launch pad

Acquia is participating in another Launch Pad event, this time for the Enterprise 2.0 conference. For this Launch Pad event, technology companies were asked to submit a one-minute video pitch to be voted on by the Enterprise 2.0 community. There will be multiple rounds, with four companies eventually on stage at the Enterprise 2.0 conference to present and demonstrate in front of a live audience.

We've set up an Acquia channel on the Blip.tv site - acquia.blip.tv. We'll be posting new videos, screen casts and demos here for folks to check out and share.

On April 24, Jeff Whatcott and I gave a 5-minute Drupal demonstration and Acquia pitch at the Web 2.0 Expo Launch Pad event. Here's the video (larger version here).

Acquia, Drupal founder Dries Buytaert’s new company, took to the stage last Thursday at the Launch Pad session at the web 2.0 Expo in SF. Although they didn’t win the people’s choice for best startup (this honor went to Triggit), their soon to be released Carbon and Spokes programs are still plenty enticing.

What is Carbon?

Earlier this afternoon, six startups had five minutes each to present their wares onstage to a panel of VCs and an audience at the Web 2.0 Expo Launch Pad. Panelists gave feedback to the companies in real-time, and depending on how well they did, had the option to “offer these applicants non-binding term sheets for financing”.

As I've said previously, the Web 2.0 Expo show features a lot of products for developers. But there are still cool new Web apps to find--especially at the Launch Pad, a rapid-fire demo session featuring six relatively new companies. It's kind of like a mini-Demo.

Acquia sells a commercialized version of Drupal, the open-source content management (and Webware 100 winner). If you buy the open-to-commercial model, as executed by RedHat (Linux), and Trixbox (Asterisk), this business makes a lot of sense. I'm glad to see the platform get some business attention.

The Launch Pad session at Web 2.0 Expo is getting started and you can join from your desktop. There's a good number of Drupal community folks here at the show, but you can participate from your desk.

The "winner" will be chosen by live audience voting via mozes. The SMS number will be announced at about 2:25 pm Pacific time. I'll tweet the SMS number on the Acquia twitter feed - here: http://twitter.com/acquia.

Stay tuned & vote!

Not only does Dries Buytaert get selected as one the top young tech entrepreneurs by BusinessWeek, but one of his newest ventures — Acquia, has been chosen to launch their company at the Launch Pad - Venture Capital Edition during the web2.0 expo today in San Francisco.

According to the web2.0 website, many new Web 2.0 companies have to get past the scrutiny of many a venture capital firm. With this in mind, this year’s Launch Pad will not only give new startups the opportunity to launch their company, but it will also provide them with VC and audience real time feedback.

Leading Open Source Social Publishing System to Be Demoed at Premier Web 2.0 Event

ANDOVER, MA - Marketwire, April 21, 2008 - Acquia, a new software company that will provide value-added software products and services for the Drupal web collaboration and publishing platform, announced today that it is one of six new companies chosen to participate in the Launch Pad session at Web 2.0 Expo San Francisco. As part of the event, Acquia will demonstrate how the Drupal social publishing system can be used to rapidly assemble community-based Web 2.0 sites without custom programming.

For 2008, we continue the tradition of Launch Pad at Web 2.0 Expo, but with some important changes, based on a program we test-drove at Web 2.0 Summit in October 2007. While it’s great to be chosen to launch your new company at a major event, the reality of the market is that the majority of successful Web 2.0 companies do more than just launch products. They also have to pass the test of VC scrutiny—that's how the market determines who wins and loses in the world of startups. To that end, VCs and the audience will provide real-time feedback to participating companies.