ideationLAB.net

Intelligent Seating

2011-07-20T14:38:00.000-07:00

Seat Guru is a cool site.

It lets consumers choose where you want to sit and even gives you information including comments on the exact seating / plane type :

•Detailed seat map graphics
•In-depth comments about seats with limited recline, reduced legroom, and misaligned windows
•Color-coding to help identify superior and substandard seats
•In-seat power port locations
•Galley, lavatory, exit row, and closet locations

Well what if you could take it to the next level? Choose who you actually want to sit next to or at least be seated by someone with a similar interest set? Would your trip not be more enjoyable? We all have horror stories about that one person on that one flight we sat next to and how horrible it made our trip. On the other hand we also have those great trips where we are seated by someone we get along with great and because of that our trip goes that much better.

Here is the idea.
The majority of consumers have Social Networking accounts (Facebook, LinkedIn etc.) The sites have profile information, significant knowledge about us including algorithms and facial/photo recognition technology integrated to let them know: what we like, how we react to advertisements, the next sites we visit….

If the airlines industries opened up their ticketing services to include a feature for consumers to integrate their social networking profile to search for other passengers with complimentary profiles you would have a winner - not to mention a premium service consumers would pay for. It’s a pretty simple and novel idea which would offer a more relaxed and a more comfortable environment for seating.

Theatre, event hosting and other transportation companies who deal with seating could profit off such an implementation as well. Integrating an existing network into a seating system could provide consumers with options of not only seat location but partner seating options. Would your trip be more enjoyable sitting by someone in your network? First, second or even third degree? Would your trip by more enjoyable sitting by someone who shares the same interest as you? Matching very skinny people next to a larger person as opposed to two large people next to each other, a Mormon next to a Mormon, a lawyer next to a mute: Consumers would pay a premium for such a service as people pay for comfort.

That 11 hour flight to Tokyo from LAX might but a bit more enjoyable seated next to someone you can actually talk to or someone that might leave you alone based on your profile preference. The airlines do not need to reinvent the wheel here just use what has already been done. I don’t see Google or Facebook getting into the airline business but who knows...

The applications of integration of Social Networking are endless. The integration into other sites/models makes life easier/safer for consumers. Some other applications could be seen even in online dating sites where consumers face problems when networks (especially first degree connections) are matched – this creates awkward situations. Integrating an existing network into the online dating platform would provide privacy from chosen degrees of networks. This adds extreme value not only to the reputation of the site but the users experience and trust in the site.

The real question is can we limit visibility on search engines of personal information? In ten years when I type a friends name on Google search will the same results be displayed for my network then people completely outside my network I have no connection to? Can technology be integrated to limit searches to only chosen networks and not just IP addresses?

http://techcrunch.com/2010/12/05/social-networking-future/

St. George Ironman 2011 Race Report

2011-06-13T15:56:00.000-07:00

I read so much negative PR about this race I felt I had to write something after finishing it. So here is my experience at St. George Ironman 2011. I hope this helps future participants and feel free to contact me direct if you have any other questions.

Lodging

So obviously there are many options to choose from in St. George. Most of the hotels are pretty much the same that are in the $100-$150 range. We stayed at Budget Inn & Suites. This was about a nine iron from the Expo and a mile from the start so it was convenient. It was a nice hotel for the price: jacuzzi; continental breakfast; good Mormon employees and a plethora of Mormon vacationers (26 total, 3 families) on a pit stop to their final destination. Total cost for four nights was like $350 which helped me save lots of money that I could lose gambling (quickly) for my Vegas trip coming up after the race .

Altitude

St. George is at 2860 ft (872 m). So if you have been living and only training sea level you will feel the difference.

Elevation gets me pretty bad but I do acclimate quickly. The first practice swim I did when I got out of the water I felt a bit disorientated. Not a big deal but altitude affects people differently hence why fat out of shape smokers with money can summit Everest and in shape sober athletes come down with pulmonary edema while getting smoke blown in their face by other climbers carrying them back down.

My friend said he felt the same after the swim and had been training on the East coast at sea level as well. This was on Thursday two days before race. If you have time I would take a few days to acclimate if you can. It probably won’t make much of difference but any edge I guess would help especially if you’re shooting for a Kona spot.

Swim
The swim takes place at the Sand Hollow Reservoir about 20 miles from T2 so it’s a drive just to check out. Buses will bring you down there in the morning so no worries on race day about the commute. I heard horror stories about wind and cold temperature the year before so I went in thinking I was going be swimming in the arctic sea during a typhoon. To my surprise - The reservoir was clean and glassy before and during our race and the temperature was in the low 60 degrees Fahrenheit which was great as I had been training in the same temperature in the Pacific Ocean at home. Maybe we got lucky? I heard the year before it was cold because they filled the reservoir with cold mountain water weeks before the race. Either way you have a wetsuit so you should be OK.

The swim start is not a land start so if you are racing for time you will need to get in the front early as the gun will go off as participants will still be coming down the ramp. I found a nice little island to hang out on the right before jumping in if the water was cold. I got down about 15 minutes before gun past the pack, left my friends, stood on the island and took in the scenery and got my head into race mode. I sat and watched people wade in the water for 30 minutes wasting energy before the gun went off. Bring a few red bulls, get on that island and wait. It’s a good place to be.

When the race started things were pretty smooth. Since so many people dropped out of the race and it did not even sell out I did not feel as claustrophobic as I have on other races. It was one loop and people spread out pretty evenly. I started on the far right and just swam with an easy comfort level to get me ready for the bike ride ahead. Overall the swim was the best I have experienced in all my triathlons. Water was a pleasant temperature and it was not choppy like the usual ocean swims I am used to with potential sharks beneath me.

Bike
The bike is two loops but the first 15 miles or so is outside the loop. Once you finish the swim you are basically going up to the loop once you leave transition. The roads are very smooth going up with lots of support. The day called for heavy winds (25 MPH) and strangely the first 10 miles I felt the wind the strongest (probably because the direction) even at 830 AM. It was hitting me from the side pretty hard. I got used to it quick and just concentrated on what I could control.

Once you get to the start of the loop the road gets rough… I heard about this ( an Aussie participant from the year before intimidated me “it would shake the fillings out of me”) so it did not shock me. However on the second lap my water bottle holder fell off the back from consistent vibration (see picture). The screws fell off. This was no good because I lost my ability to hold water on a very hot day. I got creative and just stashed them in my jersey after it fell off and looked even more akward. Make sure your accessories are tight before the race.

The heat really got up there – 95 degrees and I had not been training with salt pills. I took almost 20 during the entire ride (2-4 an hour). I really stayed hydrated but got a bit sick from the salt. I threw up a couple times during the ride but nothing excessive. Get your body used to salt before the race.

I saw at least 7 flat tires on the course during my ride. I tried to count them but became superstitious and stopped. Know how to change your tire. Assume you will blow one as I assume there were many more then what I saw. I heard many stories about mechanical failures from some serious athletes so I am blaming this again on the rough road. 80 miles of bumpy roads will shake things loose like that cocky SOB Aussie who talked too much told me.

Overall the ride is tough. The elevation rise is a lot but it is very gradual. I went in thinking much worse from all the negative blogs and press I read. The scenery is beautiful so you almost do not recognize you are going up- But you are and you should realize this. I live in Southern California so my training rides usually went from Newport Beach down to Oceanside and back which is very hilly (up and down) but not significant so I felt big similarities as my training.

There is one huge hill you do twice during the loop at mile 50 and 90. I don’t know what the name of it is… but its there. I felt it the second lap significantly but there is hope. The last 10 miles of the loop is downhill and smooth roads so it’s an amazing relief you get twice. This downhill is where you realize how much you have climbed in elevation. First time down I was amazed as I did not even know it was so much of a decline and the second time down I coasted, threw up a bit, took down some disgusing gels and just enjoyed the ride and got ready for the run ahead. The real race.

Run

So now you are done with the bike. Get ready for some pain. This is where things get bad. The run starts and you go straight up to the bluffs of St. George- up and down, twist here, turn there and then back down to the finish to do it again. Its two 13.1 mile loops in a hilly, red desert with nothing but your trisherpa, caffiene and your desire keeping you going. Literary you are never on flat ground. There are some big hills and even worse what goes up must come down so some big downhill’s which hurts me worse than the uphill’s.

Up or down is how you will go with little or no flat. Include the heat and things can get pretty bad out there. I saw a lot of people drop out from the run and walk. Running is usually my strong suit – and I felt some serious pain. During the second lap I had to walk some of the hills as I was throwing up and not keeping anything down. On my second lap I would say 35-45% of the people were walking the entire way. Make sure you do some hill runs with heat. The support is great as every mile or so you can hit an aid station for whatever you need. It was a well supported event. Coming down the final stretch seeing the sun go down behind the mountains afar I realized why I was here and what I had accomplished with my friends. I felt like nothing like I had felt in my life. It was a great day.

Overall Thoughts

I actually really enjoyed the race. If I did it over again I would have trained more on the run and would have taken some longer rides on the bike – especially in heat if I had the location and time. My longest run for training was only 14 miles and my longest ride was 90 miles. This probably explains why I came in short on the run regarding time and was hurting late in the ride.

After all the hype and negative press I heard about this being the hardest Ironman on the circuit I feel it’s doable for anyone. I would put most my attention to hilly rides and hilly runs – with lots of up and down, heat, salt pills, mechanics, and being positive. Bring some support as that will help always.

My friend gave me good advice before the race:

“any Ironman is going to hurt so just realize it’s going to be tough”

I went into it with that quote and decided to not even check the course out before the race so I would not psyche myself out.

Couple that with the support of the people in St. George and the organization of the event and things will go well (except for the two bikers who got hit by cars in separate occurrences)

Times
Swim 1:05:05
T1 4:57
Bike 6:29:03
T2 6:38
Run 4:44:35
Overall 12:30:16

RENTi - Film! Upload! Protect

2011-03-18T12:55:00.000-07:00

RENTi from Erik Ahroon on Vimeo.

Have you ever had a problem with your Property Manager or Landlord? Have you ever wondered why you only received a small amount of your security deposit or even no security deposit back at the end of your lease? Have you ever had a problem with an appliance in your rental and did not who to contact, have contact information or when trying to contact your Property Manger or Landlord to fix it never heard back? Have you ever been blamed for these appliances failing and later required to pay for their repair or even replace them?

RENTi is a company dedicated to solving these problems for tenants worldwide!
Film. Upload. Protect!

RENTi www.renti.com provides a patent pending system/platform for users to document condition of their rentals before and during their tenancy, upload their documentation to RENTi’s secure system for

 time-date stamping
 geo-code stamping
 watermarking
 report building - file nomenclature

RENTi efficiently sorts and locks documentation (photos, videos, notes) and when needed provides necessary reports to legally help tenant’s protect their security deposits! Problems that can occur with rentals during a lease period can be documented where case files can be securely stored for maintenance alerts, objective data and real time property management viewing. All information crucial for questionable deposit returns.

