Naming Your Startup

As we are all more firmly settling on our venture ideas, I thought this article on how to name your startup pretty relevant. I remember one or two students in the class already had a clever title for the venture; however, I figured a few, including myself, could utilize this article to begin brainstorming ideas. Also the book mentioned in the article, 22 Immutable Laws of Branding, looks interesting.

My favorite tip: "Can they remember it?"

http://under30ceo.com/13-tips-to-naming-your-startup/

Neat summary of Creative Commons

Here is a great video by Jesse Dylan at CreativeCommons.org that neatly summarizes the reasons behind Creative Commons and the motivations for using them in your own work:

http://creativecommons.org/videos/a-shared-culture

The focus is on art and music, but it is no great leap of imagination to see how other areas of enterprise could also benefit.

Engaging Stakeholders in the Creative Process + The Value of Fun

One key insight that stuck with me from last week's readings is the fact that stakeholders, especially potential funders, appreciate feeling needed and helpful in the creative process. While, from a distance and in the abstract, this seems rather obvious, it is much harder to accomplish as an entrpreneur in action. This recommendation to engage and partner with others in the process is also mentioned in this week's readings as one of the important steps to building a lasting business model (SAP did this well by acquiring firms that complimented their skills).

Another, similar insight from this week's reading is that innovation can sometimes simply mean making a part of a product or service (its purchase, use, or disposal) more fun (among other such improvements). A contemporary example is Volkswagen's 'Fun theory' experiment on the simple service of stairs versus escalators. People seem to generally choose things that are fun over boring or ordinary alternatives.

I see these two points being intertwined: engaging stakeholders in the creative process and leveraging the value of fun. Perhaps the greatest evidence of these being a successful mix for aspiring entrepreneurs is the crowd-funding trend led by Rocket Hub. Who knew that funding a venture, anything from a dance performance to a video game, could be so much fun? Crowdfunding brings together the engagement in the creative process, the social dimension of belonging to a group with similar passions, and the fun of seeing the project take off from someone's garage to the New York Times.

I am reflecting on how to integrate this cool trend and the need for stakeholder involvement and fun into my idea. I think it's a salient lesson for all of us. Let me know if you have any interesting ideas on how to do this!

Continued Research

After doing more online research, I've had a strangely difficult time finding out about indigenous cultures that are extra aquatic... so I've decided to spend my time pursuing the other half of the same venture. I have been researching south florida and its extensive history in boat building and toying with the concept of some sort of partnership with a manufacturer to source materials and or instructors.

South Florida has hundreds of boat manufacturers of all kinds and is known for it. In linking students with professionals we can build relationships as well as knowledge.

Below there is a great link with a couple articles about some high school students responses to building wooden boats as an extracurricular activity.

Elevator Pitch: High school students in south Florida will come together in an elective class to build boats with industry professionals, teaching team work, communication skills, and a trade skill. Once built the boats will be shipped in sets to river based cultures in countries around the world.

List of Florida Boat Builders
High School Boat Build

Effective Presentations: Less is More

Two of the biggest lessons I learned from last week's lectures were: (1) Pitching upside-down and (2) the 10/20/30 Rule. Dr. Millie Myer made a great point in pitching upside-down- when you have only 30 seconds, you need to start with the main idea and work down from there. Similarly, the 10/20/30 Rule provides a good framework for presenters to be concise, effective, and convincing. Like many of you, I've seen my fair share of presentations. The ones that were most entertaining and captivating to me weren't the ones with the most information or the ones with the most slides; rather, the presentations that intrigued me were short and simple. A bi-product of these presentations' success is the presenter; more often than not, I found myself convinced (not from the presentation but) through the series of stories and analogies provided by the presenter.

I found an interesting article from Inc. that gives tips on how to fix your presentations. The advice/tips are not earth shattering, but the author provides a really good example of their application. I've always believed that short, concise, and text-free presentations were the best ones. But from my experience here at Heinz College, most of the student presentations are inundated with words and unnecessary information. I can't stand this! I've tried the simple presentation approach and received negative feedback; I've tried the extensive presentation approach and received great feedback. Based on my idea of a great presentation, this is counterintuitive.

