DEMOgala expands beyond local software show

Cold weather and a cooler economy didn’t keep Colorado technophiles away from the fifth annual DEMOgala event at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver on Oct. 8.

DEMOgala, hosted by the Colorado Software and Internet Association, saw just over 970 attendees this year. That’s shy of last year’s attendance, when more than 1,000 flocked from around the state and country.

“I was really pleased (with the attendance),´ said CSIA President Su Hawk.

She noted that while it seemed like companies sent fewer staff members this year, there were more companies attending. Hawk added that at all of the other events the CSIA has hosted throughout the year attendance has been up over last year. At the same time, other technology associations have been reporting the opposite, she said.

The DEMOgala kicked off with three high-profile speakers – Scott Heiferman, cofounder of Meetup; Jeff Housenbold, CEO of Shutterfly; and Warren Adelman, president and COO of GoDaddy. The tech superstars described how their companies flew to the top of their respective markets and have been able to hold on against some of the much larger competitors.

Following the keynote trifecta myriad breakout sessions examined topics ranging from cloud computing to customer engagement.

“The speakers come on their own dime and their own time,” Hawk said. In all, about 60 speakers and moderators, many from Colorado, donated their time to DEMOGala.

Accompanying the breakout sessions was an all-day showcase of Colorado technology firms. The companies selected for the showcase were nominated by either someone in their firm or someone in the community. A panel of judges reviewed the nominees to determine, first and foremost, if they are innovating here in Colorado.

“This event is really our way of showing off what the people in Colorado do and will do,” Hawk said.

The judges also evaluate the nominees’ technology and whether or not it lends itself to a showcase setting. In the end, only 20 are selected, but not all of them attended.

“We did have a couple that weren’t there,” Hawk admitted, explaining that some of them had other obligations. “Digital Globe, for example, was launching a satellite. A couple of them had investor conferences to attend.”

New companies aren’t selected to fill the spots of the showcase firms because it is meant to be an honor, Hawk explained. None of the Northern Colorado-based companies slated to show off their wares showed up at the gala. They included:

n Envirofit – a Fort Collins-based firm tackling global environmental and health issues by introducing more efficient and sustainable technologies. It is currently deploying motor retrofit kits and less-polluting cookstoves in several “bottom of the pyramid” markets.

n Ice Energy – headquartered in Windsor, the firm is seeking to deploy its energy storage devices that rely on ice, shifting air conditioning induced load from peak to off-peak times, on a utility scale.

Other nominees included Lightning Hybrids, Loveland; Solix Biofuels Inc., Fort Collins; Spirae Inc., Fort Collins; UQM Technologies, Frederick; and VanDyne SuperTurbo Inc., Fort Collins.

Interestingly enough, none of the Northern Colorado firms are truly what one might call software or Internet companies. Ice Energy’s technology does include a software element, as does Spirae’s. What each of the Northern Colorado firms do have in common are connections in the field of alternative energy, or the new energy economy.

To be fair, CSIA does now dub itself “Colorado’s Technology Association,” encompassing a wider range and new generation of technologies beyond computers.

Kristen Tatti covers technology for the Northern Colorado Business Report. She can be reached at 970-221-5400, ext. 219 or ktatti@ncbr.com.

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