For a good dose of Entrepreneur Porn come to this Friday's Stormhoek Geek Dinner! For details click on the link and add your name to the wiki if you can make it. If you can't edit the Wiki, you can't come. You're not geek enough.
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Stormhoek Geek Dinner
For a good dose of Entrepreneur Porn come to this Friday's Stormhoek Geek Dinner! For details click on the link and add your name to the wiki if you can make it. If you can't edit the Wiki, you can't come. You're not geek enough.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Entrepreneur Porn
Rapelang Rabana of BlueVoice
I had a few beers yesterday with the highly energetic Greg Durst, who runs Endeavor South Africa.
Endeavor is a highly selective entrepreneurs' network that aims to find 'high-impact' entrepreneurs in developing countries who are already swimming in the deep end of the pool and toss them a buoy. Sorry, make that a lilo with a built in champagne cooler.
Okay, I'm embellishing a bit; Endeavor won't make life easy for you, but they will significantly help fast-track your business into the 'big leagues'. But only if they believe that you're already well on your way to changing the world.
One of the interesting things Greg and I touched on was 'Entrepreneur Porn'. I've received a lot of free 'consultation' for my business over the last 2 years from brilliant entrepreneurs (Vinny Lingham, Steven Levy, Tai Schierenberg to mention but a few) who wanted nothing in return. I reap this up, realising that there is no way I could repay them. What I can do however is 'Pay it Forward'. Even though I'm still in the startup phase, I've made a lot of mistakes and have learnt a thing or two about starting a business. I get high from being able to help out young entrepreneurs who have great ideas. Greg calls this phenomenon 'Entrepreneur Porn'!
I got a good dose of 'Entrepreneur Porn' today when I met up with Rapelang Rabana, a young computer scientist who was going to be reaped up by a major investment bank upon graduation. She was filling out the application form and came to the question: "Please describe how you would fit in at our firm?". She couldn't find an answer and plunged into the deep end of the pool! I.e. she started her own business, developing a Vo3G (Voice over 3G) application. Go check out BlueVoice. They're launching in January so get ready to start paying R0.10 a minute for mobile phone calls!
Friday, December 08, 2006
Exclusity leads to mediocrity
One of the words I'd recommend any entrepreneur to stay away from is 'exclusivity'.
I've often been asked by IT firms, ISPs, distributors etc. for 'exclusivity' to setup Skyrove Wi-Fi hotpots in certain regions or sectors. They often throw it in early in the discussions, I've always said no without beating about the bush, and never has it tarnished the relationship.
Besides for 'exclusivity' being a long, ugly English word reminding me of seedy gentleman's clubs, here are some of my reasons for not doing 'exclusivity' deals:
Firstly, exclusivity goes against our vision. The whole point of Skyrove is allowing ANYONE to start their own Wi-Fi hotspot and in this way earn an income while making broadband access more accessible and less expensive for more people.
Secondly, let's say you now have exclusivity in your region or sector: other companies that may want to resell our product are now forced to sell our competitors' solution. If instead they set up another Skyrove hotspot, we would gain customers signing up there. These customers can now also use your Skyrove hotspots, thus more income for you! Exclusivity has the effect of both of us losing customers.
Finally, exclusivity leads to mediocrity. If I gave you exclusivity, I'd want some form of exclusivity in return, e.g. you won't start selling one of our competitors' products. Without exclusivity, I have to work much harder to ensure Skyrove remains the best Wi-Fi billing & roaming service out there. Hard work you want me to keep on doing if you're selling my product. On your side, you can now relax a bit, because no-one else has the right to sell Skyrove in your region, except you. Both of us become mediocre. Because I'm not working so hard on my product anymore, and you're not working so hard on sales anymore, my competitors and your competitors now come in and take over the market.
When someone asks me for regional or sector exclusivity for Skyrove, I typically say: "Sure, but we would expect you to focus all your business activity exclusively on selling Skyrove". I say this as an obvious joke, but it puts to bed the notion of exclusivity pretty quickly, without me having to give the preceding harangue.
I've often been asked by IT firms, ISPs, distributors etc. for 'exclusivity' to setup Skyrove Wi-Fi hotpots in certain regions or sectors. They often throw it in early in the discussions, I've always said no without beating about the bush, and never has it tarnished the relationship.
Besides for 'exclusivity' being a long, ugly English word reminding me of seedy gentleman's clubs, here are some of my reasons for not doing 'exclusivity' deals:
Firstly, exclusivity goes against our vision. The whole point of Skyrove is allowing ANYONE to start their own Wi-Fi hotspot and in this way earn an income while making broadband access more accessible and less expensive for more people.
Secondly, let's say you now have exclusivity in your region or sector: other companies that may want to resell our product are now forced to sell our competitors' solution. If instead they set up another Skyrove hotspot, we would gain customers signing up there. These customers can now also use your Skyrove hotspots, thus more income for you! Exclusivity has the effect of both of us losing customers.
Finally, exclusivity leads to mediocrity. If I gave you exclusivity, I'd want some form of exclusivity in return, e.g. you won't start selling one of our competitors' products. Without exclusivity, I have to work much harder to ensure Skyrove remains the best Wi-Fi billing & roaming service out there. Hard work you want me to keep on doing if you're selling my product. On your side, you can now relax a bit, because no-one else has the right to sell Skyrove in your region, except you. Both of us become mediocre. Because I'm not working so hard on my product anymore, and you're not working so hard on sales anymore, my competitors and your competitors now come in and take over the market.
When someone asks me for regional or sector exclusivity for Skyrove, I typically say: "Sure, but we would expect you to focus all your business activity exclusively on selling Skyrove". I say this as an obvious joke, but it puts to bed the notion of exclusivity pretty quickly, without me having to give the preceding harangue.
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
The Venture Capital Aptitude Test (VCAT)
Guy Kawasaki wrote a brilliant post recently explaining why young people should not go into Venture Capital: "Venture capital is something to do at the end of your career, not the beginning. It should be your last job, not your first."
Guy's concocted a Venture Capital Aptitude Test (VCAT) for folks considering a career in Venture Capital. You get points if you have a background in Engineering or Sales, but points are subtracted (*gasp!*) if you have a background in Management Consulting, Investment Banking or Accounting!
Now, let me go rate some of the VCs I've had dealings with...
Guy's concocted a Venture Capital Aptitude Test (VCAT) for folks considering a career in Venture Capital. You get points if you have a background in Engineering or Sales, but points are subtracted (*gasp!*) if you have a background in Management Consulting, Investment Banking or Accounting!
Now, let me go rate some of the VCs I've had dealings with...
Wiki Woes
My Wiki Woes continue this week... (see my last post)
I've now done testdrives of Wetpaint, SocialText, PBWiki, StikiPad and Wikia; and did WikiMatrix comparisons of a dozen more.
Although Wetpaint wasn't the right one for me, I received a very nice email in response to my blogpost from Wetpaint founder Ben Elowitz explaining why they don't allow private Wikis at this stage. Just because Ben contacted me directly I decided to stick with Wetpaint for 2 community Wikis I'm creating.
I finally settled on using StikiPad for doing our internal project documentation. StikiPad is 'crisp' and functional. The design is also attractive and Oh-So Web 2.0.
However, there's one thing that StikiPad founders Matthew DeWaal and Jonathan George really need to learn quickly if they are to succeed in a Web 2.0 world, (or any world for that matter) and that is how to properly engage your customers...
Today when trying to access my new StikiPad Wiki, I repeatedly got an error stating '500 - Internal Server Error'.
No problem, I thought, I'd go check out their forums and see if anyone's posted about it. There was no related post, so I decided I would post about it. However, the StikiPad founders decided for some bizarre reason that people would first need to be 'approved' before posting to their forums. I applied for approval and am still waiting 7 hours later!
I then thought I'd post a quick comment on the StikiPad blog. When I read the blog earlier, I was surprized to see that none of the posts had any comments. Mostly, if a blog is in the least bit popular, you'd see dozens of comments. (To see what I mean, have a look at Signal vs. Noise) Once again, my effort was thwarted by draconian comment moderations!
When trying to post a comment I was told: "We get some pretty crappy spam, so if you haven't left a comment here before you may need to be approved before your comment will appear. Thanks for waiting though!"
Guess what? All bloggers get spam from time to time but we manage it without turning our backs on our customers.
Get your act together StikiPad, because at this stage I'm still wondering if I should 'approve' your service.
I've now done testdrives of Wetpaint, SocialText, PBWiki, StikiPad and Wikia; and did WikiMatrix comparisons of a dozen more.
Although Wetpaint wasn't the right one for me, I received a very nice email in response to my blogpost from Wetpaint founder Ben Elowitz explaining why they don't allow private Wikis at this stage. Just because Ben contacted me directly I decided to stick with Wetpaint for 2 community Wikis I'm creating.
I finally settled on using StikiPad for doing our internal project documentation. StikiPad is 'crisp' and functional. The design is also attractive and Oh-So Web 2.0.
However, there's one thing that StikiPad founders Matthew DeWaal and Jonathan George really need to learn quickly if they are to succeed in a Web 2.0 world, (or any world for that matter) and that is how to properly engage your customers...
Today when trying to access my new StikiPad Wiki, I repeatedly got an error stating '500 - Internal Server Error'.
No problem, I thought, I'd go check out their forums and see if anyone's posted about it. There was no related post, so I decided I would post about it. However, the StikiPad founders decided for some bizarre reason that people would first need to be 'approved' before posting to their forums. I applied for approval and am still waiting 7 hours later!
I then thought I'd post a quick comment on the StikiPad blog. When I read the blog earlier, I was surprized to see that none of the posts had any comments. Mostly, if a blog is in the least bit popular, you'd see dozens of comments. (To see what I mean, have a look at Signal vs. Noise) Once again, my effort was thwarted by draconian comment moderations!
When trying to post a comment I was told: "We get some pretty crappy spam, so if you haven't left a comment here before you may need to be approved before your comment will appear. Thanks for waiting though!"
Guess what? All bloggers get spam from time to time but we manage it without turning our backs on our customers.
Get your act together StikiPad, because at this stage I'm still wondering if I should 'approve' your service.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Web 2.0 Growing Pains
I've spent a fair amount of time today looking for a new Wiki to use for our documentation project. I need a Wiki tool that's:
a) WYSIWYG
b) hosted
c) ONLY accessible by invited users
Using the WikiMatrix comparison website, I discovered WetPaint. I was literally jumping up & down thinking that all my prayers had been answered.
Wetpaint is ridiculously easy to setup and start using. Pages can be added & edited easily by my non-techie business partner and I love how simple it is to add links to other pages. Not a single line of markup is needed and formatting is kept even when copying & pasting documents from MS Word.
Before I set up a Wetpaint account I googled 'Techcrunch Wetpaint' to see if Mike Arrington has said anything about it yet. It emerged that Trinity Ventures put some Venture Capital into Wetpaint, so I knew it had to be decent. (I once spoke to Trinity Ventures' Ajay Chopra, one of the more approachable VCs out there. Give him a shout if you're looking for VC!)
As I went through the fantastically slick signup process, I kept thinking how Trinity Ventures made a darn good call on investing in Wetpaint and how Yahoo must simply be itching to buy Wetpaint, particularly now that Google has picked up Wetpaint competitor Jotspot.
But then I discovered the Achilles heel... Anyone can view our Wetpaint Wiki. Our documentation is confidential and I only want invited users to have access. I got that horrible 'i knew it was too good to be true' feeling.
It's really sad when Web 2.0 startups do so many things just right and then stuff up monumentally on something so trivial.
a) WYSIWYG
b) hosted
c) ONLY accessible by invited users
Using the WikiMatrix comparison website, I discovered WetPaint. I was literally jumping up & down thinking that all my prayers had been answered. Wetpaint is ridiculously easy to setup and start using. Pages can be added & edited easily by my non-techie business partner and I love how simple it is to add links to other pages. Not a single line of markup is needed and formatting is kept even when copying & pasting documents from MS Word.
Before I set up a Wetpaint account I googled 'Techcrunch Wetpaint' to see if Mike Arrington has said anything about it yet. It emerged that Trinity Ventures put some Venture Capital into Wetpaint, so I knew it had to be decent. (I once spoke to Trinity Ventures' Ajay Chopra, one of the more approachable VCs out there. Give him a shout if you're looking for VC!)
As I went through the fantastically slick signup process, I kept thinking how Trinity Ventures made a darn good call on investing in Wetpaint and how Yahoo must simply be itching to buy Wetpaint, particularly now that Google has picked up Wetpaint competitor Jotspot.
But then I discovered the Achilles heel... Anyone can view our Wetpaint Wiki. Our documentation is confidential and I only want invited users to have access. I got that horrible 'i knew it was too good to be true' feeling.
It's really sad when Web 2.0 startups do so many things just right and then stuff up monumentally on something so trivial.
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Quick Quick Condoms
I love it when someone comes up with a simple viral marketing campaign that takes off like crazy! Especially if it's at the expense of high profile politicians...
From Pronto Condoms:
Background: Jacob Zuma, the ANC Deputy President said in a court case that he had showered after having unprotected sex with a woman he knew to be HIV-positive in order not to contract the virus.
Background: Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, South Africa's minister of Health, is known as "Dr Beetroot" for her advice to those with HIV to eat nutritious food such as garlic and beetroot.
From Pronto Condoms:
Background: Jacob Zuma, the ANC Deputy President said in a court case that he had showered after having unprotected sex with a woman he knew to be HIV-positive in order not to contract the virus.
Background: Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, South Africa's minister of Health, is known as "Dr Beetroot" for her advice to those with HIV to eat nutritious food such as garlic and beetroot.
Churches and Business Incubators
Anyone who's ever been to a European village knows that things are centered around the town square or 'piazza'. The most prominent building on the piazza is always the church. In such a village, the church is involved with pretty much everything that goes on in the small town. Whether it be the running of soup kitchens for the poor or having fund raising carnivals on the square.
Without being a confirmed 'member', if you live in such a village, the church will influence your everyday life.
