the demonstrating companies were brand new, some still a bit raw but none lacking in the fighting spirit.  Now, here’s hoping that a year from now, many of the DEMO class of fall09 companies do make a breakthrough and get funded, ship product, acquire customers and build their brands.

— Posted by Tim Hurley