Innovation

Just Haven’t Met You Yet

by Travis Ketchum · 0 comments

As entrepreneurs, we can often relate our business passions to that of our lives with a significant other. We put so much effort into things we like to try and see them succeed and grow into something truly amazing. Today I was listening to my iTunes when @MichaelBuble’s song came on ” Just Haven’t Met You Yet” and I couldn’t help but draw the similarities between an entrepreneurs quest to build something amazing and the human desire to find someone you love to spend your life with.

“I promise you kid, I give so much more than I get”

Starting a business isn’t easy at all – in fact I can say without a doubt that starting not one, but two businesses so far it has been the most challenging thing in my life. Every time you decide to put yourself on the line financially, emotionally, and mentally you run a huge risk of being hurt, battered and depending on the level of risk you might even feel broken by the end. But what entrepreneurs see is amazing OPPORTUNITY that makes the risk all worth it. If you aren’t this person out of your circle of friends, chances are that you know at least one or two who seem not only willing, but EAGER to do this kind of thing.

But what is incredibly important about entrepreneurs like us is that we are willing to take that risk. No risk, no reward.. this saying has always been true and always will be. I know that I wake up every morning and ask myself “Why am I doing this? Why am I putting all my chips on the table to try and do this?”. But every day I keep working at it because I know deep down I am far from satisfied with the status quo – I want to build something truly amazing.

Filling Holes vs Innovating

by Travis Ketchum · 1 comment

Twitter has been telling developers for months to stop “filling holes” in their product and start innovating. Pretty big words coming from a company who is now reaping the benefits of 3rd party development efforts and plagued by downtime.

There is an interesting difference between filling holes and innovation is often the application of the product or service. For instance, the very public issues with the iPhone 4 (which I now own) are ‘magically’ solved by the Apple produced bumper case. The fact that the product solves an issue that shouldn’t even be there in the first place rubs me the wrong way.

Build, Build, Build
In contrast though, there are some real opportunities in similar market categories. For instance I have a burning desire to buy a case for the iPhone 4 that is equipped with a threaded hole compatible with tripod stands.

I also know that I can’t be the only one who has this need because the picture quality on the new handset is equal to a flip cam and mid-level point and shoot camera. So why is there no product on the market? Time & Demand.

Time after a product launch is logical, and eventually goes away. But what about demand? I mentioned that there must be some level of demand for this based on quality, audience and usage. However gauging actual demand for a product is a daunting task and products that don’t fill holes cone with an added level of risk.

So is your product or service filling holes or innovating? If it’s filling holes, how can you more clearly define your value proposition?

By the I wrote this entire post on my new iPhone :)

Steve Jobs, Gary Vaynerchuk & Paradigm Shifts

by Travis Ketchum · 0 comments

While some lucky bastards people have been getting their iPhone 4 early thanks to a FedEx slip-up, the rest of the United States will be getting their new iPhones tomorrow (myself included). But what is most interesting about this new iPhone launch is that is going to finally popularize a high quality camera in consumer devices. Yes, other phones have had high-end camera components.. and yes, Flip HD cams have been an affordable option for many to start producing 720p video clips for YouTube. However, one of the single best selling hand held cameras continues to be the Apple iPhone.

So, you understand why I mentioned Steve Jobs in the title (CEO & Co-Founder of Apple); but what the hell does Gary Vaynerchuk have to do with a hardware release? Gary’s first book “Crush It!”, a #2 NYT best-seller, talks about the paradigm shift we are seeing in our culture thanks to technology. The new and vastly affordable technology that allows us to connect is also changing the way we consume. Where do you watch your news clips now? Likely online if you are reading this blog, and having a quality 720p camera in your pocket and on a device that can directly upload to YouTube is MASSIVE for the Internet as a platform. As Steve Jobs said when the Apple TV was introduced in 2007 (along the same timeline as the original iPhone) was that YouTube is great, but the consumer source devices were the biggest hold up in the platform for a great user experience.

