Minnov8

Showcasing Minnesota Technology Innovation

MixMobi Moves Closer to Being Named One of The PepsiCo 10

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Local mobile marketing start up MixMobi emerges from hundreds of entries to  join 40 other emerging technology firms in advancing to the the semi-final round of brand giant PepsiCo’s PepsiCo10. MixMobi’s CEO, Lisa Foote noted, “Pepsi’s brands (Quaker, Gatorade, Frito Lay and Pepsi) are global, multi-channel brands that can benefit from MixMobi’s approach to mobile marketing.”

Billed as “an open call and partnership between PepsiCo and up to 10 of the most promising start-ups in media, communications and technology” PepsiCo is quick to point out this is not a contest. “it is an open Request For Proposals (RFP).” and “the 10 entrepreneurs chosen will be mentored by a team of venture capitalists, media experts and PepsiCo brand marketers during pilot programs of their submitted technologies and innovations.” While there is no ‘prize’ on the line, Foote noted the benefits of being part of the PepsiCo10, “To be associated in a technology demonstration with a brand like Quaker or Gatorade is very valuable to a startup. The trade off between revenue and exposure works in this case. ”

The next step for MixMobi as well as all of the semi-finalists is to submit a three minute video answering some basic questions and a running through a demo of the product or service. The finalists will be announced by weeks end with the final 20 heading to the two-day PepsiCo10 Summit to present to PepsiCo brand marketers, agency partners, venture capitalists and angel investors in attendance. The chosen ten will partner with a PepsiCo brand for a pilot execution of their solutions.

According to Foote the ideal outcome would be “To have MixMobi-powered technology support PepsiCo brands like Frito Lay or Pepsi beverages in multiple geographies in several different languages, across a variety of mobile platforms and carriers, as well as through diverse digital channels (ex: Facebook, Twitter, text messaging and Augmented Reality) would be an ideal demonstration of MixMobi’s robust, internationalization-ready platform.”

W3i Lights Up the ‘Net with Its Latest App News

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Okay, so there’s this company named Apple that I hear makes phones.  And people tell me there’s been, uh, a bit of news lately about some new phone of theirs?  Well, that media firestorm didn’t stop Minnesota’s W3i LLC from deciding to jump in with some news of its own, which is actually related to the exploding ecosystem around Apple mobile devices.  That would be apps.

St. Cloud-based W3i is in the app distribution business — in a big, profitable way (33 successive quarters thereof).  But till now that business has been all about desktop apps, and Windows only. Well, mark down yesterday as the day they entered the world of mobile, with this bombshell: W3i Launches New Incented Mobile App Distribution Service for iOS App Developers.  A separate version of the release, for consumers, gets more to the benefit: Consumers Can Now Earn Rewards for Installing Apps.  Those rewards, my friends, would be cash — for consumers who register at a W3i site called Apperang.com.

Naturally, app fanboys and girls everywhere loved the news — after reading about it on some of the sites they frequent the most.  TechCrunch (MobileCrunch) ran this story: Apperang Pays You Cash to Download iPhone Apps… Ka-Ching! And VentureBeat (MobileBeat) ran concurrently — amazing how that happens — with their take: Get paid to install apps with W3i Mobile Solutions and Apperang.  Numerous other sites and blogs picked up on it immediately, and Twitter was going crazy on it (just search on hashtags #apperang and #w3i).  [Oh, sure, there was a story in the StarTrib last week, too, but that didn’t light up much of anything… <rimshot>]

I asked the CEO of a local app development company for his reaction to this W3i news, from a business perspective:  “The model and integration W3i has developed for desktop distribution has been a huge success in the past, so I wouldn’t bet against them on making their mobile version a success,” said Wade Beavers, CEO of DoApp Inc. “For developers wanting to get a core base of users fast, it makes sense to use this service. The key will be how long those users keep your app, because that’s where the return on investment is.”

