Philly Startup Leaders picks new leaders

For the first time since its creation in 2007, Philly Startup Leaders is getting new leadership.

Announced on Monday, all but one of the startup community group’s seven executives will be replaced in a move that PSL has been orchestrating for months.

“These leaders will join the current team for a transition period of three to six months. Then some of the Philly Startup Leaders founders will ‘retire’ to the Board of Directors,” wrote former president and PSL co-founder Blake Jennelle. “Growing ‘startup old’ isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”

After the jump, we take a closer look at the new executive board.

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Startup Roundup: DreamIt grads get covered; new Startup Leaders-ship

Introducing Technically Philly’s Startup Roundup. Here, we’ll parse out the small pieces that make our greater Startup ecosystem thrive. We want to keep you in touch with the innovations that we can’t quite get to covering, but that deserve highlight. Follow along with the Startup Roundup’s dedicated RSS feed. If you’ve got news to share, get in touch.

DEFINITE READS

Inquirer’s Mike Armstrong covers the 2010 DreamIt team. DreamIt Ventures is like the Dream Team, but no give-and-go from 90s point guard-great John Stockon. See our coverage of the graduating class here. TechCrunch also covered our Philly peeps.

Philly Startup Leaders has chosen a new crop of leadership to steer the entrepreneurs group. Jameson Detweiler will lead as President, along with Gloria Bell, Cody Ray, Josiah Kiehl and Matt Owens. We’ll have more on this story soon.

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Event Highlights: July 19 – July 24, 2010

Summer is in full swing, Philadelphia. In the whirlwind of carnivals, neighborhood barbecues and family vacations, don’t forget about this week’s events calendar. It’s chock-full of events you won’t want to miss and deciding which one to attend is tricky, so let us help.

We have your busy summer schedule in mind, dear reader, and we’ve chosen this week’s top three events to ensure you’re always in the loop. Kick your week off right with a summer bash hosted by Philly Startup Leaders. Then, chat about social networking and get all your health insurance questions answered.

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Event Highlights: June 14-20, 2010

The Phils aren’t doing so hot, there’s no new television shows on and the weather is just freggin’ awful.

Which, of course, means you have no reason to not attend any events on our jam-packed calendar this week. Every day has a worthy event, though we can only pick three. So take this chance to brush up on your programming, your business savvy or at least mooch off of some air conditioning.

This week get the inside scoop behind visitphilly.com, learn how to get your startup off the ground from the experts and celebrate the return of Philly Build Guild. Though two of these events happen on the same day. Ah, choices.

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Phillymag hearts our technology community

The June issue of Philadelphia magazine puts the technology, investment and entrepreneurial communities of Philadelphia on full display.

The Phillymag feature led with an Editor Larry Platt-penned profile on King of Prussia VC military man Mike Burns, of Guggenheim Venture Partners — as of Monday night, the piece didn’t seem to be available online.

The piece was interspersed with pieces on three groups we’ve been so proud of helping bring to the forefront — “the funders, like GoodCompany Ventures and DreamIT Ventures; “the scenesters” like Indy Hall, Philly Startup Leaders, Roz Duffy and others and “the startups” like Azavea and 123LinkIt.

During the past year, we’ve seen a growing number of legacy media stories covering our areas of interest. It’s the collision of a number of factors, not the least of which is the growing awareness around the richness of our communities.

(The edition also included a profile of a more professional segment of the rich DIY movement afoot, though, like the Burns profile, the link doesn’t yet seem to be live.)

We might even humbly suggest Technically Philly’s 16-month existence — with many a story left untold — is further evidence of that.

[Full Disclosure: We write weekly about the technology and innovation communities for the Philly Post daily blog from Phillymag.]

Startup Roundup: Comcast applies for patent to halt ad fast-forwarding, Duck Duck Go to accept sponsorship

Introducing Technically Philly’s Startup Roundup. Here, we’ll parse out the small pieces that make our greater Startup ecosystem thrive. We want to keep you in touch with the innovations that we can’t quite get to covering, but that deserve highlight. Follow along with the Startup Roundup’s dedicated RSS feed. If you’ve got news to share, get in touch.