I liken this to my experience with the Cape IT Initiative (CITI).
CITI is playing a major role to make Cape Town the Silicon Valley of Africa. It doesn't wait for entrepreneurs & small businesses to sign up, it goes out and involves them in their 'town square' activities, thus enabling them to in turn become high impact entrepreneurs.
I haven't joined them as a member, but yet they've contributed in various ways to our business. Instead of 'soup kitchens' they have 'soapboxes' and rather than 'carnivals' they have 'gala dinners'. Instead of Sunday School they have the brilliant 'MyMentor' program.
The latest CITI initiative is theVeloCITI business acceleration programme.
VeloCITI is like injecting NOS into your company.
If you're a geek with a clever ICT business idea or prototype but you don't have years of business, finance & marketing experience behind you, then VeloCITI could make the difference between you becoming a has-been inventor or tomorrow's business leader.
Without being a confirmed 'member', if you live in such a village, the church will influence your everyday life.
I liken this to my experience with the Cape IT Initiative (CITI).
CITI is playing a major role to make Cape Town the Silicon Valley of Africa. It doesn't wait for entrepreneurs & small businesses to sign up, it goes out and involves them in their 'town square' activities, thus enabling them to in turn become high impact entrepreneurs.
I haven't joined them as a member, but yet they've contributed in various ways to our business. Instead of 'soup kitchens' they have 'soapboxes' and rather than 'carnivals' they have 'gala dinners'. Instead of Sunday School they have the brilliant 'MyMentor' program.
The latest CITI initiative is theVeloCITI business acceleration programme.
VeloCITI is like injecting NOS into your company.
If you're a geek with a clever ICT business idea or prototype but you don't have years of business, finance & marketing experience behind you, then VeloCITI could make the difference between you becoming a has-been inventor or tomorrow's business leader.
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Get Smart SAA
We've all had our bad airline experiences. For some reason airlines are stuck in some parallel universe where service just keeps getting worse and worse.
I'll spare you the details of yet another airline horror story and rather skip to some tips for South African Airways:
I simply cannot believe how stupid SAA's management is. But then stupidity is often motivated by greed.
However, as we've seen with SAA's phenomenal operating losses, this normally backfires. SAA can blame employee strikes and higher fuel prices all they want. The reason they're losing money is simple: Bad Service.
Bad Service in turn is the result of bad ethics. Fat Cat executives who have no entrepreneurial passion and are more interested in the multimillion rand bonuses that SAA is now famous for.
Get your act together SAA. Customers are leaving you in droves and sooner or later it won't be just them saying 'Adios' to you, you might have to say goodbye to every single one of them. Of course you, the SAA executive, probably don't care as you'll be long gone sipping Pina Colladas in the Caribbean.
Now, where's Richard Branson?
I'll spare you the details of yet another airline horror story and rather skip to some tips for South African Airways:
- Do NOT use old 747s for short-haul flights. I know you can squeeze more people into a 747. You've already proven that there isn't a snowball's chance in midsummer to get everyone and their luggage on board and the plane in the air on time. Don't print a time on my ticket that you know is not realistic.
- Never EVER lie to your customers. You have no idea how bad this is for your brand and your business. Customers today are a lot more educated than ever before. We know how 'systems' work, so don't blame your incompetence/malice on 'the system'.
- Never EVER try to exploit your customers with 'crippled' service offerings. A ticket is a ticket is a ticket. It takes me from Johannesburg to Cape Town in an airplane in 2 hours. If I'm flying economy it's economy. I don't care if it's 'Class Q' or 'S' or whatever the fuck you wish to call it. If I wish to fly earlier and there's a seat available, do NOT try to charge me an 'upgrade' fee and tell me it's because I bought a 'Discount' ticket online as if it were a cardinal sin, especially if I'm offering to fly at a significantly less busy time of day, thereby giving you the chance to sell my 'prime time' ticket to someone else and get rid of a 'distress' (empty) seat right now. Oh, and did I mention I'm an SAA frequent flyer?
I simply cannot believe how stupid SAA's management is. But then stupidity is often motivated by greed.
However, as we've seen with SAA's phenomenal operating losses, this normally backfires. SAA can blame employee strikes and higher fuel prices all they want. The reason they're losing money is simple: Bad Service.
Bad Service in turn is the result of bad ethics. Fat Cat executives who have no entrepreneurial passion and are more interested in the multimillion rand bonuses that SAA is now famous for.
Get your act together SAA. Customers are leaving you in droves and sooner or later it won't be just them saying 'Adios' to you, you might have to say goodbye to every single one of them. Of course you, the SAA executive, probably don't care as you'll be long gone sipping Pina Colladas in the Caribbean.
Now, where's Richard Branson?
Monday, November 13, 2006
Business Blogging
Pro Blogger Rafiq Phillips sent me some really good links about business blogging today.
One of them spoke about the importance of 'claiming' your blog with Technorati, so here's my 'claim it' Technorati Profile
Also check out this excellent first post about 'demon feeding' (aka Blogging) by Ubergeek Johann Botha.
- Essence of Business Blogging
- How To Get More People To Read Your Blog
- How To Get Better Blog Exposure
- Related Post Plugin Stickyness
- SEO for Wordpress Blogs
One of them spoke about the importance of 'claiming' your blog with Technorati, so here's my 'claim it' Technorati Profile
Also check out this excellent first post about 'demon feeding' (aka Blogging) by Ubergeek Johann Botha.
Sunday, November 12, 2006
The Thing about Geeks...
Super Connector Dave Duarte organised another 'geeky dinner' last Friday at Sinn's in Wembley Square.
Pictured above are Farzaneh Behroozi and Maximillian Kaizen, the only two 'girly geeks' at the party. Spot the notebook on the table in which Farzaneh is constantly writing down cool ideas!
The thing about geeks is that you always learn something new. I had lunch the other day with Dave Gale when he showed me a cool widget for testing VoIP quality.
He was taking periodic screenshots of the tiny widget using the 'PrtScr' button, so I showed him how to use 'Alt + PrtScr' to capture only the selected window.
In turn he showed me a really nifty trick in Excel. Using the REPT() function you can quickly create ASCII bar graphs!
The reason geeks will inherit the earth is not because of their Mensa worthy IQs, but because they are always looking for a chance to share knowledge, no matter how trivial!
Pictured above are Farzaneh Behroozi and Maximillian Kaizen, the only two 'girly geeks' at the party. Spot the notebook on the table in which Farzaneh is constantly writing down cool ideas!
The thing about geeks is that you always learn something new. I had lunch the other day with Dave Gale when he showed me a cool widget for testing VoIP quality.
He was taking periodic screenshots of the tiny widget using the 'PrtScr' button, so I showed him how to use 'Alt + PrtScr' to capture only the selected window.
In turn he showed me a really nifty trick in Excel. Using the REPT() function you can quickly create ASCII bar graphs!
The reason geeks will inherit the earth is not because of their Mensa worthy IQs, but because they are always looking for a chance to share knowledge, no matter how trivial!
Google Maps adds Cape Town
Was looking at some Wi-Fi hotspots we recently added to our Skyrove Maps website, when I saw (gasp!) a roadmap of Cape Town superimposed on the satellite imagery.
It's still a little bit sparse on the roadnames and many roads aren't even shown, giving the impression that we Africans all live in the bush against Table Mountain, but it's a good start!
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Fighting Fire with Fire
I've always maintained that one cannot fight violence with violence. Violence simply begets more violence. My analogy has always been that one cannot fight fire with fire, you fight it with water!
However, it appears I may have been wrong about fighting fire with fire...
Diane Southey, a good friend & botanist who's been studying bush fires in South Africa & Australia told me a story of a group of firefighters who were totally surrounded by a large bushfire and had no escape route.
They had pretty much given up hope and thought they were going to die, when one of them had a bright idea that saved their lives. He started a fire! A controlled fire...
By starting a controlled fire in the immediate vicinity, they managed to burn all the bush where they were. When the larger, more rampant fire finally reached their area, there was no fuel left to fuel the fire! They lived to tell the story.
What amazes me most is that this was not a 'learned' technique, it was an incredibly smart decision made under extreme duress!
However, it appears I may have been wrong about fighting fire with fire...
Diane Southey, a good friend & botanist who's been studying bush fires in South Africa & Australia told me a story of a group of firefighters who were totally surrounded by a large bushfire and had no escape route.
They had pretty much given up hope and thought they were going to die, when one of them had a bright idea that saved their lives. He started a fire! A controlled fire...
By starting a controlled fire in the immediate vicinity, they managed to burn all the bush where they were. When the larger, more rampant fire finally reached their area, there was no fuel left to fuel the fire! They lived to tell the story.
What amazes me most is that this was not a 'learned' technique, it was an incredibly smart decision made under extreme duress!
Friday, November 03, 2006
Nightmare CVs
I recently posted an advert on the gumtree for an internship position at Skyrove.
I have received some really great responses, but others have left much to be desired. I thought I'd highlight some of these and give some tips on CVs, cover letters and the use of email for job applications.
1. Please do NOT send me a blank email with your CV attached.
2. Please do NOT have someone else send me a CV 'on behalf of' you
3. Please DO send a cover letter or an email that clearly shows you know a little bit about my company and that you would really like to work here
4. I have 2 words for you: Spell Check! One applicant told me that one of her core competencies was 'great atention to detail'. Even spell check doesn't always do the trick, so PLEASE have someone read your CV. One person meant to say 'Reason for leaving:' (a previous job) but instead typed 'Reason for living'
5. Do not start your email with 'Dear Sir/Madam'. I gave you my name and email address. If you don't know whether 'Henk' is a male or female name, google me.
6. Do NOT send me a generic cover letter/CV. It will NOT work. You need to show an interest in working for me. (or anyone else for that matter)
7. I was a B student at varsity. That means I need to hire A students. However, if you weren't on the merit list and you didn't distinguish yourself in leadership activities, there is still a chance I might hire you. But ONLY if you write me a VERY good cover letter. You need to investigate my company thoroughly and clearly show great excitement for what we are doing.
8. If you've done all of the above and you still don't receive a response from me, don't wait around. You're not at the top of the pile and I'll probably send out a 'we regret' email in another week or so. You have one last chance of redeeming yourself. Phone me. Tell me how badly you want to work here. I WILL look at your CV again and give it some extra thought. It might not work, but you've just made your chances a 100 times better.
Please take these tips to heart. It should greatly help you to get employment anywhere.
If you are looking for a fantastic job-hunting guide look no further than 'What Color Is Your Parachute' by Dick Bolles
Hi,
We'd like to offer an internship to an exceptionally bright CS/EE/IS student for the summer vacation period.
We have several projects available (web development, embedded linux programming, process management, marketing etc)
Please contact me directly if you're up to the task.
Henk Kleynhans
Skyrove CEO
henk at skyrove.com
blog: www.yeahfi.com
p.s. foreign students are welcome
I have received some really great responses, but others have left much to be desired. I thought I'd highlight some of these and give some tips on CVs, cover letters and the use of email for job applications.
1. Please do NOT send me a blank email with your CV attached.
2. Please do NOT have someone else send me a CV 'on behalf of' you
3. Please DO send a cover letter or an email that clearly shows you know a little bit about my company and that you would really like to work here
4. I have 2 words for you: Spell Check! One applicant told me that one of her core competencies was 'great atention to detail'. Even spell check doesn't always do the trick, so PLEASE have someone read your CV. One person meant to say 'Reason for leaving:' (a previous job) but instead typed 'Reason for living'
5. Do not start your email with 'Dear Sir/Madam'. I gave you my name and email address. If you don't know whether 'Henk' is a male or female name, google me.
6. Do NOT send me a generic cover letter/CV. It will NOT work. You need to show an interest in working for me. (or anyone else for that matter)
7. I was a B student at varsity. That means I need to hire A students. However, if you weren't on the merit list and you didn't distinguish yourself in leadership activities, there is still a chance I might hire you. But ONLY if you write me a VERY good cover letter. You need to investigate my company thoroughly and clearly show great excitement for what we are doing.
8. If you've done all of the above and you still don't receive a response from me, don't wait around. You're not at the top of the pile and I'll probably send out a 'we regret' email in another week or so. You have one last chance of redeeming yourself. Phone me. Tell me how badly you want to work here. I WILL look at your CV again and give it some extra thought. It might not work, but you've just made your chances a 100 times better.
Please take these tips to heart. It should greatly help you to get employment anywhere.
If you are looking for a fantastic job-hunting guide look no further than 'What Color Is Your Parachute' by Dick Bolles
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Hands On Venture Capitalists
I've been a big fan (and disciple) of Rick Segal and have often referred to him and his expertise in all matters VC. I finally had the great pleasure of meeting Rick a few weeks ago in London.
I asked Rick a bit about his level of involvement with the startup companies in his portfolio and he told me how in some cases he's even had to write code!
My respect for Rick tripled! Most VCs have a tendency to sit back and 'consult' and 'strategize'. We're a startup company with big ideas and lots of spirit, but what we need most in the beginning is hands-on help from experienced folks.
I'm extremely fortunate in this regard by having Geoff Hainebach on our board. This 60-something former CEO of Siemens (Southern Africa) is a great strategic mind and an amazing 'connector', but most of all he has the ability to see when we are struggling with the details, energetically jump in, coordinate a sales plan and throw together a really good presentation!
If you ever get VC funding, make sure you get their money's worth!
I asked Rick a bit about his level of involvement with the startup companies in his portfolio and he told me how in some cases he's even had to write code!
My respect for Rick tripled! Most VCs have a tendency to sit back and 'consult' and 'strategize'. We're a startup company with big ideas and lots of spirit, but what we need most in the beginning is hands-on help from experienced folks.
I'm extremely fortunate in this regard by having Geoff Hainebach on our board. This 60-something former CEO of Siemens (Southern Africa) is a great strategic mind and an amazing 'connector', but most of all he has the ability to see when we are struggling with the details, energetically jump in, coordinate a sales plan and throw together a really good presentation!
