Derek Sivers spoke at LessConf2009 about business models and profitability. Derek Sivers founded CDBaby.com and is currently working on other projects like MuckWork

Mike McDerment of http://freshbooks.com spoke at LessConf2009 about how he built a successful web app company.

Our surprise guest was Jason Fried of 37signals.com via video chat. Jason talks about the business philosophies of 37signals and other insights into his work day and inspirations.

David Hauser of Grasshopper.com speaks on "How to build a company beyond the start-up stage". Grasshopper.com is a virtual phone system designed for entrepreneurs. Follow David on Twitter at @DH. Also Grasshopper labs just released Chargify, which simplifies recurring billing for Web 2.0 and SaaS companies.

Here's the video David shows at the beginning of his presentation.

We're excited that you're interested in LessCruise 2010, April 8-11th. If you don't know anything about the cruise read more here and here.

$100 Deposits are Due by Dec 9th!

If you have any idea that you might want to go, put down a refundable $100 deposit. You'll have until Feb 15th to get the deposit refunded if you decide not to attend. On Feb 15th the remaining balance for the cruise is due.

Steps to be Awesome!

• Call 800-277-3770
• Tell them you're attending LessCruise.
• Give them billing information for the $100 deposit
• They'll send you brochures and other cruise materials.
• Buy a thong speedo and suntan lotion

We want you to come, but you must put down a deposit very soon, this ship will sail without you if you don't put down your $100 deposit quickly.

Steve and I just got back from an 8 day trip to Boston, Philly and New York City. In case you missed it, here's the trip blog post. This blog post is a quick summary of pictures of things we did while we were on the road.

Yesterday Steve and I decided to put on LessCruise. It's not something we'll make money from, we just want to hang out with our new and old friends. Why not go on a long weekend vacation together? Our good friends Alex Hillman (@alexknowshtml) and the Storenvy crew will also be helping us put this on as well.

What exactly is LessCruise?

We don't really know. We're talking about having some group excursions, a couple cocktail hours, group dinners and generally just hanging out.

Are you interested?

Cruise Schedule

Date	Location	Arrival	Depart	Activity
Thursday April 08	Miami, Florida	-	9:00pm	Boarding
Friday April 09	Key West, Florida	11:00am	5:30pm	Docked
Saturday April 10	Cozumel, Mexico	3:30pm	-	Docked
Sunday April 11	At Sea	-	-	-
Monday April 12	Miami, Florida	11:00am	-	-

What might happen at the cruise

We're talking about having a small "Barcamp at Sea" the second to last day. I am sure everyone will be hanging out talking eating meals together. I hope we can plan a group island excursion too. If our group is large enough we'll have a couple private cocktail hours in the evenings.

Cost and Stuff

Now what?

We've reserved 24 rooms/48 people for the cruise, we can get more rooms, I'd guess we have 25 people committed already. We have to put down deposits in the next 30 days, so look soon for an announcement to sign-up. In the meantime let us know if you're interested.

Are you interested?

What is a cruise all about?

Cruises are pretty laid back. I personally have been on a handful of cruises, Celebrity Cruises is the nicest cruise line. Generally the boat will be traveling towards a destination at night and you'll be at port during the day. You can leave the boat and walk around, shop, go on an adventure, sit on the beach, eat, whatever you like really. You'll come back to the boat by a certain time. You'll have all your meals prepared for you and free room service. Everything on a cruise is included, except souvenirs, alcohol and gambling. Steve and I went on a cruise together a year ago for a company trip and it was a blast.

Are you interested?

Des Traynor and Eoghan McCabe of Contrast.ie speak about web conventions at LessConf 2009. Follow Des Traynor and Eoghan McCabe on Twitter.