I also asked one of Minnesota’s most experienced iPhone app developers for his reaction: “Will app publishers readily jump to use this type of service? Small developers, maybe,” said Bill Heyman of CodeMorphic. “But small developers may not have budget to support this type of promotion… Will it be enough to hit the tipping point for more organic sales because of a higher App Store ranking? Well, ultimately, it would depend on how much a company wants to spend to buy a ranking.”

But, actually, W3i signed on some pretty successful big developers for its private beta before the announcement yesterday (the service is now in public beta).  That list of launch advertisers — just those that let W3i use their names for PR purposes — includes these firms, with the name of their app in parentheses: Big Stack Studios (Sigma), Inert Soap (FingerZilla), Booyah (MyTown), Gist (Gist), Thinking Ape (Kingdoms at War), Flixster (Movies), Slacker Inc (Slacker Radio), xCube Labs (My Health Records – Health n Family), and infinidycorp (Zombies vs. Aliens).

I’m sure we’ll be hearing about a lot more, as W3i tells me they are crazy-busy now following up with other app companies who are inquiring.

(Disclosure: the author has had a consulting relationship with W3i for providing PR services.)

iKenex Platform from DoApp

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The team at Rochester, MN-based DoApp just announced their new iKenex real estate platform built in collaboration with California MLS software firm Concentric Mobile. iKenex brings all the real estate data a realtor or buyer would ever need to their preferred mobile smartphone device, whether it is an iPhone, iPad, Android or Blackberry. Taking advantage of the mobile device’s built-in Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) technology, the iKenex app pinpoints where you are and delivers a home’s complete listing details in seconds.

This sort of innovation is sorely needed in the real estate marketplace today primarily due to the collapse that has occurred in the housing market. With its capability to make the process of selling and buying a home considerably more efficient for both buyers and real estate agents, iKenex promises to remove much of the typical lag time for realtors to communicate to buyers about properties or for buyers to wait around for a real estate agent to call or email when you’re on the hunt for that perfect home.

What might not be obvious from looking at the features of iKenex is this: DoApp and Concentric Mobile have done a remarkable job of creating a platform adept at aligning incentives in the residential real estate marketplace and making the process of communicating with buyers fast and easy.

Of course, the key to any platform is to provide an on-ramp to a market or technology which savvy businesspeople and developers can leverage. My impression of the iKenex platform is that it strongly aligns with the incentives of local, regional, state or even national companies that want to participate in the mobile/GPS real estate app space, but clearly can’t “play” with providers like Zillow and maybe couldn’t obtain decent ROI by building their own app. In addition, a realtor’s incentives seem obviously aligned with iKenex and how they could easily leverage what’s happening with their local listings and the areas in which they sell houses.

I asked DoApp CEO, Wade Beavers, if my assumption that their strategy about aligning incentives with iKenex was on the right track. …  [Read More…]

MN Cup Announces Semi-Finalists

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Out of a field of 1,000 participants from around the State, 48 of them have been chosen as semi-finalists to enter the next phase of the competition. If you don’t know the Minnesota Cup, it,  “...presents entrepreneurs and start-up companies with a unique opportunity in these challenging economic times. More than $130,000 in seed capital and many hours of professional services are awarded to competition winners across six divisions. Beyond the cash and prizes, participants gain exposure for their ideas, strengthen their business plans, and make strong connections in the business community. The payoff is real: 2009 Minnesota Cup finalists have already secured more than $8 million dollars in capital and brokered numerous business partnerships, collaborations and distribution agreements.”

It’s not just the dough, though, it’s the “professional services” mentioned that can make a huge difference in the life of a startup enabling them to “…connect with local business leaders and mentors arranged by the Gary S. Holmes Center for Entrepreneurship at the Carlson School of Management.”

The 2010 semi-finalists will be honored with a reception at the James J. Hill Library on Tuesday, June 22 from 6:00-8:00 p.m and Minnov8 will be there covering it live. Read the press release here.

Minnov8 Gang Podcast 82: Vicarious WWDC

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We revisit Apple’s Worldwide Developer’s Conference (WWDC) through Julio Ojeda-Zapata’s experiences talking about the new iPhone 4 and his reliance on the iPad and HTC EVO 4G on his trip. Many other related subjects are explored to their logical conclusions.

