Best Golf Commercials

Here are some of my favorite golf commercials.

Nike Golf "In The Now Series"
This is a series from early 2014 that takes a reverse look at the evolution of the game through new technology.

Tiger's Bounce Shot
This legendary commercial shows an amazing feat of balance and swing control.  Amateur golfers continue to try and recreate this one on the range with one in a million results.

Creating a Market with a Disruptive Innovation

Disruptive hardware startups face a unique set of challenges as they progress through the stages of product development.  Unlike pure software startups that can often build their product in a vacuum, hardware startups almost always work with partners and require outside vendors.  Manufacturers, 3D designers, and a ton of different specifics skills are needed to accomplish the myriad of tasks that are part of hardware research and development.  Hardware companies that can successful innovate and create disruptive products are desirable acquisitions, with recent examples of Oculus Rift  and Beatsrumored acquisition by Apple.  Hardware even played a staring role in Startup Alley at the Spring 2014 Tech Crunch Disrupt in NYC.

The Internet of things is all about hardware.  Open and low cost platforms for development have exponentially expanding the possibilities for hardware startups and there are a few really great ones.  A few have been acquired and surely there will be many more to come. 

Here are 3 startups that are disrupting industries with innovative hardware.

Cosmetics

3D printing is creating, literally, new things that never before could be produced on demand.  From printed body parts to toys, and now. . . make-up.  Every girls dream come true; and this girl is disrupting a multi-billion dollar industry with her printer hack that was demoed at this spring’s Tech Crunch Disrupt New York event.   The Mink is creating the make-up-on-demand market with their innovative piece of hardware.  I wouldn’t consider the Mink to be part of the internet of things, but it is innovative hardware and it appeals to the same customer segment.  The Mink has the potential to go mainstream and the demo made it look pretty easy to use (which is critical)! 

Mink is a printer that can take any web color (HEX) and transform it into a custom shade of makeup.  I am not sure about the science behind it, but it is a pretty cool demo and the form factor of the model made for one attractive piece of hardware.   They will need to figure out how to make recurring revenue off of consumables and she may be regretting her comment of commoditized pricing for those repeat purchase supplies.  This could be very disruptive to a very well established industry.  Check out the demo video here http://techcrunch.com/2014/05/05/mink-is-a-3d-printer-for-makeup/  Learn more about Mink at www.gracemink.com

Security

Performing the function of a security and health alert wherever you go with your smart phone is one of the many reasons why TheDefender will be a device that you will not want to leave home without.  This hardware technology combines a camera, siren, pepper spray, and a 24/7 monitoring service to provide users with peace of mind and the power to fight back and have a photo to prove it!  As of May 17, 2014, this product is not available but you can sign up on the website to be notified when The Defender is available for order.   (I am involved with this company)

The new market being created by The Defender is Everywhere Security.  Extending the concept of home security, Everywhere Security is the health and safety alert service that connects to the Defender, anywhere in the US or Canada. 

Canary is another disruptive product that is a cool product that was crowdfunded in a big way, raising $1.9+ Million on Indiegogo.com.  They are disrupting home security and can be a central base for home automation . . . which brings us to our third disruptive innovator which has created a market for internet-connected-home-automation-hubs.

Home Automation

If you go to Smart Things website you might get the impression that they are some big company.  Not really, they launched with a Kickstarter campaign back in 2012.  They were ahead of the curve on Internet of things and they put themselves right in the middle of the eco-system.  This innovator is disrupting the home by putting a layer of connectivity into almost anything.  If it has a power plug you can control it with Smart Things.  The almost endless possibilities for home automation are available from the Smart Things here: https://shop.smartthings.com/#/

Smart Things created a new market by avoiding the glamor of features and focusing on connectivity.  Even sites like IFTTT.com offer integrations with smart things that can trigger all sorts of digital interactions.  The possibilities for connected homes are forever greater if there is an open standard for connectivity. 

Big companies like IBM and Cisco are getting in on the internet of things too.  There is a ton of information online about the trends and opportunities for Internet of things companies.  These three featured are just a snap shot of the innovation that is occurring in startups from around the world.

#supportahardwarestartup

Do I have to use Inc or LLC in my logo?

**This is not legal advice.**

I have been asked this multiple times and my answer is usually, "No, I don't think so. . ."  Do you have to use Inc or LLC in your new startup logo?  Consider that the logo is a brand mark and LLC or Inc is included when writing your businesses legal name.  Consult a lawyer if you have any specific questions, but here are a few places where you can get answers to this question:

Brad Miller Designs - I like this guys approach.  He answers with a bold NO.

