Flowboard is trying create the best tools for “interactive storytelling” on a tablet. And the best way to illustrate those tools is through a demo, so founder and CEO Brent Brookler stopped by the TechCrunch office today to show us the app.

First, Brookler showed us the beginning of creating a presentation. He chose a template, imported media, and was able to directly manipulate that media using the touchscreen. Then he showed us a finished presentation (it was kind of a like cooking show, where you skip all the boring stuff in the middle). The presentations look great on the iPad and, by allowing users to zoom in on specific images or topics, Flowboard enables the creation of presentations that “go deeper.”

The easiest way to understand what Flowboard is doing is to think of it as presentation-building software for tablets, but Brookler said he’s not trying to compete with PowerPoint.

“We don’t have tables and charts and bullets,” he said. “We’re going after really interactive storytelling. We feel like are iterating and innovating on what the presentation medium should be. … We’re living in a world that’s all Internet-based, and it’s all touch and multimedia. And it’s app-focused — it’s a mobile-first product.”

(To be clear, even though Flowboard’s focus is on tablets, the presentations can be viewed on any device.)

Brookler also showed off some of the features that Flowboard has added since it launched last month, including snap guides that make it easier to move elements into place. He also said upcoming releases will include YouTube integration and an “undo” button.

If you like what you see in the video, you can download the Flowboard iPad app here.

Article courtesy of TechCrunch

Who’s ready to party, ya’ll?

That’s right. It’s finally happening. The TechCrunch Meetup + Pitch-Off series is officially underway, starting with the beautiful, historical and sometimes rowdy city of Austin. We want to see who has the chops to represent the great state of Texas in our 60-second pitch-off competition.

Tickets are $5, and are available here. The event will be held at Stage on Sixth, and begins at 6pm on May 30.

Even if you don’t have a startup to launch in the pitch-off, come on over and have a beer, talk tech with myself and John Biggs, East Coast Editor and Matt Burns, Senior editor and watch entrepreneurs fight against the clock to impress the likes of us and some local tech big wigs and VCs.

But perhaps this is the big break you’ve been waiting for? Entrepreneurs, dreamers, visionaries, and founders, we beseech thee. Apply to present in the pitch-off, wow us with your wares, and maybe take home one of our amazing prizes. First place will receive a table in Startup Alley at TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2013. Second Place will receive two tickets to the upcoming TechCrunch Disrupt, and Third Place will receive one ticket to TechCrunch Disrupt SF.

Plus, all those startups who are selected to pitch at the meetup will get 15-minute one-on-one meetings with TechCrunch writers and editors to discuss your pitch, product, and get feedback.

More mature startups who wish to present their wares to the attendees rather than be judged by us TechCrunch folk can also purchase a demo table here.

Our past meetups have been a huge success, and when we added in a 60-second pitch-off competition, where entrepreneurs have one minute to pitch the judges with just words and mic, the TechCrunch meetup series really found its stride. The New York Pitch-Off led to a few startups getting into the Startup Alley at TechCrunch Disrupt, and the pitch-off winner found itself launching on-stage in the Disrupt Battlefield.

But New York was only the beginning.

Austin, you’re up next. So make this Texas girl proud, and show the world how the stars at night are big and bright (clap, clap, clap, clap) deep in the heart of Texas.

Our sponsors help make Disrupt happen. If you are interested in learning more about sponsorship opportunities, please contact our sponsorship team here sponsors@techcrunch.com.

Article courtesy of TechCrunch

The Hackathon has come and gone, and it’s time for the main event. TechCrunch Disrupt NY 2013 begins now.

If you’ve been a fan of Disrupt in the past, you’re in for a huge treat this beautiful April morning. We’ll be live streaming the entire event from start to finish, with today’s live stream starting at 8:45am ET and ending around 6pm each night.

In the morning, we’ll be enjoying fireside chats with the likes of Andreessen Horowitz’s Chris Dixon and Benchmark’s Bill Gurley, along with panels like “Content Makes A Comeback”. Better yet, Jonah Perreti from BuzzFeed will be giving the keynote for the day.

In the afternoon, Battlefield begins. For those of you who are Disrupt virgins, the Startup Battlefield is the shining star of TechCrunch Disrupt.

Thirty-five companies from all over the world are handpicked by TechCrunch staff to launch their products and companies on our stage, direct to the world. They’ll have six minutes to present, followed by six minutes of Q&A with tech star judges like Tracy Chou (Pinterest), John Frankel (ff Venture) and Sam Yagan (okCupid).

