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Perspectives on the wonderful world of tech

We are looking for speakers for BLN Making it Mobile ‘MiM’ Forum

We are running the 2nd BLN MiM Forum (22nd March, London), so if you are doing something interesting with mobile and want to get involved we would love to hear from you! For those of you who didn’t come along to the event we did back in June 2011, you can see what you missed here.

The MiM Forum 2012 will be a one-day conference for senior decision makers from multichannel retailers, media providers, publishers, financial services and C-level execs from fast growing mobile businesses to discuss present and actionable opportunities in mobile. We’re not interested in pondering about what the distant future may hold – we want to hear about what is making money now.

Is this something you believe in as well? If so, then we would love to talk with you. We are currently looking for speakers – whether you are an acquirer of mobile technology or enabling your customers to make money from it. We want to hear from strong characters who can engage a smart audience with controversy and stories of success and failure.

For more information about the forum or if you want to get involved, email me at Marcin@thebln.com.

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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2011-12-04

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The infographer’s infographic

Those meme-like infographics that get tweeted do get a bit tedious. I did like this one though.

The Ultimate Infographic about Infographics.

Infographic about infographics

Thanks to Benedict Evans for finding such useful content.

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What does your potential acquirer know about your business?

I left today’s CFO breakfast forum feeling very inspired – Rupert Cook‘s talk about ‘Blatancy’ and getting the best deal when selling your business should strike a chord with everyone, especially us cold, self-deprecating Brits.

Rupert’s argument is that you should make everyone know, especially your most likely acquirers and investors, just how great your business is. From Rupert’s extensive experience this can really make a big difference on your valuation and how easy it is to sell your company. And best of all this doesn’t have to cost a lot (this part appealed most to our CFO audience).

Blatancy involves a lot of ‘doing’ – speaking and sponsoring conferences, getting impressive stands at exhibitions (the closer to your potential acquirer the better) and winning awards (the more you enter the more likely you are to get noticed). It also involves a lot of writing – blogging, white papers, tweeting and getting analysts to write about you. Appearing to be an authority on your subject will certainly help get the attention of your acquirer.

And most importantly, blatancy involves networking with the right people. Too early to mention BLN CEO Tales, 6-9pm, 8th December, London? Come meet people who may be able to invest in or buy your company. We will also be hearing from Barry Houlihan (Founder, Mobile Interactive Group) who recently sold to Velti for $60m – you can ask him how important blatancy was in getting a great deal for his company. There is a small charge to attend, but if you come and don’t feel you got value, we will refund.

A big ‘thank you’ to BDO for supporting the CFO breakfast and helping promote such insightful thought leadership.

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Eric Ries, The Lean Startup – London Edition. 16th January 2012

We welcome Eric Ries, author of, ‘The Lean Startup’, to the UK for the launch of his incredible book. Eric will be talking about the ideas behind The Lean Startup and what it means to apply those ideas in practice.

After the talk and Q&A, there will be networking drinks and everyone will leave with a copy of The Lean Startup book.

Eric is changing the world of entrepreneurs forever.

If you still need some convincing don’t take my word for it…

Reviews of The Lean Startup

  • “Eric created a science where previously there was only art. A must read for every serious entrepreneur—and every manager interested in innovation.” Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz, Opsware Inc. and Netscape

  • “Ries shows us how to cut through the fog of uncertainty that surrounds startups. His approach is rigorous; his prescriptions are practical and proven in the field.The Lean Startup will change the way we think about entrepreneurship. As startup success rates improve, it could do more to boost global economic growth than any management book written in years.” Tom Eisenmann, Professor of Entrepreneurship, Harvard Business School
  • The Lean Startup isn’t just about how to create a more successful entrepreneurial business, it’s about what we can learn from those businesses to improve virtually everything we do. I imagine Lean Startup principles applied to government programs, to healthcare, and to solving the world’s great problems. It’s ultimately an answer to the question ‘How can we learn more quickly what works, and discard what doesn’t?’’ Tim O’Reilly, CEO O’Reilly Media
  • “Eric Ries unravels the mysteries of entrepreneurship and reveals that magic and genius are not the necessary ingredients for success but instead proposes a scientific process that can be learnt and replicated. Whether you are a startup entrepreneur or corporate entrepreneur there are important lessons here for you on your quest toward the new and unknown.” Tim Brown, CEO of IDEO
  • “The roadmap for innovation for the 21st century. The ideas in The Lean Startup will help create the next industrial revolution.” Steve Blank, lecturer, Stanford University, U.C. Berkeley Haas Business School
  • “The key lesson of this book is that start-ups happen in the present—that messy place between the past and the future where nothing happens according to PowerPoint. Ries’s ‘read and react’ approach to this sport, his relentless focus on validated learning, the never-ending anxiety of hovering between ‘persevere’ and ‘pivot’, all bear witness to his appreciation for the dynamics of entrepreneurship.” Geoffrey Moore, Crossing the Chasm
  • “The Lean Startup is a foundational must-read for founders, enabling them to reduce product failures by bringing structure and science to what is usually informal and an art. It provides actionable ways to avoid product-learning mistakes, rigorously evaluate early signals from the market through validated learning, and decide whether to persevere or to pivot, all challenges that heighten the chance of entrepreneurial failure.” Professor Noam Wasserman, Harvard Business School
  • “Every founding team should stop for 48 hours and read Lean Startup. Seriously stop and read this book now.” Scott Case, CEO Startup America

There is a small charge to attend which will be spent on Lean Startup books – everyone will walk away with a signed copy, snacks and a few drinks for early arrivals.

