I spent my last post ragging on the downsides of BigOmaha, but now it’s time to get down to terms with what was really awesome about the conference. Instead of reminding the reader as I go along, I’ll get it out of the way right here: this was Year One for BigOmaha as an event, and I think that allows it a degree of leniency regarding its offerings, accommodations, etc. Now, that being said, let’s throw out some high-level things that were really (and in some cases, surprisingly) nice about the conference.
In general terms, I felt that the conference excelled in its presentation, organization, and facilities. I didn’t list anything I disliked about regarding these areas in my last post, because I don’t feel there was anything worth complaining about (well, the wifi was a little spotty). The conference coordinators secured a variety of fun and posh sites for the various legs of the event. Thursday night: opening party (with free wine and beer) and at Slowdown. Friday day: extensive conference with powerhouse speakers at the renovated Kaneko library. Friday night: closing party at the Nomad lounge (with, once again, free wine and beer). All locations were situated in about a one square mile area in downtown Omaha, close to a variety of hotels… all of it being right off the highway. Accommodations were definitely not a source of complaint.
The conference area at Kaneko had been decorated and laid out in a way that was interesting and stimulating for the attendees. Several art installation pieces had been added, in addition to a nifty touch-screen interactive display provided by Phenomblue. The conference area easily held the 450+ attendees, with big screens so everyone could see even at the very back. Fruit and refreshments were available freely throughout the day. Breakfast was provided at the conference area, and there were plenty of breaks for networking. There was even a BigOmaha iPhone app that had been developed specifically for distribution at the conference to encourage attendee participation.
Needless to say, we wanted for nothing at the conference, which left us to focus on the presenters.
Jason Fried
Jason is the president and founder of 37signals, a Web interface design and usability consultancy based in Chicago. He spearheaded the concepting, design, and development of Basecamp, 37signal’s web-based project management tool for designers, freelancers, and creative services firms.
BigOmaha Guide
I’m not a fanatic about 37signals, but I’ve read a fair amount of their blog posts on Signal vs. Noise and I’ve always been very interested in the viewpoints described there… having had to deal with a variety of work situations that had more processes and cultures. Jason didn’t say anything I hadn’t heard him say before, but he had some extremely pertinent and interesting points:
- Knowledge: Share it. Businesses tend to horde their knowledge and expertise, lest the competition trample them. Jason advocated following the example of world-famous chefs, like Emeril Lagasse or Mario Vitale, who freely share their knowledge and reap huge business rewards from it.
- Byproducts: Every action you take produces a byproduct. 37signals started out as just another creative firm. They quickly found that the tools they needed to do their job the best they could didn’t exist… so they built them. Next thing you know, Basecamp and RAILS have come into existence.
- Failure: This was kind of a buzzword at the conference. Apparently there has been a big push in entrepreneurial circles to fail early and fail often because many investors gauge your potential success on how much experience you’ve supposedly gained from your mistakes. Jason debunked this, saying that failure for the sake of failure is ridiculous.
- Focus: Your business focus should be on things that don’t change. “No one is going to say in ten years ‘Gee, I really wish this stuff cost more’ or ‘Why doesn’t this take longer to ship to me.’ Customers always want lower prices, faster delivery, more options and features, etc. Focus on those things, and the details will follow.”
Jason is a bit of an enigmatic figure, enhanced by the reclusive way that the 37signals crew conducts their business. All-in-all, the speech was relatively brief yet informative. We quickly discovered that Jason hates most words in the English dictionary, such as “goals”, “plans”, “investments”, etc. At one point he described 37signals’ lack of planning saying “We have no idea what we’re doing. We just take each day as it comes.”
Micah Baldwin
Micah is VP and Chief Evangelist for Lijit Networks, a Boulder, CO startup that provides publishers a robust search and stats tool. Lijit is Micah’s sixth startup, having sold his last startup, Current Wisdom, in the beginning of 2007. You can read more about Micah’s philosophy of success through failure at his blog, Learn To Duck.
