Posts filed under 'Uncategorized'
January 11th, 2012
Bootstrappers won’t like the recently enacted patent reform law. Called the America Invents Act, it was signed by President Obama on September 16, 2010 and takes effect March 16, 2013. It provides for a “first to file” patent system. Currently a patent is awarded to the first person to invent and reduce the invention to practice, even if they file up to a year after invention. With the new law the patent will be awarded to the first person to file for the patent and the one year grace period will be gone.
Pete Tormey will talk about ‘America Invents Act”’ and answer questions about its implications for bootstrapping technology startups.
Cocos 1206 Oakmead, Sunnyvale, CA
7.30 am Tuesday 17th January, 2012
Pete Tormey moderates our Walnut Creek breakfasts; he is also a patent attorney at Antero & Tormey LLP. He offered his analysis of the new patent law update, the America Invents Act (HR 1249 112th Congress), concluding that it is an unfavorable development for bootstrappers.
December 19th, 2011
The Office for Technology Commercialization invites you to learn more about emerging software technologies and startup opportunities from the University of Minnesota. Don’t miss a presentation from special guest, University of Minnesota Computer Science Professor, John Riedl, entitled “Motivating Active Participation in Social Media Networks.”
The showcase will feature technologies including:
Transportation
- Driver Assistive System: a portfolio of technologies that provide vehicle navigation assistance in low visibility conditions.
- High Precision Vehicle Navigation: a navigation system utilizing inexpensive inertial and image sensors for precise position and orientation in GPS-denied scenarios, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) and Autonomous Vehicles.
- Evacuation Route Planning Software: identifies and highlights the most efficient set of routes to minimize the transit time for emergency evacuations and large event traffic dispersions.
Medical Education & Simulation
- Novel curricula and simulation models to drive healthcare education from surgery to patient education.
- A system and method for virtual prototyping, design, verification, and manufacture of medical devices.
Technology in Education
- Two computer-based assessment technologies that provide educators with screening, progress monitoring and skills analysis tools for elementary education.
Thursday, January 19, 2012 4:00 – 6:00 p.m.
University Enterprise Laboratories
Dorsey Ewald Conference Center, Atrium
1000 Westgate Drive, St. Paul, MN 55114
Register by January 12, seating is limited to 100 attendees.
RSVP here or call 612.624.0550
November 23rd, 2011
Do your shopping on-line and avoid the crowds, then drop by the Bootstrapper Breakfast in Mountain View this Friday at 9am at Red Rock Coffee. We will be upstairs in our usual location in the corner to the left of the staircase.
Register on Meetup at http://www.meetup.com/Bootstrappers-Breakfast-SV/events/40430102/
November 7th, 2011
I came across an interesting event in Kansas City November 15 on “How To Find Your First Customers” in the Silicon Prairie News site (which also has a Google Map of Midwest startups that’s worth a look).
- When: Nov. 15, 2011 6:00pm – 9:00pm
- Where: Screenland Crown Center, 2450 Grand Blvd. Kansas City, MO 64108
- Cost: $20-$30 depending upon how early you purchase
Speakers
From Entrepreneurs Unpluggd website
Entrepreneurs Unpluggd shares entrepreneurs stories through intimate events, video interviews, and
engaging content. Hear actionable advice and insight from entrepreneurs who have been there, and will share their secrets regarding customer acquisition. The entrepreneurs speaking will answer “How Do I Get My First Customers?”with examples from their own experiences, including successful strategies and not so successful strategies
Related:
- TECHdotMN offers a similar roundup of events and profiles for Minnesota Startups
If you are aware of other good sites that cover startups outside of Silicon Valley please leave a comment, we are working on a roundup blog post.
October 17th, 2011
On October 18th Rich Pelavin will join us at the Bootstrappers Breakfast in Sunnyvale as our featured guest.
Rich has a long and successful track record developing innovative system management software and has co-founded three software companies.
Currently Rich is co-founder of Reactor8, a company focused on automation and configuration management in agile development and deployment environments. Prior to his work with Reactor8, Rich worked in the area of virtualization system management at his company Replicate Technologies. Rich also brings experience from his position as Director of Engineering at Cisco Systems where he led research and development in network management. He joined Cisco through the acquisition of Netsys Technologies, which he also co-founded and was a key inventor of their intelligent network management product.
Rich started his career in the research center environment after receiving a Ph.D. in Computer Science (Artificial Intelligence) from the University of Rochester. He holds a number of patents in networking technologies, and is co-author of a book on AI planning and temporal reasoning.
Today Rich will focus on lessons learned when trying to determine the best functionality and scope of a new software product or service being brought to market. Bring your questions and join us for a lively discussion.