Show Hosts: Tim Elliott, Graeme Thickins and Phil Wilson (Steve Borsch was away this week).

Music by AjT “Apple Chunk Guitar” from Music Alley.

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The Podcast

Podcast: Download (Duration: 53:42 — 31.0MB)

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Discussed during the podcast:

Events:

Lost in Minneapolis Skyways? FrypanDigital Has Your Lifeline

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FryPanDigital, a startup that intends to create “tasty apps” was founded by, “…two dudes who know nothing about application development, but wanted to try super hard to kick out an iPhone app.” These two have succeeded in “kicking out an app” and have released their new, free Minneapolis Skyway app for iPhone (their blog; iTunes link).

I met co-founder John Haddad at the Mobile March event a couple of months ago. He said that he’d keep in touch on the apps release and, true to his word, did so today and I thought I’d write a post immediately so you all could go and download this free app.

If you’ve ever spent any time hiking through the 8+ miles of skyway in the Minneapolis system, you know how challenging it is to find your way, locate that favorite deli or coffee shop you’ve been thinking about, or are heading toward to meet a friend for lunch and if you’re like me — a guy who detests pausing for several minutes to locate my destination on a skyway directory and then orient myself in the skyway labyrinth over-n-over again — this app will be a godsend and make it significantly simpler to ensure you and I don’t get lost in the skyway system.

For retailers and merchants who struggle to get the attention of potential skyway-walking customers (and face restrictions on placing signage in the walkways) this app promises to give them a new avenue to connect with customers as well as prospective ones. This is a struggle I know all too well since a few college buddies of mine once had a video rental store on the skyway system and every day multiple people would stop in and express surprise and delight that, “Oh good! There’s a video rental store in the skyway. How long have you been here?” even though they’d been in business at that location for several years. This app holds the promise of being both a fabulous tool for people to discover merchants and retailers but will also enable those retailers and merchants to deliver specials, deals and other focused advertisements through the app….  [Read More…]

iPhone 4: Is it enough?

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Image courtesy of Apple, Inc.

As Minnesotans continue to embrace the always-on and always-connected online world — and mobile startups here continue to clock millions of app downloads with their offerings — there is no question that our ability to richly communicate with one another, be more productive, work when and where we want to, and have the world’s knowledge at our fingertips (provided our mobile carrier connection is operational!) took a big leap forward today with Apple’s introduction of iPhone 4.

Taking the stage at Apple’s Worldwide Developer’s Conference (WWDC) Monday, CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the new iPhone, a product we unfortunately had already seen in some detail due to April’s leak at tech site Gizmodo, but still eagerly anticipated.

Priced at $199 for 16GB and $299 for 32GB (same as the previous generation 3GS now priced at $99) iPhone 4’s features are impressive: a 5 megapixel camera (which Jobs pointed out was technically far superior to other smartphone manufacturers with even more megapixels); a camera in the front for videoconferencing and one in the back for photos; the rear camera lit with an LED flash; and recording software for HD video capture; and a 960 x 420 display that’s roughly twice the resolution as the 3GS model, now rendered permanently inferior to this new model with its cutting edge features.

The operating system driving this new phone, dubbed “iOS4” instead of “iPhone OS 4” since it will also be available to run the iPad come Fall, adds multitasking, clustering apps in “folders” and more. These features are key to keeping up with competitors — like that of Google’s Android operating system running devices such as the recently shipped HTC Evo 4 — but many pundits and bloggers are dissecting Jobs’ keynote and some are wondering if this new hardware and software will be enough to stave off competitors (like Google) and keep the iPhone sales momentum going? …  [Read More…]

Are you building in time for contemplation?

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One of the unfortunate byproducts of our continually accelerating internet and information age – especially now that we have a dizzying array of devices to connect and be always-on – is how challenging it is to take time away for something we all take for granted: contemplation.

Harvard Business Review (HBR) published this article about a Boston Consulting Group (BCG) survey that showed, ”people in professional services (consultants, investment bankers, accountants, lawyers, IT, and the like) simply expected to make work their top priority. They believe an “always on” ethic is essential if they and their firms are to succeed in the global marketplace.”