All over the country hundreds of millions of dollars are lost each year because the majority of tenants do not take the necessary steps to protect their deposit! RENTi does this for you!

Our RENTributionTM report is a non-biased document built by users during their tenancy. Any documentation of rental units from move-in to move-out are logged and documented in an organized manner and easily printed to show facts – not - thoughts or opinion. RENTributionTM provides a simple, safe and effective route for tenants to protect their security deposits!

True Lead Generation

2010-10-15T18:02:00.000-07:00

I listen to Pandora Radio for the majority of my day at work. Usually when I find a song I like – I go straight to Itunes – purchase the song and then right back to Pandora to continue listening. I’m sure many people do this. I recently saw that Pandora provides a link to purchase the song at Itunes directly at the site. (I never saw it)

Pandora - probably time to make it a bit bigger/a bit easier to see so users can see it if you want users to buy from your platform.

I am assuming this is probably one of many routes for them to monetize their platform by taking a commission of the price from the song when users purchase direct from their site. A basic lead generation or advertising type model. Apple is also probably an ideal exit strategy for Pandora as well so they link them up nice and close under the same covers. (Amazon is also a choice but not MSFT platforms – Rhapsody?)

Even though Pandora does provide the Itunes button (link) on their platform I never have used it and don’t plan to. Buying songs direct from the Itunes store is simple and it is what I am used to. 100% of the time I have bypassed this button. I go straight to Itunes to purchase my music. What does this mean for Pandora? It means that they are now not getting the commission they would have (if that is part of their business model) should I have pushed this button to link up to Itunes. Or are they?

This raised a big question to me? Can publishers track user behavior even if users don’t go direct to advertiser’s site on their platform? This is relevant really to anything on the web. I mean Google and Yahoo etc. (search engines) derive the revenue from advertisings based models- What if you by pass the link?

Advertising on the web comes down to three models:

Cost per Click (CPC)A cost per click ad pays you a certain amount—typically between a nickel and fifty cents—each time a user clicks on an ad.

Cost per Impression (CPM)CPM means cost per thousand impressions and refers to the amount you are paid for showing 1000 ads. For example, suppose an ad campaign pays $1.00 CPM. You would earn a dollar after a thousand views.

Cost per Action (CPA)You may only be paid for the first unique click from a particular user, and your ad agency may take a percentage.

Are these models going to start changing as technology evolves?

Advertising is the name of the game for revenue on the web. Everything now is free and many premium services will become free as advertising takes shape. The advertising from Facebook actually sometimes makes my life better. They know my interests and habits. Many times they have advertised music shows, products etc. that I have purchased. I actually enjoy their ads. They personalize it to a level that is scary. I sent an email out to a travel agency recently using my yahoo email account (seeking information on Barbados Island) and the next day I am getting advertisements on my Facebook about the island and packages to go. Coincidence? If they had better deals maybe I would have pulled the trigger. Ill wait it out and see what happens when I email them my budget :)

However, I’m curious to know if it is possible to track user behavior when users choose alternative routes to get to a site/product/service which was triggered from a location/link/image that was bypassed.

Could Pandora still know that I purchased the song from Itunes even though I did not use the link? Could Google know that I hired the law firm on the top of their list when searching for firms in the local area even though I did not click on the link, could Amazon know that I bought a product from another site when I researched it on their site?

Does this happen now? Ongoing sessions? IP addresses? If so how are they doing it? Im a little freaked out here.

Aggregation of Feeds to One Site with Filters

2010-09-08T16:04:00.000-07:00

-I see feeds from Facebook all day long on my phone.
-I see feeds from LinkedIn on emails.
-I see feeds on Myspace Music.
-I also see feeds from Twitter which get dumped into Facebook so occasionally see them twice.

It’s getting out of hand and as more networks pop up, more services pop up and more feeds pop up – more nonsense pops up.

The problem is 99% of this information is useless to me. I don’t care that John is at the mall, that Susie and Chris broke up for the 10th time this month or that some girl I hardly know is on Farmville or someone struck it Rich on Mafia Wars. Sure I can block these contacts from my feed but when an anomaly occurs and they produce something interesting I want to see it. Blocking him/her is not a solution. (I will block Susie and Chris next break up.)

I do enjoy learning that my friend got engaged, it is my friends Birthday or a new blog is up by a good buddy through a Facebook feed. I enjoy learning that an old colleague got promoted or a new job on a LinkedIn feed or even that my neighbor has a new song up on a Myspace feed. But I do no need to see the continual engagement photos, videos of some girl dancing at a club, or consistent comments people place on the feed that make us all dumber. The nonsense that is starting to flow on social networking is getting out of hand.

Solution: Aggregation of Feeds to One Site with Filters

One site that I can login to - all of the feeds pour into one feed and that feed is controlled by filters the users put in place. I stress the filters – without them you only have an aggregated feed of nonsense. It allows me to check my feed without having to login to LinkedIn, Facebook, Myspace and so on – I login once. I care about things that I let the site know: Birthdays, Anniversaries, Job Promotions, Weddings, Events, maybe even comments that get more then 10 thumbs on Facebook get through my filter, letting my network decide on what enters and what does not. The possibilities are endless but the bottom line is I control what gets in.

The key here is it does not allow the consistent nonsense that clutters my mind every time I log on to any social networking site. It filters relevant information to me and saves me time,energy and brain cells.

This is not too complex of a business model the problem is most sites would have to allow you to let them tap into their API or we would need to use some other clever method of aggregating the feeds- but it is possible. The key to this business model would be the filter and how the filter is actually implemented into the site.

If I had my druthers I would simply make this service an email/letter service you sign up for. Each day it sends me an email in the AM or PM or both with my feed for the day ahead on everything that my filter will let through. I would start my day knowing full well about birthdays to job promotions and who I should contact. It would also open up a potential revenue stream by advertising lead generation on deals based on the feed.

For instance- it would give me deal on flowers to send Jane on her anniversary or a book John might like (from his interests on Facebook) or even a deal through Groupon based on some network thumbs up on a local restaurant. - the possibilities are endless and the model can be monetized.

There are a few companies out there trying to crack this nut and if you think just a feed would not be a good business model a great example of the potential is Daily Candy This company was purchased by Comcast (CMCSA) for 175 Million with a business model of simply sending a daily letter via email of fun, fashionable, food related, and culturally stimulating “things” or “to dos” in the city you chose.

The business model does not need to be super fancy - it just needs to add value to the user.

Flushable Q-tips

2010-09-07T12:43:00.001-07:00

Problem - A Q-tip will clog your toilet when flushed

Solution - A Q-tip that can be flushed
-material change to expedite decomposition in water or add a bit of malleability to get down the pipes, shorter shaft, collapsible shaft…

Race Insurance/After Market Race Entries

2010-09-03T07:22:00.000-07:00

Bottom Line - Race Entries are expensive.

• Half marathons around $100 dollars or more
• Full marathons around $200 dollars or more
• Ironman $600 dollars or more – pay late $1200 dollars…

There has been a huge growth in these crazy, unhealthy races for type A individuals continually trying to prove themselves. Settle down!

The problem here is if you would like to cancel your race entry and get a refund or even partial refund due to sickness, injury, something came up and you can’t make it or you’re just not feeling that ambition you felt when you signed up back in early December after drinking that tall warm Pumpkin Spice late the morning after you and your best friend decided to run a marathon – too bad. There are no refunds for races. I think you might be able to squeak $150 or so back from an Ironman entry though Ironman Inc. but it takes some teeth pulling. Consistent calling, appeals to pity, messages, emails… not worth it.

Most races (I would say 95%+) use one platform for online race entry – Active.com. So I have heard when a company pops up that penetrates any portion of the market for online race entry- Active will acquire it. They run a pretty large monopoly on the whole market of online race entry and because of that they make the rules. It’s basically the equivalent of the oil conglomerates but instead of the price of gasoline they control the prices and capacity of the races. They say they may only be the online registration platform for races but I’m pretty sure they provide the boiler plate play book should you wish to become a race director and organize a race – they make the rules.

Why don’t they offer refunds? How hard it is to give back a portion of the money or a full refund especially to races that do and will sell out year after year? Some of these races in the US sell out in hours or even minutes when they open registration. Usually they have significant amounts of consumers late in the game very interested in participating in the event but no dice – it’s sold out. Well guess what lots of people end up not doing the race and these race entries go unused but paid for. Why not see this as an opportunity to generate revenue for the race and the race charities? Also most people say – “Oh well it’s going to charity” – think again – most of these races are not set up as Non-profits and if they are the salaries may be substantial to those involved – The Race Director. They are out to make money – I don’t blame them but please figure out a way to provide refund.

I have two solutions to this problem –

1. Race Insurance – I bought a plane ticket the other day through Taca Airlines(craziest flight I’ve been on in awhile - I think the Flight Attendant was making a call on his cell phone when the plane was taking off and asked me what I was listening to on my iPod during his call). Anyhow, I purchased insurance on the ticket should I cancel. What a novel idea – provide a premium service for consumers to obtain insurance when signing up for race so should they cancel – you have insurance to get a portion or a full refund. This now opens up another spot on the race? How hard is it to automate a system that does this with a push of the button? John Smith age 55 is not longer bib number 987 it now belongs to Mike Thompson age 53. There could be some issues on age/gender/qualification etc. to iron out but this hurdle should not be a deal breaker.

This allows late entry and a chance for more people to jump in on the race and it provides a third party insurance company or even Active.com to vertically integrate a solution to generate more revenue. Think this is a small market? Here are just races in the proximity of Santa Barbara around August 28th 2010 listed below - nearly 30 races in a few days in the area. This is a HUGE opportunity. Races take place 365 days a year all over the US. This market is growing and has a very affluent target market.

2. After Market Reselling of Race Entries - Allow me to resell my ticket on a platform to consumers. I already paid for my race entry, now give me the option to sell or auction my entry to the public domain. A portion of the sale will go back to the Race director and or charity? More revenue for the race, I get some or all of my money back and someone else gets to race. Everyone wins. Obviously you would need an algorithm that keeps consumers from now using the platform as a source of just buying and selling entries so tech savvy entrepreneurs don’t compromise the system but once again this should not be difficult. Maybe some prequalification of races signed up for and committed to. This could also set the prices for the races in the future – supply/demand.

This may not seem like a big problem to many people but if you do races often – getting hurt, sick or simply not being able to do a race for any reason the dollars add up. It actually might even derail you from signing up for races down the road. Active Network- President Matt Landa, lets chat.

What is going on with this Active Network company anyhow? Looking to sell? Going IPO? I remember when this was a small start up down in San Diego now a 800 lb gorilla. Hoovers shows 100 million in revenue per year but when are they right with private company. I bet you they are 3-5X that estimate.

