Last week, Lew McMurran, the VP of Government Affairs for the Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA) spoke to our entrepreneurship class. He discussed a bit of his background, and then proceeded to talk about the WTIA. He is the longest serving employee for the association, which allows businesses to band together and offers them services, events and programs, and advocacy and lobbying. It was created in 1984 with a small government grant to talk about issues/find venture capitalists and employees. The have worked to provide reasonable health care coverage to the businesses in the association, and hold events to benefit the technology field. They currently have around 600 members (or 10% of the market).
This association seems like something very advantageous to the computing professional. Although they focus mainly on tech based businesses, the events that they hold seem like great opportunities to make connections and find jobs within the industry. The most interesting event that McMurran spoke about was the "crawl" that they have done in the past. This is similar to a pub crawl, but they visit a handful of businesses in the tech industry instead of pubs (yet he did mention that there was still a fair bit of drinking, which is not surprising). I'm going to be keeping an eye on their website and hope that another crawl takes place soon, because it sounds like a great way to see what kind of environment some of the software companies in the area have, which is of great interest to me (soon graduating and entering the job market). Also, I will be utilizing wtiajobs.org, which has a listing of jobs from the companies that are members. This will be another useful resource for finding my future job.
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Jeff Goodwin: Entrepreneur/CISCO/Lexbe.com
Today we had the pleasure of listening to Jeff Goodwin in Entrepreneurship class. Jeff has worked for Boeing, IBM, CISCO, as well as bootstrapped a successful start-up company that was sold to CISCO. He has his bachelors in Business from WSU, but has worked mostly with assembly level coding for IP in the Device drivers/VPN/Firewall realm (including about 3 million other lines of intellectual property). Though not the most prominent or memorable public speaker of the bunch this quarter, he did spout a few incredibly insightful gems during his talk. I'll list them and then elaborate:
1. You can start a business on your own with $5000 (he's done it twice)
2. You must not get too emotionally attached to your company.
3. The reward of purchasing smaller companies is the culture that they have created. Rarely can a large corporation execute these types of ventures in-house.
4. The closer you get to the customer, and the more you can understand their experience/problems, the more value your business will have.
The first point was simply an eye opener, as very few of our guest speakers have really elaborated on how much it actually costs to build a start-up software company. This is helpful, as it really is easy to come up with that kind of initial investment.
The second point was just a very valid point, and we have heard it time and time again during the course of this quarter. You can build a business for the long-haul, but if you want to really make money, you must have an exit strategy. That means that you can't get too emotionally invested, but you must also maintain a balance between that and being very committed and intellectually invested. This seems like a very hard thing to do, as everything that I have ever been a part of are things that I get very emotionally invested in. I could potentially see it being very hard to let go of a company that I built from the ground up.
The third point was something that I had heard before, but Jeff iterated it in a way that I hadn't really heard before. It's interesting to me that large companies can't logically or logistically create an environment where a small-business environment exists to create something that is innovative like Jeff's company did. Once a company has become a "corporation" they can supposedly no longer create that kind of product, and it is much more cost effective and good for the corporation's culture to simply "eat" a start-up that is doing something well.
Lastly, a point that was made glaringly clear in my TCSS 360 class, that you must get very close to the customer and really understand what the "hurt" is in their day to day. This is something that I will hopefully take with me into any software development that I do. Whether it be something that I am putting spare time into, or for my future job, I now know that I must always focus on the customers' needs. This was not something that I was really aware of prior to attending the university. I always assumed that programming was based on ideas spawned in the minds of the programmers and that it was typically an "ah-ha" moment that created most of the programs out there. Yet it really is the user that is key. They are the ones that matter, because even if you do have a great idea for a program, if no one wants to use it, then it really is almost worthless.
1. You can start a business on your own with $5000 (he's done it twice)
2. You must not get too emotionally attached to your company.
3. The reward of purchasing smaller companies is the culture that they have created. Rarely can a large corporation execute these types of ventures in-house.
4. The closer you get to the customer, and the more you can understand their experience/problems, the more value your business will have.
The first point was simply an eye opener, as very few of our guest speakers have really elaborated on how much it actually costs to build a start-up software company. This is helpful, as it really is easy to come up with that kind of initial investment.
The second point was just a very valid point, and we have heard it time and time again during the course of this quarter. You can build a business for the long-haul, but if you want to really make money, you must have an exit strategy. That means that you can't get too emotionally invested, but you must also maintain a balance between that and being very committed and intellectually invested. This seems like a very hard thing to do, as everything that I have ever been a part of are things that I get very emotionally invested in. I could potentially see it being very hard to let go of a company that I built from the ground up.
