Scanning my foot!

I don't talk a lot about projects I back on Kickstarter here. That's probably a mistake, and I should review some of the technology projects I back. Of course, my Kickstarter backer profile is much more diverse than just technology. For example, I backed Antonia Saint heels, which fall under design. However, there was a strong technological element to the project, because the shoes are supposed to be tailored to your feet, with an app being used to scan and measure your feet.

Essentially, it is a high-tech return to the days when cobblers fitted your shoe to the exact dimensions of your feet. Until I get the shoes, I won't know for sure, how good the app is but I have to admit, it was somewhat difficult to use the app. Especially the socked photo section of the app because I couldn't work out how to take the photo per the instruction. Also, they asked a few questions about my heels and ankles that I found a bit confusing to answer. But it did force me to look at my feet very closely. I never realised that my heels wore down the way they do because of the shape of my foot. I always thought I walked weird.

Overall, I am looking forward to the shoes. I just wish I could have gotten them in red instead of "nude". But you can't have everything.

My Startup Weekend Experience

Last weekend I took part in Brisbane's Startup Weekend 2017. I went in blind. Not only had I never attended a Startup Weekend before, but I also have never even heard of it and bought my tickets after only a cursory reading of the promotional page. The event came to my notice while the early bird ticket price was still active and I figured $60 was cheap enough for me just to go along and see what the weekend was about. I am very glad I did! Because the weekend was not only great fun, but I feel I learnt a lot about the whole Startup process and I feel more connected to the Brisbane startup scene.

I pitched Kids Exp - it got some votes but not enough!

The Weekend started Friday night when we got an introduction to the concept and asked to pitch ideas. The ideas had to be pre-prototype. It was okay if you had thought long and hard about them and even did some market research. But if you had a prototype or a minimum viable product that was already on the market, you couldn't pitch.

I pitched a modified version of the idea behind Route 17 as Kids Experience. My idea was that when you have kids, you don't have a lot of time or energy to research and plan activities to do with the kids. So even if you have a chunk of time to spend with the kids, you might just end up watching TV because you are too exhausted to think of something else. So why not make an app that helps you plan and execute activities to do with your kids, before your kids start thinking you are uncool very quickly, even if you are Batman! 

The latter was a bit of an inside joke for anyone reading the current crop of DC comics. But in retrospect, it was too much of an inside joke. Also in retrospect, the name was not great. There were something like 30 to 40 pitches, you needed something that rolled off the tongue or some other way to be memorable. If I attend another weekend and pitch again, I'll definitely pitch both an easier concept to transmit in the short time with a memorable name that sticks with you.

I still could have tried to recruit people to my idea, but I opted to join another team. One of the other ideas that struck me as good and practical was the concept of renting out your home office space. Sort of like an Airbnb for home offices. So I ended up joining Shared Space! The name was supposed to be a placeholder, but we never ended up finding another name that we liked more. So Shared Space stuck around.

Shared Space team with our first space sharer!

Shared Space Front Page

Over the weekend we first put together a Google form survey to gauge if there was a market for the idea. It turns out there was a niche for people who did experience the loneliness and isolation of working from home but were too far away from formal co-working spaces like the ones I covered in the previous post. A lot of people, it seems would appreciate a cheaper and more local option. Also, there are people who live too far from all available co-working spaces.

It was less about renting a space, and more about forming a community that would help lessen the feeling of isolation and might also help maintain focus, increasing accountability etc. However, for some people, it was about the space because either their home offices lacked amenities such as air conditioning or they just needed to go somewhere else from time to time.

Shared Space Team Making Final Pitch

I think we did good work and made a great final pitch to the judges. But we didn't place. I suspect we should have spent more time developing our business plan and also putting in some more features that helped to differentiate us from existing competitors in the space. Still, I think the idea has legs, and my team might go ahead with the concept. The lady who originally pitched the concept is sleeping on it and will decide to proceed or not soon.

