Fellow lumeno.us founder Carl and I were among hundreds of geeks and people who love hanging out with geeks at the third annual BarCamp in Palo Alto this past weekend.
We were there to share in the learning but also to find pilot users for lumeno.us which is mere weeks away from launching a private community. Many blogs have been written and photos shared at Flickr from the weekend. All pretty accurately describing a vibrant event and one we were truly pleased to have supported with a modest sponsorship.
I returned home from the event thinking how fantastic it is to be around people who are innovating like mad and pretty much out in front of every interesting tech-related idea. Great prospective users of lumeno.us I was thinking.But this isn't about BarCamp. Its about the appointment I had Monday morning. I had requested a bid on replacing the gas furnace and adding air conditioning to my home. Larry and I met to review the options. I cracked a weak joke about how the amount of money I end up raising for the company will affect the choice. Larry asked what kind of company and I gave him a sort of elevator pitch.
He got it immediately. He wanted to know if heating contractors could use it and then launched into a description of the owner of his business. It was all about how the owner looks to networking with peers as his primary source of guidance on taking the business "to the next level" but that he needs a broader network if he's going to find people like him "who think outside the box."
That, in turn, made me think about the person who grabbed me immediately after we completed the demo at BarCamp. He was leading a team inside a well-established company but wants to figure out how to lead it as if he were at the helm of a small but vibrant company.
That's when it hit me again. Lumeno.us isn't a solution for small businesses in particular vertical markets. It is a place for people who are on the hook and at the helm. The community will be defined by the personality, aspirations, and spirit of the type of person who willingly places themselves on the hook and at the helm of ventures. There were people like that at BarCamp to be sure but we're going to encounter them in other industries and geographies as well.
I'm betting that they'll be drawn to the community and to each other because they have a deep belief that the best lessons come at you from people and places you least expect. The anticipation of that possibility and the satisfaction when it is realized makes the risk and occasional pain of leading a venture worth it all.
