Looking back on Ignite Denver, a lot went well. A lot more needs improvement.

What went NOT awesome.

• We didn’t insist on Rackhouse closing to the public, so we had to compete with people there to drink.
• Rackhouse didn’t believe we’d bring in well over 250 (A new record for Ignite Denver), so we had seating issues.
• For some it wasn’t clear, the beer you got with donation was Flying Dog. Apparently a free beer is still game for bitching and complaining. We’ll be more clear.
• A comedian, while hilarious, is a bad idea for an Ignite intermission. Jill Tasei is very funny, but that wasn’t the right environment. My bad
• Slide deck roulette. I tried to be slick and have a slide deck only machine, and while that worked well, getting slides from speakers up until 1 hour before Ignite, was a huge fail. I was off my game in getting the master deck put together.
• From now on. Slides in 2 days before, or we select an alternate.

What went awesome

• We successfully live streamed Ignite Denver 6. That was the second time we’ve streamed, and the first was more a “well let’s just whip something up”. This time we planned on streaming from the beginning.
• We sold out, and then some. Not only did we break our previous attendance records, but we sold the place out.
• We raised money for charity. We gave a $200 check to the Bridge Project. Once we paid the bar tab for the speaker beers, and beers that came with donations, we cleared just a smidge over $200. It was great. The more you give us, the more we give to charity.
• Presentation selection. For the first time we had more submissions that we could actually use, which meant voting was a huge help in guiding our selection. It’s awesome to finally see more people getting interested in Ignite Denver.
• The Speed round. The only trouble was the aforementioned slide deck roulette troubles. But the speed round presentations themselves went really well. A good first run for sure.

So, with Ignite Denver now OFFICIALLY wrapped, LOL… Ignite Denver 7!

Taking what we’ve learned from the past 6, we’re going to hold Ignite Denver 7 at the Oriental Theatre on July 27th. Make sure to mark your calendar now! July 27th! If you haven’t already subscribe to the Denwhere calendar, ID7 is already on it!

That means: Huge screen, no bar noise, no trouble seeing the presenter!

Max attendance is again 250, let’s sell out ID7 faster than we did ID6!

We’re still working on charity selection, but we will definitely be donating to a charity. We’re gonna need a lot more donations too! Dig deep folks. Moving to a more awesome venue includes costs.

Donating is still optional. I strongly feel Ignite should not be a pay to play event. If you don’t want to donate, but want to be a part of something awesome, highlighting how kick ass Denver is, that’s totally cool. Charging, IMO is weak sauce.

The time table for ID7 is as follows!

June 21st we start accepting submissions.

July 2nd we STOP accepting submissions.

Voting is open July 5th thru 16th

See you there!

There’s only about 80 spots left, 20 went today! RSVP Now!

You can walk out of Ignite Denver 6 with each if you conquer the speed round!

We’re going to have 3 people do the speed round (Not the 2 we initially thought). Each will present the same deck, with a different ‘theme’ than the original presenter.

No one goes home empty handed, but best bring your A game

First place is a bottle of Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey

Second place is an awesome Trek Light Gear Hammock!

Third place will be something we pick up with some of the donation money we collect.

Don’t forget to RSVP! Ignite Denver 6 is coming up fast!

Drinking and driving is bad, mmmkay, so don’t do it. There’s plenty of options available to you. Namely the light rail.

The light rail station isn’t close, but it ain’t far.

There’s also cabs, which the Rackhouse will call for you no problem. We want everyone to have fun, but just be responsible

Thanks, see you March 2nd! Don’t forget to RSVP

So with that in mind, and with what is hopefully the first of a recurring theme for Ignite Denver, we’ll be donating the remainder of the donated money from Ignite Denver 6 to The Bridge Project.

As we’ve said before, our costs in running Ignite Denver are low, we buy beer for the presenters, and prizes when we need to. The rest, we’re donating.

The Bridge Project is a great local charity here in Denver.

The more we collect in donations, the more we have to donate, so don’t be shy everyone, it’s a great cause!

Remember, every $5 donation, also gets your a beer ticket.

RSVP now for Ignite Denver 6! March 2nd!

As always Ignite Denver is 100% free to attend, but we do offer a donation ticket ($5), that helps us cover the costs of running Ignite Denver, it also helps us buy beer for the presenters, and thanks to Flying Doge Ales, we’re also able to use part of each donation, to give donators their first beer free. So if you want to help Ignite Denver exist, help us with raffle prizes, help us show our presenters some love, and in general help keep Ignite Denver going, please share $5, and your first beer is on us.

Start your weekend on off right! RSVP for an awesome night of fun, geekery, and beer with Ignite Denver!

RSVP Here.

But rather than take my word for it, go vote! The voting is primarily for sorting and ranking, just to be clear, but your votes count, and matter, so get to it! Make sure Ignite Denver has the best of the best.

Vote here

Check this map out!

View Larger Map

Here’s how it’s gonna work!

At the first intermission, before our comedian takes the stage for some funny, everyone will vote on which slide deck from part 1 they’d like to see as the speed round.

At the end of part 2 we’ll call for volunteers (2 of them) to come up and deliver the speed round, using the chosen deck, but telling a different story. When each contestant gets up the tell the crowd their ‘theme’ and then away we go.

Here’s how the speed round is speedy

It’s the same 20 slides, but it’s 2/3 faster, that means each slide is only up for 5 seconds. so the entire deck is done in 100 seconds (just under 2 minutes)

The crowd votes for the winner with applause.

The winners will win some awesome prizes, we’re still working on those.

So when you’re sitting in the audience watching the awesome presentations, keep in mind which you’d like to see in 1/3 time!

Hurry up and submit a topic, time’s running out.

Ignite Denver 6 is shaping up to be a good time! And $2 Flying Dog is certainly gonna help make it better

If you haven’t submitted your topic for Ignite Denver 6, better hurry! Feb 9th we close the submission window. We also open the registration page. We’ll be accepting donations again like last time, you’re free to choose to support us or not, however your $5 donation will not just help ensure that Ignite Denver continues it also gets your first beer

Stay tuned, we hope to have more cool stuff to report soon! Ignite Denver 6 and Global Ignite Week are gonna be of the hook!