DEFINITE READS

Radnor’s Guideworks, a joint venture of Comcast and TV Guide, which maintains Comcast’s interactive programming grid—likely one of your daily-used UIs—has applied for a patent that will display “substitute media” when you fast forward through an advertisement. That’s right folks; your Comcast ad-skipping days will soon be coming to a close.

Viddler has opened its HTML5 beta, timed with some hot press from USA Today to boot. Like our coverage of Fishtown design shop WellFed last week, Viddler’s another local company effected by Steve Job’s anti-Adobe-ism, if that was a word.

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Event Highlights for May 17-23, 2010

We like to talk about our community being a growing, developing and diverse collection of smart people who involve themselves with technology and innovation one way or another.

This week’s free events make that seem apparent.

Though, the developers’ happy hour meetup of the Build Guild has been temporarily shelved, Wednesday is looking busy and varied.

First, out in the ‘burbs, Philly.net is hosting a panel discussion on the battle between all those browsers out there and what it means for how we all use the interwebs.

Later that night in town, Philly Startup Leaders is hosting one of their always sensational pitch blitzes Wednesday night, and, yes, as part of our monthly meetup schedule, the same night, we’ll be at Dark Horse to hear from you.

Then on Saturday, the Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby will bring out all the gear heads who’ve been tinkering on their strange and always artistic human-powered vehicles — you know, bicycles with an even more interesting look.

Web developers, entrepreneurs and the DIY crowd are all satiated, and that’s not all for the week.

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Innovation Philadelphia to go back to the drawing board

Founding CEO Richard Bendis will take over Innovation Philadelphia temporarily

Update: clarified Bendis’ title.

Innovation Philadelphia, the economic development group with the mission to “attract and retain young professionals” is starting from scratch.

On April 16th, IP announced that CEO Kelly Lee, organizer of the GCECS conference last October, was stepping down. Three full-time staffers were also let go as the Board of Directors – all unpaid volunteers – will take the next 90 days to assess the future direction of the organization.

“It is not about saving an organization,” board chariman Richard Bendis told Technically Philly in an interview. “It’s about how can value be added to region. If IP can do that in some capacity, great.”

The reason for the reshuffling? Innovation Philadelphia’s funding, which depends largely on grants, has dried up.

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Startup Roundup: Philly Startup Leaders to reorganize executive roles

Update: edited PSL information

Introducing Technically Philly’s Startup Roundup. Here, we’ll parse out the small pieces that make our greater Startup ecosystem thrive. We want to keep you in touch with the innovations that we can’t quite get to covering, but that deserve highlight. Follow along with the Startup Roundup’s dedicated RSS feed. If you’ve got news to share, get in touch.

DEFINITE READS

Philly Startup Leaders wants new blood. According to a blog post announcing a reorganization, the startup support group is accepting applications for President, Vice President, and six other positions with in the executive-level staff.

“Now it’s time for more fresh blood to transform this city all over again. It’s time for each of us who has built PSL to make room for the people who will grow this community in ways we could never imagine,” the group wrote.

Folks can apply for the positions until May 14 to gradually phase into the positions over three to six months.

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Gigabit City working with Communities United for Broadband to elevate the broadband conversation

Whether Google is behind it or not, Blake Jennelle wants you to know that ultra high-speed gigabit broadband is worth investing in.

Though the Philly Startup Leaders founder would like to see those investments made here in Philadelphia, gigabit is bigger than this city alone.

“The end goal for Philly is still to get gigabit, but Google’s only going to install it in a couple communities,” Jennelle said in a telephone interview earlier this month. “The reality is, if gigabit matters and we want it here, we have to make the case to local companies, city government and the community that it’s worth investing in. It’s going to be hard to do that if the effort is in isolation,” he says.

After Google announced in February that it would help launch 1-gigabit data networks in select communities, the City of Philadelphia and leaders in the region’s technology community have been coordinating an effort to attract Google here. More than 1,000 communities are vying for the opportunity.

Though Philly is certainly not alone in contention, a unique approach to advocating for gigabit broadband is emerging here. Jennelle has been working closely with broadband consultant Craig Settles—a former Philly native whom we’ve often sourced on this site—to educate about and inspire other cities to invest in high-speed gigabit fiber.

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