What is your idea of an effective (i.e. a good) presentation? What are your experiences with giving long, complex presentations as compared to short, simple ones? How was the presentation received?

Africa's Chance to Leapfrog the West

Last Thursday, Amy and I, along with a few other CMU students, were given the opportunity to have lunch with the World Bank President. Mr. Robert Zoellick. While my initial impression of the World Bank was just that, it is a bank that loans money to various countries, we also learned that the World Bank engages in disseminating innovative knowledge sharing. And surprisingly, not all of this innovative knowledge is transferred from the developed nations to the developing. In fact, certain countries have taken already developed platforms in the West, and had a field day customizing it to their needs. While Mr. Zoellick was primarily talking about projects like M-Pesa, I came across an article in the Harvard Business Review, called "Africa's Chance to Leapfrog the West", that took this concept to a whole new level.

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/02/africas_leapfrogging_opportuni.html

Briefly, the article points out that in places like Africa that lack legacy infrastructure, "there is an opportunity for a genuinely transformative, future-friendly reconceptualization of the very notion of infrastructure".
The author discusses the concept of Leapfrogging, a hypothesis (based on Joseph Schumpeter's notion of ‘gales of creative destruction’) which proposes that companies holding monopolies based on incumbent technologies have less incentive to innovate than potential rivals, and therefore they eventually lose their technological leadership role when new radical technological innovations are adopted by new firms which are ready to take the risks [Wikipedia "Leapfrogging"], with respect to technologies like cloud computing, social media, etc. These have resulted in an increased opportunity for Africans, as well as the notion of achieving more with less when compared to their Western counterparts.

However, as with all new technologies, it is not as simple as it seems. Leapfrogging is just the means, and not the end. So, it is up to the entrepreneurs and innovators to use these set of tools and techniques within the constraints of the country's culture, social norms, etc., and transform Africa with "one entrepreneurial triumph after another".

~ Ketaki

Africa Innovation Hubs

I thought I would share this article about governments in African countries and the promotion of tech innovation.

http://afrinnovator.com/blog/2012/02/10/the-role-of-government-in-promoting-tech-innovation-in-africa/

The capacity of African tech entrepreneurs is really incredible and there is lots of innovation coming out of the continent. Although no one can deny the importance of a governments role in tech innovation. There are fortunately some African countries that with forward thinking leaders, fostering innovation in those countries. Unfortunately many countries do not, stifling tech innovation and widening the digital divide.

I found it interesting how the article talked about the importance of incubation hubs. Places where young entrepreneurial thinkers can go, get mentored and really become empowered as to the type of impact they can make in their countries. Here are some links to some of the hubs.

1. iHub - http://ihub.co.ke/pages/home.php
2. activespaces - http://activspaces.com/
3. Co-creation Hub - http://www.cchubnigeria.com/
4. BongoHive - http://bongohive.com/

These hubs really have become the center of innovation in African communities, they do a great job of taking advantage of local capacity. Goverments are in turn increasinlgy starting to realize the importance of the hubs for building technolgies that are contextual to the citizens of thier countires. As I am sure we all know "Necessity is the mother of invention” with the way the digital dividing is becoming wider and wider and western communities advancing technologically, these hubs serve the purpose to make up what these communities lack and that is an entrepreneurial spirit where people of communities, are building for their communities.

Ketaki brings up an interesting idea in her blog post on Africa Leapfrogging the West. As many ICT4D initiatives fail, western communities are starting to realize that forms of technology and interaction that work in western communities won't necessarily work in Africa. That because of the different context, which is really where the African entrepreneurial spirit gets to shine.

I feel as if these innovation hubs can serve has a very important bridge between Western and African Communities. Western organizations I feel have and resources and and African communities have the indigenous knowledge. This serves has a healthy tension, because bridging both types of services can bring the maximum amount of impact to the community.

