KINGSTON BETA
To Learn. To Be Inspired. To Network.
To Learn. To Be Inspired. To Network.
Feb 25th
Get the 411 on the premier community for Jamaican web entrepreneurs, start-ups and enthusiasts from the lady in charge. Ingrid Riley, founder of Kingston Beta, talks to us about the event at its recent debut at new venue, Spanish Court Hotel. SociaLingua is the official online media partner of Kingston Beta. Be sure to check out our photos from the last event!
Feb 23rd
If you were at Kingston Beta last week, chances are you’ve been Socialingua‘d. Have a look at the photos here:Feb 19th
With 60 people in attendance at the Spanish Court Hotel, smack in the middle of Kingston’s Business District, Kingston Beta – the Caribbean’s premier technology networking and startup pitch event kicked off its 2010 season.
With sponsor Jamaica National, partners in SiliconCaribe, Socialingua, RealVibez.tv and CaribClix – the audience of entrepreneurs, bloggers, site publishers, Internet marketers, software developers saw pitches from Global Youth Connection, Smart Office, TechShopja and VirtualMall Jamaica. Read the rest of this entry »
Feb 17th
The first Kingston Beta for 2010 is tomorrow Thursday 18th February, 6:30pm at the Spanish Court Hotel @ The Villa Suite. We are excited! Also,here are a few things to note:
PARKING DIRECTIONS
Pass the main gate of the hotel and make the first left, then the next left which is Emmanuel Road (adjacent to Trafalgar Road), and the security gate will be open for your guests to park behind the Villa. Once that area is full, the security will alert the main gate so guests can park in the front of the hotel. If you have any issues, just call me Ingrid Riley @ 864 2440.
THE KINGSTON BETA PITCH
We have 4 confirmed Startups. We accept walkins as long as you are prepared, ready to share and your company falls into the Tech/Mobile/Internet Industry categories.
- Each Startup gets 3 minutes to passionately pitch ( talk, use a Powerpoint, roll a video whatever works best for you).
- Each Startup gets 3 minutes to answer audience questions.
All Startup Representatives are required to be at Kgn Beta by the latest 7pm.
THE AGENDA
6:30 pm -7:30 p.m: Tag YourSelf and Press Some Flesh – It’s Networking Time
7:30 pm – 8:30 pm: Open Mic for Big Ideas -Caribbean Startups Pitch
8:30 pm -9:30 pm: Seal the Deal-More Networking till you say when
See you there!
Feb 15th
This man and his business advice is addictive.
Feb 15th
This was too funny in its irreverence and too solid in its business advice from a very successful entrepreneur not to share with you.
Feb 14th
So while we where setting up our new FaceBook Fan Page and Twitter Page we decided to follow a number of successful tech entrepreneurs, business thinkers, angel and venture capitalists and of course Guy Kawasaki was one our list. Then half our later in starting up our Twitter account, Guy Kawasaki became our 8th follower.
..And Who is Guy Kawasaki ? Check this! Guy Kawasaki is a managing director of GarageTechnology Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm and a columnist forEntrepreneur Magazine. Previously, he was an Apple Fellow at Apple Computer, Inc. Guy is the author of nine books including Reality Check, The Art of the Start, Rules for Revolutionaries, How to Drive Your Competition Crazy, Selling the Dream, and The Macintosh Way. He has a BA from Stanford University and an MBA from UCLA as well as an honorary doctorate from Babson College. He’s the founder of Alltop.com.
Feb 11th
On the List are:
Ashley Qualls, founder of Whateverlife.com, left high school at the age of 15 to devote full time to her website business where she made more than a million dollars by the age of 17.
Barry Diller, billionaire, Hollywood mogul, Internet maven, founder of Fox Broadcasting Company, chairman of IAC/InterActive Corp (owner of Ask.com,
Bram Cohen, developer of BitTorrent. Attended State University of New York at Buffalo for one year before dropping out.
Dave Thomas, billionaire founder of Wendy’s. Dropped out of high school at 15.
David Geffen, billionaire founder of Geffen Records and co-founder of DreamWorks. Dropped out of college after his freshman year.
David Karp, founder of Tumblr. Dropped out of Bronx Science at the age of 15, then homeschooled. Did not attend college.
David Neeleman, founder of JetBlue airlines. Dropped out of the University of Utah after three years.
Jake Nickell, co-founder and CEO of Threadless.com. Never graduated from college.
Mark Ecko, founder urbanwear company Mark Ecko Enterprises. Dropped out of Rutgers University.
Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay Inc. Did not attend college.
Michael Dell, founder of Dell Computers, billionaire, among top ten wealthiest Americans. Founded his company out of his college dorm room. Dropped out of the University of Texas to run the company.
Pete Cashmore, founder of Mashable.com. Founded the blog website when he was 19. Retired from active blogging three years later.
Sean John Combs, entertainer, producer, fashion designer, actor, and entrepreneur. Never finished college.
Shawn Fanning, developer of Napster. Dropped out of Northeastern University when 19 to further develop Napster.
Simon Cowell, TV producer, music judge, American Idol, Britain’s Got Talent, and The X Factor. He dropped out of school at the age of 16.
Steve Madden, shoe designer. Dropped out of college to sell shoes on Long Island.
Steve Wozniak, billionaire co-founder of Apple. Dropped out of college.
Ted Murphy, founder of Izea Entertainment, a social media marketing company. Dropped out of Florida State University.
Read the rest of the list here. Then go do your thing. No excuses. No BS!
Feb 8th
We’re accepting entries for our Pitch This Segment for Thursday, February 18th, 6:30pm at The Spanish Court Hotel, New Kingston.
HOW TO ENTER
Send us The name of your startup, website, a short company profile to ingrid (at) connectimass.com. Startup must be Caribbean based, Caribbean led. Pitches by Skype Video is also being done. We’d like to hear from the Global Caribbean Diaspora too.
<What’s New with Next Kgn Beta>
- Jamaica National ( JN) is now a major sponsor. They have agreed to sponsor Kingston Beta for 2010 and we’re happy to have them on board.
-We’re at a new location – Spanish Court Hotel. We are thankful to Susie’s Bakery and Cafe for being amazing hosts to Kingston Beta for 2009.
- We going Caribbean. We accept Pitches from Caribbean based and Caribbean run Startups from around the world, through Skype Video. It’s going to be fun and even more competitive.
- Kingston Beta will have it’s own video channel on http://www.facebook.com/l/76af0;RealVibez.tv.
- Socialingua is our online PR partner.
Feb 1st
We are happy to announce that we’re opening Kingston Beta 2010 with lots of great new things.