The third point was something that I had heard before, but Jeff iterated it in a way that I hadn't really heard before. It's interesting to me that large companies can't logically or logistically create an environment where a small-business environment exists to create something that is innovative like Jeff's company did. Once a company has become a "corporation" they can supposedly no longer create that kind of product, and it is much more cost effective and good for the corporation's culture to simply "eat" a start-up that is doing something well.
Lastly, a point that was made glaringly clear in my TCSS 360 class, that you must get very close to the customer and really understand what the "hurt" is in their day to day. This is something that I will hopefully take with me into any software development that I do. Whether it be something that I am putting spare time into, or for my future job, I now know that I must always focus on the customers' needs. This was not something that I was really aware of prior to attending the university. I always assumed that programming was based on ideas spawned in the minds of the programmers and that it was typically an "ah-ha" moment that created most of the programs out there. Yet it really is the user that is key. They are the ones that matter, because even if you do have a great idea for a program, if no one wants to use it, then it really is almost worthless.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Extra Credit Post: Solitary (TV Show)
I recently discovered the television show "Solitude" on Hulu. I enjoy watching Survivor, so Hulu recommended this program. I began watching the show last night and have continued to keep the first season playing today while I was working on my business plan. I enjoy psychological experiments and this one really took it to an extreme. Basically, it is a reality show where nine players are put into individual pods and the only communication they have with the outside world is a computer "host" that interrogates them and instructs them on tasks and challenges they must perform. They are all put through experiments that test their physical and psychological strength, and the first to give up and press a red button is eliminated from the game. This seemed morbid to watch at first, but obviously once I was an episode deep, I was hooked. It is very interesting to see how people react to solitary confinement, and what revelations they come to about themselves and their lives when put into a situation where they are alone with their thoughts and emotions. One of the contestants was recently divorced and consistently talks about the failure of his relationship, relating it to failure in the challenges repeatedly. Another contestant came to some interesting revelations about her parents and an abusive relationship. Although this doesn't relate entirely to entrepreneurship, I think that those who are in touch with their inner-self and have endured enough pain to see the things that are harbored inside that cause them to act certain ways and react to others in ways have a huge advantage over others when it comes to business. Being in a company with other people, especially a small company, you must interact with others on a very intimate level on a daily basis. This can cause problems, as was seen in the documentary Start-Up.com that we watched previously. On the flip-side of that, people who are analytical and in touch with their emotions are often much better at communicating and extinguishing tense situations in a business situation. Being professional during times of conflict is important, but it is also important to have empathy and self-examination to be a fair and trusted employee/employer.
Lynette Claire (Tacoma Entrepreneurship Network)
Lynette Claire, a professor at UPS, visited our class yesterday to talk about her work with the Tacoma Entrepreneurship Network. She has a PhD in early entrepreneurship from the University of Oregon and spoke about the South Sound and the ways in which she wants to develop the local economy through education and community of entrepreneurs in our area. She talked about one of her students' project, centsless.org, which is a social website that allows users to borrow gear and other items from others. This seems like a great idea in theory, but in practice I expect that it will fail due to liability. Unfortunately, the demographic of those who may want to borrow an item rather than buy it will include many who also wish to steal and misuse those items. This could be problematic for the image of the site itself, which could lead to its demise. Something similar happened with craigslist when many users were abusing the website to steal and manipulate others. She also talked about the event held to bring students from the three south sound universities together for a competition in entrepreneurship. The Innovate! Create! event, held in November of 2011, was created to solve a unique problem (waste), and the winners took away the reward of an iPad. Though she didn't necessarily agree with the judges' decision on the winner, the event seems like a great opportunity in my opinion. It seems like a great forum to meet other entrepreneurs and practice the problem-solving process with others.
Claire also mentioned "Networks 101" where she talked about two different types of social networks. The first is a cohesive network, where everyone in the network knows everyone else. The second, structural holes network, has the focal member completely connected but their connections are not connected. The cohesive network, she said, is great for quality of information and self-correction, while the structural holes network is benefited by new information. I found this very interesting because I am very much a part of a cohesive network. I enjoy introducing my friends to my other friends, and sometimes they even become acquaintances or even friends themselves. I have never been a person to spend time with a single person, rather I enjoy spending my social time in groups (mainly because there is less pressure in groups). I haven't had a "best-friend" since elementary school (besides my fiance, which is a totally different type of relationship from a friendship), and I think this is the reason that I tend to create a cohesive network in my life.
