Startup Women Boulder was started in February 2010 out of a desire to  connect  women who were deep into  running their own businesses with those just getting started. The goal was to provide a forum for discussion and speakers to educate, share insight, best practices and advice.  The idea came from women who were attending  Boulder Open Coffee Club,which meets at Atlas Purveyors to discuss technology and startups. Startup Women differs in its emphasis on women-owned businesses with a broader scope beyond technology.  A few examples of current members include businesses in media, art, archaeology, technology, marketing, strategic planning, and equine therapy.

The organizers credit the success of Startup Women — they are moving to Atlas Purveyors because of its greater capacity — with the high quality speakers that have been willing to share their expertise and the level of engagement of attendees and co-organizers, Fiona Schlachter, Andrea Meyer, Jennifer J. Breazeale. The group has expanded from 5 to approximately 40  in just five months.

While they are not  entirely certain how the organization will evolve, the organizers hope that this new vs. experienced entrepreneurial collaboration will result in “real magic”.  Both  groups stand to benefit: one from their hard-earned experience, and the other sharing new ideas or new ways of doing business.

In the future, Startup Women is planning to organize an all-day event and include other local organizations that have been so supportive of this effort, including Girls in Tech and the Boulder Open Coffee Club. If you are a woman interested in the startup community in Boulder, have a startup or are just beginning the journey, the meetings are bi-weekly from 8 am – 9 am at Atlas Purveyors.  Stop by to share “the good, the bad, and the ugly of starting and managing your own business.”

This morning I got the chance to talk with Andrea Pawliczek from duckduckDeal!, a company that offers a free iPhone application, which connects customers with great local deals. But before I asked about the cool features of the application or the benefits to merchants, I had to ask why the name duckduckDeal!. Andrea said it was a play on the children’s game of “duck, duck, goose” and instead of the goose being “it”  in tag, the goose is a great deal!
The software works in two ways:

• connecting customers with deals and discounts from their favorite local businesses
• enabling merchants to instantly communicate special offers to local customers

The software is available for customers as a free iPhone app (a Droid version will be available soon) or you can visit their Web site, if you want to check out merchant discounts. So, if you are out and looking to grab lunch or drinks with friends you can quickly browse a list of merchant offerings and see if your favorite place is giving a discount.
duckduckDeal! allows merchants to instantly create offerings, like happy hour discounts.  So, instead of simply throwing out a coupon and possibly having them redeemed at peak times, merchants  can target special promotions during their less busy times and connect with  an audience that may have a little more flexibility, like students.

Treasure Hunt

This coming Monday, July 19th, duckduckDeal! is having a treasure hunt. Clues will be released via Twitter @duckduckdeal), Facebook (Facebook.com/DuckDuckDeal), and on their website and the free iPhone app that lead to ducks hidden around Boulder. Find a duck, win a prize. The finders of the first three ducks will win prizes including gift certificates and cash. Along with a prize to the finder, the discovery of each of these ducks will release a piece of our treasure map on this page.

Eric

I met with Eric Jackson founder of Boulder Community Computers a non-profit that is addressing the digital divide starting in Boulder.  Eric got the idea for starting Boulder Community Computers while working at Community Cycles in Boulder and his idea is based loosely on the same spirit – education, volunteerism and community. Boulder Community Computers not only provides training but also gives individuals an opportunity to work towards “earning” their own computer. Individuals can “earn” through their volunteer hours. They also refurbish old computer equipment, including iPhones. This serves two purposes:

• provides a way for individuals to earn their own computer by learning how to install an OS or refurbishing a machine
• keeps these items out of the landfill

One of the principles of the organization is to provide individuals with real world skills, which they can market about themselves today. It is also serving to provide an alternative to people spending $500 on a new computer; they can come and volunteer, get trained, meet experts, join a community  and get involved. The value of the community aspect is worth more than the $500 some may spend on a new PC.

Eric wants to blend the best of the for-profit and non-profit worlds. Boulder Community Computers has the soul and heart of a non-profit but is operated like any for-profit business. They use proceeds from their store to help fund this effort. Eric is a strong believer in creating a sustainable, working business model that isn’t simply a charity.

I asked Eric what has been one of the biggest accomplishments and he said, “We are building a community here, which I think is synonymous with the idea of family. We have people come in and express a need and we feel great knowing that we are an organization that can help or we have others dropping in, who don’t need a computer or training but want to help out because they want to see this idea succeed”.  But Eric admits they still need help developing their business model. If you have an interest in helping out, applying your business expertise  to help build an organization with a soul, contact Eric. But if you are in need of a computer, or training stop by the shop and volunteer.

2232 Pearl St, Suite 200
Boulder, 80302
Phone: 303.335.0411

Several people new to town have suggested a forum for this site.

Since we know the Vanilla guys so well, it was a natural choice.

http://boulder.vanillaforums.com/

Lets jump on it and start some discussions, you never know who is out there.

I’ve been having a lot of fun learning about and switching over to Ruby over the last month from PHP. As a part of this process, I’ve started to get a sense for the lay of the land of the Ruby community in Boulder.

Meetups

• Ruby Code & Coffee: A weekly meetup on Wednesdays at 8:30am. According to the Boulder Tech Calendar … “Get together with some other rubyists in the area to write some code, share stories, and swap ideas.”
• Boulder Ruby: Educational talks on Ruby, Rails, or other general programming topics at the Collective Intellect offices. Click the link for more info.

Dev Shops

• dojo4 is a Boulder based dev and design collective. They say it best themselves – “We will send ninjas.”
• Foraker: I haven’t had a chance to meet anyone from the Foraker team yet, but it seems they focus on Ruby/Rails development as one aspect of their full service offering.
• Quick Left is a web engineering firm helping young and established companies alike build and improve their products. (Disclosure: I am employed by Quick Left.)

Conferences

• Mountain.rb Conference is a new single-track event being held this fall around the same time as boco and Startup Week. This should be awesome!

I’m excited to start checking out some of these events and meetups, and will hopefully meet some new Boulder people along the way. Let me know if you have anything to add to the list!

UPDATE: If you’re interested in learning Ruby, make sure to check out the hilarious _why’s Poignant Guide to Ruby

Don’t know if eveyrone saw but Boulder is a Code for America city this year!

They are looking for some help, and sent this over today:

Seeking web geek heroes. Code for America wants YOU to rebuild our country, one app at a time.

Code for America is now accepting applications for its 2011 fellows program. If you’re a developer, designer, product manager, data wrangler or researcher who wants to make a difference, this is your opportunity to build a new generation of Gov 2.0 apps to make city governments work better.

CfA fellows get a crash course in how cities work, mentorship and networking with the top names in tech and government, and a platform to launch companies and careers that will bring long-term innovation to the public sector. They also get a living-wage stipend, travel expenses, and healthcare for the year. Most of all, they get the chance to be heroes.

Applications are due August 15th, 2010. Please see
codeforamerica.org/fellows for details.