Exclusive Interview with Chris Lin, Author of the book 10,000 RIDES: What it's REALLY like driving for Uber & Lyft

In a continuation of our series on startups, the following exclusive and fascinating interview was graciously provided by Christopher Lin, author of the book 10,000 RIDES: What it's REALLY like driving for Uber & Lyft, provided to you in the form of a podcast. 

Christopher Lin drove for Uber, Lyft, and Sidecar for a year in San Francisco and decided to write a book about his experiences and some of the more unusual passengers he has had to deal with. The book even has illustrations throughout showing his amazing experiences. But he did more than just write a book, he looked at it from a business standpoint, from the research, to the development,  to the marketing and promotion.

Chris currently has a Kickstarter campaign going and has already far exceeded his goal. There is still time left to get in on it so check it out. He also has a website/blog where he features a few of the most interesting chapters in his book. It can be found at 10000rides.com.

We cover a lot in this interview, including:

• How he decided on which publishing route to use
• Why Uber and Lyft drivers are not his market
• The way he designed his Kickstarter campaign to blast through his goal
• How he did his Kickstarter research
• How he got several strangers (including a politician) to pledge $111 each to the project
• The way to use Starbucks to get incredible feedback, research data, and customers

You will enjoy the incredible advice he gives.

Stream by CLICKING HERE.

Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”

New Zip App Pacing 3x’s Twitter Initial Engagement

The app that launched less than two months ago has user engagement levels that rival the social networking site’s initial growth and is on pace to be a billion dollar brand. 

Zip, the Question Answer App, a social media tool that lets users ask and answer questions and see results from other users, is on pace with Twitter’s initial users back in 2007. The average Zip interactions per day, based on span from 9/29/15 to 11/12/15, are 4,613, compared to Twitter’s 2007 Internet LiveStats’ reported 5,000.

Based on an average over the entirety of the year which also allowed for considerable ongoing exponential growth, Twitter had a 6-month ramp up period in 2006 not accounted for. In turn, Zip’s comparison numbers are based on just six weeks of its launch to the public.

“We are humbly overwhelmed with the levels of engagement we are seeing to date,” says Ric Militi, Founder of Zip, the Question Answer App. “But we are not comparing ourselves to the social media giant in any other way than engagement based on similar downloads at the same historical point in time. In our opinion, there are no other apps that have the same functionality as Zip, which is why it is patent pending.”

Tracking backwards from the 2007 figure of 5,000 daily interactions, the end result is Zip, the Question Answer App, is conservatively pacing at over three times the engagement level of Twitter.

Already implemented on iHeart Radio stations throughout Los Angeles and used to engage viewers on Fox 5 San Diego, the app was created by the self-funded Crazy Raccoons, a private company that did not use an angel investor.

"I've had the opportunity to work with several start ups, and its absolutely amazing that Crazy Raccoons has been able to accomplish everything to date without outside investment," shared Adam C. Aparicio, Principal Attorney at APARICIO LAW. "As I discuss the company with my colleagues in the legal community, they are all simply astonished that we are completely self-funded. It should go without saying, being self-funded in this day and age is unheard of. Most companies do not have the freedom that comes with not being beholden to venture capitalists."

The original idea behind Zip, the Question Answer App, was to settle arguments, and now, it’s also introducing a whole new, simple and proprietary way to communicate with media outlets (i.e. TV, radio, print, digital, etc.) The rapidly growing interactive app is revolutionizing everyday conversation and mass polling. 

Zip, the Question Answer App, is available for Download for free at the App Store for iOS and the Google Play Store for Android.

For additional information and to download, please visit http://www.thezipapp.com. 

Great Books on Startups for the Holidays

Holiday shopping has already started, and the time for you to start is now. Might as well get it over with, so that you can go back to starting on your startup.

Here is a selection of books related to startups. By the way, you might want to pick up one of these books as a gift for yourself.

Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel and Blake Masters

Startup: Essential Startup Guide - Entrepreneur, Small Business & Online Business by Bill Robb

The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses by Eric Ries

The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz

Bold: How to Go Big, Create Wealth and Impact the World by Steven Kotler

How to Win at the Sport of Business: If I Can Do It, You Can Do It by Mark Cuban

Small Time Operator: How to Start Your Own Business, Keep Your Books, Pay Your Taxes, and Stay Out of Trouble by Bernard B. Kamoroff

How to Make $1,000 Per Day Clear Profit on Amazon with One Single $35 Product You Choose by Bradford Sullivan

The Startup Owner's Manual: The Step-By-Step Guide for Building a Great Company by Steve Blank

The Millionaire Fastlane: Crack the Code to Wealth and Live Rich for a Lifetime. by MJ DeMarco

Crossing the Chasm, 3rd Edition: Marketing and Selling Disruptive Products to Mainstream Customers by Geoffrey A. Moore

The Pathfinder: How to Choose or Change Your Career for a Lifetime of Satisfaction and Success (Touchstone Books) by Nicholas Lore

Hopefully a few of these books will be useful to you and your business. Read on!

Exclusive Startup Interview with Shaun Moore Co-founder & CEO of Chui

In a continuation of our series on startups, the following exclusive and fascinating interview was graciously provided by Shaun Moore, who is the Co-founder and CEO of Chui.

Why don't we start by briefly describing your company's intelligent doorbell?

Chui’s first product is an intelligent doorbell that uses a blend of facial recognition and proprietary technology capable of learning with time to make our homes safer, and our experiences with connected devices seamless; Chui does more than enable a house that is smart – it shapes a home that is you.

How did you happen to come up with the idea for the business?

I had just left my corporate job in Chicago and booked a one way ticket to Casablanca Morocco which is where my CTO is from.  We were catching up and reliving memories from college as well as digging into sites like Kickstarter to generate ideas.  The more we talked about trends in the home we realized that everyone was innovating the inside of the home and making it smart but no one was changing the gateway or the portal to the connected home.  We saw an opportunity to not only connect the front of your home but to make it intelligent to the point of recognizing visitors/yourself and acting based on identity.

Who do you consider your direct competitors?

 Ring and Skybell are competing with us in the Smart Doorbell space.  Ring has done an incredible job getting out there in front of the mass market and showing the world why its important to adopt technologies like these.  They have inadvertently helped us do our market research although we have a slightly different approach as we are focusing more on intelligence by using biometrics (Facial Recognition) as a means for customization and access control.

When do you expect to generate income?

 We have been taking pre-orders since last year and intend to fulfill those shipments early in 2016.

Did you get any venture capital to begin with or are you self funded?

We started as self funded and raised a small round of angel financing after completion of Boomtown Boulder Accelerator.

How long have you been in business and where are you located?

We started engineering the product in March of 2014 in Boulder Colorado and have since relocated to Dallas, Texas.

How many employees do you have and do you use virtual assistants?

There are 5 of us and we do not use virtual assistants.

Tell us a little about your background.

I'm driven by a love for exploration and innovation. This has led me to be the Co-Founder and CEO of Chui, an  intelligent device that uses facial recognition, machine learning, AI and other computer vision technologies.  Chui has customers in over 30 countries and has been featured in TechCrunch, Forbes, CBS, WSJ and a few others.

I played Division 1 football at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX and graduated with honors with a degree in Finance and a specialization in Alternative Asset Management.  My journey to create Chui began three years ago, leaving Merrill Lynch Private Wealth in Chicago and booking a one-way ticket to Casablanca, Morocco to pursue my entrepreneurial vision: make technology accessible, personal, and trustworthy.

Prior to Chui, I worked on a startup in the mobile application industry. I've been fortunate to have lived on three continents and regularly participate in international communities for the advancement of global entrepreneurship. I've continued to share my story and vision through speaking at several events across the world from San Francisco to Barcelona.

What are your plans for the future of the company? Any new products on the horizon?

We have some exciting announcements in due time (I can't give those away yet!).  We feel that our technology will create an environment that is as seamless as walking through a door.  We firmly believe that biometrics is the future of authentication and authorization and with a product like Chui we are one step closer to breaching the nexus of convenience and security.

What do you consider your biggest challenges as a startup?

Attracting top talent to leave their comfortable job to come help disrupt an industry or thought process.  As a startup there is no class you can take or book you can read that will give you the answers to your problems.  You have to learn by doing and by making mistakes and by surrounding yourself with people who have been in your shoes before.

What one or two pieces of advice would you give someone who is developing a startup?

Listen, listen, listen!  Listen to you customers, your backers, your investors, your friends and family.  Aggregate everything people have told you and make your own decision based on all of the available information.  At the end of the day you are writing your own story so make intelligent quick decisions that get you from point A to point B and if it was the wrong decision learn to never make that mistake again.  Entrepreneurship is very much about continuing education and the best resource that we as entrepreneurs have is the available knowledge on the internet, in books and through relationships.