Claire also mentioned "Networks 101" where she talked about two different types of social networks. The first is a cohesive network, where everyone in the network knows everyone else. The second, structural holes network, has the focal member completely connected but their connections are not connected. The cohesive network, she said, is great for quality of information and self-correction, while the structural holes network is benefited by new information. I found this very interesting because I am very much a part of a cohesive network. I enjoy introducing my friends to my other friends, and sometimes they even become acquaintances or even friends themselves. I have never been a person to spend time with a single person, rather I enjoy spending my social time in groups (mainly because there is less pressure in groups). I haven't had a "best-friend" since elementary school (besides my fiance, which is a totally different type of relationship from a friendship), and I think this is the reason that I tend to create a cohesive network in my life.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Movie Review: "Startup.com"
"Startup.com" is a documentary filmed during the dot com bubble burst that follows the life of a start-up, GovWorks.com, and its two co-founders and CEO's, Kaleil Tuzman and Tom Herman. The film focused mainly on the period of time when Kaleil was raising VC (venture capitalist) funds prior to their IPO (initial public offering), and short periods of operation after the IPO. The main focus was really on the relationship between the two co-founders, Kaleil and Tom. Kaleil left Goldman-Sachs to help get the company off the ground, and his expertise in finance and procedures for funding gave him an edge in the initial stages of the business. Though the friendship between the two CEO's was very interesting (and I found quite detrimental to the business overall), the most interesting part of the movie were the meetings with VC's. The meetings seemed very uncomfortable, with many of the VC's criticizing (tearing apart really) the business plan for GovWorks. The last meeting shown in detail (the biggest investor who they didn't end up working with -- their name eludes me at the moment) was the most uncomfortable, mainly because both parties seemed hostile and un-trusting of one another. This is a process that I hopefully will never be required to be a part of, because I cannot stand tension like that.
Something surprising about Kaleil was that his lifestyle was very different from Tom's. Tom (I recall) owned a large retreat where he invited the entire company, while Kaleil seemed to live in small apartments or hotel rooms (a rather modest lifestyle for a CEO). This could possibly be the way that the filmmakers portrayed them, but it highlighted an underlying message that I felt was either fabricated or was an actual truth: Kaleil is a savvy businessman, while Tom is a passionate, techy idealist. Although neither of them came out of the business on top (as was glazed over in the end of the film), you leave assuming that Kaleil will continue to be successful, while Tom will probably find his place somewhere else (other than as a CEO). It seems that this is a good assumption, as Kaleil is now a board member for multiple companies/firms (according to Wikipedia) and Tom is obscured. The biggest lesson I took away from this documentary was that it is ill-advisable to enter into a partnership with someone who doesn't have the same vision as you do. Either one of these men could have had a better vision for the company, depending on how you look at it, but it was obvious that their vision was not the same. In any case, friendship should never get in the way of business, bottom line.
Something surprising about Kaleil was that his lifestyle was very different from Tom's. Tom (I recall) owned a large retreat where he invited the entire company, while Kaleil seemed to live in small apartments or hotel rooms (a rather modest lifestyle for a CEO). This could possibly be the way that the filmmakers portrayed them, but it highlighted an underlying message that I felt was either fabricated or was an actual truth: Kaleil is a savvy businessman, while Tom is a passionate, techy idealist. Although neither of them came out of the business on top (as was glazed over in the end of the film), you leave assuming that Kaleil will continue to be successful, while Tom will probably find his place somewhere else (other than as a CEO). It seems that this is a good assumption, as Kaleil is now a board member for multiple companies/firms (according to Wikipedia) and Tom is obscured. The biggest lesson I took away from this documentary was that it is ill-advisable to enter into a partnership with someone who doesn't have the same vision as you do. Either one of these men could have had a better vision for the company, depending on how you look at it, but it was obvious that their vision was not the same. In any case, friendship should never get in the way of business, bottom line.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
John Dimmer (Tacoma Angel Network)
Today we had yet another guest speaker, John Dimmer, a financial advisor and entrepreneur. The amount of companies he has been involved with is in the 50-60 range, but a few of the ones he is currently a co-founder/co-owner of include the Tacoma Angel Network, Parker Johnstone Honda Dealerships, Airstream Dealerships in Covington (and more on the way), Roundtable Pizza, and Firs Management. Dimmer attended the University of Oregon and has a degree in finance. His early work included working at Puget Sound Bank, and he also worked with our instructor at Freerange media and Lariat Software. After selling that company, he retired for a short period of time, then went to work for his father at Firs Management maintaining and organizing finance.
The main subject that Dimmer spoke on was financing an up-start. The financing process begins with "self", as in you must supply financing yourself in the initial phases of your company. Next, a person should have some connection to a friend or family that can help with funding (either with a loan or a stock option). The main source of capital for a company should come in the third type, Angel investing. Angels, for the most part, are currently "65 year old white men." Most people probably know at least one "angel", but the best method to find angel investors is through an angel network, such as the Tacoma Angel Network, which Dimmer co-founded. A person will most likely have to present to 10 angel investors in order to succeed with one. Venture Capitalists and Loans/Bonds are the less likely methods of obtaining capital, but it does happen for probably less than 1% of companies in their lifetime.
