Startup – Page 6 – ɔimoɈɒ

Where are the apps we’ve been waiting for?

It has been nearly a year since I first came in close contact with the original iPad. It blew my mind, and since then, it has become a daily accompaniment. I create content on my MacBook Air, but I spend a lot of time consuming content and media on the device. In fact, if I … Continue reading “Where are the apps we’ve been waiting for?”

It has been nearly a year since I first came in close contact with the original iPad. It blew my mind, and since then, it has become a daily accompaniment. I create content on my MacBook Air, but I spend a lot of time consuming content and media on the device. In fact, if I had to guess, I use my iPad as much as I use my notebook computer.
…
However, if iPad, the device, is more magical, the applications (apps) for the device are anything but. For nearly a year, I’ve been waiting (and waiting) for experiences befitting the device and its hardware capabilities. – OM Malik, GigaOm

I concur. I’m still waiting for the amazing experiences that we think we deserve when we tote around such amazing hardware. And if that goes for iPad, then it goes double (or maybe tenfold) for Android, WebOS and anything else out there.

We do have time, however. The mouse went from humble beginnings in academic and commercial research in the 60s to initial release with the Macintosh in 1984 and it’s still probably the major input metaphor for computers in existence. We have been poking at our computer screens with a single fingertip, the mouse cursor, for over two decades. While we all like the look of the future with multi-touch (and from the Kinect, zero-touch) interfaces, we still await the apps which will fulfil this promise to us. New touch-based methods to consume old style media ain’t a big deal.

We want mobile-optimised hyper-local-aware software, designed for touch and equipped with contextual understanding and social-network awareness so we can get the most personalised experience.

And this is the low bar.

If we can think of apps that can fill this criteria in minutes, imagine what we could do if we were in that business, if our job was to not only talk about the next big thing but be part of the team creating it.

So do we need more/better software developers?: 1 pm, Starbucks Cornmarket, Belfast

After the debate the other night on twitter, I proposed the idea of a FreeSchool for extra-curricular programming guidance. I’ve spoken to both Momentum and Belfast Metropolitan College about how they can support this and both seem keen to help industry find the software developers they need. Momentum and the colleges have some experience in … Continue reading “So do we need more/better software developers?: 1 pm, Starbucks Cornmarket, Belfast”

After the debate the other night on twitter, I proposed the idea of a FreeSchool for extra-curricular programming guidance.

I’ve spoken to both Momentum and Belfast Metropolitan College about how they can support this and both seem keen to help industry find the software developers they need. Momentum and the colleges have some experience in this with their Software Professionals Course that ran in previous years, funded by DEL. It was designed to take graduates from non-IT backgrounds and give them the vocational skills (over 6 months) to have a sustainable career in software. This is, in theory, similar to other courses – such as the Rapid Advancement Programme (RAP, originally by BIC Systems) and the Advanced Vocational Training in Information Technology course (AVTIT, originally by the University of Ulster). These courses were popular pre Bubble 1.0 but seem to have fallen by the wayside even though we seem to be heading for a larger (and slightly more sustainable) Bubble 2.0.

We’re meeting at 1 pm today, in Starbucks at Cornmarket, to generally see what level of interest there is in industry lobbying for a renewed commitment to turning non-IT graduates and non-graduates into professional software developers using an industry-focused vocational course.

If you can’t be there, comment!

Steal the Future; Change the World

My friends Rory and Anita at The Creativity Hub are pretty much the nicest people I know. That’s not entirely surprising considering the work they do in creativity and conflict resolution. I know Rory from a few years ago when he was working in the rehabilitation of prisoners (from our unique political ‘situation’) and I … Continue reading “Steal the Future; Change the World”

My friends Rory and Anita at The Creativity Hub are pretty much the nicest people I know. That’s not entirely surprising considering the work they do in creativity and conflict resolution. I know Rory from a few years ago when he was working in the rehabilitation of prisoners (from our unique political ‘situation’) and I was very glad to re-acquaint myself with him not long after the start of this job – both for work and socially.

Rory introduced me to the concept of “Advanced Civilisation” (which he said is also available on the Internet as Beachhead). It’s something I had used for my creative writing but I had not really considered using it for work-related purposes. I do find now that I use it a lot – that imagination figures heavily in how I want to enact change in the world around me. The secret to achieving things lies in the discovery of great people, not in the funding programmes that are available.