If you ever get VC funding, make sure you get their money's worth!
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Firefox 2.0 has launched!
You probably know it already but I'm so excited I had to say something about it in any case!
If, for some bizarre reason, you're still using IE, now's the chance to switch!
Best thing about Firefox 2.0 is that clicking on links that would normally open a new window, will now simply open a new tab instead!
Go download Firefox 2.0 now!
If, for some bizarre reason, you're still using IE, now's the chance to switch!
Best thing about Firefox 2.0 is that clicking on links that would normally open a new window, will now simply open a new tab instead!
Go download Firefox 2.0 now!
Monday, October 23, 2006
Isolation and South Africa
I had dinner in London last week with a small group of really smart folks (amongst others: Shel Israel, Rick Segal, Hugh Macleod, David Quinn, Keith Collins, Jason Korman...)
Had a long discussion with Hugh Macleod about Stormhoek (an isolated South African winery that is going BIG in the UK and US) and its very unique marketing campaign.
Hugh's 'unique selling proposition' is cartoons on the back of business cards. Simple concept, yet Hugh has been noted in the Financial Times as the UK's Most Influential Blogger!
Here's the cartoon he did on my Skyrove card:
Had a long discussion with Hugh Macleod about Stormhoek (an isolated South African winery that is going BIG in the UK and US) and its very unique marketing campaign.
Hugh's 'unique selling proposition' is cartoons on the back of business cards. Simple concept, yet Hugh has been noted in the Financial Times as the UK's Most Influential Blogger!
Here's the cartoon he did on my Skyrove card:
Monday, October 16, 2006
A Roaming we will go (over to Wi-Fi)
So I got a new phone in London, after having my last one stolen in Berlin. It's on Virgin Mobile prepaid.
Switching it on in South Africa upon my return, I received the following message:
'Virgin Mobile welcomes you to South Africa. Calls cost £1.70 per min to make and 80p per min to receive. Texts cost 35p. For help call 789.'
It's pretty expensive to phone in South Africa in general, about R2.50 per min, which is equiv to £0.18 per min. But £1.70??? The last 2 weeks in Europe I didn't bother with cellphone roaming, as Skype does the trick pretty darn well, and calls only cost £0.012. That means that roaming with Virgin Mobile is 142 times more expensive than simply using SkypeOut.
All you need is an internet connection. Anyone out there still doubting that Wi-Fi will trump cellular? Anyone at all? Show yourself!
Switching it on in South Africa upon my return, I received the following message:
'Virgin Mobile welcomes you to South Africa. Calls cost £1.70 per min to make and 80p per min to receive. Texts cost 35p. For help call 789.'
It's pretty expensive to phone in South Africa in general, about R2.50 per min, which is equiv to £0.18 per min. But £1.70??? The last 2 weeks in Europe I didn't bother with cellphone roaming, as Skype does the trick pretty darn well, and calls only cost £0.012. That means that roaming with Virgin Mobile is 142 times more expensive than simply using SkypeOut.
All you need is an internet connection. Anyone out there still doubting that Wi-Fi will trump cellular? Anyone at all? Show yourself!
Monday, October 09, 2006
North Korean Monkeys
This video is not so new, but I thought it relevant in lieu of North Korea testing nuclear weapons.
Kim Jong-Il, if you want to prove to the world that yours is indeed a great nation, please look at the picture of the man landing on the moon where it says: "The monkeys have so much potential if only they apply themselves".
Nuclear weapons are old news, and advanced civilizations have realised this a while ago. Why don't you try something new rather? Renewable energy comes to mind... It's time to catch up!
Kim Jong-Il, if you want to prove to the world that yours is indeed a great nation, please look at the picture of the man landing on the moon where it says: "The monkeys have so much potential if only they apply themselves".
Nuclear weapons are old news, and advanced civilizations have realised this a while ago. Why don't you try something new rather? Renewable energy comes to mind... It's time to catch up!
Sunday, October 01, 2006
YACI (Yet Another Crazy Idea)
Just spent 10+ hours on an aircraft from Cape Town to Doha in the Middle East, and soon boarding a 7 hour redeye flight to Berlin. I'd LOVE to get some sleep, but simply cannot sleep on planes.
How about, in addition to seats, airlines started offering economy class bunk beds? Each one would be compartmentalized, with the head section facing towards the aisle at an angle. Have the bed incline for when you need to eat, lying sideways like an ancient Roman, or decline for having a good solid shuteye.
I see some problems with safety regulations, as seats have to be upright during take-off and landing.
It might even be an idea to have some 'sleeping capsules' on planes available for hire by the hour.
It would lead to the Mile High Club becoming less exclusive though...
How about, in addition to seats, airlines started offering economy class bunk beds? Each one would be compartmentalized, with the head section facing towards the aisle at an angle. Have the bed incline for when you need to eat, lying sideways like an ancient Roman, or decline for having a good solid shuteye.
I see some problems with safety regulations, as seats have to be upright during take-off and landing.
It might even be an idea to have some 'sleeping capsules' on planes available for hire by the hour.
It would lead to the Mile High Club becoming less exclusive though...
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Ready, Steady, Present!
Just saw a post by 'Marketing Geek' Dave Duarte that goes like this:
Thanks for pointing this out Dave, but I don't agree about the preparation helping one bit to calm my nerves...
We have 10 minutes in which we will try to convince investors to give us R10 million. That's a million a minute! I've been preparing for weeks now, if not all my life!
For everyone who is speaking at upcoming BarCamps, Geek Dinners, Toastmasters and more… An observation from Woodrow Wilson:
“If I am to speak ten minutes, I need a week for preparation; of fifteen minutes,three days; if half an hour, two days; if an hour, I am ready now“
A well prepared presentation shows respect for your audience and their time. It also helps calm your nerves.
Thanks for pointing this out Dave, but I don't agree about the preparation helping one bit to calm my nerves...
We have 10 minutes in which we will try to convince investors to give us R10 million. That's a million a minute! I've been preparing for weeks now, if not all my life!
Do you know where Doha is?
I'm currently using Wi-Fi at Doha International Airport in Qatar. I'll be here for another 4 hours and was very excited to see that they have Wi-Fi available. For free!
The bad news is that you get what you pay for. Pages are constantly timing out, emails aren't being sent etc.
I wish this were a Skyrove hotspot! Skyrove hotspots are faster, not because of the technology, but because of the business model. Skyrove charges per MB, therefore faster internet can lead directly to higher revenues for the Skyrove Hotspot Provider.
So, who wants to start a Skyrove movement in Qatar?
The bad news is that you get what you pay for. Pages are constantly timing out, emails aren't being sent etc.
I wish this were a Skyrove hotspot! Skyrove hotspots are faster, not because of the technology, but because of the business model. Skyrove charges per MB, therefore faster internet can lead directly to higher revenues for the Skyrove Hotspot Provider.
So, who wants to start a Skyrove movement in Qatar?
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Angry Professor
I'm currently teaching a VB.net course at Varsity College. This is for one of my students... ;-)
Monday, September 18, 2006
Web 2.0 must Grow Up
In the beginning I thought all things Web 2.0 was really cool.
All of a sudden you could do everything from word processing to spreadsheets inside a browser, rather than having to install any applications on your computer. I really love applications such as Writely, Basecamp, Gmail, Google Maps, ZOHO Creator and others.
But the novelty started wearing off pretty quickly when hundreds of web companies started getting onto the Web 2.0 craze. If you want a Web 2.0 word processor, you can now choose from Writely, Writeboards, ZOHO Writer, Rallypoint and Jotspot to name a few.
It seems the rule of thumb for web companies is to take an existing desktop application and simply port it to a web browser using AJAX.
An interesting exception to this is Meebo. Meebo is a Web 2.0 instant messenger application that rolls together AIM, Yahoo IM, ICQ, MSN messenger and GChat into a single, browser-based chat client.
So far it's the same old formula. What makes Meebo interesting though is the fact that they keep doing new things with Instant Messaging that weren't possible in a Web 1.0 world, such as MeeboMe. (See the review TechCrunch. You can also use the Yeah!Fi LIVE CHAT widget right here, unless you're reading this through an RSS feed)
When film first became popular, many theatre companies performed popular plays and recorded the performances on film. But film was a new medium that made new things possible. Imagine all movies today were simply plays being captured on film?
That's exactly what is currently happening with Web 2.0!
We need more companies like Meebo to show us that a lot more is possible when you embrace a new medium and its possibilities, rather than simply regurgitating old 'plays' onto a new format.
All of a sudden you could do everything from word processing to spreadsheets inside a browser, rather than having to install any applications on your computer. I really love applications such as Writely, Basecamp, Gmail, Google Maps, ZOHO Creator and others.
But the novelty started wearing off pretty quickly when hundreds of web companies started getting onto the Web 2.0 craze. If you want a Web 2.0 word processor, you can now choose from Writely, Writeboards, ZOHO Writer, Rallypoint and Jotspot to name a few.
It seems the rule of thumb for web companies is to take an existing desktop application and simply port it to a web browser using AJAX.
An interesting exception to this is Meebo. Meebo is a Web 2.0 instant messenger application that rolls together AIM, Yahoo IM, ICQ, MSN messenger and GChat into a single, browser-based chat client.
So far it's the same old formula. What makes Meebo interesting though is the fact that they keep doing new things with Instant Messaging that weren't possible in a Web 1.0 world, such as MeeboMe. (See the review TechCrunch. You can also use the Yeah!Fi LIVE CHAT widget right here, unless you're reading this through an RSS feed)
When film first became popular, many theatre companies performed popular plays and recorded the performances on film. But film was a new medium that made new things possible. Imagine all movies today were simply plays being captured on film?
That's exactly what is currently happening with Web 2.0!
We need more companies like Meebo to show us that a lot more is possible when you embrace a new medium and its possibilities, rather than simply regurgitating old 'plays' onto a new format.
Sunday, September 10, 2006
'Not Invented Here' Syndrome
In the last year or so I've often approached ICT companies and small ISPs to talk to them about Skyrove. Although many simply 'got it', I often received resistance from others, mostly about some or other bizarre feature request or they'll tell me that they're planning to do the same development but of course it will be better. I would often leave such meetings stunned that these bright people couldn't see my proposal for the 'no-brainer' it is.
I was stunned once again by the controversy that sprang up over a statement made by Esther Dyson when she visited South Africa.
From ITWeb:
Esther probably had Fon in mind when she made this statement. Like Skyrove, Fon allows folks to easily share their internet using a Wi-Fi router, but with a different payment model. (Per MB vs. Per Day) I spoke to the brilliant Robert Lang at Fon a few weeks ago who said, quite correctly, that South Africa wasn't ready for the Fon model, where we pay as much as $36 dollars for each GB we use.
Unfortunately, Esther's suggestion wasn't too well received. The most common objection being that it is a) not practicable (it is if you're using Skyrove) and b) illegal (also not true).
Perhaps it was just a matter of South Africans not wanting to follow some sage advice from an imported visionary such as Esther Dyson.
Geoff Hainebach, who was formerly CEO at Siemens Telecomms SA, explained it to me as the 'NIH' (Not Invented Here) phenonemon.
From Wikipedia:
As a result of Esther's efforts, the government & DoC (Department of Communications) is now saying: "It's OK to share your broadband with Wi-Fi" (Read about it on Esther's blog)
This is a major milestone! Thanks Esther for being 'a bit of a troublemaker'.
Henk
p.s. Also see Jarred Cinman's blog for an alternative viewpoint.
I was stunned once again by the controversy that sprang up over a statement made by Esther Dyson when she visited South Africa.
From ITWeb:
Esther Dyson, chairperson of venture capitalist firm EDventure Holdings and a member of the Presidential Advisory Council, added that consumers needed to be entrepreneurial by buying and reselling broadband.
“Though there was a sense of urgency on the behalf of the government, competition must come from the customer,” she noted.
Esther probably had Fon in mind when she made this statement. Like Skyrove, Fon allows folks to easily share their internet using a Wi-Fi router, but with a different payment model. (Per MB vs. Per Day) I spoke to the brilliant Robert Lang at Fon a few weeks ago who said, quite correctly, that South Africa wasn't ready for the Fon model, where we pay as much as $36 dollars for each GB we use.
Unfortunately, Esther's suggestion wasn't too well received. The most common objection being that it is a) not practicable (it is if you're using Skyrove) and b) illegal (also not true).
Perhaps it was just a matter of South Africans not wanting to follow some sage advice from an imported visionary such as Esther Dyson.
Geoff Hainebach, who was formerly CEO at Siemens Telecomms SA, explained it to me as the 'NIH' (Not Invented Here) phenonemon.
From Wikipedia:
"In many cases, Not Invented Here occurs as a result of simple ignorance, as many companies simply never do the research to know whether a solution already exists. Also common, however, are deliberate cases where the organization's staff rejects a known solution because they don't take the time to understand it fully before rejecting it;"
As a result of Esther's efforts, the government & DoC (Department of Communications) is now saying: "It's OK to share your broadband with Wi-Fi" (Read about it on Esther's blog)
This is a major milestone! Thanks Esther for being 'a bit of a troublemaker'.
Henk
p.s. Also see Jarred Cinman's blog for an alternative viewpoint.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Flatrate Schmatrate
Many people want flatrate internet in South Africa where we pay about $36 US for each GB we use. Flatrate broadband is being offered by the likes of IS; at a price. (about $300 US per month, with high latencies and restrictions on P2P)
Imagine the following scenario. You and your mate go to the local shopping mall. He buys a pair of sneakers, a new DVD player, a present for his girlfriend and 3 books at the bookstore. You buy some new socks.
Both of you pay a flatrate of $500 per month for your shopping mall "subscription". I.e. you've just subsidized everything your mate bought. Do you think consumers and shopowners would buy into this concept of shopping mall subscriptions? Of course not!
So why on earth would you want flatrate internet, where the majority of users are subsidizing the excesses of a minority?