Where do you use your LLC / INC Designation?  - This is a Bank of America Forum that includes a list of places where you would need to use the LLC/INC designation such as contracts and legal documents.

From Yahoo Answers  (I include this for variety of answers)

Even on the discussion boards there is disagreement on this question.  State laws may vary and you should consult your counsel for clarification if you are unsure of what to do with the LLC and INC when creating a new logo.

The consensus, not withstanding legal status, is that including the LLC or INC in your logo looks bad and shouldn't be done.  Look for examples of large brands in your area and see what they are doing.  Use good judgement and best business practices!  Send me a message on twitter @rynmcmns

10 iOS Apps I Am Thankful for This Thanksgiving

This post was inspired by a comment from a Kevin Rose interview with Pandora's CTO Tom Conrad.  Conrad said that Thanksgiving was one of Pandora's best days for new user downloads because family and friends sit around the table after a big meal and talk about the apps that they use most.  These are the 10 iOS apps I am thankful for this Thanksgiving.

I tweeted about it and Conrad's reply gets moved to #1 this Thanksgiving.

Memoir - yourmemoir.com I just downloaded it and haven't used it long enough to give a detailed review but the recommendation alone makes it an app worth checking out. Memoir lets you collect your memories, share with friends, and get reminded of them. For parents, this is a must!  @Memoir joked on twitter that they overheard someone say it should be called MOMoir. 

Pandora - pandora.com I love spotify, but it can be a productivity killer. So many choices, so much time to waste. It's the same problem I have with Netflix, I spend more of time browsing than lsitening. Pandora keeps the music going and I am always amazed by the new artists that Pandora introduces to me. With Pandora integrated into my Volt, its the go to music app and has replaced the radio completely.

Evernote - evernote.com all my devices, anywhere I am. It's the digital version of my moleskin. I don't use the special Evernote moleskin but I do transfer my paper notes into Evernote by taking photos and uploading them with the app. Index, save, and search for later. You never know when that brilliant idea will hit you and if you are a touch ADD like me, they can be gone as soon as they come so its a good idea to make a quick note and save the brain space. My wife can only remember so much for me!

Flipboard - flipboard.com my personal content curation hub. Whenever theres a topic I want to follow, Flipboard is my go app for becoming an expert and  gathering market intelligence. It combines relevant news with social updates from people I friend or follow.  It beats the heck out of Yahoo or HuffPo and its perfect when I am sitting at the airport.

Quora - quora.com I have lots of questions and sometimes google isn't enough.  When I need an experts answer, I go to Quora. If you answer some questions you will build up Quora Karma and get points to ask an expert to answer your questions. When we were preparing for our trip to Vietnam, I asked a question to a former U.S. Official and had a thorough and helpful answer within the hour.  The answers are public but you can ask them anonymously if you have a fear of asking stupid question (if there is such a thing).

Frequent Flyer Miles Tracker - I travel alot and I try to always get a good rate before staying with a single carrier. The Frequent Flyer app has every airline and helps me keep track of the frequent flyer accounts for each airline. Easy copy and paste of the numbers and a comprehensive list of airlines makes this free app a must for business travelers.  I am sure there are better apps that keep track of your points automatically. This is just the app I use. What apps do you recommend for airline frequent flier mile tracking?

Hilton Hotels App - Hotels are one area where loyalty really pays off.  The Hilton app makes it really easy to book a room while I am on the go. Its nothing special but I use it so much that I decided to include it on the list.

Instagram - If I take a good photo its going on instagram. The filters are still the best (in my opinion). Not much to say that a Billion $ hasn't already said. Instagram continues to be one of the apps I use most and a great place to keep all the photos of my daughter.  

Dropbox - Unlike the app on your desktop that keeps all the files locally for quick access, this app retrieves them in demand. For grabbing a PDF or forwarding a presentation while on the go, this app is critical.  I can fill up the free 5 Gigs pretty quickly but they are awesome about giving you more apace for inviting your friends. Just share something with a friend and grab 500 MB when they sign up.  

GarageBand - If you like making music and want a fun distraction, theres no better $5 app. For the price of a pack of Earnie Ball strings the GarageBand app gives you a bunch of instruments and hours of fun. It doesn't even matter if you can't read music or play an actual instrument, they make music composition as easy as can be and its just fun to use! I've had this app since the first generation iPad and they keep updating it with better and better features. 

