On November 21st The Phat Start Up, an integrated media company that produces premium content for all levels of entrepreneurs, hosted its inaugural Tech 808 conference at New York University. In partnership with the Clive Davis Institute of Recording Music, this conference was focused on entrepreneurs who love hip hop music. Hundreds of people poured into the Eisner Luben Auditorium eager to get a glimpse at what it truly takes to succeed at entrepreneurship and how technology can help. Speakers included Mike King, founder of IPULLRANK; Young Guru, founder and CEO of Era of the Engineer; Joah Spearman of Localeur; and Tanya Menendez of Maker?s Row, to name a few.
I can certainly say that Tech 808 was not your average conference.
Most conferences I?ve been to can be a bit overwhelming. They’re usually packed with tons of attendees and speakers that you rarely get to have one-on-ones with. And on average, there are only about 1 or 2 networking sessions throughout the day. Tech 808 was a bit more personable.
Almost every presentation was followed by a chance for the audience to ask questions along and there was a mini break where we were encouraged to connect with our fellow audience members to discuss what we had just learned. In a six-hour day at Tech 808, there was at least 4/5 networking opportunities. Also, it wasn?t uncommon to see many people gathering outside of the auditorium (while presentations were still underway) gaining more knowledge from hip hop culture influencers Young Guru and Scott McKenzie also known as Great Scott. When asked how was he enjoying the festivities of the day Great Scott replied, ?I love it, it?s dope. It?s encouraging us to be more like ants and build our own colonies.?
Also willing to share some knowledge well after his presentation was Dwight Peters of Founder of Backer?s Hub. Peter?s who dropped out of college after winning an entrepreneurship scholarship moved to California and slept on a friends couch until he created Backer?s Hub. His presentation, ?The Hustler?s Spirit: How to Make Something Out of Nothing,? was a standout because while many talked and gave advice on how to succeed in the specific areas like website creation, content development and social media marketing, Peter’s presentation was more general and focused on what every single person in the room needed to know about ?hustling? for opportunities – no matter what career you wish to pursue. TNJ.com got the chance to catch up with him after the conference ended to discuss what motivated him to speak at this conference as well as what continues to motivate him.
“My story shows people that all possibilities are endless. Anything that we imagine we can accomplish. So what motivates me is the hunger for more. I want to give more. I want to create more value for people. I want to help people win. And I realized if I can help people won, then I potentially win as well,” he told TNJ.com.
Winning was definitely a consistent theme of the day and those that attended took home multiple tools and contacts to begin that process. The evening was concluded by a few words from James Lopez and Anthony Frasier, co-founders of The Phat Startup, and followed by a Tech 808 Mixer at The Royal a few blocks up from NYU.
