By: Todd NuckolsLast fall a dynamic group of designers, developers, founders, students, pros, thinkers, doers and starters gathered for RVA's inaugural Startup Weekend. Ideas were born, developed and pitched in under 54 hours. And now it is time to beat the summer heat with a little startup coolness this July! Sign up, join in and maybe your idea will launch a great team or maybe you will simply help drive another starter's sweet idea forward? Mentors will be on hand and prizes will be awarded by our distinguished panel of judges before it all wraps up Sunday evening. Want to learn more? Yes you do! So make sure to join us for the RVASW Alumni Reunion & 2013 Info Session this Thursday evening, June 26th, at A2 Restaurant for a cocktail, appetizers and sweet startup conversation. Space is limited so be sure to get your ticket today! Then head over to rva.startupweekend.org to learn more and sign-up for this summer's main event happening the weekend of July 26th.
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by Brian Blend At 804RVA, we're always looking to get to know one another to find work and social connections. In this series, we ask some questions of 804RVA coworkers to help you get a better sense of who's who around 804RVA and how to work and engage with them. Next up, Ben Chodroff , Manager of Technical sales and work CloudOne. Tell us a little about yourself. I moved to Richmond from Cleveland about 2 years ago. I went to school at Case Western Reserve University where I studied computer engineering. What's your food and drink of choice? I like an everything bagel with cream cheese and to drink, I like a glass of orange juice or a cocktail (Gin and tonic). What motivates you? The Gin and Tonic What keeps you busy while at 804RVA? Work. I work for a start up. Were doing really cutting edge innovative work for large and small companies alike. That’s really exciting to me. What's your favorite thing about coworking at 804RVA? The community. 804RA is full of really interesting people with a wide array of talents. I love to share ideas. Matt Recommends: To Read: The Count of Monte Cristo To Know: Basic Programming; or have at least an appreciation for it. To Do: Fly a sailplane Connect with Ben by email at Benjamin.chondroff@gmail.com I certainly do not claim to be a marketing or brand specialist. But I could not help but think of several of the fine people around the 804RVA community when I saw this feature on PandoDaily: Content marketing gets its magazine moment And since my own twitter account has questionable reach I thought I would shout it out via the 804RVA blog. Hope you enjoy it - and hope I am not abusing my privilege here! At 804RVA, we're always looking to get to know one another to find work and social connections. In this series, we ask some questions of 804RVA coworkers to help you get a better sense of who's who around 804RVA and how to work and engage with them. Next up, Bob Larrick, member services and forums coordinator Tell us a little about yourself. I have lived in Richmond for 7 years. I live in the near west end and have a degree in history and computer science from Virginia Tech and ODU. I work for a company called Collective where I build internal tools and software. What's your food and drink of choice? Definitely Pizza. And to drink: Home-brewed beer if I can get it. What motivates you? My family. I have a son who’s almost three. But curiosity and fun also motivates me. What keeps you busy while at 804RVA? I try to maintain a balance between chatting with coworkers and getting things done. It can be hard to escape the gravitational pull of a conversation without being abrupt sometimes. What's your favorite thing about coworking at 804RVA? Going out to lunch with my co-workers. Matt Recommends: To Read: Sabriel , Game of Thrones To Know: How to be awesome. Also know "ruby on rails" To Do: Suck it up and finish something Connect with Bob by email at larrick@gmail.com We read amazing things every day. Such as the suspected $100 million exit of a 37 day old startup Mailbox. But I am struck by something else in this remarkable story when I consider it in the light of the works of Jim Collins book, Good to Great. With Mailbox, the first attempts at greatness were something far less - a failed todo list. And within Good to Great, you will learn Jim Collins research reveals for most it can take several years to find a defining hedgehog concept (key product/value proposition) to drive a business forward to lofty heights. What does this mean? We need time. Even if you believe product-market fit is little more than a video and sign-up list or you are the most ardent lean startup supporter you still need time to test, measure, learn and refine your founding concept. Time to pivot and adjust. Time to make mistakes and recover. Time to build and time to sell. What does that have to do with early capital? For many founders early capital literally creates the time you need to succeed. I applaud those that come out of the block with a perfect idea and the free time to execute. But it is time to come clean and admit this is the exception to the rule. As a community we need to understand this truth and be careful demanding perfection too early of promising founders. It is important