TiE VISTA 2011 Conference Day One

Today I had the opportunity to attend the TiE VISTA 2011 Conference in Atlanta. TiE, if you don’t know, is one of the best entrepreneurial groups originally focused on Indian entrepreneurs but since expanded to all entrepreneurs. Day one of the conference was a keynote speech followed by a collection of panel discussions culminating in a night Gala with awards. Everything was well executed.

Pete Kight, founder of multi-billion dollar CheckFree corp, was the morning keynote. He shared several thoughts and insights:

• The equivalent amount of information created in the world from the dawn of man to 2000 is now created every 48 hours.
• The highest form of personalized service is where no human interaction is necessary (think self-service web and mobile apps).
• Industries with idle equipment times and inferior logistics are ripe for technology-based middleman applications (think limo service that doesn’t own any limos but contracts on-demand with other limo companies).
• Betamax was superior to VHS in every technical way but VHS won because the consortium of companies behind it gave away all the necessary recording equipment and rights to making the tapes for five years to a dozen porn companies. They did this knowing people would prefer watching porn from the comfort of their home as opposed to being seen at a theater.
• When he started the first electronic check company in his grandmother’s basement in 1981 everyone thought he was crazy in that no one would trust electronic payments. Now it is the most pervasive form of payment.
• Smart phones are going to be the new credit card.

The TiE community did a great job putting on the conference and Gala and I’m looking forward to day two tomorrow.