IGZ Bamberg

Great businesses are developed from great workplaces. So is the case with St. ERHARD. Our office is located in Innovations- und Gründungszentrum (IGZ) Bamberg which translates to Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Today I will talk about our office premises and what is it that makes it very special and motivating, to wake up in the morning and wanting to go there.

As the name says, the whole premises are just built for young start-up businesses which are still growing. It’s owned and run by the municipality of Bamberg which wants to promote young businesses locally. The administration here is trying best to develop and flourish new start-ups and is motivating young people to generate new ideas and turn them into a profitable product/service offering. The business centre is located in the vicinity of one of the University of Bamberg’s campuses and is equipped with well built offices and conference rooms.

There is something else which makes this place more interesting and very challenging to be in. Just to promote entrepreneurship, IGZ only allows businesses to stay there for a certain period of time. After that the office space is provided to a new venture. This makes sure that the venture makes the most of the starting phase and as soon as it gets big enough then it’s time to give the chance to a new business idea to grow in IGZ. Nonetheless, the rent is subsidized for all the businesses, in compared to offices in other business centers, to make sure that rent doesn’t become a burden on the businesses in the initial phase.

IGZ currently has about 25 different businesses running under one roof. There are networking events where businesses come together and discuss about what they are doing do impact the society and present their product/service offering in front of everyone. One event was recently organized on 17^th of May with St. ERHARD being the main sponsor. With all the companies presenting their business ideas, they also enjoyed and appreciated how St. ERHARD is growing and spreading German beer culture abroad starting from Asia to all the other parts of the globe.

We are proud to be a part of this versatile business community and to run our operations out of this dynamic initiative.

I moved up to Traverse City from being in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  I discovered yo2mo (which was named Traverse Mobile Marketing at the time) by celestial surprise during a 4am Internet job-search raid. My passion for Northern Michigan, being fresh out of Central Michigan University, and being eager to learn more and while getting paid for it, was more than enough motivation to haul all my belongings north.  Being my first “big girl” job, I can honestly say I’ve been spoiled here.

Yo2mo’s casual work environment allows a certain freedom that most companies don’t and can’t offer. Beginning a career in a start-up company made me nervous at first, but it has only proven beneficial.  I have learned to voice opinions, allow myself to be as creative as possible without the feeling of being judged, and I have grown, both personally and professionally.

When I first arrived on yo2mo’s doorstep I was in a project management position. My favorite part of project management was being able to see what happens on both the sales end and the design end. I enjoyed being able to meet all of our prospective and current clients as well. After seeing the design side of the scope, I decided I wanted to try my luck in the “department of awesome”.  Thankfully, I work for a company that allows me to explore those curiosities.

I have been in creative development for a little more than a month now and I love my job more and more everyday.   I get to wake up every morning and come to work to see my friends and brainstorm creatively all day with them.  I’ve had the opportunity to create a few of our landing pages, an app, and some of yo2mo’s marketing pieces.

-Lindsey Lear, Creative Design

First, people you will meet are genuinely interested and interestings. It means you will gather around something you like and have the opportunity to share it with other. It’s a community based on your interests.

meetup (http://www.meetup.com/find/)

Whether you like mexican foods, swimming in the sea (that’s for barcelona..), play tennis or want to improve your language skills, meetup will answer your needs and it’s free, at least for members. If you want to create your own group it costs around 12$ per year.

Developers should take responsibility

I remember me and the other guys in our startup sitting around the table, thinking how to make people use our app more and more. But at the same time, our team was super fair and we didn’t want to spam users, just like we don’t like it when apps are spamming us. This kind of behaviour means being responsible. Not just thinking about number of daily downloads, and how many times a day the user plays with our app; we were thinking about ourselves when we thought of “users”.

App developers should be responsible not just for great design and user experience, but they should also take care of us – the people who use the smartphone daily. Making us addicted to exciting apps is the smart thing to do business-wise, but one should remember the negative effects this overuse has on us.

