Jim was a polished speaker and interesting fellow. I found myself listening less to what he was saying, and more to how he was saying it. From the moment he said, "I'm going to make you the most popular person on campus..." I found myself focusing on the mechanics of his presentation. I thought to myself here is a craftsman at attracting and holding an audience in suspense. There's a lot to be learned by how he does it.
And of course he introduces the topic of Lamborghini. Who isn't intrigued by that? Very effective use of the prop.
I can see how he would have been a very effective politician. Yet, it doesn't seem to have gone to far to his head. One of my cousins was a State Legislator years ago, and he's still Mike, but the experience did change him somewhat. It seems he has made a lot of invaluable connections through being a
legislator. This would seem to be an ideal career move. Might have to
consider it for myself. Well, perhaps more than consider, it's something I've considered off and on for a long time. You know, "boy if I were in charge, I would have done..."
Anyway, I enjoyed listening to Jim. There were some key points he brought up, which I agree with and think are important to take note of. The importance of having the right team and the right partners, and to not be afraid of failure. It was a valuable insight to know that some investors aren't interested in you if you haven't failed before, and can demonstrate you have learned from mistakes.
Some other important points I wanted to jot down from my notes, though I think it was Andrew who said them. Be authentic. Don't try to be someone you're not. Be yourself. And lastly, if you want to be an expert/authority on a subject, write about it.
Saturday, March 14, 2015
Elevator Pitch
Hey there, aren't you _______. Hey it's good to finally meet you!
I'd like to let in on what I'm up to now and and an investment opportunity I think would be perfect for you. My latest venture, MergeMe, is on a mission to give people back control of how they communicate.
I know, right? Sounds huge. Pie in the sky. Crazy. Insane. Well, if you want to go big, you have to think big. I have a plan, of measure small concrete steps, that will systematically lead to this goal.
How are we going to start? We are starting with the launch of our flagship product, CrossRoads "where all your communications intersect." We will initially push this out as a free mobile application with limited functionality. The idea being to quickly build a user base of the application. They will be able to access up to 3 forms of communication in the application with limited functionality.
How you're going to get your investment back, is this. There will be two upgrade options to the application at $6.99 and $9.99. We're already in talks with Jeff Goldblum about being our spokesperson. We are in development now, and are looking at a 6 month launch date. With a strong marketing campaign, we forecast getting the application pushed into at least 5 million users within 3 months after launch, with a minimum of 20% upgrade option, which translates to somewhere between 7 and 10 million in revenue.
So we can have you're initially 500k investment returned within the first year, with the option to stay invested into the next phase.
We plan to take the profits from CrossRoads and combine that with funds from a kick-starter campaign, to launch the MergeMe platform. This platform will be run as "for value". We want to do for social media what wikipedia has done for information. We are partnering with SpiderOak to provide secure hosting of user content. Users will be provided a limited space for free, with the option to pay for more storage. The platform will connect users peer-to-peer. Users will have complete control over how their information is shared, stored, and whether or not they can remove information. The platform will be funded solely on user donations. No information regarding how users communicate will ever be used for profit. The only monitoring that will be done will be anonymous, and for the purposes of preventing abuse and improving the performance of the system.
That is our vision, and we hope you see the long term value of what we hope to accomplish. In any event, we know you see the value in our CrossRoads product, and look forward to bringing you in on the ground floor.
I'd like to let in on what I'm up to now and and an investment opportunity I think would be perfect for you. My latest venture, MergeMe, is on a mission to give people back control of how they communicate.
I know, right? Sounds huge. Pie in the sky. Crazy. Insane. Well, if you want to go big, you have to think big. I have a plan, of measure small concrete steps, that will systematically lead to this goal.
How are we going to start? We are starting with the launch of our flagship product, CrossRoads "where all your communications intersect." We will initially push this out as a free mobile application with limited functionality. The idea being to quickly build a user base of the application. They will be able to access up to 3 forms of communication in the application with limited functionality.
How you're going to get your investment back, is this. There will be two upgrade options to the application at $6.99 and $9.99. We're already in talks with Jeff Goldblum about being our spokesperson. We are in development now, and are looking at a 6 month launch date. With a strong marketing campaign, we forecast getting the application pushed into at least 5 million users within 3 months after launch, with a minimum of 20% upgrade option, which translates to somewhere between 7 and 10 million in revenue.
So we can have you're initially 500k investment returned within the first year, with the option to stay invested into the next phase.
We plan to take the profits from CrossRoads and combine that with funds from a kick-starter campaign, to launch the MergeMe platform. This platform will be run as "for value". We want to do for social media what wikipedia has done for information. We are partnering with SpiderOak to provide secure hosting of user content. Users will be provided a limited space for free, with the option to pay for more storage. The platform will connect users peer-to-peer. Users will have complete control over how their information is shared, stored, and whether or not they can remove information. The platform will be funded solely on user donations. No information regarding how users communicate will ever be used for profit. The only monitoring that will be done will be anonymous, and for the purposes of preventing abuse and improving the performance of the system.