For my part, I am going ahead exploring collaboration opportunities with people I met over the weekend. I had a meeting lined-up on Wednesday, but it fell through. But I have another meeting scheduled for Friday. Let's hope that goes well and I get some great collaborations coming out of the weekend.

Introduction to Bitcoins

I put this together for a client of mine to give him a basic introduction to Bitcoins. Since it was not published anywhere else, I thought I would post it here for all those who are interested!

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On the Island of Yap, giant limestones roughly in the shape of doughnuts served as a form of currency. How could giant doughnut-shaped limestones be money? For one, the Island does not have any limestone quarries. So all the stones have to be quarried from elsewhere and transported to the island. As a result, the limestone doughnuts of Yap are rare, difficult to obtain and therefore, suitable placeholders for value. Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies are similar to the limestones of Yap.

Cryptocurrencies are something that can only exist because of the internet. Bitcoins are the fully digital currency for an age when many of us conduct the majority of our financial transaction completely digitally. They are a decentralised currency, generated by solving complex math problems. The nature of the maths places a hard cap on any given cryptocurrency. The action of solving mathematical problems to generate bitcoins is commonly known as “bitcoin mining”. The mining process is computationally expensive and requires significant investment in both computer hardware and ongoing electricity costs. Significantly, the “Bitcoin mine” is set to run out by 2140.

The decentralised nature of bitcoins means that every Bitcoin miner maintains their ledger of every bitcoin transaction ever. This distributed ledger system also acts as a check against fraud and ultimately, trust in this distributed ledger system is what has allowed Bitcoins to rise in value from a few cents to $5755 per bitcoin.

The major appeal of bitcoins come from its completely digital nature. Also, it is “statelessness”. With public trust in government at a low point, national currencies are often seen as too volatile and not offering a good enough return on investment. Also, the statelessness of cryptocurrencies holds their special appeal for those who believe the digital world should be borderless. All of these factors have led to the increased desirability of bitcoins. Indeed, the desirability of bitcoins has resulted in many Australians choosing to invest in the coins as part of superannuation strategies.

Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies are very much a product of our times. At the same time, they are an echo of what currencies have always been. Rare items to which people and societies are willing to assign value.

React Native

It's almost time for the monthly meet-up of the Women Who Code group. Last month was all about React Native. I enjoyed the intro and I am looking forward to this month's topic of "Hacking your career: tips and tricks for the job market".

Tea Tracker First Ad Campaign: Results and Lessons Learnt

I was waiting for waiting to implement a few more features before launch the first advertising campaign for the Tea Tracker. However, fellow attendees of the App Marketing Meetup pointed out to me that with 352 million mobiles running Android. I shouldn't worry too much about making a bad first impression. So I went ahead and created a Facebook Ad campaign for the Tea Tracker. Also, a Facebook page to complement the Ad campaign.

For the Ad, I had it run for about three weeks last month. I set a lifetime budget of $200. I narrowed down the demographics to people who were interested in tea. I also filtered for people in countries known for heavy tea consumption. According to Facebook, the ad reached 474,423 people. Not bad for $200 but what about the return on investment?

The return wasn't great, but that is understandable given that the Tea Tracker is a very specialised app. I did increase my lifetime downloads by 120 people. But did not retain most of them. But that's understandable because, again, this is a specialised app for the niche market of boutique tea drinkers. But I am glad I tried running a Facebook Ad campaign. It'll be useful experience for when I do have an app with a wider potential audience.

The biggest outcome from the Ad campaign was the creation of the Tea Tracker App Facebook page because I did get likes to the page. It's only 25 people but there is potential for the page to grow, but only if I provide worthwhile content. To that end, I am writing reviews of the teas I drink. Publishing them on Medium and cross-posting them on Facebook. I have two reviews up already and hope to review a new tea each week. Who knows, the reviews might lead to more downloads and engagement for the Tea Tracker!