IPitch Articles Archive
Good Trade Mark Practice for Startups
By Guest Author on Monday, February 27th, 2012
Good Trade Mark Practice, a.k.a., The “Golden Rules” of IP Protection
The following list was written by Gareth Dixon of Shelston IP. Shelston IP is iPitch’s Legal and Intellectual Property Partner.
To protect your creative endeavours and maximise their commercial value, a few simple rules must be observed (Please Note: This list is not exhaustive and should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional advice).
Cloud Computing Explained
By Content Manager on Tuesday, February 14th, 2012
The “Golden Rules” of IP Protection
By Guest Author on Wednesday, February 8th, 2012
Good Patent Practice, a.k.a., The “Golden Rules” of IP Protection
The following list was written by Gareth Dixon of Shelston IP. Shelston IP is iPitch’s Legal and Intellectual Property Partner.
To protect your creative endeavours and maximise their commercial value, a few simple rules must be observed (Please Note: This list is not exhaustive and should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional advice).
12 Ways To Be A Better Entrepreneur in 2012
By Guest Author on Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012
Written by Irina Belsky
It’s that resolution making time again and everyone can benefit from this seemingly tedious activity, even such unconventional people as entrepreneurs.
So here is a list of tips to make your 2012 even more unconventional, productive and educational.
How To Get Media Coverage For Your Startup
By Guest Author on Tuesday, December 27th, 2011
Written By Irina Belsky
You’d be surprised how many startups are clueless about talking to the media. Especially when media coverage can lead a startup from obscurity into the light of day. That’s why Media Relations 101 for Startups (MR 101) was a much needed event for the startup community. The focus of the event was to provide entrepreneurs with enough media knowledge to get press coverage of their startup. MR 101, which was organised by Pushstart and hosted by Ninefold, included a panel of industry professionals who spoke about practical ways to get media coverage for startups.
If you are interested in learning more about talking to the media, please read the article below for a complete summary of the content.
Topics
- Contacting the media
- Getting the media to want your story
- Building relationships with representatives of media
- Making your business website media friendly
Five Strategies to Find the Right Tech Co-founder
By Guest Author on Tuesday, December 13th, 2011
Written by Irina Belsky
There’s nothing more frustrating than having an amazing idea and no way to bring it to life. This is the predicament many non technical entrepreneurs face after the first high of inspiration fades away. The truth is, many entrepreneurs don’t have the technical skills to build the website, app or functionalities to turn their idea into a business. In the tech startup space, a tech co-founder is really like the engine of a car - a crucial necessity.
So how do entrepreneurs with little money or resources find the right technical co-founder?
Who is the right co-founder?
Non negotiables
Dedication and Trust: The right co-founder has to believe in your idea. Enough to want to work on it. Not enough to want to take it away from you. In other words they have to trust you. They have to know that you can take the idea and make it into a successful business and that no one else (including them) can do it better.
Co-founder ‘chemistry’: You should get along with your co-founder. During the early startup stage you can’t afford to bicker over small things or tip toe around each other, especially if you have other work commitments. Most startups require a lot of collaborative work and you should always keep that in mind when you’re deciding whether somebody is the right match for you and your idea.
Startup Profile: RecruitLoop
By Guest Author on Tuesday, December 6th, 2011
Written by Irina Belsky
Sydney based startup RecruitLoop aims to provide businesses with a new recruitment solution.
The online recruitment platform lets small and medium businesses hire recruiters based on their experience and charge them by the hour, instead of a commission based rate.
The service, which operates out of Fishburners, launched three months ago and was founded by Garry Visontay, Denis Zubkov and Michael Overell.
iPitch spoke to co-founder Michael Overell about what sets RecruitLoop apart and his role in the startup’s development.
IRL Gaming: Location Based Gaming Startup
By Guest Author on Monday, November 28th, 2011
Written by Irina Belsky
Background
IRL Gaming is a tech start-up focused on building engaging location based, social games for mobile and web enabled devices. It is part of the first wave of tech start-ups funded by Startmate seed fund which launched in Sydney early this year.
The first location based game to come out of IRL Gaming is called Zombie Hood, which is fusion of Mafia Wars and Foursquare. The location based battle game allows players to scavenge venues for loot, fight zombies and form teams with other players to help them reclaim their neighbourhood.
iPitch caught up with Henry Cho, one of the four founders of IRL Gaming, to hear about the progress the startup has made from its inception twelve months ago to where it is now.
The idea
Henry says that it was foursquare fatigue that lead the four founders to begin working on their idea. “Basically we were all foursquare users and we were getting pretty bored with that. We didn’t really feel that it was going anywhere.”As a result they decided to use the concept of foursquare to provide users with a more interactive and engaging experience.
Startmate
The founders went through Startmate program while they were sketching out their idea. Henry comments that traveling to the Silicon Valley as part of the program provided them with the most opportunity. “When you go to the Valley there’s a whole different world there, there is a lot of investment going on.” he says. The trip gave the team exposure to “a lot of interested people” and allowed them to pitch their idea to angel investors in the area as well as to startup accelerator 500 startups .