This weekend we will complete the proposal document for StartVI year two and we will be looking for 6 great start-up ideas. We have a much more cohesive programme planned for the 2011 intake, more mentors and a better idea of what can be achieved now that we’ve shown it can work.

I’m also proposing the founding of a new co-working, research based technology centre in Belfast. And a solution to improving the quality of software engineering in Northern Ireland – comprising of a industry-tailored education programme and a community focused technology freeschool. Of course I alone am not qualified to do all of this. That’s why I’ve been looking for great people to help change the world; to steal the future; to get there earlier.

All of this to create a hub of 21st Century Enlightenment.

The Immortals

From Communication Nation, by Dave Gray: The Connected Company Back in the early 1980’s, right after the revolution in Iran, Shell Oil was concerned about the future of the oil industry. What might Shell look like after oil, they wondered? So they commissioned a study with some very interesting parameters: 1. First, they looked only … Continue reading “The Immortals”

From Communication Nation, by Dave Gray: The Connected Company

Back in the early 1980’s, right after the revolution in Iran, Shell Oil was concerned about the future of the oil industry. What might Shell look like after oil, they wondered? So they commissioned a study with some very interesting parameters:

1. First, they looked only at large companies with relative dominance in their industries, companies similar to Shell in that regard.
2. Second, they looked only at companies with very long lifespans – 100 years or more.
3. Third, they looked at companies who had made a major shift from one industry or product category to another.

In other words, they looked at the immortals: the companies that didn’t die

Fascinating article (and a couple of links which will likely make it to your Amazon wishlist). Observations on the importance of ecosystems, identity and listening to the market. On the limitations of the ‘org chart’ (the divided company) and the importance of ‘hub people’.

Some of the comments are also worthwhile:

this is the type of macro-level thinking that creates a “corporate culture” worth working in.

Every venture I have been involved with has involved other people. Finding roles for everyone is sometimes difficult and not just because you may have difficulty slotting them in, but because they themselves may have difficulty with your culture. Knowing your role in the world is important.

Now that we know who you are, I know who I am. I’m not a mistake! It all makes sense! In a comic, you know how you can tell who the arch-villain’s going to be? He’s the exact opposite of the hero. And most times they’re friends, like you and me! I should’ve known way back when… You know why, David? Because of the kids. They called me Mr Glass. – Elijah Price, Unbreakable

Freedom within a company involves responsibility, not only to yourself to deliver back to the company more value than they are paying you in salary but also the need to pay back the costs of those who are yet to come. At your big software company, you’re working now to pay for the hapless new graduate to walk in the doors and spend 6 months annoying you. For those in the public sector, we all toil to make sure you and your successors continue to perform the work that society needs.

Fucking walk the walk rather than just talking the talk

Digital Circle was a project funded under the Collaborative Network Programme, run by InvestNI under the European Regional Development Fund. The project started in April 2008 and I got the job in August of that year. The project officially ends at the end of March 2011, giving me two months and a bit to tie … Continue reading “Fucking walk the walk rather than just talking the talk”

While I think the last two-and-a-half years have been good, it’s been a series of ups and downs; mainly due to a schizophrenic set of reporting lines and objectives. It is difficult to reconcile the needs and wants of three distinct masters. I do believe the impact of the Digital Circle project (and more specifically, my work) has been very positive for a few companies but I am aware that a lot of companies didn’t get a lot of out of it. In the end we had limited resources and also, to be honest, I could only work with companies who worked with me, companies who wanted my help.

Digital Circle has served as a single contact point for the industry, it gave some companies something to rally around. There were (and probably are) a lot of people who didn’t know what Digital Circle was for, just as there are a lot of people who don’t know what Momentum is for, or what UNISON or trade unions are for. We want to keep work here so it’s important to use local talent where you can, it’s important for the development of skills to communicate your needs and it’s important we capture and dole out any incoming work in a fair manner. This all happened.

Digital Circle served as the initial funder for local events in many cases. While BarCampBelfast I was funded by Mac-Sys Ltd, Digital Circle provided the first funding for BarCampBelfast II and III. It funded CreativeCamp I and II. It provided a hefty amount of money to get BUILD started. It was a sponsor of the Cinemagic Festival, of Planzai’s SXSW preparation blueprint and is a sponsor of the SXSW 2011 trip itself. As the project ends, so does that avenue of funding for ‘making things happen’.

