Archive for February, 2012
International RSI Awareness Day – How aware are you?
Feb 29th
by Clare Kumar
Falling on the last day in February, International RSI Awareness Day brings attention to Repetitive Strain Injuries, also known as Musculoskeletal Disorders or MSD’s. It was proposed by an injured Canadian worker over twelve years ago. I wish I’d thought of it!
Clare Kumar
RSI is a collective term applied to injuries to soft tissues (muscles, nerves and tendons), and are the most commonly reported workplace injury.
Stats Canada tells us that annually, 2.3 million Canadians suffer RSI injuries that interrupt their normal activities. That’s 1 in 10. What frustrates me, is that these injuries are usually avoidable. They are personally limiting and expensive, costing the Ontario government an estimated $26B, primarily in the administration of healthcare. Read the rest of this entry »
Business Software Alliance’s latest weird argument for stronger IP laws
Feb 28th
The Business Software Alliance has found a newly imagined detriment of Canada’s supposedly sub-par intellectual property laws – make sure you’re sitting down for this shocker – it’s slowing down the advancement of cloud computing.
It’s the latest of many poxes that have stricken Canada as a result of our outdated IP enforcement and copyright protection regime, all of which have been fastidiously documented by this interest group representing the world’s largest software companies.
First, the BSA equated reduction of software piracy through stronger copyright enforcement to an increase in spending on software. That spurious logic allowed them to claim our nation was missing out on the creation of thousands of jobs and $3 billion of economic value. Then, Canada was described by the BSA as a “pirate haven,” only to later recant when its own survey showed that Canada actually has less pirates per capita than the U.S., U.K., Japan, and many other countries.
How close should you be with your investor?
Feb 28th
by Monica Goyal
How close is to close?
I remember an advisor once suggesting that an entrepreneur should be located 150 miles from their investor. It was just to say that investors want to be close to their investments to adequately advice them. For all our talk of telecommuting, it still does not detract from the practical reality that most work is done face to face. And to really move quickly with new initiatives, nothing beats working face to face with your colleagues.
Monica Goyal
One of the best places in the world to raise capital and accelerate your tech startup is Silicon Valley, California. As Peter Theil, said in an interview with big think: “…Silicon Valley and California is still the best place for technology innovation which is the business that I’m in”. Wonderful if you are American, not so wonderful if you are from any other country. American immigration laws restrict the number of H1B visas they issue every year, making it difficult to secure a work visa even with an employment letter. On the other hand, obtaining a B1 business visa is supposedly relatively easy, and is granted for 10 years. It allows people to come for the day and even permits them to stay overnight.
One solution I recently learned of for non-US tech startups, who want the advantage of being located close to Silicon Valley, is to be offered by Blueseed: a 1000-person cruise ship 12 miles off the coast of Silicon Valley. It’s a floating incubator of sorts just beyond the US shores, where startups are housed, from which they can make day trips to investors, business partners or clients. There are many interesting details about the project in this article. Their website says they plan to launch in Q3 2013, and the cost of accommodation will be $1200/person/month.
While Blueseed presents an ingenious way for foreign entrepreneurs to access investor capital in the US, I find it ironic that the US is still struggling with immigration issues in the tech industry; a sector that has generated quite a bit of wealth for the US economy. In the late 90s, immigration policies and the lack of qualified human capital was impeding growth in the industry. What we saw in the 2000s was the outsourcing of many tech jobs to India. More than a commentary on cost of labour, it was a statement on the inability to supply labour for an industry hampered by restrictive immigration policies.
Although, it may appear we are moving towards more restrictive immigration policies in Canada, it is clear that policies that facilitated the immigration of skilled tech labour did provide a competitive advantage for tech companies. Blueseed highlights the challenges and the pitfalls of US immigration policies. Hopefully it’s not too late for lawmakers in the US to wake up to the dangers of continually hamstringing their own companies and not fully leveraging the ecosystems they have created.
Did you know you could do this with your cell phone?
Feb 27th
by Kye Husbands
The technology available to us today is simply amazing and while it seems as though things have always been this way, things are really just getting started in the mobile space.
Believe it or not, however, 60 per cent of Canadians still don’t have a smart phone, for a number of reasons, so here are four ways that having a smart phone can make your life easier and if you don’t have a smart phone as yet, perhaps we can convince you to make that decision even sooner.
Read the rest of this entry »
Obama and Canadian Internet privacy rules share common weaknesses
Feb 24th
by Nestor E. Arellano
United States President Barak Obama created quite a stir yesterday when he unveiled a proposed framework for an Internet Bill of Rights designed to protect consumers’ privacy online.
The document called the Consumer Data Privacy in the Networked World essentially adapts for the commercial Internet environment, some globally recognized principles of privacy. Not surprisingly the White House’s framework released yesterday shares some principles outlined by Canada’s Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart in December last year when she unveiled a guideline for online behavioural advertising(OBA).
