Chris and the core team have seen enough not to be distracted by the pop and fizz of a fad that will soon go flat... There's always a sense of context, and of perspective, rather than self-indulgent pontification.
As it moves from phenomenon to institution, what makes DEMO so special is 'its' combination of deep insight and fundamental enthusiasm.
"DEMO has been a valuable and delightful experience. A chance to make deep connections with influencers, active investors and other presenters. A better place to announce for an early stage enterprise company than just another tradeshow."
- Vitaly M. Golomb, CEO, Keen Systems, Inc.
DEMO is a great brand for launching new technology. We are extremely happy with the PR exposure that DEMO made possible. The AlphaPitch was the perfect opportunity for a bootstrapping company like ours to stand out without stretching our budget.
- Ringful.com Team
Top to bottom this conference rocked. The group of presenters and attendees were great, the events were incredibly fun and the DEMO staff works harder than a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest to deliver a great experience. I will definitely be making it back to DEMO in the future.
Chase Garbarino Co-founder and CEO, Pinyadda Inc.
"DEMO was absolutely one of the greatest venues I've ever participated in. Classy, Intellectual, and just down right legit. You'd be silly to launch anywhere else."
- Tom Serres, Founder and CEO of Piryx.
DEMO is a world class platform for any technology product launch built by a world class visionary and executed by a world class team. The response and business we generated for our product at DEMO was WELL BEYOND our wildest expectation. We will certainly plan our future product launches around the DEMO schedule.
DEMO helped us pulling out the best of our team and our technology. DEMO provides an unforgettable experience, it opens new opportunities which boost your business. There is a before DEMO and after DEMO.
Wonderful experience, great press/media coverage, very helpful staff - great place to launch. We got several customer inquiries within an hour of product announcement!
DEMOfall 09 was everything we expected and a lot more. We left with solid partnership opportunities and contacts that made launching at DEMO one of the best decisions we've made.
Steve Tingiris | CEO Prospect Smarter, Inc. | enthusem.com
DEMO is a great place to launch your product. You get world wide attention and are able to attract the right audience.
Prakash Narayan, CTO Micello, Inc.
After launching at Demo we understood why it was the best choice: professionalism, business and support were all there. Thank you.
Emma Butin CEO Kryon Systems
"A number of our clients have launched at DEMO and highly valued the experience as well as the VC relationships and media coverage that came about as a direct result of this show. The event is worth every penny and we always recommend it to those of our clients who want to launch a new product or service."
--Andrea Roesch, managing partner at Tier One PR (Tier One's clients that launched at DEMO include Keen Systems, GrandCentral and MooBella)
DEMO is the best launch pad for startups for 3 key reasons: 1) invaluable exposure to investors and the media 2) the DEMO team and staff are pros at making each startups a stand out star and 3)the companies picked to be at DEMO are the ones that go on to becoming successful businesses. Barry James Folsom CEO, Twirl TV
So much was gained from following DEMO's best practice guidelines about how to message, be disciplined, and demo a product. It inspired a lot about how we do marketing. And imposing a deadline on product demo really put a fire under our engineering. It influences how we rapidly develop new product releases today."
- Marco Peterson, chair and co-founder of TimeTrade (DEMO 08)
The Demo Team is amazing. The support they provide to each company enables each to reach their full potential. When you get to the show, you realize how much planning, care and thought goes into supporting each Demo company. While the planning and thought is required, it is the care that most impressed me. Everyone is working the hardest to make you successful. Thank you Chris and Team.
- René Lacerte, CEO/Founder Bill.com (formerly CashView), Demo Fall 2007
The whole event makes you think carefully about key messages to give potential investors/customers. I was skeptical about the '6 minutes' idea but this seemed to really be a great leveler and the whole event seemed to fizz as result of this. The whole DEMO concept has been refined over the years and obviously has a winning formula.
- Mike Foss, Engineering Operations Director, Tao Group Limited
DEMO was the perfect forum to become acquainted with complementary technologies and key members of the press. We look forward to attending future DEMOs.
- Bruce Marcus, President, Stata Labs
DEMO was a perfect venue to unveil Danger. We were pleased with the top notch press and attendees. DEMO cut through the hype and delivered the goods - a very worthwhile event!
