We’re gearing up for a very interesting panel discussion next Monday, September 26, in downtown Boston. And the program just got even more interesting.
Xconomy is organizing a venture chat around the theme of “Consumers, the Cloud, and Beyond—New Rules for Innovation,” which will tackle hard questions about what entrepreneurs and investors need to think about in the current era of Internet and cloud startups (and the “consumerization” of enterprise software). The main panel includes Larry Bohn of General Catalyst Partners, Jeff Fagnan of Atlas Venture, and Rich Levandov from Avalon Partners. David Patrick, the CEO of Boston mobile-app firm Apperian, will moderate.
The program will also include a series of startup “bursts”—short talks by some of the most intriguing entrepreneurs around town who sit at the intersection of cloud, consumers, and enterprise. Some of them have taken VC money, some haven’t. Here’s a quick rundown of who’s confirmed:
—Healy Jones, COO of OfficeDrop, which has products in digital filing and sharing. Jones was a VC before, so he can dish it out as well as take it.
—Frederic Lalonde, CEO of Hopper, a travel search and discovery startup. Lalonde is moving from Montreal to Boston just in time to discover that the winter is almost as bad here (but the hockey is better).
—Michael Salguero, CEO of CustomMade, a startup that connects consumers with expert craftspeople (part of the mass customization trend). Salguero is a former real estate guy who’s trying to talk some sense into the techies he meets every day.
—Coach Wei, CEO of Yottaa, a startup trying to make websites faster and better for business (Web performance optimization). Wei will be just getting off a plane from China, where he’s building a big team (you might call it an anti-lean startup).
If you’d like to attend, you can register here. Hope to see you on the 26th.