It used to be that the internet was about reading emails and surfing the web. These days it's about VoIP, IPTV, streaming audio, podcasts, YouTube and Web 2.0 applications. One person could be getting a lot more value out of an hour on the net than another!
It makes sense to me that the more you 'buy' at this new 'shopping mall', the more you should pay. Of course you should qualify for bulk discounts, but why a flat rate for unlimited usage?
I envisage a world in which everyone is online all the time. There's simply no point in charging for the time you are online. You'll be online from birth. Therefore, Skyrove charges per Megabyte. It's a natural differentiator.
There's a pretty much direct correlation between the value-add of most online services you use and the amount of bandwidth it consumes. Web 2.0 apps use more bandwidth than surfing, VoIP uses more bandwidth than Web 2.0, video uses more bandwidth than VoIP etc.
One of the main reasons we are given is that consumers simply don't understand the concept of MB. The sooner internet operators realise that consumers aren't idiots and that "Megabyte Education" isn't impossible, the sooner we're going to see more affordable internet access.
Imagine the following scenario. You and your mate go to the local shopping mall. He buys a pair of sneakers, a new DVD player, a present for his girlfriend and 3 books at the bookstore. You buy some new socks.
Both of you pay a flatrate of $500 per month for your shopping mall "subscription". I.e. you've just subsidized everything your mate bought. Do you think consumers and shopowners would buy into this concept of shopping mall subscriptions? Of course not!
So why on earth would you want flatrate internet, where the majority of users are subsidizing the excesses of a minority?
It used to be that the internet was about reading emails and surfing the web. These days it's about VoIP, IPTV, streaming audio, podcasts, YouTube and Web 2.0 applications. One person could be getting a lot more value out of an hour on the net than another!
It makes sense to me that the more you 'buy' at this new 'shopping mall', the more you should pay. Of course you should qualify for bulk discounts, but why a flat rate for unlimited usage?
I envisage a world in which everyone is online all the time. There's simply no point in charging for the time you are online. You'll be online from birth. Therefore, Skyrove charges per Megabyte. It's a natural differentiator.
There's a pretty much direct correlation between the value-add of most online services you use and the amount of bandwidth it consumes. Web 2.0 apps use more bandwidth than surfing, VoIP uses more bandwidth than Web 2.0, video uses more bandwidth than VoIP etc.
One of the main reasons we are given is that consumers simply don't understand the concept of MB. The sooner internet operators realise that consumers aren't idiots and that "Megabyte Education" isn't impossible, the sooner we're going to see more affordable internet access.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Gmail has a Daily Quota
I discovered to shock & horror that Gmail wouldn't send any more mails today! Apparently I exceeded my 'daily sending quota'.
Background: This morning I sent out an email to all 270 Skyrove Hotspot Providers. I had all the email addresses in a CSV file and used a Macro to put them onto one line, in the format "x@x.com", "y@y.com","z@z.com" etc.
It seems Gmail couldn't handle the fact that there were inverted commas around the email addresses, so I received 270 'Mail Delivery Subsystem' replies... I removed all inverted commas so the emails now read: x@x.com, y@y.com, z@z.com and sent the email.
Everything went through fine. Then, as I was trying to reply to an email in my inbox, it simply wouldn't send. No message either. So I tried composing a new message. This time it said "You have reached a limit for sending mail"
Clicking on Learn More tells me that "Gmail has a number of sending limits in place to prevent abuse of our system, and to help fight spam. Common causes include: 1. Sending a message to more than 500 recipients... 2. Sending a large number of undeliverable messages. We suggest verifying your contacts' email addresses."
Considering it was a parse error on Gmail's part (I'm sure some programmers will cause it a parse 'feature') I'm pretty riled up about it right now.
Furthermore, we've moved over to 'Gmail for your domain' so there's no other way I can send emails from my Skyrove account...
Background: This morning I sent out an email to all 270 Skyrove Hotspot Providers. I had all the email addresses in a CSV file and used a Macro to put them onto one line, in the format "x@x.com", "y@y.com","z@z.com" etc.
It seems Gmail couldn't handle the fact that there were inverted commas around the email addresses, so I received 270 'Mail Delivery Subsystem' replies... I removed all inverted commas so the emails now read: x@x.com, y@y.com, z@z.com and sent the email.
Everything went through fine. Then, as I was trying to reply to an email in my inbox, it simply wouldn't send. No message either. So I tried composing a new message. This time it said "You have reached a limit for sending mail"
Clicking on Learn More tells me that "Gmail has a number of sending limits in place to prevent abuse of our system, and to help fight spam. Common causes include: 1. Sending a message to more than 500 recipients... 2. Sending a large number of undeliverable messages. We suggest verifying your contacts' email addresses."
Considering it was a parse error on Gmail's part (I'm sure some programmers will cause it a parse 'feature') I'm pretty riled up about it right now.
Furthermore, we've moved over to 'Gmail for your domain' so there's no other way I can send emails from my Skyrove account...
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
VCs! Watch out for them hemorrhoids!
I'm really proud to say that last week Skyrove won the Technology Top 100 award for the 'Most Promising Emerging Enterprise'!
In addition, we were also chosen to go to Berlin in October this year to present to investors at the European Venture Market. (Email me if you'd like to meet up!)
Click here to read the recent ITWeb article on the TT100 Awards.
I was still feeling proud and pompous the next day when Tai Schierenberg, a former surgeon who's now in Venture Capital, told me of a saying in the VC community that states: "Awards are like hemorrhoids, sooner or later every asshole gets one"
I thought it pretty funny but thought that VCs might just be jealous for not getting enough credit.
So I did a Google search for 'Entrepreneur Award' which returned 11,900,000 results and then for 'Venture Capital Award' which returned 21,100,000 results, almost twice as many.
At least now we know who gets the most awards...
In addition, we were also chosen to go to Berlin in October this year to present to investors at the European Venture Market. (Email me if you'd like to meet up!)
Click here to read the recent ITWeb article on the TT100 Awards.
I was still feeling proud and pompous the next day when Tai Schierenberg, a former surgeon who's now in Venture Capital, told me of a saying in the VC community that states: "Awards are like hemorrhoids, sooner or later every asshole gets one"
I thought it pretty funny but thought that VCs might just be jealous for not getting enough credit.
So I did a Google search for 'Entrepreneur Award' which returned 11,900,000 results and then for 'Venture Capital Award' which returned 21,100,000 results, almost twice as many.
At least now we know who gets the most awards...
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Software Development Explained
I believe one of the reasons why Skyrove has been succesful on a small budget and with a small team is that we use our own products, i.e. we scratch our own itch!
There is no miscommunication between what the customer wants, what we think he wants and what he actually needs.
37Signals is another good example of a small company that builds software for itself. They are extremely stubborn about adding new features and reject most feature requests straight off the bat. They know that Basecamp (their project collaboration software) is good enough for them and therefore it is good enough for most others as well.
If you are in software development, I'd highly recommend adding their blog to your RSS reader (www.37signals.com/svn)
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
A Positive Way to Reduce Crime and Unemployment
This is an Open Letter to Ms Patty Stonesifer, President of the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation
Dear Ms Stonesifer,
I have a novel idea for how we can dramatically reduce crime worldwide by using technology in rehabilitation and would like to run it by you.
There are 3 reasons I'm contacting you in particular:
1. I admire the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's work in Africa
2. You were voted by Time to be one of the 25 most influential people in America (wow!)
3. Most importantly, your background in interactive media!
Here in South Africa, crime gets blamed on the lack of policing, the justice system, poverty, the legacy of Apartheid and the effects of HIV on our society, all of which are valid reasons.
Another large factor is that we have insufficient correctional services. We have a philosophy of rehabilitation, rather than punishment, but the reality is that our jails are overburdened and most all of the criminals are repeat offenders. There simply is no rehabilitation taking place. Inmates join gangs that function inside and outside of the prisons and the only skills they learn are of the criminal variety.
What if we created a social computer 'game' that's targeted at inmates?
What I have in mind is something akin to training simulations like those seen in 'The Matrix'. Now, we don't quite have that technology yet, but we have seen fantastic simulations in the form of games such as Oblivion and the World of Warcraft.
When an inmate arrives at prison, he could be locked up with a computer as his only cellmate. His only way to interact with the world is through the 'game'. He does not get a chance to react with any other inmates, who could contribute to reinforcing criminal behaviour. (A very anti-social kind of behaviour is needed to survive in the prison system, as opposed to the outside world)
In the beginning stages of the game, which will be similar to any online roleplaying game, the inmate would only interact with one real person: His online councillor. He can run around the virtual world and interact with virtual characters, but it's a restricted virtual world.
Along the way he learns skills. Early on, his aptitude could be determined: trading, driving, programming, farming etc, in a similar way to any Role Playing Game. Depending on his aptitude, the inmate is stimulated to develop these skills further. Either to use them when re-entering the 'real' world, or even to start a life selling goods on eBay for example. (no, not 'fencing'!)
He'll need to complete certain tasks and show improvement in behaviour to go 'up a level' and gain access to a wider world, and have interactions with more real people, inside and outside prison.
Some would argue that this 'virtual' world wouldn't really rehabilitate him to re-enter the 'real' world. But that's nonsense, many people these days in the 'real' world spend more time online than offline!
As the inmate learns new skills and shows improvement in behaviour, he's eventually given full online access, outside of the game, but still closely monitored. When the time is ripe, he may re-enter the real world. Very likely continuing to trade online, but also possibly with some high-tech skills such as tech support, programming, web marketing or online trading to name but a few. In South Africa, there is a dire lack of these skills while at the same time we have gross unemployment.
Some would say that such a plan is simply too expensive. But the fact is that it will save us millions if not billions in the long run. Prisoners will spend less time in prison. It will have a dramatic impact on crime, and as we know, crime has a dramatic impact on foreign investment and our economy.
Instead of having 20 inmates in a small room, we can now afford a reasonably comfortable environment for inmates. The idea is not that they have a 'fun' time while in prison, but that we see positive behaviour modification and skills learning.
There's a massive incentive for governments and companies to sponsor this because of medium and long-term benefits: reduced crime & less unemployment that leads to a stronger economy. But there may also be short-term incentive for marketing and software companies to market their products through this 'closed' internet game. Once back in the real world, the prisoner will need a computer, software tools etc.
A games developer, such as Microsoft, could develop such a 'game' through its gaming division in cooperation with correctional services and academics. The games developer can derive ongoing profits from, what is literally, a captive audience.
I realise that this might not be the Gates Foundation's cup of tea, but I do hope that you could perhaps introduce the concept to the right people or that you know the right person to champion such a project.
If we could 'banish' all the world's criminals to a virtual world where they stand a good chance of being rehabilitated, instead of the degenerate and inhumane micro-societies we currently create, it might just be the greatest achievement of the century.
Best Regards,
Henk Kleynhans
CEO - Skyrove Ltd.
p.s. I'm a constant 'idea generator'. Whenver I have a new idea that I feel could make a difference to the world, given the right champions, I share these openly.
Dear Ms Stonesifer,
I have a novel idea for how we can dramatically reduce crime worldwide by using technology in rehabilitation and would like to run it by you.
There are 3 reasons I'm contacting you in particular:
1. I admire the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's work in Africa
2. You were voted by Time to be one of the 25 most influential people in America (wow!)
3. Most importantly, your background in interactive media!
Here in South Africa, crime gets blamed on the lack of policing, the justice system, poverty, the legacy of Apartheid and the effects of HIV on our society, all of which are valid reasons.
Another large factor is that we have insufficient correctional services. We have a philosophy of rehabilitation, rather than punishment, but the reality is that our jails are overburdened and most all of the criminals are repeat offenders. There simply is no rehabilitation taking place. Inmates join gangs that function inside and outside of the prisons and the only skills they learn are of the criminal variety.
What if we created a social computer 'game' that's targeted at inmates?
What I have in mind is something akin to training simulations like those seen in 'The Matrix'. Now, we don't quite have that technology yet, but we have seen fantastic simulations in the form of games such as Oblivion and the World of Warcraft.
When an inmate arrives at prison, he could be locked up with a computer as his only cellmate. His only way to interact with the world is through the 'game'. He does not get a chance to react with any other inmates, who could contribute to reinforcing criminal behaviour. (A very anti-social kind of behaviour is needed to survive in the prison system, as opposed to the outside world)
In the beginning stages of the game, which will be similar to any online roleplaying game, the inmate would only interact with one real person: His online councillor. He can run around the virtual world and interact with virtual characters, but it's a restricted virtual world.
Along the way he learns skills. Early on, his aptitude could be determined: trading, driving, programming, farming etc, in a similar way to any Role Playing Game. Depending on his aptitude, the inmate is stimulated to develop these skills further. Either to use them when re-entering the 'real' world, or even to start a life selling goods on eBay for example. (no, not 'fencing'!)
He'll need to complete certain tasks and show improvement in behaviour to go 'up a level' and gain access to a wider world, and have interactions with more real people, inside and outside prison.
Some would argue that this 'virtual' world wouldn't really rehabilitate him to re-enter the 'real' world. But that's nonsense, many people these days in the 'real' world spend more time online than offline!
As the inmate learns new skills and shows improvement in behaviour, he's eventually given full online access, outside of the game, but still closely monitored. When the time is ripe, he may re-enter the real world. Very likely continuing to trade online, but also possibly with some high-tech skills such as tech support, programming, web marketing or online trading to name but a few. In South Africa, there is a dire lack of these skills while at the same time we have gross unemployment.
Some would say that such a plan is simply too expensive. But the fact is that it will save us millions if not billions in the long run. Prisoners will spend less time in prison. It will have a dramatic impact on crime, and as we know, crime has a dramatic impact on foreign investment and our economy.
Instead of having 20 inmates in a small room, we can now afford a reasonably comfortable environment for inmates. The idea is not that they have a 'fun' time while in prison, but that we see positive behaviour modification and skills learning.
There's a massive incentive for governments and companies to sponsor this because of medium and long-term benefits: reduced crime & less unemployment that leads to a stronger economy. But there may also be short-term incentive for marketing and software companies to market their products through this 'closed' internet game. Once back in the real world, the prisoner will need a computer, software tools etc.
