Social Rockstars Happy Hour

Paul and Kady of the DC New Media Technology Web 2.0 Meetup group put together another Social Rockstars Happy Hour at Lotus Lounge last Thursday.  The event was an opportunity for local startups and projects to demo their work, attract users and recieve feedback.  A significant number of ventures were present, speaking again to the growing size and scope of the Washington, D.C. tech scene.  Those on hand included

• ShareMeme
• GeniusRocket
• Starburbs
• ViaPlace
• InsideJob (Facebook application)
• JunJonz
• MindGrub

The diverse crowd also reflected a growing interest in the local web and technology community, with everything from consulting groups to national news media corporations represented.

ShareMeme

The Contribune team had an especially good time talking to Luc and Ahson from ShareMeme, a LaunchBox Digital ‘08 backed startup focused on simplifying messaging and invitations across multiple platforms and channels.  They two advised us on the challenges of feature and scope creep, and stressed that startups have to focus on one or two core use cases, and not attempt to support ever feature requested.

This is certainly a challenge Contribune has faced, as we’ve been eager to incorporate new features as we’ve become increasingly excited in the larger vision of Contribune.

LaunchBox Digital

Luc and Ahson also talked with us about their experience with LaunchBox Digital, which is now accepting applications for this summer’s seed investment program.  The program allows small teams working on early stage projects enough money to work through the summer in exchange for a small equity stake.  The real value in the program is the business and legal assistance they offer young companies, along with the general support, advice and speaker series that goes along with the program.  At end of the summer, LaunchBox hosts a demo day which is an opportunity for LaunchBox companies to show their products to potential investors.   The program is backed by a really extrodinary group of individuals: Sean Greene, founder and forner CEO of the Away Travel Network, cofounder of Rock Creek Ventures; John McKinley former CTO and founder and President of Digital Services for AOL and advisor to numerous startups; Julius Genachowski, former executive at IAC/InterActiveCorp and current chairman of Thummit; and Matthew Jacobson, a former AOL Vice President .

When asked what he though made for a compelling application, Ahson stressed the importance of deliverying a simple and concise pitch of your concept, in addition to having strong technical credentials on your team.

The two have done a spectacular job with ShareMeme, and I imagine there will be no shortage of good applications this year.  This year seems like an especially opportune time to apply. As Amplifer Ventures partner Jonathan Aberman mentioned late last year, some of technology’s greatest companies were started in challenging economic time.

InsideJob and JunJonz Photography

The team also watched a demo of Lorne Epstein’s InsideJob Facebook application, which is an interesting approach to job search and recruiting.  The really interesting part of the concept is the applications ability to turn everyone into a “passive recruiter.”

JunJonz Photography was on hand taking photos of the event.  The man behind this concept has setup an interesting website which allows his photos to be tagged back to Facebook.

The Contribune team was also able to snap some photos of the event.   Check them out.