Ok, so I’m just a little bit excited to go and see Roger Waters on Wednesday. So sue me.
Brightkite is one of the TechStars companies from 2007. They raised just north of $1M after TechStars, and have since been camped out in their downtown Denver offices quietly extending on their vision from last summer. Brightkite is a location-based social network that connects people around common places.
“We don’t intend to replace your existing social networks, because they do a fine job of keeping you connected with your friends already. Most of them also do a fine job of meeting new people based on interests. However, they don’t make it easy to find interesting people around you who you don’t know yet, in real-time. That’s where Brightkite comes in.” - Martin May, Founder and CTO.
Brightkite is still pretty early, and they haven’t been trying to make any noise at all. But in the last few weeks lots of people have been discovering the service, tweeting about it, and using their limited number of invites. Knowing where Martin and Brady are headed with this, I know that what’s there now is just a start. Here’s how Brightkite works, so far.
First you add the usual friendship relationships. What’s unique though is that Brightkite has some nice options that allow you to add the friend as either fully “trusted” or not. Trusted friends can see your exact location, whereas normal friends will see only an approximate location. You can also set an overall privacy mode which you can use to keep everyone on the service from knowing your location (this should probably be the default but currently isn’t).
Notice in the image above (click it to enlarge) that Ari’s exact address is shown to me. This is because he fully trusts me (but maybe not you, so I took out the numeric address). You can see other users who are just showing me their approximate location in the image above. It’s clear that even early on, Brightkite is taking privacy seriously.
You can then define some placemarks and “check in” at a place any time you’re there via SMS or via the web site. Even when you’re not at a placemark, you can check in using the address or common place names. You can even set things up so that when you check in, your location is pushed out to Twitter automatically. Once checked in, you can easily publish photos or messages. Depending on a well-implemented set of preferences that you select from, Brightkite then pushes this information to others who are nearby using mobile or email notifications. In effect, it creates a stream of stuff happening near you, both within your set of friends and across the service in general. You can monitor this stream in a bunch of different ways, again, based on your preferences. Here’s a map view on the web site of what some of my friends are up to (click to enlarge).
Brightkite includes a simple SMS shorthand which allows to check in via a short code, send messages to those around you, and more. Rumor has it that the iPhone app is just around the corner as well.
My personal opinion on services like this is that once they can automatically detect where I am, they’ll be super useful. For me, taking the time to check in someplace is just too much work for a chance of serendipity. With the new features coming in the iPhone, Android, and the like auto-sensing of location seems more a matter of when than if at this point. It will be interesting to watch as the holy grail of mobile applications (ubiquitous location data) may finally be near. Services like Brightkite which take privacy seriously and which are beautiful while still being simple are well positioned to make waves in this space.
Even the internet famous are hanging out here and there on Brightkite. Martin has invited 20 Colorado Startups readers to try the service. If you’d like to try it out, just leave a comment and I’ll send you an invitation. (UPDATE: These invites are all gone). Currently the service is in a closed beta with a limited number of invites going out.
AFComponents, the company with the bad-ass flash components that I covered late last year is now giving away its version 2.0 components. Any components here marked 2.0 are now just free. These include mp3 players, video players, thumb-nailers, image loops, maps, and more.
Warning: they’ve got some really cool new ones that are marked “3.0″ that you’re going to want to have too. Naturally, those are not free.
I met Public Earth CEO Duncan McCall the other day to learn more about the company which Polaris Ventures recently funded with $3M. The company has an office in downtown Boulder.
For now, Public Earth is only willing to say that “We are changing the way people create and use information describing the world around them, using the internet and location-aware mobile devices.” From the non-public stuff that Duncan shared with me, I can attest that Public Earth has a far reaching vision that goes beyond what is found on the web today.
Duncan explained that the company will be releasing an alpha version this summer and would love to hear from potential alpha testers, as well as potential employees who “have a passion for and experience in - mapping, location technologies, internet and mobile applications – and want to help a young company create a service that’s truly engaging and useful for a huge mainstream user base.”
For now, that’s all that Public Earth is willing to say. I’m intrigued. Damn it, the stealthiness has worked. I’ll write more about this as the company progresses.
My friend Danny Newman (Newman!) just pinged me to tell me about the official launch of the ID345 SPACE, a co-working space on Larimer Street in Denver. Full time plans are $400/month, part time $250, and there are special rates for multiple people. All rates are here.
“The idea of ID345 SPACE is to take the best elements of a coffee shop (social, energetic, creative) and the best elements of a workspace (productive, functional) and combine them to give indie workers the chance to have their own, affordable space. Day-tripping and casual guests can visit for free and if you want to leave your stuff, we rent out desks for $400/month. We also hold various events at our space and are happy to consider making our facilities available for event hosting.” - from ID345.org
Even if you’re not looking for space, the ID345 humor is worth a read.
The Hive is another co-working space in Denver, which I covered previously.
According to a MoneyTree Survey (via BCBR), “eighteen companies in the Boulder Valley received venture capital funding totaling $266.8 million during first quarter 2008.” This doesn’t include angel investment - we’re just talking about reported VC investment.
Outside of Boulder Valley, just eight more Colorado companies were funded in Q1 meaning that nearly 70% (18 of 26) of the statewide deals were done in the Boulder area. Looking at the dollars, a staggering 90% ($266.8M of $297.7M) went to the Boulder area deals. The nearly $300M invested by VCs in Colorado was reported as the highest level since 2001. Much of that was driven by a single $130M renewable energy investment.
By my quick count, about $35M was invested last quarter in a wide range of web and software companies such as HiveLive ($5.6M), Tendril Networks ($12M), Filtrbox ($500k), Collective Intellect ($6.6M), and Mark Sawyer’s post @Last/Sketchup/Google effort Vico Software ($3M).
