Minnov8

It’s not often one meets an entrepreneur who embodies all the elements for a successful venture: a great idea backed up by patents; surrounded himself with a team who will ensure that the idea gets executed; persuaded key players who understand and have contacts and a strategic view of the industries (and how to align incentives within it) to join his board of directors; and exquisite timing by entering at the moment the TV, movies and music businesses are in such huge flux that no one can predict who will win the hearts and minds of the consumer.

Daren Klum

CRAM™ Worldwide is the company and Daren Klum that entrepreneur. To say that this is one of the most exciting and potentially biggest innovations to come out of Minnesota in a long time (or maybe ever) is an understatement. The more I’ve thought about the space, experienced the alternatives and felt incredible disappointment at the lack of quality in internet-only HD video & audio delivery (e.g., Boxee, XBMC, PlexApp, Kyte, AppleTV, Comcast OnDemand, et al), the stronger my level of enthusiasm has become for what CRAM promises to deliver. That, coupled with my belief that Klum will pull this off and overcome the formidable challenges ahead, means that a Minnesota company will be at the forefront of the TV revolution.

Even though we barely scratch the surface of the features, functionality, possible revenue streams and all the goodness that comprises the CRAM value proposition, I interview Daren to talk about his background, how he got the idea for CRAM, what drove him to enter this space, and why he thinks CRAM will be successful.

Discussed during the interview:

+ Hardcore Computer
+ HDCP has been cracked which places all, true HD content (e.g., movies on BluRay) at risk
+ Full Disk Encryption (FDE)