This week has been very productive (and it’s only Tuesday morning):

First on Monday, VentureBeat published my guest column on the winning pitch at the Founder Conference. It’s worth watching the video and reading the analysis, if you ever wondered why no one calls you back after you pitch your idea.

Then this morning TechCrunch Europe published the write-up of my Founder Institute Paris graduation speech. I received very positive feedback from European entrepreneurs about the points I raise. If you want to help spread entrepreneurship to the old continent, read this and do something about it.

Finally, FrenchWeb became the media partner for the Founder Conference Paris and also did a write-up today (in French).

That’s it!

Possibly the most popular part of the Founder Conference this year was the live pitch feedback, a workshop run by Adeo Ressi. We actually extended its allocated time by 20 minutes because it was so popular.

The rules are simple: you give your best elevator pitch, in less than 1 minute, as if you were pitching an angel investor or a VC. You think you did a pretty good job. You are proud of yourself. And then Adeo tells you what an investor really hears, and how bad your pitch really is. It’s tough, but that’s the best way to learn.

Adeo’s strength is in being able to analyze and deconstruct a pitch instantaneously. Believe me, investors think the same way. The difference is that they don’t tell you what they think. Instead, consider yourself lucky if all you get is an “Hum, interesting…”.

But enough talking, judge for yourself and watch the video!

I’m posting the videos of the Founder Conference here on my blog until we revamp the Founder Conference website… By the way, if you want to be the first one to know about the next Founder Conference, there is a sign-up form on the right.

Should you join an incubator such as Y-Combinator, the Founder Institute or TechStars? Or just go out on your own and raise money like Brian Wong (Kiip) just did at the sweet age of 19? That was the topic of the Incubator panel at the Founder Conference, with Ivan Kirigin of TipJoy (YCombinator Alumni), Lecole Cole of Skydera (Founder Institute Graduate) and Emily Olson of Foodzie (TechStars Alumni).

Beyond discussing underage drinking and how good the food is, we covered more serious topics such as: is giving away equity worth the experience, what you are really gaining in return, and more.

Enjoy the 45 minutes of open discussion.

More videos of the Founder Conference coming soon.

In the tradition of the Co-Founders MeetUp of Silicon Valley, the Founder Conference will feature 12 pitches from startups. If you need help to build your startup, you should apply. However, note that this is not the place to launch your startup to the press, or expect to raise money from venture capitalists. Other conferences do that better.

But if you need a co-founder, or feedback on your idea, this is the right place. There will be 250+ startup enthusiasts. It’s up to you to convey your passion. Forget about NDAs: good things happen to those who share.

In practice, you will have 3 minutes and 3 slides on stage to pitch in front of the whole audience. Don’t forget to include your contact info on the last slide, so people can follow-up with you afterward. Be clear about what you need from the audience.

To apply, send a draft of your 3-slide presentation to alain.at.fairsoftware.net.

At the end, the audience will determine the two best pitches:

• “Most Likely To Succeed” Award
• “I Want It” Award

Being an entrepreneur is quite popular these days, in Silicon Valley and elsewhere. Everyone thinks they have what it takes to be an entrepreneur. As part of my work with the Founder Institute in Paris, figuring out who will build a great startup is a big topic.

Your resume can tell.

I know, it sounds weird. Resumes are for corporate jobs. They are a boring list of previous employers and university degrees. A lot of great entrepreneurs don’t even finish college or get a first corporate job before starting their first company.

Still, their resume can tell.

How? The key is to understand what makes a great entrepreneur:

Entrepreneurs are the ones who do when everyone else is talking about what should be done.

Really, it’s that simple. Most of us are smart enough to notice when something should be done, when something is not quite right, or when there is an opportunity. However, inexplicably, only a handful of people actually do something about it.

The few who take action are the future great entrepreneurs.

Back to your resume. Extracurricular activities are the key. Did you contribute to an open source project on the side while in college? Did you run the student organization? Did you do some crazy stuff that no one asked you to do? See, that’s the trick. As long as your resume only shows accomplishments that others asked you to do, you are not showing signs of an entrepreneur.

Those of us who went the extra mile and did cool stuff without asking for permission or without being told to do so, that’s a major sign.