Venue: Coco’s Bakery on Oakmead at Lawrence (1206 Oakmead Parkway Sunnyvale, CA)
Time: 7:30-9:00AM Tue-Oct-18
Cost: $5 in advance, $10 at the door (plus the cost of your breakfast, tax, and tip)
October 16th, 2011
BioCurious is a new co-working space in Silicon Valley for bootstrapping bio entrepreneurs. They offer a complete working laboratory, technical library, co-working space, and a training center on biotechniques. Andy Oram wrote about them today in “BioCurious Opens Lab in Sunnyvale” and observes:
BioCurious is not a substitute for formal training in biochemistry, biology, and genetics. But it is a place for people to get a feel for what biologists do and for real biologists without access to expensive equipment to do research of their dreams.
I thought of my two children, both of whom pursued musical careers. I wondered how they would have felt about music if kids weren’t exposed to music until junior high school, whereupon they were sat down and forced to learn the circle of fifths and first species counterpoint. That’s sort of how we present biology to the public–and then, even those who do show an interest are denied access to affordable equipment. BioCurious is on the cusp of a new scientific revolution.
From http://www.motherboard.tv/2010/7/6/put-your-money-where-your-bio-hackerspace-is-video–2
Science was once a cultural activity, carried out by wealthy “gentlemen scholars” who had the leisure and material resources to experiment. The 20th century saw an unprecedented centralization of science around an industrial model. The plummeting costs of enabling technologies has brought meaningful biological research back within reach of the independent citizen scientist. From Bio-Art to BioFuels, the wave of next generation biotech applications is set to transform our culture and economy. BioCurious will be Ground 0 for this revolution.
Coordinates:
Background reading / Other bio hacker labs
- 2010 Nature article “Life hackers” (PDF version has great pictures/images)
- Genspace is a New York nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting education in molecular biology for both children and adults. We work inside and outside of traditional settings, providing a safe, supportive environment for training and mentoring in biotechnology.
- DIYbio is an organization dedicated to making biology an accessible pursuit for citizen scientists, amateur biologists and biological engineers who value openness and safety. This will require mechanisms for amateurs to increase their knowledge and skills, access to a community of experts, the development of a code of ethics, responsible oversight, and leadership on issues that are unique to doing biology outside of traditional professional settings
September 13th, 2011
Pete Tormey moderates our Walnut Creek breakfasts; he is also a patent attorney at Antero & Tormey LLP. He offered his analysis of the new patent law update, the America Invents Act (HR 1249 112th Congress), concluding that it is an unfavorable development for bootstrappers.
Bootstrappers won’t like the recently enacted patent reform law. Called the
America Invents Act, it is expected to be signed into law by President Obama soon. The law, which takes effect 18 months after signing, provides for a “
first to file” patent system. Currently a patent is awarded to the first person to invent and reduce the invention to practice, even if they file up to a year after invention. With the new law the patent will be awarded to the first person to file for the patent and the one year grace period will be gone.
While this might seem like no big deal to a bootstrapper, it is a serious handicap. Today when I meet someone with a new idea but no money (i.e. a bootstrapper), I suggest they document their invention well, test market it and if it looks like a winner, file for patent protection. The current law allows me to argue the actual invention date and not the filing date for determining priority over other inventions. The bootstrapper gets a chance to gauge success before spending money on a patent.
Under the new law, if a person conceives an invention they must file soon. If they take the time to test the market, another inventor might file for the invention first. The inventor who takes the time to determine marketability might lose the race to the patent office.
While it is too early to know what the overall affect of a first-to-file system will be, the research indicates that smaller organizations will suffer from this new patent scheme. Bootstrappers will need to understand the risks of waiting to file for a patent and develop patent strategies, such as filing many provisional patent applications before market testing, to protect themselves. Either way the new law is another obstacle to getting a company off the ground.
Update: The America Invents Act was signed by President Obama on September 16 and effect March 16, 2013. Pete Tormey is speaking on “
Minimizing the Impact of the New Patent Law” at the October 21 Bootstrapper Breakfast in San Francisco.
August 5th, 2011
Pete Tormey, from AnTLegal, moderated the Walnut Creek Bootstrappers Breakfast last week and shares with us the discussion that took place below.
Deborah Shea founder and President of Hellbent Marketing presented at the July breakfast in Walnut Creek. She began her talk by showing the group some hard research on promotion and conversion of prospects to actual sales. The data showed the place of a website in the sales process as compared to other forms of promotion such as trade shows and public speaking.
The conversation was heavily focused on the relationship between different online presences (such as LinkedIn, Twitter and the like), and your business website. Using hard metrics, Deborah discussed how she tailors the Internet presence towards driving sales and not just hits. Deborah also applies these techniques to service industries (i.e. lawyers) with successful results.
