Stick

Failing companies the most open to new ideas – Wes Yun, UX Design Day

Peter Kerr • Oct 15, 2013

• cloud computing,
• contract writer,
• education,
• entrepreneur,
• high tech,
• innovation,
• IT,
• Marcus Brown,
• Prototyping,
• Ruth Brown,
• Sciblogs,
• UX Design Day,
• Wesley Yun,
• writer for hire

“The most exciting places to work are those big companies that are failing. They’re most open to ideas, they have nothing to lose. They’re looking for the Hail Mary pass.” [American gridiron quarterback’s hope and a prayer hurl of the … Continue reading → … Read More

Punakaiki Fund now a solution in search of a problem?

Peter Kerr • Oct 08, 2013

• Angel investment,
• contract writer,
• entrepreneur,
• high tech,
• innovation,
• IT,
• Lance Wiggs,
• Market validation,
• private equity,
• Prototyping,
• Punakaiki Fund,
• Sciblogs,
• start-up,
• writer for hire

So, will the Punakaiki Fund get to ‘Go’? And, if so, how will it differ from the angel investment funds dotted around the country? Originally hoping to raise between $20m to $50m, when the original close date of October 2 … Continue reading → … Read More

The heart of the matter, and a matter of the heart, is design by intention

Peter Kerr • Oct 01, 2013

• cloud computing,
• contract writer,
• entrepreneur,
• innovation,
• IT,
• Sciblogs,
• user experience,
• UX Design Day,
• Wellington,
• writer for hire

Seeing as on the design side of things I’m more in the ‘I know when it works, I just don’t know how to do it properly’ camp…here’s a plug to the UX Design Day. UX stands for User Experience – … Continue reading → … Read More

Non-success gets a deserved recognition

Peter Kerr • Sep 24, 2013

• awards,
• China,
• contract writer,
• Creative HQ,
• education,
• entrepreneur,
• Lightning Lab,
• Patent,
• private equity,
• Prototyping,
• Sciblogs,
• Science policy,
• Sustainability,
• value-added food. processed food,
• Wellington

A thumbs up to Lightning Lab and Wellington’s Creative HQ for celebrating non-success. That, quite deliberately, is different from describing the five of the nine companies which went through LL’s 12 week accelerator programme as failures. Earlier in the year, … Continue reading → … Read More

Showcase site demonstrates how others can digitally engage with members

Peter Kerr • Sep 10, 2013

• cloud computing,
• contract writer,
• entrepreneur,
• Honk Marketing,
• IT,
• Jamie Houston,
• Love My Ukulele,
• Sciblogs,
• writer for hire

Jamie Houston of Honk Marketing has been using his own (sideline, but now about to turn profitable) business as a showcase of how others can use the web to improve customer interaction. This blog gives a few of the lessons … Continue reading → … Read More

Building an integrated interweb presence – easily

Peter Kerr • Sep 03, 2013

• cloud computing,
• contract writer,
• entrepreneur,
• innovation,
• IT,
• Jamie Houston,
• Love My Ukulele,
• Sciblogs,
• writer for hire

For many people (including especially myself), figuring out how to integrate all things interwebby in order to build a business is, at the very least, daunting. Think cleverly using Facebook and other social media, building a database, selectively interacting with … Continue reading → … Read More

Callaghan Innovation’s own goal?

Peter Kerr • Aug 30, 2013

• Callaghan Innovation,
• contract writer,
• Early stage science,
• high tech,
• innovation,
• MBIE,
• Sciblogs,
• science funding,
• Science policy,
• writer for hire

Let’s call it an own goal eh. How else can we describe Callaghan Innovation Research Ltd’s (CIRL), effectively the old Industrial Research as subsumed into the new-ish entity, failure to obtain millions of dollars’ worth of research funding from the … Continue reading → … Read More

Appiness is good service – Icestack launches its moonshot to America

Peter Kerr • Aug 27, 2013

• Andrew McPherson,
• cloud computing,
• contract writer,
• development,
• entrepreneur,
• Experieco,
• high tech,
• Icestack,
• innovation,
• Mobile Tech Summit,
• Sciblogs,
• start-up,
• writer for hire

Given that his presentation was to the MobileTech Summit 2013, a primary industry focused event, Andrew McPherson’s app analogy was very apt. A tractor can be likened to a mobile device, the tool that is driven off the Power Take … Continue reading → … Read More

Primary industry mobile tech forum draws the digerati

Peter Kerr • Aug 20, 2013

• cloud computing,
• contract writer,
• development,
• digerati,
• entrepreneur,
• high tech,
• innovation,
• IT,
• Market validation,
• Mobile Tech Summit,
• Processed food,
• Prototyping,
• Sciblogs,
• start-up,
• Sustainability,
• Wellington,
• writer for hire

Numbers tell a story on their own. And the fact that over 220 attendees ponyed up at the Mobile Tech Summit 2013 in Wellington on August 7 & 8 underscores the message that our natural resources aren’t as old-hat as … Continue reading → … Read More

Who is accountable for this mess?

Peter Kerr • Aug 14, 2013

• contract writer,
• Early stage science,
• high tech,
• innovation,
• Prototyping,
• Sciblogs,
• Science policy,
• writer for hire

If there was even half a thought that Callaghan Innovation’s actions had a modicum of common sense, then there would be no worry. But, as has to be the case when a year-long-in-the-making strategy is being made up on the … Continue reading → … Read More