Dimmer mentioned a few gems during his lecture. The first gem was that venture capitalists generally won't be interested in a company with less than a $20 million evaluation. If a venture capitalist does approach your company or seems interested in your company with a significantly smaller evaluation, chances are that they are only mining you for information to provide one of their portfolio companies with the information they need to destroy you. This is definitely something to keep in mind if and when I am ever in that phase of a business (although it's not likely that I ever will be). The other piece of information that he mentioned that I found particularly interesting was the types of investments that angels will commit to. There are two types, and a hybrid, which include a loan (to be paid back with interest), a stock option, and a hybrid of the two where the angel is guaranteed repayment (or a tax write off in the least) while still having the ability to convert the loan into stock at their discretion.
The main subject that Dimmer spoke on was financing an up-start. The financing process begins with "self", as in you must supply financing yourself in the initial phases of your company. Next, a person should have some connection to a friend or family that can help with funding (either with a loan or a stock option). The main source of capital for a company should come in the third type, Angel investing. Angels, for the most part, are currently "65 year old white men." Most people probably know at least one "angel", but the best method to find angel investors is through an angel network, such as the Tacoma Angel Network, which Dimmer co-founded. A person will most likely have to present to 10 angel investors in order to succeed with one. Venture Capitalists and Loans/Bonds are the less likely methods of obtaining capital, but it does happen for probably less than 1% of companies in their lifetime.
Dimmer mentioned a few gems during his lecture. The first gem was that venture capitalists generally won't be interested in a company with less than a $20 million evaluation. If a venture capitalist does approach your company or seems interested in your company with a significantly smaller evaluation, chances are that they are only mining you for information to provide one of their portfolio companies with the information they need to destroy you. This is definitely something to keep in mind if and when I am ever in that phase of a business (although it's not likely that I ever will be). The other piece of information that he mentioned that I found particularly interesting was the types of investments that angels will commit to. There are two types, and a hybrid, which include a loan (to be paid back with interest), a stock option, and a hybrid of the two where the angel is guaranteed repayment (or a tax write off in the least) while still having the ability to convert the loan into stock at their discretion.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Ron Kornfeld (Self-Proclaimed Serial Entrepreneur)
Ron Kornfeld, self-proclaimed "serial-entrepreneur", was the guest speaker today in my entrepreneurship class at UW Tacoma. He began his talk by explaining that no one likes business plans; the purpose of a business plan is to put an idea into a standardized format that can be consumed efficiently by prospective partners/employees and venture capitalists. In addition, the process of articulating the details of a business venture makes you test that business (it forces you to define smaller details that you maybe wouldn't have normally have thought of).
Ron worked for MCI, but left and started a company that wanted to simplify dial-up in the early days of the internet. He has since encountered three net bubbles, solved some of the world's problems, and been involved with start-ups like Dreambox (which was acquired by Netflix), NimbleSource, Personal Grid, Normandy Partners, Harmonetrix, Cygnisoft, XactLabs, and Tweetiator. I took a couple of very interesting pieces of information away from this lecture. The first was that most start-ups don't need to raise millions of dollars. This was something that I assumed coming into the class, but was being swayed to think otherwise by many of our class lectures. Ron mentioned that start-ups do need some form of capital, but it doesn't have to be from venture capitalists; it can come from many different types of investors. The second was the way that venture capitalists and the firms that they work for get their money. I had just assumed that they were made up of billionaires who were looking for ways to invest their money (and hopefully earn a large return). What really happens involves the government: government employees have pension funds that are paid into by current employees, but that money needs to be grown to meet the need of a generally increasing amount of retirees dipping into those funds. Some of those funds are given to V.C. firms as a high-risk investment. These firms then seek out the best start-ups to invest in, and this is done by looking at BUSINESS PLANS! Which takes us full circle back to the idea that a business plan is crucial for any business idea that could be brought to fruition.
One last thing of note was that Ron discussed "disruption", which is basically the idea of breaking into a market and doing something better than what is currently available. There are many pieces of software that I use on a daily basis that I believe could do things much better than what is currently available. This inspired me to rethink my business idea, and I may be changing the business idea that I use for this class entirely.
