MyQuire Goes to DEMO
We just got back from debuting the next version of MyQuire at DEMOfall 07. We had a great time showing our new product to a bunch of smart folks and were very excited to for the chance to tell the world we have arrived.
The path to DEMO
Getting to DEMO was a rollercoaster ride. We started off thinking we wouldn’t be ready in time to apply for DEMO as our new release wasn’t coming out until later this Fall. Yet as we learned more about the conference, we realized a demo would be enough (seems obvious in hindsight – DEMO/demo), so we applied about 3 weeks after the deadline, talked to Chris Shipley the next day, and were in.
We spent the next month and a half pushing hard toward DEMO, making sure that all the pieces of the product fit together, getting the nuts and bolts of our stage presentation worked out, and making sure we had enough back-ups to survive any situation. After a heroic final 24 hours of testing, we dropped 5 boxes off at FedEx last Friday, and then headed to San Diego on Sunday.
Setting up
Once we arrived Sunday morning, we knew we had arrived at a well-run event. Everything was planned to the minute. We had our on-stage practice, met some of the other folks, and got ready for a hectic three days.
Monday, the conference officially launched. We hadn’t received the fifth box, which had the computers we were using in our DEMO booth, and we were still putting final touches on our presentation, so we were a bit nervous. Finally, around 3pm, the box arrived, and we could join the crowds in the demo pavilion tearing into boxes like it was Christmas – a plasma here, an LCD there. We also had a few final practices to get the presentation straight, then went outside to meet the other folks who had come early and get ready for two very long days.
The DEMO
Our 6 minute stage presentation, which you can see below, was on Wednesday morning, so Tuesday was spent just running through it a few more times in between stints manning our booth. We had a range of conversations, and we also had a chance to talk to some of the other folks demonstrating. Wednesday, we got to the stage at 7:30am to check everything, grabbed breakfast, then waited impatiently for our chance to go onstage. David, our CEO and founder, and I headed out and got started.
In retrospect, it feels pretty easy. It’s only six minutes, right? The lights were a bit too bright, and the crowd is hard to tear away from their email. But in the end, it was great to get out there and tell the world that MyQuire is here and ready to change how we do projects.