unConference 2009 for Today’s AND Tomorrow’s Opportunities

If you’re planning to be an angel investor and think that good opportunities will just flock to you, think again.

Yes, it’s true that a number of entrepreneurs will make meeting requests. But the problem isn’t finding investment opportunities, but finding good quality ones. This isn’t to say that the entrepreneur who found you online isn’t worth investing in. After all, there are tons of brilliant entrepreneurs out there that you haven’t met. It’s just that given the high number of inquiries, it’s impossible for you to meet every single founder who’s initiated contact. It’d be great to check out all the startups if you had all the time in the world, but do you?

How to Find Quality Deal Flow?

The most common way is to get referrals through personal and business networks. Either way, the referral should come from someone you trust or respect, not just anyone. Otherwise, it isn’t much different than the entrepreneur who randomly contacted you online. Most angels don’t even look at deals that come directly from entrepreneurs unless they’re recommended by trusted sources.

You can also join organized angel groups that weed out the bad from the good. Or invest alongside seasoned angels. The lead investors will vet the deal and take care of due diligence. In this case, you don’t have to do much except part your angel dollars.

Or, you could go to unConference to hear several pitches all at once. [1]

unConference 2009 Singapore

unConference was started in 2006 by e27, a media startup company. It began as an Asia-based grassroots effort to connect developers, entrepreneurs, and investors, and it was attended by 20 people. By 2008, over 300 people attended the event.

Mohan Belani, director of e27, got in touch with me about unConference 2009. I’ll definitely drop by if schedule permits. The event is dated May 16th. Seven business leaders are scheduled to speak, each with robust startup experience under their belt.

The conference starts at 9:00 AM with registration and breakfast. Scott Rafer, former CEO of MyBlogLog.com and Feedster.com, is the first presenter, giving the keynote address. Benjamin Joffe, included in China’s Top 100 Mobile Industry Influencers, and Chandrasekar Rathakrishnan, whose company innovated the world’s first mobile operating system and raised $20 million in venture capital, will each lead a case study.

Today’s and Tomorrow’s Money

After lunch, a panel of noteworthy guests, including Gang Lu (co-founder of OpenWeb Asia), Dr. KF Lai (co-founder and CEO of Buzzcity), and Wong Hoong An (founder of HungryGoWhere.com), as well as speakers from earlier in the day, will participate in the panel discussion about the direction of innovation in the Asian market. You might attend unConference to find out where to invest today’s money, but you’ll want to attend this discussion to know where to put tomorrow’s money.

Reza Benham, co-founder of Digital Direction, will moderate the remaining large group session in which 8 to 10 innovators and developers will pitch their ideas — not to be missed if you want to save time and hear several pitches at one go.

Following the large group sessions, and a tea break, unConference attendees will participate in three breakout sessions of 50 minutes each. While some breakout session topics have yet to be confirmed, relevant topics for innovators and investors alike include “effective marketing,” “content management systems,” “trends in online social networks in Asia,” “robotics and the internet,” and more.

The one-day conference will be capped off with a post-event networking time where those who didn’t have a chance to connect during the whirlwind day can mingle, shark hands, and exchange business cards.

Industry Focus

So, why should you include this on your itinerary? So far, 19 29 startups are confirmed to attend (and more may be added as the event nears). Majority of the startups are based in Singapore and have a focus in tech, harnessing the power of the connected world for greater potential. Industries include marketing, social networking, iPhone apps, gaming, falling price auctions, and applications for the artistic and fashion communities. If you dig anything mentioned above, go take a looksee.

[Update: Bjorn Lee, director of e27, said 29 startups have confirmed attendance thus far. Great job!]

Note:

[1] unConference 2009