Ron worked for MCI, but left and started a company that wanted to simplify dial-up in the early days of the internet. He has since encountered three net bubbles, solved some of the world's problems, and been involved with start-ups like Dreambox (which was acquired by Netflix), NimbleSource, Personal Grid, Normandy Partners, Harmonetrix, Cygnisoft, XactLabs, and Tweetiator. I took a couple of very interesting pieces of information away from this lecture. The first was that most start-ups don't need to raise millions of dollars. This was something that I assumed coming into the class, but was being swayed to think otherwise by many of our class lectures. Ron mentioned that start-ups do need some form of capital, but it doesn't have to be from venture capitalists; it can come from many different types of investors. The second was the way that venture capitalists and the firms that they work for get their money. I had just assumed that they were made up of billionaires who were looking for ways to invest their money (and hopefully earn a large return). What really happens involves the government: government employees have pension funds that are paid into by current employees, but that money needs to be grown to meet the need of a generally increasing amount of retirees dipping into those funds. Some of those funds are given to V.C. firms as a high-risk investment. These firms then seek out the best start-ups to invest in, and this is done by looking at BUSINESS PLANS! Which takes us full circle back to the idea that a business plan is crucial for any business idea that could be brought to fruition.
One last thing of note was that Ron discussed "disruption", which is basically the idea of breaking into a market and doing something better than what is currently available. There are many pieces of software that I use on a daily basis that I believe could do things much better than what is currently available. This inspired me to rethink my business idea, and I may be changing the business idea that I use for this class entirely.
Bruce Kendall (Econ. Dev. Board for Tacoma/Pierce County)
Bruce Kendall spoke to our entrepreneur class last week about his work as the President/CEO of the Economic Development Board for Tacoma/Pierce County. He described the role of his board as "growing the economy of our county ... by providing guidance for the top primary firms in the county." Primary firms are businesses that make a product or service here and then export to outside of the county, so as to stimulate the economy within the county. This is a great service to provide, as businesses such as SiteCrafting, Boeing, Multicare, Intel, and Toray Composites have all been involved with the EDB. He mentioned some of the largest contributors to the county, including Boeing, JBLM (Joint Base Lewis-McChord), and a new allegiance, The Grand Alliance, who consist of shipping firms from Japan and Germany, who will shipping to Tacoma rather than Seattle beginning in June.
The most surprising thing that Bruce said during his lecture was that the biggest problem for companies not succeeding currently is a workforce quality shortage. In other words, there is a shortage of quality workers in most industries in our county. This is strange to me because, with the amount of (at least) decent schools and universities in our county, I would assume that the amount of good workers that are being produced would be at least enough to fulfill most needs in at least a majority of industries in our county. This is apparently not the case, as many companies (with the his focus being on technology companies in particular) are having a hard time finding quality workers. This, in my mind, can only be attributed to one of three major issues:
1. The quality of education (or possibly guidance for students) is sub-par or somehow compromised
2. The people obtaining quality training/education are migrating outside of the county for work
3. The amount of workers for the major industries in the county is too small, which relates back to guidance for students.
In any case, this is just confirmation of the fact that I will most likely have little trouble finding work when I finish my degree in CSS, which of course makes me happy. Yet, on the flip-side of this is the fact that if I do chose to work for a large local software company (which I believe is the likely step after graduation), I may be working with people who are not quality workers. In the software field, this is terrifying because we are almost always working in teams. I had an idea of this from feedback from a few friends who work at large software companies, but this fact seems to confirm the issue. This alone may be reason to consider serial entrepreneurship as a profession. Being able to hone in on a small group of partners who have a good education, good work ethic, and get along very well (which is the only way I would ever start a business with other people) could provide a much more fruitful and enjoyable experience for a software engineer like myself. As each guest lecturer presents, creating some sort of up-start becomes more and more appealing...
The most surprising thing that Bruce said during his lecture was that the biggest problem for companies not succeeding currently is a workforce quality shortage. In other words, there is a shortage of quality workers in most industries in our county. This is strange to me because, with the amount of (at least) decent schools and universities in our county, I would assume that the amount of good workers that are being produced would be at least enough to fulfill most needs in at least a majority of industries in our county. This is apparently not the case, as many companies (with the his focus being on technology companies in particular) are having a hard time finding quality workers. This, in my mind, can only be attributed to one of three major issues:
1. The quality of education (or possibly guidance for students) is sub-par or somehow compromised
2. The people obtaining quality training/education are migrating outside of the county for work
3. The amount of workers for the major industries in the county is too small, which relates back to guidance for students.
In any case, this is just confirmation of the fact that I will most likely have little trouble finding work when I finish my degree in CSS, which of course makes me happy. Yet, on the flip-side of this is the fact that if I do chose to work for a large local software company (which I believe is the likely step after graduation), I may be working with people who are not quality workers. In the software field, this is terrifying because we are almost always working in teams. I had an idea of this from feedback from a few friends who work at large software companies, but this fact seems to confirm the issue. This alone may be reason to consider serial entrepreneurship as a profession. Being able to hone in on a small group of partners who have a good education, good work ethic, and get along very well (which is the only way I would ever start a business with other people) could provide a much more fruitful and enjoyable experience for a software engineer like myself. As each guest lecturer presents, creating some sort of up-start becomes more and more appealing...
