Paul Walsh, the Irish Opportunist

Apologies for not posting as often as I should. I’ve been too busy drinking Champaign, attending networking events and going to parties. Naturally, I’ve also been striking up compelling partnerships with companies who will soon help Segala in its mission to scale and gain mass adoption for Web accessibility standards compliance and Content Labels in general.

The purpose of this post is to tell you what I’ve been up to over the past couple of months whilst name-dropping to highlight the people I think are cool and worth knowing. If you’re a partner or friend, it’s very likely that I’ve already introduced you to at least one of the people mentioned. Hopefully I’ll also give a little insight to my 48 hour day which enables me to run Segala, Chair the UK’s interactive trade association (BIMA), advise a few internet companies in the UK, mentor the CEO of one of Hong Kong’s top 5 mobile games companies, and present at various conferences and seminars.

From left to right.
1) Me and Oli Barrett
2) Hugo Greenhalgh, me and Michael Smith
3) Simon Woodruffe, me, Sabina Ali, Michale Smith and Anna Melville-James
4) Me with a group of people at a recent a Creative Out event supported by BIMA

There are lots more photos but you’ll have to do a search on Flickr to see the ones which don’t place me in compromising positions. Ok, so I looked a bit pissed in the second last one above. I wasn’t going to include it as it almost puts me in a compromising position but hey, if you can’t show that you’re human and able to enjoy yourself then what’s the point of it all?!

I had dinner recently with Robert Loch and Paul Birch. Paul asked if I did any work or if I was just very good at giving off the perception that I didn’t. The answer is yes on both accounts. What’s the point in doing all this work if you can’t have some fun at the same time?! That said, I’m finished my quest in getting Segala to the top of the mountain. That is, we can now demonstrate the company’s full potential to venture capitalists (VCs) without giving away internal organs as part of the deal. I’ll publish more information about our system that automatically generates Content Labels soon.

Presentations and Keynote Talks

I present at events regularly. I’d like to share with you, some of the most recent ones as they’re relevant to the content on this blog. Initially I was going to cover everything here but have decided instead, to write a post for each of my presentations in case you’d like to commentate on something specific without it being lost in a sea of information.

Parties and Champagne tasting

Well, what can I say, it’s the second Web boom and I want to ensure I’m in the middle, celebrating it as it happens, with a laptop in one hand and a glass of bubbly in the other. Note that I didn’t say ‘Internet bubble’; that would conjure up negative connotations based on the bubble burst which happened a few years ago. I don’t see anything about to burst as startups nowadays need very little money to get off the ground, they can deliver products and services more easily by collaborating with likeminded people/companies and it’s much cheaper than ever before, to market and sell via the Web.

It does make me wonder though, when an Enterprise Ireland consultant who’s being paid by the tax payer to evaluate Segala’s business model, says to me, “… but Paul, I honestly can’t see how you can possibly sell over the Internet without the need for loads of sales people knocking on doors…” This was about 2 hours into an extremely frustrating meeting so my only response was “I think it’s time for you to leave my office as you’re wasting my time and I’m wasting yours”. Hopefully Einstein is back to his day job, rounding up sheep in a field on a remote island off the west coast of Ireland, where he can’t damage less experienced opportunists.

Anyway back to the positive stuff; the parties have been and continue to be, brilliant – as seen on Channel 4 news recently! The report also covers OpenCoffee London. If you’re an entrepreneur, investor, journalist or simply interested in networking with smart business people looking for collaborators and partners, then ensure to get your ass down to an OpenCoffee meeting! OpenCoffee meetings are taking the world by storm thanks to Saul Klein from Index Ventures. Click on the image to see the actual report.

The party featured in the report was attended by likeminded folk, such as

Michael Smith, Firebox.com co-founder, Mindcandy Founder, Second Chance Tuesday co-foundder (busy chap!)
Judith Clegg, Second Chance Tuesday Founder
Robert Loch, Internet People
Paul Birch, Bebo co-founder, Cominded Founder
Jim Lawn, POLCAT co-founder
Bronwyn Kunhardt, POLCAT co-founder
Chris Mooney, FHM International Editor
Scott Rutherford, Cominded Shareholder
Hugo Greenhalgh, Sharp Edge Editor
Farzad Jamal, MIVA Commercial Director
Oli Barrett, Rainmaker , Shareholder
Ben Way, Rainmaker, Founder
Ryan Carson, CARSONSYSTEMS Founder (FOWA, FOWD etc.)
Simon Woodruff (one of the original Dragons from BBC’s Dragon’s Den)
Jasmine Birtles, Moneymagpye founder
Tom Boardman, Firebox.com co-founder
Mike Fletcher, RSVP Editor
Richard Moross, Moo.com Founder
and many more equally cool personalities who I haven’t mentioned by name.

Networking events I’ve attended

Where do I start?! First on the list is Rob Loch’s regular gatherings of smart and creative individuals. These events are a mix of intimate dinners and informal piss-ups where people just talk and possibly follow up on drunken conversations about collaboration and partnerships the morning after. This is how Segala has sealed many of its compelling partnerships; starting with a mutual belief that alcohol and hot tubs is the basis upon which all deals should be made.

Then there are the BIMA events. For those of you not familiar with BIMA, it stands for the British Interactive Media Association. It’s the longest established trade association for the Interactive industry (est. 1985), with a bias towards the creative type. I’m Chair for the second year and am (thankfully) supported by 13 strong executives.

I try to go to as many BIMA events as possible, so I can been seen as ‘eating my own dog food’. It’s important to attend your own events, if only to demonstrate that you believe in them (which I do wholeheartedly!!). BIMA and Internet People are joining forces to run a new regular event (more information soon). BIMA’s events include intimate dinners which are always oversubscribed, dialogs and soon, ‘Breakfast Bites’ at the Ivy. I’m sure to get a kicking from my networking events Chair; Julie Lane as the venue has yet to be agreed internally. I’m hoping they’ll come around to choosing the Ivy when they see it in writing and everyone comments that it’s a great idea
I’ve also had the pleasure of hooking up with the likes of Steve Clayton , David Rowe and Claire O’Hallaron from Microsoft recently.

There are plenty more networking events to mention but I think I’ve covered enough for one post. In future I’ll write about upcoming events as they happen.