Where can people go to get more info on your product?

www.getchui.com

Thanks very much for your time.

Quick Review of the Launch Mobile, Wearables & IoT Conference Day 1

If you signed up for the Launch Mobile, Wearables & IoT Conference at the Herbst Theatre, in Fort Mason in San Francisco, and you didn't attend Day One, you need to attend tomorrow. The speakers were great and the exhibitors were awesome.  The diverse group of startups had many unique products and services.

Here are just a few of them.

Getonlow.com "Totally Silent Video Chat"

Chüi getchui.com

First Derm by iDoc24 FirstDerm.com HÜD Smart Mole Scanner

VimoFit Fitness Tracking Beyond Pedometers vimofit.com

Serenneti "Think Keurig for Food using Robotics" serenity.com

Don't forget to check out all these exhibitors, along with all the other exhibitors at the show.

Exclusive Interview with Jonathan Fuld: Founder of Leavamsg.com

Readers who are interested in learning more about startups will find this interview fascinating. In a continuation of our series on startups, the following exclusive interview was graciously provided by Jonathan Fuld, founder of Leavamsg.com

Why don't you start by briefly describing what your website does?

You can leave a message (leavamsg ™) to your family, friends, colleagues, business associates, basically anyone you want to talk to.  Hit the record button, start speaking, then hit the send button.  From any device, anywhere, anytime.  You can leavamsg to anyone in the world or to the whole world.  You have the "Freedom to Talk!" ™.

How did you happen to come up with the idea for the business?

I founded a telephone call recording company, SIP Print.  I left after four years when I thought the technology and value was becoming archaic.  People interact in so many ways today.  What was missing was a near real-time aural communication technology.  Leavamsg eliminates the need for call recording, voice mail and telephony as we know it.  I can leavamsg for you as many times as I want.  When you listen to your messages, (driving, flying, at the beach, basically anywhere), you hear so much more communicated in the speaker's voice than just the words.  That is key.  I want to tell you as much as I can in as little time as possible at the greatest convenience to you while freeing your eyes from reading another email or text message that can be misinterpreted.

Who do you consider your direct competitors?

Proprietary voice mail on singular system manufacturers, call-recording manufactures, telephony service providers are industries that are disrupted by Leavamsg. 

How do you, or will you, generate income for your business?

Income is generated by premium services above and beyond the standard services.  Not everyone needs or wants a premium service.  Companies are definitely interested in the premium services for Leavamsg.

Did you get any venture capital to begin with or are you self funded?

All of our finances are private.  We are profitable.

How long have you been in business and is the company a corporation, an LLC, a partnership, or sole proprietorship?

Leavamsg started in the beginning of 2015.  It currently operates as an LLC.

How many employees do you have and do you use virtual assistants?

Our HR statistics are private.  We are growing.  Would you like to join us?  Leavamsg for me.  My contact is JF.

Tell us a little about your background.

My background centers on technology, software, start-ups, consulting.

What are your plans for the future of the company?

Our plans include continuous improvement of delight for the users of Leavamsg.  If people are not satisfied with something in Leavamsg, we want them to tell us.

What do you consider your biggest challenges as a startup?

1) Noise - from others and your own self-doubt;

2) Global Perspective - If you forget that you are in an international market, you lose 95% of your perspective.

3) Activity getting in the way of design - Movement doesn't always mean profitable progress, sometimes it is only noise (see #1 above.)

What three pieces of advice would you give someone who is developing a startup?

1) Never stop.

2) Start up only if you want to change the world.

3) Adapt.

How can someone try out the site?

 Just go to Leavamsg.com, click on Sign Up, which only takes a few seconds, then leave a message. It works best with Firefox and Chrome. I look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you very much for your time.

No investment recommendation nor any investment promotion is expressed or implied by either the publisher, the interviewer, or the interviewee.

The Venture Capital Conundrum By Ray Zinn

Venture Capital Actuarial Tables

The VC Conundrum

Guest article: By Ray Zinn
Author of Tough Things First: Leadership Lessons from Silicon Valley's Longest Serving CEO

It is not that all VCs are bad, it’s just that not many VCs are good.

Entrepreneurs need money to launch a business, and here in Silicon Valley there are endless lines of founders queuing in front of an endless line of venture capitalists (VCs) with money to invest. Yet the question entrepreneurs far too rarely ask is if VC money is a good thing. Nor do they ask if one or another VC has the correct long-term interest in the founders, their vision or their company.

