Thank you to eBay Developers Program, Rickshaw Bagworks, and AXIO for sponsoring iPhoneDevCamp 2!

The eBay Developer Program offers an extensive set of free web services that allow any developer to write applications that interact with the eBay marketplace. Learn more and sign up today for free.

Rickshaw Bagworks is a new San Francisco-based company specializing in the design and manufacture of bags made for everyday urban adventures. Products include a variety of messenger bags including commuter laptop bags, urban cycling bags and accessories.

AXIO is a company dedicated to designing cool, innovative, and user-friendly products and accessories.  Their vision at AXIO is to create a brand that evokes value, quality, and functionality into a variety of technically advanced and extremely well-made performance luggage and technical packs for professional and casual users alike.

This year at iPhoneDevCamp, we have a dedicated space and a special agenda for all topics related to Entrepreneurship.  Adobe’s Kojak room and the adjacent lobby will be a place for anyone:

• to seek partnerships;
• to announce opportunities;
• to evaluate business plans and size up the market; and
• to network with angel investors and venture companies.

Additionally, we will host the exclusive Founders Sessions on Sat. Aug. 2nd from 1:00-6:00 PM.  An impressive series of speakers will discuss Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital from the insider’s perspective:

• 1-2 PM – John Ricci, President at US Angel Investors
• 2-3 PM – Glenn Von Tersch (President) and Basil Fthenakis (VP-Corporate), TIPS Law Group
• 3-4 PM – Kevin Hartz, Founder/CEO at Eventbrite, Partner at Youniversity Ventures founded with YouTube co-founder, Leading Consumer Internet Investor
• 4-5 PM – Justin Fishner Wolfson, Principal at Founders Fund (Facebook Angel Investor)
• 5-6 PM – Bart Decrem, Founder/CEO at Tapulous and Flock

Attendees will learn from their own personal experiences how to build, fund, and grow successful startups from the ground up.  We’ll hear about the next great opportunities emerging for iPhone and across the Web.

For more information on this aspect of our event, please email the organizer Joe Shapiro: joe.shapiro@ushow.com.

We are pleased to announce that this year’s iPhoneDevCamp will be simultaneously held in eight (8) locations including San Francisco:

• iPhoneDevCamp 2 Colorado – Organizers: Joe Pezzillo and Danny Newman
• iPhoneDevCamp 2 Portland – Organizer: Dean Martindale
• iPhoneDevCamp 2 Chicago – Organizer: Chris Foresman
• iPhoneDevCamp 2 Austin – Organizer: Andrew Donoho
• iPhoneDevCamp 2 Seattle – Organizer: Michael Braly
• iPhoneDevCamp 2 London – Organizer: Emma Persky
• iPhoneDevCamp 2 Paris – Organizer: Jean Christophe Capelli

We’ve been working hard with these people to create a live video, audio, and chat bridge between our locations.  Developers in any location can be eligible to win our Hackathon Contest, and we’ve created a special Best of Satellite prize.  This will be a record-setting remote collaboration across eight time zones!

We are still seeking volunteers to help organize some other Satellites of interest:

• iPhoneDevCamp 2 LA
• iPhoneDevCamp 2 Sydney
• iPhoneDevCamp 2 NYC
• iPhoneDevCamp 2 DC
• iPhoneDevCamp 2 Boston
• iPhoneDevCamp 2 Toronto
• iPhoneDevCamp 2 India

If you’d like to help create one of these, please take a look at our Satellites page and email dom@iphonedevcamp.org to get started.

iPhoneDevCamp is a not-for-profit, all-volunteer event, fueled by the energy and passion of the attendees.  We’ll need help throughout the weekend, and would like to have some people starting around 3pm on Friday for the following duties:

• Registration table, including bag stuffing and badges
• Signup boards for speaking times
• Costco run (each day)

Actually, we’ll be needing folks to staff the Registration table all weekend.  If you’d like to volunteer, but didn’t note that in your Registration form, you can still request to join our Volunteers Google Group.  Volunteers will be thanked at the event and on our Web site, but are still eligible for Contest prizes.

This year we will kick off iPhoneDevCamp with a Forum, led by my friend Merlin Mann.  Merlin created 43 Folders, co-hosts You Look Nice Today, appears on podcasts like MacBreak Weekly, and speaks about personal productivity.  Merlin recently helped ship OmniFocus for iPhone as a consultant.

“For me the iPhone is not a toy,” he describes, “it’s about finding the sweet spot for an app that’s cool and fun to make, and yet simple and useful.”  Known for his rapier wit as a power user of the Mac, Merlin created his iPhone wish list during the most recent MacBreak.

Alongside Merlin will be Mike Lee, co-founder of Tapulous and self-proclaimed “world’s toughest programmer”.  Mike develops such iPhone applications as Twinkle (a Twitter client) and Tap Tap, a 1-2 person rhythm game currently the #1 Free App in iTunes.  

Also on our stage will be designer Brian Fling.  The creator of Leaflets (web apps optimized for iPhone), Brian has been described as a “human Swiss Army Knife”.  He’s promised to put iPhone in perspective with the Mobile market as a whole, and may be called upon to whip out the Immutable Laws of Web Design and Development.

If you have questions for our Forum, please note them in the comments of this post or send them to info@iphonedevcamp.org and we’ll try to address them during our interactive discussion.  Also, see our Agenda for opportunities to pose questions and address the group throughout the weekend.

Can’t wait to see everyone next week!