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Saturday, 17 July 2010 21:10 |
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I've now found partners for the start up phase of the web project I've been designing for the last 15 or so months and am ready to start development work.
My partners have deep expertise in designing and running customer development tests (because I will be sufficiently correct about my customer's problem to start the project but wrong about the details) and using what we learn can develop a minimum viable product (the most basic version of the website that demonstrates that the concept works) - a process that takes around 3 months.
From there, God willing, we can demonstrate the path to growth and seek serious investment, enough to fund a small team of Ruby and/or PHP developers. As such I'm now actively seeking seed funding ($60+k) to get this first phase off the ground. I've begun discussion with an angel investor about their potential involvement but if you have any other suggestions on where else to look I'd love to hear from you. |
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Tuesday, 15 June 2010 12:50 |
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Over the last 14 months I've been working full time on my main project - the design of new web-based economic infrastructure that will, God willing, enable a new type of transaction and give individuals greater access to the global economy.
Concepts like this are never finished, but the core and UI design have sufficient integrity and stability to commence web development of the alpha version. I'm therefore in the process of building a small, core team web developer / project / process people who can work with me to turn my designs into an architecture & system design, build an alpha version (probably in PHP / mySQL) and manage the input of a team of external developers.
This is essentially a non-commercial, zero budget project and as such I'm seeking people who are passionate enough about helping others to freely give their time. If we're successful, however, there will no doubt be kudos and some degree of financial reward, depending on the extent to which our users appreciate our efforts and give back to us.
If you're interested in participating in this project as a core team member, external developer or you'd like to offer other input that I haven't anticipated here (or if you know someone else who might), please contact me at . |
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Friday, 31 July 2009 23:37 |
Seth's book The Dip (summarised in this ChangeThis manifesto) explains the significant benefits of being the best in the (= your) world. Seth's advice is to quit dead ends (where you can't be the best), freeing up resources to push through the dip in areas where you can be the best.
I've learned a great deal from writing the catalyst blog and trust that it was generally useful to readers. It's not, however, an endeavour in which I can be the best - that mantle belongs to Seth's blog and others. Clearly I haven't updated the blog for a while - today I officially quit the catalyst blog as it has existed to date and want to thank you for reading. As to the future - where I can be the best - I have the clarity to see businesses and industries as they really are, the insight to understand what they could be and the ability to develop possibilities, solutions and processes to deliver radical improvements through radical change. I intend to use these skills to help make the world a better place and am working full time with a small team of equally committed people to turn concepts into reality. We've commenced early prototyping of my first major concept, one that in retrospect I realise I've been working toward for a number of years, and hope that within 12 months we'll have something to announce and share with you all.
As we make ground I'll transform my site to reflect my new focus and will advise any news through this feed. So please stand by - I'll be in touch, hopefully with something great.
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Thursday, 07 May 2009 11:22 |
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This brilliant 11 minute video by Jonathan Jarvis clearly explains the credit crisis and demonstrates the power of visualization:
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Friday, 01 May 2009 11:30 |
Here's proof that there's room for significant innovation in almost any product:
The standard pizza box design considers only one half of the problem space - pizza vendors and their need to transport pizza away from their premises. With the Green Box, eco incorporated looked at the needs of the end user - plates to eat from and storage for leftovers - and created environmental benefits as well. Brilliant.
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Thursday, 30 April 2009 12:44 |
If you made this tap for use in a public bathroom, you failed. You chose to be different in a way that prevents instantaneous access to water for novice users. It's not enough to be different - as Marty Neumeier says, you need to different and good.
If you put up the sign, you failed. You heard the complaints from the public but decided that they were wrong and the tap wasn't broken. Instead of spending your time providing a tap that they could use instantly, you decided to spend five seconds of their time learning to use a tap that's not fit for the purpose. |
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Friday, 24 April 2009 12:49 |
This 4 minute Cool Hunting video looks at Sao Paulo's prolific graffiti artists:
A summary of filmmaker / journalist Jaoa Wainer's points (with my comments in parenthesis) is: - tags made without the risk of climbing are not valued (this tribe demands commitment from its participants),
- the tag is made up of a personal symbol, a gang symbol and the date (the artist is claiming current membership in their gang, and presumably ownership of a neighbourhood),
- the artists are the invisible poor who say 'I'd prefer you to hate me than ignore me' (to me the most significant point here),
- the tags are in a common style that dates back to the 1980s (the artists are aligning themselves with each other even over gang boundaries and the tags only understandable only by those in the culture),
- the symbols are based on the logos of heavy metal bands (the artists belong to a wider tribe - youths around the world who have an affinity with heavy metal presumably because it expresses their feelings), and
- the artists don't know why they do it (self-awareness is a not a prerequisite to action against deeply held values).
For me it's another reminder that nothing is as simple as it looks. Even cultures that most do not value contain the same degree of structure, purpose and value for its participants as esteemed cultures. And that unless the powers that be get inside the skin of these cultures as Wainer has here, they'll never have an impact on curbing anti-social behaviour. Malcom Gladwell also speaks to this in The Tipping Point.
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