UPDATED: Cospace Blood Drive: Sign up now!

June 28, 2011 Leave a Comment

Our friends across Burnet Road, Link Coworking, have challenged Cospace and other Austin coworking spaces to a blood drive competition.

Thanks to everyone who has signed up to donate blood! The Bloodmobile is coming to the parking lot at 911 W Anderson Lane from 1:00-4:30 on Tuesday, August 23rd. 

Please follow the instructions below to make an appointment. Also please forward these on to anyone who might like to give blood – all are welcome!

Donor Appointment Instructions

(If you have any problems, I should be able to register you.)

  1. Register online at https://www.inyourhandsonline.org/index.cfm?group=registration&function=appointment&opID=0.
  2. On the next page, click “Find a Drive.”
  3. Under Step 1, type “cospace” in the Code box and then click search.
  4. Under Step 2, click on 08/23/2011.
  5. Under Step 3, click on “Schedule” next to the time you want to come in.
  6. Then click OK and follow the directions from there.

Learn More

Find out what to do to prepare and find answers to any questions you might have at http://www.inyourhands.org/aboutblooddonation.php. Remember to drink lots of water before you donate blood and to eat lots of protein that day.

After You Donate

Register to win ACL passes or a Southwest Airlines gift card at the blood mobile. Then, come up to Cospace in Suite 203 for some blackberry cobbler.

You Rock

Thank you so much! Cospace is thrilled that we’re all banding together as a community to save some lives!
Filed Under: The Latest News on cospace

Pics from Cospace Open House 6/17/11

June 20, 2011 Leave a Comment

Thanks to everyone who came out for our Happy Hour on Friday! We had a good time and hope you did too.

Thanks to Cospace member Dan Lien for photos and party prep help!

Filed Under: The Latest News on cospace

Noah Masterson on Biking to Work

June 3, 2011 2 Comments
Noah Masterson is a new Cospace member this month. Since joining Cospace, he’s ridden his bike 3.5 miles each way every day, which has given him way too much time to ruminate on biking to work. Here are his observations, culled from his Twitter account:
  1. It’s really hot outside but not that bad when you’re pedaling because there’s always a breeze. It’s when you stop that you become soaked.
  2. After a few days of exercise I feel entitled to eat everything in sight.
  3. I have my first tan since the summer of ’86.
  4. I bought this bike 10 years ago in NYC and used to ride from Queens to Coney Island on it.
  5. The guy who sold me the bike convinced me to buy this incredibly heavy chain lock to go with it.
  6. Pretty sure the lock is now worth more than the bike.
  7. This was around the time it was discovered you could pop a Kryptonite U-lock with a ballpoint pen.
  8. I’m not sure which is nerdier: Biking with a laptop bag on my shoulder (what I do now) or saddlebags (what I want).
  9. I refuse to ever wear any kind of cycling attire.
  10. You’re welcome.
Filed Under: The Latest News on cospace

Introducing Paul O’Brien

May 10, 2011 Leave a Comment

Meet Paul O’Brien, Early Stage Marketing Executive and Cospace member.

Why do you cowork?

I’ve been in Austin only 6 months.  I picked up and moved the family out of a need for a better life and we have certainly found it. At home in Austin, I wanted to find a way to quickly connect with people in similar straits. People working for themselves from whom I can learn a few things, we can potentially work together, and with whom we can make some great new friends.

In the first few months that I was in town, I spent time with all the major coworking spaces and Cospace is the most diverse, comfortable, supportive of the community at large.  Every coworking space has its role, and the folks responsible for developing and managing these spots for the rest of us are doing a tremendous service, worth more than the business being built with their sweat; they are helping others succeed and building our economy in the process.  Cospace may not be the right fit for you but for me, for many, it’s home… Did I just call my office “home”?!

What are you working on?

I love this question because for me, the answer changes every six months, a year, or so.  It took me years to get used to this work style I have; I like doing a vast variety of things and usually find myself launching startups. That’s the easiest way to put it. I don’t create my own, I help entrepreneurs find the right trajectory. I take Seed or Series A companies and give them runway; with a marketing organization, analytics, monetization… everything but development.

I’m working with this fantastic company called Fliptop which gives a business unparalleled insight to the social profiles of their audience.

Out of Denver comes perhaps the most significant and little known innovator in the payments space since PayPal; IPCommerce enables software companies and developers to create amazing payment apps and services. Conceive of anything you ever wanted to do with payments and they make it possible.

