Thoughts on technology start-ups in Scotland
January 21, 2013 Leave a comment
Various people have asked me how I’ve got on switching to 4G on my phone, so I thought I’d share my thoughts…
Overall verdict? Even though my new 3G handset was much faster than the old one, I have found EE 4G service to be excellent. Take it if you can get a good deal, only pay list price if you really need it!
November 22, 2012 Leave a comment
I am very pleased to be able to announce that in collaboration with MBM Commercial and Chiene+Tait Chartered Accountants, Salient Point is launching its first eBook:
An entrepreneur’s guide to rewarding staff and paying for services with equity
For a long time I have found it difficult to pull together information on how startups can use equity effectively, as much of the information online is confusing and highly technical. Dug Campbell, David Collier and I have invested time worth thousands of pounds in preparing this guide, and now we are offering it to the startup community for FREE because we believe this information should be easily available to founders and their advisers.
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October 18, 2012 Leave a comment
I am very pleased to be able to announce that in collaboration with MBM Commercial and Chiene+Tait Chartered Accountants, Salient Point will shortly be launching its first eBook:
An entrepreneur’s guide to rewarding staff and paying for services with equity
For a long time I have found it difficult to pull together information on how startups can use equity effectively, as much of the information online is confusing and highly technical. Dug Campbell (MBM), David Collier (Chiene+Tait) and I have invested time worth thousands of pounds in preparing this guide, and now we are offering it to the startup community because we believe this information should be easily available to founders and their advisers.
NOTE the event we had planned to launch at has been postponed – new details below:
The launch will take place at the Tech Law for Startups event Don’t be Haunted by Startup Howlers in Edinburgh on 22nd November. Come along for an evening of great advice and networking, and to get a FREE copy of this valuable guide!
October 3, 2012 Leave a comment
I recently stumbled across the CopyHackers site, which is focussed on helping people to write better quality copy for websites and other promotional materials. A lot of their recommendations are really about the mindset of the copywriter, and most of the content is relevant to any form of communications with customers or investors.
They have some great free cheat sheets and I’m enjoying their e-mail newsletter which is filled with tips (sign up at the top of their page).
If you ever write anything to communicate your idea or product to others, take a look!
(I have no affiliation with these guys – I just like their content and their business model seems like an interesting new way of selling copywriting expertise!)
August 30, 2012 Leave a comment
A wee while back I posted a link to ScreenLeap, a free screen sharing tool useful for web presentations. Recently I’ve been introduced to join.me, which goes one further and allows remote control of machines. This is an absolutely brilliant facility for anyone trying to offer customer support.
To share a screen get the person whose screen is to be shared (or machine controlled) to go to join.me and select the “basic” option in the left panel, then click the orange play button. After the usual faffing to download a java app into the browser (which may include security confirmations) they will get a little widget at the top of their screen showing a link to share, along with a 9 digit code.
There is a mouse icon on the widget which allows them to share control as well.
To join a shared screen, ask the sharer for their 9-digit code and enter it in the box on the right panel at join.me.
There is also a pro version (with a free trial) which includes additional features like integrated audio, customised urls for sessions etc. I haven’t tried this but at $19/month this might be worth checking out if you plan to do a lot of web meetings.
February 11, 2012 1 Comment
I came across a new free site which provides basic screen sharing. It’s much cheaper and easier to use than WebEx, although it is a fairly basic tool at the moment. However, if you want to present or demonstrate remotely it seems to be up to the job. Check it out at http://www.screenleap.com/.
The one caveat I should state is that it’s not completely secure (as in principle someone could “guess” a meeting number) but I don’t think it’s any worse than WebEx in that respect, and it’s a lot simpler to use.
August 16, 2011 Leave a comment
How clearly do you get your message across?
Entrepreneurs constantly have to present their ideas to others in order to build relationships with customers and investors. Using the question “Who cares?” can improve the effectiveness of communication, making it easier to find customers and investors and so to build a successful business.
March 12, 2011 2 Comments
Yesterday I gave a talk in the business school at the University of Edinburgh, about my experiences of innovation in high-tech companies. For a while I’ve been hearing about a new presentation tool called Prezi, and this seemed like a great opportunity to try it out…