Digital Circle served to lobby for the industry. Not entirely successfully, I admit, but we have a burden of proof when dealing with government agencies and politicians and the fragmented nature of industry actively prevents identification and labelling. We needed to find everyone before we can ask them questions and I don’t believe we’ve found everyone. Getting everyone to fill in a questionnaire is a task I have ahead of me. We were successful, I believe, in changing some opinions as we barged our way onto consortia, met with the right people in colleges and universities and fought on behalf of our members for funding.

I think we did some really good things. We created some networks for people to hang their hats and brought people into the community. We attracted the attention of some really amazing guys (Thanks, Tim, David) and we used them to advise our local startups. We can always do with more help, obviously, and I’ve put a lot of people in touch with our locals – all about creating opportunity.

Digital Circle is about to launch a new web site, funded by DCAL under the Creative Industries Innovation Fund, it’ll replace the current NING site with something that permits membership, the appropriate representation of professionals within the field, the opportunity for businesses to showcase their work and a more centralised forum system. It’s being developed by ‘Rumble Labs & Dave Rice’, folk I have immense respect for.

But how to move forward with Digital Circle is something I can’t necessarily do alone. I’ve been very lucky to have some great helpers and directors including the original steering group (Adrian, Davy, Russell, Gerard), the second group (Adrian, Davy, Aidan, Andy, Kev, Marty) and the latest group (Mary, Martin, Ian, Alan, Ryan and the co-optees Rory, Aidan, Mark). I’ve also been very lucky to have great support from within InvestNI as well (Thanks to Glenn, Stephen, Linda, Pat, Martin, Terry, Alastair, Cheryl, Noyona, Lisa, Bob, Michael, Paul, David and a host of others). There’s a lot of love for the Digital sector within InvestNI – they know that this sort of knowledge economy is the future but it still falls to us, those who work in the sector, to stand up and identify themselves so we can gather the proof we need.

I look ahead with a sense of trepidation but also of hope and wonder. I’m not entirely sure what I’m going to do next. I received a stern talking-to this afternoon regarding my long-mentioned new startup plans. My reluctance comes from my previous role in Infurious, a company I originally founded with my best friend, Aidan. Circumstances were not ideal and eventually Infurious turned from being a product company into a software contracting company. That wasn’t what I wanted and my position in the company conflicted directly with my Digital Circle work – I knew which was more important to me (at the time) but in hindsight I wish I had taken more of a stand back at the start and done more to assist Aidan especially in the area of raising money. It’s something I’ve never done and, to be honest, it scares the bejasus out of me. As someone said to me, “Raising money is easy. Delivering to your investors what you promised is hard”.

Being involved in Infurious was a lot harder than running Mac-Sys Ltd. With Infurious, I wasn’t really involved in the creation of the product except very peripherally. With Mac-Sys Ltd, I was the product. With that level of control comes a lot of confidence. That’s something I find hard to find with a software business. I know there are cool things I want to help build, but finding the right people to build them and finding money to pay them is hard.

I’ve worked with mentors now for nearly two years and I still don’t feel like I have the confidence to walk alongside some of the folk I mention above. I wish I’d listened more and worried less. It pains me that I don’t really understand what preferential shares are or really how to negotiate a convertible loan – that the idea of arguing for good terms on the term sheet is something that fills me with dread. I want to start something but being pre-product (never mind pre-revenue), it may require an amount of chutzpah* and moxie* that I simply don’t have. Yet.

I think that 2011 may have to be the year that I, as Marty delicately put it, “Fucking walk the walk rather than just talking the talk”. I never claimed to have done it but I loved helping others go through the process. I was never a mentor, but loved finding them.

The title of this blog post is therefore 100% aimed at myself and not the brave souls who are already Just Fucking Doing It.

*I love these words.

Language Learning for Kids?

I’m looking for resources for teaching young kids Spanish and French. In my ideal world these would be iPhone or iPad apps, with goal-based outcomes built-in. Seems like a missed opportunity. Of course, this is one of the things I’d like my new startup to build. Assisted Learning Experiences. Teaching by Asking. Learning through Play. … Continue reading “Language Learning for Kids?”

I’m looking for resources for teaching young kids Spanish and French. In my ideal world these would be iPhone or iPad apps, with goal-based outcomes built-in. Seems like a missed opportunity.

Of course, this is one of the things I’d like my new startup to build. Assisted Learning Experiences. Teaching by Asking. Learning through Play. Assessing by Doing.

That’s one of the reasons I’m pumped to be going to Learning Without Frontiers next week. I’d love to put together a group of folk interested in technology based learning and teaching. I even registered a domain for the grouping!