A games developer, such as Microsoft, could develop such a 'game' through its gaming division in cooperation with correctional services and academics. The games developer can derive ongoing profits from, what is literally, a captive audience.
I realise that this might not be the Gates Foundation's cup of tea, but I do hope that you could perhaps introduce the concept to the right people or that you know the right person to champion such a project.
If we could 'banish' all the world's criminals to a virtual world where they stand a good chance of being rehabilitated, instead of the degenerate and inhumane micro-societies we currently create, it might just be the greatest achievement of the century.
Best Regards,
Henk Kleynhans
CEO - Skyrove Ltd.
p.s. I'm a constant 'idea generator'. Whenver I have a new idea that I feel could make a difference to the world, given the right champions, I share these openly.
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Dances with VCs
I received notice today from a VC we recently signed a term sheet with that they have chosen not to invest in our company. I'd like to share with you some of the things I've learnt in the process, some of the traps I fell into and what I'd do differently next time.
The gist of the 'Dear John' letter we received:
"1. Maturity of company: [The VC]'s current Fund2 requires an established team and business. Skyrove would for the foreseeable future require a more hands on approach which deviates from this model.
2. Relative size of local market. It is uncertain whether revenue generated by Skyrove in the SA market would be sufficient to achieve [The VC]'s long-term revenue goals.
3. Barrier to entry: It is too uncertain how easy and attractive it will become for competitors to replicate Skyrove's technology and business model.
4. Other trends: It is uncertain what the impact of municipalities providing free data connective (such as San Francisco and Philadelphia) will be on Skyrove and its competitors' revenue."
Although reasons 2,3 and 4 are mostly hogwash they made up to lengthen a short letter, I completely understand their first reason. They launched a new and dramatically different fund halfway through our negotiations, about 4 months ago. The principal on the Skyrove deal resigned 2 weeks ago and things have generally been in turmoil.
A marriage at this stage may well have been to the detriment of both us and them.
Things I'll do differently next time:
1. I will not again accept an offer that gives majority board control to the VC when they're buying a minority share. When it comes to our product, we know our market better. We know free municipal Wi-Fi is much less of a threat to us than free water is to bottled water. We know our product can be replicated, but we're pretty innovative and will work hard to stay ahead of copycats.
2. I will not again accept an offer of more money than I need. We were offered twice as much as we asked for, for almost twice as many shares, in 4 conditional tranches over 2 years. They were effectively getting stock options, rather than outright buying stock.
3. I will not take VC funding before being cash-flow positive. This sounds counter-intuitive to some as you might argue that you need VC funding to get there! However, being cash-strapped has made us extremely focused on making Skyrove the best product for 90% of the market, even though we were only able to implement 10% of the features we first envisioned. When we started talks with the VC 6 months ago, we had zero revenue and zero clients. Now we have hundreds of customers signing up every month and revenues that are growing exponentially. Because of a lack of cash, we've become smarter and learnt more about all aspects of running a business. We've had to build partnerships to get our product out there. If we had cash, we probably would have struggled to manage newly founded 'divisions' headed up by overpaid 'vice presidents' appointed by the board, who could outvote the founders.
4. I will phone the founders of other companies in the VC's portfolio and I will listen to them BEFORE any serious negotiations with theVC.
5. I will more rigorously interview the VC at the first presentation. I will ask them how well their portfolio companies are performing and for more detail on how they intend to influence the running of our business.
6. I will not accept a vague term sheet that asks me to pay for Due Diligence costs in the event that I do not accept their offer. Trust me, the time you'll spend on negotiating a deal with a VC is much more expensive to your company than their costs of doing Due Diligence. In our case, the VC cut us loose, so we weren't liable for any costs. However, I was fearful that they could toss a red herring, forcing us to either accept new terms or to pay a large fine.
Yes, I've read this advice before from the likes of Brad Feld and Rick Segal, but it's a very different story when you're being wooed by VCs, have partners adding pressure and feel that it's up to you to make the deal work.
All in all, it's been a fantastic experience and we've come out of it a stronger company. We're still open to VC funding ($5 routers anyone?), but for now, I simply feel relieved that I can continue focusing on what's most important to me: building the best darn Wi-Fi service on the planet!
The gist of the 'Dear John' letter we received:
"1. Maturity of company: [The VC]'s current Fund2 requires an established team and business. Skyrove would for the foreseeable future require a more hands on approach which deviates from this model.
2. Relative size of local market. It is uncertain whether revenue generated by Skyrove in the SA market would be sufficient to achieve [The VC]'s long-term revenue goals.
3. Barrier to entry: It is too uncertain how easy and attractive it will become for competitors to replicate Skyrove's technology and business model.
4. Other trends: It is uncertain what the impact of municipalities providing free data connective (such as San Francisco and Philadelphia) will be on Skyrove and its competitors' revenue."
Although reasons 2,3 and 4 are mostly hogwash they made up to lengthen a short letter, I completely understand their first reason. They launched a new and dramatically different fund halfway through our negotiations, about 4 months ago. The principal on the Skyrove deal resigned 2 weeks ago and things have generally been in turmoil.
A marriage at this stage may well have been to the detriment of both us and them.
Things I'll do differently next time:
1. I will not again accept an offer that gives majority board control to the VC when they're buying a minority share. When it comes to our product, we know our market better. We know free municipal Wi-Fi is much less of a threat to us than free water is to bottled water. We know our product can be replicated, but we're pretty innovative and will work hard to stay ahead of copycats.
2. I will not again accept an offer of more money than I need. We were offered twice as much as we asked for, for almost twice as many shares, in 4 conditional tranches over 2 years. They were effectively getting stock options, rather than outright buying stock.
3. I will not take VC funding before being cash-flow positive. This sounds counter-intuitive to some as you might argue that you need VC funding to get there! However, being cash-strapped has made us extremely focused on making Skyrove the best product for 90% of the market, even though we were only able to implement 10% of the features we first envisioned. When we started talks with the VC 6 months ago, we had zero revenue and zero clients. Now we have hundreds of customers signing up every month and revenues that are growing exponentially. Because of a lack of cash, we've become smarter and learnt more about all aspects of running a business. We've had to build partnerships to get our product out there. If we had cash, we probably would have struggled to manage newly founded 'divisions' headed up by overpaid 'vice presidents' appointed by the board, who could outvote the founders.
4. I will phone the founders of other companies in the VC's portfolio and I will listen to them BEFORE any serious negotiations with theVC.
5. I will more rigorously interview the VC at the first presentation. I will ask them how well their portfolio companies are performing and for more detail on how they intend to influence the running of our business.
6. I will not accept a vague term sheet that asks me to pay for Due Diligence costs in the event that I do not accept their offer. Trust me, the time you'll spend on negotiating a deal with a VC is much more expensive to your company than their costs of doing Due Diligence. In our case, the VC cut us loose, so we weren't liable for any costs. However, I was fearful that they could toss a red herring, forcing us to either accept new terms or to pay a large fine.
Yes, I've read this advice before from the likes of Brad Feld and Rick Segal, but it's a very different story when you're being wooed by VCs, have partners adding pressure and feel that it's up to you to make the deal work.
All in all, it's been a fantastic experience and we've come out of it a stronger company. We're still open to VC funding ($5 routers anyone?), but for now, I simply feel relieved that I can continue focusing on what's most important to me: building the best darn Wi-Fi service on the planet!
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
The 5 Magic Rules of Systems Development
I recently read about an ISP engineer who accidently deleted 700GB worth of customer emails. He got confused between a window session to the live server and one to the development server. Now, we've made exactly the same mistake a while back. As a result we came up with a short list of inalienable rules of systems development:
#1: The smallest change can make the biggest difference
Ever heard the chaos theory metaphor about a butterfly flapping its wings in Tokyo, causing it to rain in New York? It must have been a programmer who came up with that, because nowhere else are such effects more apparent than in the wild west of systems development. I've seen entire distributed systems go down because an SQL query got split onto multiple lines using "\" characters. Distributed systems integrate software from multiple vendors running on various platforms. They don't all use the same coding conventions. Live by this mantra and the rest of the rules follow naturally.
#2: Don't dive without a buddy
Never make changes to the LIVE server without testing, consultation and oversight by another team member. Take time to do 'checks' with your teammate before you commit any changes. Explain to him exactly what it is you're planning to do, in what order, what files will be changed, where they've been backed up and how you can reverse the action in case of failure etc. 9 out of 10 times everything goes fine. Prepare for the 10th time.
#3: Thou shalt not boondoggle!
Leave a software developer alone without clear timelines and deliverables and he will come up with a brilliant solution to a problem that doesn't exist. Have a clear development plan that everyone on your development team agrees to. Do not recode everything to make it 'more like Web 2.0' while there are security holes in your system, that you know about!
#4: The Power of 'One'
Do not work on many problems at once. Inevitably, one feature will seem more important today than the one you started working on yesterday. Tomorrow the same thing happens. All of a sudden, you're working on 10 features at once, and you're expected to finish all of them by the end of the month. You don't get to test all of them thoroughly before you upload to the live server on a Friday afternoon, and start getting frantic phonecalls from clients on Sunday. You now have to fix it, but first you need to find the cause. You have 5000 lines of code to filter through and you can't 'see' the problem.
Code 'one' thing, test 'one' thing, implement 'one' thing.
#5: All the world's a stage
Sometimes everything works perfectly on the development server in your office. But the moment you upload to your Live server, everything breaks!
Follow the Power of 'One' and test changes on a staging server before you implement them live. If anything breaks, you can figure out why and prevent the same thing happening when you're ready to go live. Your staging server should approximate your LIVE server as closely as possible. The only difference should be the IP address! Before you upload changes to the live server, upload them once, and only once, to the staging server. Test as if it's live. If you can, have some of your clients use the staging server for a while, and see if they experience any problems.
Follow the rules above and it could just save your job or your startup business. Either way, it will make things a lot less stressful.
#1: The smallest change can make the biggest difference
Ever heard the chaos theory metaphor about a butterfly flapping its wings in Tokyo, causing it to rain in New York? It must have been a programmer who came up with that, because nowhere else are such effects more apparent than in the wild west of systems development. I've seen entire distributed systems go down because an SQL query got split onto multiple lines using "\" characters. Distributed systems integrate software from multiple vendors running on various platforms. They don't all use the same coding conventions. Live by this mantra and the rest of the rules follow naturally.
#2: Don't dive without a buddy
Never make changes to the LIVE server without testing, consultation and oversight by another team member. Take time to do 'checks' with your teammate before you commit any changes. Explain to him exactly what it is you're planning to do, in what order, what files will be changed, where they've been backed up and how you can reverse the action in case of failure etc. 9 out of 10 times everything goes fine. Prepare for the 10th time.
#3: Thou shalt not boondoggle!
Leave a software developer alone without clear timelines and deliverables and he will come up with a brilliant solution to a problem that doesn't exist. Have a clear development plan that everyone on your development team agrees to. Do not recode everything to make it 'more like Web 2.0' while there are security holes in your system, that you know about!
#4: The Power of 'One'
Do not work on many problems at once. Inevitably, one feature will seem more important today than the one you started working on yesterday. Tomorrow the same thing happens. All of a sudden, you're working on 10 features at once, and you're expected to finish all of them by the end of the month. You don't get to test all of them thoroughly before you upload to the live server on a Friday afternoon, and start getting frantic phonecalls from clients on Sunday. You now have to fix it, but first you need to find the cause. You have 5000 lines of code to filter through and you can't 'see' the problem.
Code 'one' thing, test 'one' thing, implement 'one' thing.
#5: All the world's a stage
Sometimes everything works perfectly on the development server in your office. But the moment you upload to your Live server, everything breaks!
Follow the Power of 'One' and test changes on a staging server before you implement them live. If anything breaks, you can figure out why and prevent the same thing happening when you're ready to go live. Your staging server should approximate your LIVE server as closely as possible. The only difference should be the IP address! Before you upload changes to the live server, upload them once, and only once, to the staging server. Test as if it's live. If you can, have some of your clients use the staging server for a while, and see if they experience any problems.
Follow the rules above and it could just save your job or your startup business. Either way, it will make things a lot less stressful.
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Never mind iTunes, here comes diggTune
I had a really great idea last night that I just couldn't keep to myself.
How about digg for songs? Instead of people submitting stories, artists and record companies could submit mp3 tunes to digg.com. mp3 posts would essentially look the same as other digg posts. Readers then click on a play button to listen to a streaming version of the song.
They then simply click on 'digg it' or 'bury song'.
They can then decide to download it. Songs could be free, or for a fee. digg.com could take a small commission on all songs sold.
Gone are the days where indie artists have to struggle to get their demo tapes to the 'right' people in the music industry. They can simply upload their music onto digg and, if they're good, become famous overnight!
Now, the problem was, how do I get this idea implemented? I am too busy with Skyrove and I really don't know how to sell 'just' an idea. Perhaps I could approach some patent attorneys and spend a lot of money to do something that I think should be in the public domain, implemented in a way that works best.
So I came up with another idea. I registered diggtune.com and am auctioning it on eBay. (50% of proceeds will go to Non-Profit Organizations).
Of course I'm hoping that the folks at digg themselves will be the highest bidder, as I think they could best implement my idea and help more struggling musicians than anyone else. (Maybe I'm just an "addiggt", as in I'm "addiggted" to digg)
Then again, I've just told them about my idea for free! They don't really need diggtune.com and they could just do it themselves!
Either way, I hope you liked reading about my crazy idea.
How about digg for songs? Instead of people submitting stories, artists and record companies could submit mp3 tunes to digg.com. mp3 posts would essentially look the same as other digg posts. Readers then click on a play button to listen to a streaming version of the song.
They then simply click on 'digg it' or 'bury song'.
They can then decide to download it. Songs could be free, or for a fee. digg.com could take a small commission on all songs sold.
