This last week has been an absolute blast here in Boulder for me.  Tuesday, at iVolunteer, we got a demo of our WordPress plugin, so progress is speedy!  Wednesday, well, I can’t say enough about Wednesday.  Lets just say it started with fake mustaches and ended with Jeremy Tanner doing a keg stand at Ignite Boulder.  The presentations ranged from zombies to rap to pissing people off.   Plus, free beer!  If you haven’t been to one yet, do not, under any circumstances, miss the next one.  It’s been a while since I’ve had a true belly laugh.  My cheeks (face) still hurt – and I still have that fake mustache!  (Did I mention there was free beer?)

Up next Tuesday is Jason Mendleson giving a talk on Venture Capital, followed by Startup Drinks and BioBeers.

I shouldn’t mention that it’s been about 45 degrees outside everyday, which is practically shorts weather.  So for those of you sitting at home, in the dark, lonely, sad… blame yourself tubster!

Last week’s New Tech Meetup was one of the more entertaining ones I have attended.  First of all, the room was packed.  Nary was there room to stand, much less for a butt cheek.  (but I must happily declare not a whiff of patchouli was in the air).  Rob started the crowd off right by having us introduce ourselves to our neighbors, which quickly derailed the entire room; so while I did meet 2 new peeps, I can’t remember their names or what they look like (I need longer than 8 seconds per intro!)  We did learn the true definition of Web 3.0 ( means still in business!) and the Meetup announced a Denver session.  There were 2 female presenters for a change – an issue near and dear to yours truly.  I wish I could tell you the presenters, male and female alike, did a great job, but Twitter clearly stole the show.  I don’t know who’s brilliant idea it was to display the live Twitter feed for all references to #bdnt, but the entire Meetup turned into tweeps elbowing for time on screen.  It then degraded further into a competition of who could come up with the wittiest comment.

Now, I’m truly not complaining.  I spent the entire Meetup laughing at the jokes and the wit (Denver smells like Fritos!).  I came pretty close to wetting my pants when HeyRich had his beer delivered that he ordered from the screen.  I know I got a dozen or so follows out of it, an enjoyable side effect of attempting wit publicly but failing miserably.  But I barely remember the presenters.  And what is the BDNT if not for the presenters?

So remind me, if/when I ever have the courage to get up there,  make sure the live feed is off.  (insert the booo hisss here).  Wait, I mean on.  Okay, okay, off.

There’s something so rejuvenating about “we don’t need no stinkin’ business model” business model – and the folks at ActionFeed.org are embodying that.  Last night was the first regularly scheduled meetup of all the locals interested in helping get this non-profit startup off the ground.   I think everyone there was excited by the enthusiasm and talent in the room.  Right now there are 2 camps of people helping out, the pro-geeks (for software engineering) and the no-geeks (for everything else).  With the breadth and depth of skill in the volunteers, and no doubt we will execute quickly and have fun doing it.  Don’t take our word for it, here are some photos.  I’ll post more as they become available.

ActionFeed.org is putting together an free iPhone app called iVolunteer that will show you volunteer and community involvement opportunities in your area.  It’s about mobilizing people to get their #$#@#$ off the couch and helping out, especially in a year when we’ll see many valuable non-profits go under from the rapid decline of donations.

So if you find yourself watching more than 30 minutes of TV on Tuesday nights, consider doing something more constructive and help us out.    No excuses!  (we thought of using that for the tag line, but seem to remember some t-shirt slogan somewhere…)

The Underpants Business of South Park goes like this:  Phase 1, steal lots of underpants.  Phase 3, PROFITS!

So the logical question here is, what’s phase 2?

I loved that episode of South Park, mostly because of all the startups I’ve talked with, most of them get a clueless look on their face when you bring up their go-to-market strategy.  What do you mean? they ask.  I’m going to do some Adwords Campaigns, maybe I’ll hire a sales guy when I can afford it. Prepare for a really hard and fast landing if that’s your strategy.  You need to think about vertical markets, horizontal markets, how to get your lists, what kind of marketing you’ll do (print, online, phone, direct, whatever) – its exhaustive.  While I don’t mean to scare you, I do wish more entrepreneurs would start thinking about it before launching companies.

So, to help you start thinking about it, CU’s Silicon Flatirons program is running a free seminar tonight and on the 27th to help give some insights on how to market your product and company.  Start thinking about Phase 2 BEFORE you execute Phase 1!  And of course its a good place to come network.

But the real question is who else is missing their underpants?  Ummm….no comment.

I was at the Boulder New Tech Meetup last night, what a zoo!  It’s the most crowded I’ve ever seen it, but the room was abuzz with energy.  One notable difference in the meeting (aside from lack of butt space) was the sheer number of people looking for work.  Usually the forums rage with startups seeking employees.  This time it was the other way around.

As I was sitting there watching Andrew Hyde mispell “startup” on his preso (procrastinator!), it got me thinking.  He’s a shy guy that gets out of his skin to put himself out there and be heard.  Next up was Eric Marcoullier of Gnip.  Ditto for him; a tad on the shy side, but gets out there and talks about what he’s doing.  Later, I got a tweet from a ‘follower’ I don’t know well saying he saw me there but didn’t want to interrupt a conversation I was having.

I’m the worst about this too, I’m not shy at ALL but am incredibly tongue tied when it comes to asking for things like an opinion, a job, a favor, some help, or even interrupting a conversation.  The great thing about this Meetup and Boulder in general is that people, for the most part, are welcoming, kind, and forgiving.  Most of the top tech leaders I know in Boulder will take a meeting if asked nicely.  So I write this more for my own head-pounding-against-the-wall reminder than for yours – but get out there!  Come introduce yourself.  Stand up in a room full of people and say what’s on your mind!  Whether it be needing a job, wanting feedback on your startup idea, or just to start networking and making new friends.  You’ll never get to where you want to be by just wishing things would happen around you.

So check out the events calendar, register for the next New Tech Meetup or Ignite Boulder, whatever it takes.  I promise we don’t bite (hard)  – (insert maniacal cackle).