I went to this event partially out of interest and the hope of network, but I also attended due to the fact that I would receive extra credit for writing a blog post about it. However, I was not informed that you had to pay for the event! I hope that I will receive a decent amount of extra credit, due to the fact that it essentially cost me 20$. The fact that as a student of the school I had to pay to attend was made worse by the fact, that other students informed that I could have got in for free. Fellow students said that Professor Fry put them on the list of attendees at no cost. Unfortunately, Professor Fry made no mention of this the day before the event.
The first part of the event was a presentation by Sharon Wong from Cisco. Her presentation was interesting, but it did not seem to be a very cohesive presentation. Her theme was roughly that in the future everything will be connected to the internet. Other than that, I don't really know what she was trying to get at. Her presentation bounced around from ideas about innovation to how everything will have internet. Ultimately it was interesting, but I don't really know what it was about. Her presentation contained nuggets of value but as a whole was forgettable.
Next was a presentation on Big Data that can be summed up in this context: "We have a lot of data, but we need to figure out how to use it." That was pretty much it. I think the speakers were trying to convince the audience of the uses of big data by talking about uses that are not yet in place. I think the presentation would have had more validity if there was some empirical data.
Next I went to the Cybersecurity and Big Data panel. This panel quickly degenerated in to a pissing match between individuals in the audience vs. the panel over who knows more about cybersecurity. I feel as thought the panel represented individuals that provide physical security of data while most of the audience members dealt with cyber security of data.
The lunch keynote was Mike Hamilton, which was probably the most entertaining presentation. However I didn't really care for Mike's bravado. He seemed to be trying to show the audience how much of a badass he is when he probably could have just told us some stories of the experiences he has had in the field. This would have allowed me to decide if Mike was really as cool as he said he was rather then him just telling me how much of a big deal he is. Ultimately, Mike's presentation was about how the South Sound could be a great hub for cybersecurity if a few things happen.
Finally, having been burned by the first breakout, I decided to skip "Building a Cybersecurity Workforce" and go to the entrepreneur meet up. This event was kinda fun to be a part of and listen in on. It seemed as though there were some individuals there looking for guidance from other ents. and then one dude that wanted people to lease his office space. I wanted to talk to the president of Internet Identity but did not get a chance too.
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Jim Kastama
Today we had our final quest speaker for the class. Jim Kastama is a retired Washington state senator who in 2006 got deeply evolved in economic development. In his talks, Jim discussed the idea of innovation vs. invention and how geographical regions can foster entrepreneurship.
Jim began by stating that 2/3 of GDP growth is from innovation and then when on to discuss some examples of innovation. Jim presented his ideas in a format that showed some of the misnomers of innovation.
First, innovation is not just tech. Jim talked about innovated ideas in Washington that did not necessarily come from the tech industry. One was that growers in Washington looked at the climate and geography in France and found that it mirrored some of the natural climate here in the Washington. These individuals decided to create wineries in the Walla Walla region, and it is now the second largest produce of wine in the United States.
Next, Jim refuted the idea that innovation comes from a top-down approach. He gave the example of Boeing and their desire to speed up their production. Using a Japanese strategy, Boeing approached its front end workers. These workers were responsible for installing the seats in a Boeing 737. When approached about a way to do their job better, one employee brought up an idea from his youth. This employee grew up on a farm in Eastern Washington and suggested that they use a hay bale elevator to put the seats into place. This along with other procedures help Boeing cut it's 737 production time down from 21 days to 11.
Finally Jim stressed the idea that public policy can foster innovation. During his talk, Jim was the most passionate about the work that he has done to create IPZ's here in Washington. IPZ's are innovation policy zones that get businesses, the workforce, and local government working together to create an area where innovation can take root. One of these areas is the Walla Walla region with it's wine production. Jim also mentioned that Seattle has worked hard to provide that necessary resources to make it an IPZ for global health. Jim brought up an interesting idea in that if you are an entrepreneur you may want to find an area relative to what your business is so that you can be a part of one of these IPZ regions. However, Jim also countered this notion that businesses should move by saying that often these business don't know enough about whats around them. Jim's idea was that often you don't need to move to be closer to the action, you can create a new center of innovation where you are already at.