Gone are the days where indie artists have to struggle to get their demo tapes to the 'right' people in the music industry. They can simply upload their music onto digg and, if they're good, become famous overnight!
Now, the problem was, how do I get this idea implemented? I am too busy with Skyrove and I really don't know how to sell 'just' an idea. Perhaps I could approach some patent attorneys and spend a lot of money to do something that I think should be in the public domain, implemented in a way that works best.
So I came up with another idea. I registered diggtune.com and am auctioning it on eBay. (50% of proceeds will go to Non-Profit Organizations).
Of course I'm hoping that the folks at digg themselves will be the highest bidder, as I think they could best implement my idea and help more struggling musicians than anyone else. (Maybe I'm just an "addiggt", as in I'm "addiggted" to digg)
Then again, I've just told them about my idea for free! They don't really need diggtune.com and they could just do it themselves!
Either way, I hope you liked reading about my crazy idea.
Friday, May 26, 2006
Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be coders
Don't let them write programs and hack them too much
Let them be doctors and lawyers and such!
Credit to John Newton for the title!
John brings up the old issue of people not encouraging their kids to go into the software industry.
I teach a few different IT courses at a private college. The real problem is not that kids don't want to study information technology, it's that they all want to become networking technicians!
When I ask my students about this it soon arises that they think becoming a networking specialist is a lot easier than becoming a programmer. It is definitely true that it's easier to study networking technologies than programming, and becoming an entry-level programmer probably takes a bit more hard work than becoming an entry-level networking technician. Being a CCIE level networking engineer is a different story though.
The real reasons why there aren't enough programmers being churned out from private colleges and universities are simple:
1. Private colleges don't encourage students to study programming. Programming teachers cost a lot more and seeing as class-sizes are already smaller, private colleges simply prefer to focus on networking basics.
2. Universities should start by teaching JavaScript, not Java! Studying Computer Science is dreadfully boring for the first 3 - 4 semesters. It's also extremely difficult for the uninitiated. Especially when you're writing code in Java or C++ and you can't "see" what's going wrong and can't decipher cryptic error messages. It would be better to use JavaScript to teach students about for loops, if-then-else logic, simple functions etc. Students will have a lot more fun creating a 'cool' website they can show to the world than they would creating a command line Java app.
It doesn't help that most university teaching staff see Javascript, PHP, Ruby on Rails etc. as somehow 'inferior' to Java or C++.
The problem is not just getting students to study Computer Science, it's getting them to graduate with a CS major. In my first year at varsity, there were about 400 students 'majoring' in Computer Science. By year 3 it was closer to 100.
Considering the current world of web 2.0, universities should be spending more time on web languages and technologies, and less on teaching students to write stand-alone applications!
digg this
Let them be doctors and lawyers and such!
Credit to John Newton for the title!
John brings up the old issue of people not encouraging their kids to go into the software industry.
I teach a few different IT courses at a private college. The real problem is not that kids don't want to study information technology, it's that they all want to become networking technicians!
When I ask my students about this it soon arises that they think becoming a networking specialist is a lot easier than becoming a programmer. It is definitely true that it's easier to study networking technologies than programming, and becoming an entry-level programmer probably takes a bit more hard work than becoming an entry-level networking technician. Being a CCIE level networking engineer is a different story though.
The real reasons why there aren't enough programmers being churned out from private colleges and universities are simple:
1. Private colleges don't encourage students to study programming. Programming teachers cost a lot more and seeing as class-sizes are already smaller, private colleges simply prefer to focus on networking basics.
2. Universities should start by teaching JavaScript, not Java! Studying Computer Science is dreadfully boring for the first 3 - 4 semesters. It's also extremely difficult for the uninitiated. Especially when you're writing code in Java or C++ and you can't "see" what's going wrong and can't decipher cryptic error messages. It would be better to use JavaScript to teach students about for loops, if-then-else logic, simple functions etc. Students will have a lot more fun creating a 'cool' website they can show to the world than they would creating a command line Java app.
It doesn't help that most university teaching staff see Javascript, PHP, Ruby on Rails etc. as somehow 'inferior' to Java or C++.
The problem is not just getting students to study Computer Science, it's getting them to graduate with a CS major. In my first year at varsity, there were about 400 students 'majoring' in Computer Science. By year 3 it was closer to 100.
Considering the current world of web 2.0, universities should be spending more time on web languages and technologies, and less on teaching students to write stand-alone applications!
digg this
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
My bet with Steve Jobs
I wrote in my last blogpost about how Apple has been doing just about everything right and are winning over PC addicts like myself.
One of the things that really irks me though, besides the price, is that you can't read anything on Apple's website because they are using a dark grey font against a black background. (http://www.apple.com/macbookpro)
Please write a comment below to tell me if you can read it!
Anyways, here's my correspondence with Steve Jobs on the matter (yes, I was surprized he replied to me, even though it was somewhat curt)
On Apr 24, 2006, at 4:09 PM, Henk Kleynhans wrote:
Dear Mr Jobs,
The text at http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/ is entirely illegible. Dark gray against a black background? What were you thinking???
If you fix the contrast on your webpage, I’d bet your sales will increase significantly!
If I’m right, I wouldn’t mind an all-expenses paid trip to Silicon Valley and a Macbook Pro.
If I’m wrong, well, you’ll have a place to stay with a young entrepreneur in Cape Town, South Africa. (I’ll even throw in a township tour)
I have a pretty darn irritating habit of being right quite often, but you’re still welcome in Cape Town in any case.
Best Regards,
Henk Kleynhans – CEO
Skyrove (Pty) Ltd
Tel: +27 (21) 4488843
Fax: +27 (86) 6204077
henk@skyrove.com
blog: www.yeahfi.com
p.s. See my blog post on How to convert a Hardcore PC user into a Mac Fanatic: http://www.yeahfi.com/2006/04/how-to-convert-hardcore-pc-user-into.html
________________________________________
From: Steve Jobs [mailto:sjobs@apple.com]
Sent: 25 April 2006 03:52 AM
To: Henk Kleynhans
Subject: Re: calligraphy & what went wrong with macbook pro
Importance: High
I think its fine.
Best,
Steve
________________________________________
From: Henk Kleynhans [mailto:henk@skyrove.com]
Sent: 25 April 2006 11:06 AM
To: 'Steve Jobs'
Subject: RE: calligraphy & what went wrong with macbook pro
Importance: High
Dear Steve,
Thank you for your prompt reply.
I’ve now browsed the site www.apple.com/macbookpro from a few different machines in our office. It does look fine on LCD screens, but really horrid on normal CRTs.
As I posted on my blog, I think Apple is doing everything right. But it really is truly impossible to read the text on your website.
I have a tremendous amount of respect for you, so I don’t mean to sound cocky, but my wager stands!
You’ll save many people from the fate of Windoze if they were able to read the text on your website.
Best regards,
Henk Kleynhans
Skyrove (Pty) Ltd
Tel: +27 (21) 4488843
Fax: +27 (86) 6204077
henk@skyrove.com
blog: www.yeahfi.com
One of the things that really irks me though, besides the price, is that you can't read anything on Apple's website because they are using a dark grey font against a black background. (http://www.apple.com/macbookpro)
Please write a comment below to tell me if you can read it!
Anyways, here's my correspondence with Steve Jobs on the matter (yes, I was surprized he replied to me, even though it was somewhat curt)
On Apr 24, 2006, at 4:09 PM, Henk Kleynhans wrote:
Dear Mr Jobs,
The text at http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/ is entirely illegible. Dark gray against a black background? What were you thinking???
If you fix the contrast on your webpage, I’d bet your sales will increase significantly!
If I’m right, I wouldn’t mind an all-expenses paid trip to Silicon Valley and a Macbook Pro.
If I’m wrong, well, you’ll have a place to stay with a young entrepreneur in Cape Town, South Africa. (I’ll even throw in a township tour)
I have a pretty darn irritating habit of being right quite often, but you’re still welcome in Cape Town in any case.
Best Regards,
Henk Kleynhans – CEO
Skyrove (Pty) Ltd
Tel: +27 (21) 4488843
Fax: +27 (86) 6204077
henk@skyrove.com
blog: www.yeahfi.com
p.s. See my blog post on How to convert a Hardcore PC user into a Mac Fanatic: http://www.yeahfi.com/2006/04/how-to-convert-hardcore-pc-user-into.html
________________________________________
From: Steve Jobs [mailto:sjobs@apple.com]
Sent: 25 April 2006 03:52 AM
To: Henk Kleynhans
Subject: Re: calligraphy & what went wrong with macbook pro
Importance: High
I think its fine.
Best,
Steve
________________________________________
From: Henk Kleynhans [mailto:henk@skyrove.com]
Sent: 25 April 2006 11:06 AM
To: 'Steve Jobs'
Subject: RE: calligraphy & what went wrong with macbook pro
Importance: High
Dear Steve,
Thank you for your prompt reply.
I’ve now browsed the site www.apple.com/macbookpro from a few different machines in our office. It does look fine on LCD screens, but really horrid on normal CRTs.
As I posted on my blog, I think Apple is doing everything right. But it really is truly impossible to read the text on your website.
I have a tremendous amount of respect for you, so I don’t mean to sound cocky, but my wager stands!
You’ll save many people from the fate of Windoze if they were able to read the text on your website.
Best regards,
Henk Kleynhans
Skyrove (Pty) Ltd
Tel: +27 (21) 4488843
Fax: +27 (86) 6204077
henk@skyrove.com
blog: www.yeahfi.com
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
How to convert a hardcore PC user into a Mac fanatic
Today, I've been finally and completely won over by Macintosh! My next laptop will be the Macbook Pro with Intel Core Duo processor.
And if I've been won over by Mac, I predict everyone else will be won over too. (official prediction, write this down: I predict that 50% of all new laptop sales in 2010 will be by Apple. I'll eat my hat if it isn't)
I've grown up with PCs, I like taking them apart, tweaking them, upgrading them and doing things with them that no one really should.
Macs aren't too common in South Africa, but some schools had sponsored Macintoshes, and my Dad, a technophobic schoolteacher, even had one and knew how to use it!
But back then, buying a Mac locally would cost the same as it would to buy a ticket to the States, spend 2 weeks at Disneyworld, buy a Mac overseas and bring it back here!
The cost just didn't make sense. Furthermore, Macs were underpowered. No matter how many disciples have told you that Macs were optimized for Photoshop and Video Editing, a high end PC could always do the job faster than a high-end Mac. And it could do a whole lot more, especially if you wanted to play the odd PC game.
The first time I started looking at Macs with some degree of tolerance was when Mac OS X came out. The fact that it was based on UNIX and could run UNIX applications, including giving you the "Power of the Command Line" through Terminal, was intriguing, to say the least...
However, it was still underpowered, and forever would be, or so it seemed.
Until Apple went and did a very smart thing: They put Intel Inside!
All of a sudden I say to myself: I'll consider a Mac! It now has a great Operating System running on a great processor. It's still expensive, but I'll think about it.
Then a few days ago, Rick Segal (VC Guru extraordinare and Mac evangelist) posted a link to a video that combines the audio of a futuristic Windows Vista presentation and the video of Mac OS X. It shows how Mac OS X does everything today what Windows will be doing for the "first time ever" in a year or so to come.
Today Apple went and did the one truly extraordinarily smart thing in all their history: They delivered Boot Camp. (not without reason, some thought it might be an April Fool's joke)
Boot Camp allows you to run both OS X and Windows XP in a dual boot configuration on a Mac. I might never even need Windows XP once I'm fully converted to Mac, but just knowing that I can boot my Mac into Windows if I really need to, makes all the difference!
I am converted. My next laptop will be a Macbook Pro. There's only one little problem: I don't have any money!
The only stupid thing Apple still does is charge 42% more for a Macbook Pro in South Africa than it does in the USA. It's better than before, but you could still take a holiday to the UK and buy it over there for the same price as buying it locally. Hopefully Apple will continue the trend of wisening up.
{
The abbreviated version: (in case you're writing an essay for a marketing class, or your name is Malcolm Gladwell and you're tracking the Tipping Point)
1. In Mac OS X, Apple built a great operating system based on UNIX
2. They put Intel Inside!
3. With a cute little movie they showed that they were miles ahead in productivity and functionality
4. Macs are now based on a widely supported and powerful hardware architecture and operating system, that even gives you the flexibility and comfort of running Windows programs
5. Today they announced you can now dual boot into Windows XP using a Mac
}
And if I've been won over by Mac, I predict everyone else will be won over too. (official prediction, write this down: I predict that 50% of all new laptop sales in 2010 will be by Apple. I'll eat my hat if it isn't)
I've grown up with PCs, I like taking them apart, tweaking them, upgrading them and doing things with them that no one really should.
Macs aren't too common in South Africa, but some schools had sponsored Macintoshes, and my Dad, a technophobic schoolteacher, even had one and knew how to use it!
But back then, buying a Mac locally would cost the same as it would to buy a ticket to the States, spend 2 weeks at Disneyworld, buy a Mac overseas and bring it back here!
The cost just didn't make sense. Furthermore, Macs were underpowered. No matter how many disciples have told you that Macs were optimized for Photoshop and Video Editing, a high end PC could always do the job faster than a high-end Mac. And it could do a whole lot more, especially if you wanted to play the odd PC game.
The first time I started looking at Macs with some degree of tolerance was when Mac OS X came out. The fact that it was based on UNIX and could run UNIX applications, including giving you the "Power of the Command Line" through Terminal, was intriguing, to say the least...
However, it was still underpowered, and forever would be, or so it seemed.
Until Apple went and did a very smart thing: They put Intel Inside!
All of a sudden I say to myself: I'll consider a Mac! It now has a great Operating System running on a great processor. It's still expensive, but I'll think about it.
Then a few days ago, Rick Segal (VC Guru extraordinare and Mac evangelist) posted a link to a video that combines the audio of a futuristic Windows Vista presentation and the video of Mac OS X. It shows how Mac OS X does everything today what Windows will be doing for the "first time ever" in a year or so to come.