By the way, starting a company as part of an entrepreneurial class is not entrepreneurial. Why? Again, because you were told to innovate. You just followed orders. Stepping out of this comfort zone (the classroom) and going beyond what was expected, now that would be the sign of a great entrepreneur.

PS: after reading this, there is no need to revisit and tweak your resume. Either you had what it takes, you had great side projects and were proud of them already, in which case you already had them on your resume, or you haven’t really done anything extra, so there is no point in pretending.

Last Thursday I attended Stanford Design EXPE, where a dozen teams of students present the result of their 9 months of innovative work in relation with a corporate sponsor.

The twist is that all projects must build a hardware prototype (I guess because it’s linked to the Mechanical Engineering department). For me, it was a welcome change to hearing pitch after pitch of web and software startups. When you actually build hardware, your horizons expand.

There were good projects.

A dual-screen tablet to communicate with your grandma (there is a definite need here, I just think having two screens doubles the cost of the tablet beyond what people can afford, without adding enough value).

A very impressive demo of a telepresence table that goes beyond video to provide real document interactivity using gestures.

But my favorite one was TRUSTcard. It looks like a credit card (but a little bit thicker) with a tiny keyboard and LCD screen. It’s meant to make casual borrowing mainstream. Can I borrow your $100 textbook for the weekend? Although you don’t really know me, you hand me the textbook, because I hand you this card where I just punched the borrowing information. The card will serve as a reminder that the item is out there, and in the worst case, it can be used through insurance to get your money back.

Their vision is that will save the world because objects will now be reused much more, so we’ll have less junk being manufactured.

I like it.

Of course, it reminds me of crowdfunding and topics close to my startup (for instance, creating an instantaneous contract on the fly is quite similar to the vision behind FairSoftware, except one is for IP, the other for physical goods).

While there are iPhone apps that pretty much do the same thing today (minus the insurance bit, which I think is critical), the students were adamant that the physical trade, the fact of exchanging the card for the object, was hugely important.

How would I fund such a company? I would pitch it to an insurance company that wants to break into the student market. By selling those cards, they would instantly acquire a huge number of customers, that they could upsell eventually when they need car insurance of whatever else college students need nowdays. Kind of like freemium for insurance.

It’s a great idea. Unfortunately, it was designed by students for a class. So it remains to be seen whether someone will actually push this further.

UPDATED: I just had coffee with a member of the TRUSTcard team to discuss the concept further, and try to understand what features are core, and which ones are not necessary. By removing all the fluff, you can typically launch a product in weeks rather than in months, and find out quickly what works and what doesn’t. Stay tuned…

I love advising early-stage startups. A question I get frequently is “how to formalize bringing a co-founder on board.” I could write a book on the topic, but it’s really much simpler than that.

Here’s how you do it in one tweet:

@joe I expect this co-founder position to be worth ~30% equity. My goal is to incorporate in about a month, let’s see how it goes by then.

Really, that’s all there is to it. Now if you are curious to know why this is the right way to do it, read on.

You must commit to a number upfront

You need to make the potential co-founder a promise. Something tangible that clearly spells out how much of the company they’ll be getting. You can’t avoid a discussion with a specific number. Am I getting 30% or 5%? That makes a huge difference. By putting it in “writing” (a tweet), you are giving enough rope for the co-founder to sue you if you completely abuse the situation.

You’d be amazed by how many startups I coach that tell me they haven’t discussed equity split yet, although they have been coding along for 6 months or more… The longer you wait to have that discussion, the worse it gets. Be upfront.

You need a way out

Frankly, you should not sign a definitive co-founder agreement with someone you haven’t work with yet. In my experience (confirmed by talking to many entrepreneurs facing the same situation), it takes about a month to know whether it’s going to work out or not. So work together informally for a month, and decide then. Follow your instincts. If after one month, the only contribution of the co-founder are excuses and delay, just stop, don’t try to save the situation and hope that it will get better. It doesn’t.

You need to be fair

While you committed in writing to an equity split, a tweet is clearly not as strong as a legal contract, so in case where the relationship doesn’t work out, there is no additional paperwork needed.

