Last week I went to Techcrunch Disrupt here in San Fransisco and showed mysms lots of people, played with other disrupting technologies, and listened to real stars of the industry. In short – I had a great time. That’s why I would like to share my favorite moments with you!
Techcrunch Disrupt - Main Conference Hall
First of all, it was a huge event. When I entered the conference center, I was blown away by all the startups showcasing their apps and products. But it did not stop here. I made my way to the main conference hall, where all the sessions took place. There I was welcomed by an amazing light show and a special music theme that would follow me throughout the conference.
Startup Alley
Probably the most famous person that talked to us on the first day was Jessica Alba, founder of “The Honest Company”, but much better known due to her career as an actress. When asked what was the most surprising thing for her about running a company she said,
“It’s so hard! You’re working day and night. If you’re not so passionate and working day and night, it’s not going to happen.” Jessica Alba
I agree, but it’s worth it 🙂
Jessica Alba talking about her role as entrepreneur
I also really liked the fireside chat with Dave Morin (Path). He clearly talked about mobile being the future. We all shifted from having 1 computer to using several computers (smartphones, tablets or even Google Glasses) throughout the day. He said at the moment there are more mobile phones than toothbrushes in the world. But he also made clear providing a simple and useful product/app is not as easy as most people would think.
“True simplicity takes a long time” – Dave Morin
Although the focus of the event was clearly on software solution, also one hardware product stood out of the crowd. I think everyone of you who watched sequences of the event knows what I am talking about. Lit Motors showed us a new form of automation. Their product – the C1 is fully electric, will be available for $12,500 and aims to shake up the electric vehicle market.
The C1 - enough space for 1 person and 2 bags
The second day of the event was driven by the exitment of seeing Facebook founder Marc Zuckerberg’s first interview after the company’s IPO. Before his talk, the hall was so crowded that I had a hard job to get back to my reserved seat (people where just sitting and standing everywhere).
Everybody waiting for Zuckerberg entering the stage
Zuckerberg’s clear focus was Facebook’s mobile first approach.
“Facebook’s future development will be about how well we do with mobile. A lot of people underestimate how good mobile is for us.” Marc Zuckerberg
The 30 min talk pushed Facebook's share prize back to the right direction
But there were also other great speakers. I really liked one statement of Matt Cohler (Benchmark Capital) who said “Think of apps as remote control for life”. I think that’s what it is all about – applications should help make your life easier and more convenient, just what we are aiming to do with mysms.
Another application that tries to simplify your life was the winner of Techcrunch’s Battlefield competition. Your Mechanic promises that most of your car issues can be solved in “less than 60 seconds”. They launched at the day of the event, but are aiming to disrupt the whole mechanics market worldwide.
Hope you liked my personal highlights of Techcrunch Disrupt. If you were there too, and you think I missed something important here. Let us know in the comments.