VCs, a necessary anomaly

So what is the purpose of VCs?  They exist to insert money into companies during their earliest years. It takes cash to start a company, but VC cash is only one possible source. The three primary means for raising starting cash include:

• Founders use their own personal assets and resources (friends, family, etc.)
• They borrow without exchanging equity and power, through a bank loan secured against personal assets.
• They come, hat in hand, to VCs pitch parties.

This is where VC money becomes a Faustian temptation. Most founders lack the personal resources required to launch a company, to hire staff, and to feed the development, marketing, sales and support processes. Like most people, founders’ assets are otherwise occupied – tied up in our homes, retirement accounts, kids’ college funds, investments, and personal property.

This creates a very uncomfortable situation for anyone with common risk aversion. Risking a lifetime of work and savings is unappetizing. So founders are all too willing to trade equity and the collateral authority for financial help. Given that banks are typically loath to finance startups with thin track records, they rarely do (I secured bank financing to launch Micrel, a semiconductor company, a rarity that few can imagine). Even if banks are willing to lend, founders are often unwilling to secure these loans with their hard-earned assets. Under those rare circumstances where the bank and the founder are willing, the bank often offers less than is actually necessary to sustain the startup.

Let’s face it, startups are extremely risky.  Statistics show that fewer than 10 percent of them live longer than three years … though the odds of failure might well diminish if founders had their assets on the line.

VC Actuarial Conundrum

Would you make an investment if you knew that there was a 90 percent chance that it would fail?

VCs do. VCs are, by definition, gamblers. They know the odds and continue rolling the dice day in and day out on the long shot that one in ten investments will pay well enough to balance out the other nine. And they pray for the lottery-level odds that number ten is the next Google. When a VC says he is betting on your company, he means it quite literally.

VCs do stack the odds in their favor to some degree, but the process reduces the odds, a great outcome for founders. VCs know that to make an investment more likely profitable involves selling the portfolio company to a much larger entity. And Silicon Valley is not at a loss for mammoth companies who consume smaller companies for intellectual property and talent.

To make these companies “valuable” enough to balance books, VCs push founders to “grow” their companies at blinding speed, assuring the startup CEO that more cash is available for ongoing operations (for another hunk of equity, of course). Grow, gather cash, grow, gather cash – this is the life of a startup CEO. The growth is artificial, often producing unsustainable companies, but with some demonstrated technology and a patch of market traction. Properly fluffed, and with associated valuations of unrealistic natures, VC portfolio companies are corralled, auctioned off to the highest bidder, and slaughtered.

VCs, Egos and Actuaries

Many (perhaps most) venture capitalists believe they provide some special sauce that grants them the ability to beat the early-investor odds. They believe their investment success ratio will be exactly opposite of the real world – that they will win nine out of every ten bets.

Their strategy is flawed.  Actuary tables for humans are statistically calculable and accurate, thus everyone buys into insurance industry stats.  VC actuary tables are at best inaccurate, and at worst a poor man’s bet. A life insurance company using VC actuary statistics would have to charge premiums that exceed what rational people would pay.

Which is what founders do. By switching from being leaders to being money hunters, by trading control for cash, by not paying attention to their company, customers and culture as their principal priority, they pay huge premiums betting they won’t die. Yet by giving away control to VCs, and following their lead concerning the perpetual money hunt, they all but guarantee their demise.

Since business failure rates are high, many founders are acutely risk-averse. Without excellent native leadership and management skills, the odds are against them.  But being an entrepreneur is such a tremendous lure that feisty founders expect to beat the odds. Often it is only their manic vision and relentless drive that pushes past the pits of failure.

However, this does not change their risk-averse mentality. As I formulate my mentoring process, which is tied to my investments, I talk to many founders. An acid test question I ask of each man and woman is if they are willing to put up some of their own money for the venture. Thus far all have declined.  Just last week a couple of gentlemen approached me, wanting to start a high-tech company. Their initial assessment was that they needed half a million dollars. After reviewing their business plan and counseling them accordingly, they moved their go-to-market plan out by two years and decided they needed nearly four million dollars. They also assumed than none of the risked capital would be theirs.

Fortunately for them, I have extensive executive experience in the markets in which they want me to invest – something no VC can contribute. Having launched a successful company, having had thirty-six nearly consecutive profitable years, having survived five major industry downturns, I can help guide a portfolio company’s rational growth.