Kingston Beta's New Sponsor - Jamaica National (JN)
1. First we welcome Jamaica National ( JN) as our major sponsor. They have agreed to sponsor Kingston Beta for 2010 and we’re happy to have them on board.

Kingston Beta's new home
2.We’re at a new location – Spanish Court Hotel. We are thankful to Susie’s Bakery and Cafe for being amazing hosts to Kingston Beta for 2009.
3. We going Caribbean. We started Kingston Beta in 2007 with a strong Caribbean representation in Rodney Browne, Ceo of eCaribbean Ltd who flew in from St Kitts to pitch. Now with the help of technology, we’re incorporating more Caribbean baed and Caribbean run Startups from around the world, through Skype Video. It’s going to be fun and even more competitive.

Kingston Beta - TV Channel Partner
4. Kingston Beta will have it’s own video channel on RealVibez.tv. Since we’re now bi-monthly and every event will have at least 4 Caribbean startups pitching, we’re going to get all of this on video and post to RealVibez.tv and of course right here on KingstonBeta.com
We’re growing thanks to the support of you all in the Jamaican and Caribbean Web/Tech/Mobile Community. Let’s keep it going in 2010. We believe this year in the Caribbean’s Tipping Point!!
Kingston Beta is a Connectimass Event! Supported by SiliconCaribe.com – the Caribbean Technology Blog.