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As I said in my last post, I have been working with an investment firm to close a round of funding for Localcents. Last week they cut us the first of a series of checks! This has, of course, kicked our company into high gear. We are opening a development office in Seattle's Pioneer Square and wasting no time hiring additional programmers. Incidentally, if anyone is aware of an unemployed LAMP developer in the Seattle area who know CSS and AJAX let them know Localcents.com is hiring. Anyway... between screening applicants and getting the new office set up I have been very very busy.
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Posted 2006-08-31 at 15:34:15
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It has been a while since I posted anything. I have been very busy working closely with an investment firm and our lawyer to close a round of funding for Localcents. I am hopeful, since we have all agreed to the terms and now it is mostly a matter of finalizing the deal. Naturally I am excited and a little anxious. If we get the money, most of it will go straight into site development, (we have a lot of big plans that cost money). If anyone has any suggestions on how to "survive" this process without going completely insane, I'd be interested.
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Posted 2006-08-22 at 02:36:32
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Long time family friends, John and Ida just sent me some pictures of Homer Alaska and Kachemack Bay where I grew up.
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Eagle - Homer Alaska
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Eagles - Homer Alaska
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Home Spit - Homer Alaska
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Kachemak Bay - Homer Alaska
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Kachemak Bay # 2
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Kachemack Bay Low Tide
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Kachemak Bay # 3
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View from our house - through plastic windows
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Playing on an Iceberg as Kids
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Kachemak Bay & Ida
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Posted 2006-08-16 at 12:07:33
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Google recently announced that it will begin offering local coupons via Google Maps. Local businesses can create and post coupons for free and will eventually be able to drive traffic to those coupons via AdWords. In addition, Google has partnered with ValPak, and according to an InformationWeek article, is "exploring additional partnerships." I think that this is a great idea. In fact, it is such a great idea that Localcents created a Google Maps Coupon Mash-up about 6 months ago. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad Google is doing this and they definitely have the right idea.
Local businesses spend roughly the same amount on advertising, as their national counterparts do every year. However, for the most part, local businesses have not been spending that money online. In order for online advertising to make sense to local businesses, they must be able to convert online traffic into OFFLINE customers. Simply put, in order for the local coffee shop to stay in business, people need to walk through the door and buy coffee. At the same time, more and more people are searching locally online. So offering ways for local businesses to legitimately advertise online definitely makes sense.
At Localcents we think a lot about how to do this. We offer local businesses the ability to create, manage and track coupons as part of a larger collection of online tools, which are designed to help local businesses strategically reach their community. I am very excited to be a part of this space. Many people see the Internet and "local search" as a way to extend our lives into the "virtual" space. I see it as a way to use the virtual space to enrich our physical communities.
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Posted 2006-08-15 at 13:07:00
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A few weeks ago I wrote about PRWeb, the online news distribution company located in Ferndale, WA. (Ferndale is about 15 minutes north Bellingham, WA, which is where Localcents is based.) In the past, Localcents has used PRWeb's services and in doing so we have come to know various members of their team. On Friday I met with David McInnis, PRWeb's Founder and President. I was surprised to learn that he had recently sold PRWeb to Vocus for $28 million ($20.8 Mil in cash and 494,543 shares of Vocus common stock). You can read the press release here. The last time I met with David he gave me a little insight into how hard he has worked to to get PRWeb to this point - his story is inspirational to say the least. I am very happy for David and his entire team! I have no doubt that he will continue to build great companies and I am excited to see what he does next!
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Posted 2006-08-13 at 15:52:58
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Ever wonder how much of your life is wasted on the phone with customer service? This video makes it pretty clear.
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Posted 2006-08-09 at 21:57:23
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I might be the last person in the world - or at least it feels like it - but yesterday I was finally taken-off the waiting list and granted access to Writely Google's online word processor. Google acquired Upstartle, the 3 person development firm who created Writely, earlier this year. I can't tell you how many times I have wished I had access to this service since I first heard about it. Writely sports many features you would expect from a word processor and some that you wouldn't. You can save documents to the web and access them from anywhere. You can also collaborate with multiple individuals on a single document in real-time. If your changes "collide" Writely will display a notice.
