Here’s a very cool concept for a site that can generate a ton of equity value vs. the effort put into building it.  I actually know that Lowell has put a lot of energy into building out Loud3r, and it shows, but compared to what DWave is trying to do, it’s no huge technical accomplishment.  It just works.  On the web, what matters most is a fast, clean, easy to use site that give me only the information I want. In fact, I’m sure my friend Brian Sugar over at Sugar Inc (home of the popular site popsugar.com among others) would agree with Lowell’s approach to chunking up vertical content sites based on domain name vs sub-domain name like Guy Kawasaki’s Alltop.  Regardless of what you think, you should check it out, bookmark/subscribe to the sites that are relevant to you, and see how it goes.  As for me, I’ve pointed my RSS reader to found3r.com.

PS: I’m still holding out hope for similar, more personalized, feeds to starting coming out of the Something Simpler offices.

Donat Group’s Rochelle Grayson was profiled in the article on Sunday.

“What I love about the tech industry is that it’s incredibly creative. It really thrives on creativity and innovation,” says Grayson, 39. “You have to be adaptable and prepared to re-think things all the time.”

I was talking to Eric Lagerway, CEO of Lypp.  He mentioned that they released their Outlook plug-in for Lypp today.  You simply schedule a meeting like you normally would, and then press the conference button, which sets up a call in number for you and informs the attendees all in one shot.  A very cool addition to an already easy to use and low cost conference calling solution.  

Disclaimer: I’m a board advisor to Lypp

We’ve had some complaints that we party too hard at Launch Party.  So much so, that investors and entrepreneurs can’t hear each other talking.  Even when we turn down the music all the way, people can’t hear very well over all the mingling.  So, we have a solution.  If you’re an Angel, VC or Blogger, please let me know and I’ll put you on the list for the sneak peak portion of the event, which simply starts an hour earlier.

Check out the list at the Launch Party Blog

Featured Companies at LPV4

I’ve been getting some heat about my video I did for my friend’s company FundFindr.tv.  Some people believe that I’m a VC hater, but that could be no further from the truth.  Some of my best friends are VCs.  I admire and aspire to be more like them.  I’ve had some really good experiences from VCs.  Rex Golding, formerly MobiusVC, was my most respected role model at the time.  He took the time to understand our overall corporate strategy, and before he made recommendations, he thought about how it effected the big picture.  That said, I’ve had my share of VCs that were not so great, and shall remain nameless.

But all in all, if you’re starting a company, you will most definitely benefit from VC cash, credibility, connections, and a sounding board.  Just make sure that you know when to take it and when to leave it.

Last night I got an email from Steve Wandler, CEO of YourTechOnline.  He told me the deal had closed and I can now finally blog about it.  I had the inside info because I’m an advisor to the company.  I instantly emailed Rob over at Techvibes to fill him in on the scoop, since I couldn’t get to blogging until tonight.

I was introduced to Steve through a mutual friend, Dale Fuller, former CEO of Borland, McAfee, WhoWhere, among other things.  I know how hard Steve has worked for this, and I’m very excited that he has found a home for his baby at SupportSoft.  Funny story about that… I met SupportSoft’s founder, Mark Pincus back in 1999 when my brother’s wife used to work for him there.  Mark and I now keep in touch via facebook from time to time, but I’m pretty sure neither of us had anything to do with the acquisition.  :-)

Great job Steve, and thanks for proving once again that BC is growing hotbed of tech startups.

Time flies when you’re starting companies, and the time has come to bring someone on to help us get Bootup Labs moving faster. We’re happy to announce that Brendon Wilson has joined as us as Bootup Labs’ first employee!

Brendon just returned to Vancouver from four years in Silicon Valley as a Product Manager. He brings a wealth of experience as both a software developer and a business geek, and is generally the kind of “let’s get things done” guy we wanted to have involved with Bootup Labs. He’s also not shy about getting out there to stir things up – see his recent posts on TechVibes to get a flavour for that.

Over the coming months, Brendon will be the attention to detail guy, pushing forward the documentation of Bootup Labs’ investment process, helping to vet potential Bootup Labs recruits, and generally getting things moving. So ladies and gentlemen, start your pitching!

Along with employee #1, we have other announcements to make in the coming weeks about the first recruits to get “booted up”, dates for some planned events, and more.

P.S. Don’t forget that Rick Segal from JLA Ventures is coming to visit this coming Monday, April 21st at 4pm in our offices. You’ll need to signup for Vancouver.

Tech Investing 2.0: DemoCamps, Incubators, and Launch Parties

Hi, welcome to Bootup Labs!

Who: Boris Mann and Danny Robinson

What: an incubator, a company that helps startups get started (for now, in the Vancouver area). We could say kind of like Y-Combinator or sort of like the Founders Fund, just to start getting your head into the right space. We’re not a fund, but we do want to help you quit your day job. The web, mobile, and casual gaming are three of the main areas we’ll be focusing on.

Where: 350 - 375 Water Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada – right down in Gastown

When: now. This is it. We’re booting up. What’s amazing to us again was that picking the name was the hardest part. Lucky for us “bootup labs” was actually a Google Whack – that kind of sealed the deal. A few hours later, we’ve got Google Apps running everything from email to calendars, and this blog up and running in moments with Wordpress.com. Now all we need is a place where we can crowd source a logo.

It feels like we’re getting started at exactly the right time. In just the last couple of weeks, we’ve noticed lots of relevant blog posts come bubbling up that are in line with our thinking. As the last year closed, Mark Evans figures we needs a Peter Thiel in Canada. David Crow batted that back, asking if money was really all we are lacking here in Canada.

David’s been doing lots of relevant blogging, like this one on seed stage financing in Canada – but that should come as no surprise: he and I often seem to share a brain, we just haven’t figured out which one is the evil twin yet. Oh yes, and you should definitely plan to go to the Founders and Funders dinner that David is organizing January 21st in Toronto.

We’ll be talking more about what we see as our value proposition to, well, founders and funders, in upcoming posts. We’re aiming to set up an environment where many more startup companies can flourish in Vancouver.

Welcome to Bootup Labs. Stop by our offices the next time you’re in town – we’d love to talk to you if you’re a founder, a funder, or want to get involved in some other way.