Friday, April 20, 2012
Brian Forth (Site Crafting)
Brian Forth visited our entrepreneurship class last Wednesday, and he spoke about his history in web design and gave some great insight into the life of the leader of one what seems is one of the most successful local technology companies in the South Sound. His parents and grandparents were all employees of Lockheed, which almost surely pinned him as an employee as well, but instead he followed his passion: Baseball. He worked for Disney while in college. Unfortunately (or possibly fortunately), baseball didn't work out, but he was able to get his four year degree in theology/philosophy. As a 5th grade teacher in the late 90's, he realized the importance of the internet and began teaching his students how to build websites. They would provide the skills, and other teachers would provide content for them. In 1998, he worked for Knowledge Universe in San Fransisco, but he also founded Site Crafting in Tacoma, WA. They have opened up locations in Spokane (2009) and Seattle (2010), have almost 30 employees, and have built websites for PEMCO, Metro Parks, Tacoma Public Utilities, and Multicare among others.
The company's main focus at the moment is mobile web, which is basically the future of the internet. Some of the advice he gave was to take risks, invest yourself, trust your team, deliver more than what people want, make and keep big promises, and leverage your experience and connections. This was all great advice, but most of it was iterated previously by Erik Hanberg. It seems that most entrepreneurs have a similar sentiment when it comes to the "tricks of the trade". The main thing that I took away from his talk was his emphasis on the team. He opened a new location for Site Crafting even when it wasn't necessarily the best idea simply to keep his partner on his team. He allows his current employees one day a week to focus on their own projects and brainstorming new ideas for the company. At his own admission, he has kept employees on longer than necessary to see if their performance will improve. Site Crafting pays less than many of the larger companies out of Seattle, and his employees pass up opportunities to leave to work for them. The emphasis on making a tight knit community out of your small business venture, I can see, is something of immense value. If you truly feel you can trust the people you are working for/with, it takes a lot of the stress out of your job so that you can focus on doing what you love. When you work for a larger company, there will always be a chance that you will be let go at the drop of a hat. Circumstances will warrant downsizing and lay-offs, and there will always be more and more waves of college students that are fresh and ready to outperform you. Building your own business or even being on the ground floor of someone else's entrepreneurship venture allows you to have a bit of security in that you don't have to worry about being faceless and unrecognized.
The company's main focus at the moment is mobile web, which is basically the future of the internet. Some of the advice he gave was to take risks, invest yourself, trust your team, deliver more than what people want, make and keep big promises, and leverage your experience and connections. This was all great advice, but most of it was iterated previously by Erik Hanberg. It seems that most entrepreneurs have a similar sentiment when it comes to the "tricks of the trade". The main thing that I took away from his talk was his emphasis on the team. He opened a new location for Site Crafting even when it wasn't necessarily the best idea simply to keep his partner on his team. He allows his current employees one day a week to focus on their own projects and brainstorming new ideas for the company. At his own admission, he has kept employees on longer than necessary to see if their performance will improve. Site Crafting pays less than many of the larger companies out of Seattle, and his employees pass up opportunities to leave to work for them. The emphasis on making a tight knit community out of your small business venture, I can see, is something of immense value. If you truly feel you can trust the people you are working for/with, it takes a lot of the stress out of your job so that you can focus on doing what you love. When you work for a larger company, there will always be a chance that you will be let go at the drop of a hat. Circumstances will warrant downsizing and lay-offs, and there will always be more and more waves of college students that are fresh and ready to outperform you. Building your own business or even being on the ground floor of someone else's entrepreneurship venture allows you to have a bit of security in that you don't have to worry about being faceless and unrecognized.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
What technology makes my business different?
My most recent idea for a business involves the Microsoft Kinect for Windows. With the release of Windows 8 just around the corner, a lot of users will be embracing a brand new environment and way of computing. The Windows 8 interface is very "touch friendly" which is why I believe (as does Microsoft) that the future of computing is right in front of your television screen. With that said, the Kinect seems the logical choice of hardware to assist in that transition.
The Kinect (or Microsoft's motion sensing input device) was recently released for Windows. It was previously available for the XBox 360 and had quite the impressive reception, selling 18 million units worldwide so far. Although it is unfortunate that you cannot currently use your XBox Kinect with your Windows PC or Laptop, the Windows version features some upgrades that will allow for adaptability in a "home theater" setting (closer to the screen). The technology is fairly new, and it has endless possible uses. There are some competitors that are already developing software to navigate Powerpoint slideshows and Microsoft Picture Viewer, but being such a new technology allows my business to innovate with this technology, as well as sell products via Microsoft's new app store. Games are an obvious choice for software to develop (such as Ma-jong, Sudoku, or Trivia games like "You Don't Know Jack") but even simple apps that allow navigation of Windows and use of Internet Explorer with the wave of a hand would be very successful if they are coded well and released in a timely manner.