The Endless Creamer, Technology Integration into Starbucks Take 1

2010-08-25T08:33:00.001-07:00

In grad school we were taught of the three value disciplines, of which companies should align with to be successful in today’s market.

Operational Excellence – companies dedicated to providing the lowest cost goods and services, while at the same time minimizing problems for the customer.
Companies like Wal-Mart or McDonalds
Product Leadership – companies dedicated to providing the best possible products from the perspective of the features and benefits offered to the customer: offer products that push performance boundaries
Companies like Al Merrick Surfboards or Nike or Starbucks
Customer Intimacy – companies with use the selection of one or a few high-value customer niches, followed by an obsessive effort at getting to know these customers in detail.
Companies like Nordstrom’s or Four Seasons

The message given by my inspiring teacher was no company can succeed today by trying to be all things to all people. It must instead find the unique value or dimension that it alone can deliver to a chosen market.

The company should:

1.Provide the best offer by excelling in one specific dimension
2.Maintain threshold standards of dimensions your not excelling in so you don’t slip
3.Dominate the market by excelling and raising the bar year after year in your chosen dimension
4.Maintain that well-tuned model dedicated to delivering unmatched value

As I sat in line today at Starbucks Fashion Island behind the 24 year old blonde who drives the Range Rover married to the 50 year old with three kids (shes in love) and in front of the Persian who had strong hints of Eternity for Men, Strawberry Hookah and Red Bull Vodkas (probably from his late night table at Landmark) I pondered Starbucks current strategy.

Its obvious to me Starbucks is a market leader in Coffee Product Leadership – if you think of good coffee you think of Starbucks. Starbucks has a reputation for new product development and creativity but the more I go into Starbucks the more I have noticed the operational excellence dimension becoming less and less of an importance. It is slipping and I am not sure they have a threshold standard.

Today I peaked around - The line was wrapping around the same place the barista is serving drinks. There is woman waiting for her hot coffee dodging the un-caffeinated restless Newport Beach early risers while her new born sleeps below in the stroller she pushes positioned in perfect spilling distance from the serving station (open target for a nice hot Venti followed by a lawsuit), the condiment station is out of sugar, the garbage can is overflowing and last but not least the creamer is not full. Which to me rings - Houston we have a problem.
Not to mentions half the time they make the wrong drink for me or my name is spelled wrong – usually “Aaron” so it sits there as the barista yells Erin and some lady grabs it. Maybe I mumble when I say my name or have a speech impediment. I will work on it.

I could go on and on about this but I write the blog usually to talk about solutions. This is a not a problem solved by some product or innovation – simply it needs management on the operations portion of the business. Maybe they need to hire someone exclusively for operations. Seems like the baristas are wearing every hat: making the drinks; running the cashier; taking out the trash out; being a hipster; mopping the floor etc. I do give props to the employees especially in the Starbucks I go to as they work their ass off. I would say from a high level – Many of the Starbucks are understaffed. Probably due to the recession and competition. They cut back on employees. Howard Schultz would know.

So from this operational catastrophe – I have found a solution to a portion of the problem. Starbucks needs to integrate new technology into the entire system of getting the customer in and out of the door. I have many ideas about this for this blog will share one for now:

The Endless Creamer, Technology Integration into Starbucks Take 1

If Starbucks simply had an actually platform to place the creamers on that had a weighing mechanism coupled wirelessly to panel behind the counter it would alert the Barista that the cream, milk, or water (non-fat milk) needs to be refilled. A big red light in the Barista station hidden to the customer begins to flash. “Fill up the cream” – something like that. Or even a sensor at the bottom of the bottle that detects the fluid levels so you don’t need a weighing station. Or maybe the baristas get shocked when the cream or milk goes low. I don’t know but something to alert them. This could be an opportunity for a vendor to supply a cool idea and lock in a pretty big tapped market if Starbucks would be interested in being a buyer and implementer of this type of idea/product.

Lets be honest this probably has happened to everyone and if you go to Starbucks daily this happens a lot. I hate to be rude and bring the creamer bottle back to the barista as he/she is making 10 drinks at once to satisfy the current demand and ask for them to grab another creamer bottle. I usually just use the Whole Milk as I really don’t care and it’s not a big deal to me but I have seen some out of line customers, especially in Newport Beach get their feathers ruffled from the condiment station not being ready for them. The other day some weathered woman got real riled up when the nutrasweet sugar was gone. I heard some strange noises from her and she gave some looks to the cashier and rushed out. I think she was mad at me too for using real sugar. Im sorry.

In today’s age – there are many opportunities to integrate technology into existing archaic processes to make them more efficient and effective. The airlines did it 10 years ago with ticket stations and online check in and it’s changed the way the world travels. Not to compare apples and oranges here but there still are huge opportunities that are right in front of our face. Its not about new inventions all the time but taking existing products/services and integrating them into existing processes. It really just takes looking for problems in everyday situations and thinking of solutions.

Really this idea is not too novel or interesting and its not defensible with a patent but it is defensible with a strong buyer like Starbucks as a partner. It could be one tiny step to keep a nice fluid steady state stream of customers coming in and out of the once well oiled piece of machinery we call Starbucks. Internet is finally free so I go there now instead of Panera at nights so they are changing some ways they operate outside of their product leadership.

Who knows maybe Mr. Schultz is looking for some new ideas to keep his Operational dimension from slipping below his standards.

Open Your Eyes

2010-08-24T11:49:00.000-07:00

Prior to going on a trip to South East Asia earlier this summer my brother introduced me to a great documentary - 180˚ South. (Actually it seemed more like a brilliantly scripted, well funded, and beautifully shot film then a documentary but I watched it on repeat several times the month prior to leaving.)
Instant download on Netflix.

Its follows adventurer Jeff Johnson as he retraces the epic 1968 journey of his heroes Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins to Patagonia. These two guys are a true inspiration

A quote echoed in my head from the film during my trip:

“Taking a trip for six months, if you get in the rhythm of it, it feels like you could just go on forever doing that. Climbing Everest is the ultimate and the opposite of that, because you get all these high-powered plastic surgeons and CEOs, and you know, they pay $80,000 and have sherpas put all the ladders in place, and 8,000 feet of fixed ropes. You get to a camp and you don’t even have to lay out your sleeping bag, and it’s already laid out with a little chocolate mint on the top. The whole purpose of climbing Everest is to effect some sort of spiritual and physical gain; but if you compromise the process, [then] you’re an asshole when you start out and you’re an asshole when you get back.”

–Yvon Chouinard, 180˚ South

Though my trip was not comparable to the summiting of Everest the “compromise the process” portion of the quote made great sense to me and I took that with me during my trip. I kept my eyes and ears open trying to learn as much as I could upon leaving the Orange County bubble I live in.

I only had my iPhone with me so shot as much as I could with it during my entire trip and tried to put something together when I returned:

Open Your Eyes from Erik Ahroon on Vimeo.

After many years of sticking my head down - working - I finally had a momentum change in my everyday thought process which has been corrupted by my isolation, routines and the internet. Slowly who you become and what you do in life can be 180˚ different then what you thought you were going to do when you had dreams on your sleeve. It’s impossible to put a price on the feeling you gain when you lose yourself and find yourself again.

As I have integrated back into my daily routine of work I use the video to remind myself of the momentum change which occurred and which I try desperately to hold onto – new eyes, new heart, new ideas and most of all a new mind set (not new but dormant below my corporate veil for now a decade). Im blessed to have my job, my family and the amazing people that surround me and I would never change a thing from what I do or have done but the trip opened my eyes again to what is possible and whats out there - its truly magical.

In todays world you have to put your head down, put in time, deal with the demons of the world world to make a positive footprint just like Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins have done (founders of Patagonia and North Face respectively). I give so much respect to those who walk the tight rope outside of conformity especially in today’s digital age where it seems online networks become more and more confined because of fear.
Never forget what makes your clock tick and why you are here. Put your time in and live your dreams. Life is short.

There really is no idea here just a few conclusions which mean a lot to me:

- momentum changing trips are necessary for life – those trips must include significant geographical differences from everyday life to truly get something from them
- some of the happiest people in the world have nothing. Learn from them
- learn to move on and let go. Its part of life
- most people are lazy. Don't be one of them
- success requires significant humiliation
- Sherpas do not put chocolate mints on your pillow at Base Camp at Everest (so I heard and one day will find out)

Oh… and don’t ever take your girlfriend to the Maldives unless she surfs – if you do take her and she complains – use it as a data point to let her go.

LinkedIn Validation

2010-08-23T14:41:00.000-07:00

Here is an idea for Jeff Weiner CEO of LinkedIn.
www.Linkedin.com – a social networking site for business professionals showcasing career, education and achievements related to business and career endeavors. A very popular site and one that will last for sure. I’m sure you’re on it - if not you will be soon.

Only problem here is the validity of the actual information people post on their profile. Granted it is their credibility on the line if they post false information but taking a peak things are not as them seem...

I spent countless hours, opportunity cost not to mention I’m still in significant debt for my education. I take a bit of pride in all the hard work I did. I run by networks who post pseudo degrees from colleges they did not attend or even false career information. Maybe it’s not a big deal and it really is not a big deal to me – Live and Let Live – but it sparked an idea for sure. Thank you pseudo degree users.

“LinkedIn Validation”

Charge a premium service for users to actually have a “Validation” on information their users post.

This could be education history, career, or even special degree “Validation”. LinkedIn can set up relationships with Universities, Corporate Companies (start with the Fortune 500), and Background Check companies to make this possible. It can be scaled and automated and would not be a privacy issue as users would agree to terms and conditions. This would be a revenue share and would be a win-win for all involved. LinkedIn would charge users a small annual charge to “Validate” their profile and the revenue would be split with all involved. It would then act as a domino effect as most users would want to be “validated” as if your not your information is questionable to all of the web. A pretty big market already tapped by the .com and it could be a huge source of ancillary revenue to their advertising.

LinkedIn could then provide a more valuable service for employers. If profiles were "Validated" it would expedite the hiring process for employers as they would have a pool of “Validated” candidates and could save them significant cost/time in finding potential employees by qualified background checks. Employers looking for candidates would use LinkedIn more as valuable resource then a tool for only networking. Companies and Universities would feel obligated to makes sure users claiming their names are actually being truthful – their reputation should be guarded as well as the user.

LinkedIn.com - New Revenue Streams and a stronger site
LinkedIn Users - More confidence in the site and access to a more valuable networking tool
LinkedIn Partners (Universities, Companies) - New Revenue Stream, more confidence in the site and access to a more valuable networking/mining tool

The trend of online “honesty” will become more apparent as time goes by and as networks combine - transparency will become more and more relevant. There needs to be filters in place to let users know they are using a service that actually has value. Too many people and services are jumping on free sites to use them as platform for advertising and BS. It dilutes the value of the site and slowly the site loses its appeal. The demise of Myspace.com for social networking is a prime example.

Services like “LinkedIn Validation” forces user honesty and creates a more efficient and reliable internet.

