Obie Fernandez

Meet David Allen at BizConf 2010

Just a quick update to my readers who might have been on the fence about attending this year's BizConf, coming up August 4th. We're pleased to announce the addition of David Allen (of GTD fame) to our lineup of provocative and educational presenters.

http://www.bizconf.org/presenters/david-allen

David will be presenting a special three-hour workshop to a very small audience in an intimate setting. Chances like this don't come along very often, certainly not at this price.

Registrations have been coming in slowly, but surely. As I write this we're over 60 registrations. Since I'm confident we're going to sell out soon, the time to commit and register is now. Click here to use the coupon code OBIE40 when you register to get a huge $771 discount. Believe me, I know that even with a 40% discount we're still an expensive event, but I promise you it's worth it. Our lineup is superb and the Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island is the nicest conference venue I've ever been to and worth every penny.

Incidentally, some of you might be wondering why we're giving such steep discounts late in the game. The first iteration of our budget was overly optimistic and planned for a healthy profit. As a still young conference, we've lowered our sights to breaking even. Last year we lost a lot of money (more than $40k) on BizConf, but conventional wisdom is that you always lose money in the first year of an ambitious event. Profit should help us get ahead in the years to come, as our reputation solidifies and we build a base of loyal repeat attendees.

BizConf 2010 Announcement - Save the Date

BizConf is back on August 4th to 6th, 2010 at the same fabulous venue, the Amelia Island Ritz-Carlton. If you weren't there, check out the video below to see what you missed in 2009, and why you want to make sure to attend next year.

 

BizConf 2009 from Hashrocket on Vimeo

A limited amount of registrations should open up for alumni and friends very soon, with general registration opening up in January. Jen and I are currently busy putting together the program for next year. We're expecting most of the instructors from last year to present again. Our friends from AYE will definitely be back, including Esther Derby, Johanna Rothman, Don Gray, plus new addition Steve Smith. BizConf 2010 will be more of a training event than a traditional conference, featuring even better interactive sessions and simulations to stretch your skills in the business management arena.

Note: Jerry Weinberg expressed interest in participating again, but in his frank words, only "if I'm still alive." Our love and prayers go to Jerry as he battles thymic cancer. You can follow his progress here.

BizConf Update

BizConf is an exclusive conference focusing on the business of software development in a Web 2.0 world. I originally conceived it to be a gathering of owners and managers of Rails shops from around the world, but once the idea started taking shape, our target audience got a little wider.

As I'm writing this, we have 3 weeks left before the conference and just hit an important milestone. From the beginning, my budget has called for a minimum of 50 attendees and a maximum of 75. Well, we hit 52 registrations today! The event is definitely on and we're ramping up our outreach to individuals that we think should attend in an effort to sell out.

Money Matters

I realize the economy is putting a damper on registration, which is why I've tweeted that people who want to attend but are having trouble affording the trip to get in contact with me for special consideration. In future years, we are definitely going to try budgeting the conference around a lower registration price.

I have to mention that BizConf would not be possible without the generous support of Hashrocket and 11 other awesome sponsors including, nGenWorks, New Relic and Engine Yard. Half of the sponsors are providing attendees with awesome free packages of their services.

Presenter News

We added a couple of internet celebrities to the program recently: Andrew Warner and Alex De Carvalho.

In his twenties and with no outside funding, Andrew co-founded a business that reached $30+ mil in annual sales. He is now the host of Mixergy.com, a video podcast that interviews "doers and thinkers whose ideas and stories are so powerful that just hearing them will change you."

Andrew will present Bootstrap Like a Missionary, based on his true life experiences doing just that.

Alex is a co-founder of StartPR, an online tracking service for reputation management, blogger relations, and brand monitoring. He's an advisor to businesses and organizations on their use of social networks and social media to build community relationships and brand. He also designs and manages social networks, including business planning, technology selection, wireframing, development, and community management.

Alex's presentation topic will be announced soon.

Blog Highlights

We just posted an informative interview with noted author and consultant Esther Derby, who is presenting three talks at BizConf!

• Good Idea, But How Do We Do It? Finding and Using Your Sources of Power
• What Does Your Customer Want? 
• Beyond the Organization Chart: What Really Drives Behavior at Work 

We also have quite a few video interviews with presenters. I think my favorite might be the one with Jessie Shternshus of the Improv Effect talking about her session at Bizconf.

BizConf Venue Teaser

BizConf Venue Teaser from Hashrocket on Vimeo