This is where, I believe, not all VC funds are good.  VCs lack the executive expertise to fully understand the risk and capability within a startup. I know that the two gentlemen I interviewed were involved in three other startups over the past fifteen years – and all but one failed miserably. Their most recent startup raised over $300M in venture capital funding and now, eight years later, the company is still seeking venture capital while generating less than $5M in revenue per year. 

With $300 million in financing, one would assume their VCs would provide a rich assortment of advisors with expert insight into their company’s industry, markets, niche segments and operations. But they didn’t. These two gentleman claim that their VCs told them to spend the money as quickly as possible so that they could get a head start or jump on the competition.

A sprint that led to a corporate heart attack.

Three years ago Micrel had the opportunity to purchase Dicera, a MEMs semiconductor company. Dicera was launched in 2003. By the end of 2013 they had raised over $72M in venture capital funds but were turning less than $6M a year in revenue.  Micrel purchased Dicera for a little over $7M. We bought a VC-backed company for a dime on the dollar.

Founders Skew the Actuarial Tables

This is the foul legacy of VC-funded startups – they miss their business plan objectives by an order of magnitude. Without experienced perspective, founders misestimate all. Things take longer, they cost more than budgeted, and markets are tougher to crack than anticipated. With all this working against them, VCs pushing for unsustainable growth merely exacerbate underlying problems. This creates greater portfolio fragility, and oddly causes VCs to place wilder bets on the hopes that they can saddle a unicorn.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. High-flying Silicon Valley software startups are getting most of the VC cash, and not enough payoff. Meanwhile, the same companies – and those in less favored industries – are finding that without mentorship, their ships sail slowly and sink quickly.

Yet we may see a few VCs doing business differently. They will have qualified councilors with industry experience who expertly guide startups. They don’t shoot for rapid yet unsustainable growth, but instead count on forming enduring companies. They insist that founders take risks, with their own assets as part of a grander, longer-term marriage. In short, the new VC may be seen as the anti-VC.

Not all VCs are bad, but not all VCs are good. Choose wisely.

Raymond D. “Ray” Zinn is an inventor, entrepreneur, and the longest serving CEO of a publicly traded company in Silicon Valley. He is best known for creating and selling the first Wafer Stepper (an industry standard piece of semiconductor manufacturing equipment), and for co-founding semiconductor company, Micrel (acquired by Microchip in 2015), which provides essential components for smartphones, consumer electronics and enterprise networks. He served as Chief Executive Officer, Chairman of its Board of Directors and President since Micrel’s inception in 1978 until his retirement in August 2015. Zinn’s philosophy on people, servant leadership, humanistic management and the ethics of corporate culture are credited with Micrel’s nearly unbroken profitability. Zinn also holds over 20 patents for semiconductor design.

His new book, Tough Things First (McGraw Hill), is now available for ordering.

Don't Forget to Attend the Launch Mobile, Wearables & IoT Conference Next Week

Make sure that you attend the LAUNCH Mobile, Wearables & IoT Conference on Thursday, October 15 and Friday, October 16, held at Fort Mason in San Francisco, California. The actual show starts at 9:30 am but the exhibition opens at 8:00 am.

The agenda for the event can be found here:

http://www.launchmw.com/agenda

If you have a mobile, wearable or IoT startup, you may still be able to get a table for free.

If you are a founder or developer of a startup, there are still tickets left. Go to the following link:

https://launchevents.typeform.com/to/teIHVi

However, if you are an investor, you can buy your ticket at the following link:

http://www.launchmw.com/tickets

More info about LAUNCH can be found here:

http://www.launch.co

See you there!

How to Participate in an IPO for only $100

If you haven't heard about the LOYAL3 brokerage firm, you should. The company allows investors to invest as little as $10 in a variety of stocks, without having to pay a commission. Enrollment is very simple with just three steps and takes only a couple minutes.

$10 Minimum Investment

You can buy full shares and partial shares based on the dollar amount, and you have the ability to invest one time or automatically on a monthly basis. There are no account management or account minimum fees. LOYAL3 receives compensation by performing various services for companies on its platform, and charges them for those services. Click on the link below for more information on the commission-free stock investing.

Invest Fee-Free. LOYAL3 is the only online stock platform that charges $0 fees. Enroll!

IPOs Open to Small Investors

More importantly, LOYAL3 participates in various IPOs, which allows the small investor to get in on some stock issues that are usually open to just wealthy investors and institutions. Some of the IPOs and follow-on investments that LOYAL3 has participated in include AMC (AMC), GoDaddy (GDDY), GoPro (GPRO), Virgin America (VA), and Dave & Busters (DAVE).