Today Apple went and did the one truly extraordinarily smart thing in all their history: They delivered Boot Camp. (not without reason, some thought it might be an April Fool's joke)
Boot Camp allows you to run both OS X and Windows XP in a dual boot configuration on a Mac. I might never even need Windows XP once I'm fully converted to Mac, but just knowing that I can boot my Mac into Windows if I really need to, makes all the difference!
I am converted. My next laptop will be a Macbook Pro. There's only one little problem: I don't have any money!
The only stupid thing Apple still does is charge 42% more for a Macbook Pro in South Africa than it does in the USA. It's better than before, but you could still take a holiday to the UK and buy it over there for the same price as buying it locally. Hopefully Apple will continue the trend of wisening up.
{
The abbreviated version: (in case you're writing an essay for a marketing class, or your name is Malcolm Gladwell and you're tracking the Tipping Point)
1. In Mac OS X, Apple built a great operating system based on UNIX
2. They put Intel Inside!
3. With a cute little movie they showed that they were miles ahead in productivity and functionality
4. Macs are now based on a widely supported and powerful hardware architecture and operating system, that even gives you the flexibility and comfort of running Windows programs
5. Today they announced you can now dual boot into Windows XP using a Mac
}
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Serial Entrepreneurs Anonymous
One of the terms that always make me cringe is the term 'Serial Entrepreneur'. Maybe it's the relation of the word 'Serial' with 'Serial Killer' and 'Serial Rapist'.
I think of Serial Entrepreneurs as the human equivalent of a hurricane. They come at you at breakneck speed, throw a million ideas at you, mention their entire network of business contacts they think is even vaguely related to your business ("Oh! You're in Wi-Fi, I know a guy in Switzerland who sells cordless phones!"), talk about mergers with their own companies and even companies you've never even heard of.
Once they've finished talking they ask the stupid old question: "So What's your Exit Strategy?". I've always been confused by this question, as I'm working 16 hours a day getting a global Wi-Fi company off the ground, so my idea of an exit strategy is literally getting to work 10 hours or less a day. (See my previous post: "What's your Exit Strategy, Sonny?"
I've finally figured out that they're really not interested in my exit strategy, but rather in figuring out their exit strategy.
So imagine my expression when I looked in the mirror today and suddenly realised that perhaps, maybe, aw heck, admit it... I'm becoming a serial entrepreneur!
You see, I'm getting drawn into a little startup called Tinfon. Tinfon is one of those amazing little gems that come around very seldom, even to the most connected of 'serial entrepreneurs'. (more about Tinfon later)
One of the first things I was thinking about was an exit strategy...
Is there a Serial Entrepreneurs Anonymous chapter in Cape Town?
I think of Serial Entrepreneurs as the human equivalent of a hurricane. They come at you at breakneck speed, throw a million ideas at you, mention their entire network of business contacts they think is even vaguely related to your business ("Oh! You're in Wi-Fi, I know a guy in Switzerland who sells cordless phones!"), talk about mergers with their own companies and even companies you've never even heard of.
Once they've finished talking they ask the stupid old question: "So What's your Exit Strategy?". I've always been confused by this question, as I'm working 16 hours a day getting a global Wi-Fi company off the ground, so my idea of an exit strategy is literally getting to work 10 hours or less a day. (See my previous post: "What's your Exit Strategy, Sonny?"
I've finally figured out that they're really not interested in my exit strategy, but rather in figuring out their exit strategy.
So imagine my expression when I looked in the mirror today and suddenly realised that perhaps, maybe, aw heck, admit it... I'm becoming a serial entrepreneur!
You see, I'm getting drawn into a little startup called Tinfon. Tinfon is one of those amazing little gems that come around very seldom, even to the most connected of 'serial entrepreneurs'. (more about Tinfon later)
One of the first things I was thinking about was an exit strategy...
Is there a Serial Entrepreneurs Anonymous chapter in Cape Town?
Saturday, March 04, 2006
Neighbourhood Power Watch
It usually takes bit of effort to convince overseas investors that South Africa has the infrastructure available to run successful global companies.
South Africans traveling to California often come back talking about how bad the roads are, how patchy cellphone reception is, and even about Palo Alto's 'bad' neighbourhoods. This is in stark contrast to what we expect.
Likewise, travelers to South Africa often expect dirt roads, animals in the streets and other popular notions picked up in Hollywood movies that feature Africa. They don't expect to find 6 lane highways without potholes, an advanced banking system and a highly skilled workforce that is spending much of its time proving that South African companies and educational institutions are on par, if not better, than the best in the world.
However, lately Cape Town and surrounds have suffered a severe electricity shortage. As a result Eskom, the national power company, has decided to implement 'rolling blackouts', in the form of two power cuts per neighbourhood per day, lasting for about 2-3 hours each. Once the power comes on in one, they'll switch off power to another neighbourhood or business district.
Apparently, Cape Town will need to cut down on its usage by about 25%. I've started switching off our geyser and taken care to ensure all screensavers in our office kick in after a minute.
Although some companies, such as Enablis, have switched off their airconditioning systems, one can also see empty skyscrapers at nights with lights burning on all floors, oblivious to the current power crisis. A few days ago I was at a house where the owner had 2 heated swimming pools running. (I did confront him about it, but that's another story...)
My solution is to have Cape Town neighbourhoods 'compete' for electricity. If a particular neighbourhood does manage to save 25% on a given day, that neighbourhood will not suffer a scheduled blackout the following day. This will empower communities to control the amount of power outages they suffer.
Imagine the embarrassment and irritation to have your neighbours phoning you up at 2 AM to remind you that they can hear your swimming pool filter is running!
Now, I know I have the new mayor's business card lying around here somewhere...
South Africans traveling to California often come back talking about how bad the roads are, how patchy cellphone reception is, and even about Palo Alto's 'bad' neighbourhoods. This is in stark contrast to what we expect.
Likewise, travelers to South Africa often expect dirt roads, animals in the streets and other popular notions picked up in Hollywood movies that feature Africa. They don't expect to find 6 lane highways without potholes, an advanced banking system and a highly skilled workforce that is spending much of its time proving that South African companies and educational institutions are on par, if not better, than the best in the world.
However, lately Cape Town and surrounds have suffered a severe electricity shortage. As a result Eskom, the national power company, has decided to implement 'rolling blackouts', in the form of two power cuts per neighbourhood per day, lasting for about 2-3 hours each. Once the power comes on in one, they'll switch off power to another neighbourhood or business district.
Apparently, Cape Town will need to cut down on its usage by about 25%. I've started switching off our geyser and taken care to ensure all screensavers in our office kick in after a minute.
Although some companies, such as Enablis, have switched off their airconditioning systems, one can also see empty skyscrapers at nights with lights burning on all floors, oblivious to the current power crisis. A few days ago I was at a house where the owner had 2 heated swimming pools running. (I did confront him about it, but that's another story...)
My solution is to have Cape Town neighbourhoods 'compete' for electricity. If a particular neighbourhood does manage to save 25% on a given day, that neighbourhood will not suffer a scheduled blackout the following day. This will empower communities to control the amount of power outages they suffer.
Imagine the embarrassment and irritation to have your neighbours phoning you up at 2 AM to remind you that they can hear your swimming pool filter is running!
Now, I know I have the new mayor's business card lying around here somewhere...
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Wibiki embraces Fon
Wibiki just announced that they will embrace new Wi-Fi services and models, such as Fon's. They will even adapt their software so that Wibiki users can use free FON hotspots.
Of course, one really only has two choices when a competitor all of a sudden becomes BIG friends with Google, Skype, Cisco and the like. Either you 'embrace' them, or you make a big noise about how their product is inferior. Wibiki chose to do the former, but did mention that Wibiki is the only company to still offer totally free access.
So why is Fon better than Wibiki? In my opinion it has nothing to do with Fon getting $22mm in funding, but with the simple fact that Fon integrates both for-fee and for-free models. I don't think Fon does this particularly well, or in an innovative way. It simply offers both models under one brand name.
But the fact that it offers both means it can compete for the minds and hearts of different kinds of hotspots owners: The small entrepreneurs who intend to setup hotspots at various locations, as well as the guy wanting to share with 2 or 3 neighbours.
Wibiki, the Company that provides
software for a free Wi-Fi world, said today it will extend its free Wi-Fi platform to embrace new Wi-Fi services and models. The Company will provide free Wi-Fi software for more routers, including NetGear. Wibiki will also enhance free Wi-Fi software for laptops to help users find FON (http://www.fon.com) hotspots when free Wi-Fi is unavailable.
CEO Shant Hovnanian said "Wibiki is all about free. We intend to make Wibiki compatible with any company and all organizations that include a free Wi-Fi access component in their offering. We recognize that the FON model primarily depends on user access fees, but they've told us hotspot owners will have the option to provide Wi-Fi without charge."
Wibiki will continue to focus on free Wi-Fi for users and communities. It has developed a new user opt-in advertising service to pay for free user services. Wibiki has filed patents for technology that increases user control of Internet ads on their screens. "Pop-up" ads will be excluded by the new service. Initial funding for Wibiki was provided by Speedus Corp., the company that pioneered development of wireless broadband in the early 90s.
Wibiki remains the only company offering a totally free Wi-Fi platform -- free software for both clients and routers -- that make it simple and safe to share wireless access. Wibiki intends to continue its investment in giving all users an easier way to find and connect to the best free Wi-Fi available. Users can download and install Wibiki from http://www.wibiki.com.
Of course, one really only has two choices when a competitor all of a sudden becomes BIG friends with Google, Skype, Cisco and the like. Either you 'embrace' them, or you make a big noise about how their product is inferior. Wibiki chose to do the former, but did mention that Wibiki is the only company to still offer totally free access.
So why is Fon better than Wibiki? In my opinion it has nothing to do with Fon getting $22mm in funding, but with the simple fact that Fon integrates both for-fee and for-free models. I don't think Fon does this particularly well, or in an innovative way. It simply offers both models under one brand name.
But the fact that it offers both means it can compete for the minds and hearts of different kinds of hotspots owners: The small entrepreneurs who intend to setup hotspots at various locations, as well as the guy wanting to share with 2 or 3 neighbours.
Wibiki, the Company that provides
software for a free Wi-Fi world, said today it will extend its free Wi-Fi platform to embrace new Wi-Fi services and models. The Company will provide free Wi-Fi software for more routers, including NetGear. Wibiki will also enhance free Wi-Fi software for laptops to help users find FON (http://www.fon.com) hotspots when free Wi-Fi is unavailable.
CEO Shant Hovnanian said "Wibiki is all about free. We intend to make Wibiki compatible with any company and all organizations that include a free Wi-Fi access component in their offering. We recognize that the FON model primarily depends on user access fees, but they've told us hotspot owners will have the option to provide Wi-Fi without charge."
Wibiki will continue to focus on free Wi-Fi for users and communities. It has developed a new user opt-in advertising service to pay for free user services. Wibiki has filed patents for technology that increases user control of Internet ads on their screens. "Pop-up" ads will be excluded by the new service. Initial funding for Wibiki was provided by Speedus Corp., the company that pioneered development of wireless broadband in the early 90s.
Wibiki remains the only company offering a totally free Wi-Fi platform -- free software for both clients and routers -- that make it simple and safe to share wireless access. Wibiki intends to continue its investment in giving all users an easier way to find and connect to the best free Wi-Fi available. Users can download and install Wibiki from http://www.wibiki.com.
Fon Fon Fon Fon Fon! (sung to the tune of the Tigger song)
Wow, what an exciting few days it's been. I'm not sure which is more exciting, the fact that FON raised $21.7 million from Google and Skype, or all the blogging going on around it!
I've been watching Fon with some interest the past few months, and must admit that I'm totally blown away by the amount of capital they raised for what has repeatedly been called a "flawed business plan". (See "Wibiki joins Fon in reiterating failed business models of the past") Of course, having Google, Skype and 22 million dollars in your pocket gives a whole new perspective on the term "flawed business model".
The greatest thing for us about Fon managing to get this kind of backing is that it validates what we at Skyrove are doing, that is, community owned wireless infrastructure.
It does also make it clear that there will be major competition in this space! Fon is not doing anything new. It's really the same as Joltage, Wibiki and SOHOwireless, although Glenn Fleishman argues that the they're really a for-Fee hotspot service like Boingo or The Cloud and that the for-Free sharing model they're pushing is really just a smokescreen for the 'true' business of commercial hotspots.
I've been getting quite a few emails from folks since Monday asking what's the difference between Skyrove and FON.
Here are some differences AND similarities:
1. We have the same vision: Cheap Global Wi-Fi coverage through community-owned hotspots.
2. They have funding and brand-name backers, and we don't (yet) :)
3. There's nothing unique about their business model. They're simply offering BOTH for-fee and for-free sharing models. Skyrove combines the two in a new way, letting the Hotspot owner decide the price.
4. Skyrove is conceptually like the "eBay of Wi-Fi". We don't sell Wi-Fi, we provide the platform for anyone to sell it themselves at the price they set, while we take a commission on the sale. Think of FON as trying to be the "McDonald's" of Wi-Fi, which is the competitive space shared by Boingo, The Cloud, iPass and others.
5. Their router software was written by the same brilliant programmer who wrote our software, Sebastian Gotschall, and we use the same router, the Linksys WRT54GL. However, they are selling the router at $25 while in South Africa we're paying about 4 times as much from the distributors!
6. Skyrove's edge: Our system is implicitly ISP friendly. Although our system caters for both Usage (per MB) and Time billing, we are biased in favour of Usage billing. An ISP can offer a per GB package to Hotspot Operaters without fear of it being 'abused' in some way. The more GB used, the more money the ISP will make. We don't have to "convince" ISPs that "Sharing is Good". We believe it is good, but we'd like there to be a real "bottom line" incentive for ISPs.