I’ll write more about this issue in the next few weeks, including how I’d like to come up with an “Organic App Standard” that hopefully can change our status quo, and help us maintain the digital diet we need so much.

2Seeds (a local NGO) is organizing the Masoko Challenge for create new business solutions addressing transparency in the Tanzanian food supply chain. They have built an API with up-to-date market prices from Kariakoo and some other markets, and a big part of the Challenge is to find smart ways of using this price information and API.

Join the Kickoff & Registration session on Friday, June 7th at 16:00hrs at the Innovation Space to find out more!

Download Masoko Challenge Flyer (pdf)

Our event sponsor was Elance.com. “Elance is where people Work Differently™. A pioneer in today’s freelance revolution, Elance is the world’s leading platform for online work. Today over 500,000 businesses and 2 million freelancers use Elance in 170+ countries. Over 1 million freelance jobs are completed”.

31Ten Lounge is “a great venue to have events. A beautiful indoor/outdoor Restaurant and Lounge located on the border of Santa Monica and Venice on Main Street. 31Ten serves an incredible menu from their renowned chef Michael Wilson (formerly of 5 Dudley and Wilsons). They also have a wonderful cocktail list served by an intelligent and beautiful staff. You can enjoy your evening either by a fire-pit open to the sky or on the dance floor only feet from the live DJ”.

La Tech Happy Hour: “Imagine if there was a place, where at one table an entrepreneur meets her next $100,000 investor. A designer meets a new client, a web developer with a great internet startup. A PHP engineer meets a charismatic founder that excites him with his vision, so much so that he can picture leaving his day job for the exhilarating experience of working tirelessly for technology stock options that could be worth millions one day”.

Santa Monica New Tech has members from all over the world: Australia,  UK, Ukraine, South Africa, China, Mexico, and other countries. Thank you all for coming and giving your feedback in person or via survey http://svy.mk/19An8XQ. More pictures from this event: http://www.meetup.com/Santa-Monica-New-Tech/photos/15030032/

See you at our future events!

Tune in for special guest, Ginni Chen, the Chief Happiness Officer of iDoneThis fame! Here’s the contents of this episode:

Law of Attraction, er, attraction to law (1:11)

Perspectives from Colorado (8:07)

Joining iDoneThis (13:11)

Chief Happiness Officer (20:57)

“No Jobs” Soapbox (26:33)

Final Question (29:48)

Also available on iTunes, Stitcher Radio, and Direct Download HERE

It’s funny ’cause it’s true. I love how they pay zero attention and play with their iPads during the demo.

Well, the people of Illinois came through on our “Growing Chicago” contest as we received over 40 viable pitches from small business owners who told us exactly what they’d do if they could get access to capital!

And speaking of Access to Capital, with a few hundred tickets sold to our Chicago event on May 22, we’re almost all sold out!  Word has gotten around that we’ve attracted over 20 lenders who are looking to fund your business growth!

Obviously, we want to send a huge thank you to all the people who took the time to prepare and submit pitch videos.  In addition, we had thousands and thousands of people voting for their favorite pitch, so it was an incredible community effort!

Curious what it takes to win a pitch contest and be on your way to win our $10,000 prize?   Check out the top five pitches below!

And the Top 5:

     1. BBQ’d Productions Catering and BBQ: Owner Kris Schoenberger wants to make your next event even tastier with his mobile kitchen. We haven’t seen a menu yet, but Kris did say he has deep-fried pizza roles, which I image as electric a combination as chocolate and peanut butter.’  FB: BBQ’d Productions

     2. Jockbrokers – Sports Investing: Justin Baggott has found a legal alternative to sports gambling. We’re not entirely sure how it works, but with the fervor of many sports fans, the idea seems like a slam dunk. I get a little lost thinking about the possibilities. FB: Jockbrokers || Twitter: @Jockbrokers