Jim began by stating that 2/3 of GDP growth is from innovation and then when on to discuss some examples of innovation. Jim presented his ideas in a format that showed some of the misnomers of innovation.
First, innovation is not just tech. Jim talked about innovated ideas in Washington that did not necessarily come from the tech industry. One was that growers in Washington looked at the climate and geography in France and found that it mirrored some of the natural climate here in the Washington. These individuals decided to create wineries in the Walla Walla region, and it is now the second largest produce of wine in the United States.
Next, Jim refuted the idea that innovation comes from a top-down approach. He gave the example of Boeing and their desire to speed up their production. Using a Japanese strategy, Boeing approached its front end workers. These workers were responsible for installing the seats in a Boeing 737. When approached about a way to do their job better, one employee brought up an idea from his youth. This employee grew up on a farm in Eastern Washington and suggested that they use a hay bale elevator to put the seats into place. This along with other procedures help Boeing cut it's 737 production time down from 21 days to 11.
Finally Jim stressed the idea that public policy can foster innovation. During his talk, Jim was the most passionate about the work that he has done to create IPZ's here in Washington. IPZ's are innovation policy zones that get businesses, the workforce, and local government working together to create an area where innovation can take root. One of these areas is the Walla Walla region with it's wine production. Jim also mentioned that Seattle has worked hard to provide that necessary resources to make it an IPZ for global health. Jim brought up an interesting idea in that if you are an entrepreneur you may want to find an area relative to what your business is so that you can be a part of one of these IPZ regions. However, Jim also countered this notion that businesses should move by saying that often these business don't know enough about whats around them. Jim's idea was that often you don't need to move to be closer to the action, you can create a new center of innovation where you are already at.
Friday, March 1, 2013
Bryan Craft
I am not exactly sure what Bryan Craft came to class to lecture on, but I enjoyed his presentation none the less. If I could give a over-arching theme it would be how about how to treat your customers.
Bryan gave us a little back story about his past employments. The two jobs that really shaped his ideals was Disney and the software development company Knowledge Universe. Disney is notorious for giving its quest and customers the best treatment possible. While working at Disney Bryan said that he took a lot of these ideals to heart. Treating the customer with respect and making them feel as though they are your number on priority.
Bryan then went on to talk about his next employments. At Disney, Bryan said he learned everything that you need to do right when dealing with customers and employees; however at Knowledge Universe, Bryan learned everything that you should not do. Bryan talked about how he was hired on to do a job, only to later be fired once the job was finished. It sounds as though Knowledge Universe was a very generous company while he was there, but they lacked loyalty towards their employees. Bryan talked about how he received a letter from upper management telling him that he was fired, but they had ended up sending it too soon! It was suppose to be received after Bryan launched the project. This ended up being a large wake up call for Bryan.
I particularly enjoyed Bryan's presentation because he is working in an industry that I have a growing interest in. Web development seems like it might be where I want to continue my education. I asked Bryan for his business card so that I can set up an information interview and I plan on asking for an appointment soon. It was cool for me to hear more about Bryan's industry being that I am interested in it.
Finally, I enjoyed the topic that Bryan kinda subtle mentioned on. Bryan kinda talked about employment in a small company vs a large corporation. It is definitely something worth thinking about and Bryan's talk put the idea back in my head. I worked at a small company before, and while it wasn't perfect, I think that I might ultimately prefer it to a larger corporation. One of the things that I didn't like at the smaller company that I worked for was that they lacked an HR division. It made certain things hard to deal with, however I think that working for a large corporation can cause you to lose some of your identity. You're just another cog in the wheel. I think that there might be more room for growth at a smaller company, and I think it would be certainly easier to get noticed!
