I was the chair of the MIT/Stanford Venture Labs' 20th Anniversary Party. It was a great experience helping celebrate this entrepreneurship non-profit's celebrations, and I learned a lot about getting a lot of smart people to work together! Although none of my proposals succeeded, it was nice to shake things up. I took a stronger leadership role instead of being directed as the Chair, balancing a lack of experience with the wisdom to know that a lot of opinions can make some wacky soup. I attempted to create a more flavorful soup. I introduced the committees to Make magazine, was rescued by the venue in the end, and had some great fun.

1. VLAB 20th
Anniversary Party
Overview
June 29, 2010

2. Mission

3. VLAB is a network of human beings who make innovation
happen in Silicon Valley.

4. The Panels are only one part of the story.

5. The panel events are the most visible
to our guests.

6. However, there are the conversations that are not immediately
visible.

7. Let’s make
the people &
processes
visible at the
VLAB party.

8. It’s here that abstract ideas are voiced and relationships that
are formed.

9. And it’s only through human networking that start-ups are
created.

10. This is how start-ups become a reality.

11. How do we connect people through stories and relationships?

12. Documentation

13. Document our learnings this year with an online Yearbook

14. VLAB Volunteers

15. Will many volunteers
be meeting each other
face-to-face for the
first time at the party?

16. Yearbook 2009-2010
What was I there for?
What did I do?
What part did I play?
How will I remember this
year and all its
achievements?
How did we entrepreneurially
use new ways of doing things
at VLAB during 2009-2010?

17. Yearbook 2009-2010
VLAB Yearbook 2009-2010
Profiles, Learning and Network Building

18. Yearbook Example for Volunteers
What was I there for?
What did I do?
What part did I play?
How will I remember this
year and all its
achievements?
How did we entrepreneurially
use new ways of doing things
at VLAB during 2009-2010?

19. 20 Years of VLAB
How can Volunteers
Learn from 20 years
of Experience?
How can Advisors
share their battle
stories?

20. How can advisors and
panelists collectively
share 20 years of wisdom
with volunteers?

21. We want to hear their battle stories.

22. 20 Years of VLAB: Personal Stories
Web Version
Mobile Web Version

23. Logistics
How will we do more with our money?
Creating less work?
And provide more of an experience and value for
our guests?

24. Create a centralized Workspace on Google
Sites with Buy-In

25. We meet so rarely face-to-face
Google Groups Pages only go so far
For a complicated project like this we need
to be on one system

26. VLAB Party Timeline
Current Week
June 1 First week meeting in person about the event
Problem: Behind Schedule
June 10 Possibilities to try out new things
June 17 Possibilities to try out new things
June 24 Possibilities to try out new things
Event Alternate Dates of 6/29, 7/6, 7/19

27. VLAB Party Timeline
Current Week
June 1 First week meeting in person about the event
Problem: Behind Schedule
June 10 Possibilities to try out new things
Can we use the sense of urgency to spur us
to action?
June 17 Possibilities to try out new things
To try out new things?
To think entrepreneurially?
June 24 Possibilities to try out new things
Event Alternate Dates of 6/29, 7/6, 7/19

28. Victories
Re: Biofuels Marketing Push
A crisis brought the team together to create sell-out
event and even bring new partners and VLAB
participants.

29. Budget
2009 Budget: approx. $7,000 - Drinks The VLAB Party budget is a perfect
covered by various sponsors opportunity to think entrepreneurially.
$192.00!
$498.40!
2010 Budget: approx. $9,000
$675.00!
$290.00!
Re: Biofuels ?
How can we
$4,995.75!
do more with
less?
Venue (includes Catering)! AV Rental! Labor! Tax! Alcohol, Corkage!

30. Budget
2009 Budget: approx. $7,000 - Drinks The VLAB Party budget is a perfect
covered by various sponsors opportunity to think entrepreneurially.
$192.00!
How can we do more with less? $9,000
$498.40!
2010 Budget: approx.
$675.00!
$290.00!
Re: Biofuels ?
How can we
Suppose we used new sponsorship models
$4,995.75!
do more with
to end up with more money than we
less?
started with?
Venue (includes Catering)! AV Rental! Labor! Tax! Alcohol, Corkage!

31. Venues

32. Project:
Places of Invention
http://thetechvirtual.org/projects/
places-of-invention
Participants enter Second Life
and model their own ideal
environments for invention.
Won the Linden Lab 2010
Prize today!

33. Project:
Places of Invention
Director of Places of Invention willing to
work with us in every possible way.
Guests will be able to contribute to a
prestigious, prize-winning Smithsonian
- Tech Museum Virtual World project.
Won the Linden Lab 2010
Prize today!

34. Project: Places of
Invention
“Use a virtual environment, computer-
based design tools, or manual design
tools to model your own place of
innovation—either a real or imagined
place, an individual workspace or an
entire community. “
This is what VLAB is all about!

35. Catering
Food
Entrepreneurialism
The San Francisco Bay Area is a hotbed
of new ways of thinking, serving and
eating food.
Why not incorporate food
entrepreneurialism into the event?

36. Second Choice
Venue: Computer
History Museum
Very close to Palo Alto
Expensive ($4000+ Minimum) No
sponsorships or negotiations
have taken place

37. Back-Up Venues
Stanford Alumni Other, Newer
Center (3rd Choice) Approaches Last Year’s Event
Tent on Stanford
campus?

38. Keynote Speaker

39. How do we
enable the
keynote
speaker to
create an
experience
people will
remember
positively for
years?

40. How do we bring the Keynote
Speaker and the audience closer
together both before and after the
event?

41. Keynote Speaker
• How can we make this
experience remarkable for both
the speaker and audience?
• This is our time to try new
things.
• How can the event be shared
with the rest of the world?

42. Keynote Speaker
Could we try two keynote speakers, one “veteran”
and one “up and comer”?

43. Documentation

44. New Sponsorship Models

45. What if we ended up with more money at
the end of the party than we had at the
start?
Sponsorship Models

46. What if we use the new tools for
nonprofits?
Sponsorship Models

47. MIT Media Lab Kickstarter
Sponsor Projects http://www.kickstarter.com/
What if we tried new models of sponsorship?
Sponsorship Models

48. What if each VLAB Volunteer
became a mini entrepreneur,
helping to fund the party?