As a matter of fact, they are currently participating in an IPO for a major tech company, which is expected to price this Monday, October 5. Click the link below to sign up for the list of upcoming IPO opportunities.

IPO Stock at LOYAL3.comOwn IPO stock in 3 easy steps.Learn more at LOYAL3.com.

Easy Sign-Up

You are not guaranteed that you will get the entire amount that you request. The minimum investment is $100. In addition, there are maximum investment limitations for the IPO. Plus, you need to have the funds available in the account in order to get shares, so I recommend that you open the account now and fund it so that you are ready when the next IPO that you are interested in comes out.

The LOYAL3 brokerage firm is a member of FINRA and SIPC. In the interest of full disclosure, I have an account with LOYAL3. I participated in two of their recent IPOs, and made roughly 60% the day the stock went public for one of the stocks and 30% the first day for the other stock. The sign-up process is easy and the customer service is superb.

Hey Startupers! Here are the Top 10 Books on Startups

Are you looking to start a startup? Or maybe you are already a startuper, trying to grow your startup, find venture capital, increase followers, or go public. Need advice on what to do? Try some of these books. They are the top selling books on Amazon in the category of New Business Enterprises (that's what Amazon calls Startups).

The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses by Eric Ries

The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz

Bold: How to Go Big, Create Wealth and Impact the World by Steven Kotler

How to Win at the Sport of Business: If I Can Do It, You Can Do It by Mark Cuban

Small Time Operator: How to Start Your Own Business, Keep Your Books, Pay Your Taxes, and Stay Out of Trouble by Bernard B. Kamoroff (Note: This is a classic book that has been around for many years - recently updated)

How to Make $1,000 Per Day Clear Profit on Amazon with One Single $35 Product You Choose by Bradford Sullivan

The Startup Owner's Manual: The Step-By-Step Guide for Building a Great Company by Steve Blank

The Millionaire Fastlane: Crack the Code to Wealth and Live Rich for a Lifetime. by MJ DeMarco

Crossing the Chasm, 3rd Edition: Marketing and Selling Disruptive Products to Mainstream Customers by Geoffrey A. Moore

The Pathfinder: How to Choose or Change Your Career for a Lifetime of Satisfaction and Success (Touchstone Books) by Nicholas Lore

Hopefully a few of these books will be useful to you and your business. Read on!

Uber Reduces Drunk Driver Deaths

The government, non-profits, and even insurance companies have been trying to do this for years: reduce the number of drunk driver deaths. Leave it to a startup, albeit a big one which has been around for a few years, to solve the problem. And that startup is Uber (although Lyft may solve the same problem, but I haven't seen any studies on it.

A recent independent study done by researchers at Temple University Fox School of Business in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, discovered that with the entry of Uber into markets in California between 2009 and 2013, findings suggest a significant drop in the rate of alcohol related motor vehicle homicides during that time. Drunk driving deaths dropped 3.6% to 5.6% in 14 counties in California.

There was actually a previous study conducted by Uber and Mothers Against Drunk Driving, also known as MADD, which showed similar findings, but the one from Temple University was an independent study.

It goes to show you that sometimes creating a successful startup has unintended but very positive consequences.

DeLorean "time machine" provided by Uber

Picture created by Ed g2s via Wikipedia

Checkout SMARTCAMP 2015 for Startups and Win $25,000

Have you heard of SMARTCAMP 2015? If not, you should check it out. You could win $25,000 plus acceptance into the 12-week, LAUNCH Incubator.

This is a startup competition taking place in 30 cities, with IBM and LAUNCH as the hosts. The cities include:

Auckland

Austin

Bangalore

Boston

Cairo

Casablanca

Chicago

Istanbul

Johannesburg

London

Los Angeles

Melbourne

Mexico City

Montevideo

Mumbai

Nairobi

New Delhi

New York

Raleigh

Sao Paulo

San Francisco

Silicon Valley

Singapore

Tokyo

Toronto

The finalists will get to meet top Silicon Valley investors in San Francisco at the SCALE Conference which will be held on October 13th and 14th. They will return to the LAUNCH festival held March 2nd through the 4th, next year.

Need an application? Go to the following link:

smartcamp2015.com

GoPro versus Soloshot: Competition or Complimentary?

