Reading between the lines, it seemed as if Chuck McDermott was trying to set the tone—or maybe just the backbeat—for San Diego’s “Rock Stars of Innovation Summit” when he chose a 1979 John Stewart hit as the closing song for Tuesday night’s VC jam session. McDermott, who is a general partner in the Boston office of Rockport Capital and namesake of the unheralded “Chuck McDermott Band,” belted out a pretty fair cover of “Gold,” which includes the lyrics:
Drivin’ over Kanan, singin’ to my soul
There’s people out there turnin’ music into gold
In this case, the music would be the pitches delivered by top executives at 10 San Diego Internet startups at an event that drew close to 250 venture investors and business and academic leaders. The presentations yesterday afternoon topped a fascinating morning that included some insightful founder-funder chats, keynote talks, and discussions on topics that included emerging trends in venture investing, the convergence of genomics and “big data,” and the promise of gene therapy. The fourth annual summit was sponsored by Connect, the San Diego non-profit group for entrepreneurship and technology, and Xconomy.
When everything was done and said, you could argue that innovation is alive and well in San Diego (despite a regional shortage of venture capital rainmakers). At the end of the program, the audience voted for their favorite startup, although, alas, there was no prize to go with it. Under the circumstances, it seemed only fitting to add a few awards of my own.
Audience Choice for Best Presentation
—SwoopThat.com. The audience favorite is a Web-based business that helps students save as much as 75 percent on their college textbook purchases. SwoopThat enables users to compare multiple online offerings in much the same way that Kayak.com enables travelers to compare air fares. CEO Jonathan Simikin says SwoopThat generated about $450,000 in book sales since he launched the business in August. The startup earns a commission on every purchase no matter whether the sale came through Amazon, Alibris, AbeBooks, or another online retailer. The company has been working to establish exclusive partnerships with campus bookstores to integrate its price comparisons technology with student courses (which include reading requirements). What’s next? “Obviously, if we have campuses tied down on our technology, we can do a lot more than books,” Simkin says.
Best Name for a CEO Giving a Presentation at the Rock Stars of Innovation Summit
—Deal Current Network CEO Jimmy Hendricks. The goal of the two-year-old startup is to create the largest transaction-based advertising network for local media broadcasters, publishers, and advertisers.
Startup With the Single Most Passionate Customer
—Gamer Grub, which makes “high-energy snack food for video game fanatics.” CEO Keith Mullin says one customer asked for copy of the company’s official Gamer Grub logo and had it tattooed on his hands.
Best Bid to Attract Same-Day Media Attention
—Independa. The startup’s founding CEO, Kian Saneii was
