Jordy Blog

Got Contract Work?

Gabe and I want to be sure that our start up company, Izeni, has a cash runway that’s long enough to ensure that we can have a proper lift off. To that end we’ve been doing some consulting and contract work (mostly low-hanging fruit) to slow our burn rate, and it’s worked fairly well because we’re in bootstrapping mode and our expenses are relativity low. So, although we’ve never really sought contract work, we do like it; and I thought I’d do a quick post officially soliciting it.

So without further ado, Izeni will be accepting all kinds of technical consulting and contract work. Our specialities are Python coding; website development (particularly using the Django framework); Linux systems administration (Apache, *SQL, Postfix, Mailman, IPtables, Samba, Bash, etc.); and VoIP-based telephony (Asterisk and Freeswitch).

We can also do general computer and network support, online marketing, and a myriad of other technical and business odds and ends.  :)

Izeni is based out of Utah, but we can also telecommute.

Please let me know if you have any contracting and consulting opportunities or know of any companies looking for web guys, programmers, or other technical contractors. Otherwise, feel free to repost this (pass the word along), or just keep us in mind.

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Izeni is Official

Many of my readers will already know that Gabe and I have been busy launching a business for the last few months.

Well, we’ve finally got Izeni officially incorporated, and since we hope to launch our first product soon, we decided we’d better get something of a corporate website thrown together.

It’s really not much content-wise, but it is live; and it’s just in time for us to start pumping the engines of hype and hearsay. Check it out.

Our other (product) website, which is where the majority of our development has been, will be launched shortly.

So, how do you know you’re a developer in a bootstrapping high-tech startup? You have neither business cards nor a corporate website until your product is nearly ready to hit the market. This is pretty much opposite the spend-all-your-money-making-yourself-look-cool approach that many companies take. I hope our product-first approach is vindicated, but we’ll see. :)

Anyway, sign up for Izeni news updates, and we’ll let you know how it goes.

Until then, anyone know where we can get some great business cards?

BYU Web Startup Group

I just added the BYU Web Startup Group to my comprehensive list of Utah Tech Groups.

From their website:

The Web Startup group was founded to bring together people interested in creating new sites and services online. Group members include web developers (programmers and designers), marketing and business-minded individuals, creative idea people, and others with technology related skills. The group meets regularly to discuss and make Web Startups come to life. If you are interested in making a difference online then join us!

Their next meeting will be this Thursday and will cover Android and “Jump Starting your Website”.

I also added one of the founders, Adam Chavez, to Utah’s Business Blog Aggregator and invited him to contribute his events to the Utah Tech Events Calendar. If you or anyone you know should be added to these Utah business community sites, please contact me.

BTW, there’s also a Utah Business Events Calendar which hasn’t caught on nearly as much. Let me know if you’d like to contribute. Maybe I’ll merge the two calendars in the future; we’ll see.

Anyway, checkout the Web Startup Group. I think they could end up being a really valuable resource to the Utah business and technology communities.

UVEF Free Trial Memberships

My friend John Gilbert sent me this link for a free month of membership in UVEF (the Utah Valley Entrepreneurial Forum). I’ve been attending some of their monthly meetings on an a-la-carte basis and have found them to be generally quite enjoyable. It’s obviously good Utah networking as well. If you’re a Utah entrepreneur or even have entrepreneurial ambitions, you should give UVEF a try.

This promotion ends September 10.

Building Stability through Microlending

I’m happy to see microlending taking root in Iraq because I think business investment is one of the best ways to create stability in any region.  Sadly, the number of sound investments available in any region correlates positively with the stability already in place.  These microlenders are taking significant risks to help fund businesses in a place where hard-working people may not have a lot of options for financial success.  Hopefully these small businesses are successful and repay their loans so business people in volatile regions can continue to attract new capital and build stability one good job at a time.

Thanks Kiva for making these microloans happen!  Thanks to the lenders as well!  I hope that microloans will someday be a major part of my personal investment portfolio.

Student Entrepreneur of the Year, 2006

BYU’s CEO club is hosting the final event for Student Entrepreneur of the Year this Friday. It should be cool, but I doubt I’ll be able to go because of the time.

Another upcoming event that should be cool (if you can afford to dish out some cash) is the Mountain West Capital Network’s UTAH 100 Award Banquet. Since I can’t find a permalink, I’ll just post the info here:

MountainWest Capital Network UTAH 100 Awards Banquet
October 26, 2006
Grand America Hotel – 555 South Main Street, Salt Lake City, Utah

Join us for the 12th annual UTAH 100 Awards Banquet. We honor the 100 top performing companies in the state for highest revenue growth over five years’ time.

MountainWest Capital Network members can attend this luncheon at no cost. The nonmember guest luncheon fee is $45 per person or $400 for a table of 10 until Thursday, October 19. Late registration luncheon fees are $55 per person or $500 for a table of 10. Please RSVP for this event by Thursday, October 19, at noon or for late registration by Monday, October 23, at noon. Last minute questions can be directed to Cheri at info@mwcn.org. Guests and members can register and RSVP on this website by clicking the link below.

Raising Money in Utah

I’ve been attending the Wayne Brown Institute’s excellent How to Raise Money in Utah” seminars. It’s amazing that, even though each session basically covers the same topic, I manage to glean a little something new every time I go.

Besides an excellent introduction from Brad Bertoch and the obligatory legal discussion (this time from David Angerbauer of Holland & Hart), we heard from Devin Thorpe (aka MidMarketMaven) of the Thorpe Capital Group. Devin gave a quick overview of his 10 ways to get money to chase you series that I recently blogged about. He said he was glad to finally meet his one blog reader, but I’m pretty sure he was just being modest. :) We also heard from Larry Rigby, a seasoned repeat entrepreneur who was mentored by Wayne Brown himself. Currently CEO of ZARS Pharma, Larry is a guru in the health and life sciences industry who has raised about $75 million in his career. He’s also now an author of a new book called The Jager Artist.

These seminars are a free, fantastic way to hear about fundraising tips from people who have done it. They’re a definite must for any Utah entrepreneur who plans on raising capital someday, whether it’s angel investment or venture capital. Even if that day is far away, it’s never too early to get started. You also want to get on Brad’s mailing list to hear about local venture capital conferences and loads of other cool fundraising events.

Business Plan Competion: Utah Entrepreneur Challenge

This UEC business plan competition is a great opportunity for aspiring business students in Utah.  Grand prize is $40,000.  Some great little busineses have come out of this, so if you have a good idea and a good team, give it a shot.  There’s still time to register.

January Geek Dinner

We finally posted details about the upcoming Geek Dinner. I wanted to give the DevUtah site an overhaul first, but alas, no time. Here they are:

DevUtah’s next Geek Dinner will be held at 6:00 this Tuesday night at the Miller Business Innovation Center on the Salt Lake Community College campus (9690 South 300 West, Sandy).

We’ll have two short educational presentations by accomplished attorneys who will discuss legal topics for geeks. Nathan Nelson will talk about legal aspects of selling your software concepts, starting your own software development company (code shop), or becoming an independent developer. David McKenzie will discuss popular myths about software patents and copyright ownership relating to contractors.

We will also have a brief mini-presentation by Dave Turnbull from SoftwareFor.org, who will talk about some of the successes and failures of the last release of “Software for Starving Students”, which had over 25,000 downloads in just a few days.

The event will be catered by Panache Catering. Each attendee is required to contribute $7 to help cover the costs. Attendees are strongly encouraged to prepay burnsadria@hotmail.com via PayPal, although cash and checks will also be accepted at the door.

Hope to see you there.