SocialMatchbox.com is the trusted source of straight up information, news, and perspective related to the software and web product community here on the East Coast. SocialMatchbox.com is published by Bob Neelbauer, an active member of the Washington, DC, College Park, MD, Baltimore, MD, and Northern Virginia web and software product communities. Contributors include prominent venture capitalists, web developers and designers, web and software related community leaders, and most importantly: web and software company entrepreneurs.
We hope that you will take a moment to share your thoughts on how we can improve SocialMatchbox.com today. Thanks!
Contributors
Robert Neelbauer, Publisher, Editor & Founder, College Park, MD & Mountain View, CA
Juliana Neelbauer, Associate Editor, Washington, DC & Baltimore, MD
Ian Thiel, Contributor, Global MBA Candidate (by day), Washington, DC & Boston, MA & Europe & China (2011-2012)
Don Rainey, Contributor, VC (by day), Vienna, VA|
Jim Durbin, Contributor, Social Media Headhunter (by day), Dallas, TX
Ryan Roberts, Contributor, The Startup Lawyer, Dallas, TX
Dave Troy, Contributor, Founder (by day) & Angel Investor, Baltimore, MD
Scott Thompson, Founder, Chile & Rockville, MD
Jonathan Aberman, VC (by day), McLean, VA
Ryan McGrath, Contributor, Web Developer & Designer (by day), Japan & Washington, DC
Arik Abel, Contributor, Digital Marketer (by day), Raleigh, NC
Mike Subelsky, Contributor, Founder, Baltimore, MD
Kira Newman, Contributor, Washington, DC
Daniel R. Odio, Founder (by day), San Francisco, CA
History
SocialMatchbox.com began around 2001 as a list of jobs for friends. Before that it was an email list and a social dinner, for friends who needed help finding a job, hence the “Social” in “SocialMatchbox.com”. In 2007 the organization evolved with the introduction a startup job fair that quickly turned into what is now known as the Social Matchbox Startup Launch Event Series. In 2009 work began on technology that will be introduced to the site in the Fall of 2011, this will take the site and this project to a new level. We look forward to sharing things.
Partners
Our community partners include: The DC Association for Computing Machinery, The University of Maryland’s Mtech Venture Accelerator Program & Terp Startup Lab, The George Mason University Mason Enterprise Center, The George Washington University Office of Entrepreneurship, The Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at The University of Maryland, DCTechEvents.com, FounderCorps, The Entrepreneur Center at the Northern Virginia Technology Council, The American University Kogod School of Business, The University of Maryland, College Park Computer Science Department, Launchbox Digital, Affinity Lab, BaltimoreTechEvents.com, the DC Ruby on Rails User Group (DCRUG), the Business Alliance for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and many others that count emerging technology and startup people among their ranks.
Mission
Our objective is to provide some information that may be helpful to web and software product company founders, people who work for them, people who invest in them, people who advise them, and people interested in joining the ranks of the greater Washington area startup community. As startup founders, advisers, and community members blogging about the industry, we consider ourselves amateurs with expert ambitions who really appreciate it when readers provide feedback on the blog through comments and an occasional email to contact@socialmatchbox.com, show up to events, and pay for a job ad every now and then.
Readership & Community
Over 70% of SocialMatchbox.com‘s 13,000+ member active reader community members (up nearly 200% in 2011) are local to DC, MD, and VA with growing pockets of readers in NC, GA, NY, PA, TX and CA. Several times a year since 2007, the SocialMatchbox.com team and volunteers have hosted and co-hosted many of the region’s most talked about events by members of the community and the media. Some of these include the Social Matchbox Launch Event Series (past event video here), private events for founders and investors, and programming done in partnership with the region’s leading incubators and top universities including American University, George Mason University, George Washington University, and The University of Maryland College Park.
Members include founders, developers, product managers, marketers, angel investors, venture capitalists, advisers, attorneys, accountants and others directly involved in product oriented business ventures. In direct contrast to most organizations that claim to serve the web and product startup community, we purposefully draw a line between service providers and product providers. Whether it is an event or a topic discussed on the website, Social Matchbox community members quickly realize that this is not a community for the service providers. The only exception to this is when it comes time for event sponsors. We do hand select a few service providers who are friends to web and software product providers and recognize them for their support of key events.
Monetization
SocialMatchbox.com is supported thanks to sponsors, job listing revenue, proceeds from recommended book purchases, and advertising revenue generated through banner ads displayed on the job listings page. Our annual revenue is around $25-30k which goes into events facility rentals, event catering, event awards (e.g. trophies), event equipment rental (e.g. special lighting used for on site interviews), event post production (e.g. video editing), web hosting, and miscellaneous operating costs. If we have money left over at the end of the year we buy dinner for event volunteers to thank them for their hard work. In 2011 and 2012 we are planning to add a series of enhancements to the site and would like to add some freelance reporters to the mix – these are wish list items, but if you would like to help underwrite these efforts we would like to talk to you. One day we might make a profit off of the event or the blog, but that is not our objective at this time…we like our day jobs and this is a hobby.