Finally, I’m a big fan of crowd-sourcing models so I’ve been working with FoxTranslate who is doing for document translation what oDesk did for programmers.

Oh, and of course a few of my own projects.  A few weeks ago I launched SteinerRanchPost.com to bring an online community to an offline community.  I call Steiner Ranch home and I want to create a world-class online experience for small communities.

If the Internet died tomorrow, what would you do?

I’m going to take the liberty of bundling that question with some others you prompted, “What gets you up in the morning?” and “What keeps you up at night?”  There are moments when I consider ways to take down the internet just so I can retire and spend more time with my kids.  Then I remember it’s those same kids who crawl in bed at 4 in the morning.

Filed Under: The Latest News on cospace

Lean Jumpstart

May 3, 2011 Leave a Comment

We talk with people daily who either are building things (products, businesses or economies) or who want to start building things. The starting point for us is simple: a) you must understand lean, especially the value of “customer discovery”; and b) you have to “find a problem worth solving” or you are wasting time and money.

To help you get started, we have curated a short list of recommendations:

  • Stanford’s 2011 Entrepreneurship Conference – Video of Investor and CEOs having a discussion at a level of lean you should hope to attain…product/market fit and scale.  [ Tip: You should find investors that not only understand lean but value it. ]
  • Ash Maurya – Ash is a successful entrepreneur and lean startup evangelist based here in Austin. We think he is one of the best kept secrets in lean that isn’t so secret anymore. Thank goodness!    Ash’s Blog |  Ash’s book, “Running Lean”  |  Ash’s  Lean Startup |   Lean Canvas – our go-to 1 page business model tool and testing tool.  [ Tip: Lean is like swimming...never go it alone! Find a mentor, book or online guide that you're comfortable with.  Better yet, get into an accelerator or peer group like Cospace so you can learn faster. ]
  • Steve Blank – Steve founded several companies, coined “Customer Discovery,” wrote a great book called “The 4 Steps to the Epiphany” and is a professor at Stanford; Steve Blank at Stanford’s ecorner (video) [ Tip: There is amazing free stuff on the web; tap into the goodwill of others and make sure you give back too!  ]
  • Eric Ries – Eric successfully grew his last startup IMVU to acquisition, coined “Lean Startup” and has been evangelizing nationwide ever since.  Eric’s blog |  Eric’s video [ Tip: It's good to know the science behind the methodology.  ]
  • Venture Hacks / Angellist – What’s not to love about people who change the world?  These guys have decided to turn seed, angel and venture investing on it’s head for the betterment of all involved. Talk about transparency…from how to pitch “lean” to finding angel investors who get and value lean startups, these guys let you go for it!   VentureHacks |  AngelList [ Tip: It's critical that you find the right investor for you. ]
  • James Weddle – James has a long list of successful projects and ventures in IT, professional services, and entrepreneurship.  He’s co-founder of GroupCharger, co-founder of ShareOnce, and has many successful projects and ventures from around the U.S. under his belt.  James’s blog |  Cospace Network (Austin) |  GroupCharger |  ShareOnce [ Tip: Get straight to the point!  Be relevant. Be compelling. Be actionable. Know your audience!  Life is short. Get to it. ]
  • Kirtus Dixon – Kirtus brings a passion for learning and discovery to the table. He’s a lifelong entrepreneur, co-founder of Cospace in Austin, and co-founder and CEO of GroupCharger (and more to come).   Kirtus’s blog |  Cospace in Austin |  GroupCharger [ Tip: Always ask 4 questions of yourself and the people you lead:  1) Are you having fun?  2) Are you learning?  3) Are you being productive? 4) Do you have the resources you need? ]

Good luck!

Kirtus and James

Filed Under: Lean Process, People, Tools

Top 15 Startup Accelerators in 2011

May 3, 2011 Leave a Comment

http://techcocktail.com/top-15-us-startup-accelerators-ranked-2011-05

Congrats to all.

Filed Under: People, Tools

Recap: Meet Here Morning with Kirk Cesari: Cover Your ASSets

April 26, 2011 Leave a Comment

Thursday’s Meet Here Morning was a great success! Intellectual property lawyer Kirk Cesari gave a lively presentation on intellectual property issues ranging from patents, copyrights, and trademarks to contracts and truth in advertising. Cospace hosted attendees with a wide variety of interests and occupations, including software programmers, graphic designers, writers, publishers, and ecommerce professionals.

Since many participants worked for themselves or for startups, Kirk did a fantastic job balancing useful information and flexibility so attendees could ask questions pertaining to their own businesses.

