Do you remember Flash and Dreamweaver? The keynote speaker will be Marc Canter, the founder of Macromedia, the graphics and web development software company that, relatively recently, was acquired by Adobe.  Although the purchase of Macromedia should have left Marc set for life, and able to sit on the beach all day drinking mai tais, he has a new passion: building digital cities. This 30 year software development guru and tech entrepreneur, is now the CEO of Digital City Mechanics.

Michelle Messina Silicon Valley comes to Jamaica

Also featured on the agenda will be Michelle Messina, Vice-President of International Business Development of the Silicon Valley-based Guidewire Group, which… provides startups, their supporters, and those who do business with them with the tools, data, networks and programs they need to discover, monitor, benchmark, compare, and promote early-stage companies…

These international guests will complement a powerful crop of young tech entrepreneurs from across the region who are making their mark at home and further afield.  For the most part, they will be sharing their experience, for example, how they became successful, along with discussing the various funding options that are available.

What is Caribbean BETA ?
It’s the first of its kind, one day  Tech Entrepreneurship conference that’s about driving startup businesses, jobs and innovation in Jamaica and across the Caribbean. It will be on Friday, November 25th 2011 at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston, Jamaica. See Conference Agenda for details.

It’s about the business of spawning successful Caribbean Tech Startups.

It’s the event where the smartest Caribbean minds in technology around the world, come to show and tell what they’re doing to change the world, to learn from experts, be inspired and get connected to talent, funding and opportunities.

It brings together the industry pioneers and fresh faces, thought leaders and technology giants from Caribbean and around the world. The event will include inspiring keynotes and workshops, refreshing panels and a BETA PitchFest contest with focus on hot sectors like mobile/web apps, social networking, multimedia content and gaming.

We're on a Mission

I’ve made it no secret that I’ve been on a mission. From the 1999 with the publication of Jamaica’s first Internet Guide, iGuide Jamaica, to the launching of this blog because my inbox got too heavy with information and many questions from people like you who wanted to know and to share what you were doing. I put my first tech company on ice to go work for a US-based dot com then called HomeView as its Chief Content Officer. What an experience that was.

The mission expanded in 2007 where we joined early the global movement to drive tech entrepreneurship and startups by launching the Kingston BETA event for the growing tech community to meetup regularly, network, pitch their big ideas, get feedback, connections and expertise.But honestly Kingston BETA came from my own selfish need to meet more people like me who were in the tech industry, thought we were alone with our ideas and were going crazy working in silos craving validation, connection, information and help.

Four years, over 40 events, 2000 attendees, 70 Caribbean Startups later…the community is growing, the ideas are getting better, the startups launching are happening faster, more are being successful. At the same time, some people still don’t get it, so they’ve never supported the mission, event and community (corporate or individual), that’s ok too.

Now,because of there are always fresh faces and yes in some respects to hammer home the mission in a bid to further inspire others, it has led me to start every Kingston BETA event with answering the question…What is Kingston BETA and why are we doing this. So below, is the what and why of Kingston BETA explained. You’ll get even a better understanding when you picture it also in the context of this quote from a man I’ve watched closely for years. “Entrepreneurs and small businesses are the engines that power our economies, create jobs, fuel growth and ultimately transform communities.” – Sir Richard Branson.

Why and What of Kingston BETA

It’s a bimonthly event that’s been developing the tech community in Jamaica and across the Caribbean for the last 4 years. We’re helping individuals with ideas , get connected to the people, information, funding and markets they need to launch successful startups, that create jobs, build lasting wealth for more people and unleash innovation to the world.

Our Mission is to drive tech entrepreneurship in Jamaica and across the Caribbean.

We’re part of a global entrepreneurship movement, that recognised early that we now live and do business in the Digital Age. This requires us to think and do differently. Kingston BETA for the past 4 years has been leading in preparing Jamaica and the Caribbean for the future.

Kingston BETA is an initiative of my Jamaican-based startup ConnectiMass.

