This was evident at the Twiistup pre-event company pitch last week at UCLA.  Francisco Francisco Dao came up with the idea of letting 10 companies that weren’t selected for Twiistup to do a presentation the night before to a group of people and let the audience pick one company to win the final slot at Twiistup.  I I’ll put up the video when they post it on their website. Most people suck at presenting to big groups.  It’s It’s a shame because the ability to nail these presentations at key conferences can be once-in-a-lifetime opportunities

This is part of my series on  what makes an entrepreneur successful .  I originally posted it on  VentureHacks , one of my favorite websites for entrepreneurs. started the series talking about what I consider the most important attribute of an entrepreneur :  Tenacity .  I Funnily enough I was at the Twiistup conference I I then covered  Street Smarts ,  Ability to Pivot ,  Resiliency ,  Inspiration ,  Perspiration ,  Willingness to Take Risks and Detail Orientation .

photo from left to right: me, QD3, Brian Solis, Chamillionaire, Ian Rogers and Brian Zisk – most of whom I got to know through Twiistup panels) Things to know: mix of entrepreneurs, big tech company execs, service providers, media people, VCs, etc.  It You can’t show up with your monotone voice and have a deeply intellectual discussion like you might over brandy and cigars.  You’re Many of us in the technology, media and VC world sit on panels at lot.  Many Many of them are painfully boring.  It’s

My goal was to help you learn how to build a startup that leaves a legacy, from the man whose work changed the world. The best businesses are not cooked up by MBA’s with reams of data and business plans.  Because if it is the primary you end up with a very tedious, uninspiring business that tends to not to go anywhere. How did Jimmy Wales get the world to help him write an encyclopedia? And what could YOU learn from his experiences to help you build a business that leaves a legacy?

The word went out today that Twiistup is now accepting applications for their coveted show off spots. There are a total of 10 slots available for innovative startups to showcase their products at this one of a kind tech event . The upcoming Twiistup, which takes place this July, is in its sixth year and continues to grow and evolve with the communities ever changing needs. The organizers have realized the necessity of a larger venue and have secured the biggest location to date and have extended the event into two days. Showoffs will get more exposure than they ever have

Twiistup 6 took place last week and this time around, under new management, the event went through a few changes. This part of Twiistup was entirely new, previously the showoffs only had the ability to connect with the attendees at their booths.  Each was really enjoying the layout of the event and the fact that we were set up near a power source, but unfortunately being in the back made it hard to hear the people on stage. Instead of a one evening mixer that highlighted the showoffs and gave people a chance to mingle and get to know the companies, it was expanded to a two day conference with panels, and plenty of time for mingling.

was recently interviewed for an article that appeared in Fast Company titled, “ Why you should start a business in LA .” 8221;  If you’re interested in the topic it’s worth a read, but I thought I’d elaborate on the topic since it comes up all the time. First, I’d like to quote (paraphrase) Brad Feld speaking at Twiistup in LA in 2009, “I keep hearing people in LA talking with a chip on their Los Angeles.  People People either love it our hate it.  All

Los Angeles-based ExpenseBay scored the top award--a Lego trophy--at last week's Twiistup startup showcase event, rising above 11 other startups looking to strut their stuff to investors, angel investors, entrepreneurs, and others at the Universal Hilton on Thursday and Friday. Tags: expensebay twiistup contes The firm--which was selected by a panel of judges--develops Web 2.0-style software which helps business travelers to automatically fill out and submit expense report forms. ExpenseBay was founded by Eric Sikola. ...Tags:

Rubicon wants to send two lucky students to Twiistup! Nicole Jordan , Director of Integrated Communications for Rubicon, loves helping others and decided to create two Twiistup “scholarships” for budding entrepreneurs to be able to attend the one of a kind event. Twiistup offers two days of panels, Q&A sessions, start up pitches and a mixer that these lucky grad or undergrad students will get to be a part of. The idea behind the scholarship, is to give young college students the chance to connect with the leaders in the Business community.

will start with the highest level and work my down to the nitty-gritty of the tech trade. For meeting interesting People, Companies, and Startups , I recommend the following events: Startups Uncensored – Follow Jason Nazar’s ramblings on his blog to stay up to date on what is probably the most popular (free) networking event in LA. My friend Mark Long recently asked me about networking in Los Angeles. Mark is a CTO, see, and his company, PortBlue , was recently acquired (congrats, Mark!).