- Andy Rubin, President & CEO, Danger
DEMO provided Trigence with an amazing opportunity to launch our new software to an 'A' list audience of peers, press, analysts, venture capitalists, potential partners and customers.
- David Roth, CEO and President, Trigence
The networking opportunities, both with established companies and our fellow demonstrators, created a wonderful camaraderie that will be forever remembered. We all left the conference making plans to meet again for a DEMO Reunion. There is no competition for 'who will be best'. We all cheered for each other's success.
- Paulo Vieira, Chief Architect, NanoLearning, Inc.
DEMO for years has held a unique position as a launching pad. Every bit of it earned. It's an unusual industry event that provides the exposure you desperately need and can hardly afford as a start up. But the rare ingredient is Chris. Her historical understanding of the technology industry - and her ability to find what's special about your role in it - is pure nourishment to the start up team.
- Leslie Latham, VP Marketing, Mirra, Inc.
Year after year, Chris and her team exceed our expectations with créme of the crop press, top notch business and venture capital attendees, timely speakers and demo sessions - and most of all - an extremely well organized and absolutely enjoyable event. We gained more early traction from the press and business community from our presence at the show than we could have ever anticipated.
- Courtney Brigham, Senior Marcom Manager, EverNote Corporation
WebEx launched at DEMO 99 and since then we've changed the way the world thinks about meetings. Prior to DEMO no one new what Web conferencing was. Launching WebEx at DEMO allowed us to break through all the clutter of the Dot Com binge and show you could have a great product despite all the hype. And launch a whole new category in the process. Since then WebEx has become the undisputed leader in online meetings. I have tremendous admiration for Chris Shipley's sharp eye for the Real Next Big Thing.
- David Thompson, VP, Worldwide Marketing, WebEx
It is a supreme paradox that in a time when we are able to get our hands on any bit of information we want within seconds, we are still in a perpetual state of anxiety when it comes to making business decisions regarding adoption of new technologies. Because we are drowning in this sea of data, we need an event like DEMO to sort out the truly important technologies for our businesses as well as our lives. I have personally had the pleasure of launching four products at DEMO, and can categorically state that no other event comes close to DEMO in ensuring a successful launch for a new technology/product.
- Kim Shah, VP, Marketing, Convoq
DEMO was a very important event for our company, one that we will never forget. We received numerous accolades from investors, potential partners, and even potential customers.
- Oren Asher, CEO, Qnext
DEMO has been a phenomenal success for us. The press coverage is great and now people are calling us.
- Tim Sylvester, President & CEO, Molino Networks
So DEMO might not be big, but it’s hot. And if you really care about which way the tech industry is headed, it makes sense to pay attention to January’s little show, along with the San Francisco Applefest and the Las Vegas Gadgetfest.
- Jon Fortt, Fortune
For an early look at emerging technologies, the DEMO conferences can't be beat. Attended by corporate execs, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and other tech junkies, the semiannual events feature demonstrations of dozens of new products, none of which has previously been shown publicly. Unlike other trade shows that allow any company that can afford it to exhibit, each product at the DEMO conferences is handpicked by executive producer Chris Shipley, a discerning journalist and analyst who has covered the industry for more than 20 years.
- Mary Kathleen Flynn, The Deal
DEMOfall is a rare breed of technology conference, one that distills a presentation to its essence and gives those on hand a unique chance to see dozens of companies' products and services in a very short period of time.
- Daniel Terdiman, CNET News.com
The annual DEMO conference... is regarded as one of the best places to find out what early-stage tech companies are working on.
- Scott Kirsner, Boston Globe
What will be the next great technology start-ups of tomorrow? What must-have gadgets and killer applications are in our future? That's what venture capitalists and journalists were hoping to unearth in the desert last week at IDG's annual DEMO conference. …the confab thrown by technology magazine publisher IDG is an annual ritual where geeks congregate to demonstrate (hence the name) their latest innovations and, they hope, attract additional capital or grassroots branding buzz.
- Mark Veverka, Barron's
I am eagerly anticipating the DEMO conference... In years past, the influential tech shindig has been the launching pad for Palm, Handspring, the Java programming language and E*TRADE
- Ed Baig, USA Today