One folk legend, two social workers and a poisoning.

There is an expectation that entrepreneurs will just get up and do stuff. That they need nothing more than a whiff of an opportunity and they’re off making millions. What utter rot. I’m reading Ken Robinsons book, The Element. In it (p120), he relates how a young Robert Allen Zimmerman had heard Woody Guthrie songs … Continue reading “One folk legend, two social workers and a poisoning.”

There is an expectation that entrepreneurs will just get up and do stuff. That they need nothing more than a whiff of an opportunity and they’re off making millions.

What utter rot.

I’m reading Ken Robinsons book, The Element. In it (p120), he relates how a young Robert Allen Zimmerman had heard Woody Guthrie songs many times before but it took one afternoon of listening to Guthrie to inspire him to become a performer himself.

If Bob Dylan needed to wait to be inspired, then surely we cannot expect more of anyone else?

I had an environment which should have inspired me to be an entrepreneur early. My father ran his own businesses from when I was four years old until I was thirteen when he was poisoned. He owned a record store, a whole raft of tyre/exhaust fitters, a pub. His passions were always music and beer. His most successful business, however, was the tyre/exhaust fitters. He made a goodly amount of money during the late 70s and early 80s being one of the few local companies who supplied the security forces with tyres and fittings. He got a lot of support from LEDU, the economic development organisation in Northern Ireland at the time. Until he got ‘sick’, we never wanted for anything.

My mother, on the other hand, is a strong-willed, independent woman who has managed rise to the top of any organisation while still maintaining a family (especially after 1985, when my Dad was ‘ill’). She’s made her career in the public sector, in the care of the elderly and infirm and my sister, another strong-willed, independent woman, has followed her in this line of work. They’re both empathic yet objective, both care deeply about the welfare of their clients and both get very frustrated with what they see as poor performance and wasted resource in the NHS. I admire them both.

My mother has described me as stubborn to the point of bloody minded. She says I knew my own mind from an early age and would make decisions about my education, about my future, without consulting either parent – decisions which they would be told about after the fact.

There was no ‘entrepreneur’ class in my school. The idea of starting your own business was not mentioned at all in Rathmore Grammar School. I think they expected all of us to become teachers, doctors, lawyers, vets, scientists and engineers. It’s different for kids now. They have the Go For It Challenge sponsored by InvestNI, there are programmes run in the FE colleges to help students start businesses and within our universities, the commercialisation offices are extremely keen to help smart undergrads and graduates start something.

So, how did I get started?

The first time was in the early nineties when reading a RPG book and thinking, “I could do this.” and so I did. I published three RPG books between 1996 and 2001. And they made money and got good reviews.

In 1997 I was working in Nortel and taking part of their “Management for Achievement” process. I was asked by my manager, Brendan, what I wanted to do in five years. My immediate answer was “Your job” but it got me thinking. And I decided that I’d be running my own IT services company. In 2003, I founded Mac-Sys Ltd. I left Nortel in late 2002 and spent six months with a startup (called Macinni) that was possibly the worst managed company in existence. When it folded, I had thought, “I could do this” and so I did. And it’s made money and gotten good reviews.

To my mind, seeing inferior work was ‘permission’ for me to do something. And I think it’s the same for our young latent entrepreneurs. We need to find ways to give them permission to start something. It’s not about being born with fire in their belly. It’s not about finding a way to give that permission.

After all this, with half a lifetime of experience, I’m not 100% sure what my “Element” is. Arlene says it’s a condition of never being satisfied with what I have. It’s not enough to have the day job. It’s not enough to settle into a routine. She reckons I’ll always be miserable because I’ll always be trying to do one more thing. And yes, it’s exhausting.

I guess I’m still playing the music, I’ve just not heard the music.

Permission to buy?

Michael B. Johnson, one of the Pixar illuminati messaged Tristan O’Teirney on Twitter this morning: Square is two items – it’s a tiny credit card reader attached to the audio port of a smartphone and it’s a piece of software that enables payments to be taken. The ability to take payments when out on the … Continue reading “Permission to buy?”

Michael B. Johnson, one of the Pixar illuminati messaged Tristan O’Teirney on Twitter this morning:

Square is two items – it’s a tiny credit card reader attached to the audio port of a smartphone and it’s a piece of software that enables payments to be taken.