My friend Nicole Glaros has developed this great list of resources for entrepreneurs in Colorado. She originally posted it on her blog. When I saw it I asked if I could post it here, since I thought it was such a great list. Thanks Nicole!
Nicole says:
Given I’ve been trotting around the entrepreneurial community here in Colorado for quite some time (with a list of my own business ideas but not quite the gumption to give it a go yet…), I’ve been amassing a collection of resources that anyone trying to start a business in CO might need. As I have time, I’ll update/add/delete to this list, and even put in some personal experiences with the ones I know. In the meantime, enjoy.
This list is by no means exhaustive, but I’m trying to make it so! Please send me your links/resources and I’ll add them here. I also live in Boulder, CO, so you’ll see a bias to resources on the front range.
Funding Sources for Colorado Entrepreneurs
Access Venture Parnters - Enterprise software, information technology, internet and telecom infrastructure
Boulder Ventures - communications, enterprise software, life sciences
Bow River Capital Parnters - manufacturing, distribution, business and consumer services, financial services, transportation, real estate
The Carlyle Group - aerospace & defense, automotive & transportation, consumer & retail, energy and power, health care, industrial real estate, technololgy, business services, telecommunications and media
InvestorAvenue.com - Provides online matchmaking between investors and entrepreneurs. Based in Colorado. SEC compliant.
KRG Capital Partners - health care, transportation, logistics, life sciences, niche construction, medical technology, advertising/marketing, specialty finance, specialty chemicals, infrastructure
Lacuna - $23M fund in Boulder that focuses on gap funding between $1M-$4M.
Wolf Ventures - storage, network communications, enterprise software, new media
Colorado Business Incubators
TechStars - David Cohen’s venture, this fun group requires an application, and if accepted, you get some cash, guidance, and some office space for a summer. Techstars infused some much needed energy into the tech community on the front range and is doing great.
Longmont Entrepreneurial Network - The CTEK Longmont Venture Center, a large facility focused on early-stage high-growth startups that inlcude discounted lab and office space, advisor consulting and support, and intros to funding sources.
CTEK Denver Venture Center at Stapleton - The CTEK Stapleton Venture Center, a newly renovated facility focused on early stage high-growth startups that offer discounted office space, advisor consulting and support, and intros to funding sources.
Colorado Springs Technology Incubator - A technology incubator helping companies in the greater Colorado Springs area with business advice, education, and office space.
Business Incubator Center - An incubator in Grand Junction working with many different types of business and bringing together many resources in Mesa County.
Meetings, Clubs, and Websites
The New Technology Meetup - This group has a TON of members. Entrepreneurs pitch for various and sundry reasons, and people network. The quality of the pitches are going down a bit, but it’s still entertaining.
The Founders Meetup - A place to find your next business partner. It’s a small group but growing.
I’ve been slowly blogging twelve startup tips from last summer at TechStars. Here’s #6 about “scratching your own itch.”
The original idea behind this tip was that many successful startups start out fixing a problem that pisses them off, and that they believe needs to go away.
But I’ve since refined my thinking on this. Scratching your own itch is certainly no guarantee of success, just like all the other tips. I now think of this as just one way of being passionate about what you’re working on. If you’re scratching your own itch, then you’re likely to be passionate about the solution.
But it’s just as easy to be passionate about a problem you don’t personally have. When I think back on the three startups that I founded prior to TechStars, one was scratching my own itch and was successful. The other successful one was solving a very real problem for a very large market. And the one that failed was one where I’m now pretty confident that I was scratching the faintest and least annoying of itches - one that just didn’t need to be scratched by anybody.
But you’ve got to have passion about what you’re doing. So scratching your own itch is a great way to generate passion. The way that I generated passion in my public safety software company (I had no personal itch to scratch in that case) was thinking about my customers customers. We could get ambulances on scene more efficiently and for less money than the competition. Trust me, when millions of patients are relying on your software to save their lives, it’s easy to sustain your passion.
I’m not talking here about the fake passion that I see so often. It’s often phrased as “the world really needs this cool product” and “therefore I’m very passionate about bringing it to market.” I think it’s important to stop and ask yourself what’s generating and sustaining your passion, and whether or not that source of passion is real. You’re going to need it or it will be too easy to just give up.
Startups are a ridiculous amount of work that (on average) come with a low probability of success. It’s not going to work if you’re not passionate and dedicated about solving a problem or bringing something to life.
So, founders: What’s the unending source of your passion about your company?
A new batch of ten TechStars companies are descending on Boulder in about one month. Most of them are looking for someplace to live for the summer. The dates are approximately May 25 - August 25.
Founders are coming from all over the country (and maybe even the world).
If you have some extra space and would like to consider offering a spare bedroom in your home for rent for the summer, or if you might know of a good rental property in Boulder that is available for a short term lease, please contact me.
Think about it. You can say you let them stay in your spare bedroom before they were famous.
If you just couldn’t get enough of Gwen’s office tour of Lijit last month, now you can also watch the Somewhat Frank TV version. It’s really fascinating. You get to learn about “half-paralyzed” legs, fake bands, green balls, tattoos, highly branded foosball tables, turning people into search engines and of course… pie charts. Oh, and there’s the usual rock band talk.
TechCrunch is reporting that Collective Intellect has raised another $6.6M. This brings the total financing to $9.2M. This is the second significant deal that was participated in by GroTech Capital which recently invested $5.6M in HiveLive.
David Cohen
Brightkite is one of the TechStars companies from 2007. They raised just north of $1M after TechStars, and have since been camped out in their downtown Denver offices quietly extending on their vision from last summer. Brightkite is a location-based social network that connects people around common places. 