We invite you to follow along on the live stream and tweet with us at #TCdisrupt.

Here’s the full agenda for the day:

9:00am -9:05am
Opening Remarks by TechCrunch

9:05am – 9:25am
Fireside Chat with Chris Dixon (Andreessen Horowitz)

9:25am – 9:50am
Fireside Chat with Bill Gurley (Benchmark)

9:50am – 10:10am
In Conversation with Chamath Palihapitya (Social+Capital Partnership)

10:10am – 10:35am
Keynote: Everyone Is Literally Crazy, by Jonah Peretti (BuzzFeed)

10:35am – 10:55am
TBA

10:55am – 11:05am
Special Product Announcement

11:05am – 11:20am
BREAK

11:20am – 11:45am
In Conversation with Kevin Ryan (Gilt Groupe) and Dwight Merriman (10gen)

11:45am – 12:10pm
Panel: Content Makes a Comeback

12:10pm – 12:30pm
Fireside Chat with John Borthwick

12:30pm – 2:00pm
LUNCH

2:00pm – 2:25pm
Founders Stories with Mike McCue (Flipboard)

Startup Battlefield with Jason Kincaid
2:25pm – 2:30pm
How the Startup Battlefield Works

2:30pm – 3:30pm
Session One – New Networks

Judges: Ime Archibong (Facebook), David Pakman (Venrock), Yossi Vardi (angel investor)
3:30pm – 3:45pm
BREAK

3:45pm – 4:45pm
Session Two – Online for Offline

Judges: Niko Bonatsos (General Catalyst), Tracy Chou (Pinterest), Matt Mazzeo (Lowercase Capital), Ron Palmeri (Mark II Ventures)

4:45pm – 5:00pm
BREAK

5:00pm – 6:00pm
Session Three – Get Things Done
Judges: John Frankel (ff Venture Capital), Hilary Mason (bit.ly), Megan Quinn (Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers), Sam Yagan (Ok Cupid)

6:00pm – 7:30pm
BROWSE STARTUP ALLEY

9:00pm – Midnight
After Party hosted by New Relic at Santos Party House

Article courtesy of TechCrunch

EverSlide is a basic, but potentially very useful, hack built over the weekend at the TechCrunch Disrupt NY 2013 hackathon. As you might guess by the name, the service turns your Evernote notes into slideshow presentations. And it’s crazy simple to use, too. The first line of text in your Evernote note becomes the slide’s title, the second line becomes the slide’s content, and to create a second slide, you just insert a horizontal line from Evernote’s editing menu at the top. Then, boom, instant slideshow!

The hack was created by computer science student Michelle Fernandez and Andrew Leung, who’s currently in between work. The team met at the hackathon, and said they got the idea for the project by reading the Evernote forums where employees had posted ideas for hacks. (And word has it, the Evernote staff here, too, got pretty excited for this idea as well – they told EverSlide’s founders that they talked about the hack amongst themselves for some fifteen minutes after hearing about the team’s plans.)

The service is very minimal right now, given it was built over the weekend in between those midnight Nerf Gun wars and all, but the plan is to add more customization options in the future, including the ability to edit the fonts or colors of the text, perhaps, the ability to add photos, and more.

Article courtesy of TechCrunch

There’s a sign at the back entrance to the TechCrunch San Francisco office that reads, “I’m not delusional, I’m an entrepreneur.” That sign has kept me (relatively) sane for almost three years now, as TechCrunch expanded and contracted and expanded and took me along with it.

The cartoon on the sign was drawn by artist Hugh MacLeod, who’s been illustrating the TechCrunch summer party poster for more than half a decade.

The “delusional” sign was the poster of 2010. I remember hanging 2009′s summer poster, “TechCrunch Dream Big 2009,” very prominently in my cubicle as the Web Editor at the SF Weekly. My big dream was to work for TechCrunch. We all know how that worked out.

Despite the cloying sincerity of some of these cartoons, the cheesiness that the startup ecosystem sometimes spews and that godawful theme song (TECH. CRUNCH. DISRUPT. TECH. CRUNCH. DISRUPT. TECH. CRUNCH. DISRUPT. goes its monstrous heartbeat), I love the Disrupt conference, over the three years and all six of the times I’ve attended. Next week’s Disrupt NYC will be my 7th time attending, my third as co-editor. You have three days left to buy tickets.

Last year, Gaping Void did all of the illustrations for Disrupt San Francisco, and he rose to the occasion. And made a (warning: very) promotional video about it, below.