7. We have already signed a small ISP in the US (SkyWi) and are in talks with some others (large and small)
8. We don't have SpeakEasy or any other ISPs theatening legal action (yet) (see Speakeasy Says No Deal with Fon)
*UPDATE: SpeakEasy and Fon made peace soon after. I spoke to a SpeakEasy rep who said that they're totally happy with anyone sharing their internet with Wi-Fi, regardless of the payment method*
9. Skyrove has a much stronger focus on enabling small entrepreneurs, particularly in developing countries, to set up multiple profit-making hotspots. We will enable ordinary folks to share with their neighbours, but we give massive incentive to entrepreneurs who install multiple hotspots.
10. Just like Martin's blog, this blog suddenly got a shitload of hits on Monday. Although Martin's probably got about a 1000 times more!
I hope that all the hype around Fon's fundraising will be the jumpstart needed for investors to start backing Wi-Fi projects, so that we can finally see truly global Wi-Fi access, particularly in the developing world.
Wi-Fi is a dirt-cheap technology. What is needed are folks like Fon, Skyrove and others to take internet access out of the hands of telcos and give the power of communication back to who it belongs to: the people.
Update: Wibiki embraces Fon
I've been watching Fon with some interest the past few months, and must admit that I'm totally blown away by the amount of capital they raised for what has repeatedly been called a "flawed business plan". (See "Wibiki joins Fon in reiterating failed business models of the past") Of course, having Google, Skype and 22 million dollars in your pocket gives a whole new perspective on the term "flawed business model".
The greatest thing for us about Fon managing to get this kind of backing is that it validates what we at Skyrove are doing, that is, community owned wireless infrastructure.
It does also make it clear that there will be major competition in this space! Fon is not doing anything new. It's really the same as Joltage, Wibiki and SOHOwireless, although Glenn Fleishman argues that the they're really a for-Fee hotspot service like Boingo or The Cloud and that the for-Free sharing model they're pushing is really just a smokescreen for the 'true' business of commercial hotspots.
I've been getting quite a few emails from folks since Monday asking what's the difference between Skyrove and FON.
Here are some differences AND similarities:
1. We have the same vision: Cheap Global Wi-Fi coverage through community-owned hotspots.
2. They have funding and brand-name backers, and we don't (yet) :)
3. There's nothing unique about their business model. They're simply offering BOTH for-fee and for-free sharing models. Skyrove combines the two in a new way, letting the Hotspot owner decide the price.
4. Skyrove is conceptually like the "eBay of Wi-Fi". We don't sell Wi-Fi, we provide the platform for anyone to sell it themselves at the price they set, while we take a commission on the sale. Think of FON as trying to be the "McDonald's" of Wi-Fi, which is the competitive space shared by Boingo, The Cloud, iPass and others.
5. Their router software was written by the same brilliant programmer who wrote our software, Sebastian Gotschall, and we use the same router, the Linksys WRT54GL. However, they are selling the router at $25 while in South Africa we're paying about 4 times as much from the distributors!
6. Skyrove's edge: Our system is implicitly ISP friendly. Although our system caters for both Usage (per MB) and Time billing, we are biased in favour of Usage billing. An ISP can offer a per GB package to Hotspot Operaters without fear of it being 'abused' in some way. The more GB used, the more money the ISP will make. We don't have to "convince" ISPs that "Sharing is Good". We believe it is good, but we'd like there to be a real "bottom line" incentive for ISPs.
7. We have already signed a small ISP in the US (SkyWi) and are in talks with some others (large and small)
8. We don't have SpeakEasy or any other ISPs theatening legal action (yet) (see Speakeasy Says No Deal with Fon)
*UPDATE: SpeakEasy and Fon made peace soon after. I spoke to a SpeakEasy rep who said that they're totally happy with anyone sharing their internet with Wi-Fi, regardless of the payment method*
9. Skyrove has a much stronger focus on enabling small entrepreneurs, particularly in developing countries, to set up multiple profit-making hotspots. We will enable ordinary folks to share with their neighbours, but we give massive incentive to entrepreneurs who install multiple hotspots.
10. Just like Martin's blog, this blog suddenly got a shitload of hits on Monday. Although Martin's probably got about a 1000 times more!
I hope that all the hype around Fon's fundraising will be the jumpstart needed for investors to start backing Wi-Fi projects, so that we can finally see truly global Wi-Fi access, particularly in the developing world.
Wi-Fi is a dirt-cheap technology. What is needed are folks like Fon, Skyrove and others to take internet access out of the hands of telcos and give the power of communication back to who it belongs to: the people.
Update: Wibiki embraces Fon
Thursday, January 19, 2006
My Tip for Trevor - South African Minister of Finance
SILLY EXCHANGE CONTROL REGULATIONS FOR INTERNET COMPANIES
Dear Mr Manuel,
South Africa has the talent and skills to be part of the next Internet revolution. Internet-based companies by their nature are able to trade globally from day one. However, this is severely restricted in South Africa.
For example: Lungi has been selling handmade African jewelery in Gugulethu. She can start a website, with the help of a local NGO, and sell online to people overseas. However, folks overseas wish to pay in their own currency, e.g. Euro.
Currently, to perform this simple task, the only viable option for Lungi is to open an offshore bank account and an offshore company.
But to do this, she needs to get something called 'Reserve Bank approval', which is a silly process that A) Costs too much for a mini-entrepreneur and B) is a bureaucratic nightmare, with all sorts of requirements that were drawn up without ever thinking of small entrepreneurs and/or internet businesses.
Trevor, you'll do South Africa a GREAT favour by ensuring internet businesses can go global and flourish from day ONE.
How about this? I'll raise the funds for an NGO that helps township businesses go global, if you level the playing field and make it as easy to start a global internet business based in South Africa, as it is in most countries around the world!
Yours faithfully,
Henk Kleynhans
CEO of Skyrove (Pty) Ltd
Winner of the Enablis/Business Report ICT Entrepreneurs Challenge 2005
henk@skyrove.com
blog: www.yeahfi.com
* Please join me in this campaign by leaving a similar Tip for Trevor!*
If you are too lazy to type out your own blurb you may copy & paste the following:
"Dear Trevor, Please re-consider Reserve Bank approval for internet companies that need to trade globally, whether it be tangible products, or intangibles such as electronic books, music, videos, telecommunications services etc. Please contact Henk Kleynhans via email at henk@skyrove.com if you need further clarification."
Dear Mr Manuel,
South Africa has the talent and skills to be part of the next Internet revolution. Internet-based companies by their nature are able to trade globally from day one. However, this is severely restricted in South Africa.
For example: Lungi has been selling handmade African jewelery in Gugulethu. She can start a website, with the help of a local NGO, and sell online to people overseas. However, folks overseas wish to pay in their own currency, e.g. Euro.
Currently, to perform this simple task, the only viable option for Lungi is to open an offshore bank account and an offshore company.
But to do this, she needs to get something called 'Reserve Bank approval', which is a silly process that A) Costs too much for a mini-entrepreneur and B) is a bureaucratic nightmare, with all sorts of requirements that were drawn up without ever thinking of small entrepreneurs and/or internet businesses.
Trevor, you'll do South Africa a GREAT favour by ensuring internet businesses can go global and flourish from day ONE.
How about this? I'll raise the funds for an NGO that helps township businesses go global, if you level the playing field and make it as easy to start a global internet business based in South Africa, as it is in most countries around the world!
Yours faithfully,
Henk Kleynhans
CEO of Skyrove (Pty) Ltd
Winner of the Enablis/Business Report ICT Entrepreneurs Challenge 2005
henk@skyrove.com
blog: www.yeahfi.com
* Please join me in this campaign by leaving a similar Tip for Trevor!*
If you are too lazy to type out your own blurb you may copy & paste the following:
"Dear Trevor, Please re-consider Reserve Bank approval for internet companies that need to trade globally, whether it be tangible products, or intangibles such as electronic books, music, videos, telecommunications services etc. Please contact Henk Kleynhans via email at henk@skyrove.com if you need further clarification."
Saturday, January 07, 2006
Wibiki goes live with free Wi-Fi internet access
Wibiki today launched its Public Beta for testing its free Wi-Fi access service. Wibiki aims to provide free Wi-Fi access to people who share their own internet access using Wi-Fi.
You'll need to download the Wibiki software and install it onto your laptop and your Linksys WRT54GS router. (Available for $80 at Amazon.com)
The instructions on Wibiki's website are incredibly clear and it's obvious that Wibiki have been working hard at making this simple. The laptop software didn't cause any hassles or crashes, even though it's only at version 0.1.3.
It definitely looks that as far as the technology goes, Wibiki has got it right.
The big question is whether they have the right business model for encouraging Wi-Fi adoption, and in particular, bridging the digital divide. In South Africa and many other countries, DSL subscribers pay by the gigabyte, and through the nose at that. This means that sharing with freeloaders is simply too risky. I suspect Wibiki might be able to earn advertising revenue from a portal 'landing' page, i.e. the first page that Wi-Fi users will see when connecting to a Wibiki hotspot.
Even if Wibiki shared this revenue with hotspot owners, it is unlikely to be enough for the hotspot owner to make any profit.
Wibiki is led by CEO Shant Hovnanian and CTO Marcos Lara who are no strangers to the world of wireless communications. Shant has been promoting the convergence of voice, data and video over wireless since the early nineties. Marcos has been working on altruistic, community owned Wi-Fi since 2001 as a member of NYCwireless and is the Founder of the Public Internet Project and the Bryant Park Free Wireless Network!
From the Skyrove team, we wish you all the best in helping to make Wi-Fi cheap and accessible to everyone!
You'll need to download the Wibiki software and install it onto your laptop and your Linksys WRT54GS router. (Available for $80 at Amazon.com)
The instructions on Wibiki's website are incredibly clear and it's obvious that Wibiki have been working hard at making this simple. The laptop software didn't cause any hassles or crashes, even though it's only at version 0.1.3.
It definitely looks that as far as the technology goes, Wibiki has got it right.
The big question is whether they have the right business model for encouraging Wi-Fi adoption, and in particular, bridging the digital divide. In South Africa and many other countries, DSL subscribers pay by the gigabyte, and through the nose at that. This means that sharing with freeloaders is simply too risky. I suspect Wibiki might be able to earn advertising revenue from a portal 'landing' page, i.e. the first page that Wi-Fi users will see when connecting to a Wibiki hotspot.
Even if Wibiki shared this revenue with hotspot owners, it is unlikely to be enough for the hotspot owner to make any profit.
Wibiki is led by CEO Shant Hovnanian and CTO Marcos Lara who are no strangers to the world of wireless communications. Shant has been promoting the convergence of voice, data and video over wireless since the early nineties. Marcos has been working on altruistic, community owned Wi-Fi since 2001 as a member of NYCwireless and is the Founder of the Public Internet Project and the Bryant Park Free Wireless Network!
From the Skyrove team, we wish you all the best in helping to make Wi-Fi cheap and accessible to everyone!
Monday, January 02, 2006
What's your Exit Strategy, Sonny?
This is a question I've been asked more and more often as I'm looking for Venture Capital funding. And it's a question I've naively misunderstood.
Google 'exit strategy' and see what comes up. George W. Bush didn't have an exit strategy for invading Iraq. There was no exit strategy for the US involvement in Vietnam. This makes it look as if you might only need an exit strategy if you have a bad idea in the first place.
However, VCs aren't really that interested in long-term dividends. They wish to invest money, see it grow in the shortest timeframe possible, and then sell, typically within 3 to 7 years. With the money they make on the sale, they invest in more companies and repeat the process.
Obviously, I feel at odds here with potential investors. I'm thinking all day about getting 'into' business, new markets etc. The budding entrepreneur has very little time to think about getting out while working his butt off just trying to get in.
Essentially, there are 2 common exit options: Aquisition or IPO.
Recently, Skype was sold to eBay for $4.1 billionAlthough I'd gladly accept such an offer, I wouldn't plan any business from the ground up with a 'big sale' in mind.
So that leaves us with the other great option: the IPO. Very exciting, but is it really necessary to go IPO? What are the plans of the guys at 37Signals (one of my favorite 'model' companies)? I somehow don't imagine them in the IPO world with their no-nonsense 'less is more' approach.
Rick Segal suggests that a startup should never have ‘build to flip’ as a cornerstone of its business plan. See his excellent post: Build to Flip = Build to Fail
My favourite quote: "I point this simple math out because you can dig into your passion, make it amazingly great, and knock one completely out of the park without worrying about a flip, being crushed or ripped off. Keep it personal, grow the business, and let the big guys come knocking on your door."
I'll be waiting for your call, Mr Omidyar!
Google 'exit strategy' and see what comes up. George W. Bush didn't have an exit strategy for invading Iraq. There was no exit strategy for the US involvement in Vietnam. This makes it look as if you might only need an exit strategy if you have a bad idea in the first place.
However, VCs aren't really that interested in long-term dividends. They wish to invest money, see it grow in the shortest timeframe possible, and then sell, typically within 3 to 7 years. With the money they make on the sale, they invest in more companies and repeat the process.
Obviously, I feel at odds here with potential investors. I'm thinking all day about getting 'into' business, new markets etc. The budding entrepreneur has very little time to think about getting out while working his butt off just trying to get in.
Essentially, there are 2 common exit options: Aquisition or IPO.
Recently, Skype was sold to eBay for $4.1 billionAlthough I'd gladly accept such an offer, I wouldn't plan any business from the ground up with a 'big sale' in mind.
So that leaves us with the other great option: the IPO. Very exciting, but is it really necessary to go IPO? What are the plans of the guys at 37Signals (one of my favorite 'model' companies)? I somehow don't imagine them in the IPO world with their no-nonsense 'less is more' approach.
Rick Segal suggests that a startup should never have ‘build to flip’ as a cornerstone of its business plan. See his excellent post: Build to Flip = Build to Fail
My favourite quote: "I point this simple math out because you can dig into your passion, make it amazingly great, and knock one completely out of the park without worrying about a flip, being crushed or ripped off. Keep it personal, grow the business, and let the big guys come knocking on your door."
I'll be waiting for your call, Mr Omidyar!
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