Articles

Education.com Wins Big!

by Danielle Wood

As of November, I knew next to nothing about DEMO. Industry insiders may mark their calendars months in advance, itching for a sneak peek at the next big thing. But for regular folks like me, DEMO sounded vaguely familiar, but didn't quite ring a bell.

That all changed when Education.com was invited to attend. A few minutes of Google-ing later, I realized, wow, this thing is a big deal. For more than 16 years, DEMO has been a launching pad for some of the biggest companies around-- from Palm to ETrade.

Well, the conference is over, the smoke has cleared, and I'm here to tell you, it was as amazing and intimidating, as stressful and exhilerating as I might have hoped. 77 companies. 48 hours. A room filled to the gills with influential journalists and top-shelf venture capitalists who, with a quick swipe of their pens, could change the future of any of the companies attending. Plus, just like the Oscars, at DEMO, the speeches are timed. 6 minutes to be exact. Each company is given no more, no less, to explain to a room of over 600 people, why their idea is the next Big Thing. There are two clocks at the edge of the stage, counting down the seconds. And at the end of the time slot, the microphones turn off, the lights dim-- they practically pull you off with a cane.

Intense? Just a wee bit. But I'm happy to announce that not only did we survive, but we won the "DEMO God" award, a huge honor and a much-coveted one.

For all of you who've helped make this website a success, a sincere thanks. And just in case you're curious, here's a peek at some of the press we garnered, and the video from our DEMO presentation: