Your favorite Startup School moments?
Xichekolas: Most surprisingly good speaker: Chris AndersonI have to admit, I wasn't particularly excited about hearing him speak. I read his Long Tail book, so I knew he wasn't just any journalist, but I couldn't help thinking "what does Wired know about startups"? By the end I was enthralled, and rather sad he couldn't speak for longer.Best repeat performance: Paul BuchheitI was fortunate enough to see him last year, so I kind of knew what to expect. One of the most honest and amusing talks of the day. It seems like he'd be fun to work with/for.Amusing scheduling decision: Jason Fried after Greg McAdooFor second year in a row, someone from 37signals comes on directly after Greg McAdoo from Sequoia. The contrast is kind of stark. The 37signals guys like to poo-poo on what they see as the pompous funding scene, and advocate bootstrapping, so hope Greg doesn't take it personally. ;) I thought Greg had some great points regarding how a 'bad economy' (for whatever value of 'bad' you choose) makes you focus on the important stuff. Jason's angle was that charging money forces you to make something people are willing to pay for (ie - something useful). I think in the end they were both kind of saying the same thing... focus on making something people want... just through their own lenses of experience.Best stories: Mark PincusI had no idea what to expect from this guy, and he was a lot of fun. Before he started I was kind of ready to get out of there (because the room was becoming a sauna) but by the end of his talk, I was actually sad we ran out of time. Jessica was right: he made an excellent closer.Other random amusements/thoughts:PG: "You have to have a liquidity event before you can have a liquidity event."A lot of the talks this year seemed to be about company culture. I wonder if that was a coincidence, or if it had to do with 'the economy' and some soul searching on the part of founders that is going around. Last year the common topic seemed to be 'raising money'. I wasn't at the 2007 one, so I'd be curious if there was also a theme that year.Berkeley was a far superior venue as far as lunch and other travel logistics were concerned, although their mic system seemed haphazard.Also, it was a blast to meet up with some of my fellow HN'ers... both those I was meeting for the first time and those I knew from last year. PG, JL, TLB, and the rest of the YC companies that hosted pre/post parties... thanks! Best of luck to everyone on their endeavours once we all head home!