What app are you thankful for?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Document Management at Home: Pursuit of a Paperless House

Episode 1: Admitting I have a problem is the first step to recovery.

For many year's I have stubbornly clung to the paper in my home, partially because of the industry I have worked in, partially because of the fear of audit.  This is a series of post's for the next few months where I will share my experience of eliminating paper around the house with Document Management at Home.

When there were just a few bills, an accordion folder was enough.  But it wasn't long before I needed to upgrade filing systems (and then upgrade again, and again).  There is a different filing system for different stages of life (see bottom of post), each one bigger than the last.  This can really add up, but no one really can tell because it happens slowly, every few years needing more storage for stuff I never look at.  The space being a bigger problem than the cost of storage.

The documents kept coming and even though more things are sent electronically now, I was not getting ahead.  Stop the madness, but how.

I realized that it was time to stop the inevitable cycle and go electronic.  Businesses do this, why can't I.  I have tried to get all of the paper organized before, and really, I have done an alright job of keeping things organized.  But paper storage days usually went like this. 1.) Get frustrated by the clutter and decide to spend a few hours cleaning up.  2.) Open stacks mail I never looked and and organize open mail into piles for storage or trash. 3.) Put documents I don't need in the recycling bin, if they are confidential shred it first.  3.) Put files into manilla folders, then into file folders.  This happens every 6 months or so, but the problem doesn't go away, it just gets filed away.  So now it is time to do something about it.  I will share my experience of trying to eliminate paper around the house and I will share my plan for managing all of the records of my life.

 
Life Stages of Document Storage at Home

College Grad: the accordion folder $10.99

Young Professional: the file folder $19.71
Family Clutter: Boxes of Files $34.84








Paper Prisoner: Filing Cabinet












Hoarder: Storage Shed

Testing...Obamacare Website debacle & what went wrong

The October 2013 uproar over the Obama Administration's bumble of the healthcare.gov roll-out has all parties pointing fingers.  The administration is pointing the finger at the government contractors, several were used, but primarily CGI Federal.  It is believed that around $400 Million has already been spent on the website and surely there will be more costs to come. http://m.us.wsj.com/articles/BL-DGB-30290

With the echoes of Edward Snowden still haunting D.C., I am somewhat surprised that contractors were used for such a high profile project.  But that's government for ya!

Anyone who has worked on a software or website development project should not be surprised by this continuing news story.  

So what went wrong?  It can be broken into three categories: Change of Scope, Timelines, and Testing.

Change of Scope: Like almost any development project, initial requirements failed to outline every detail.  When new players get involved, this also opens up the possibility of "arm-chair developers" who throw in their opinions late in the game and may even force some changes.  Right or wrong, this creates a nightmare scenarios for the actual developers that have to accommodate these changes to scope.  Reports from the contractors say that many last minute changes to the workflow of the site caused a bottleneck of traffic and they did not have time to properly test the changes.

Timelines: This is probably the biggest cause of problems for the Obamacare website.  Timelines for launch were set way back when a line in the sand was drawn for penalizing American's that did not have coverage.  Now work backwards.  There was about 5 months from site launch to penalty deadline.  Open enrollment takes time and the site needed to be up early enough for citizens to be able to comply.  So the site HAD to go live. . . or did it.  

The reasons for firm deadlines are purely political. Obama didn't want to give the GOP any more reasons to attack Obamacare. The Obama Administration could have recognize that they only get one chance to launch the site and do it right.  They could have delayed the launch and made their case for how critical the site was to providing health care for all Americans. Now they will be delaying the deadline for non-compliance penalties and the website launch has been a disaster. 

Testing:  "Ok, everyone in the office login at the same time.  No smoke?  Ok, launch it."  

That's about the extent of the pressure testing done on the site prior to launch.  Insufficient and naive.  For an administration that felt so strongly about the need for health care that they prioritized it over the economy, it is surprising that they failed to anticipate the demand. Google "how to test your website for millions of visitors". There are solutions for this and cloud storage and scalable virtual servers can handle massive traffic spikes.  If any IT professional built a $400 million website that couldn't handle that level of traffic, they would be fired.  

Whose responsibility is load testing?  Depends on how the contract was written. Either way, the administration didnt make it a priority and any testing that was done failed to simulated real user experiences.

