

 Demoing Marrily at TechCocktail Austin. Tips on getting attention? - sr3d
http://marrily.com/?utm_source=hackernews&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=askhn2

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sr3d
I got invited to present my startup, Marrily, at TechCocktail Austin
(<http://techcocktailaustin2010.eventbrite.com/>) this coming Thursday.
Marrily is an online wedding planning service that I've been bootstrapped in
the past 6 months. TechCocktail Austin is the first major event that I have
the opportunity to demo/pitch to spread the words out.

I'm a single founder so I've been pretty much staying on the technical side.
But I'd appreciate any tips or recommendations on how to grab people's
attention and to spread the words out. The event is an expo-style, which I
will have a table to setup whatever I want. My plan is to set up a couple
laptops (3 at the moment, 2 Macbooks and a Dell laptop) and a 24" monitor.
Then I'll just answer people's questions as they come visit my table.

I don't have any budget for other promotions besides handling out business
cards. Any tips on how to grab attentions for free at a crowded tech event
will greatly be appreciated.

I also setup a new facebook fanpage here:
<http://facebook.com/marrilyhappily/> so feel free to "like" it.

Also, during sign up, please use the coupon code "tca2010" (valid till 11/01),
which will upgrade the subscription to the Free plan permanently. Just a way
for me to say thank you :)

Thanks!

~~~
qrush
Wow, thanks. Currently using Highrise to plan ours but will give this a shot.
If we have feedback for you what's the best way to contact you?

~~~
sr3d
You can email me at alexle at marrily.com or give me a call (my number is on
the top of the app page). I'm also on IRC #startups with the same nick as
well.

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skevvis
I've presented at TechCocktail before. It's a great experience. Here are a few
tips:

1) It's in a bar environment, so you have to stand out. I had a big
retractable banner (8 ft high) which stood out, so when you walked into the
room people saw it 2) 20" monitor hooked up to a computer playing a slideshow
is also great 3) They have to walk away with something. Stickers? Something
fun? 4) Talk to anyone and everyone who walks up, regardless of their
background + interest. It may not be for them, but they may know someone who
is.

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wallflower
Will the tech expo have a defined floorplan? If they do and you can get it in
advance and they are not printing their own maps, consider printing a map of
the venue in the style of / like a wedding seating chart (with your logo
somewhere near the legend).