But if you ripped-off the co-founder, the tweet gives them a (small) basis for a lawsuit. So it forces you to do the right thing. It’s a good trade-off, fair for both sides, without getting all lawyerly.

After the one month, if everyone is happy and super-excited about the startup, incorporate. That will make the tweet official. That’s it!

PS: did I mention that if you construe this post as legal advice, you deserve the mess you’ll get into? Of course you should talk to a real lawyer. Just do your own research as well.

I’ll happily take comments from lawyers and others about whether this approach is sound or not.

Yesterday was the third Co-Founders MeetUp of Silicon Valley, which set a new attendance record of 120 people. 12 startups pitched their idea with the goal to attract co-founders. The quality of the ideas was very high. Another thing I liked is that this MeetUp truly opens my mind: it’s like a giant idea brainstorming session. It’s captivating. I always learn something new and exciting and find new ideas that I can apply to my own startup. Next time, we’ll try to do even better and make sure we the right mix of technical co-founders.

As I remind all the presenters beforehand, your personality is just as important as your Powerpoint. Finding co-founders has been compared to dating or marriage many times, and it’s true. So you need to show a little bit of your personal side, to attract people who will enjoy working long hours with you and stick with you during the ups and downs of your startup adventure.

And the presenter who stole the show last night is Beto, with FiestasMariachi. I knew something was up when he checked in with a guitar in hand. And he didn’t disappoint the audience!

To get back to business, he probably has found a great niche and he is probably one of a handful of people who can pull it off. I followed up with him after the MeetUp with more questions.

1. Tell us about FiestasMariachi,where the idea came from, or why you think this is important.

Beto: Like a good amount of business idea anecdotes I’ve heard, mine came from the realization that there was a pain point in a certain market. My girlfriend was trying to spend $600 on a mariachi to come to an event in San Francisco – which has a significant Mexican American population – and could not find anything online. She ended up having to go through my old mariachi teacher, two groups removed, to find someone in SF. This is a clear market inefficiency that needs to be addressed. As my roommate @JoshConstine pointed out yesterday, if someone ever has to work to spend money, there’s an opportunity there.

2. What stage are you at (do you have code, specs, etc.)?

I have what most idea people have – a great business plan, executive summary, job description for a technical co-founder, and some basic mock-ups. I’ve tried the code. I’m so bad at it. I just feel like I go round in circles reading tutorials online instead of being productive. Few things bother me more than not feeling productive.

3. What help do you need now? Did you get interesting feedback from the MeetUp?

Now I need one of two things – a technical co-founder that can do a quick build on my idea (less than four weeks should do it) or partner with an existing technology that can be white-labeled and tweeked.

I did have a lot of great feedback at the MeetUp. It’s amazing how much people are willing to engage with your idea and provide feedback; I suppose that’s the lifeblood of entrepreneurs these days: constant feedback. I’m a little disappointed that I didn’t find my technical co-founder right then and there, but it was still a great launching pad for my search (i.e., the networking was excellent).

4. Tell us about yourself, your background

I’m a dreamer from San Antonio, TX. I got into the tech game a little late while doing my undergrad at Stanford. Before then, it was all International Relations and Mariachi. But once the Silicon Valley bug gets in you, it never leaves. Follow me @betoiii to get a little better idea of where my mind is:)

5. What else will you need to succeed, or is there anything else that would make a difference for you?

The name of the game right now is perseverance. I’m extremely boot-strapped, but still committed to a successful business. In the mariachi world, I’m confident I have exactly what I need to build a viable site and marketing campaign. All I need right now is someone who shares that passion to partner with me on the build. Victory is close!

Recently, I was contacted by a major TV show, looking to do a segment on what it looks like to be an entrepreneur building a startup from scratch. I am talking major TV show, with an audience in the millions, not some local news channel.

So I e-mailed a few entrepreneurs I know to see who was interested and doing something remotely interesting for a camera: maybe a VC meeting, or attend some networking event.

Believe it or not, but they all turned me down. They were too busy that week. Or at home coding stuff, no meetings scheduled that the TV crew could film.

All turned me down except one. She e-mailed me back right away with a detailed schedule of stuff that could be featured on the show. And she was willing to adapt her schedule.