Many people are familiar with GoPro, maker of the high def extreme action video recorders, that can be attached to a helmet, bike, skateboard, or just about anything, and can capture the viewpoint of the action sports participant.

The company has had a volatile stock since it went public last year, trading for less that 40 and above 90 over the last 12 months.

GoPro is even becoming a media company. It has its own television channel on Virgin America Airlines.

But there is another company in the action sports camera business, Soloshot.



Soloshot's camera's will track you as you are moving (surfing, biking, skateboarding, skiing, water skiing, etc.) by following a tag device that you have attached to you, such as on an armband. The cameras are referred to as a robot cameraman.

Soloshot was founded about ten years ago by Chris Boyle, who developed the idea as a way for surfers to film themselves.

So are Soloshot and GoPro competitors? Do you think they compliment each other? What do you think?

Marketing Shortcuts for the Self-Employed

When I first started looking through the Table of Contents of Marketing Shortcuts for the Self-Employed: Leverage Resources, Establish Online Credibility and Crush Your Competition by Patrick Schwerdtfeger, the first words out of my mouth were "Wow." I could see right away how complete the book was and how it covered all possible areas, as it has 80 chapters!

This is the kind of book you wished you had before you even started your business. The chapters are short and concise, and leave out the time-wasting fluff often found in other books. The author provides specific resources and web sites to go to, which is extremely helpful.

One of the things that I found interesting is that some of the recommendations could be applied to other areas of the business. For example, Chapter 6 - The Elevator Pitch describes the structure of creating such a pitch. But the same structure could also be used to create a blog post.

Chapter 9 on Google Codes and Alerts was great. I thought I knew all of them, but I learned a couple new ones, and it also reminded me to start using the ones that I already knew about.

The keyword research trick in Chapter 13 alone is worth more than the price of the book. Easy to do and very useful.

I could go on and on, as the book covers everything from analytics to sales copy to outsourcing. If you are just getting started in your business or you are already into your first, second, or third year of of your startup, I highly recommend that you read Marketing Shortcuts for the Self-Employed.

Another Boring Derivative Piece of Crap Business Book

Do you want more promotion for your business? Do you want your company to get free publicity? Do you want to get attention-getting headlines for your product or service? Then you need to read Another Boring, Derivative, Piece of Crap Business Book: Make The First Basic Leap In Work in 100 Years, Laughing All The Way by Mike Veeck and Allen Fahden.

The book makes it very clear that the best way to get the publicity you want is to do the opposite of what everyone else is doing, and not only that, but do something stupid.

One of the interesting chapters in the book is about how author Allen Fahden wanted to come up with an idea to promote his book. He realized that he should take the advice of his own book, and did something stupid. So he set up a one book bookstore.

He rented 1,000 square feet of retail space, set up various bookshelves with different sections, such as travel, philosophy, and history, with just his books in all those sections. The sign over his shop said One Book Bookstore. He also posted a little sign that said Shoplifters Welcome.

A woman walked by and asked what he was selling. He invited her in, showed her around, told her about his top ten best selling books list (his book was in all 10 places of course), and she was very impressed. She told him that she writes a small column in the local newspaper and would write about his store.

Within a month, the One Book Bookstore was written about in major magazines and newspapers all across the country, and was covered by ABC and the BBC.

The book has numerous and hilarious ideas and true stories. Here is just a small sample of some of the chapter titles:

Think One Person Can't Make a Difference? - I Killed Disco
We're Number Three and We Don't Try at All
If You're Worried About Covering Your Ass, Learn to Walk Backward
The Joys of Wine Slobbery
English for Me is a Second Language - I Don't Have a First
Bat Night with Tonya Harding

The book is only available in hardback, but it is a small size book, about the hight and width of a regular paperback, so it fits easily inside a briefcase, purse, or carry-on. The book even has a flip page video inside.

For light amusing reading with great, inspirational, funny promotional ideas, I recommend Another Boring, Derivative, Piece of Crap Business Book.

An Interesting New App That Can Tell You How Old You Look

I remember years ago, if you went to a carnival, there would be  guy standing by a scale who, for a dollar, would guess your age within two pounds or your weight within three pounds. If he missed, you would win a stuffed animal. He would almost always be right. But if he was wrong, he only had to give out the toy, which probably cost him less than a dollar in quantity.

Now, I haven't seen an app or web site that guesses your weight (hey, there's an idea for a startup), but there is a site that guesses your age. It is called HOW OLD DO I LOOK? and the web address is How-Old.net.

