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Last week I attended the first Boulder Denver New Tech Meetup in Denver.  I was so excited that I could actually attend Boulder Open Coffee Club in the morning and the BDNT that evening (since I don’t live in Boulder, I can’t make both of these events when they’re in Boulder on the same day. Too much driving.)   I’d been to a couple of the meetups in Boulder and they were always loud, crazy, energetic and fun (kinda like Boulder), so I was hoping that the Denver meetup would be able to recreate some of this magic, even if it was tempered by age, experience, and a handful of suits (kinda like Denver).  I’d say we’re off to a good start with the Denver event, but I’m doubtful that we’ll see a meaningful connection between the Denver and Boulder groups without significant, ongoing efforts to make it happen.

Some quick (and totally unscientific) observations on the two groups…

New Tech Meetup – Boulder

• 50-75% have laptops out and working during the event; if you’re not using your laptop it’s because you’re probably on your iPhone.
• The Twitter backchannel is fast and furious, with a fair amount of heckling, but plenty of helpful questions and comments as well.
• The energy level buzzes throughout the event, from early drinks, through the presentations, to after-event meetups and tweet-ups.
• The content presented ranges from “we have a great idea and cool technology” to “we have a great idea, cool technology and an iPhone app.”
• Presenters are 98% male and young.
• Companies are tiny, almost always <10 people. Mostly <5.

New Tech Meetup – Denver

• Out of ~300 people, I saw three laptops out and working. I’m sure there were mobile devices out and about, but I mostly saw Blackberries, Palms, and only a handful of iPhones (and those were often from the Boulder folks.)
• There was a Twitter backchannel; mostly non-heckling; good questions and feedback, but not as integrated with the event as it is in Boulder. Of course, that could also be due to the room configuration – it was really hard to read the feed on the screen.
• The energy level was modest at the beginning, lulled to near-death in the middle, but finished pretty well. Lots of hallway conversations after the event bodes well.
• The content presented ranged from “we have a great idea and cool technology” to “we’re a funded, profitable company targeting specific enterprise level customers.”
• Presenters are 100% male (okay, there’s only been one meetup, so I’m sure at some point we’ll have a woman up there!) and a little bit older (i.e. >25).
• Companies are small to medium-sized.

Connecting the dots

We have a thriving startup hub in Boulder. We have a healthy support system (bankers, lawyers, workers) in Denver to help companies grow. How can we bring the two together?

I hope the size and popularity of the BDNT will at least help to get the ball rolling, but we’re going to need more.

More from the grassroots – the communities of designers, developers, and other tech-heads who work together on and across projects and companies and thereby expand and improve the quality of available talent.

More from the infrastructure – the schools, universities, professors, students, and alumni whose intellectual resources and discoveries could provide limitless business opportunities with the right partnership with skilled entrepreneurs.

And, more from the business community – the VCs, angels, bankers, and lawyers who hold the purse strings and therefore can use a combination of both carrot and stick to encourage “cross-cultural” activities that strengthen their companies.

Without enough of these efforts – in quantity and/or intensity – we’ll miss out on our opportunity to become a hyperconnected powerhouse of new business energy and will instead continue to spike and spark and sputter.

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