Event Photography

2009-08-10T10:32:00.000-07:00

I have been very busy with work and ideas that I don’t want to share so have not posted in a long time. I think this idea here has some big legs and did want to share but if you implemented this you definitely would trip over US patent 6985875 (http://www.google.com/patents?id=GGB4AAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4&source=gbs_overview_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false) In fact I found a bit of litigation history (http://www.sportsshooter.com/message_display.html?tid=28052) between the IP owner and some of the companies mentioned. I think the best way to implement this would be an a event site where spectators could simply upload their pictures of the events via a website and then participants could then donate to the site to keep it up and running. Make it a non-profit and share some of the proceeds with the race charity. If this got going this would be pretty disruptive to the market. The only problem would be the proprietary shots like the finish line shots and the areas on the course where spectators are not allowed. Race photos are way too expensive and something needs to change in their model.

Spotaneity II

2008-07-20T18:52:00.001-07:00

ZEBRAtour

2008-07-20T18:41:00.000-07:00

Gevity

2008-07-20T18:31:00.000-07:00

Pace Athletics

2008-07-20T12:31:00.000-07:00

Energy Tunnels

2008-06-04T06:43:00.000-07:00

My senior year in college I emphasized on the Energy Industry and how it related to Environmental Engineering. I mainly focused on how to harness the energy from the ocean and create electricity. Trust me there is lots of energy from waves in the ocean that is dissipated by the beach or bluffs that it crashes on. The obvious challenge is transferring the energy. There are many variables with the ocean: storms, tide, sea life, corrosion, currents, temperature changes.... There are actually some really good ideas out there some even being commericalized right now focusing on wave energy. Most to power desalination plants located on the coast to provide potable water to communities.

Studying oscillating water columns (shown below) I became very interested in harnessing other forms of energy.

http://celebrating200years.noaa.gov/magazine/wave_energy/water_column.html)

Driving South down the 101 in California right before you make your way into San Luis Obispo there is a long decent. As any hill, as I traveled down I noticed most cars red brake lights light up. The idea came to me. Energy Tunnels.

At the top of the hill you have your Kinetic Energy + Potential Energy. As you travel down you will transfer your Potential Energy to Kinetic Energy but if you follow the speed limit you will decelerate and lose the Kinetic Energy to friction from braking. This is energy we can harness. How? By spinning a turbine.
Without the Energy Tunnels

E1=E2

KE1+PE1=KE2+(Fr)

.5mv1^2+mgh1=.5mv2^2+μN

So my idea is instead of breaking and transferring increase of Kinetic Energy to friction or heat, transfer the Kinetic Energy to spin turbines that are engineered and aligned in a tunnel to maximize the input from the wind velocity to create electricity. This electricity can be directly channeled into the grid. I think it would look something like this.
With the Energy Tunnels

E1=E2

KE1+PE1=KE2+PE2

.5mv1^2+mgh1=.5mv2^2+Qturbine

These equations dont take into account many variables (its been awhile since I cranked out any physics as I dont work directly in engineering anymore so just assume no moment of inertia, wind drag etc.)

Obviously there are lots to iron out with this model but I think this would make sense. If you stand on the side of the highway you will feel the power of the wind created by the passing cars. It could be a potential source of renewable energy.

You could really place these anywhere on the highway (horizontal or hills) however I believe placing the system on a descending plane as opposed to a horizontal plane would increase the energy extraction as you are already in need of deceleration. Energy can not be created nor destroyed only transferred; however on a horizontal plane the amount of energy transfer I believe would be trivial. Most of the energy transfer would simply be from the gas consumption of the vehicle to the wind energy. There’s no real net gain. There is no potential energy to harness which I believe would be the key.

I see this working as a city projects where the energy is linked right up to the grid to power city lighting, sold back to the energy companies… whatever.

GreenBOX Inc.

2008-06-01T17:40:00.000-07:00

Background- While moving I needed boxes. I went to a local business and could not believe the amount of boxes being thrown away/recycled. I was amazed. While working in manufacturing I saw this but only to a small degree when visiting the shipping/receiving department. I quickly thought of this model. I am not aware of the amount of energy and waste that is associated with recycling but assume it itself is energy intensive. Instead of throwing away/recycling boxes every time, why not build a more rigid box with longevity and reuse it? So GreenBOX was conceived.

PS I tried to get this domain (http://www.greenbox.com/) but found out it was already owned by a Start up company in Canada that had "identified the need for a compartmentalized shopping concept that would offer the consumer an easier, more organized way to shop." A similar model to some extent but I dont think this will stick/scale in market.

GreenBOX Inc.
“Conservation means development as much as it does protection.”
Theodore Roosevelt

GreenBOX Inc. is a company dedicated to providing a global shipping solution with a mission to save the earths natural resources and slow the progression of global warming. The core competencies of GreenBOX Inc. are our reusable patented GreenBOX and the IT associated with the manufacturing, storing and distribution of the GreenBOX world wide called GreenFLOW.

GreenBOX incorporates all the properties of a normal shipping box, but has been designed to be more durable, more rigid and allows simplicity in transport then the current shipping boxes today offer. In addition the GreenBOX permits the fold ability for storage and shipping purposes, light weight properties of today’s shipping box but also incorporates the patented “no tape” locking mechanism to let the boxes be shipped time and time again.

KEY FEATURES OF GREENBOX INC.

-reuse boxes over and over again
-eliminate the repetitive manufacturing of boxes and maintain natural resources
-eliminate the green house gases associated with recycling
-a way for companies to get on the “green” bandwagon
-a tool to lower on going operational costs
-a tool to profit from current trash or recyclables
-the elimination of tape, a non recyclable product that is harmful for the environment
-a box used as a platform for advertising

GREENFLOW

1. Shipment is received at company.

2. Shipment is scanned using current scanning procedure to acknowledge the receivable. The GreenFLOW software incorporates the shipping box type and size associated with the receivable as an inventory item including the receivable using the scanning process.

3. Based on the company’s preferences, the box is
-saved for future shipping purposes
-sold to neighboring companies in need of shipping boxes
-returned to GreenBOX headquarters for maintenance or recycling

4. All GreenBOXES are tracked according and those sent back are re serviced to get back to working condition or are simply recycled to start the process over again.

PRIOR ART- The obvious challenge to this business model is implementation. You would need some key strategic partners to validate the model and to get those you would need a defensible position to go in the market place. There are considerably large amount of patents on boxes most of which are now public domain as they are expired. The novelty would come from possibly the material selection and/or the composite material of the box. I did not spend too much time searching. I did find some similar business models recycling wire hangers widely thrown away from dry cleaners and some early stage VC funded companies developing recyclable tape. I sent this out to a few VC friends as "Green is the new Gold" for investments and they thought it was interesting. I did not go much farther then writing this exec but believe with the right team and strategy this idea has some legs.

Spotaneity www.spotaneity.com

2008-05-20T07:16:00.000-07:00

If you have ever struggled through a race to get to the finish line dehydrated, malnourished or even worse hyponatremic you will understand the problem I am talking about. No matter how ready I feel at the start of an event or how good I think my body will perform - there really is no telling how my body will react late in an event. When temperature, humidity, course unknowns come into play things can change quick.

I call this ideation Spotaneity. www.spotaneity.com

Alarming Facts-

•In 2006, one percent of the more than 35,000 New York City marathoners developed hyponatremia
•A recent study of runners in the 2002 Boston Marathon found that 13 percent who finished the race had hyponatremia.
•1998 saw a record number of DNF’s ('Did Not Finish') at Ironman Canada Approximately 250 well-trained Ironman athletes - didn’t reach the finish line. The primary cause was attributed to dehydration and hyponatremia.
•Martin Poyser, 41, of Toronto, yesterday became the fourth runner in the last five years to die at a marathon event when he collapsed about 700 meters from the finish line in his half-marathon race at the Scotia bank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. It was the third year in a row that a runner has died at a marathon event in the city — there have been three deaths in the last four years at the Toronto Marathon a different marathon in the same city.
•The 28-year-old runner who collapsed and died in this year's Boston Marathon was felled by a precipitous cascade of medical events brought on in part by drinking too much fluid, the state medical examiner's office concluded yesterday. Hyponatremia
•Larry Altneu staggered past the finish line four hours after he set out Sunday with his sights on running his personal best time at the 2007 O.C. Marathon. He made it. Seconds later he collapsed and died.

Click on the pictures for a clear view-

Freshur www.freshur.com

2008-05-15T08:28:00.001-07:00

The RFID space is still very young and the future of market will really depend on if the cost can come down substantially. Once it does there will be significant opportunity in so many different markets. There is an abundance of valuable IP in the market place which reads on future markets and once/if commercialized the value proposition will be tremendous. One company to keep your eye on is

http://www.alientechnology.com/

Heres another idea. I bought the domain for future use. Click on the pictures for an easier read.

I thought of this idea along time ago and when searching for prior art came up on three solid patents which read right on this ideation.

Heres one: http://www.google.com/patents?id=d08SAAAAEBAJ&dq=patent:6,795,376+B2

There are lots of great patents out there not being commercialized but have great potential.

Scanda 3D

2008-05-10T14:06:00.000-07:00

During my start up of CADIS (http://ideationlab.blogspot.com/2008/01/ghost-surfboards-powered-by-cadis.html) I spoke with vendors regarding laser scanning. I was amazed by the technolgoy. During the first year of my MBA my roommate and I looked into starting a scanning service company we called SCANDA 3D. We did not get much further then the executive summary. This technolgoy is really amazing and has lots of potential in many markets. We looked into-

REVERSE ENGINEERING (ORGANIC, INORGANIC)
PRODUCT INSPECTION
INDUSTRIAL DESIGN
SOLID MODELING
DIGITAL ARCHIVAL
TOOL LIFE WEAR ANALYSIS
RAPID PROTOTYPING
PLATFORM EXTENSION
LEGACY PRODUCT MODERNIZATION
INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

We were going to concentrate on the automotive industry. Scanning cars and selling the files to manufactures who provide after market parts. Nothing to revolutionary here but this service company could have some legs and we are seeing this now in the dental market.

Scanda – 3D is an engineering services company, specializing in reverse engineering and product inspection, using laser scanners. These top of the line scanners will enable us to convert any physical form into 3D digital data within .004/inch of the original. We plan to focus these business services towards the automotive industry, specifically custom and after- market parts. The manufacturers of such parts are in constant need of accurate and efficient part dimensions from each year’s vehicles, so as to make a quality product. Since the car manufacturers- i.e. Ford, GMC...- do not release their own proprietary information about any year’s models, this information is in high demand. Further, a very limited number of companies offering similar services, due to the complexity and cost of the machinery and software, offer weak barriers to entry in this emerging market.

