Last night I went along to the finals of the Cable Car Challenge. I was blown away by some of the finalists, with everything from a uniquely New Zealand salad bar, to online startups like Medrecruit (placing doctors based on lifestyle) and Hirethings (an online hire community), to extremely technical things that I couldn’t quite get my head around. The winner was Eyemagnet, who are revolutionising advertising worldwide.
The guys from Medrecruit and Hirethings celebrate their signed copies of
Guy Kawasakis book ‘The Art of the Start’ and their $2,000 cheques.
Some of the plans that didn’t quite reach the finals should be watched as well - I talked to one guy who has invented a net to go over recycling bins so that all our rubbish doesn’t end up on the streets or in the ocean! Simple but effective. Good luck to everyone who entered - now you’ve got a business plan, it’s going to be a matter of making it happen!
When you start a new business, it is tempting to pretend you live in a competitor free environment. It is frightening to think you have to recognise other businesses who are big and successful and dominate the market. Even if you secretly keep an eye on them, you'd NEVER tell potential investors... would you?
Well... if you don't you're doing yourself a disservice.
If you pretend they...(Read more)
Most people assume you get into business to make a LOT of money... Eventually.
If that were true, everyone who had made a lot of money would take it and head to the beach, but many seem to just work harder.
I've met people who have fought growth at all costs. They've done the hard yards in another career, this one is about lifestyle, about having something...(Read more)
I've just been down at the Small business expo drumming up entries for the Cable Car Challenge. If you haven't been yet, GO. I met so many weird and wonderful small business owners, some with the coolest stories of how they decided to make their dreams happen.
One guy was at Sydney airport watching the luggage being transported from the plane to the terminal. He thought...(Read more)
I spent the morning at a workshop on 'the peculiarities of marketing software' run by Melissa Clark-Reynolds at The Business Centre. It was fascinating. There were about 20 of us there and the first thing she asked us to do was introduce our businesses by answering four questions:
What is the problem you solve?
It is amazing how hard it is not to launch straight into your...(Read more)