Dell Social Innovation Challenge

Anyone can apply for this relatively easily, takes about a couple of hours for the application. And even though I just realized that today is the deadline, i though i should share it with the class. Once you have the required fields filled in, you can continue to edit the content till the end of the challenge!!

http://www.dellchallenge.org/

Good luck,
Ketaki

A 'sound' idea for Marcel and Cynthia

http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/02/09/books-with-soundtracks-no-really-this-one-works/

I read this today and it reminded me of Marcel's idea for books to address adult illiteracy
and Cynthia's idea of mobile app to teach basic math and reading to underprivileged children.

Invest in Management or Concept?

In class we have briefly discussed the various mindsets behind investors. Venture capitalists and private equity firms only provide funding to a very small percentage of entrepreneurs - typically in the single digits. While having the right management team and having an innovative concept usually complement each other as the optimal strategy, most investment firms will put more weight on one or the other. The question is - how do we know which one is more important and what can we do about it?

The answer is: it depends.

The intuitive answer is to hedge your bet. Be able to sufficiently cover both areas in order for the potential investor to be comfortable that you have the right team with a strong business plan. I personally believe that unless the venture concept is an absolute home-run, more emphasis should be put on proving that your experience and expertise are the foundation of your business. Furthermore, the superior abilities of your management team are ultimately what will make your venture successful and that the investor should be investing in YOU first and foremost.

Again, this is a very subjective topic and one could argue that markets are efficient, consisting of other talented individuals, in which one's venture is not worth the investment unless it is truly unique. It will be imperative for all of us to identify the strengths and weaknesses of not only our concepts, but also the people behind our ideas. In order to effectively raise capital, it will be essential to prove why we are the right people to execute our ventures.

Additional resources from the Donald H. Jones Center for Entrepreneurship at the Tepper School of Business:

http://tepper.cmu.edu/faculty-research/research-centers/donald-h-jones-center-for-entrepreneurship/resources-for-entrepreneurs-and-venture-capitalists/carnegie-mellon/index.aspx

http://tepper.cmu.edu/faculty-research/research-centers/donald-h-jones-center-for-entrepreneurship/resources-for-entrepreneurs-and-venture-capitalists/pittsburgh-entrepreneurship-supporters/index.aspx

CEMLA, MIF/IDB and World Bank Launch enviacentroamerica.org To Make Costs and Conditions of Remittances More Transparent

I just came across this article, and thought it might be interesting (and/or useful) for the Diaspora Connect Project -

http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:23106029~pagePK:34370~piPK:34424~theSitePK:4607,00.html

http://www.good.is/post/is-the-social-enterprise-bubble-about-to-burst/

Hi,
This is a great article that brings together 5 different people who run social venture projects in Africa. It gives one perspective about the role of social enterprises within the development sector in emerging economies. I specially like the last paragraph where they give advice to would-be social entrepreneurs.

Winning pitch of MIT''s 100K competition 2011 in their emerging markets category

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Snyw3xGHpuQ&feature=related

I came across this example of a successful pitch of a business plan conceived and executed by a team. Many of you have already participated in sessions like these at CMU which I could not attend. I'm learning something new in each session, from each of you in class.

Project Rwanda CMU 2010

In last weeks class, we had a great discussion regarding the features of the One Laptop per Child technology. Below is the video from my trip to Kigali,Rwanda in May 2010.

Our team helped teach music, programming, and acting to fifth grade primary school students. It was a great experience and we learned a lot -- including being sensitive in utilizing a technology and aware of the fact that we may be imposing on an education system that is already effective. We prioritized getting to know the students and centering our lesson plans around their interests as well as teaching methods that they were already accustomed to -- i.e. group discussions, competitive tasks, games that they enjoyed etc.

We experience the frequent technical shortfalls of the laptops first hand -- mouse pads failing to after dust collection, speakers turning on and off, etc. but interestingly, we also got a sense of the students' strong desire to fix glitches and advance using the technology on their own.

Innovation in Braddock, PA

As someone whose family has long been located in Pittsburgh, I am fascinated by the area and its history. My time at CMU has only increased my interest in the region. Ironically, I was recently reminded of an extremely innovative person in Pittsburgh who is greatly improving the lives of Braddock citizens with his new policies and programs including green jobs, artistic endeavors, and youth employment. Last year Heinz had this man, Mayor of Braddock John Fetterman, come speak at one of our convocations. For those of you who did not have the opportunity to hear him speak, he told a riveting story of why and how he became involved in Braddock and what steps he has taken to revitalize one of the poorest areas in Pennsylvania.