The ability to take payments when out on the floor of your retail space has obvious advantages but their restrictions often make them impossible to remove from that retail space. The advantage of having it connected to a mobile phone is that you end up using your existing data connection to send the credentials and receive the authorisations. Square is limited to iPhone and, at the moment, limited to the USA.

Local companies like AirPOS can provide much the same service with the additional ability to use the same software to establish a ecommerce site (the software provides you with not only a till where you can record payments but also a web site where you sell stuff, with the added bonus of an integrated stock control system.) As it’s an AIR application it’ll run on Mac and Windows laptops, tablets and netbooks as well as dedicated PCs and it’s on the way for Android phones (and probably Windows Phone 7) as soon as the AIR client for these platforms is stable.

AirPOS is one of the StartVI “high growth” companies and also was accepted to the recent ITLG awards event in Limerick. They’re in the midst of receiving their Series A funding after a very rapid development cycle and a sensible beta period with selected customers both in the UK and the USA.

I have always said that it’s better to accept credit cards than business cards when out at business conferences. Trying to re-ignite a conversation after a conference with only a business card as a reference can be difficult. Make the sale then and there.

Your customer wants to buy your product otherwise they wouldn’t bother speaking to you. Make it easy, give them permission.

What the heck does disruptive mean?

Paul Smyth, one of the investment managers at eSynergy wrote: if you are looking for funding in the next 6-8 months and you have a different idea – and that means properly different, something that isn’t a ‘me too’ with a different angle then come and speak to us. eSynergy are the fund managers for … Continue reading “What the heck does disruptive mean?”

Paul Smyth, one of the investment managers at eSynergy wrote:

if you are looking for funding in the next 6-8 months and you have a different idea – and that means properly different, something that isn’t a ‘me too’ with a different angle then come and speak to us.

eSynergy are the fund managers for NISPO the local government-backed investment fund. They have a proof of concept fund (vouched in arrears) and a VC fund (as well as two other funds, one for each university).

I wonder about the definition of disruptive though. Looking at industries which have been disrupted –

who would have guessed that a company could make money in online search after the dot-com boom. We certainly had plenty of search engines but Google was disruptive with their own brand of “me too”. And they’ve retained that edge by investing heavily in disrupting industries where their competitors make money but giving it away for free (email, productivity, etc).
who would have though that Apple, having narrowly missed death and chased the home movie market would have made a right-angle turn and chased the music market with such gusto to the extend that less than a decade later, they own it? Others were doing online music – just doing it badly. Others were doing MP3 players, just again doing them badly.
who would have identified Amazon as truly disruptive, selling books online. Now, Amazon was founded in 1994 and now sells pretty much everything. They’re my default location for books, music, games, consumer electronics. They took 7 years to turn a profit and now have revenues of $24B. Were they disruptive? Ask booksellers on the High Street.
who would have predicted that people would become addicted to the Blackberry device from Research in Motion which has turned a tiny Canadian company into a $15B company. RIM is weathering a hughe onslaught from other disruptive technology such as Android, iPhone and other hungry smartphone manufacturers. But they were the first with the vision that we’d want email on the go.

I am concerned that local investors don’t necessarily have the education and experience to deal with something that is truly disruptive as opposed to something that seems extraordinary. At BizcampBelfast earlier this week, Kevin Parker put the following definition on screen:

Invention is the process of turning cash into ideas. Innovation is the process of turning ideas into cash.

And I really like that definition. If you were reword it to indicate the difference between disruptive and extraordinary, it might read like this.

We may see and want the extraordinary every day, but we tell ourselves we need the disruptive.

I’d like to invite you to explain in the comments what is disruptive, how it affects you, how it makes you feel. And if you can fit a definition (not unlike the one above) into around 140 characters, then post into the comments. I’ll give a £10 iTunes voucher to the best one (so make sure to include your contact details)

Many Products Suck

Great guest article on Techcrunch on Why Products Suck (And How To Make Them Suck Less) has the following subheadings.: It only takes one person to make your product suck. Nobody ever got fired for sucking. It’s easier to suck more than suck less. There are more ways to suck than to not suck. Customers … Continue reading “Many Products Suck”

Great guest article on Techcrunch on Why Products Suck (And How To Make Them Suck Less) has the following subheadings.:

It only takes one person to make your product suck.

Nobody ever got fired for sucking.

It’s easier to suck more than suck less.

There are more ways to suck than to not suck.

Customers demand sucky products.

Read the article if you want some more info. Great advice from a startup CEO who’s working on making a commonly sucky process into a suck-free product.

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