Mikey Moran

I just got back from the LAUNCH Conference in San Francisco. What an amazing experience! Looking back it made me realize how much of it I accomplished with just $5. 

The purpose of this post is not only to help document the trip but show other startups you don't always need funding to get the word out about your company. (Although it does help!)

A good product helps create it's own buzz as well. I helped start Mougg!

Pitch on This Week in Startups #120 - FREE!

I was invited to the conference by Jason Calacanis after pitching MOUGG in the "Shark Tank" segment of This Week in Startups episode #120 with Tony Conrad. Tony rated my pitch a 9.9! Jason and Tyler gave it an 8 - 8.5. I am a huge fan of TWIST so appearing on the show was very special to me. At the end of the segment Jason graciously offered me two tickets to the LAUNCH Conference and then even threw in a table in the Launch Pad. 

My portion starts around the 59 minute mark!

Flight - ATL > San Fran - $5

I had under two weeks to prepare for the conference. There are plenty of hotels in San Fran but flights to the west coast can sometimes book up quickly. The prices had already increased a lot so I decided to turn in some SkyMiles for a round trip ticket. An advantage of doing business in Bangkok twice a year is the amount of SkyMiles you can accumulate (20,000 miles per trip!).

Hansen's All-Natural Soda Sponsor - FREE!

Prior to the conference, Jason Calacanis hosted a conference call to answer questions and give tips on how to be more successful at the event. During the call he mentioned giving away drinks at your booth would make people more inclined to listen to what you have to say. If you are given something, even small, it is a great segway into a conversation about your product. I don't know any high powered employees at Starbucks but I did have a friend that handles all the marketing for Hansen's All-Natural sodas! Doug agreed to bring sodas to the event and hand them out for FREE!

It worked out very well. The Hansen's products were a good alternative to the Coke products offered in the lounge. 

Mougg Presents Venture Socialism 101 - A Launch After Party - FREE!

The night before leaving for San Fran I noticed some tweets about Launch Meetups and after parties. I noticed nobody was hosting a later after party on Thursday after the event. WHAT! I quickly jumped to action by finding a hot venue to host a party Thursday night. I chose SLIDE Lounge which was a good size venue with an actual slide in it!

The next step was to get listed on the Launch Meetups Pen.io page that seemed to be the official source on what was going on after the event. I wanted to make my own page for the event to maximize the exposure for the Mougg brand. I did so by creating an event page with guest list features for free on Eventbright. Check it out! 

The party recieved numerous tweets and 177 RSVPs. My personal invite to #POPBOTTLES with Jason Calacanis was re-tweeted by him to almost 110,000 twitter users. The event worked out great and it was a lot of fun to talk to others about their companies in a relaxed fun setting. 

Mougg Promo Video for Event - FREE!

To create a more interactive experience the LAUNCH conference did NOT want sound coming from tables in the Launch Pad. Mougg is all about music and the sound! What should I do? I had to call in a favor from some friends that I am working with to launch a marketing company with. I told them I needed an eye catching video produced in 72 hours. They were up for the challenge and exceeded my expectations. The video was played on an elevated monitor at our table and really did get attention. 

Invited to Present on Stage - FREE!

One of the exciting elements for the Launch Pad companies was the possibility of getting chosen to go on stage and pitch your product to hundreds of media, VCs, Al Gore and Live coverage by Ustream. On Day 1 of the conference I was chosen along with five other companies to go on stage and tell people about Mougg and why it is a great idea. 

Other Memorable Moments outside the Conference - MORE THAN $5!

I stayed at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in downtown San Francisco. The room had one of the best views in the city!

We had great Korean BBQ!

Huge Steak Dinner at Alfred's Steakhouse! (Felt like I was in a Godfather Movie scene) 

I really can't put a value on the experience at the Launch Conference. I learned so much, received product feedback by industry professionals and met some amazing entrepreneurs. 

Special thanks to Jason Calacanis, This Week in Startups (Rob rocks!), The Launch Conference Team and eveyone that participated in the event!