3.  Dude, We Need 10k: Sean Riley submitted this video that made us all laugh. Dude Wipes, the flagships product sold by Dude Products, are exactly what you image them to be. Seriously, you’ve got it right. I know what you’re thinking, and yes – they’re already available for purchase. FB: Dude Products || TW: @DudeProducts

4. iVizumé – The new way to Résumé:  It’s about showing potential employers something other (or more) than a piece of paper. Marvin White’s iVizumé allows you to make video résumé portfolios, which could help jobseekers express themselves to potential employers through video. FB: iVisume || TW: @iVisume

5. Eviary Matches Businesses with Designers:The concept of Eviary is to connect talented graphic designers with people who need their services. Could take some of the pain out of finding freelance work as a graphic designer, and some of the headache of finding a talented designer. FB: Eviary || TW: EviaryBusiness

Congratulations to all entrants, and our entire team wishes these top 5 the best of luck!  Having talked with all of them recently, I can assure you that they’re all well aware of how important their upcoming 90 pitch is going to be at the #GetA2C event!

See you in Chicago!

Entrepreneurs innately possess a new idea or concept that they want to bring to the open market, but with statistics like “almost every startup fails in the first five years” floating around, it is understandable why some individuals will hold themselves back.

That said – there are several tips a motivated individual can encompass to avoid being plagued by their own mental fears and worries. Colleen Oakley, who writes for LearnVest, a unique website that offers professional personal financial management services, has gathered seven tips from successful founders and CEO’s of start-up enterprises.

1) Let Others Challenge You – You only know what you know you know, so let other people around you be smarter than you and teach you. It’s ok to not be the smartest person in the room.

2) Ask for Help – Because not asking is the dumbest thing you can do. 90-95% of people you want to ask for help, want to help you. Besides, you really can’t do it all on your own.

3) Take a Risk – Even if you don’t know where all the pieces of your business’ puzzle fit together, just get going – the majority of things in life fall into place as we go, anyways.

4) Seek out a Mentor – It’s important to have someone who has been through the same challenges you are going to face and who can help guide you – not guide your business – guide you.

5) Show your Passion – It goes without saying that you have to believe in your business, but make sure you are exuding that enthusiasm and pride in your idea.

6) Make Mistakes – Get it over with – you’ll learn from every single one. But if you aren’t learning from it, then you really are making a mistake.

7) Trust your Instincts – They are not guaranteed to be right 100% of the time, but they are your best source of drive, belief, and direction.

Every entrepreneur will have to face the fear that their business, idea, life’s work will actually fail. The reality is that it is a possibility – once we acknowledge that this is the worst that can happen, we can get over it and move on. The seven tips above are meant to help rising entrepreneurs feel empowered to stay focused and smart as they build their business.

A general advice would be to (1) understand the message you want to get across, (2) determine the budget and consider alternatives, (3) look for professional help in the form of advice, provided facilities, materials, ready solutions, etc.

In case of a small high-quality problem-solving leather goods company like Ferox, one of the companies that comes to my mind as an example is Capo Marzio (). Firstly, it is clear that their retail shop displays communicate quite efficiently the idea of making accessories for working people high-quality, smart, and very stylish. Moreover this is achieved with relatively low efforts – the combination of colourful goods actually works better than many pictures or other design elements.

Secondly, the product range of the company actually includes a number of problem solving accessories, but the company doesn’t explicitly highlight this in it’s positioning. Instead the claim to turn “common products of stationery into fashion accessories” but also maintaining traditional Italian leather craftsmanship and affordable price. Therefore company can be considered as a potential stakeholder in an idea like a high-quality leather key-chain with functional design (The Tagline by Ferox).

So I can conclude by saying that when you look for an inspiration for your physical design, consider good examples as potential advisors, partners or even investors.

My current predicament is the creation of a video. I know how I want the video to look, I can see it playing in my mind right now, I know the content of the video, ordered & relevant but also compelling & gripping and the key points that I want to make… but this is where my abilities start to lack. It is all well and good having the idea in my mind but creating the video to the high standards I set myself is no mean feat.

