Entrepreneurs flock to conferences

Dow Jones Wireless Innovation Conference attracts more entrepreneurs during tough economic times

The Dow Jones 2009 Wireless Innovations Conference kicked off Tuesday at the Sofitel Hotel in Redwood City, California.

As you might expect, the day was filled with a number of panels and keynote speakers, such as Dan Schulman, CEO of Virgin Mobile. There were also several companies presenting, such as Buzzd and Transpera.

I caught up with Ken Anderson, director of events for Dow Jones, and asked him to share his thoughts on the conference's first-day turnout and the mobile trends the conference was highlighting.

Anderson said the trends he's seeing revolve around mobile platforms - such as the iPhone G1, Google's Android and the Blackberry. It's unclear how business models will evolve for such platforms, he said, but there's definitely a lot of activity there. Another theme he pointed out is marketing on mobile phones. Several companies are still trying to figure out how to advertise and get their message via mobile phones, he said. 

Surprisingly, the economic downturn hasn't really affected the conference with regards to the number of entrepreneurs attending. 

Startups are experiencing difficulty raising capital, which is actually helping to drive more entrepreneurs to the conference as they search for venues to network, said Anderson. Even though there are about the same number of presenting companies that the conference had last year, there are more entrepreneurs attending, he said, suggesting that perhaps it's an underlying determination entrepreneurs have when it comes to shaking hands and networking to find customers, sponsors or investors.

The good news is that venture capitalists, while having slowed their investment cycle, are still actively searching for the right gem, he added.