Every year, before Ford unveils its new F-150, the stock model makes appearances at several invite only vendor meetings. At these meetings the after- market part manufacturers are able to take apart and measure any and all pieces of the truck. These measurements are then used to manufacture their custom parts. While many measuring options are used- tape measure, molds, etc. - most are unreliable at best when fractions of an inch matter. The best available option for accuracy is laser scanning. Since the resulting file can be sent via email, put on a DVD or CD, and is precisely the format needed for the next step in the manufacturing process, the efficiency and usability of laser scanning are optimal as well.

This is all possible because of car manufacturers desire to keep their original proprietary data secret. The competitiveness of the car industry- and specifically the fear of this proprietary data falling into the hands of the competition- points to this trend remaining unchanged. This creates a niche for our company to move in and provide extremely accurate, timely, and efficient scanning services to the enormous custom and after- market parts market.

The most appealing part of this market is the relative small number of competitors. While laser scanning technology has been around for more than 20 years, only recently has it become time efficient and cost effective. Only the newest scanners will provide the proper accuracy and flexibility for the function. The competition also lacks drive. The biggest convention of the year in Las Vegas is the SEMA show, dedicated to the after- market car parts industry.

YouSHOOt

2008-04-30T20:57:00.000-07:00

With the huge growth of digital user generated content and advances in technology which facilitate filming our market still lacks an entity to bridge consumer grade material to prosumer.

You may be able to shoot a short video on your phone but how do you add music to it, edit it, add voice over, layer in some graphics… this can obviously be done with the right equipment or person with the “know how” but the majority of the maket lacks this knowledge.

I envision YouSHOOT as a corporate franchise which allows consumers to take everyday self produced content and tune it up with all the bells and whistles to take consumer material to a prosumer level. YouSHOOT allows consumers to incorporate anything from props, voice over, or make a video from start to finish using the resources and equipment within the stores located nationwide.

This could potentially be a big hit with the tweeny market, a market that lacks the knowledge of incorporating advanced technology into their digital user generated content or in this day in age the 65+ demographic...

Locking Weight System

2008-04-17T07:38:00.001-07:00

Throughout the years of going to the gym I have realized most people at the gym do not use the collar to hold the weights on the shaft when lifting free weights. This is for many reasons-

- they are missing, lost or stolen
- the gym does not even supply them
- the roid raging weightlifter occupying 30% of the gym and five pieces of equipment, drinking his 6th Thermospeed has them and there is slim chance of getting them back before 5 PM
- they just don’t want to

This ideation would be to simply incorporate some type of locking device between the shaft and the weight and eliminating the collars completely. This could be done with a threading system, a key system or any mechanism to turn the assembly more rigid. I have seen some IP on this and back in day saw some bar bells with a threading system at Copeland Sports but still nothing rampant in market.

Some Erik ideation cad...

Though this is not a real problem in the gym- most people I know that lift weights frequently have dropped the weight off the shaft, lift unevenly at times and those that use the collars waste valuable time locating them or wresting them away from the roid heads who adore them. I know I have.

Maybe this type of innovation would not stick because it would add some cost to the product (threading the bushing, a few more manufacturing steps etc.) and could potentially even cause greater problems (can’t get the weight off, lock your finger into the mechanism etc.). Its still a pretty easy nut to crack though and I will keep searching for companies who have incorporated this correctly.

I still see little innovation in the Free Weight market. Fitlinxx (http://fitlinxx.com) has some after market CRM adaptations that allow tracking of athletic behavior (on actually free weights) and Star Trac licenses a technology called Lock and Load(not really Free Weights but innovative...) but other then that the free weight market remains archaic. I'm still waiting for the day when I can pick up a bar bell have it recognize me by my ipod and track my sets/days/routine etc., feed that information back to the web so I can login later and effortless track my gym schedule and then share that information with my insurance company so I can lower my premium (or my companies) on my bills and incentivize me to work out more by a point system to earn free merchandise and at the end of the day link that info up to the gyms CRM system so they can track their true customers. This is happening now at some level...

http://www.silversneakers.com/Default.aspx
http://www.virgin.com/VirginProducts/Health/HealthSpas.aspx

Bench Press 1960's-

Bench Press 2000's-

The Boozehound

2008-03-15T15:20:00.000-07:00

Background: During college I watched the success of Billy Bass. Most of my friends had this novelty product on their wall and I saw a simple product with a unique approach. This product made millions and even got into Walmart. I pondered on a way to get a product into market targeting the college demographic with a different theme. So Boozehound was born. My idea was to get this into colleges using Fraternity's and Sorority's as a distribution channel. I prototyped a unit (without the body or circuit board). Most of the prototyping concentration went to trying to regulate the flow of fluid into the glass. I used a FloJet N5000-140 pump and a Maytag Icemaker valve model # 12001415. Long story short- If your not electrical savvy don't try it yourself. I also pulled the Pump from the BOM as you can use gravity as a source of pressure. The design got less complex and more economical but not as clean.

Product Description

Boozehound is a dog, which serves one shot of alcohol while “heckling” those who walk by. It is a very simple novelty product that will be loved by people all over the world.

This novelty product can sit on a counter top, bar, or anywhere where people wish to place it. A bottle of any type of alcohol will be capable to fit into the back of Boozehound. When a person or object passes in front of Boozehound, it will “heckle” with such comments as:

“Take a shot, she ain't around”
“One shot ain't gonna hurt tough guy”
“Drink em pretty”

When the person wishes he or she can come over to Boozehound and push a button located on his nose and out of Boozehounds tongue will pour one shot of the desired alcohol.

Product Overview

The Boozehound will work and be assembled by the customer as follows. An adapter spout will be screwed into the top of the bottle, which will couple with ¼” tubing which couples with an electrically actuated solenoid valve. The circuit board contains an integrated circuit that controls the songs and comments in a digitized format. Whenever a person or object passes in front of Boozehound , light is blocked from hitting the photoreceptor. The photoreceptor then sends a trigger to the IC telling it to “heckle” the person who walked by.

Boozehound “prototype” currently consists of nine components:

-Body (never prototyped)
-Electrically Actuated Solenoid Valve
- Adapter Spout
-¼” Tubing
-A speaker
- A photocell to detect movement
-A battery pack
- An on-off switch
- A printed circuit board (never prototyped)

I spent a few months on this project and quite a lot of money. I knew if this had some legs I would then look into a more high end market of people who want a martinis but later said screw it, Ill just start a social networking site.

Community Cocktails

2008-02-28T20:03:00.000-08:00

Background - Sitting at breakfast I watched a group of young college guys drinking Bloody Maries and talking about their weekend activities. I wondered how you could advertise to this demographic right there and then. Get them talking about something as they sit for an hour or more with nothing more then a conversation and some drinks in their domain. So I thought of Community Cocktails. If there was an interesting decorative item added to their drink (similar to an umbrella or sword which most of the time is added by default by the bartender) you could possibly invoke conversation around the object. It potentially could be a good advertising strategy. These items could be used as car ornaments or even coupons to get in the front of the line at a bar down the road later in the weekend.

I couldsee this working for the entertainment industry doing marketing campaigns of new shows that are airing but really working at a local level where business can add some type of incentive for the community to come to their establishment (front of line passes, drink specials, discounts etc.) Upon research I found Egg Fusion (noted on Interesting Companies) which has a somewhat similar business model.

Community Cocktails offers patrons a discount on their ordered drink in exchange for an aesthetically pleasing, decorative advertisement that adds “Community” to their cocktail.
Here’s how Community Cocktails work

1- Community Cocktails offers business owners who want to advertise either locally or nationally a way to reach their demographic time and time again. We have hundreds of different “Floats” to choose from to customize your logo onto. Simply pick a float that you desire. If you don’t have one we will figure out a way to make what you want!

2- Once you pick the float we will transform the float to incorporate your logo using our silk screening technology. Everything from website to contact information can be included. It’s your call!

3- Next, Community Cocktails has databases of thousands of venues, bars, and restaurants. With our partnership with these organizations we strategically and demographically choose where your advertisement will be most effective. We pay these organizations a set price to include your decorative item into their drinks for customers who ask for the “CC price.”
4-Customers who are at the establishment have the choice of ordering a drink for the set price or a “Community Cocktail” Price which could be as much as a dollar less. We don’t push your advertisement in their face but give them the option to save some money on a drink and possibly have them leave with a decorative item they wish to keep, use as a coupon or acknowledge for their visit to an establishment.

VoiceChoice

2008-02-15T06:21:00.000-08:00

An obvious huge problem is identification theft. My friend has a patent that he is the inventor on that reads directly on a SAAS implementation of this model (still in prosecution). It’s actually ingenious. He basically will be saving companies the huge cost of implementing the entire infrastructure and ongoing cost to support a Voice Identification system. His idea will allow businessess the option of simply subscribing to the service based on a cost per transaction. Start or stop when needed. His initial target will be more B2B but later may implement more of the Voice Choice ideation.

I see the potential for his technology not just at financial transaction or eCommerce level but even at an email or social networking level. Implementing a model where consumers can choose if they would like the additional security and then have it populate to the websites they already use. Charge like .49cents per user/ per month to allow them the added security of any site they want.…. I would definitley subscribe to this. Even picking up only .01% of the market of domestic US email subscribers would make a great return. This is power point presentation saved into JPEG.

Brick Phone

2008-02-07T19:44:00.001-08:00

Action Shot One

My friend has an old brick phone as you can see above. We brought this phone out and about during a daily lunch and as we took turns pretending that we were using the phone, People's reactions were overwhelming.

"Is that for real?"

"Do they still sell them?"

"Where can I get one?"

"What is your number so I can take you out?"

So we thought of this idea. I modeled this up in CAD and did some research on the topic the best I could. We were as serious about this as any project. We even did a full financial analysis. I assumed nobody would think of this crazy idea. So here is a little info on what panned out.

Exploded View

Our idea was create a Brick Phone where your day to day cell would fit into the back recess as shown above. This way you could simply place your phone in and have the option of using the brick style phone or normal cell phone.

Cross Section

A very simple design. The audio input would simply be transmitted through wiring that could be coupled to your normal phone and you could add an extra speaker to increase the audio output as well to use for loud speaker phone. It could even turn into a mini boom box playing loud digital music through your phone.

Action Shot Two

Action Shot Three

After some research, I could not believe I found a Chinese company called Slashphone which actually allows consumers to dress up their phone with "brick dressing" as they call it. This adds weight and better speaker function. Are you kidding me.

http://www.slashphone.com/111/6887.html

However, we had envsioned a different product.

We would target the tweeny demographic.

Our plastic injection molded design is very dramatic in super hot colors like pink, green, red etc. and all of that the neon spectrum offers.

Ours is so big it could not fit into your pocket by any means or even a small purse
Our design incorporates high density ABS plastic. This allows increased mass to the point where it would be uncomfortable to hold for more then an 1/2 an hour even in a casual envrioments.
Our rigid antenna design is very long and very cumbersome to the user and can even create problems while walking down a crowded street. If you were to bump the antenna into a pedestrian accidentally you could possible bruise others due to the lack of elasticity of our chosen material.
Our mission statement: Let people know you mean business when using your cell phone.