Nestor Arellano
Unfortunately, Obama’s framework and Stoddart’s guidelines also share some common weaknesses.
Halo effect moves from iPod to iPhone
Feb 23rd
by Philip Michaels
The halo is back. Only this time, Apple says it’s casting a much wider reach.
If your interest in Apple dates back at least a decade, you may remember the concept of the iPod Halo Effect. That was the term used to describe the phenomenon where iPod consumers–many of whom were buying their very first Apple-built product–became so taken with the music player that they started spending their hard-earned cash on other Apple offerings.
Consider for a moment a stat Apple trots out each quarter when it announces its financial performance–that around half of the Macs it sells through its retail stores are to customers new to the Mac. Apple first began to highlight that trend around the same time iPod sales began their stratospheric climb. Another noteworthy stat: Apple shipped 746,000 Macs and turned a profit of $38 million for the fiscal first quarter of 2002–the first quarter in which the iPod began shipping. By the fiscal first quarter of 2009, when quarterly iPod sales reached their peak, Apple was selling 2.5 million Macs and reporting a $1.61 billion profit.
iPod sales have since tailed off, but the halo effect hasn’t gone away. Instead, it’s simply shifted over to Apple’s iOS product line, which is generating stellar sales of its own while introducing new customers to the rest of the company’s product portfolio. Read the rest of this entry »
Pros and cons of buying a new tablet in 2012
Feb 22nd
by Kye Husbands
First off, I have to admit that my position on tablet computers has changed somewhat over the last year . This was largely a result of reading my first e-book, on the iPhone of all things. Sure it was a great book and that was the catalyst, but more importantly, it changed my perspective on the utility of tablet computers and given that experience, I wanted to share that perspective with you.
Tablets are small lightweight portable devices for surfing the web, checking email, staying organized, listening to music and using apps. Read the rest of this entry »
Lawful access examples abroad a horror story of spending, abuse and minor benefits
Feb 17th
by Nestor E. Arellano
Proponents of Bill C-30, otherwise known as the Protection Children from Internet Predators Act, say that it will merely bring Canada in line with other countries that have some form of lawful access and data preservation and retention legislation.
Nestor Arellano
This is precisely why Canadians should be worried if Parliament decides to let the bill pass in its present form.
There is no shortage of research which indicates that implementation of an online surveillance regime in the European Union and the United States have been fraught with flaws, abuse and costs ultimately shouldered by Internet Service Providers tasked by government to essentially snoop on their customers. Read the rest of this entry »
Giving your team ownership
Feb 14th
By Francis Moran
In our last post, we looked at how Screenreach Interactive is managing its beta testing process to prepare for the launch of a new version of Screach in the near future. We focused on the logistics of soliciting, encouraging, filtering and interpreting user feedback to fine tune and debug the new app.
But working toward a deadline and ensuring that all of the pieces fall into place is about much more than technical and logistical details. Perhaps the most important variable to manage is the human factor. Individuals from different parts of the organization, each with their own role and responsibilities, must work together collaboratively and appreciate the needs and priorities of their peers. Read the rest of this entry »
Burning the candle at both ends as the clock ticks down
Feb 22nd
Posted by Francis Moran in Managing Business
1 comment
As we have discussed before, Katie and Luke Hrycak, the sibling founders of CommentAir, are bootstrapping their venture around their day jobs, an approach that calls for certain sacrifices.
Business meetings after 9 p.m., letting the wardrobe grow threadbare and valuing every dollar of friends and family financing is par for the course.
“I think the most difficult aspect about bootstrapping is resisting the urge to job search for something that will pay a ton, and also letting it take up all of your time,” Katie said in our first post. “People get accustomed to certain lifestyles and it is very difficult to let that go. You have to commit to a job that is less challenging for less money, but ultimately allows you more time for your own venture.”
In this post, we will talk in more detail about what it takes to keep the lights on, the need to delay gratification and at what point an outside investor may come into the picture.
Taking the lean approach to heart
There is no doubt that these dogged entrepreneurs are living on hope and aspiration. Katie works 30 hours a week, while Luke is full-time and saddled with debts from a previous failed venture. Christmas gifts were covered by credit cards that have yet to be paid and the pair must live vicariously through friends when it comes to trips or shelling out for that fancy new smartphone.
Katie, however, focuses on the upside of having to monitor and curtail expenses.
“It’s made me a bit of a minimalist in a way,” she said. “I’ve sold a lot of my things and live much leaner and without any clutter. If you’re bootstrapping, any spare dollar you earn either from your day job or (any other source) is invested back into the business.”
Lack of a cash reserve keeps them working around the business, which requires a great deal of self-discipline. But the siblings realize that, as CommentAir moves along, they will at some point need to make a choice and commit to building the business full time. Read the rest of this entry »