Paradigm Shifts

As with nearly everything technology based, it feels like the rate of innovation is accelerating at a break neck speed. This has never been more true however than it is currently in the smart phone innovation cycle. We are getting faster chips, better screens and vastly better cameras. Google is outpacing everyone in the past 5-7 months though, ever since the introduction of Android 2.0 with the Motorla Droid. This new combination of feature rich, and capable handsets has helped throw fuel on the competitive fire and pushed every partner in the value chain produce better products at lower price. This is a huge win for consumers and software platform developers, nothing proves this more than the over 220,000 Apps for the iPhone App store at the time of this writing.

The consumer is now a creator, the developer is now an artist and every industry that has been stagnant for centuries (read: news, media etc) is being turned upside down. The people in control of those industries hate it because they are afraid of change, afraid of new models, and afraid of letting consumers have the collective power they have always been on the brink of realizing. However, if these organizations do not realize that ‘resistance is futile’ i.e. RIAA & MPAA, and that consumers are ultimately in control but that we are a) willing to pay for great content & great services; as well as b) if these content & service providers don’t give the market what they want, the market simply navigates around the obstacles to consume how they want.

If these content and service organizations realized that on the flip-side of locking down their content and sticking to their old business models; that in fact going for affordable, mass consumption not only relates to higher revenues, more profit and better business than they might actually wake up to the shift that is already in full swing.

How do you see these new devices changing the way you create, consume or manipulate content? I for one, am very excited at the potential of these devices and can’t wait to get my paws on the new iPhone bright and early tomorrow!

Anticipating Consumer Emotion

by Travis Ketchum · 0 comments

iPad

If there is one thing Apple has been phenomenal at over the at last 3 to 4 years it has been anticipating the needs of the average consumer before they really understand that the need exists. Much like Starbucks did with a premium coffee experience, Apple has been able to take a market that was in a race to the bottom and instead of purely going for the lowest price of entry they decided to change the way we use technology through out our daily lives.

This is more significant than it first appears because what Apple is really doing here is catering to the human emotional needs of computing, and not purely the functional need and for technology that completely changes everything. By having such a strong push and obsession around content, experience and quality they are simultaneously hitting consumers from directions they didn’t even know existed. These emotional pulls not only help Apple sell impressive units at even more impressive margins, but they have raised the bar for consumer expectations to mind boggling heights. Have you seen the wireless data consumption of AT&T? 4932% growth over 12 quarters! That is INSANE for a company that was the largest wireless carrier during part of that time (however is currently eclipsed by Verzion due to VW’s aggressive acquisitions).

AT&T Growth

The same kind of massive shift in the way consumer interact with their devices, and additionally what they have come to expect from them was seen in the portable music player category which seemed to have the secret sauce for an ecosystem that generated a better, and more reliable experience than what users had at their disposal before. iPod + iTunes has certainly proved to be a winning combination that is still paying off to this day, granted through a much more expanded form than what was originally conceptualized I am sure.

So what’s next?

Steve Jobs has described the iPad as possibly being the “most important thing [he] has ever worked on”. Bold words coming from a man who has had a fair hand in turning the music industry upside down, but what makes this device so important to the Apple lineup and how will it shift the way we expect our devices to perform for us?

Near 100% reliability

While many would argue that devices with offerings such as Android provide a ‘superior’ experience because of their limitless functions and features that can be added at any point (Flash anyone?). However, while competition is fantastic and I strongly believe that every market segment needs bold innovation to push the boundaries in order to understand what works, for mass adoption to take place the devices need to provide a stable foundation that users can depend on to carry out their tasks. If this element is missing, all of the emotional bonuses that come along with the Apple ecosystem are quickly discounted.

Masked price point

This one is kind of tricky with Apple, especially for those who are not drinking the Kool aid because there is most certainly an upfront premium that has been put on Apple products and the accompanying culture, buying habits etc that come with living in an Apple/Mac world. What IS interesting however is how Apple has clearly hinted at the iPad as a “sign of things to come” (Jonathan Ive) and while at first this devices seems like an over-sized iPod Touch; it is really going after the entry computing market. Think about the type of accessories and ways that a user can interact with this device, consider its price point and then think about what kind of computing experience you can get elsewhere for the same dollar.

