A while back I wrote a piece titled Pros and Cons Of Digital Business Cards. In it I listed a few of the benefits for digital business cards (e.g. creating an edge when meeting new clients) and reasons against. But one thing I forgot to consider was the ratio of sharing. For a digital business card, the ratio is usually 1-1, and I imagine it would be quite rare for [...]
With the likes of Google, Facebook, Twitter and Path taking big steps towards ‘great’ design we are starting to see the era of design come to light. It may seem biased from a designers point of view, but it only takes a moment for anyone to look at all the old/new services being represented with incredible user interfaces, solid user experience flow and gorgeous branding throughout. Great design is now [...]
Last Friday, the 4th of November I attended Startup Weekend Melbourne (Hosted at York Butter Factory). The day before we had just pushed Barkles live to the public. Now why would any entrepreneur go to an intensive 54 hour weekend event the day after launching his own startup? Well, since you asked: Passion Commitment Trust Experience Networking Passion I have a passion with the entrepreneurial world. Anyone who can create something [...]
For as long as I can remember I have questioned why things have been done a certain way and what other approach they could take. In its simplest form UX is just that – questioning why things are done a certain way and making them more fluid for the user. What Is UX? User experience as it stands is not just a great UI (User interface) or functionality. It’s about [...]
In this Inspiring Entrepreneurs Interview I spoke with Dan Shipper, the founder of DomainPolish. As a programmer for 10 years and a Freshman at the University of Pennsylvania, this young entrepreneur is making a big impact in the online technology scene. Diesel Laws: Hi Dan, it’s great to be able to chat with you. For those who aren’t familiar with DomainPolish.com please explain what it is. Dan Shipper: Hey Diesel, [...]
In this Inspiring Entrepreneurs Interview I spoke with Pablo Villalba, the founder of Teambox. Moving into CEO position, Pablo now handles Product Design, Marketing, Programming and Sales in his 15-person-strong company. Diesel Laws: Hi Pablo, I really appreciate being able to talk with you today. For those who aren’t familiar with Teambox, can you please shed some light on what it is. Pablo Villalba: Thanks Diesel, great to chat. Teambox.com [...]
For the first Inspiring Entrepreneurs Interview I chatted with Tyson Lundbech, the founder of RentWant. Being a facilitator of Startup Weekend Australia and launching RentWant.com only yesterday, we had a lot to discuss in the way of entrepreneurship. Diesel Laws: Hi Tyson, thank you for taking the time to chat with me today, I know things must be pretty busy! So to kick start this interview, tell us all a [...]
So you’ve just come up with the greatest app idea and now you need a name. Do you take the old pen and paper route or do you look for what’s available in the digital world? Let’s walk-through the 10 critical steps to naming your app. The Simple Idea: Side by side discussion platform. 1. Know The Idea Inside Out Take the time to get to know the idea in [...]
As designers we are constantly taught (subconsciously) to pick apart what doesn’t work, what looks wrong, what problems are apparent and then go about fixing them to the best of our ability. In many aspects, we all chase that impossible goal of perfection. What seems beautiful one week will be outdated the next in the ever vicious cycle. That’s the good news. The bad news is that we have a [...]
I like to think that I’m ready to tackle the big challenges of building a startup like funding, marketing, team building and more. But I’m not. I’m happy to fight in the trenches (and change the design every week), but when it comes to running across the battlefield, I’m shit scared. Hey Diesel, get over it. I’ve been reading recently about the entrepreneurs who build successful companies better after failures. [...]
Over the years, Google has been advancing on many fronts with some basic, advanced and incredible products. So what happens when you bring them all together with the help of Google+? Enter Googletron – The Google + Voltron mix that is mastering the universe (and we’re letting it). Voltron is the titular super robot of an anime series that features a team of young pilots, known as the Voltron Force. [...]
A week ago, after reading this upfront and inspiring post by Dave McClure, I decided to radically change the Barkles pitch and share it on SlideShare. Just to give you an insight into my thought process; my successful aim was mass visibility, not funding. This post will help you when setting up your marketing/visibility campaigns. In under 4 hours of posting to SlideShare Dave McClure (and others) retweeted it 585 [...]
When someone says Hello, how are you?, which response is the first to mind, Not Bad or Good Thanks? If your first response is “Not Bad“, don’t worry, you’re not alone. More people often than not reply with the exact same response. But have you ever stopped to consider the negative impact you may be bringing to the exchange? NOT The definition of Not is: Used to express negation, denial, refusal, or [...]
Heraclitus was an ancient Greek philosopher who lived about 100 years before Plato. Although only fragments of his book remain, one of his most famous quotes, “The only thing that is constant is change” lives on strong. The true nature of this quote is to embrace change, of all kinds. By embracing change, we can learn to accept the world we live in and in doing so, allow our minds [...]
With any startup, there is a 99% chance you will need a co-editing platform to add tasks, documents and files on the go. The great thing for anyone bootstrapping is that an account with Teambox handles all that! Here is a rough breakdown on how Rhys (Lead Developer) and I (Founder/CEO) use Teambox for our startup, Barkles.com. The Task List The Task List is where Teambox shines. With ours, we [...]