Join Us : http://www.Facebook.com/kingstonbeta

Follow Us: @kingstonbeta

Sponsor Us: Email Ingrid Riley ingrid@connectimass.com

Related Stories and Links

Why I started Kingston BETA

Kingston BETA, aims to encourage Caribbean Tech Entrepreneurship…look who and what happened at July’s event.

Why is Kingston BETA important to the Caribbean Tech Community? Listen to them tell you. ( Video)

Caribbean BETA the inaugural one day tech conference is on November 25th, 2011 in Kingston, Jamaica

Last week Thursday, Kingston BETA kicked off the first in its series of bimonthly events in Kingston, at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel with “SHOW ME THE MONEY” will be an interactive panel-led discussion  on How Jamaican and Caribbean technology/internet entrepreneurs can develop profitable business models for their ideas and startups. Our 3 guest panelists were O’Neal Campbell- Discountsja.com ( Jamaica’s Groupon.com), Alex Morrissey Songwrita/Jamaicansmusic.com and Marc Gayle- Compversions.com.

Marc Gayle kicked off the discussions with his presentation called “Ideas are Cheap:

We made the announcement on May 19th on the event blog for Kingston Beta. The headline read  Marc Canter, Founder of Macromedia, creator of FLASH Media Player will speak at the ConnectiMass technology event Kingston Beta in June. The Jamaican and Caribbean tech  and business community has been a buzz ever since.

And yes he will be speaking their via Skype Video on Thursday June 24th, 2010 to the Jamaica’s Kingston Beta community at the Spanish Court Hotel in Kingston.

Since we became Facebook friends, I took the opportunity to get a pre-event interview with him. So I sent him some questions and he answered them in a candid and direct way. Here’s the interview:

Journey of the Tech Entrepreneur
A Facebook Interview with Marc Canter, Founder of Macromedia, Ceo of Broadband Mechanics.

SC:When you started MarcoMind what was your intention, your goal at that time?
MC:To create video game development tools.

SC:Was Macromedia bootstrapped, then growth fed by profits or was it venture funded? And how did the type of funding play a role in Macromedia’s success?
MC: Angel funded with $100k from my father-in-law – we produced 7 products in three years.  We received VC money – after five years.  The VCs came in and took over.   Then kicked me out.

SC: The start and finish timeline of Macromedia can be summed up like this – (well according to Wikipedia anyway)- Founded in 1992 by Marc Canter…formerly an American graphics and web-development software house headquartered in San Francisco, California, produced such products as Macromedia Flash as well as Macromedia Dreamweaver. Its rival, Adobe Systems, acquired Macromedia on December 3, 2005 and as of 2010 controls the line of Macromedia products.
What are the factors – internal, external ( USA) that enabled Macromedia to achieve success?
MC: By the time the company was renamed Macromedia – it had achieved all of the milestones, overcome all the barriers, paid our dues, built up a new market, invented new product categories, pioneered and entirely new industry.  That was MacroMind.  We never had enough money.  When the VCs brought in their CEO – he spent more in the 1st QT, than we had in the previous 5 years.

That first CEO went back to the trough (VC rounds) = 5 times in 2 years.

That company and culture of MacroMind was entrepreneurial.  The culture of Macromedia was “buy a company rather than invent the technology”.

Macromedia never invented anything.

SC: This Adobe/Macromedia deal was clearly a strategic move against Microsoft…but…why did you “sell” ? Even though you walked away had trailerloads of cash..how did you move on from this? Was this your exit plan?
MC: It wasn’t me – it was them. Mating dinosaurs is how I’d typify that deal.  By the time that deal happened both companies are already dead.  They just don’t know it yet.

SC: It’s been said we’re now in the age of small business, there is now a rash of small and very successful software companies like 37 signals- is this the way forward?
MC: Inn the 80′s there were 100′s of software companies.

in the 90′s 1,000′s

in the 00′s 10,000′s

and in the future there will be 100,000′s of software companies.  How many will be the next Google or Facebook?  .00000001% all the rest will think global and act local.

