Back from Dave Hornik’s inaugural The Lobby conference — a gathering of ~150 entrepreneurs, VCs and media execs. Overall, a pretty stimulating and impressive group although I was nagged by some guilt given the boondoggle-esque location of Big Island Hawaii.
So how was it?
- Steve from Magnify.net has some interesting thoughts
- VC Mike has some briefer notes
- Valleywag has crossed to just plain silly
The conference itself was off the record, but a few things were clear.
- Hornik and team did a very good job planning. No major gaffes, a few tweaks for next year.
- People are mostly trusting and transparent. Folks were very forthcoming with their ideas, challenges and feedback. Emblematic of tech entrepreneurship in general or the curated and self-selecting group of Hornik’s acquaintances? Probably both.
- The request for our show size was not for custom Lobby sneakers but flip flops
- I got to spend time with the founders from two of the more recent Google acquisitions. Both of them rock. They are among the best additions to the Goog in recent years. The challenge will always be can the large company be a place where the entrepreneur succeeds? It wasn’t a great fit for Lars Perkins or Dennis Crowley. Did okay with Ev Williams for a few years. Seems to be fine for John Hanke.