My competitors may be developing similar software for the Kinect and Windows as we speak, and Microsoft may also have programmers working on similar projects, but all it takes is one innovative app to gain exposure and sales for my business. It would be a differentiator to be a creator of motion driven apps, and the technology is ready and waiting...
The Kinect (or Microsoft's motion sensing input device) was recently released for Windows. It was previously available for the XBox 360 and had quite the impressive reception, selling 18 million units worldwide so far. Although it is unfortunate that you cannot currently use your XBox Kinect with your Windows PC or Laptop, the Windows version features some upgrades that will allow for adaptability in a "home theater" setting (closer to the screen). The technology is fairly new, and it has endless possible uses. There are some competitors that are already developing software to navigate Powerpoint slideshows and Microsoft Picture Viewer, but being such a new technology allows my business to innovate with this technology, as well as sell products via Microsoft's new app store. Games are an obvious choice for software to develop (such as Ma-jong, Sudoku, or Trivia games like "You Don't Know Jack") but even simple apps that allow navigation of Windows and use of Internet Explorer with the wave of a hand would be very successful if they are coded well and released in a timely manner.
My competitors may be developing similar software for the Kinect and Windows as we speak, and Microsoft may also have programmers working on similar projects, but all it takes is one innovative app to gain exposure and sales for my business. It would be a differentiator to be a creator of motion driven apps, and the technology is ready and waiting...
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Entrepreneur?
According to The Technology Entrepreneur's Guidebook, an entrepreneur has the following traits:
- Be on the cutting edge of something novel and useful
- Build long-term value and sustainability
- Have freedom, control, and self-discipline
- Have a passion and be "evangelical" (I found that humorous) about your work
- Have confidence in your venture
- Be focused and disciplined, while also being creative, innovative and courageous
- Be a leader and a visionary
- Think ahead
Guest Speaker: Erik Hanberg
On April 2nd, 2012, our class had the pleasure of listening to a talk from Erik Hanberg. He has worked in a graphic/web design firm called Mary Holste Design, is a somewhat newly established novelist, and was the founder of a theater company, The Horatio. Erik's presentation was simple, but effective, as he gave us many things to think about including many tid-bits of advice and the many aspects of being an entrepreneur. Fear is the one key point that he made that could potentially be the one thing that could hold back a person from achieving great things as an entrepreneur. There is a lot to be said for taking risks, as Erik has continually done in his career, and if you don't take those risks, you may never realize your full potential. There are a lot of things to take into consideration when taking the financial and career risks that are sometimes necessary when undertaking such an endeavor. For example, in Erik's attempt to turn an existing space into a full theater, he didn't take all of the HVAC issues that ended up arising into consideration, so his financial plan for the business ended up being unmanageable. The main advantage of being a self-employed entrepreneur is the freedom that comes with it. Being able to sleep in on a Tuesday or take a nap in the middle of any day is quite a perk. Although I agree that this freedom would be nice, I believe that some structure in life, especially in business, is also a very valuable thing to have.
Having worked at Costco since I was a senior in high school, I put a lot of value in stability. Having a very well-paying job that offers great benefits and little to no risk of being let go is almost a requirement for me personally. In my search for a job in the future as a software developer, I hope to find a home at a company that has some of these benefits as well. Though I will most likely never take the types of paths that Erik has taken in his life, his way of thinking was very inspiring. Being a musician, I hope to continue to release music and play concerts even after I have a new employer and the new lifestyle that comes with it. I also enjoy creating tutorials on Youtube for people to learn effective ways to solve problems that I have determined how to solve. Both of these things could potentially be monetized, and the stories that Erik told hold great knowledge about how to go about doing that well. Being willing to fail and handle the emotional letdown is a huge risk, and is a very likely reality. Networking and actually meeting people is also a very important step that will help fuel success as an entrepreneur. Finally, staying motivated to do work is imperative, and reading books will fuel new ideas and ways of thinking.
