When presenting to audiences, I often ask the question “Who in the room just started a new career?” and my rhetorical answer is simply “I did.” Every ninety days in this industry is like being reborn again and again. Every Monday morning has a new technological surprise wrapped in five layers of strategy and tactics, sometimes revealing a diamond hiding under a mountain of information.

Next week the TechCrunch50 will be held down in San Francisco. In three days, fifty new companies will launch at the event with a variety of products and speakers around them.

From the TechCrunch50 site, here are some of the rules about the conference and the new businesses:

It’s true, we really just have one rule… you have to show it here first. That’s it. Your product has to launch to the public for the first time on stage at TechCrunch50.

What does it mean to launch at TechCrunch50?
It means that:

• Until its presentation on stage at the conference, a company will keep its site password protected with limited private access to alpha or beta users for testing purposes.
• A company will not have provided demonstrations of its product to the press for publication in advance of the conference.
• A company agrees not to disclose that it is one of the TechCrunch50 companies until we announce the 50 presenters on Monday, September 8.
• No screenshots of your product or video demos of your product should be publicaly available on the web.
• And, your website should not describe your product or show your product.

There are no other rules… no geographic boundaries, no specific business categories to fit, no business-stage requirements or limitations. We want to showcase great Internet innovation, in whatever form it takes. We seek to provide a well-rounded agenda with balanced representation from consumer, enterprise, and mobile verticals; local and international companies; and both unfunded and funded businesses.

As a tech savvy mind, this type of conference and the amount of intellectual power is just inspiring. Now the real catch in the world of start-ups and amazing new ideas is figuring out which of the 50 launching companies will be around next year.

Does anyone else know of “launch conferences” like TechCrunch50?