That is our vision, and we hope you see the long term value of what we hope to accomplish. In any event, we know you see the value in our CrossRoads product, and look forward to bringing you in on the ground floor.
Friday, March 13, 2015
Dot.com to Dot.bomb The rise and fall of web mania
The craze of the internet was a time I remember well. I was graduating from the UW Seattle in 1991. It was an exciting time for geeks like myself. I was constantly tinkering with my 386dx40; upgrading hardware, tweaking Win3.1 to it's maximum potential.
And then the internet started to explode. I could connect with my friends from home. I could send and receive emails, wow. Graphical browsers came on-line. You could visit web pages that not only had text, but images. Things were a bit, slow. that 25k image took a few seconds to load, but boy was it worth it.
Then around 95, things really started taking off. Modems were getting faster, high-speed service were coming down in price. I knew more and more people who were installing high speed DSL over their phone lines. Next thing you knew we were watching video over the internet. It was pretty low-res at the time, but it was a glimpse into the future.
During this time, there was a "gold-rush" of websites. Companies try to understand what this internet was. Many realized, that it didn't matter if they understood it, only that they needed to be a part of it. Those that didn't adapt would pay the price. Internet companies were popping up all over the place, and for every such company there was a line of investors looking to cash in.
Everything came to a head with the turn of the century, and in 2000 the whole house of cards came crashing down. Many companies had become insanely overvalued. InfoSpace, on paper, was at one point worth more than Boeing...and almost over-night it wasn't.
There were many companies that barely looked good on paper, and with no real substance, vanished very quickly. This had the effect of crippling many companies that had a solid foundation, and many did not survive the fall out.
There have been other market bubbles since the internet explosion, such as the housing market. But these don't come close to comparison. I don't think I'll see anything in my lifetime as significant as the birth of the web. As the saying goes, "may you live in interesting times."
And then the internet started to explode. I could connect with my friends from home. I could send and receive emails, wow. Graphical browsers came on-line. You could visit web pages that not only had text, but images. Things were a bit, slow. that 25k image took a few seconds to load, but boy was it worth it.
Then around 95, things really started taking off. Modems were getting faster, high-speed service were coming down in price. I knew more and more people who were installing high speed DSL over their phone lines. Next thing you knew we were watching video over the internet. It was pretty low-res at the time, but it was a glimpse into the future.
During this time, there was a "gold-rush" of websites. Companies try to understand what this internet was. Many realized, that it didn't matter if they understood it, only that they needed to be a part of it. Those that didn't adapt would pay the price. Internet companies were popping up all over the place, and for every such company there was a line of investors looking to cash in.
Everything came to a head with the turn of the century, and in 2000 the whole house of cards came crashing down. Many companies had become insanely overvalued. InfoSpace, on paper, was at one point worth more than Boeing...and almost over-night it wasn't.
There were many companies that barely looked good on paper, and with no real substance, vanished very quickly. This had the effect of crippling many companies that had a solid foundation, and many did not survive the fall out.
There have been other market bubbles since the internet explosion, such as the housing market. But these don't come close to comparison. I don't think I'll see anything in my lifetime as significant as the birth of the web. As the saying goes, "may you live in interesting times."
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Graham Evans Guest Speaker
Graham Evans is from England and was involved in the steam industry. He came to the Puget Sound area in 1996. Graham is involved with the Federal Way Coallition Against Trafficking (FWCAT), which is an initiative to increase general community awareness of human trafficking, advocate for justice, and provide training opportunities for schools, parent groups, youth groups, and clubs.
Graham is very passionate about this topic. We used this topic to demonstrate the effectiveness of the Business Model Canvas (BMC). The BMC breaks down the concept of a business into 9 categories. The purpose is to help a group of people brainstorm about what a business needs. This is a very effective tool. Within less than an hour, we were able to flush out a lot of useful information. In fact, Graham sent our ideas on to the folks at FWCAT
Graham is very passionate about this topic. We used this topic to demonstrate the effectiveness of the Business Model Canvas (BMC). The BMC breaks down the concept of a business into 9 categories. The purpose is to help a group of people brainstorm about what a business needs. This is a very effective tool. Within less than an hour, we were able to flush out a lot of useful information. In fact, Graham sent our ideas on to the folks at FWCAT
Amy Sallin Guest Speaker
Amy Sallin is the UW Business Plan Competition (BPC) Program
Manager. She presented information about the BPC. The BPC is held each
year at the Seattle UW campus. It is now in it's 18th year. The
purpose of the BPC is to foster student start-up projects, identify
projects with real potential and provide students the opportunity to
present these ideas to participants from the business community and
potential investors. At least one member of the team must be a student
in a Washington State college.
The benefits of the BPC, in addition to the possibility of winning real money, are gaining visibility within the business community, building a network of contacts, getting feedback from other entrepreneurs, and receive skilled coaching and mentoring. There are several rounds in the BPC, including screening, coaching, investment, sweet 16 and final round. About a third of the entries move on to the second round.
The benefits of the BPC, in addition to the possibility of winning real money, are gaining visibility within the business community, building a network of contacts, getting feedback from other entrepreneurs, and receive skilled coaching and mentoring. There are several rounds in the BPC, including screening, coaching, investment, sweet 16 and final round. About a third of the entries move on to the second round.