that we find creative and traditional avenues to capital for our founders. I hope we realize that no matter the spreadsheet or elevator speech that early money bets on the founder. Early money gives founders much needed time to develop that so called overnight success. Who do you believe can be a great founder? If you find them then offer your help through your time, introduce them to us at StartRVA and Lighthouse, share your expertise with them and if at all possible your capital to give them time to demonstrate that greatness! Lighthouse has provided founders with 3 months of inspiration and connections but in every case more time is needed - and that means more capital too! Your friends at StartRVA know exciting stuff sometimes happens outside of our fine city that you want to know about. The Ballston Innovation Initiative is throwing a technology throw down featuring the nation's top security officials! Intrigued? Check out the details and jump in at http://www.ballstoni2.com/#!about1/c1qu0 Hurry, the fun kicks off on June 15th! At 804RVA, we're always looking to get to know one another to find work and social connections. In this series, we ask some questions of 804RVA coworkers to help you get a better sense of who's who around 804RVA and how to work and engage with them. Next up, Eva Colen, Director of Regional Recruitment at Teach for America! Tell us a little about yourself. I've been in Richmond for 3 years and when I'm not traveling for work, you can find me at Mekong's bar or watching live music. I'm currently working to open a Teach for America placement site in central Virginia. What's your food and drink of choice? Seafood - mostly shellfish and bourbon/ginger or any sour beer. What motivates you? Social justice, anti-oppression, anti-racism, equality, love, education and education reform. Virginia's had a 400 year history of States' rights over Civil rights and I'm interested in changing that. What keeps you busy while at 804RVA? Usually I'm clearing my inbox or working on special projects like creating training manuals for new recruiters. For example, how to use social media tools for networking and marketing. What's your favorite thing about coworking at 804RVA? I travel a lot in my current role, but I've really enjoyed getting to know everyone. And it's nice that there are no cats trying to help me type while I'm working. :-) Eva Recommends:
Connect with Eva on Twitter @EvaColen, or email her via Gmail or TeachForAmerica. Bill Conference: Show & Tell |
Share the stuff you make or the stuff you love. A couple of people will get us started by sharing something they're working on or something they've discovered that inspired them. We'll spend the rest of the time chatting or drinking beer or looking at cool things on the internet. |
Night Owls Late Night Coworking
Thursday May 2nd
6pm- midnight
Are you working on a side project, startup, or building your portfolio? Do you want to meet other like minded people and be motivated by fellow makers and creatives? You don't have to be at 804RVA every single day to get the benefits - in fact, you can start coming after hours! Night Owls memberships are available for as little as $25 per month. |
V.I.N.E. : How to protect your invention
Monday April 23
Local patent attorney Brian Teague will discuss how to protect your invention. Topics will include an overview of the patent process, recent changes to US patent law and what they mean to inventors, and the anatomy of a patent. |
CoFounders Lab
Tuesday April 24th
Looking for a co-founder? CoFoundersLab helps entrepreneurs find co-founders. It combines two free services: -- an in-person Meetup -- an online matching platform 6:30pm - 9:30pm |
Wolf Shirt Wednesday
Wednesday April 25th
That's right.. it's exactlt how it sounds: Wolf Shirt Wednesdsay. You could be a lone wolf working from home, or you could get up, put on your wolf shirt and come join the wolf pack for a day of coworking. If you haven't coworked on a Wolf Shirt Wednesday, you're missing out. 9:00 am - 5:00pm (coworking) |
Wordpress Wednesday
Wednesday April 25th
This group is for anyone who uses WordPress, whether you're a blogger, designer, developer, coder, themer, or anything else you can imagine. Meetup events are open to both advanced and beginner users and are free! 6:00 pm -8:00pm |
Night Owls Late Night Coworking
Thursday April 26th
Are you working on a side project, startup, or building your portfolio? Do you want to meet other like minded people and be motivated by fellow makers and creatives? You don't have to be at 804RVA every single day to get the benefits - in fact, you can start coming after hours! Every Thursday after 6pm, 804RVA Night Owls is a fun & productive member-run working session for people that have full time jobs but want to work on a side project...as well as students and people who just prefer working after dark! 6:00 pm - Midnight |
Ludum Dare 26: 48 Hour Game Jam
Friday April 27th- Sunday April 29th
Come join professional, independent, students and amateur game developers and make video games at another Ludum Dare 48-hour game development challenge! Can you make a game in under 48 hours? You'd be surprised! Join us at 8 p.m. to setup and wait for the secret theme to be revealed. Fri 8:00pm- Sun 11:00pm |