I was not surprised. I had noticed before how she was the most pro-active of that group of entrepreneurs. A simple tell-tale sign: she was the first to friend me on LinkedIn, when everyone else didn’t dare yet. Think of it: what is the risk of friending someone? Online rejection doesn’t bite.

So she was the one.

What I learned from this: next time you watch TV or hear about a successful entrepreneur and think that it could have been you, ask yourself if you are really pro-active about seizing each and every opportunity. I believe that’s the difference between successful entrepreneurs and dreamers.

If you are like 99% of software developers with a great idea, you don’t live next to Google headquarters in Mountain View or drive by Facebook’s offices in Palo Alto on your daily commute. But Silicon Valley still rules the world of Internet startups, so you should probably check it out.

Don’t expect to drop by and pick up a check from a wealthy investor. Relationships take a long time to build and who knows you is still a key element to success.

So what is the best approach for someone out of town to spend some quality time in the Valley?

Where To Go

These are the top events to attend. Plan your trip accordingly:

1. Startup2Startup: organized by Dace McClure, this event has great speakers that will always get you to think about how to make your startup better. I always take away several great pieces of advice. But the crowd is also the best I have seen in Silicon Valley. 80% are CEOs of startups. No one is trying to sell you services. The event does a great job of combining an informal mixer, a formal presentation, and a directed discussion with smaller groups.
   
   When: last Thursday of the month
   Cost: $80 ($40 for startup rookies)
   Speakers:
   Networking:
   
2. Churchill Club: one of the more respected gatherings in Silicon Valley, it attracts excellent speakers. Compared to Startup2Startup, the attendance is definitely more conservative. If you are trying to meet VP and directors from established companies, this would be the place. Informal networking is average: the organizers don’t make any particular efforts to help you meet people, so make sure you brush up on your cocktail skills.
   
   When: depends
   Cost: $60+
   Speakers:
   Networking:
   
3. SDForum Startup SIG: SDForum is one of the larger non-profit organizations in the region and it organizes more than 10 events each month. Of particular interest to entrepreneurs is the Startup special interest group (SIG). It gathers a smaller crowd compared to Startup2Startup and Churchill Club. Speakers vary in quality but are usually good. The crowd is a mix of service providers (trying to sell you stuff – annoying), fellow entrepreneurs and software developers. It’s quite informal, cheap, and a great way to get started with meeting people in the Valley.
   
   When: third Monday of the month
   Cost: $15
   Speakers:
   Networking:
   

Those organizations don’t hold regular meetings but whenever they do, you should definitely try to attend: Y Combinator and TheFunded.com.

Also, European associations (France, Germany and others) get together regularly and organize meetings with broad appeal.

Those events gather people who actively want to meet new faces. If you wonder where all the people who are done with their startup go, check out the Computer History Museum. It’s a small valley secret.

Professional conferences such as OSCON, JavaOne or Web 2.0 are a good place to meet people, but registration tends to be expensive — sometimes up to $3,000 per person. A trick for entrepreneurs on a budget is to register for the free exhibit instead. A lot of the parties, awards and functions are accessible to people with the free badges.

Where To Stay

I assume you are currently bootstrapping your business and every dollar counts. Staying in hotels can become expensive quickly. Instead, make a few friends online. Many people in Silicon Valley believe in karma and are glad to help fellow entrepreneurs.

By staying at a friend’s place for a few days, you also increase your chance of making valuable informal contacts. All it takes is finding someone who shares your interests. When they involve starting a business, Silicon Valley is packed with people who want to help.

True story: A friend of mine met another entrepreneur on a flight back from Paris. The entrepreneur looked like an interesting fellow and he needed a place to stay, so I invited him to use my guest room a few days later. That’s a fairly typical story for Silicon Valley.

Repeat

Try not to be a one-time visitor. You stop by, you present an interesting story, but then you disappear. Don’t make that mistake. It’s better to come for a shorter period of time, say a week at a time, but then come back every few months, than stay once for a month and then go home forever. Again, relationship building takes time. Plus, coming for a shorter amount of time is probably less disruptive for your own plans at home.

Get to know Silicon Valley and come back more and more as you feel appropriate. Maybe eventually you’ll do the big jump and decide to move here permanently. You will know when it’s the right time.