Now that the contractor CGI federal is speaking out to defend their work, they are making it clear that "the problems can be fixed". http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/10/24/crash-and-burn-lawmakers-grill-obamacare-website-contractors/

And they will send the "A Team"...for a price.  Surely the costs will continue to rise beyond $400 million.  

The failed launch came down to 3 things: changes in scope, unrealistic timelines, an a lack of testing.  So what can an uninsured American do? 

In the meantime, there are alternatives to healthcare.gov.  

List of alternatives to healthcare.gov

1. State-run exchanges: Depending on where you live, you won't use HealthCare.gov at all. These states are running their own exchanges: California, Connecticut,Colorado, the District of Columbia,Hawaii, Kentucky, Maryland,Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada,New York, Oregon, Rhode Island,Vermont and Washington state. Don't be fooled by websites masquerading as insurance exchanges, though.

2. Paper applications and the telephone: download and mail it in. Hotline operators at (800) 318-2596 can help explain how to fill out the form and can even take applications over the phone.

And 5 more alternatives over on HuffPo.

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/4109749

Follow me on twitter @rynmcmns

Make Money with your iPhone

Startups are giving you legitimate ways of making money with your iPhone.  With get rick quick schemes aplenty, there is good reason to be skeptical but there are a few apps that make it easy for you to start making real money.  The apps that are really succeeding have deals with national brands to feature jobs like sourcing photos of local restaurants or auditing in-store displays.  Here are the top 3 Apps that you can start making money with today.

3.)  TaskRabbit - This app was launched in July 2011, just a few months after the closed a $5 million Series A round.  TaskRabbit lets anyone post a "task" for anyone else to complete.  From picking up a package to helping someone move.  About TaskRabbit  Download the app

Reviews on iTunes are mixed with a bell curve favoring 5 stars, but plenty of 1 star reviews.  My criticism of TaskRabbit is that available tasks are concentrated in a few major metro areas (San Fran, Chicago, etc).  My opinion is that TaskRabbit will lose out to competitors that have focused on corporate sales instead of peer-to-peer tasks.

I have tried to use TaskRabbit, but the available task are not in my area.



2.) Field Agent - This startup has not received the funding or TechCrunch exposure.  Their website tells Target, Wal-Mart, Coca-Cola, and P&G.  Download the app and you will see a nice list of available jobs.  They aren't the highest paying jobs, but they make it extremely easy to take a job.  The instant approval lets you take a job when you are close by instead of applying and waiting an hour+ for approval.  I tried Field Agent for the first time tonight, auditing the Laundry Detergent aisle at Wal-Mart.  From download to first task, it maybe took 5 minutes and I complete my first task in 5 minutes or less.  It was 10 questions and 2 photos... a  pretty easy $8.  The only problem I see with Field Agent is that it has just a few opportunities in any area.
a different story though with a strong list of customers like
 
About Field Agent   Download the app

1.) Gigwalk - This startup is leading the micro-job-app space, with almost $8 million in funding so far, they are the most likely to succeed with the combination of marketing prowess and focus on corporate clients to keep the map full of gigs.  I downloaded for the first time in 2011when I first read about it on techcrunch.  At that time, it had the same challenges as TaskRabbit, a lack of available "gigs" in my area.  So I mothballed the app until I got an email update about new gigs posted for a campaign with Bing.  Bing has gone all out to pay you $10 for taking some pictures and updating local business back to 2012 when they started to crowdsource their business listings.  This got me interested again and I proceeded to apply for a get 15 gigs.  All I can say is, read the directions carefully and make sure you practice using the Bing panoramic app.  I didn't do to well, only getting paid for 3 of the 15 apps because my panoramic photo skills were lacking.  They gave me a chance to get better images, but I had to ask to be removed from the tasks because I was unable to get back to the locations before the deadline.  As of June 18th, 2013, there were still a ton of Bing gigs available.
listings.  This partnership goes

Gigwalk has done an awesome job of filling the map with available gigs.  For your first few gigs, they require someone to approve you before you get the gig.  Complete a few gigs and it turns to an automated process.  They rank their gigwalkers based on the gigs you have completed so if you sign up, make sure you complete it.  Once you finish a gig, it goes to the customer for review.  I did mine on a Saturday and I got feedback by Tuesday and was paid the following day.  Paypal is their only method for payment currently.

About Gigwalk  Download the app

In my opinion, Gigwalk is in the lead, but Field Agent has the potential to build a strong company on this business model.  Download the apps and start making money!