Bryan gave us a little back story about his past employments. The two jobs that really shaped his ideals was Disney and the software development company Knowledge Universe. Disney is notorious for giving its quest and customers the best treatment possible. While working at Disney Bryan said that he took a lot of these ideals to heart. Treating the customer with respect and making them feel as though they are your number on priority.
Bryan then went on to talk about his next employments. At Disney, Bryan said he learned everything that you need to do right when dealing with customers and employees; however at Knowledge Universe, Bryan learned everything that you should not do. Bryan talked about how he was hired on to do a job, only to later be fired once the job was finished. It sounds as though Knowledge Universe was a very generous company while he was there, but they lacked loyalty towards their employees. Bryan talked about how he received a letter from upper management telling him that he was fired, but they had ended up sending it too soon! It was suppose to be received after Bryan launched the project. This ended up being a large wake up call for Bryan.
I particularly enjoyed Bryan's presentation because he is working in an industry that I have a growing interest in. Web development seems like it might be where I want to continue my education. I asked Bryan for his business card so that I can set up an information interview and I plan on asking for an appointment soon. It was cool for me to hear more about Bryan's industry being that I am interested in it.
Finally, I enjoyed the topic that Bryan kinda subtle mentioned on. Bryan kinda talked about employment in a small company vs a large corporation. It is definitely something worth thinking about and Bryan's talk put the idea back in my head. I worked at a small company before, and while it wasn't perfect, I think that I might ultimately prefer it to a larger corporation. One of the things that I didn't like at the smaller company that I worked for was that they lacked an HR division. It made certain things hard to deal with, however I think that working for a large corporation can cause you to lose some of your identity. You're just another cog in the wheel. I think that there might be more room for growth at a smaller company, and I think it would be certainly easier to get noticed!
Friday, February 22, 2013
Mission and Vision Statements
Mission Statement:
ComicLibrary's mission is to provide comic book lovers with an on-line subscription service that allows users to read today's and yesterday's comics on a computer, tablet, or mobile device. ComicLibrary wants users to never be out of something to read. Keep your pull-box full with ComicLibrary!
Vision Statement:
In the next few ComicLibrary will be the number one provider of digital comics. With the recent popularity of comic book characters in other media, we want to increase the amount of comic book consumers by 20% by 2016. We want to bring comic books to a audience that would normally not try this type of media. ComicLibrary will be on the top ten list of all app sales on the itunes marketplace by 2016 as well.
ComicLibrary's mission is to provide comic book lovers with an on-line subscription service that allows users to read today's and yesterday's comics on a computer, tablet, or mobile device. ComicLibrary wants users to never be out of something to read. Keep your pull-box full with ComicLibrary!
Vision Statement:
In the next few ComicLibrary will be the number one provider of digital comics. With the recent popularity of comic book characters in other media, we want to increase the amount of comic book consumers by 20% by 2016. We want to bring comic books to a audience that would normally not try this type of media. ComicLibrary will be on the top ten list of all app sales on the itunes marketplace by 2016 as well.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Graham Evans
Graham Evans was a pretty interesting quest speaker. I can't recall what he was suppose to talk about, but his presentation boiled down to two main themes, knowing your market and re-thinking your thinking.
In regards to marketing, Graham talked about how having a great product and lousy marketing will result in no money for your product. Ideally, you want a great product and great marketing! Graham gave the example of the Microsoft's new Surface tablet. In the commercial, there are people dancing around with the tablet attaching the optional keyboard. Graham's question was what are they trying to sell me? Is dancing and a keyboard why I should be buying this tablet. This played into Graham's idea of knowing your market.
Graham elaborated on this idea being using a few examples with British companies. Graham talked about how these companies tried to break into the U.S. market, only to fail or stumble because they didn't know the market that they were trying to reach. Or in some cases, these companies acquired other companies that they thought were like them only to discover that this was not the case. Knowing your market is key!