These were just some of the features our product would have offered the market place. This huge market of consumers still in desperate need for "Brick Dressings" remains untapped. Even though the Chinese are taking a stab, their approach is way off.

The Chinese have fundamental design flaws in their product. Their phone is very very light, its black, it would fit in my pocket very easily or a small purse and the antenna is short and flexible. This wont last long nor will it make its way here to the US.

A reply to this blog noted this- Actually very very cool... Check this out
http://www.grooveking.com/blog/2006/03/grooveking-geekout-make-your-old-brick.html

The Access Card

2008-02-06T20:58:00.000-08:00

Background- I thought of this a few years ago as I watched my friend start a PR company. I don’t know much about the industry or how the real hospitality industry operates but see a huge opportunity integrating a type of CRM card to the existing POS systems. By using a card and tracking visits, offering incentive using the concierge channel to get cards out to potential customers, the cards would provide a direct marketing approach for a group of restaurants included in the system. I sent this out and never got feed back. I assume that this type of relationship management is being used in some aspects of the industry.

Using the generated information from the Access Card, Public Relations firms become more then a provider of media attention but can hedge their risk and focus on providing clients with accurate and correct mentoring on the way their customers bring business. By providing incentive to restaurant customers and then direction to clients, The Access Card turns publicists into consultants and lets the restaurant do what they do best, provide an experience for the customer. This all happens with the power of CRM.

Problem
Today operators (Restaurant Owners, Publicists) increasingly need more cost-effective ways to market and promote their restaurants. They must find ways that are measurable and that yield real results in sales and guest counts. This must be done effortlessly. There are more restaurant seats per capita and more restaurant concepts today then ever before. The traditional marketing thinking of the past is very expensive and very ineffective. With new technology, new ways of tracking sales, clients, customers and inventory an implementation of innovation into the restaurant industry is not only a possibly but a reality which soon will take place.

Solution
The Access card allows building up relationships between restaurants and potential customers while being managed, tailored for specific needs, and driven using the expertise and resources of a Public Relations firm. The Access Card integrates a CRM system which allows the ability to leverage a casual relationship to give the customer a greater perceived value in the process of doing business with clients. Creating a greater value to the customer so that there is a greater emotional preference for your business when a dining decision has to be made is a key ingredient for success. By establishing that kind of relationship, the Access Card can reduce the churn of customer base and increase dining frequency. The fact is that if you get your current customer base to come back one more time per month rather than stay home or go to any form of competition you dramatically increase your sales. Let alone the Access card provides interactive and personalized services pinpointing to the needs of the true target market- the customer of the restaurant.

CRM is an approach that seeks to get into the neighborhoods and communities in a real, personal and high-touch method. Expensive print and radio advertising does not drive that most efficient approach for publicists or restaurants. What drives it is guerrilla marketing in the form of establishing a true metric on the target markets for the restaurant industry; the customers and the target market for the PR firms; restaurants and concierges. Working together and leveraging off each other success is inevitable.

An effective CRM-guerrilla marketing approach relies on building an effective customer database and using it wisely. For instance, the Access card can acknowledge holidays, personal milestones, birthdays, anniversaries, Mother's Day and Father's Day to name a few.
That database also can be used for sending thank-you cards and invitations to special events, such as wine dinners, cigar dinners, wine tasting’s, holiday events, new menu and wine offerings and limited-time offers.

Benefits

Restaurant
-The Access Card provides restaurants an efficient and effective way to place metrics on the end user, their customers-their target market
-Enables restaurants to keep in contact with the customers in proactive way like regular e-Newsletter or mobile SMS dispatch
-Customer relationship can be built up economically way with lower cost comparing with traditional media
-Satisfaction does not equal guest loyalty
-Restaurant customers are some of the least loyal consumers if they are not prompted
-It costs five to 15 times more to acquire new customers than to increase the frequency of your current customers
-You can spend a fortune on print and radio media and still not see movement in sales
-You can spend a fortune on print and radio and not have an effective way of tracking results accurately unless you use coupons

Public Relations
-Creating concierge incentives and gifts
-Creating guest-loyalty programs
-Reviewing menu mix and pricing as well as menu layout
-Targeting new homeowners
-Creating newsletters
-Building up large-party business, like rehearsal dinners reaching out to event planners
-Creating in-store marketing contests
-Following up with phone calls the day after reservations

CADIS Technology

2008-01-27T18:19:00.000-08:00

Background: I pitched this around for some time to mostly Angels and built a management team . This was in 04. I should have just filed some IP. I have seen some similar models pop up, but nothing linking consumers directly to the CNC machine. Is it needed? Is mass customization really just mass personalization? Will that ever change?The investors said they liked it, but the surf market is not big enough. The majority of my time was spent explaining the surf market was simply a "Test Market." I had to hammer that into peoples heads.

Ghost Surfboards powered by CADIS (Computer Aided Design Integration System) is a design and manufacturing system for custom product design focusing initially on Surfboard Design. CADIS allows consumers to use CAD (Computer Aided Design) software online tailored for individual products, design products to their exact specifications using the interface, submit their designs which are manufactured to their exact requirements and specifications, and have their custom design shipped to the location of their preference.

CADIS is a first mover in a global market where a slow shift in global demand is changing from mass production to mass customization because of the emergence of new ways of digitizing information. Combined with the Internet, digitizing information represents a form of general purpose technology that is giving rise to a vast array of possible combinations that can be referred to as a new economy. Digitization of information in conjunction with the Internet can reduce costs, increase productivity and help producers respond more quickly to changing consumer demand. This trend has been seen and proven by such corporations as Wal-Mart and Amazon where they take advantage of digitizing information to facilitate their supply chain and customer relationship management.

The market for online custom product design has been untapped due to the complexity of understanding the limits on what is designed and what can be manufactured. CADIS fills this untapped market of custom product design online by taking advantage of and linking of digitization of information and Computer Numerical Coded (CNC) machining. This disruptive technology of linking together files representing a consumers design directly with the CNC manufacturing process, custom products can be manufactured eliminating numerous intermediate operations and create and meet a new demand of customers who desire products designed solely by them.

The CADIS system creates a strategy based on providing greater value to consumers by giving them the option of being the sole creator of their product’s and providing a highly efficient product development cycle which lowers the unit cost substantially. The standardization of the process creates an efficient business model, which will immediately populate a consumer’s design to a manufacturing process with 100% accuracy once the consumer orders their custom product.
CADIS, maintains the philosophy that for custom products to be truly custom the consumer must be directly involved with all decisions leading up to the finished product. The founder discovered the problem of purchasing custom products when searching for methods of obtaining truly custom surfboards. The surfboard is a product, which requires a very custom shape to maximize performance. Experienced shapers, who have access to proper tools, materials, and training, are the sole providers of this custom shape. When searching for prospective vendors to accommodate his needs he realized each finish product he received contained disparities, which conflicted with their initial request. This miscommunication is typical in any product that is desired custom.

The CADIS system creates a bridge between the consumer and the design and eliminates this discontinuity which creates error. In addition, the online environment provides numerous ways to monetize the business model even broader. CADIS gains a steady revenue stream from “Incentive Advertising”. Providing products with no brand name customers are given the option of placing advertisements on their custom products lowering their unit price while increasing the profit margins for CADIS by collecting advertising fees from listed companies. This gives consumers even more incentive to use CADIS to design their products.

Product Road map
The launch of CADIS must be done strategically with a product that can test the efficiency and effectiveness of not only the CADIS system but the untapped market of consumers who desire custom design. CADIS needs to be launched initially in a market which satisfies four criteria:
• A product where there is a high demand for custom shape
• A product, which can be manufactured from an abundance of readily available near net shape raw materials from vast amounts of competitive suppliers
• A market that is big enough to meet startup forecasts yet small enough meet demand with a product that meets or exceeds the quality of products from the competition
• A market where customers are very interested in using the Internet and have a strong sense of the exact requirements that they desire to make their product unique to themselves

CADIS will be launched strategically powering a wholly owned subsidiary Ghost Surfboards based offshore. The surfboard market is ideal for the launch of CADIS. With a surfboard you have high demand for custom shape to maximize performance that only can be acquired through the expertise, tools, and training of a skilled shaper. Purchasing a custom surfboard shaped by a skilled shaper is very expensive with extremely long lead times. CADIS’s elimination of the middleman offers consumers a new method of obtaining their custom shape by lowering their cost, their lead-time substantially, and any chance for design error due to miscommunication between a customer and a shaper.

Surfboards manufacturing is a simple process needing only 3 ingredients:
• Lightweight blank
• Fiberglass
• Fin(s)

There are vast amounts of competitive suppliers who offer these sub components of a surfboard, which gives CADIS a strong buyer power. More importantly when CADIS goes live online demand will fluctuate quite rapidly. A major issue regards how to meet high demand of the product maintaining the CADIS philosophy of low lead times and high quality. The surfboard market is ideal for such a situation. The simplicity of the design, the homogeneity in inventory and the large pool of suppliers allow CADIS to be in a position to meet demand accruing a backlog that still can be attended to with a shorter lead time the conventional manufacturing.
Surfing is a global market but located in coastal regions around the world. Concentrating on a
smaller market to launch CADIS will ensure that future targeted markets will be supported with a maximized efficient and effective business model proven by Ghost Surfboards. Once the CADIS system meets revenue forecasts after milestones are met, management’s exit strategy of Ghost Surfboards is through acquisition. Using lessons learned from CADIS start up supporting Ghost Surfboards, CADIS will jump into diverse product offerings which encompass a much broader range of consumers globally.
• Furniture
• Snowboards
• Bicycles
• Wakeboards
In addition CADIS plans to set up a consulting side to instruct companies with existing products in industry to use the CADIS system to turn their standardized product into a custom product.

The Market
Ghost Surfboards marketing efforts will initially be geared to target the Western Coast of the United States (including Hawaii); however, after proven a successful operation, World Wide Marketing efforts coupled with oversea facilities will be established to facilitate supply chain management. Global use of CADIS will be encouraged and supported despite West Coast concentration.
Business to Business Sales– We will offer complete surfboards or shaped blanks to surf shops or private shapers. Our services will allow each store or private shaper to Private Label their boards and keep an online design folder with all of their shapes. Each shaper’s designs will be stored confidentially. This database of designs will promote repeat and ongoing orders. Because the shapes are created by the individual designers, the opportunity to provide boards to the vast majority of stores is not inhibited by brand.
Online Retail Sales– The design environment will be available to anyone who is interested in
surfboard design. The online design application will allow saving different designs and will provide a user name and password.

