October 2011
2 posts
2 tags
The Crazy Ones
Tim Cook, at the Celebrating Steve event, shared this audio clip of Steve reading the dialog he wrote for the crazy ones add.
Dreyfus’ voice was perfect and the messaging was correct for the time, but Apple, Tim, don’t pass up the opportunity to reprise the ad with this version.
1 tag
A Keynote Address
The first time I shared a room, and arguably the closest I ever came to meeting Steve Jobs, was in the keynote address at WWDC in 2007. Although I’d owned a few Macs by then, starting with the “flower pot” iMac, I had only started exploring development on the platform.
My favorite anecdote about Steve was the story a client of ours told us about him using an app we’d...
August 2011
1 post
3 tags
You Should Attend LaunchUp
No rants, no raving, just the facts. LaunchUp brought the entrepreneur out in me.
I attended LaunchUp #1 in March of 2009. I learned that guys like me could pull off startups. I learned that because I’m a coder, I’ve got an advantage over a lot of the guys in the LaunchUp audience. I could take my ideas, prototype them, launch them and become the entrepreneur I wanted to be. I...
April 2011
3 posts
March 2011
1 post
1 tag
“For those of you weighing the benefits of an MBA program: join a startup...”
– http://www.jamesyu.org/2011/03/10/on-being-an-early-employee-at-a-startup-and-a-farewell/
February 2011
2 posts
6 tags
Oscar Backstage Pass Now in the App Store
We had the fortunate opportunity to work with ABC Digital on yet another fantastic app. The Oscar Backstage Pass is now available from the App Store for $0.99.
From the App Store Description of the app:
“Get the ultimate insider’s view of Hollywood’s biggest night with Oscar Backstage Pass! The Oscar Backstage Pass app is the perfect companion app to have when you are...
3 tags
UpLynk Presenting at LaunchUp #15
I’ll be presenting at LaunchUp #15 this Thursday evening at 6:30pm at Noah’s in South Jordan. LaunchUp is akin to a barn raising for startups and entrepreneurs. We’re given 7 minutes to present the problem we solve, how we solve it and most importantly, what we need from the entrepreneurial community to make things happen. We followup with a few minutes of QA. After all the...
December 2010
4 posts
5 tags
Simply Mac, Simply Terrible Service
The Short Version
If you’re willing to pay the “Apple Tax” to get the best technology experience available, then make sure you only deal with Apple directly. Whether it be your friendly neighborhood Apple Store (North Utahns look no further than the Gateway in Salt Lake City) or the online Apple store located at http://store.apple.com, that is the only way to guarantee you get...
3 tags
Charlie Rose Interview with Andrew Mason, CEO of... →
Of all the en vogue executives, Mason tops my list.
4 tags
Sub-Dollar Client Acquisition and Retention
It’s not uncommon for me to pick up “what to dos” and “what not to dos” from other industries as I push forward with my own projects. Here’s 2 examples I learned from while at lunch at one of my favorite spots here south of Salt Lake City.
Groupon is the rage, and there is a “me too” website run locally that offers a typical e-commerce approach...
5 tags
Hire Slow, Fire Fast
I don’t have enough people. We are turning away dozens of projects a month right now. The clients we are working with are begging us to expand our team and take on more projects for them.
The other end of that problem also makes it very tempting to grow. I have a list of former colleagues as well as past and present collaborators that I know would make great contributions to the team.
...
November 2010
1 post
3 tags
Are You Willing to Buy Hardware?
I was rummaging through the storage in my home office and happened to find a Belkin keyboard in a box. Scrawled across the box was my last name, “Bye”, marking it as personal property. While in and of itself the keyboard is of little interest, the story of how it came into my possession is a good reminder.
When I first started at Move Networks I’d brought my own laptop, as I...
October 2010
2 posts
5 tags
Knee-jerk Reactions Make for Terrible Decisions
I joined my first startup at 21. I worked hard writing lots of code, but never passed up the opportunity to talk to folks who were on the front lines raising capital for the company. I definitely took the ears open approach, which included keeping my mouth shut. I learned a lot, at that startup and more at follow on startups. One of the most important lessons I learned was, despite their...
5 tags
One Year In...
“I’m done.”
2 words that sparked the real beginning of this company. No, I didn’t speak them, though I should’ve numerous times in the months leading up to September of 2009. Nonetheless, we did jump ship and haven’t looked back.
While modest, our success of the past year far surpasses anything we could’ve anticipated. There were several company...
September 2010
1 post
4 tags
The Official LDS Tools for iPhone Is Now Available
Protoven had the privilege of starting this application, then code named “Mobile Member”, last October. I also gave a community development presentation on the app to an audience of mobile developers representing the Android, windows and blackberry platforms. Since then, internal and external resources at the church have extended the app updating screens for the iPad, for example.
...
April 2010
3 posts
The Official LDS Gospel Library For iPhone Is Now...
We, the Protoven folks, have worked a lot of hours on the Gospel Library these past months. You can find it in the app store named Gospel Lbry. The best part is it’s absolutely free! It’s a strong first pass and offers up a lot of features that competing commercial apps don’t offer such as allowing you to select the manuals and scriptures you’d like to have on your...
3 tags
“Whenever someone promises “exposure” instead of payment, run.”
– Matt
3 tags
Passive Marketing: Don't Pass Up a Marketing...
Alan Weiss has been adding insight to the development of my company for the past 7 months. My only regret, having bought his book Million Dollar Consulting almost 3 years ago, is not reading it when I first bought it.
In a recent chapter I read, Alan (yes, we’re on a first name basis, in my head) presented the idea that every correspondence you send, whether it be a reply to an email, or...
March 2010
7 posts
1 tag
Out of the Office: Harmons of Draper
Today’s short journey brought me to Harmons of Draper. I’m a sucker for quick deli Chinese Food and Harmons is a much needed improvement over the local Smiths that is close to home. Harmons deli is quite amazing offering a variety of cuisines to choose from.
Ryan joined me today. We arrived right after noon and were greeted with many empty tables. We grabbed some grub from the...
Google and Partners Seek TV Foothold →
Looks like new competition for the new Move Networks. Google, Intel and Sony can probably afford a good fight.
5 tags
Some Comments About Rework
Dave and I are taking the less conventional road with Protoven. Instead of taking that one idea, raising an absurd amount of capital around it, leasing everything to our eyeballs, and praying that the 200 people we’ve hired can “execute”, we’re starting small.
We had an idea. We’ve had lots of ideas. But fundamentally we had ideas that have have turned into...
3 tags
So long Blogotomy...
This March 26th will mark the 7th year that Blogotomy has been in existence. Some of you have followed it, some of you have no clue what I’m talking about.
Dating all the way back to the HDC days, I kept a .plan file which turned into a weblog. In an attempt to formalize it a bit I started working on what would eventually become blogotomy.com in 2003.
I started the project in 1999,...
1 tag
Out of the Office: Barnes & Noble of Sandy
I get stir crazy working at home alone all the time, so I try and venture out a couple of times during the week. I have a Verizon Mifi that really opens up the possibilities and makes any locale I might choose wifi enabled. No the speeds aren’t stupendous, but the coverage is. I often end up, like today, at locations that offer free wifi. The speed of the bandwidth offered isn’t...
iPhone Quick Post
Just a quick post from the iPhone app.
Migrations
Taking a look at Tumblr.