I find myself breaking down each section into minute details in the hope that at each point that I have the skills (or finding at the moment the computer software) to actually create the message I can be happy with.

I have never been one for video’s, I don’t even have a youtube account. But I realise how effective they can be. The saying is a picture can tell 1000 words well a video can do much more. I am not saying that written content is no longer needed but as an overview a video has become much more of a norm…

I will continue to try and develop my video clip with some hope that it turns out to the quality I want, and maybe I will even upload it once it has been completed… be kind!!!

A

My personal main three take-aways:

• “Do not try to be too smart.”
• “Be agile – pivot daily”
• “The innovators do not change the world, the users are”.

Apple vs Android: Pick a Side

Just for some actual context on usage of each, check out this article. It would seem that Android is outselling Apple in smartphone but losing badly in the tablet market due to the success of the iPad. Apple is making more money though so it depends how you define success. Whatever type of app you make, ensure that the UI is great to keep your users.

Will you guys use your smartphone to find others to play sports with? If so signup and follow us on Twitter @VespyrTeam

Research firm GFK interviewed 141 founders, chief executives, managing directors and chief operating officers of Tech City-based companies during March and April this year and also found a third believed a lack of access to capital is hindering their businesses.

Others have criticised the Government’s involvement in east London’s Tech City, claiming an emphasis on building public relations as opposed to helping develop the area’s infrastructure.

The report claims: “There are mixed feelings about the effectiveness of Government support. While some initiatives have gained widespread support, others have been criticised for an emphasis on what some perceive as PR as opposed to helping develop Tech City’s infrastructure.”

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor

via Tech City Startups Hit By Skilled Manpower Shortage – IBTimes UK.

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The rules have changed a lot over the past few years, and they are changing even more just about each and every month. What worked in the early part of the 2000s will not work in 2013 – consumers have a far greater soapbox now for one thing, and the way that we communicate in general has also changed greatly.

Customer Complaints in the Era of Technology

What exactly are the ‘new rules’ that need to be considered for our current era, and what should companies be doing to adhere to best practices on complaints management? Here are some important things to keep in mind…

• Customers are no longer limited to posted letters, limited email and telephone calls. Now, they have all of those channels, as well as personal blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, consumer feedback websites, forums AND word of mouth. Worse still, feedback posted online that mentions your company will show up in internet search results when people are searching for your business online.

• Customers are more likely to report on a bad experience than a good one. What this means is that even though the past 150 customers who have purchased your wildly popular gizmo via your snazzy online store are thrilled, not all of them will be shouting your praise to the world. The one or two customers who were not too happy about that gizmo (or your store, or even your delivery process) are another story. Those are the ones who will tell everyone they can just how terrible your company, products and store are – often, on multiple channels for good measure.

• Customers can not only become happy again, they can even become your number one fans. This is however, provided that you deal with their complaints properly. Complaints should not be seen as a bad thing for starters – this is a chance to improve your services and goods for the better. For another thing, the way that problems are addressed makes a lot more difference than the actual issue in many cases. In order to effectively address the complaint, you first need to catch it early, escalate it properly and route it to the right person though.

As you can see, the rules continue to change pretty much all the time. What doesn’t change however is the fact that response time and reaction are both vital when it comes to making a bad situation into a good one.

Automating the complaints process with a good software tool is one way to improve your overall systems. You may also want to think about other tools such as competency testing for employees who deal directly with customers. Product reviews and preventative measures such as customer surveys, and also making sure that customers can easily air their views should be top of mind too.

At the end of the day you see, it is far easier to handle a small upset soon after it happens, than risk dealing with the public relations disasters that can (and do) happen overnight when customer complaints are left unchecked. Quite an easy choice really when you think about it that way.

Featured images:

•  License: Creative Commons image source

Christopher Stainow is actively involved in the streamlining of business quality processes and procedures through the use of quality management tools & document control software. Learn more at lennoxhill.co.uk.