Twiistup 6 took place last week and this time around, under new management, the event went through a few changes. Instead of a one evening mixer that highlighted the showoffs and gave people a chance to mingle and get to know the companies, it was expanded to a two day conference with panels, and plenty of time for mingling.
Day one had five panels scheduled as well as time for each of the showoffs to take the stage and give a presentation. This part of Twiistup was entirely new, previously the showoffs only had the ability to connect with the attendees at their booths. Each showoff still had a setup in the main area of the hall, which gave you the chance to walk around and get to know them throughout the day as well as during the mixer.
Photo (cc) Kenneth Yeung – www.thelettertwo.com
Sean and I arrived late, lalawag style, and took our places in the press pit. I was really enjoying the layout of the event and the fact that we were set up near a power source, but unfortunately being in the back made it hard to hear the people on stage.
I checked out the last room which was the Girl Gamer arcade lounge. A place where you could relax, get a drink and play hit video games from the 80′s. Sarah Lacy and Paul Carr were caught getting in a quick game or two.
Photo by Wm. Marc Salsberry
While I was outside catching up, I heard many people saying they were excited to hear Brooke Burke speak on the Crossing the Mainstream/Online Divide panel. The Music and Technology session with Chamillionaire was the last panel of the day and was a big hit. He impressed many people with his understanding of the role tech can play with entertainment.
The mixer took place on Thursday night in the same room, but the chairs had been cleared out and a dance floor was added. As you walked in there were two photo-op areas that we obviously took advantage of. The left hand corner was home to PoliteInPublic, where you could choose from a table of props to wear and take digital photos that can be printed and are then almost immediately uploaded to the site.
The showoffs were located to the right but unfortunately I only had the chance to do a quick run through. I got a glimpse of a giant blue looking drink of sorts at one of the showoff tables, before I was shot at with a nerf arrow from Mobolize and got distracted. Needless to say I missed out the fabulous display of crumbs cupcakes that were donated to Bakespace. They had a six tiered cake stand full of mini cupcakes for everyone to nibble, yum!
Photo by Jim Alden @TechFrog
Hanging out in the back lounge, I ran into the Co-founder of the Twiistup 5 fan favorite, Michael Broukhim, from Totspot. He was convinced that we didn’t include him in our Twiistup eligible bachelors post because he runs a site about kids. So ladies if you are interested, you can connect with the eligible Michael Broukhim here.
Day two started nice and early, with Sean moderating the Leveraging the Social Web Panel. I’m convinced that Francisco Dao planned for Sean to go first so we would finally show up on time. Thankfully we did, and amazingly so did about 50 other people.
The panel, which included Chris Brogan, Ben Huh and Micah Baldwin, even decided to hashtag the session #wakeup due to the late night partying that for some, went on until 4am. We hear a few people lost their share of money at poker, and I know first hand that someone kept knocking on the wrong hotel room doors in search of the late night party.
Photo by (cc) Kenneth Yeung - www.thelettertwo.com
Up next was The LA Startup Ecosystem panel with Mark Suster, David O. Sacks, Michael Jones and James Montgomery. Then Cyan Banister gave us her take on Investing and Marketing Based on the 7 Deadly Sins.
Finally it was time for the highly anticipated panel with Jason Calacanis and Chris Tolles. The word was going around not only Twiistup but on Twitter, that Jason had a big announcement. Speculation was that Mahalo had been acquired or secured additional funding, but it turns out that the news was more on a personal level. Jason and his wife Jade are having a baby girl. Ho’omaika’i and best wishes!
Overall, the lighting, 80′s music and free flowing alcohol helped create the exciting upbeat vibe that I usually associate with Twiistup. I really enjoyed having time during the day to attend the panels and connect with people, it gave me a chance to meet with friends from other cities and still have time to make new ones. I’m looking forward to seeing how Francisco Dao will take the knowledge he has gained from this event and apply it to the next Twiistup. So far he seems to be on the right track.
Photo by Wm. Marc Salsberry
Press
Check out video coverage of some of the Twiistup panels by Jonathan Lakey.
Getting Your Startup Noticed – Brian Solis
Leveraging the Social Web – Chris Brogan, Ben Huh, Michael Baldwin, moderated by Sean Percival
Music and Technology -Chamillonaire, Ian Rogers and QD3 and Brian Solis
See photos of the panels and mixer from the lenses of these talented photographers.
Photos (CC) Brian Solis. www.briansolis.com
Photos (CC) Kenneth Yeung – www.thelettertwo.com
Photos by Wm. Mark Salsberry
Photos by Jim Alden @TechFrog
And check out LA Weeklys coverage of the conference by AV Flox.
Twiistup 6 Mixer: the Producer, the VIPs, and the Stuff No One is Talking About
Twiistup 6, Day 2: The Next Generation of L.A. Entrepreneurs #WakeUp, Discuss the Power of the Social Web
(Header Photo by (cc) Kenneth Yeung – www.thelettertwo.com)