I feel their pain since I’m absolutely “always on” and “always connected,” often feeling guilty if I’m not working or putzing around on some project. You probably are doing this too since it’s likely you’re at home in the evening, or on weekends, preparing presentations, reading journals, checking email, and performing other tasks that are probably easier to accomplish when other workday distractions are at a minimum.

BCG also discovered in that study that, ”94% of 1,000 such professionals said they put in 50 or more hours a week, with nearly half that group turning in more than 65 hours a week. That doesn’t include the 20 to 25 hours a week most of them spend monitoring their BlackBerrys while outside the office. These individuals further say they almost always respond within an hour of receiving a message from a colleague or a client.”

Whoa. That means that these consultants are, practically speaking, always working. The problem with that sort of response time too is an growing expectation that people will be paying attention to their turned on and connected devices, able to receive a notification of a message, and are willing and eager to get back to us and BCG’s consultants were suffering from significant (and increasing) stress related to being seemingly “on call” constantly.

Is this the sort of future workplace behaviors we want for ourselves and our children in what is becoming an always connected world? …  [Read More…]

Strong Community of Innovation In Attendance at Minnebar

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Saturday saw another Minnebar come and go at the sprawling (OK, really big) Best Buy campus. Boasting over 900 who’d signed up for the event, it appeared to the Minnov8 Gang that there were roughly 500 or so people in attendance which still made it the biggest Minnebar yet and the largest Barcamp event of its kind in North America. Ben Edwards and Luke Francl continue to raise the bar (easy pun) for these events.

Founders Ben Edwards & Luke Francl address the crowd at Minnebar

It was a good thing there was plenty of room. The session list was chocked full of a diversity of topics. What struck many of the attendees, myself included, was the challenge of deciding what session to attend…I always feel like I might miss something. That, and the inability to meet more than a handful of people who’d carved out a Saturday to attend, makes Minnebar a venue that will surely continue to grow and solidify its place as the premiere event for entrepreneurs and startups in Minnesota.

Sessions were all relatively well attended and ranged in adherence to the Barcamp-unconference expectations. Some were very engaging and some were straight ahead presentations…and those “presos” resulted in a less than stellar 40 minutes of time spent. Then again, that’s the fun, and risk, of the unconference style.

Steve Borsch w/Chief Inspector Robert Stephens

Fellow Minnov8er, Steve Borsch noted of defacto host Best Buy executive Robert Stephens, Chief Inspector of the Geek Squad, as “…passionate believer in entrepreneurship and a steadfast supporter of the Minnesota startup community. It was a delight to see him totally immersed in sessions, more than willing to talk to anyone willing to engage in conversation with him, and demonstrated Best Buy’s commitment to innovation and the entrepreneurial spirit simply by acting as a catalyst for this Minnebar.”

Our own Graeme Thickins added, “We need that — more big players who get it!  It’s heartening to know that so many people at Best Buy realize that new innovation often comes from the small companies, the startup teams, the individual developers. Robert had just gotten back from the huge Google IO event in the Valley, and wanted to talk about Google TV and all that. But he was also fired up to talk about ideas and technologies going on right here. It’s impressive that he and so many others dedicated a Saturday to talk about ways we can make tech in MN stronger.”

Mykl Roventine leading his web session

For one writer to try to indicate the highlights and lowlights would be pointless. No one person could truly appreciate all of the sessions. Minnov8er  Tim Elliot points out, “As we recounted in our podcast recorded at the event, MinneBar this year was quite varied than in past years…” He goes on to note topics like, “…web innovation, design, application development or social media.” Tim also said, “Mobile technology was a theme that ran through many of the sessions with iPhone, Android and iPad applications being featured on stage and in the audience as participants tweeted the proceedings.”

The real take away is the simple fact that the Minnesota innovation community continues to grow, it continues to draw energy from itself and those involved…and there is no sign of that letting up.

Graeme summed his experience up in one tweet, “..best evah!“