130 assorted programmers, designers and business folk; 6 eager teams; one crazily ambitious goal.
Launch48 was back.
The goal? Launch a web startup in under 48 hours.
I attended the first Launch48 event back in February. It was great fun and a fantastic way to meet people with entrepreneurial flair. That time, the local voucher idea I pitched was [...]
I recently spent some time comparing current e-commerce platforms (a.k.a. shopping carts). It’s a complicated area, so I thought I’d share my findings here in case they can be useful to others.
These are my opinions and analysis based on my own (limited) research and experimentation and are biased towards sites targeting a UK market.
First Things [...]
Continue reading about How to Choose an E-Commerce Shopping Cart
Here’s a great slide deck from Dave McClure on startup metrics. If you’re doing a web startup, these slides are a great summary of a lot of the stuff you should be thinking about (IMHO). Check out slides 9 and 12 in particular. The appendix at the end has some further details on some of [...]
I’ve been researching some new business ideas lately and it struck me how rarely people seem to discuss quick and cheap ways of testing the critical assumptions upon which business models are based.
Often we’re keen to play with Excel, but less keen to check that the numbers we’re typing in are grounded in reality. The [...]
Making Stuff Happen in 48 Hours
The last couple of days I was involved in another “build a website in 48 hours” event. This time, it was Launch48, organised by a couple of friends of mine, Ian Broom and Adil Mohammed. Thanks to lots of great work from Ian and Adil, some generous sponsors who provided [...]
Continue reading about Launch48 – Launching a Start-up in a Weekend
This is a great slideshow (with audio) on how to use metrics to drive the development of your web app.
Designing and Optimizing the DNA of a Killer App by Dan Olsen – Startonomics
View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: software consumer)
Continue reading about How to Use Metrics to Optimize Your Way to a Killer App
This data has been out for a few months now, but for anyone whose business depends on advertising, it’s worth a second look.
It’s from the World Advertising Research Center’s Advertising Statistics Yearbook 2008.
UK Advertising Expenditure at current prices, 2007
AdvertisingMedium
Total advertising
expenditure
£ millions
Year-on-year
% change
Press
7,716
-1.6%
Television
4,671
2.3%
Internet
3,026
39.5%
Direct Mail
2,171
-6.5%
Outdoor & Transport
1,058
4.6%
Radio
534
3.4%
Cinema
207
10.1%
TOTAL
19,384
4.2%
Note: Figures are inclusive of production costs.
Given the current economic climate, [...]
photo credit: peterblaisephotography
<rant>
According to their own press release, HelloMetro has been awarded a trademark from the US patent office for use of the term ‘Hyperlocal’. In a comment on Search Engine Watch, their CEO explains that their use describes their service of “advertising/providing information on the goods and services of others that are of [...]
photo credit: wit
Here’s a nice article on selling expensive, niche software.
Continue reading about The Business of Selling Expensive, Niche Software
photo credit: mattbuck4950
Out-Law had an interesting article yesterday about how Ryanair is taking a Dutch fare comparison website to court in Ireland for screenscraping.
If I understand rightly, Ryanair’s case hinges on whether or not the terms of use of their website count as a contract; they say they do whereas the scrapers argue that [...]
Continue reading about Is Screenscraping Legal? Ryanair Versus Bravofly