Marketing Methods
• Direct Marketing to the Surfing Community
• Sponsorships
• World Wide Media Attention
• Online Design Competitions – Target Schools and promote the design software and manufacturing services.
• Trade shows and events

Objectives
• To fulfill a new market of consumers who demand top quality products designed solely by them.
• Create an interactive website that stresses user friendliness, functionality and integrates modern techniques to facilitate supply chain and customer relationship management
• To use the surf board market as a tool to test consumers appetite for online product design and be profitable along with educational
• To break even by the end of the first year in business
• To create a system where consumers get the entire feel of the product development cycle similar to an engineer, designer or architect
• Receive necessary funding to launch CADIS
• Form a California C Corporation for liability protection of personal and company assets
• Establish strategic relationships with 20-30 established companies who can use CADIS as a platform for their advertising and marketing strategies
• Profit - To generate sufficient profit to finance future growth and to provide the resources needed to achieve the other objectives of the company and its owners
• Growth - To grow the business at a rate that is both challenging and manageable, leading the market with innovation and adaptability
• Citizenship - To be an intellectual and social asset to the community and environment
• To break even by the end of the Second year in business.

Mission
CADIS, maintains the philosophy that for custom products to be truly custom the consumer must be directly involved with all decisions leading up to the finished product. CADIS’s mission is to meet demand with a product that exceeds customer expectations for time, performance and value. CADIS strives to demonstrate that Internet Technology can enable both great improvements in operating models and outstanding new value propositions to customers.
• Meeting highly variable demand using Information Technology Systems
• On time delivery
• A product that meets or exceeds the quality of the competition
• Provide top quality products, as cost less than our competitors by utilizing new
technology and engineering standards and principals to maximize throughput efficiently and effectively

Keys to Success
The company has established a strong and sustainable business model, the highlights of which include:
• CADIS will carry a minimum inventory of materials and maintain a Just in Time (JIT) Delivery system with key vendors. With a well planned Manufacturing Resource Planning system embedded in the website all sales orders will drive a bill of material per order for all required items to successfully turn all raw materials into finished goods. The MRP system will be viewable by all key vendors supplying materials. This supply chain model ensures that we have the capabilities to cope with significant volume increases and to meet demand
• In an effort to maximize cash flows, the company has a policy of requiring a 100%
deposit for all orders. With no form of receivables the risk of fluctuating cash flows, which
are common to companies carrying inventory and extended payment terms, is effectively eliminated
• By selling both bare form blanks and finished boards – Greater market share will be possible. Business-to-Business customers and retail customers will be targeted.
• A strong Customer Relationship Management system embedded in the website will provide personalized customer services, including a design folder and current and past orders
• The design system allows the designer ultimate flexibility, however limits them to manufacturability shapes. All designs will not be finalized until certain parameters are met which will allow for an easy flow of information from the users computer to the CNC shaping system. Many years of surfboard shaping experience has been built into the software that provides guidelines and constraints allowing a first time designer to create a professional level board
• Management has incorporated such principals as Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, and 5s that will be practiced by all CADIS manufacturing facilities to ensure extreme quality control as seen in the automotive and defense industries. This will insure that once CADIS moves into more complex products, CADIS will have the proven ability to meet stringent quality requirements demanded in certain industries and products
• Developing a user friendly web interface to Design and manage the surfboards
• Implementing a efficient CNC machining process
• Refine the 5 technologies originally developed by CADIS
• Maximizing profits by selling through the Internet at full retail price. As well as private label Business to Business sales
• Maintaining low manufacturing costs by monitoring and scheduling production.
• Developing a network with other businesses and experts, such as Shapers, Surf Shops and Surf Industry giants like Quicksilver.

launchPAD

2008-01-25T07:38:00.000-08:00

As the paradigm shift is underway in the music industry, the notion that digital sales will make up for the loss of physical sales for major record labels is not realistic. New business models need to be defined to overcome losses in revenue to continually allow labels to serve their purpose of creating stars. The models must be savvy and differentiated in design and function to gain consumer interest and loyalty. The big Four stand in a great position to harnesses their existing leadership infrastructure, partners, channels, technology and “know-how” to bring these business models to market in a timely fashion. The business models that need to be explored should collectively be in tune with their existing efforts of searching, signing, producing, promoting and distributing talent.

Exploring possible solutions revolving around the “touring” of underground artists could serve as the cornerstone of future revenues. As music continually goes more digital using innovative models that are guided by the effective use of information technology, a Record Labels business performance can be improved and new revenue streams can possibly be tapped. This follows the long tail theory:

launchPAD TM
-community for Artists, Fans and Venues
-farming tool for A&R
-management, promotion and record sales tool for artists
-device that allows artists to track touring
-CRM solution
-incentive for Artists, Fans and Venues to earn points
-online booking solution
-venue tool to lower entertainment costs
-tool to lower operating costs
-business model concentrating on underground artists
-road for artists to become mainstream
-fan tool to connect intimately with their favorite artists
-device inside venues
-direct link to internet TV
-connection to mobile devices
-program for underground artists to validate their music
-communication tool for band members

(click on picture to view)

MARKET PLACE TRENDS

Artists
Landscape is becoming more competitive
new technology
population is increasing
New genres of music are being developed

Self Management
Self Sales
Self Promotion and Marketing
Touring

Audiences
Global audiences are increasing
New global attention on underground artists

Internet
New models pushing power to artist (self sales, self promotion)
Attempts from websites to provide accurate metrics to validate artist’s talent
hits, downloads, sales, feedback

Manufacturing
Tangibles are slowly becoming obsolete and not desired

Websites to Watch

http://www.eventful.com/

http://www.deeprockdrive.com/ (I think MSFT may have a slice of interest)

http://www.artistforce.com/

http://www.qtrax.com/

http://www.spiralfrog.com/

Companies to Watch during Paridigm

Live Nation

AEG

CAA

Advertainment

2008-01-16T11:26:00.001-08:00

Background- I was at the iHollywood Digital Media summit in 07. The entire forum was focus groups talking about the same three issues. Piracy, DRM, and Monetizing User Generated Content. Blah blah blah blah...

I thought of this. I'm sure this is done with water marking or other types of tracking but maybe not. I call this one Advertainment. Domain is taken.

Problem
Three enormous problems with the emergence of today’s online video hosting sites such as Youtube are

-the in ability to monetize the videos placed by the consumer
-copyright infringement
-monetizing using current advertising models are not desired by the consumer

Solution
1. An online video is produced by the consumer
2. Prior to placing the video online, consumers register the video at http://www.advertainment.com/ by easily checking all brands used in video, songs used for video or any type of external copyrighted intellectual property from an external source.

Products
􀀻 Starbucks
􀀻 Coca Cola
􀂅 Tully’s
􀂅 Gatorade
􀂅 Levis

Music
􀂅 Eminem
􀂅 Josh Groben
􀀻 Elvis Presley
􀂅 Cold Play
􀂅 Ryan Adams

3. The video can then be placed on any video hosting site, correctly embedding the HTML registration.

Now Advertainment has the means of monitoring the online popularity of the video that has been posted. By simply the metric of videos view frequency, Advertainment’s links with major corporations and players in the industry who can now see who is watching the videos and monitor exactly where their intellectual property is being used.

Revenue Stream

Corporation A- Registered with site for Advanced Product Placement
Corporation B- Record Labels, Major Broadcasting Companies etc.

Incentive
Consumer- Now has an incentive to make videos that not only require wit and creativity but to properly host the video to avoid infringement issues.

Corporations- Now have the option to have consumers produce commercials for them.

Record Labels or other copyright holders- Can see exactly who is using their music, where it is being used, who is viewing the music, and if it falls out of line with standards.

vibraPAD

2008-01-15T07:08:00.000-08:00

Background- I was up at Westwood Equinox in LA and noticed a line at a new machine. It is called Power Plate (http://powerplate.com/) There was not many people in the gym and this machine had at least two people waiting at all times.

I had to check it out. Vibration Fitness...I did some research. It’s getting big in Europe and Asia and just starting to ripple in over here. I have not seen any empirical data that suggests it really works but you never know. I see this being very beneficial in the baby boomer market for gait treatment and prevention, balance disorder.... but for increase in muscle mass and strength? Here is another interesting product you may see coming into market. http://www.pineapple.la/

Here is my idea. Change an entire fitness line to include vibration fitness. Give consumers the option of turning the cushion on to vibrate or simply leave it off to remain static. Why not? This could be incorporated just at certain regions of the gym on equipment designated for circuit training. Obviously problems are of course the power needed to operate the vibrating cushion. I’m thinking batteries with long life that can be simply recharged and replaced when needed by the staff simply by seeing a indicator light.
Stupid idea? Gyms are changing their strategy.... I call this one vibraPAD.

What is vibraPAD?

VibraPAD produces patented top end industry standard sized cushions or “pads” for fitness equipment throughout the fitness industry. VibraPAD introduces the first patented vibrating cushion which easily integrates to any fitness machine from leading manufactures around the world.

VibraPAD offers consumers the options of turning their static everyday workout into a dynamic more intensified Whole Body Vibration Fitness by the simple flip of a switch.

What is Vibration Fitness?

VibraPAD offers the most, cutting-edge and advanced technology in the dynamically growing Industry of Whole Body Vibration Fitness. VibraPAD offers a tool to accelerate health and fitness performance through involuntary reactions in the body by a patented mechanism to intensify your workout. Vibration Fitness is the newest addictive craze in the fitness world. Some of the proven benefits:

-Rejuvenate
-Revitalize
-Anti-Aging
-Sexual Wellness
-Fat Burn
-Increase Strength
-Core Training

How will vibraPAD fit into today’s market place?

As the vibration fitness craze slowly takes over Europe and Asia, major manufactures of fitness equipment are just starting to understand the importance of this new trend. As the fitness industry continues to grow, fitness equipment manufactures and fitness company providers are searching for more innovative approaches to compete. VibraPAD offers fitness equipment manufactures the ability to develop and introduce new product lines with the simple integration of the VibraPAD to their existing products. VibraPAD easily integrates to all fitness machines from leading manufactures like Cybex and Flex Fitness we all are familiar with and use in today’s commercial gyms like 24 Hour Fitness, Spectrum and Equinox.

Why will vibraPAD work?

FITNESS MANUFACTURERS
-Augment product line without investing in new product development initiatives
-A new form of differentiation to competition
-Innovation and product leadership

Snapshot: VibraPAD offers fitness manufacturers the ability to completely transform their entire product lines at the cost of simply changing the pads on their existing equipment when suggested by a gym.

GYMS
-New products without investing in space for a new footprint
-Satisfy consumer’s tastes for Whole Body Vibration Fitness.
-Maintain memberships of consumers slowly leaving to join more niche focused gyms

Snapshot: VibraPAD does not change the dynamics of today’s fitness facilities or cause a need for an increase in floor space for new equipment. VibraPAD simply offers more choices for consumers.

CONSUMERS
-new incentives to work out
-more ways to get and stay in shape
-options of engaging in Whole Body Vibration Fitness on top of their every day workout
-reasons to remain at your current gym and get involved with the new Vibration craze

Snapshot: As consumers slowly become aware of the Whole Body Vibration Fitness benefits, VibraPAD satisfies this demand maintaining their existing patterns.

