Launch Party Vancouver

Get ready to get your vote on , because the Strutta-powered LPV5 Startup Contest is live , and our contestants are ready to prove that they've got what it takes to go the long haul.

The judge's choice wins a cool grand in cash. Bootup Labs sponsored the $1000 prize, and Fasken Martineau has donated box seats at a Vancouver Giants game to the startup that wins people's choice vote. Your votes could mean a swank night on the town watching hockey for a hard working tech founder, so be generous with spreading the word on their behalf.

90 lightning fast seconds. 90 seconds to convince you and our panel of judges that they're worthy of your votes. Just enough time to prove their passon and give you a sneak peek at what they're up to. As our VIP guest at LPV5, you get to stroll along the red carpet and get to know these folks up close and personal at their event. Look for the signs and laptops, and tell them how much you loved their video.  

And now, without further delay, it's time to get your clicking finger ready. Rock the vote . Peace.  

Anyone, who has been to LPV1, 2 & 3 knows that Sun has been a big supporter of our event and the tech community here. By choosing to launch their national start-up essentials program in Vancouver over other Canadian tech hubs on January 25th shows that they recognize things are heating up in our city.

Here's what Sun had to say about Vancouver in their press release:

Vancouver was selected because of the vitality and diversity of its local startup community spanning new media, gaming, Internet, networking, wireless, biotech and cleantech.

 

'Launch Party' is Vancouver's preeminent event for helping bring together the local technology community in a forum where new companies can introduce their products and network with their peers. Launch Party was co-founded by Dimitri Sirota, Maura Rodgers and Dan Robinson in 2007. "

Several Sun execs flew in to mingle with the crowd last Friday and talk about their new program, which I have read gives big discounts on hardware to start-ups, who have been in business for less than 4 years and have fewer than 150 employees. Start-ups have to apply and be approved to get into the program to receive the discounts.

Tried SSE? Let us know what you think.

Michael Schratter, who writes the On The Town column for Vancouver's 24 hours popped by the Lamplighter to check out the scene at LPV3.

Strutta's Jordan Behan, Maura Rodgers, Danny Robinson & Layer 7 founder, Dimitri Sirota

Photo courtesy of Michael Schratter, 24hrs.ca  

LPV packed the Lamplighter in Gastown on January 25th for our third event. Recognizing that the Vancouver tech scene is on the rise, Sun Microsystems, our headliner sponsor, flew up from Silicon Valley to launch their national Start-up Essentials program that evening in our amazing city. Just goes to show what we already know - Vancouver is burgeoning with innovation and very cool people.

The featured companies showed up and showed off their latest:

• Kinzin demo’d These are my Kids facebook app
  DailySplice dished on their new version of morning radio made up of a customized selection of podcasts.
  EQO launched their Vibrator Facebook app
  Bean Services showed us they could ease our accounting frustrations with their new site.
  Techvibes live blogged the event and was on hand talking about their Vancouver start-up index.
  Layer 7 announced their products will be deployed under OpenSolaris
• Teampages talked about their social networking and online management site for amateur sport leagues and organizations .
• Sun Microsystems announced their national Start-up Essentials Program
  Super secet, Team Strutta took over the corner section of the stage with some bright lights and a MacBook giving away tees and a few clues for those of you, who were paying attention.  If you were one of the fearless, who strutted your stuff on camera - there may be a RockBand in your future. Winners will be announced on Strutta soon. So, stay tuned.

Big thanks to the talented Duane Storey for snapping some shots of the people on the Techvibes list, Digital Media People to Watch in 2008 and Raincity's Tech Women to Watch in 2008. I will post a link when those are live. Here's a sneak peak of some of Duane's pics that evening :

Roland Tanglao of Raincity interviewing Strutta's Jordan Behan

Woman to Watch, Monique Trottier and AdHack partner in crime, James Sherrett

Chris Richardson demo'd EQO's Vibrator Facebook app

We hope that you enjoyed the mingling, appies and were able to get some face time with the featured companies in the house that evening.

LPV4 is in the works, so if you have thoughts on venues or anything else you would like to see, share your comments.

Until next time...

"If you were invested in technology stocks back around 1999… well, it’s probably a year you want to forget. The tech bubble burst, sending hundreds of Internet companies into the digital wastebasket. But now, there’s a renewed interest in the sector and, in particular, Canadian startups. But will history repeat itself? The CBC’s technology guru Tod Maffin digs out some answers."

Listen to Todd's Podcast featuring Danny Robinson, Founder/CEO of Strutta.