Time to Focus

As with most Generation Y’s, I have experienced consistent distraction in the form of digital connectivity. Whether it is a smartphone, tablet, laptop or other internet-connected device, we are always relying on these products to deliver and send information. This phenomenon has to be inhibited, and the MyFocus Kickstarter campaign may do the trick.

            The MyFocus is a one-click button that connects directly to your digital devices. With a simplistic red light / green light interface, it allows you to literally “turn-off” and focus on the task at hand. Forget texting while skyping, forget typing while talking. I even need this product to finish this blog post in time.

            Kickstarter has been utilizing digital marketing in a big way. The virality of projects like the MyFocus have allowed Kickstarter to become a marketing vehicle as much as a crowdfunding platform. I look forward to seeing how the JOBS act and other steps towards digital advertising of fund raising will help shape projects like the MyFocus.  

What the JOBS Act means for aspiring entrepreneurs

           The highly anticipated JOBS Act takes effect on Monday, and represents arguably the first major formal commitment to startup funding by lawmakers in the US. The Jumpstart Our Jobs Act focuses on eliminating the 80-year ban on solicitation of accredited investors. In layman’s terms, start-ups are now allowed to market themselves to investors in a public forum. This may sound like a minor improvement in an already highly saturated and growing market, but it has opened significantly valuable channels to companies down the long tail.

            Prior to the JOBS Act, crowdfunding was essentially the only form of public solicitation of investors. Sites like Kickstarter blazed a trail that led to the inevitable need for lower barriers to entry for entrepreneurial ventures. Now, companies can seek out investors by any means necessary (within boundaries) including physical advertisements and digital marketing. The question is, how does this change the focus and priorities of up-and-coming companies?

            Start-ups will now need to focus their efforts not only on IP, but also on scale and reach. Not to say that they shouldn’t be already, but awareness and positioning have now become a crucial factor in pre-revenue status. Social, search and display advertising will now have a dual-role, to focus both on acquiring customers and attracting investors. I am curious to see how these organizations walk the line between the two segments.

            This act will also catalyze a series of digital marketing firms to specialize in attracting investors. These firms will conduct research and analyze data to outperform their competition on metrics such as total dollars raised. Adding these components to the digital marketing portfolio is a double-edged sword. Only time will tell if this becomes a valuable channel for digital marketers.

http://mashable.com/2013/09/19/need-to-know-jobs-act/

Crowds & Barter

Kiva's Flamingo Group

So, a lot of different forms of crowdfunding sites have been appearing all over the board recently. Some sites, such as Kiva.org, do microfunding for developing countries, while others such as Kickstarter.com bring crowds together in financing art, film, inventions and all sorts of projects. People interested in supporting a project may receive a certificate, print, tickets, or other related rewards for their cash.

But can this keep going in terms of barter trade? Increasingly, the crowds participating in this venture capital model may want both to monetize these issuances and investors will demand their invested equity come back in cash flows rather than signed photographs.

But this is a cloud far from SEC regulation. What kind of legal framework would be needed to ensure that these trade systems are both efficient sources of funding and profitable and (risk-adjusted) safe investments? New equity and debt issuance instruments may need be developed.

And, what does this mean for new start-ups? Well, that at the same time that any kind of job can be outsourced, funding options for projects are opening up from all over.