The second theme of Graham's presentation was on re-thinking your thinking. While I thought that Graham's marketing stories were interesting, I was most intrigued by his second theme. Graham talked about how companies (or even scientist) can get so focused on one mode of thinking that they reject or don't evaluate other options. One example Graham gave was of an individual that figured out how the space shutter Challenger exploded on launch. This individual was able to figure out the solution when others could not by using a method that was not typical. Our professor touched on this subject as well but then the idea of being spring steel, not titanium. As an entrepreneur and I think in life in general, focus is a key but you should not be so focused that you put up blinders.
I thought that key was one of the better speakers we have had so far due to the fact that he challenged conventional ways of thinking.
In regards to marketing, Graham talked about how having a great product and lousy marketing will result in no money for your product. Ideally, you want a great product and great marketing! Graham gave the example of the Microsoft's new Surface tablet. In the commercial, there are people dancing around with the tablet attaching the optional keyboard. Graham's question was what are they trying to sell me? Is dancing and a keyboard why I should be buying this tablet. This played into Graham's idea of knowing your market.
Graham elaborated on this idea being using a few examples with British companies. Graham talked about how these companies tried to break into the U.S. market, only to fail or stumble because they didn't know the market that they were trying to reach. Or in some cases, these companies acquired other companies that they thought were like them only to discover that this was not the case. Knowing your market is key!
The second theme of Graham's presentation was on re-thinking your thinking. While I thought that Graham's marketing stories were interesting, I was most intrigued by his second theme. Graham talked about how companies (or even scientist) can get so focused on one mode of thinking that they reject or don't evaluate other options. One example Graham gave was of an individual that figured out how the space shutter Challenger exploded on launch. This individual was able to figure out the solution when others could not by using a method that was not typical. Our professor touched on this subject as well but then the idea of being spring steel, not titanium. As an entrepreneur and I think in life in general, focus is a key but you should not be so focused that you put up blinders.
I thought that key was one of the better speakers we have had so far due to the fact that he challenged conventional ways of thinking.
Friday, February 8, 2013
Kickstarter Post
Before I begin laying at how I would do crowd sourcing for my business, I feel as though I should elaborate on my business idea. My idea is for a subscription based media service. I have decided to use comic books as my media. I would like to have a website that for a fee, anyone could log on and read as much as they want as long as they are a subscriber. I was also considering maybe giving users a certain amount of points each month. With these points, the user could then purchase .pdf files of their favorite book so that they always have a digital copy even if they cancel their subscription. Or maybe they want their favorite book in print, they could use there points to purchase a hard copy that we will ship to them. I really enjoy Microsoft's Zune Marketplace, which uses a similar business model. I was hoping that I could do the same thing but with comic books Currently there is one digital comic book retailer, but they use the same business model as print books. I think that my model will be better for people with access to the internet and own tablets. I also think that my model will be more beneficial to first time users and therefore increase the market.
Most of the coding and app building for my website I feel can be done on my own or by others. What I am having trouble with is how I am going to get comic book companies to allow me to sell their product on-line. I need to have a large data base of comics for subscribers to read if I hope to be successful. This is where I think my Kickstarter money will come into play. It will help to maintain and facilitate the purchasing of servers and may help to show DC and Marvel that there is a group of people that would be interested in reading comics under a subscription.
First Level, pledge of 5$
One month subscription to my service and the app to access my site.
Second Level, pledge of 15$
Two month subscription app, and enough points allotted to their account. (3.99$ worth of points, enough money to buy a single issue from a comic book store. They could use to purchase a digital copy or hard copy).
Third Level, pledge of 35$
Three month subscription, app, and points allotted to their account. (Enough to buy a trade paperback book, roughly 4 - 5 single issues.)
Fourth Level, pledge of 50$
6 month subscription, app, and points allotted to their account. (Enough to buy a trade paperback book, roughly 4 - 5 single issues.)
Fifth Level, pledge of 100$
Year subscription, app, and points allotted to their account. (Enough to buy 3 trade paperback books, roughly 4 - 5 single issues.)