Drinks: 17:00

Keynote Talk: 17:45 followed by Q&A.

Networking drinks: 20:00 till late.

Address: EC4V, London, venue tba

EVENT PARTNERS

Gold Partners

Tech City

tech city logo

Tech City is home to technology, digital and creative companies. From the original Silicon Roundabout, an entrepreneurial cluster has grown up around Shoreditch and Old Street in East London, extending to reach the Olympic Park in Stratford. It offers opportunities for innovative businesses of all sizes, from start-ups to multinationals, from UK, Europe and beyond.

DFJ Esprit

At DFJ Esprit we believe good venture capital begins with good judgment and good relationships. Our partners help entrepreneurs make their companies successful. In today’s world the best businesses have global ambitions from day one. The best venture funds have the networks to support those ambitions. DFJ Esprit is a member of the Draper Fisher Jurvetson Global Network, the largest venture network in the world with 140 investment professionals and over 600 portfolio companies. We’re entrepreneurs ourselves and are proud to have built our firm to its current size. We back winning companies and do everything we can to help them achieve and exceed their ambitions.

Silver Partners

Brown Rudnick

Brown Rudnick represents clients from around the world in complex business transactions and high-stakes litigation. With relentless focus on our clients’ objectives, we assist with business-focused solutions that address today’s ever-changing, ever-demanding competitive marketplace.  Our VC and Emerging Technologies Group represents both investors and technology companies at all stages of development. Because we advise clients on both sides of the table, we can provide a valuable comprehensive perspective.  We represent many leading technology VC investors in financing transactions in the US, the UK and across Europe.  Over the course of a decade, we have closed hundreds of deals, totaling billions of dollars.

Fidelity Growth Partners Europe

Fidelity Growth Partners Europe is a venture and growth capital investor which backs technology entrepreneurs with aspiration for greatness. By combining a collaborative approach with a global network and a 40-year history of venture investing, FGPE helps companies accelerate their growth and become winners in their field. A strong track record in Europe includes investments in market leaders such as Newbay, Wahanda, Seatwave, InnoGames and Curam Software.  Fidelity growth funds manage about $1 billion globally and in 2010 FGPE raised a GBP100 million fund dedicated to backing fast-growing European technology companies.

Microsoft BizSpark

BizSpark logo

Microsoft BizSpark is a global program that helps software startups succeed by giving them access to Microsoft software development tools, connecting them with key industry players, including investors, and providing marketing visibility to help entrepreneurs starting a business.

Red Gate

Red Gate Software produce ingeniously simple tools for Microsoft developers, DBAs and system administrators. You can find out more at www.red-gate.com.

Springboard

Springboard is a mentorship-led accelerator program for startups. We provide seed capital, office space and – most importantly – that magical ingredient of “smart-community” with mentors and other entrepreneurs. Springboard comes in the shape of an intensive 13 week programme originally based at the inspirational ideaSpace, part of Cambridge University’s state-of-the-art Hauser Forum and is now in London from early 2012. The entry deadline for the 2012 London programme is 29th January 2012 and starts April 9th 2012. Apply here (http://spr.bo/Apply2012)  More information (http://springboard.com/) and gossips (@springboardnews; fb/springboardlondon)

Media Partners

TheNextWomen.com is the first award-winning online Women’s Business Magazine and Networking Forum, with a focus on startups and growing businesses, led, founded or invested in by women. It brings news on business, events, funding and tech from a female angle and interviews and profiles Female Internet Heroes, making them notable and quotable. The NextWomen has the vision to become the international Female ‘Business Week’, both online on the i-pad and in print, while connecting women-led companies with each other, investors and experts.The NextWomen run Pitching & Funding events – Dragon’s Den workshops for women-led companies – Kitchen Dinners for leading entrepreneurs and other high profile networking events.

 

 

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Amazon’s Top Business books for 2011.

Amazon’s Top Business Books for 2011 include recent Business of Software speakers Seth Godin, Josh Linkner, Eric Ries.

Some great reads – though is it just me – I am not sure I could ever read a book with the portmanteau EntreLeadership in the title? My favourite read from the list so far is Eric Ries and the Lean Startup. (I haven’t read Jim Collins yet though it is on order).

So the good news is, that Eric Ries is coming to London in January to launch the Lean Startup in Europe and we will be holding an event in central London where you get to hear Eric talk and walk away with a very nifty signed copy of his book. Details to follow soon but keep the afternoon/evening of 16th January free…

You can see Eric in action, with a transcript of his talk, here.

If you want to keep up to date on developments, subscribe to email updates here and you will be the first to know more.

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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2011-11-27

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Joel Spolsky at Business of Software – Simplicity is a way of avoiding looking like you lack value.