Sunday, February 22, 2015
Erik Hanberg Guest Speaker
Well, I thought I had written this a couple weeks ago. Turns out it was just all in my mind...
So, Erik Hanberg, interesting fellow. There are a number of ways one could categorize Erik. A few different labels one could use. Erik has managed to take a number of interests and convert these into multiple revenue streams. I suspect, he would call himself first and foremost an author. He was a pioneer in the self publishing industry, and now has more than a handful of published works available online. I was intrigued by the various trial and error marketing techniques he employed over the years, such as giving one book in a series away for free in the hopes of seeing crossover purchases of the other books in the series.
Erik didn't stop hear. He took the knowledge he gained from publishing his own works, and made a business out of sharing that knowledge with others. Further, he combined this concept with his wife's expertise to offer a more full-service product. I like how they took their strengths and what they enjoyed doing and found a way to make a living doing it.
Erik at one point launched his own theater company, but was unable to sustain it. He also was involved with the site Exit133, and co-founded Suite 133, a place for people to come work together. Currently, in addition to authoring and his business with his wife, he also serves on the parks commission. Erik seems a very down to earth person. Not flashy, not a "business" guy. But someone I could see myself emulating. Just doing things he would already be doing anyway.
So, Erik Hanberg, interesting fellow. There are a number of ways one could categorize Erik. A few different labels one could use. Erik has managed to take a number of interests and convert these into multiple revenue streams. I suspect, he would call himself first and foremost an author. He was a pioneer in the self publishing industry, and now has more than a handful of published works available online. I was intrigued by the various trial and error marketing techniques he employed over the years, such as giving one book in a series away for free in the hopes of seeing crossover purchases of the other books in the series.
Erik didn't stop hear. He took the knowledge he gained from publishing his own works, and made a business out of sharing that knowledge with others. Further, he combined this concept with his wife's expertise to offer a more full-service product. I like how they took their strengths and what they enjoyed doing and found a way to make a living doing it.
Erik at one point launched his own theater company, but was unable to sustain it. He also was involved with the site Exit133, and co-founded Suite 133, a place for people to come work together. Currently, in addition to authoring and his business with his wife, he also serves on the parks commission. Erik seems a very down to earth person. Not flashy, not a "business" guy. But someone I could see myself emulating. Just doing things he would already be doing anyway.
Friday, January 23, 2015
Startup.com, Living the Dream, Living the Nightmare
I don't think this is the first time I've seen Startup.com. It felt familiar, but it was most likely sometime ago that I saw it.
This is a fantastic documentary. Generally, I don't care much for this style of documentary. By this style, I mean the camera is following someone around for an extended time. Because, much like "reality" tv, once the camera is rolling, it's no longer reality in the same sense. This is why I don't think cameras should be allowed in court room proceedings, but that's another issue. Despite this, there are time where you get the sense, the principles have forgotten the camera was rolling. This is where the real value of this film lies. Getting a true insight into Kaliel and Tom's experience.
What a ride they took. It wasn't made clear, how much they paid themselves in salary, or how much of their shares they sold off, while the selling was good. So, other than the value of the experience, it wasn't clear how well they were positioned financially when the ride was over. I like that in the end, Kaliel ended up with a dog, though I'm not sure he was with the same woman who insisted they have a baby or get a dog.
At some point, it was clear they didn't pay enough attention to their product. The underlying technology they were providing was too flawed. They didn't do what they needed to do soon enough to correct this. None the less, before they ever shipped the product out the door, the valuation was already through the roof. If it were I, this is the point were I would have sold off a good portion of my interest in the company, hedged my bets so to speak. I think the 3rd founder sold out too soon for too little, and I don't know if Kaliel and Tom kept their whole hand in for the whole game.
This is a fantastic documentary. Generally, I don't care much for this style of documentary. By this style, I mean the camera is following someone around for an extended time. Because, much like "reality" tv, once the camera is rolling, it's no longer reality in the same sense. This is why I don't think cameras should be allowed in court room proceedings, but that's another issue. Despite this, there are time where you get the sense, the principles have forgotten the camera was rolling. This is where the real value of this film lies. Getting a true insight into Kaliel and Tom's experience.
What a ride they took. It wasn't made clear, how much they paid themselves in salary, or how much of their shares they sold off, while the selling was good. So, other than the value of the experience, it wasn't clear how well they were positioned financially when the ride was over. I like that in the end, Kaliel ended up with a dog, though I'm not sure he was with the same woman who insisted they have a baby or get a dog.
At some point, it was clear they didn't pay enough attention to their product. The underlying technology they were providing was too flawed. They didn't do what they needed to do soon enough to correct this. None the less, before they ever shipped the product out the door, the valuation was already through the roof. If it were I, this is the point were I would have sold off a good portion of my interest in the company, hedged my bets so to speak. I think the 3rd founder sold out too soon for too little, and I don't know if Kaliel and Tom kept their whole hand in for the whole game.
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