As a side-note Google Calendar and Google Spreadsheets are two other cool web-based office-type products to checkout.
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Posted 2006-08-08 at 11:57:41
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"It is really fun to sit and think outside the box, you just don’t want to confuse it with what’s in the box."
- Walt Kallenberg
Last time my dad was in Seattle we had dinner with my sister, her boyfriend and my uncle Jim. As Kallenbergs usually do, the evening was spent pontificating (i.e. BSing) about life, the universe and the conscious experience.
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Posted 2006-08-06 at 14:35:28
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While recently reading feld.com, I was made aware of the new blog Startup Review. Subtitled "Analyzing web success," Startup Review has a great case study on Craigslist. In the case study the author discusses the barrage of "web 2.0" sites that are being launched to compete with Craig's List, saying:
I do not believe that these other companies will be successful in dethroning Craig's List for the simple reason that the community element around Craig's List is a difficult one to replicate.
Although, I won't go as far as to say that Craigslist can't be dethroned, I do strongly believe that any company that attempts to compete must do so by focusing on the "community element" first and foremost.
As a side note the case study also attempts a rough valuation of Craigslist, placing it at 2.4 billion dollars.
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Posted 2006-08-04 at 12:34:21
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A few days ago I posted an entry called "Tribal Economics," in it I talked about respect as an essential ingredient to any group (such as a startup) whose members depend on each other. I put forth that respect isn't something a person can earn but rather something everyone (and everything) deserves. This got me thinking about leadership. In some ways, leadership is the exact opposite. Leadership ought to be something that is earned rather than ascribed. Localcents' management team is comprised of 4 individuals, including myself. There simply isn't enough structure to enforce leadership in our group. Instead, because we respect each other, I often find each of us taking on different leadership roles where we have earned a certain amount of authority with the others.
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Posted 2006-07-28 at 23:20:43
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If you know me, you have probably heard me make reference to “tribal economics”. I often use this concept as a way to justify working 18 hours a day in a startup (Localcents.com). Tribal economics is the concept that everyone contributes to her or his full capacity, and with that understanding, everyone is taken care of to the extent that the group either succeeds or fails. Please don’t mistake this concept for communism or socialism, or any other ism. The brutal fact is that all people are not created equal. Everyone does not posses the same abilities, or even comparable abilities for that matter, and all people do not have the same needs. In order for a group to operate under the premise of tribal economics - as I believe many startups do, or rather are forced to - individuals must maintain a respect not only for each other’s abilities, but for each other as well. This is the acknowledgement that whether we like it or not, we are all “in it together.” The larger a group gets the harder it becomes to recognize this. (If you try to intuitionalize respect it becomes discipline and looses its power.) My father, who grew up as one of the only white kids in a rural Alaskan village, always used to tell me, if you lose respect for anything, you lose respect for all things. In short, respect is not something to be earned; it is something to be given without reservation. Respect is the basis of tribal economics and of surviving a startup with your integrity intact.
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Posted 2006-07-25 at 13:17:29
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I just found out that the name "Häagen-Dazs" (as in the ice cream) was made up by a guy who grew up in the Bronx. Apparently, Reuben Mattus, the founder of the Häagen-Dazs ice cream company thought the name sounded European. Häagen-Dazs even went as far as using an outline of Denmark on their labels. According to Wikipedia this is called foregin branding. Apparently Häagen-Dazs, which is still based out of the US, operates 700 stores in 54 countries, of which none are Scandinavian.
