Thu 9/26 @ 4:30pm
By Isaac Mell
Following the sold-out success of TechPint I in June, the theme of TechPint II will be failure. How do innovators learn from their errors and proceed towards ultimate accomplishment?
Over 200 digital technology entrepreneurs will talk to, learn from, and drink with their peers at TechPint II (Thu 9/26 @ 4:30pm). Sterle’s Slovenian Country House hosts “Techtoberfest,” sponsored by JumpStart, Bizdom, and LaunchHouse.
Paul McAvinchey, product innovation manager at MedCity Media and Irish expatriate, organized TechPint with his wife Rebecca, CEO of Diddlyi Media. He recognizes that success doesn’t occur in a vacuum.
“You can start a digital technology company from anywhere in theory, but it takes more than just an idea to get started,” McAvinchey says. “You need to be around people who are doing similar things to what you are. You really need to bring people together to share ideas regularly, and I think that’s where inspiration and new ideas come from, from talking to people. I’m telling everybody about this event, and when I say there’s going to be pints, everybody gets excited about getting together and having a few drinks, having a reason for getting together with like-minded people.”
Despite the casualness of the bar setting, the evening serves to heighten the attendees’ natural motivation.
McAvinchey says, “We’re very purposefully focusing the event on active entrepreneurs and investors, people who are in the thick of it and going through major challenges. They have already proved their business models and are going through this chasm where they don’t know what’s going to happen next. They might have to rethink where their business is going and how they make it bigger.”
Cleveland-based entrepreneurs have a natural advantage, according to McAvinchey.
“The city’s just perfect for a startup,” McAvinchey says. “I’ve been here for over a year now, and I was really impressed by what was going on with LaunchHouse and Bizdom and JumpStart, and just the amount of resources that they’re giving to anybody with an idea.
“We have all the organizations that are literally pushing cash to entrepreneurs with ideas, and then the resources that those organizations are given. It’s cheap to live here and it’s easy to get money to start an idea. There’s literally no reason why somebody with an idea shouldn’t be able to start in Cleveland.”
McAvinchey also points to the mentorship offered by experienced local entrepreneurs, several of whom will be speaking at the event: Phil Brennan, co-founder and CEO of Echogen Power Systems; John Gadd, President and CEO of Hotcards.com; and Kendall Wouters, CEO of Rea.ch Ventures.
With a world of possibilities for apps, websites and internet-based technologies, the attendees of TechPint will determine the outcome of the evening.
“The value of the event is really based around who’s there,” McAvinchey says. “[Digital technology] is a very wide, broad area and it’s really going to be defined by who turns up. And that’s why I think it’s a good reason for getting these people together, over a few drinks, to let down their guard a little bit and just start talking about their lives and see what we can get from that.”
If you miss this one, sign up in November for TechPint III.
And stay in touch—“If somebody can’t get tickets I want to hear about them anyway, to learn more about them and make sure for the next event we can accommodate them, too,” McAvinchey says.
Purchase $12 tickets at http://techpint.org. Send questions to paul@yaboya.com. TechPint II takes place @ Sterle’s on Thu 9/26 @ 4:30pm.
[Pictured: Speakers Philip Brennan, Co-Founder and CEO of Echogen Power Systems; Kendall Wouters, CEO at Rea.ch Ventures; John Gadd, President & CEO at Hotcards.com]
Isaac Mell grew up in South Euclid, OH and attended American Jewish University in Los Angeles. He welcomes conversations with potential employers, collaborators and friends.
Cleveland, OH 44103