In looking for some inspiration for a social venture of my own, I visited Braddock on Friday to see the revitalization efforts first hand. I also reread Fetterman's story of Braddock (link below). While what Fetterman is doing in Braddock may not directly relate to any of the projects we choose to pursue this semester, I thought sharing the story with everyone would remind us that one person can make a huge impact on the world around them. A good notion to remember at the beginning of a social venture... Enjoy!

http://monthlyreview.org/2008/12/01/braddock-pennsylvania-out-of-the-furnace-and-into-the-fire

Thinking about possibilities

 For quite a long time I have thought about what very simply I could do to make things better. While working for established organizations I’ve had to, for better or worse, mind the store.  When that gets stale the choices are to do nothing, accept it for what it is, or make a change.

For me this course is about making a change.

I can across this pbs page about people who have made a change. Maybe some have seen either the documentary or the page itself, from 2005. The video is no longer available but the information is relevant for me. Maybe for others as well.

    http://www.pbs.org/opb/thenewheroes/whatis/

http://www.pbs.org/opb/thenewheroes/whatis/

Cynthia

The Audacity of Entrepreneurship

The Audacity of Entrepreneurship

          After hearing and discussing everyone's pitches last class I was compelled to do some reflection on the subject of attitude and its ultimate impact on the success or failure of an entrepreneurial venture. More specifically, on the ability for a venture to garner support. Our class was almost unanimously thoughtful, modest, and deliberate in the presentation of their ideas and passions. Everyone seemed open and receptive to questions and constructive criticism, as well. In another entrepreneurship course I am presently taking this was not the case.
          More specifically, every member of the class was placed on a team of other students to generate and pitch an entrepreneurial venture. I missed my group's initial brainstorming session due to illness and was unpleasantly surprised by the initial set of ideas that had been generated. They were the product of one student's interests and passions in particular and no credence had been given to even basic feasibility assessment: was there demand for these products or services, who was the target audience, what problem did they solve, what sort of financial capital would be needed at start up, etc.
          To my surprise the student who generated the primary idea (which the other team members supported) was taken aback when I asserted the store he proposed would cater to a niche and diminishing market and compete in a larger market that is completely saturated. The business model was not sound, the business itself would be extremely capital intensive, and its revenue streams were questionable. However, of all the people I have spoken with or heard a "pitch" from this semester, this student was the most certain and steadfast the business was a "good" idea. His confidence (unfounded as it was) was convincing enough our group mates backed him almost without question.
          Would this attitude ultimately lend itself to success in entrepreneurship? In terms of an idea getting off the ground I think attitude plays more of a role than I had originally given it credit for. More specifically, immovable confidence and certainty. I thought a good idea would stand on its own two feet almost regardless of who it came from, and an awful one would be transparent also without credence for its source or how the source felt about the matter. I don't propose self doubt or crippling worry and uncertainty as an infallible alternative to this person's baseless cockiness, but I would at least suggest thoughtfulness and an iota of due diligence through market research before throwing your support behind a venture. To him this was crazy talk, and to him our group's support was evidence of the idea's viability. I think if the group was legitimately investing their own money, however, many of the questions I raised would have come front and center much sooner.

Brad Myers' Recent IP Lecture

Hi everyone,

I attended professor Brad Myers' lecture on intellectual property last week and thought you might be interested in some of the basic information he provided about IP and more specifically patents. If you have been wondering how the system works, or perhaps how to protect your own work from competition, professor Myers' points may be useful.

