Indiegogo's all-time crowd funding record stands at $1.6 million for the Scandu Scout, but the Ubuntu Edge Smartphone started their campaign today in the hopes of shattering that record while rolling out a low volume, high technology platform.
Set to be a proving ground for advanced mobile technologies, the Ubuntu Edge's core is comprised of convergence computing. While it operates solo, connect it to any standalone monitor, and it becomes the brain of a PC, providing you with a fully integrated desktop OS and shared access to all your files.
"The Ubuntu Edge is our very own super-phone," says the Indiegogo campaign. "It is a catalyst to drive the next generation of personal computing."
The fully metal phone features a 4.5-inch screen made of pure sapphire crystal: a material only diamonds can scratch. Brightness, color, and dynamic range trump resolution for the team, because they believe the race for higher definition to be a massive distraction.
At the time of release, the fastest available multi-core processor will be chosen to power the minimum 4GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. Ubuntu is dumping the lithium battery for silicon-anode technology that provides extra energy. Last, but not least, there is a dual-LTE chip for 4G connectivity at home or abroad.
Millions of people already use Ubuntu OS on a daily basis, and the Ubuntu Edge is the incarnation of that desktop power gone truly mobile. This is a powerful show of disruptive innovation at work, and I, for one, cannot wait to see how successful their campaign is – they are already well on their way.
With the Internet and the availability of resources these days, anyone at any age can start a business for practically no money and in a relatively short period of time. A free WordPress blog, with enough of the three things below, can be turned into a profitable money-making, insight-generating machine by anyone with a computer and something to say, despite their age. That means that in order to become an entrepreneur (especially as a teenager or as a recent university grad), you truly only need three things:
An idea: Something that solves people's problems, preferably one of your own, and/or innovates by marrying two or more old ideas. Luckily for us, Paul Graham has an amazing essay on how to get startup ideas.
Passion: As a (young) entrepreneur, you are always going to have people questioning your abilities, your network, your ideas, your business plan, and maybe even your haircut. Make sure you are doing something that you don't mind staying up all night for or sacrificing free time and possibly relationships for.
Persistence: No matter how smooth you dream the path will be, or how easy the press makes fairytale startup stories like Instagram and Snapchat look, there will always be setbacks and obstacles to climb. Money, advisors, vetted business plans, all-star teams, amazing code, etc., will only mean something if you have the persistence to back them up if (when!) things go wrong.
Of course, some ideas will require more capital than others, whether of the monetary, technical, or intellectual kind. I'm simply saying that fundamental entrepreneurship requires little more than the basic personality traits of a bulldog. In fact, I'll leave you here with two lists of entrepreneurial resources courtesy of Steve Blank and Harvard Business School.
Now, go out there and make something happen!
Guest author Jared Kleinert is a 17-year-old tech entrepreneur who has been featured in Forbes, Fast Company, and TechCrunch. He is currently the coauthor of an eye-opening book called "2 Billion Under 20" featuring stories from some of the world's smartest and most talented people at or under 20; customer advocate for the enterprise software startup 15Five; and founder/CEO of Synergist. Jared has been invited to attend and speak at various events around the country focused on young entrepreneurship, social good, and lean startup methodology. He’s always available at jared@synergist and @jaredkleinert, so feel free to say hi!
Washington, DC, is growing as a close-knit entrepreneur community where startups can find angel investors who will also act as mentors to grow a business, venture capitalists say.
The DC area has fewer venture capital firms than Silicon Valley, but steady startup investment is coming from tech industry veterans who have experience working with area universities, government agencies, and telecom companies including AOL, said John Taylor, head of research for the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA).
"My sense is that DC is better for startups than a lot of other cities, which might have people with money but not experience," Taylor said.
Entrepreneurs in Washington, DC, also have a greater chance to compete for talent and to distinguish their startup as a unique business because there is less tech sector overlap than in Silicon Valley, Taylor said.
"There seems to be a relatively good balance of capital in the DC area, and one thing that is an advantage here is that some sectors are not as heated up as they are in Silicon Valley," he said.
The number of venture capital firms in the US decreased from 1,089 in 2002 to 841 in 2012, as the venture capital industry continues to shrink from its peak in 2000 when the tech stock bubble burst, according to the NVCA.
Personal angel investments, often in sums of $500,000 and lower, are becoming more common than million-dollar venture financing because venture capitalists already have a heavy workload, and because tech startups are increasingly able to "get going on a shoestring budget," Taylor said.
"It's never too early to open relationships with sophisticated angel investors," Taylor said. "Startups looking to go national need people with experience and contacts to prep them for the next round of financing."
Angel investing has increased during the past decade, but there is no data to document this because individuals don't have to report personal investments in those amounts to the Securities and Exchange Commission, said John May, managing partner at the New Vantage Group angel investment firm.
"Many of the serious angel investors are cashed-out entrepreneurs who are recycling their expertise in that domain," said May, who is a former president of the Angel Capital Association.
Startups that have received angel investment are attractive to venture capital firms because that step gives early-stage companies more room to improve through trial and error, said Mark Levine, managing director of Core Capital Partners venture capital firm in Washington, DC.
"Many of the companies coming through Core have gotten some angel capital in the DC region," Levine said. "We like to see what they learned and how they adjusted their business model."
There are enough investors in the nation's capital to support its startup community, but more venture capital firms in the region would encourage innovation, said Harry Weller, a general partner at the New Enterprise Associates venture capital firm in Washington, DC.