In this talk from Business of Software 2009, Joel flies in the face of what is often accepted as current wisdom and says that building new features does add value to your product. Simplicity is often a way to avoid your customers knowing you are releasing a product without enough features. Features are good if you can add them without making a product too complex. This can create real value for customers and revenue for your business.

You can read the full transcript below.

Joel Spolsky is a globally-recognized expert on the software development process.

His website Joel on Software is popular with software developers around the world and has been translated into over thirty languages. As the founder of Fog Creek Software in New York City, he created FogBugz, a popular project management system for software teams. He is the co-creator of Stack Overflow, a programmer Q & A site.

Joel has worked at Microsoft, where he designed VBA as a member of the Excel team, and at Juno Online Services, developing an Internet client used by millions. He has written four books: User Interface Design for Programmers (Apress, 2001), Joel on Software (Apress, 2004), More Joel on Software (Apress, 2008), and Smart and Gets Things Done: Joel Spolsky’s Concise Guide to Finding the Best Technical Talent (Apress, 2007). He also writes a monthly column for Inc Magazine. Joel holds a BS from Yale in Computer Science. Before college he served in the Israeli Defense Forces as a paratrooper, and he was one of the founders of Kibbutz Hanaton.

Joel Spolsky: Thank you, wow this is sort of a lot of pressure being the last speaker, it’s been going pretty well right, mostly no technical, no serious technical problems I think thanks to the AV people mostly we haven’t had anything, no, excuse me just one second let me just fix this one here. Okay, I do this at every Business of Software so it’s something. But anywhere, does anybody know, I was trying to figure this out, support for Unicode characters, what is the GB18030 character set? Does anybody know, somebody, should I?

Okay, well then I got to do it, the Chinese government says I got to do it, not really, how many people could possibly like even know about what this things are. The decisions that software asks people to make and Michael talked about little decisions, Luke talked about big decisions. I’m going to talk about all decisions and the kind of endless decision making that you have to go on. See even if you click, this is what I love quick books has recently downloaded the RA product. Even if you click install now, you then have to make this exact same decision again. So, it’s bad enough that you have no possible way of knowing the answer to, my whole inbox is completely full of people asking me to make various decisions about various things that’s why that stuff is in there because those are decisions that I have to make, some of which, looking at them now this is a screen shot from about a month ago, I have no idea what to do about any of those.

Okay, software is constantly asking me questions and asking you to decide something’s, this is a good one, this comes up in our look if you have a recurring appointment and you have made some exceptions to the recurrence buy let’s say one week you changed it and the you go to try to change the overall, it’s just too boring I can’t tell you. But the point of this is that it’s not okay, it says is this okay and your choices are okay and cancelled but they don’t give you a choice for no and this is one of those famous dialogues where clicking okay means to cancel something and clicking cancel means not to cancel something. Look at the wording of that dialogue, the famous Windows message box. So, yeah no, it was not okay but that wasn’t one of my choices, very painful decision actually. If you stopped trying to do work for a while and go on Facebook to hang out you have to decide who you are friends with and I hate that, there is nothing more painful than trying to decide if I’m actually friends with, I don’t really know who Damian Decaracoza is, but he has got the Serbian Imperial court of Exile going there and he stands bravely in the face of adversity. Some of this is easier to decide some of them are a little bit harder. Linked In is supposed to be more professional and there is a person who wants you to connect and join their network and endorse them and all that kind of stuff.

So, in order to avoid making any decisions, I had to say no to everybody on Facebook and Yes to everybody on Linked In and it’s also I got like a million business connection, it’s terrific. Sometimes software that we write asks you to decide stuff that you shouldn’t even have to decide. For example Rap City has this music search engine and you go and type the name of something and you need to choose from the drop down list whether that’s an artist, a track, an album a composer, like who cares, search them all. Why do I have to then choose like when is the last time you saw a search form, right, it’s just a search box and then you won’t find it if you don’t get it right, which is sort of ridiculous even though it has 69 results which is also kind of weird because it’s really just the name of the song, there should only be one. Alright, notice that I-Tunes doesn’t make you make this stupid decision there is just a box and you type it in there and it finds the thing.

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Something I am very proud of. Children learning to programme (OK program).

Alexis Ohanian spoke at Business of Software and I didn’t even get a lousy T-Shirt, (or even a Reddit or Hipmunk sticker). He did give away a Macbook Air though: http://blog.businessofsoftware.org/2011/10/and-the-winner-of-alexis-ohanians-macbook-air-is.html

Less than a month later, we still haven’t worked out whether we covered our costs etc but something very cool has happened: http://www.tomcatalini.com/taking-action-12-children-get-a-free-20-week-computer-programming-course/

It is a long way to BoS 2012 (1-3rd October since you asked) and getting next year’s event off the ground feels kind of abstract at the moment though if some of the things we are talking about come off, happy days… The knowledge that some cool kids are learning some basic progamming makes me very happy. It would have made me very happy when I was at school, a long time ago too.

If we could help with a curriculum and some kit, could you put in some time at your local school in your country? mark [at) businessofsoftware. org Maybe you could make a long term, sustainable difference?

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