Advertising & Sponsorships
If you would like to Advertise on SocialMatchbox.com or Sponsor a Social Matchbox event send a note to contact@socialmatchbox.com with your name, organization, a quick summary of your objective and daytime contact information – if your there is a fit we will be in touch. We occasionally get a good write-up in the paper and by a few decent bloggers. A few people tell us that we put on the East Coast equivalent of Tech Crunch 50. While we are not that big of a deal, we do have a really solid following and can help you get in front of some really influential people here in DC, MD, and VA.
Press
2009-2010 – The SocialMatchbox team has been quoted in stories, but has focused on putting the spotlight on presenter companies, alumni, where the focus should be. This has happened in large part due to the fact that SocialMatchbox.com has become a bit more of a journalistic endeavor than a project seeking publicity.
April 6, 2009 – The Washington Post Story (Section A of the print edition and as a “Top Story” on the main page of WashingtonPost.com) titled ‘Geeks’ Meet Market Has Share of Success Stories’ by Kim Hart. “Social Matchbox has a new vibe these days. The networking event was first known as “speed dating for geeks” because start-ups could give three-minute pitches about their idea in hopes of finding business partners, landing customers or even securing a bit of funding. Now many of those geeks are running full-fledged businesses, even if they aren’t yet profitable. … The entrepreneurs behind those companies now help make connections and recommendations for other, younger start-ups at the meet-ups.”
“I’d say the event is now more like ‘state of the start-ups,’ ” said Juliana Neelbauer, who hosts the event with her husband, Robert. The couple runs technology recruiting firm staffmagnet in Dupont Circle.
November 24, 2008 – The Washington Post Business Section cover story titled ‘The Download: Navigating the Downturn’ by Kim Hart. Hart calls Social Matchbox Co-Host Robert Neelbauer one of the major connectors in the DC Web 2.0 and startup community and a leading networker in the region’s technology community.
November 17, 2008 – Mary Stevens offers a write-up on her blog, Iyvegyde.
August 15, 2008 – The Washington Post Business Section story, ‘Speed Dating for Geeks’ by Zach Goldfarb chronicles the Social Matchbox experience and contrasts it with the usual networking event by pointing out that the event makes it easier for participants and attendees to network with each other.
August, 18 2008 – Carfax CIO David Silversmith writes – “All in all, an interesting event – from geeks struggling to speak to marketers selling what is not yet there – it covered the spectrum of small company cultures.”
August 14, 2008 – Social Times write-up about Social Matchbox.
April 3, 2008 – Blogger Joe Logon writes about his experience navigating the big crowd with the help of our color coded name badges.
April 1, 2008 – Entreprenuer and Ex-Marine Anne Bernard writes that the lineup of presenting companies “impressive and honestly eye opening” and goes on to say that if you are curious about who’s who in the startup community then you should go to the event.
March 31, 2008 – Viget Labs write-up about Social Matchbox. CEO & Co-Founder Brian Wynn Williams calls it a great way to check out some of the most interesting companies in the area.
March 31, 2008 – M. Jackson Wilkinson, a technologist, designer, speaker, educator and writer from Washington, DC provides a write-up.
March 31, 2008 – Shashi Bellamkonda from Network Solutions offers a write-up and points out that “Recruitment of good talent is always a challenge for Small Business.” and that “Social Matchbox is a good way for Small Businesses, Tech start-ups, small to medium size companies to network and meet prospective partners or employers.”
March 30, 2008 – East Coast Blogging’s Jimmy Gardner offers a write-up of Social Matchbox.
February 3, 2008 – Mitchell Blankenship from Indiana, who could not make it, said “Man I wish there was stuff like this around here. I live in a small town in Indiana and it sucks for a geek like me. I don’t even have a local rails group or friends that understand even half of what I can do with a computer. It’s frustrating but I do like the small town life. I’ld like to get in touch with you some time about things you’ve done while writing your blog.” Note to Mitchell: You are invited next time!
February 3, 2008 – Developer Brenden Collier from Morrisville, NC writes that “it was good to hear about local IT-related businesses that were doing something besides government contracting. Also I was pleased to hear that a good portion of them were developing on a Rails stack. Oh, and there was free pizza.”
February 3, 2008 – Intridea’s Theodore Nguyen Cao from Atlanta, GA writes that “it’s refreshing to see there is a startup community in the DC area, where it seems like everyone and their uncle work for the government.”
January 24, 2008 – *Clearspring’s Community Manager Justin Thorp offers a write-up of Social Matchbox.
January 17, 2008 – Dave Naffis from Intridea offers a write-up of Social Matchbox.
Groups
A few other places where you can find us online are: Facebook and LinkedIn.
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For more information about Social Matchbox please call us at 202-657-6337 contact@socialmatchbox.com.
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