"There would be less overlap if there were more venture capital firms aiming for different investments," Weller said. "Some startups that are on the fringes that are also the most disruptive don't get done."
Entrepreneurs in Washington, DC, may not get valuations on their startups from East Coast investors as high as they could from investors in Silicon Valley, but starting a business with minimal funding breeds practicality, according to Noah Glass, founder of OLO Online Ordering.
"DC and New York investors seem to hold a similar view, stomaching less market risk and avoiding nosebleed valuations that Silicon Valley investors view as commonplace," Glass explained.
An excellent way to find angel investment in the District is through the contacts and events at startup accelerators 1776 and Fortify Ventures, said Sean Gonzalez, secretary at Data Community DC, which runs several hackathons and professional meetups. DC Nightowls, which gathers entrepreneurs at various coworking spaces, is another regional group useful for meeting people in the startup community.
Glass recommends Founder Collective, a "smart capital" venture fund made up of veteran entrepreneurs headquartered in New York.
Guest author Tom Risen remembers LAN parties and custom-building computers before the rise of the smartphone. He started reporting on the tech stock market at the Medill School of Journalism, and has written about the tech industry for Government Executive, National Journal, Slate, Policy and Regulatory Report, and for newspapers in Maryland and California. He's on Twitter @TomRisen.
Last Tuesday, we had a blast at our Chicago Social networking event sponsored by SceneTap.
On top of all the fun that was had, the proceeds from the event went to the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE). NFTE is a nonprofit that provides young people from low-income communities the tools to pursue entrepreneurship.
This is a cause that's dear to our hearts, since we know how rewarding and empowering the startup life can be. And it's getting even more attractive since the economy started to struggle.
"Young people face historic increases in joblessness, an unemployment rate that is three times higher than that of adults, and a rapidly shifting economy," says NFTE.
To combat all that, they offer a variety of programs for young would-be entrepreneurs: hands-on classes for a semester or a year, a summer incubator, BizCamps to create business plans, and a national competition. Since NFTE was founded in 1987, it's reached over 500,000 people worldwide.
NFTE is headquartered in New York City with offices around the country; last week, we got a chance to work alongside the team in Chicago.
"NFTE is thrilled to be the beneficiary of Tech Cocktail's event. Tech Cocktail's partnership and support is ideal for NFTE as we strive to connect our students with Chicago's business and entrepreneurial tech community. Together, we are creating the next generation of entrepreneurs," they said.
Thanks to everyone who came, and thanks to SceneTap for sponsoring (and RumChata for the drinks)!
Today, Greenease launched its search engine for finding DC restaurants with sustainable, local, and healthy foods.
Their launch coincides with Eat Local First Week, a celebration of local food in DC where Greenease is a sponsor.
Greenease's rather plain-looking search engine lets you filter restaurants on a variety of criteria: with locally sourced food, sustainable seafood, or free-range meat; with healthy options like grass-fed meats, hormone-free meats, or organic; and with gluten-free, vegetarian, or vegan food.
"What consumers don't know is that almost 90 percent of the animals raised and slaughtered in the United States are from industrial farms. These huge factory farms contribute to negative environmental impacts, use of hormones in animal feed, and provide poor and unsafe working conditions, and inhumane treatment of livestock," says founder Vanessa Ferragut.
Their database includes 400 restaurants in DC, Maryland, and Virginia. Ferragut, for example, loves an Italian restaurant called Coppi's Organic, which serves up local foods like brick-oven pizza and butternut squash ravioli. To verify local sourcing, the Greenease team actually spent the past few months calling up farms to make sure they supply the restaurants in question.
"You're actually voting with your dollar. Every time you buy something, you're making a conscious decision to spend it on this or that," says Ferragut.
As the sustainable and slow foods movements grow, so too do the businesses that cater to them. Real Time Farms is a crowdsourced guide to where your food comes from at restaurants and farmers’ markets. Live Green, based in DC, offers a membership plan with discounts to green businesses and special events. Door to Door Organics is an online grocery store for organic food.
The challenge for all these companies is to actually get users to change their behavior. Ferragut used to work in event planning, where she helped social impact organizations make their events greener and more environment friendly. She started creating a database of the best vendors and hotels, but she soon realized that the event planning industry wasn't ready to go green.
"A lot of people are talking about going green; it just seems like very few people are willing to action it," she says.
That's why she's realistic about her goals for Greenease. She knows that most people won't stop going to their favorite chain restaurant; she's just asking them to try an organic one, too. But she can't imagine not fighting for this cause.
"One of the sayings that I absolutely love is, 'We don't inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children,'" she says.
I seldom come across a person in my life who does not recognize Jermaine Dupri as a rapper, producer, and CEO. "I Think They Like Me" is one of my all-time favorite songs to jam to. However, what a lot of people do not know about JD is that he is also an entrepreneur.
Dupri founded Global 14 to connect individuals who are passionate about similar topics of interest. While he believes the main thread of the world is music, and his social network thrives on it, the site’s subject matter spans everything from politics to fitness.
The platform operates on Dupri's belief that connecting people can help accomplish larger than life goals, like The Downtown Project has. However, our guiding beliefs must be understood before we can achieve success.
When we truly understand that which we believe, we can keep our ideas on a path headed toward success. Take the time to educate yourself, research, and learn as much as you can.
Take a glimpse inside Dupri's creative mind, and learn a few things while you do. Here is the video:
WAYS TO WORK TOGETHER
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