By Daniella Phillips
Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend Startup Riot 2010 in Atlanta to help represent CitiSync. Adam, the founder of CitiSync, Stephanie, one of the other interns, and I went to the entrepreneurial convention to represent CitiSync to a crowd of about 400 people. Playing hooky from a day of school was definitely worth the experience of learning so much about business and getting to know so many interesting people.
Adam, Stephanie and I drove up to Atlanta on Tuesday night and stayed at Adam’s cousin’s house in Norcross, GA, which is about 20 to 30 minutes outside of Atlanta. (P.S., thanks again to Adam’s cousin!) We got into Norcross at about 3 a.m., and had to be at the convention, which took place in the Fabulous Fox Theatre in Atlanta, by 7 a.m. I was so excited, though, that I wasn’t even tired when we got up in the morning to head to Startup Riot.
The event started with registration and some networking, and then there was an introduction as well as a Keynote speaker and Q&A. After that, there were three hour-long blocks of three-minute pitches given by each of the companies participating. Networking time slots and a lunch break separated the pitch hours. We had the opportunity to pitch and discuss CitiSync with many people as they checked out our booth, and we also had the opportunity to learn about many other cool startup companies. For example, there was a service called TransactionTree that works as an e-mail receipt and marketing delivery service, a company called DoLeaf that provides an online marketplace for people to find and buy plants and a website called LessAccounting that does web-based bookkeeping to provide a simpler alternative to QuickBooks. There were also a slew of potential investors at the convention to learn about the businesses.
During the lunch break, we went to an amazing restaurant called Baraonda Café Italiano a few blocks away from the Fox Theatre. We sat with several entrepreneurs from other startup companies. I loved having the opportunity to pick their brains and learn more about business and entrepreneurship.
Adam presented for CitiSync during the second hour of pitches right after lunch. He did any amazing job, and you can click here to watch his presentation.
After the pitch hours were all done, there was a competition for who could collect the most votes for best startup company. The LessAccounting company that I discussed earlier won the competition, but CitiSync did earn a couple votes, and Adam won three books!
The after-party for the convention was held at Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant. Those who participated in the convention got a ticket for one free drink. We got to meet some really interesting people and talk about all sorts of different businesses. We then headed back to Gainesville after what we considered a very entertaining, demanding, motivating and nerve-racking day. The experience was invaluable and definitely beneficial.
We were mentioned in the Alligator today for our participation in Startup Riot 2010, so make sure to click the link, and check it out!
-Dani 
