As additional service to the startup community we decided a while ago to share the details of conference events & meetups that we were aware-of, and thought valuable.  We did this by adding a widget on our blog, you can see the calendar on the right side.

Check out our coverage of AlwaysOn: Stanford Summit on justin.tv. http://www.justin.tv/sunstartupessentials

Juan Carlos Soto (VP of Cloud Computing) sitting on the Rainmakers in the Cloud panel.

Also, Visuvi demoing their visual search solution and telling how Sun Startup Essentials has helped the company grow both on the technology and marketing sides of business.

So you want to demo, you want to network, you want to listen to intellectual debates, but all of this takes time to build the right places to go and people to meet, so what if you could get all of this in various focused events, with a range of Entrepreneurs, Executives and like minded indivdiuals attending ?

Well now you can, thanks to Mashup Event who are offering out a yearly membership to their events and demos over the coming year, but not only that as I work closely with them, are willing to offer Startup Essential Members a 25% discount off the standard rate.

So you want to know more, then go here for more information now.

If you want more details on the costs and what you are entitled to for this membership, then go here now

In its simplest form, you get access to a vast range of diverse people to demo to, attend events with, build your network/relationships, partner with new people and this means SUCCESS.

Here is a brief overview of the packages and benefits

1. Full Demo - at any event includes: pitch to audience,profile on our website (members currently - 2500 ) , stand at event. This option is £200

2. Showcase membership - become an annual showcase member and receive more for your money this includes: opportunities to demo at any 4 mashup* Events(a) during the year Also 2 x individual annual memberships for you and colleagues to attend any event. This is £500 to non SSE members, thus to members it is £375 for the year.

3. Mini Demo - For those really bootstrapped startups we offer a one-off watered down version of our full demo opportunity - POA

 So you can see the Showcase membership offers real value for money, and gives you access to a wide diverse network of people from Startups, Entrepreneurs, Investors to Enterprise decision makers.

Forthcoming Events:

6th Nov - mashup* Demo

11th Nov - mashup* Event - Digital Growth 2009

So how do you get this discount ?

*Email me your Sun Startup Essentials Member ID and Details to Stewart.Townsend(at)sun.com

*I will then send these to Mashup Events, who will contact you with your SSE discounted price and discuss with you the pricing options

*They will contact you and organise your membership and payment directly, then take advantage of the events, networking and demos....

So already some of the Startup Essential members have used this to make a saving, do the same now.

Guest Post - From Jake Stride - Tactile CRM

Sun Startup Essentials recently helped the UKTI take 21 of the UK's most promising digital companies to the US to learn about doing business over the pond and how to access funding.

Tactile CRM was one of the lucky companies to be on the Digital Mission and found the whole experience eye opening and a great success, as there is a second Digital Mission to SxSW in March, the following may help you decide if it is for you.

Imagine the scene: 21 UK startups land in New York City on the day the US financial markets start to tank – queue plenty of jokes about UK bad luck, and how startups now look like a better investment than banks. It was going to be an interesting week.

Digital Mission NYC was broken in to 2 halves. The first couple of days were about understanding the US market, employment law and how to access funding/investors in the US, the rest was based around the Web 2.0 Expo and meetings people had arranged.

As a web-based contact and sales management system for small businesses, Tactile CRM already has customers in the US and Canada (about 60% at present) so the main focus for the week was about meeting with customers and suppliers to build the Tactile CRM brand and recognition rather than trying to meet with potential investors.

The first couple of days gave us access to some great seminars about the legalities of running a business in the US, support and programs available to foreign companies in New York and some great networking events, including one at the British Consulate.

Two things became immediately apparent from these first couple of days:

1. There seems to be a strong divide between the East and West coasts, New York is far more of a digital/design scene, whereas the West Coast is much more about tech/software startups. This isn't a black and white divide but worth bearing in mind.
2. Investors like to have you close by. So if you are looking for investment, you are more likely to succeed if you can move closer to them.

The second half of the week was the Web 2.0 expo. The conference was very well run and plenty of web 2.0 glitterarty where in attendance.

For Tactile CRM this was the most important part of the week. We used the opportunity to meet with existing and potential suppliers and had pre-arranged several meetings with other software solutions we would like to work with/tie into our software. Combine this with the number of networking events during the day and evening that were being arranged around the expo and it made for a hectic but useful few days. It would normally, take months to meet the same number of people.

All in all the Digital Mission was a great success and cannot be recommended highly enough for people thinking about it. As long as you understand what it is about, have clear goals for the week and plan what you want to do, it's a great investment for your business.

As an added bonus each of the companies that went have at least 20 new friends from the Digital Mission and a lot closer ties and network of expertise to access (it was worth it just for that) - there was even talk of people getting together for their 'next' startup!

So its May, normally rainy season in the beautiful country we live in, but hey that means it BBQ time...!!

So we have lots of events, that Startup Essentials are part of, and want you to be part of to, all focused around Startups and New media, social networking and one just on having fun.

Being Digital -

Being-Digital is the digital (Internet, mobile, TV etc.) event of the
summer - held on the 10th June.

This one day conference will bring the best digital executives, entrepreneurs and investors in the UK together for one day of discussion and debate around 7 core themes (social, search, advertising, identity, content, location and retail)


They'll be around 30 cutting-edge demo companies on stage and all day demos of their products and services, to a 200 strong audience, with two major names, helping and compering.


Do you want to demo ? Why aren't you demoing, is what you should ask ?

If you are a member of Startup Essentials, you are entitled to a substantial discount off, email me direct to obtain the demo code. (stewart.townsendATsun.com)

A competition will be run alongside, starting on the 11th June for the best Being-Digital Demo pitch (1 min on stage). The winner will receive free hardware and consultancy from Startup Essentials, and ideas.org

Places are going very quickly, as expected, so sign up now, as its only around the corner.

FUEL Conference

London 13th June 

Fuel is a brand new, one-day conference designer for entrepreneurs and marketers who want to make their companies, services and products truly remarkable. With insights from leading companies including moo.com, Innocent Drinks and Virgin as well as experts from the web design and development world Fuel will give you the tools to take your business to the next level.

Again if you are a member of Startup Essentials, a large discount off the entry fee for this one, email me again for more details and the promo code.

SeedFund Summer BBQ.

The summer is coming, its going to be a hot, hot, hot one, so what better than a BBQ ! Make sure you get to the SeedFund/Startup Essential BBQ in London, enjoy a free drink and food (subject to usual cashflow of sponsors) and mingle with a relaxed crowd of the uber cool best in the startup scene.


So you ask what is Seedfund ? It is the platform for the UK's best entrepreneurs, investors and experts (eg: fundraisers) to connect. If you are an entrepreneur, investor or expert then come along and join the informal environment.

So lots going on, we have mini-bar as well end of May, Northern Startups happening tonight so join the club now, why should you because...

Startup Essentials



So, do you want to buy one of the most highly engineered servers/PC on
the planet, that can run Windows, Linux or Solaris ?

Do you want something that has a service team who answer the phone , if
it were to break ?

Would you like to be able to build a scaleable application, and get help
from world class engineers who do that ?

Would you like all of this for £350 ?



Come and join the likes of www.last.fm and www.fav.or.it who are
enjoying the Sunshine at Startup Essentials.



Sign up to be in the club at http//uk.sun.com/startups