Austin 11:00 a.m. - The day started a little later than usual (taxis!), but it began with a bang as we met with Phil, Manager of Emerging Tech for VaynerMedia (Gary Vaynerchuk's agency). The rest of the team took the divide and conquer approach, attacking sessions on the campus: an interview about "the tragedy of comments" with Nick Denton of Gawker Media; career lessons for non-designer, non-techs from Matt Van Horn of Path; and a talk on irrational … read more

Austin 12:30 a.m. - Hugs and handshakes with SPN team and Dwolla folks at the Startup Weekend/Twilio/Zaarly party... They finally got there! | 8 a.m. - Run and lift at hotel - gotta shake off last night and get some energy! | 9:30 a.m. - Finally pick up badge ... What does that say about value of official talks vs. hallway conversations at SXSW? | 11 a.m. - Session on 'Indoor Navigation' - GPS in closed space. Focus was on retail but possibilities endless. Phones already have the sensors, we just …  read more

Austin 11:30 a.m. - Head to Austin Convention Center in style. Sister lives here and takes me by her cute Fiat convertible door-to-door where I need to go. Cool!? Except it's raining buckets here. Why did I leave 70 degrees in KC? | 12:40 p.m. - Fascinated by the characters everywhere. People in sumo outfits, light up blue hair … whatever it takes to grab already limited attention span of the tech/entrepreneur crowd. Wowie. …  read more

Austin 4:45 a.m. - Wake up. This is one of those rare trips where I am flying out of Lincoln, so wake up is only 1 hr. 15 min. before my flight. | 7 - 9 a.m. - Layover in Minneapolis. Nothing like heading north before you fly south, but I've gotten used to the routine. Last year, I flew over 130K miles on Delta Airlines. The airport is buzzing this morning – every Austin flight is booked tight … read more

Day 3 of StartupBus was a lesson in endurance. Many of us started the morning after logging just slightly more than four hours of sleep for the week. We gathered our gear and loaded the bus for our final leg into San Antonio/Austin. Today would be the day that the world would get to know GetWished.com. GetWished is Gifting Re-imagined. | 9:15 a.m. - Depart a Super 8 somewhere in west Texas — we … read more

Lincoln (This is a guest post by Collin Caneva.) I've been asked a number of times about raising money in this market. I’m not really sure that I’m the guy to turn to for advice, as what’s worked for me, might not work for you. Everyone's different. First off, the obvious: I don't live in Silicon Valley, New York City, or Austin Texas, etc. So the stories I hear that go like, "I had drinks with so-and-so, told them my idea and right then and there raised $1 million to produce my widget." I'm not sure if that’s how it really is in other places, but if it is, no thank-you. (Remember "easy come, easy go"?) Or the stories about putting together pitch decks, detailed business plans, elaborate presentations, and making sure to drop the right buzz words… not for me either. I'm not saying … read more