Myers distinguishes between four kinds of intellectual property: copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, and patents:

1. A copyright provides exclusive rights to an exact, original expression for a limited time. They are assigned freely and automatically for all works, can be registered, and apply to books, code, icons, and things with form and substance--not ideas or information.
2. Trademarks identify a commercial product to avoid confusion. They never expire and can be used for words, icons, or even colors. TM, (R), and SM are varieties of trademark.
3. Trade secrets need not be disclosed (of course) until a patent is issued. These may include plans, marketing analyses, and algorithms. If it's covered by a non disclosure agreement, it probably has something to do with trade secrets.
4. A patent provides exclusive rights to an invention for a limited time--in the US, 20 years from issue. Internationally, patents are reviewed and issued based on a "first to file" rule. The US used to be "first to invent," but the recent America Invents Act erased that and instituted the same policy followed by the rest of the world. Patents often cost more to acquire than the profit they wind up making. It can cost $20,000 or more to patent an invention domestically, and possibly as much as $100,000 for international patents. Patents must be "novel and nonobvious to a relevant tradesperson," "useful," and "properly disclosed for possible reproduction." (See http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/article01/39.html) There are provisional patents one can get through an academic institution, which cost a mere $125, but this may not apply for the purposes of our class.

An overarching point of the talk was that patents are highly competitive and constantly challenged by federal courts, the International Trade Commission, and frequent reexaminations by patent office workers. Open source licensing and creative commons offer alternatives--google CTTEC and nosoftwarepatents.com for more on this.

Best,

Russ

On Water

For my social venture, I have decided pursue boat building. After conducting some research on passed social ventures that have built boats I feel this will be a unique experience with powerful effects.

I am exploring the concept of hosting an education program for teens to take part in a real world boat building process. Students from high-schools in south florida will work together in collaboration with a number of boat manufacturing entities based in south florida to design and build watercraft. This concept seems realistic and very feasible to me.

Similarly, I am researching the use of water craft by indigenous tribes. Dugout boats are some of the most common hand crafted boats in the world. Cultures on rivers all over the world are known for using this type of boat for fishing, hunting, traveling, fighting, and trading. I plan to continue my research, identify a specific culture that has an unmet need within a marine life scope, and perhaps design a product that will be the solution to their unmet need. This project feels like there is a bit more disconnect between the end user and I.

Below are some links: one showing an article about a canoe building education program based in the bronx, the next showing a similar program based in canada, and the last is a wiki page briefly showing the history and use of dugout canoes in the world.

NYC Boat Building Social Venture
Youth Boat Works
Dugout Boats

I hope to hear some feedback on which direction people feel will be more opportunistic and effective.

Open Innovation

Our discussion the other day about the potential challenges and opportunities of open source innovation and collaboration made me think of a couple of Mckinsey Quarterly articles that came out last month: "Managing the Business Risks of Open Innovation" and "Wiring the Open Source Enterprise".

The key takeaway from these articles is the overwhelming trend towards open source innovation online and the fact that more traditional IP-oriented companies will either have to work harder to differentiate their 'core IP' or adapt to the model of more collaborative IP-free innovation. As we mentioned last session, the success of such efforts will depend on how users are motivated/incentivized and how strong the foundations are. The authors recommend a grassroots approach.

What I find most interesting is the analysis done on which industries will most likely adapt to and benefit from this new trend. The chart below provides some insight into a broad swath of different sectors possibly effected beyond just the obvious IT software development hub. I was actually surprised by what seem to me to be high-risk categories such as 'medical, precision and optical instruments' and 'coke, petroleum and nuclear fuel'.  These beg the questions: how would one balance open innovation, quality control, and security in such categories? Bob Lewis, CEO of Communications Consulting in South Africa commented:

"...If something is “open,” who takes ultimate responsibility for its shortfalls, especially in a climate where even operational computers at power stations have been hacked?"

 Perhaps this calls for an even more innovative process or model of responsibility-sharing to allow open source innovation to flourish in a safe and collaborative environment.

The chart below shows analysis based on the following three questions posed to industry leaders:

1. Do specialized firms offer proprietary solutions within certain layers of my industry’s value chain?
2. Do integrated firms seek to cut development costs in my industry by drawing on open technologies to substitute for these proprietary solutions?
3. Are the underlying technologies complex—consisting of so many bits and pieces that a significant number could inadvertently infringe on proprietary IP held by specialized firms?

Source: https://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Managing_the_business_risks_of_open_innovation_2911