Subcrime

2008-01-10T17:45:00.000-08:00

The whole Subprime thing to me was surreal. Living in Orange County, the Mecca of Sub Prime loan origination I was up to my neck in the space even though I was not even interested in it at all by any means. Everyone I knew was the founder of some boutique Loan Shop in the area or the partner. Driving around in their new cars, living in their new homes, nice dinners, huge salaries… In OC this is what was going on at a large scale. I’m assuming elsewhere as well but in OC it was unbelievable…

Anyway long story short… I told my producer buddy up in LA to shoot a Documentary on the entire rise and fall. I think it would be very interesting to really get some first hand footage of people on the front lines, how they rose and then eventually fell. What are they doing now? What did they do with their money? A guy in my complex was the founder of a prominent shop down here. I saw his rise and I remember asking him what his thoughts were on the whole Bear Stearn's, Citigoup, Morgan Stanley…. loss.. due the ongoing collapse in the U.S. residential mortgage-backed securities market. How it was going to affect his business? He answered “who is Morgan Stanley? I saw him the other day not looking too good.

Although, I respect a lot of these ex-loan sharks that are now turning ashes into new business ventures. One of my friends has started a Debt Consolidation company and another acquaintance I know started a Staffing Company. Both are doing very well.

I took a stab at a short video. I call it SubCRIME.

EA PINPAD

2008-01-09T07:33:00.000-08:00

Background-
I was in Taco Bell about three years ago and as I was entering my pin to process my transaction, I noticed behind me, I was being watched as I entered the digits. Maybe I was not being watched (a bit paranoid...) but it was very easy to see what I was entering (as my code is simple). I immediately saw the problem and went home and did some research. I found out there are many documented cases of “over the shoulder theft” which is defined as onlookers memorizing pin numbers by motion as ids are typed into a pin pad. All pin pads carry the same sequence of number, so when someone types their pin number in the number can be identified simply by the movement of the hands. This is a problem that not only has caused people to not want to use their ATM card, but has instigated criminal acts of violence upon people as they leave an ATM or a store that offers a pin pad. I brainstormed and thought of this. A bit too archaic for the current day and age but....

Figure 1: Typical Layout

Figure 2: New Layout

As shown in figure two and three the numbers are not at all identical to the traditional set up as shown in figure one. Using a simple algorithm the numbers will change each time a new customer uses the pad. The layout will be different than the traditional sequence every time. This causes a different motion of the hands when pins are entered in the pin pad causing less likeliness for someone watching to pick up the pin code. This makes it less likely to give incentive to follow, attack, or even injure someone to quickly get their card and use it in an ATM to receive cash. As stupid as this sounds it has happened.

Figure 3: New Layout

Prior Art- Ouch... I found this

http://www.google.com/patents?id=y4sOAAAAEBAJ&dq=changing+pin+pad

US patent # 6549194 reads right on this idea. Though I have not seen this in market, looks like Hewlett Packard has the rights. I would have definitely filed for this idea if not. I see this type of system also working in parallel with a voice biometric ID authentication system. Although it would not be a numeric code changing it would be a word or phrase (or maybe a changing PIN). For instance to gain access to my account through an ATM it could recognize my voice; however, if it prompted me to recite the same word or phrase each time, someone could record me saying it once and then get access to my account. However, if the algorithm promoted a new word and phrase each time and never the same as the previous you would eliminate this potential problem. Im sure this is being used in many applications. Multifactor Identification will be the way of the future...

Iminds

2008-01-08T08:13:00.000-08:00

Background- This next idea came to me as I was trying to ponder ways of getting past a concept phase on an idea prior to sinking any money into consultants, prior art searches etc. What if there was a website where you could throw your idea up on and have your idea be shaped and formed by thousands of end users and at the end validate if your idea might have some potential? There so many variables in the start up environment and so much unknown. What if you could tap answers to the unknown quickly?

Obviously the fundamental flaw with this business model is disclosure. You put your ideas up on the web (which I am doing :)) and now you can develop competition. However, if there was a way to protect your idea potentially you could cut out the opportunity cost and time of pursuing something which has no merit. So many people I talk to think they have the greatest idea and they literally will go to their graves not knowing what to do with it.

99% of the time though these ideas are not novel, people are just recognizing something outside of their skill set or know how, which has or is being pursued. Its scary to see how much has been patented and out of all these brilliant ideas what really gets to market. Its the Beta vs VHS dilema.

I call this idea iminds.com. Domain is taken. I sent this to some VC buddies and they thought it was interesting and said they have seen similar. I have not so please throw a comment up if you know of a similar site.

As most ideas never travel any farther then the room they were conceived in, Iminds.com was designed to let ideas flow freely around the globe harnessing the intelligence and collaborative minds of millions of user’s world wide fine tuning ideas to near perfection prior to any tangible development.

Everyone has the next great idea; problem is these “ideas” never leave the mind of the innovator. In today’s global market, technology becomes obsolete overnight and as the markets become more and more digital, innovation will be left to those riding the wave of technology.

The good news is the end users adapting to the new products and services will always have the final say in what comes to market and what stays in m arket. Iminds.com was created for the individual innovator. Ideas that come to mind from the common problems found in their everyday life.

Through a series of filtering processes Iminds.com fine tunes ideas to near perfection by building global teams of individuals molding designs to best meet the needs of markets around your idea, recognizing you as the creator.

As your idea is fine tuned, involvement on decisions to grow the idea exponentially increase and contributions shaping the design positively are recognized as achievement.

The filtering process works in series of stages based on the novelty level of the idea. As your idea moves up the ranks of popularity, the eyes of individuals who contribute to the idea are gathered based on expertise revolving around the industry of your idea.
Once you have reached your goal, closure to the idea is acknowledged and your idea can then be turned into reality or seen as something not worth pursuing.

The Smart Collar with Vet-Smart Technology

2008-01-06T17:14:00.001-08:00

Background- I recently went to the Vet and could not believe the amount of chaos. There was 6 rotating doctors, mountains of files surrounding the office, dogs barking, crazy woman with their cats staring me down, ...

When it was finally my turn to see the Veterinarian he was a different Vet that I saw my dog from the previous visit. In fact the time before it was a different doctor as well. I once again had to re educate the doctor on the situation and get him up to speed. Finally when I did, he gave a verbatim response from the same two doctors who had seen her prior. In addition I had no clue what type of shot she recently had from the Petco vaccination clinic I had taken to her a few months earlier so I could not educate him on what shots she had from the other doctor. The problem was simple so I wrote this down....

How many times have you been to the vet and not known when your animal’s last vaccination was? More importantly what it was or which veterinary actually serviced your animal. How do you track this type of information?

Every day thousands of animals around the country are misdiagnosed, over prescribed, or simply go untreated because pet owners don’t realize it is time for necessary vaccinations, treatments or health checkups. This type of routine not only puts the health of your pet at risk but eventually costs you extra money out of your pocket.

Introducing The Smart Collar with Vet-Smart Technology. The Smart Collar is a patent pending collar with built in Vet-Smart Technology to solve just this problem. Having your pet wear the smart collar allows pet owners to digitally keep track of all information that is necessary for the proper health and nutrition of you animal. Smart Collar is the first of its kind to allow this type of tracking and comes with a number of features to make life more enjoyable for the pet and the pet owner. The Smart Collar integrates feeding schedules, exercise reminders, and vaccination reminders to notify pet owners that your pet is in need. In addition all of the information gathered by the Smart Collar is easily uploaded to our website where vet visits, vaccinations, prescriptions and all health records are kept in an organized manner for your own records. Having to go to the same vet time and time again is a thing of the past. The Smart Collar is the future for the healthy relationship between the pet owner and their pet.

Just because you’re pet can’t talk to you does not mean they are happy... Let the Smart Collar talk for them and know they are happy!

Problem for Veterinarians
Veterinarians struggle at start up because of high cost of implementation of technology and ongoing expenses incurred. Most manage their entire operation with folders rather then incurring cost of software. They continue to manage their entire business with tangible documentation which drives more staff, larger facility for storage, possible loss of information due to cat strophe, misplacement etc...

Solution

Vetsmart Technology

Shrink wrap software or SAAS (Software as a Service) for Veterinarians managed at a website. -

-Provides easy start up
-Simplicity

-Elimination of tangibles

Revenue will be made based on a premium model for veterinarians per month or year of use. Basic to Advanced modules could be incorporate to include a full CRM solution with all the bells and whistles including vaccination reminders, pet birthday reminders just to name a few.
Ancillary revenue could be generated by tracking of medications, prescriptions and visits allowing direct advertising to Veterinarians on everything from products to new technology.

Problem for Pet Owners
Every day thousands of animals around the country are wrongly diagnosed, over prescribed, or simply go untreated because pet owners don’t realize it is time for necessary vaccination, treatment or health checkup. This type of routine not only puts the health of your pet at risk but eventually costs pet owners extra money out of their pocket.

Solution

The Smart Collar

The Smart Collar stores information of your pets habbits that reminds owners of necessary visits to the vet, stores medical history of pet and other reminders. Customizable for owner.

-Security for owner of pet.
-Allows Pet owners to visit different veterinarians with confidence of up-to-date accurate medical history

Revenue would be based on margin of product and a premium model for additional features offered at the website

PRIOR ART - I have seen patents dating back to the mid 90's that read on GPS technology, RFID in animals, and of course Software As a Service Type business models. The novelty in this model is the integration of all the aspects of these inventions and presenting a solution in the collar for the animal. I did find some low grade collars on the market that include digital displays which can be customized by the Pet Owner but nothing that combines Veterinarian information to the collar and hence to the Pet Owner.

ideationLAB

2008-01-01T16:53:00.000-08:00

I have so many ideas that I never share, I decided the best way for me to start keeping track of them, share them and possibly get some feed back would be to start a blog. I call my blog- IdeationLAB; however, not all entries will be self thought business models, many will pertain to my experience and interest in the VC/Private Equity realm and random thoughts and experiences I want to jot down. Most ideas will be presented as cheesy executive summaries so just bare with me. I find the best way to express my ideas is to present them as they are already in market. It gives investors a better feeling for their potential.

After finishing my MBA in 06 I realized many of my ideas and business plans were near dead on with current trends in market and technology and saw some success with certain models that I tried to bring to market. I decided to leave the engineering world and begin a new focus.

If you do come across this blog and are amused, interested in my ideas and experiences I encourage you to reach out and contact me and/or comment. My goal in the next year is to put up over 50 self thought business models on this blog. I cannot promise you that all models have not been pursued or are/would be infringing on models in market. I can only say that they are conceived 100% from me and born from problems/situations in my everyday life . I will conduct prior art searches prior to posting any idea and note best I can. I hope you will enjoy!

Cheers – Erik