Most of the coding and app building for my website I feel can be done on my own or by others. What I am having trouble with is how I am going to get comic book companies to allow me to sell their product on-line. I need to have a large data base of comics for subscribers to read if I hope to be successful. This is where I think my Kickstarter money will come into play. It will help to maintain and facilitate the purchasing of servers and may help to show DC and Marvel that there is a group of people that would be interested in reading comics under a subscription.
First Level, pledge of 5$
One month subscription to my service and the app to access my site.
Second Level, pledge of 15$
Two month subscription app, and enough points allotted to their account. (3.99$ worth of points, enough money to buy a single issue from a comic book store. They could use to purchase a digital copy or hard copy).
Third Level, pledge of 35$
Three month subscription, app, and points allotted to their account. (Enough to buy a trade paperback book, roughly 4 - 5 single issues.)
Fourth Level, pledge of 50$
6 month subscription, app, and points allotted to their account. (Enough to buy a trade paperback book, roughly 4 - 5 single issues.)
Fifth Level, pledge of 100$
Year subscription, app, and points allotted to their account. (Enough to buy 3 trade paperback books, roughly 4 - 5 single issues.)
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
John Dimmer
Today we had a guest speaker come into the class by the name of John Dimmer. John was suppose to come into the class and talk about funding a business idea and his work with the Tacoma Angel Network. While he elaborated on these topics, most of his presentation was on his rise to the top. It was pretty cool to hear what kind of businesses he is participating and his opinions on his experiences. This guy has got to be making some serious bank now that he has achieved the level of success that he has. I think you know that you made it as an Ent. when you can take the money that you earned from your first business and starting using that money to invest in other business.
One of the things that I thought was interesting that John mentioned was that all his business opportunities came from working with people that he has know for a long time. It goes to show how smart it is to surround yourself with like-minded people. I am assuming that John is a excellent business man in his own right, but when you reach his stage of the game, it seems as though it is easy to find a good idea and then hop aboard. Granted you need to put some money up to invest in said idea, but all your really doing is picking the right horse to bet on. John talked about his involvement with business idea competitions at the University of Oregon so I am sure he has had large opportunity to hear some great business ideas, in addition to his involvement with the Tacoma Angel Network. By now, he probably has a keen judge for what is a good idea and what is a bad idea. If there was a machine that allowed you to download someone's knowledge and implant it in your own head, I think John Dimmer's head would definitely be on my list.
Another part of John's presentation that I noticed was that it sounded like his Father and cousin were Ents. as well. Which makes me wonder if he comes from a family of entrepreneurs. I wanted to ask him this question in class but time did not allow it. A lot of younger people whose families own businesses tend to work in the family business, and with John's family seeming to be a entrepreneurship family, I was curious if this was the reason that he wanted to become an Ent. I was also thinking that maybe his father generated a nice income for his family through business investment and John wanted this lifestyle for himself as well, and chose entrepreneurship to get him there.
One of the things that I thought was interesting that John mentioned was that all his business opportunities came from working with people that he has know for a long time. It goes to show how smart it is to surround yourself with like-minded people. I am assuming that John is a excellent business man in his own right, but when you reach his stage of the game, it seems as though it is easy to find a good idea and then hop aboard. Granted you need to put some money up to invest in said idea, but all your really doing is picking the right horse to bet on. John talked about his involvement with business idea competitions at the University of Oregon so I am sure he has had large opportunity to hear some great business ideas, in addition to his involvement with the Tacoma Angel Network. By now, he probably has a keen judge for what is a good idea and what is a bad idea. If there was a machine that allowed you to download someone's knowledge and implant it in your own head, I think John Dimmer's head would definitely be on my list.
Another part of John's presentation that I noticed was that it sounded like his Father and cousin were Ents. as well. Which makes me wonder if he comes from a family of entrepreneurs. I wanted to ask him this question in class but time did not allow it. A lot of younger people whose families own businesses tend to work in the family business, and with John's family seeming to be a entrepreneurship family, I was curious if this was the reason that he wanted to become an Ent. I was also thinking that maybe his father generated a nice income for his family through business investment and John wanted this lifestyle for himself as well, and chose entrepreneurship to get him there.
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