“Kirk brought an effective broad expertise to the topic, well-targeted to the technology and marketing audience in attendance. His talk inspired me to put my business’ legal framework on the front burner and eliminate another concept because of its legal risk,” says Grow Your Base’s PJ Christie.

Thank you, Kirk, for presenting at this month’s Meet Here Morning!

Check out Kirk’s presentation.

Filed Under: The Latest News on cospace

Meet New Member Bob Wesson

April 14, 2011 Leave a Comment

What are you working on?

I’m working on my sixth startup, a company called VoiZapp, Inc., dedicated to reading aloud heretofore visual streams of information on mobile devices. The core idea here is simple: mobile phones are used when you’re on the go and not able to (or should not) focus on visual information presented on too-small screens anyway. Yet you’d still like to stay connected with your digital life — Facebook posts & messages, emails, tweets, articles, websites, and books you didn’t have time to read at the office. So VoiZapp is developing a line of apps that convert your visual streams intelligently into audio streams.

What brings you to Cospace (shameless plug)?

I’ve cycled between outside offices vs. my home office for literally decades, and my mood swings between each all the time. I’ve found lately that I get more done when I concentrate for a few core hours of the day, away from the distractions of my home and sweet wife and puppies. But I don’t really need a “real office” now that I’m outsourcing virtually everything (think 4HWW).

What’s your favorite new app?

With my developer hat on, I’ve become a big fan of TestFlightApp.com, which enables me to share builds with all my beta-testers seamlessly.

If the internet died tomorrow, what would you do?

Ah, fun question. In my early 20s, I got hooked on the “Travis McGee” mystery series written by John MacDonald. Travis (who I named by first-born son after) is a boat bum who lives on a houseboat in Ft. Lauderdale he won in a poker game. He takes his retirement in installments, making enough to go away sailing every couple of years. I’ve lived my life that way, typically working for awhile and then buying a boat (sail or motor yacht) and heading down the Caribbean until I get bored with that; done it 5-6 times so far. Take away the internet, and I’ll instantly be on my next boat trip again.

Got a shameless plug of your own?

Go download Friends Aloud and see how it feels to listen to your Facebook friends updates and comments on your commute home. Also, if you have an iOS app idea that you’d like me to fund with/for you, collar me and sell me on your idea. VoiZapp isn’t limited to just voice apps; we are also working on a dynamite game called “Veronica’s Adventures” modeled after my daily walks with my dappled, long-haired, miniature dachshund Veronica and her penchant for chasing squirrels up trees.

Filed Under: The Latest News on cospace Tagged With: ,

Meet Here Mornings at Cospace: Cover Your Ass(ets) with Kirk Cesari

April 7, 2011 Leave a Comment

Cospace recently welcomed a new member and intellectual property lawyer, Kirk Cesari. During my new member interview with Kirk, I mentioned that we encourage our members to host classes and sessions, and we both realized that a lawyer with a background in tech was a fantastic fit for a Cospace event!

Kirk is very excited about his session. He’s planning to give a talk on how entrepreneurs can protect themselves when sharing their ideas and getting them off the ground. While his background is with huge tech companies, he wants to branch out and work with some startups and individuals with IP law needs.

Kirk’s session is scheduled for 10am on Thursday, April 21 at Cospace. Find out more details and register for Meet Here Mornings at Cospace: Cover Your Ass(ets) with Kirk Cesari.

Filed Under: The Latest News on cospace

Cospace to Host GeekAustin’s Spring Web Development Classes

March 24, 2011 Leave a Comment

Cospace is excited to be hosting GeekAustin’s new Spring web development classes. GeekAustin recently added several new courses to their 2011 schedule: Basic HTML, Basic CSS and Basic Topics in MySQL Replication.

GeekAustin, a local online resource for the latest news and jobs in web development, has offered informal classes in open-source tools and technologies for over two years.

GeekAustin has two classes beginning in April and one to be announced:

  1. Basic HTML – Mondays 7-9pm April 18-May 2 (registration info)
  2. Basic CSS – Mondays 7-9pm May 16-June 6 (registration info)
  3. Basic topics in MySQL replication – 4 sessions TBA

If you’d like to be notified when registration opens for other classes, send a note to classes@geekaustin.org stating in which classes you are interested.

All classes will be held at Cospace, 911 W Anderson Ln, Suite 203, Austin, TX 78757.

Filed Under: The Latest News on cospace
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