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Posted 2006-07-24 at 22:26:57
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Localcents has one very important thing in common with EnhancedBooks.com. We share a mutual investor, who had the foresight to introduce our management team to Steven Slomkowski, Enhanced Books' founder & CEO. According to his company's website, "Enhanced Books™ enables paper-and-ink books to be 'Enhanced' with audio, video and much more." They are basically challenging the traditional concept of what a book is and extending that paradigm onto the web in some very creative ways. Today was the third consecutive Saturday that I have met with Steven, and I have to say I am learning a lot! Brainstorming with him about our two companies is like reading a book that you can't put down. But seriously, I see a lot of overlap in the "social media" sphere, between what Localcents is working on, what Steven's company is doing with books and what PRWeb, (who I wrote about earlier) is doing with press releases.
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Posted 2006-07-22 at 19:45:15
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A few days ago I posted a video of one of my friends houses in Homer, Alaska. I grew about a half mile from him on 4 acres of beachfront property facing the Homer Spit. We had the best view in the world! I still remember helping my dad and grandpa build our house. It was two stories, 32' long and 16' wide, with visqueen windows and no running water! We had "run and get it water," meaning that we hauled our water every week from the local store. Also, with no indoor pluming we used an outhouse. To be honest, I can't think of a better childhood. Much to my disappointment, my parents sold the property two years ago. Last summer I went to Homer and the new owners had erected the beachfront mansion you see below. But, above it, slightly to the right, you can still see the house I grew up in!
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Posted 2006-07-22 at 01:44:26
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Lately, I have been talking to a lot of angel investors about Localcents. The importance of being able to quickly determine each investor’s intent, interest level and motivation is becoming clear to me. I’ll admit, when it comes to raising capital, I am a rookie . However, I have noticed that there are two basic types of prospective investors. There are those who feel compelled to subject you to a pedantic self-indulgent ego-driven inquisition and then there are those who are legitimately interested in learning about your company. Both have money to invest, but, in my opinion, only one of them is a true investor. On the surface it is hard to tell the two apart, but dig a little deeper and the differences become blatantly apparent. The type of questions asked by each differ greatly; no doubt because they are motivated by a different core. One will enjoy picking your company apart to no particular end, while the other, even when supplying you with harsh criticism, will still manage to inspire you. In my limited experience, the more successful investors seem to be good at leaving their egos at the door. Funny how that works!
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Posted 2006-07-22 at 01:29:46
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Here is a short video clip my sister took of one of my best friend's houses in Homer, Alaska. I'm guessing the video is at least 5 years old by now. They just don't make them quite like this any more!
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Posted 2006-07-19 at 11:31:48
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Loren Castillo, who invested in Localcents about 6 months ago, asked me to set up a blog for one of his other ventures "Who Stole My Dead Husband." Near as I can tell, (and please correct me if I'm wrong here), WSMDH is a dinner theater / interactive musical comedy based out of Portland, Oregon. Anyway, their blog is just getting started, but you can check it out here. You may also view their website at www.whostolemydeadhusband.com.
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Posted 2006-07-19 at 00:57:58
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So a few days ago, Localcents distributed a press release through PRWeb. As of today PRWeb has tracked over 63,000 "Reads." PRWeb's distribution platform focuses on social media (ie blogs, online news, etc) rather than traditional media. They estimate that the story has been "picked up" by 544 news sources, including Yahoo News (click
here to read it). Needless to say (but I'll say it anyway) I'm pretty impressed!
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Posted 2006-07-19 at 00:42:20
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So, I have been promising pictures for a while and here I am finally getting around to it. And, incase you didn't know, I recently got a Dog. Well… Jessica got a dog but she is at work 8 hours a day. Anyway... you get the idea. We haven't quite decided on a name for her yet, although "no" and "don't eat that" both seem to be pretty popular! I think we are actually leaning toward "Chai". You can weigh in with a comment if you like.
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The Puppy Pic 1
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The Puppy Pic 2
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Posted 2006-07-18 at 03:59:30
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Yo. I decided if Localcents is going to be offering blogging software that I'd better represent. So here I'm beta testing our product. Yea, yea, yea... right now it is pretty basic, but we are working on tons of stuff behind the scenes. So bear with me and please send me your suggestions! Also, if you would like to help beta test the blog, send me an email and I'll hook you up. More Later - Arron :-)
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Posted 2006-07-17 at 19:34:26
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