Call me corny, but what about “The minute you learn how to give is the minute you become successful” doesn’t ring true to you? Thank you Hugh, and of course, Heather and Mike.

Article courtesy of TechCrunch

TechCrunch Disrupt NY is right around the corner. Everything kicks off this weekend in New York with the Hackathon starting on Saturday and going through the night until Sunday afternoon. The main event kicks off next Monday, where expert speakers and guests will come together to talk with us about the latest in technology. The full agenda is here.

Every week we have been giving away a chance to win a free ticket to Disrupt NY. We only have two free tickets left. These tickets will get the two winners into the conference, plus all of the after parties that follow including the screening of Shawn Fanning’s documentary on Napster, DOWNLOADED.

To win a ticket all you have to do is follow the steps below. The giveaway will start now and end tomorrow at 12pm PT. Yes, that’s only one day, so be sure to act fast.

1) Become a fan of our TechCrunch Facebook Page:

2) Then do one of the following:

- Retweet this post (making sure to include the #TCDisrupt hashtag)
- Or leave us a comment below telling us why you want to come

Please only tweet the message once or you will be disqualified. We will make sure you follow the steps above and choose our winners tomorrow. Anyone in the world is eligible. Please note each ticket is for one person only and does not include airfare or hotel.

Our sponsors help make Disrupt happen. If you are interested in learning more about sponsorship opportunities, please contact our sponsorship team here sponsors@techcrunch.com.

We’ll see you soon, New York!

Article courtesy of TechCrunch

The TechCrunch Disrupt Hackathon fast approaches and at this point, it’s important to start thinking about your hack’s design. Luckily, TechCrunch is happy to announce another partnership with the Design Trust to have crackerjack designers in attendance, polishing your creation to make it stand out in our esteemed judges’ eyes.

Who is the Design Trust, you ask?

The Design Trust was formed to provide teams with access to some of New York’s brightest visual and product designers during the hackathon. Now making its third consecutive appearance at the TechCrunch Disrupt NY Hackathon, Design Trust offers teams an opportunity to partner with one of their elite designers for consultations at the beginning of their hack as well as help with product execution.

“We’re very selective about the designers who become part of Design Trust,” according to Phoebe Espiritu who combines her experience teaching Entrepreneurship to designers as well as her recruiting experience for TechStars NY HackStars to select and lead the designers for Design Trust. “Fundamentally, we’re looking for designers who know how to ship.”

Designers interested in participating in the Design Trust for the April 27-28 Hackathon can still apply. Deadline for applications is by midnight (ET) April 24. You can apply to join Design Trust here.

We’re also releasing another round of tickets for developers and engineers, so grab them while you can! They go fast.

Our sponsors help make Disrupt happen. If you are interested in learning more about sponsorship opportunities, please contact our sponsorship team here sponsors@techcrunch.com.

Article courtesy of TechCrunch

The weekend is here, and so is another episode of CrunchWeek, the TechCrunch TV show where a few of us writers sit down for some real talk about the stories that dominated the tech world over the past seven days.

This week, Ryan Lawler, Greg Kumparak and I talked about Facebook Home’s weird new commercial featuring a screaming goat, our experiences with Google Glass (which was released to developers this week) and the expansion of Google Fiber to Austin, TX and Provo, UT.

Article courtesy of TechCrunch

Gillmor Gang – Robert Scoble, Kevin Marks, John Taschek, and Steve Gillmor. Recording for today has concluded. Check Techcrunch soon for replay.

Article courtesy of TechCrunch

Index Ventures Partner Mike Volpi is our esteemed guest in the TechCrunch TV studio this week for our Ask A VC show. As you may remember, you can submit questions for Volpi either in the comments or here, and we’ll ask them during the show.

Volpi, who focuses on investments in both enterprise software and consumer Internet, joined Index in July 2009. He is on the boards of Path, Sonos, Lookout, Hortonworks, Soundcloud, Big Switch Networks, Zuora, Foodily, and Storsimple.

Prior to his career as a VC, Volpi was Cisco’s chief strategy officer and was also previously the senior vice president and general manager of the company’s Routing and Service Provider Technology Group (at the time, an $11 billion business for Cisco). During his tenure as CSO, Cisco acquired more than 70 companies.

Considering Volpi’s board seats on both consumer and enterprise companies, we’re curious about what his advice is for entrepreneurs when choosing board members. He also should have some interesting views on enterprise data and where the market is headed.

Please send us your questions for Volpi here or put them in the comments below!

Article courtesy of TechCrunch