Early challenges
Like many startups, keeping the momentum of the project going amongst other work commitments was difficult, but Henry comments adamantly, “You just have to deal with it, you just have to decide that you want to keep going”.
Looking back at their Silicon Valley experience he reflects “when we went to the Valley the first time we didn’t really have any traction. It was our first proof of concept and I think people were a bit hesitant at that stage”.
During the time, IRL Gaming was in its pre-beta stage and there was no traction to demonstrate to the investors; however the startup is in a very different position now.
Current stage
The first game to come out of IRL Gaming is Zombie Hood - a location based game that allows players to fight zombies in their neighbourhood. The founders have been working on improving the game and are about to release a new version.
“We just passed the 10 000 user mark and we’re just about to release the new release, so we’ll expect a much higher retention of users and much higher rate of recommendation based growth” the co-founder explains.
Business model
The business model used by IRL Gaming has also undergone a transformation. There are in fact several revenue streams which include internet purchases, promotions and digitalisation.
Internet purchases: Players are able to purchase items to allow them to continue playing the game. “You can purchase additional weapons and additional stamina”, says Henry. “The research we did on gaming showed that the whole gaming market is moving now, so this is one way to avoid piracy and you can still convert players to paying customers.”
Promotions through virtual branded goods: In addition to internet purchases users will be able to buy virtual goods associated with a brand, such as branded energy drinks.
Digitalisation: Users will be able to buy real goods like drinks, scan them into the game and use them. “We’ve taken the concept of branded goods further and said that not only can you place a branded good into the game, you can take a real good and put it into the game for a benefit.”
At the moment the game is “getting a steady revenue from internet purchases” while the promotions won’t be rolled out until there is a bigger user base.
Marketing
The marketing strategy of the startup depends on finding the right product market fit, according to Henry. “At this stage we’re really in the product market fit stage. That means making sure that the users that we do have are using the game the way we want them to use it. When we know we’ve got the right thing, then we can pour fuel on the fire in terms of marketing and advertising spend.”
User experience
In order to make sure users are using the game in the right way, the founders have been analysing the way people interact with it. Henry’s background is rooted in user experience and he explains that the effectiveness of the process relies on “being able to research people’s needs and intentions and interpret them”.
The founders look at “how long people use it for, what actions they are doing in the game, what actions they take before buying something” to establish gaming patterns and habits. Alternatively they also look for problematic areas to make functionalities more clear. “We keep going around that loop.”
Goals
The founders aim to get the next release out before Christmas and to bump up their user base to 50 000 users by their next trip to the Silicon Valley in March of next year. Now that the game has user traction the entrepreneurs plan to pitch it to investors in the US again. “So the idea is to launch and refine and keep on doing that pattern” concludes Henry.
Entrepreneur Learnings
The pitch
The startup’s pitch in the US received an overwhelmingly positive feedback from 500 startups and we asked Henry to explain how it was structured.
Henry: “We did the pitch using prezi motion and graphics presentation tool. We also had all four of us on stage presenting, so it was quite dynamic, quite theatrical and pretty quickly paced. We really took them on our journey and the basis of our pitch was to show everyone that we have pace and momentum and to get them caught up in the idea.
If you’d like to see the pitch you can find the video here.
Advice for entrepreneurs
“You’ve really got to believe in your idea and assemble a team that really believes in it because you’re going to go through tough times and your team is crucial. And you’ll hear a lot of the mentors say that what helps investors pick is looking at the idea, the size of the market and the team, how well do they get on”.
Signing off
IRL Gaming has come a long way, proving that passion and people are what drives your idea forward.
We will certainly be watching out for future developments with anticipation.
50 For The Future Advance Innovation Program launches in Melbourne and Sydney
By Guest Author on Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011
Written by Irina Belsky
The Program
Innovative Australian entrepreneurs have a new opportunity to showcase their startups in the international arena, thanks to 50 For The Future.
The Program, which launched in November gives startups the opportunity to have access to eight mentoring sessions with US-based mentors and attend the 50 for the Future Summit in Silicon Valley in May 2012.
The combined initiative from Advance.org (a leading global network of Australians abroad) and the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, focuses on startups that intend to establish an international presence and connects them to an international entrepreneurial network.
The Australian launch events for 50 For The Future took place in Sydney and Melbourne last week and it is from these events that participants for the program will be chosen.
Business Incubators for Startups
By Guest Author on Monday, November 14th, 2011
Written by Irina Belsky
No matter how amazing your business idea is, it will fail unless you get the necessary knowledge and support to grow it.
This is something that many startup entrepreneurs struggle with, especially if they are not in touch with the entrepreneur scene, don’t come from a business background and don’t have mentors to guide them.
People are your best resource and one of the best ways to gain access to this resource (apart from networking) is to become part of a business incubator.