August 1st, 2011
If you’re in Minneapolis and have not been to a Bootstrappers Breakfast meeting in awhile please put us on your calendar again. We meet on the fourth Thursday each month at 7.30 am at Wilde Roast Cafe – 65 Main St SE Minneapolis, MN
Here’s what other attendees have said about the group
“ This is the one networking event that I try to never miss. It is relaxed and fun and I always learn something. Well worth the time and a great place to network and learn ” — Darren J. Cox
“ This is a great group of entrepreneurs which makes for a great exchange of ideas and helpful advice. I will be attending more Bootstrappers Breakfasts in the future. ” — Bill Cunningham
“ Good mix of business experience with technical know-how and eager ‘new’ entrepreneur. ” — Andrew morrow
“ To share ideas, information and resources with other like minded tech bootstrappers. ” — Jeff Pesek
To RSVP for the upcoming breakfasts on Thursday, August 25th , click here.
Upcoming Breakfasts:
July 11th, 2011
I had the opportunity to sit down with Steve Mock (@steve_mock), Executive or Co-Founder of five venture backed companies. I thought the Bootstrappers Breakfast community might benefit from Steve’s lessons learned. In addition to this Q&A blog post, Steve will be joining the round table discussion as a featured guest speaker on Friday, July 15 at the San Francisco Bootstrappers Breakfast, held at Sandbox Suites. Come join us and ask Steve your own questions.
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Date/Time: July 15th, 2011, 8-9:30 am
Venue: Sandbox Suites, 567 Sutter Street, San Francisco, CA |
Q: Can you share a little bit about the start ups you’ve worked for? Maybe touch on the industry each company was in, the problem each company was solving, and whether or not it returned for the investors?
A: Two of the companies were in enterprise software (IP routing software and network control solutions) and the others were in consumer web and services (mobile email, children’s adventure games, online math games). Two were sold at a profit; one is profitable and growing; one failed fabulously; and the other is TBD.
Q: What are your thoughts about having co-founders compared to going at it alone? If so, how do you find the right person?
A: If someone measured the data, I bet most successful start ups have more than one founder. You want to have people with complimentary skill sets. If you are a sales person, grabbing your buddy who is also in sales may not be the best person. Get someone who can bring a different skill set and perspective to the table. The founding team will do most of the work and have to make the tough decisions, especially early on. Ask yourself with each person you consider whether you want to be locked in a room with them if you have to make the most gut wrenching decision in your life, because that is exactly what will happen.
Q: In terms of getting started, how do you reduce the investors’ perception of risk?
A: Instead of phrasing it as reducing risk, I like to think of it as eliminating reasons for investors not to move forward with your deal. In particular, I think you should make as much progress on the non-capital intensive items as you can before you try to raise outside capital. Get all the little stuff out to the way and make the financing the only thing standing between you and moving forward. Build a non-production prototype. Know the competitive landscape like the back of your hand.
Another type of progress:if your business relies on a distribution channel, talk to people in that channel and get their feedback on your idea. Maybe even make a key person like an advisor. Talking with them isn’t capital intensive, so do it. Don’t be in an investor meeting pitching a business that relies on a distribution channel you haven’t spoken to. It gives the investor an easy out not to move forward: “Why don’t you go talk to them and come back…”
Do everything you can do before you meet the investor, so they only missing piece is the capital required to get your business to the next stage.
Q: Of your company that “failed fabulously,” did the team do a postmortem? If so, do you mind sharing what you believed were the reasons why the team did not hit their growth expectations
A: I learned an interesting lesson about partnering on this one. We started as a B2C model. The product sold for $19.95. Our customer acquisition cost ended up between $100-150. It was completely upside down. We involved many SEO, PR, SEM, and social media marketing experts, but couldn’t get the math to work. We then pivoted into a B2B model, in which we managed to do deals with over ten major media and e-commerce companies to distribute our product, thereby completely eliminating our customer acquisition costs.
It looked really good at that point. The problem is Fortune500 companies move really slow.
So, we spent another year or so waiting for the Fortune500 companies to integrate the product into their respective offerings. When they ultimately came back and said the offering didn’t work for them, I was like, wow, I just spent a year of my life waiting for that feedback. Owning your own customer base is much better than being dependent on someone else to get there.
Q: If you could’ve done things differently, what would they be?
A: I think raising much more money would’ve helped. We could’ve done a lot more awareness building for the product category which would have helped both the B2C and B2B models. The timing was really bad. I was actually able to close my financing for that company in December, 2008, right in middle of the financial crisis. I barely raised the money I did. Raising more wasn’t an option for that business at that point in time.
Q: What are the things that worked?
A: The product iteration process was quite good. We spoke to our trial users intensively, got their feedback, baked it into the product and iterated a lot at the beginning. We really built something that people enjoyed and saw value.
Q: What are you up to now?
A: I’m looking for a great team with a great idea, in which I can jump on board and add value. I’m also consulting for two start ups on their fundraising and go-to-market strategy.
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