You Should Attend LaunchUp

No rants, no raving, just the facts. LaunchUp brought the entrepreneur out in me.

I attended LaunchUp #1 in March of 2009. I learned that guys like me could pull off startups. I learned that because I’m a coder, I’ve got an advantage over a lot of the guys in the LaunchUp audience. I could take my ideas, prototype them, launch them and become the entrepreneur I wanted to be. I also learned that a lot of the folks in attendance had the sales, marketing and biz dev experience I needed to get my ideas in front of others. I needed to meet all these people. At that first meeting I met Blaine Nielsen, CEO of Doba. Here I was, an engineer by day, rubbing shoulders with guys I looked up to in the valley. LaunchUp is billed as a barn raising for the presenting companies, and this is spot on. However, LaunchUp is also therapy for entrepreneurs that are stuck in mundane corporate jobs too. That was me.

The next 6 months of work were abysmal. Sure I had previous plans to do my own thing. LaunchUp gave me a new found clarity though. Dave and I were full-time with Protoven the first week of September 2009.
Now my job was to be that guy, the “Goto Guy” for our company. I had to find clients. I had to build the foundation that would support our growth plans, and put us on a trajectory to meet our lofty goals.

Oh no! The engineer had to network! I started attending LaunchUp more regularly. My network was growing. Then the opportunity to present our new company, upLynk, was offered while I was at lunch with Jeremy Hanks, the LaunchUp Guy! Of course I wanted to present. I wanted others to kick the tires on this idea. Then I realized I’m an engineer. 2 seconds later I told myself I was a COO and that this was part of the job description. I started out fairly nervous presenting at LaunchUp #15, but then settled down as I started talking about the portion I was really passionate about. How was the response? Absolutely exceeded every expectation I had. I talked to folks from technology to finance. While our seed capital did not end up coming from LaunchUp, I felt very confident during our negotiations knowing we had great options if terms couldn’t be reached. If you’re starting a business anywhere along the Wasatch Front, you should present at LaunchUp.

A few months later I was invited to present the “In the Weeds” talk at LaunchUp #20. I presented along side Dr. Phil Windley, one of my local tech entrepreneur idols. I think he made me the most nervous of anyone in the room. I talked about a quick experience I had while working with a large customer, and how I’m heading off these tangential efforts this time around with upLynk. It was another great opportunity to get up in front of a lot of folks and speak. I was quicker to jump into the “passionate portion” which I’ve learned helps me to calm the nerves and connect with the audience better. For me, it’s about getting in front of a crowd one more time. The more I do that, the more comfortable I feel doing it. I hate doing it, but it is a necessary exercise in order reach my own personal goals.

I still have a lot of hard work and perseverance in front of me, but upLynk is really catching on with everyone we share the story with. We’re focused on lighting up some huge customers this fall. I look forward to the day when I can call upLynk, and myself, a LaunchUp success story.

As of this writing, LaunchUp #21 is scheduled for Thursday, August 4th at Neumont University. I encourage everyone to attend. You never know what it may do for you and your career.

1. nikefree1985 liked this
2. stewartch reblogged this from tbye and added:

   LaunchUP Vegas #1. It’s going...awesome! (you can register for

3. tbye posted this