Small and Special Recap
I spent this afternoon at the Small and Special Conference, a “tiny conference for small business owners & entrepreneur hopefuls”. I was interested in the speaker lineup, particularly Garagiste founder Jon Rimmerman, knew one of the main organizers, and have had several ideas for small businesses (which will likely incubate more while Meagan finishes school).
The event definitely did not disappoint. All the speakers were entertaining and informative, and I definitely left with a refined focus on what I might aim to achieve.
Highlights for me included:
* Eric Levine – his Cellar Tracker software sounded really cool and I’ll definitely give it a shot to replace my Google docs wine spreadsheet. The story of how he started his business was also something I could potentially see working for me.
* Joe Manfield – his custom art engraving business was really fascinating. He can create beautiful laser etched designs in tech gadgetry (e.g. iPhones, laptops), wood, and Moleskine covers. I wasn’t expected to be interested in this one and was pleasantly surprised.
* Rachel Venning – founder of the sex toy shop Babeland – hers was an interesting (and remarkably humble) story.
* Jon Rimmerman – I wanted to see the man who, via his wonderfully woven tales of vinous delight, has parted me with a fair deal of cash (and cellar space) in exchange for some bottles of wine and an education. His story of founding and running Garagiste was really compelling – the passion, dedication, and honesty that come through in his wine offers were just as apparent in person.
* Andrew Bennett – he is a former Microsoft employee who started a small business called Deneki Outdoors, which operates fly fishing lodges in several locales. His comment about “working 50 weeks a year in order to get two weeks pursuing your passion” was something I could definitely relate to and stoked a few ideas of my own.
* Steven Bristol – co-founder of Less Everything, an online competitor to QuickBooks. As a longtime Quicken hater who is finally about to give up the fight in favor of Mint.com, I found his well-justified vitriol against Intuit welcome. I also liked his principles in creating a worthwhile business and product.
The emcee of the event, Jackson Fish Market’s Hillel Cooperman, was quite entertaining, if a tad long-winded at times. The venue, the Georgetown Ballroom, was a great space.
All in all, an afternoon very well-spent.
July 8th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
[...] JF over at the No Friday blog writes their recap of the day. [...]