Having worked at Costco since I was a senior in high school, I put a lot of value in stability. Having a very well-paying job that offers great benefits and little to no risk of being let go is almost a requirement for me personally. In my search for a job in the future as a software developer, I hope to find a home at a company that has some of these benefits as well. Though I will most likely never take the types of paths that Erik has taken in his life, his way of thinking was very inspiring. Being a musician, I hope to continue to release music and play concerts even after I have a new employer and the new lifestyle that comes with it. I also enjoy creating tutorials on Youtube for people to learn effective ways to solve problems that I have determined how to solve. Both of these things could potentially be monetized, and the stories that Erik told hold great knowledge about how to go about doing that well. Being willing to fail and handle the emotional letdown is a huge risk, and is a very likely reality. Networking and actually meeting people is also a very important step that will help fuel success as an entrepreneur. Finally, staying motivated to do work is imperative, and reading books will fuel new ideas and ways of thinking.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
My Business Ideas
The first business idea I will propose is an idea I've had for quite a while. It involves a product: Software for music lovers who like to visualize their music collection. The software would be a music/music video player that takes the users' music library (either local or on a service such as Google Music) and presents that music with a high resolution visualization similar to that which is offered by last.fm or (to a degree) the Zune player for PC. The internals of the program would scan the music library and begin playing from a playlist/album/random artist. While this is happening, it would seek out high resolution artwork from that artist (on Google Images/Bing Images) and display them along with details about the song. The additional feature (which could be optionally turned off) would allow the program to search VIVO and Youtube for the official music video for the song and play that instead of the music file. This type of product would be very useful for anyone who wants to throw a party and have music AND visualization on their TV screen to accompany that music, or for a business that has a small (or large) collection of music that they run in a loop to display something visual on their TV screens.
My second business idea is also music related (as I am a musician and music lover). The idea consists of a service rather than a product: A website that is a "one-stop-shop" for musicians. The musician could sign up for an account, create a profile, upload their music and link to other social media sites, but one of the main purposes would allow producers to also sign up for an account. Due to the fact that almost all artists/musicians are now recording their music at home on their computers, many of them are now looking for a producer to work with to "polish" their tracks. Many artists don't have expert abilities in producing and mix/mastering tracks, so this would allow artists to listen to the work that any producer has done, contact that producer, and work with them directly. Also, the site could offer other services to the artist, such as publishing to Amazon music and iTunes, resources for recording equipment, and a customizable website that would allow them to post upcoming shows/events, album release information, and more. The main source of revenue for this site would be from ads. The ads could be general ads from related entities such as Guitar Center, or purchased by bands for promotional purposes. Lastly, a non-artist/producer could sign up as a "music enthusiast" for the sole purpose of keeping track of all of their favorite artists. They could add an app to their Facebook page that would display any current updates from their favorite artists, such as concert dates in their area and upcoming album releases.
My third and last business idea is a service for those people who wish to save money. It would start out as a local service with a monthly/yearly fee for clients. The client would use a website to log in to their profile and enter a product description of an item that they want to purchase. This would include a UPC or a name and manufacture of a product with model number if applicable. They would also enter a date by which they wish to actually obtain this item. Upon completion, the employee(s) of the company would then scour the web for the cheapest option for this item (eBay used/refurbished included unless otherwise noted by the client). When the item is purchased for the lowest price it will be drop shipped to the client and the amount approved and charged to the client. This would allow the client to save time by not having to search for the least expensive option (and not having to stalk eBay/craigslist items) AND save money by receiving their products of choice for the lowest price in an expected amount of time.
My second business idea is also music related (as I am a musician and music lover). The idea consists of a service rather than a product: A website that is a "one-stop-shop" for musicians. The musician could sign up for an account, create a profile, upload their music and link to other social media sites, but one of the main purposes would allow producers to also sign up for an account. Due to the fact that almost all artists/musicians are now recording their music at home on their computers, many of them are now looking for a producer to work with to "polish" their tracks. Many artists don't have expert abilities in producing and mix/mastering tracks, so this would allow artists to listen to the work that any producer has done, contact that producer, and work with them directly. Also, the site could offer other services to the artist, such as publishing to Amazon music and iTunes, resources for recording equipment, and a customizable website that would allow them to post upcoming shows/events, album release information, and more. The main source of revenue for this site would be from ads. The ads could be general ads from related entities such as Guitar Center, or purchased by bands for promotional purposes. Lastly, a non-artist/producer could sign up as a "music enthusiast" for the sole purpose of keeping track of all of their favorite artists. They could add an app to their Facebook page that would display any current updates from their favorite artists, such as concert dates in their area and upcoming album releases.
My third and last business idea is a service for those people who wish to save money. It would start out as a local service with a monthly/yearly fee for clients. The client would use a website to log in to their profile and enter a product description of an item that they want to purchase. This would include a UPC or a name and manufacture of a product with model number if applicable. They would also enter a date by which they wish to actually obtain this item. Upon completion, the employee(s) of the company would then scour the web for the cheapest option for this item (eBay used/refurbished included unless otherwise noted by the client). When the item is purchased for the lowest price it will be drop shipped to the client and the amount approved and charged to the client. This would allow the client to save time by not having to search for the least expensive option (and not having to stalk eBay/craigslist items) AND save money by receiving their products of choice for the lowest price in an expected amount of time.
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