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Tech-Startup Optimism Shines Bright at Launch Conference

For most small businesses, times are still pretty tough. Sales are slow, regulations are a pain, and raising money can seem like an impossible dream.

But for the entrepreneurs behind the latest generation of technology startups,

 those concern are hardly worth mentioning. Based on little more than an original idea (sometimes not even that) and an abiding faith in the power of the Internet and social media, many of these startups seem to have to no trouble attracting attention, users, and capital.

Paying customers? Well, let’s wait and see on that one.

That’s the takeaway I got from visiting the Launch conference here in San Francisco this week (next door to AllBusiness world HQ, how cool is that?). Dozens of startups signed up to demo their products and introduce their companies to an estimated audience of 1,200 bloggers, analysts, and angel investors, and venture capitalists. Those that made it on stage got advice from a panel of experts on everything from product design to presentation styles. There were even “speed-mentoring” sessions during lunch.

 Robert Reich from OpenSpaceStore.org, an open platform app store, told me that the event was free to demo-ing companies, and he saw it as a good way to introduce his product and start getting some feedback.
Many of the new companies seemed to have useful products – or at least ideas for useful products. Some, like Addroid (automated video ad production) and Volta (a/b testing of call center scripts), Cabana App (mobile app creation), and FaceCash (mobile payment systems) were even aimed at make life easier for small businesses.) But others – especially the consumer-oriented companies – often appeared to be little more than Web sites with social features trying to find a way to emerge from the crowd.

Good luck with that. If you’re counting on scale to make your ideas work, you’ve got a huge chicken-and-egg problem to overcome

That’s why I’m guessing that the vast majority of these companies won’t make it big. But I have to tell you, it was mighty encouraging to see all that energy and enthusiasm and confidence bubbling around the hall. Sure, it might be a bubble, but it’s good to know that at least some small businesses see a bright future.