BigOmaha Guide
I have to be honest about Micah: I really have no idea what his presentation was about. Something to do with failure, and that it’s OK to fail as long as failure is an event, and not your journey and/or destination. The difference between being a “failure” and being a “loser” is how you handle the pitfalls.
Good advice and viewpoints, but what I feel I learned the most about from Micah is how to present yourself to your audience, whether it be techy-geek conference attendees, customers, or business investors: Be Yourself. Micah was, I think before anything, blunt and open about his experiences and standpoints and explained situations that led him to give the advice he did. Micah didn’t speak about his current business venture, Lijit, but instead focused on those events that had led him through his many ideas and startups. He summarizes: “Sometimes the best way to learn to duck, is to get punched in the face.”
Jeffrey Kalmikoff
Jeffrey is your average 29-year-old tattooed metal-head with an eye for design and a nose for tomfoolery. The focus of his work is as chief creative officer for the Chicago-based, community-business-centric skinnyCorp who is best known for their multi-million dollar tee shirt business, Threadless.
BigOmaha Guide
I think I’d have to say that my favorite presentation was probably Jeffrey’s. Jeffrey combined the business sense and advice of Jason Fried with the openness of Micah Baldwin to produce a highly interesting and entertaining speech. Jeffrey advocated building brands that evoke a feeling a friendship, and growing that friendship into a greater sense of community. Threadless exists solely because of an active community of contributors and readers, without which the company would simply be another t-shirt shop. Jeffrey recommended taking steps in business to become more open and transparent with customers and users, because this helps bring them into the community mentality. Ownership of a product, site, location, etc. shifts from the individual to the group as a whole.
His slides kicked ass too.
Ben Rattray
Ben is the founder and CEO of Change.org, a social network for nonprofits, political campaigns, and engaged citizens around the world. He’s also a frequent speaker about how organizations and activists can use the social web to advance social change and is a graduate of Stanford and the London School of Economics.
BigOmaha Guide
Mr. Rattray gave a presentation that, at first glance, may have seemed out of place at an entrepreneurship conference. Instead of focusing on business ideas and keys to success, Ben implored the audience to use their skills and resources to do something that matters. Success is a shallow thing if you’re the only one benefiting from it. Ben had several poignant statements about using your time wisely, in both the metaphysical and realistic sense. “If you’re not doing something that you are passionate about, then you are wasting your time” and “If you are doing something, then you are actively making a choice to not be doing something else during that time” are a few of the ones that stuck in my mind.
Ben also offered some sobering reminders that seem to be left out of advice given to starry-eyed thinkers wit big ideas. Mr. Rattray related that whatever you do, sacrifices will be made. Sometimes they are in the form of assets, be it money or time. Other times they consist of relationships, friends, activities, or hobbies. The path to making something greater than yourself isn’t easy, but life is too short to aspire to achieve mediocrity or less.
Gary Vaynerchuk
Gary Vaynerchuk, self-trained wine expert, is revolutionizing the wine industry. His blog, Wine Library TV (affectionately known as The Thunder Show), boasts a cult-like following resulting from his enthusiastic, unconventional, and often irreverent wine commentary.
BigOmaha Guide
I’d never heard Gary speak before. I’ve viewed a couple of his WineLibrary casts, but I being a relatively uninitiated wine drinker (I’m more of a beer man), wasn’t overly impressed. It’s just not my thing.
Gary the Motivational Speaker is something to behold, however. As a rule, I generally think that if you need to hear someone spout out absolutisms to get motivated to do something, you’re probably not bound for greatness anyway. But Gary does have an intense energy, and the way that he shows his obvious passion for life is definitely inspiring. To summarize his topics would be difficult, because he spoke on a wide variety of subjects: business, life, family, passion, success, etc. The gist: Get out there and grab what you want, and don’t make excuses for yourself. Don’t settle for what you don’t want, and never feel like you don’t deserve to be 100% happy with your life all the time. High talk, but something I think everyone needs to hear and be reminded of occasionally.