SC: We have a small but vibrant software industry here in Jamaica and the Caribbean…speak to the entrepreneurs….tell them what you think are the things you believe will help make them successful and profitable.
MC: Open APIs, connecting ‘cyberspace to meatspace’, build software with some stage or role for humans to be directly involved in.  Design loosely coupled with other open systems and platforms.

SC: The centre of innovation is now the world it seems, innovation is no longer exclusively coming out of places we expect them to….does Jamaica have what it takes to be a centre of innovation? I ask this as we’re seeing lots of activity in Jamaica, across the Caribbean, we’ve predicted that this year is the tipping point for tech industry here and I want to see if we have the factors for that really to happen.
MC: Sure why not? But Jamaica can also fall on its face if it does not get it’s PEOPLE to use companies.  Its a simple notion – “all jobs of the future will require having computer skills”. Don’t worry so much about the software developers, “train the children!”

SC: You’re speaking at Kingston Beta on Thursday 24th live by Ustream, first of all thanks for saying yes to that…you are now the Founder and CEO of Broadband Mechanics, and I read online I believe on your blog, that your goal is to Making Software Social and you’re on the road to creating another billion dollar company…without telling us everything before Kingston Beta…what is Broadband Mechanics about and what’s this move about Making Software Social?
MC: That message is 2-3 years old.  That’s what’s on the Broadband Mechanics web site.  That company has a social networking platform that one could use to create their own Ning, or Facebook or any kind of social network.  We call that “white labeled”.  The source code is available for that product at:  update.peopleaggregator.org.

But to me that was 5-6 years ago – when I started that platform – which was a culmination of years of designing and building many of the original social networks (2003-2006.)

About 2.5 years ago I started work on a book – called “How to build the Open Mesh” – which was a theoretical treatise on how open standards and dashboard can form a distributed system for allowing ANY software developer to “play” in the game.

After I finished the book I was looking for new opportunities as the (economic) downturn had decimated my customers and we had only one remaining customer – the U.S. Army ROTC program. So I laid my book onto the desk of the CTO of CWRU (in Cleveland) and he invited me to teach there.  So I wrote a second book for my class: “How to build a Digital City” – where I go into details on just how we can create jobs and build out a new kind of software infrastructure.

Here are links to downloads of my two books:

http://blog.broadbandmechanics.com/2009/07/10/links-to-my-two-books/

I’ve now focused my energies on starting a new company called “Digital City Mechanics” – which will be the commercial version of my Phd. thesis.  The idea is that I will spend five years:

- deploying my ideas into local “digital bureaus”
- we will leverage the “Haves” to help the “Have Nots”
- we will train our future workers in a “virtuous process of volunteerism and community involvement”
- and we will utilize sponsored multimedia projects to get paid workers to intern and apprentice our trainees”
- who will then learn marketable job skills by BUILDING multimedia projects

And that’s where Jamaica comes in

Now ask me “what was I saying back in 1991-2 when I came ot Jamaica with Hugo?”  And what did I say on Mutabaraka’s show?

This was too funny in its irreverence and too solid in its business advice from a very successful entrepreneur not to share with you.

So while we where setting up our new FaceBook Fan Page and Twitter Page we decided to follow a number of successful tech entrepreneurs, business thinkers, angel and venture capitalists and of course Guy Kawasaki was one our list. Then half our later in starting up our Twitter account, Guy Kawasaki became our 8th follower.

..And Who is Guy Kawasaki ? Check this! Guy Kawasaki is a managing director of Garage Technology Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm and a columnist for Entrepreneur Magazine. Previously, he was an Apple Fellow at Apple Computer, Inc. Guy is the author of nine books including Reality Check, The Art of the Start, Rules for Revolutionaries, How to Drive Your Competition Crazy, Selling the Dream, and The Macintosh Way. He has a BA from Stanford University and an MBA from UCLA as well as an honorary doctorate from Babson College. He’s the founder of Alltop.com.