For $500-900 can you get an industry best (IPS) display? Multitouch? 10 hour batter life? What about a seamless experience between the content you truly care about and the ability to quickly access information that you need? The Google Chrome OS will be a very interesting challenger to this type of experience game changer but until they are both out in their second generation, it is anybodies guess.

Dead simple usability

One thing I always found interesting as I went through High School and I am not finishing up College throughout the “iPod Generation” is the big draw that people had through word of mouth marketing, and the perceived ease of use. One of the people that I really look up to is Gary Vaynerchuk due to his ability to capture the essence of what is driving the market and understand that the key fundamentals haven’t really changed, only the delivery. People were buying iPods for two very simple reasons.

1. They were extremely good at doing what they were built to do

2. Everybody else had them, so everyone already KNEW how to use it

When you combing those two factors you have a potent recipe for buying decisions to stem directly from word of mouth marketing, where even better yet prospective buyers were able to hold a “sample” product in their hands and experience the ecosystem before buying. The trial-ability for the Apple brand, ecosystem and value proposition was phenomenal.

Developer community

This is a huge competitive advantage that Apple has with their ecosystem right now, and ironically is something they were openly against at first and ever since opening up their doors they have been slammed ever harder for not being more open (regardless of the fact that being at least semi closed is what makes the user experience so amazing). What Apple really gets at this point though is that by taking an agency approach to 3rd party software development with a 30% cut from all App sales they are directly profiting off of the innovation, marketing and value that their community is coming up with.

This last part is what I really want to drive home as to why I am bullish on these entire product line and ecosystem: Apple is no longer in the passenger seat when it comes to understanding the pulse of the consumer and even being a few steps ahead. It took them a few hard punches in the early rounds of computing to polish what they have wanted to perfect all along; content and the user experience. With the introduction of the iPad and the realization that Apple is now a “mobile company”, the firm is very much firing on all cylinders regardless of what type of traction this first generation iPad produces.

[polldaddy poll=2978868]

Streaming Startups: Go Buffer Yourself

by Travis Ketchum · 0 comments

fail whale cakeDisclosure: This post was edited and added onto using a regular computer

I type this from my iPhone because Time Warner has failed yet again to keep a live connection going to my apartment. This is becoming a more frequent occurence than I would like to admit, and the very fact of how little I am actually home alarms me with the percentage of down time.

So what does my Internet connections lack of reliability have to do with college startups? Most college students who are in dorms come to expect a base level of widely available and reliable networks in which lots of money has made possible on their campus. The unfortunate part of this though is that while we are light years ahead of where dial-up modems were just a few short years ago, we are nowhere near where we need to be for a majority of these starry eyed designs of streaming platforms to actually work.
Loren Feldman of 1938media (who by all rights is a complete jack ass) states a good point in regards to Spotify; which is the music industries current love child. {link} Check out around the 50 second mark..

His point is that streaming services can never quite get it right, he states that it has more to do with the perception of ownership in media (which is valid); but I would like to argue that there is actually something more to it.
Beyond ownership of our content, consumers need reliability within their services and media; coincidentally this is also what has been a driving success factor within the Apple ecosystem. Apple understood that in order for media distribution and cloud services to truly work you needed local copies that sync between your devices and simply leverage the Internet for additional features.

This approach has been successful because it takes a lot of the consumer experience out of the hands of third parties (ISP’s etc.) and keeps the quality of service in Apple’s court. This gives the consumer an improved sense of reliability and quality because now even if a customers internet connection is down, they will be able to access their synced files and their media. The ISP in this case only pads the feature set by allowing these devices to sync through and with the cloud whenever a connection is available. This is also the same reason that the iPhone has done well despite AT&T being the primary service provider.

So if you are planning on creating a startup that depends on largely on a consistently connected environment, take some time to understand what qualities of your service could be brought into a more dependable ecosystem in order to keep your customers happier with the end result.