What you do is type in the name of a person who's picture you want to find on the Internet (like maybe yourself), and it comes up with a group of pictures. Click on the picture you want to check, click on the Use This Photo link, and a page appears showing the estimated person's age.

If you can't find the picture you want on the Internet, you can upload your own photo from your computer.

It seems to err on the side of younger for older people and older for younger people.

An interesting idea, which should trigger other similar startup ideas for you.

Beyond James Altucher: More Mega Trends for the 21st Century

If you haven't heard of James Altucher, you probably haven't been on the Internet for very long. He has published over a dozen books, been interviewed many times by the press and blogs, and has written numerous articles on widely varying topics including investing, personal growth, running a business, publishing books, interpersonal relationships, yoga, entrepreneurship, and many, many more.

In his latest book, The Choose Yourself Guide To Wealth, he talks about the seven mega trends for the 21st Century, and how the knowledge of these trends can make you money. For the entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and investors, being aware of these trends can help you determine what kind of company to start or invest in, or if you already have a business, what areas to expand into.

The seven mega trends that Altucher came up with are...



all spelled out in his book and are covered in great detail. I don't want to give them away, since the book does a great job of explaining them, plus I highly recommend the book anyway.

Also, what I would rather do is mention some additional mega trends that startupers and VCs should look into. My trends may not be as 'mega' as the ones that Altucher has come up with but even though they are more narrow, their impact is great. Here they are.

Asset Rental

Why did Airbnb, Uber, and Lyft come about? People needed money, they owned assets (houses, cars), and rented out those assets to generate income. I believe this need for income will be covered by other personal asset rentals.

For example, do you own a Porsche Driver's Select RX Bike, or a Callaway Big Bertha Iron Set or even a Stellar S14S Excel Surf Ski Kayak? If you don't use them every weekend, why not rent them out? Anyone who is considering buying an item like this might want to try it out first before making a major expenditure. Or someone who skis but doesn't own a pair, might just want to rent some nice ones for a weekend. A deposit would need to be collected of course.

Even better yet, why not create a website/app that would put the owners and renters together. The service could cover the payments and deposits.

Drought and Water

Maybe this is more of a California thing but the drought in California is a major issue and keeps getting worse. In addition to affecting individuals with their water consumption, it will affect the price of produce which will eventually affect the rest of the country. Any business connected with recycling water, desalinizing water, or just getting water from somewhere and providing it to consumers and businesses should be drowning in money.

In regards to some water startup ideas, how about an app to track your water usage? Devices for capturing rainwater and purifying it? A way to convert grey water to usable water, at least for plants? Fake but realistic looking lawns (this is starting to become a big business in California)? Transporting water from heavily rained on east coast and midwest states to the west? The ideas are almost limitless.

Spanish

Maybe this is another California thing but I don't think so. I was driving from the San Francisco Bay Area to Los Angeles, and as I reached the LA basin, I searched for a radio station that played classical music. After scanning the entire FM spectrum, I discovered that more than 50% of the stations were Spanish speaking stations. Spanish is very common in California and many other states.

If you are English/Spanish bilingual, you have a big advantage. The possibilities are unlimited. Providing Spanish versions of websites and apps has big potential (those automatic translators are not perfect), and can help businesses reach significant new markets. Translation services in both directions, tutoring services, teaching, subtitling, and so on. Bilingual TV programs will become more popular.

Cannabis

It is inevitable that marijuana will be legalized, it's just a matter of when. Initially for medical purposes and eventually for recreational purposes, as you can see more and more states moving in that direction.

I heard recently from a friend that the tax revenues from legalized pot in Colorado is so great that the state is considering either building brand new schools throughout the state and tearing down the old ones, or sending out a check to every resident of the state, similar to what the Alaska residents receive from the oil royalty fund.

I haven't had a chance to verity this or not but if it is even close to being true, it shows that legalization can be a big source of income for state governments, and even the Federal government, not to mention the jobs potential.

What amazes me is not the number of people that use marijuana (the number of senior citizens that use medical marijuana is enormous), but the number of people that don't use but support marijuana legalization.

The trend is there. It is just a matter of choosing the right business idea. In terms of ideas around the legal weed industry, they should be fairly obvious. Just make sure that whatever you do is currently legal.

Mega Trends

Hopefully, these mega-trends will give you some ideas about where to put your money and your energy, whether you just want to be an armchair investor, take an ownership and management position in an existing company, or startup your own company. May the trends be with you.