Category: Ideas

Singapore Series

Posted on by Steve Sammartino

On a recent business trip to Singapore I was surprised at how much cool stuff I saw. Not just start ups, but general marketing insight. It’s my general belief ( & many others) that globalisation has taken some of the joy away from travel. It’s harder to find new stuff, different concepts, and fresh ideas. Things just cross boundaries so much quicker now with the advent of $10 air tickets and the web.

But to my pleasure, it’s still out there if you look hard enough. So enjoy the next week’s blog entiries sub branded the “Singapore Series”.

Singapore personified!

By the way: How many brands are positively identified by their employees?

Flying under the radar

Posted on by Steve Sammartino

Flying under the radar – actually has some real meaning. It was once the optimum strategy for a spy plane to fly as high as possible. This was thought the best way to get ‘out of reach’ of enemy and radar. The U2 spy plane did this by flying above 85,000 feet. When one was shot down during the Cuban missile crisis some smart people decided to flip their thinking.

 

 

 

The solution was so obvious in hindsight. Simply fly very low where the terrain blocked radar effectiveness. Underneath the radar!

 

Maybe it’s time to flip your thinking to solve today’s business problem.

 

Technology transfer

Posted on by Steve Sammartino

Meet Trev.

 

 

Trev is small.

Trev doesn’t like going much faster than 120km per hour.

Trev only fits two people and two bags.

Trev can only travel 150km before he needs a recharge.

But Trev is efficient. He only costs 1.1cents to recharge per kilometer. Trev makes petrol look silly.

 

Here’s the thing. Trev is only possible because of advances in mobile phone battery technology. A classic case of technology transfer. The question entrepreneurs should be asking is what technology can we utilize from industries adjacent to us?

 

You can read more about it here.

Cut through v3.0

Posted on by Steve Sammartino

Driving in the city I noticed these. They caught my eye. I stopped to investigate.

 

 

 

Turns out it’s the ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image) ‘Game On’ exhibition where you can play your way through the history of arcade and video games. I’m a sucker for retro video games and so I’m on it big time.

 

I never watch free to air TV – where they’ve been advertising. Without this piece of cool outdoor, with great cut through, I’d never have known.

 

People find us in different ways. We must know how to find your our people.

The imperfect pitch

Posted on by Steve Sammartino

I was in a session with the ‘School of thinking’ founder Dr Michael Hewitt-Gleeson on Friday. (he co-founded this organization with guru Edward De Bono)

 

The session was amazing. I wrote down a particular quote which resonated with me:

 

“The perfect pitch being worked on at your desk can send you out of business. The imperfect pitch being presented to a customer can keep you in business.”

 

Get out there.

Bono says

Posted on by Steve Sammartino

Circa 1992 on MTV across 4 big, no 4 massive TV screens U2 lead singer Bono was asked what ‘Zoo TV’ was all about. His reply:

 

“It’s about the chaos of choice.” Poignant.

 

Start ups ought listen to Bono – and avoid the chaos. 

 

Bootstrappers business trip

Posted on by Steve Sammartino

I recently had to conduct some rentoid business interstate. The content of the trip is irrelevant, what’s relevant is the context. rentoid is a small startup with a long road ahead. Cashflow is important vital, so we conserve it where possible. This is what successful startups do. We know where they are on the revenue curve – and so we are frugal.

 

Flights: Cheapest tickets available with no frills budget airline.

 

Time: First flight in morning, fly back after business hours – last flight. This ensures a full day conversations and maximum value within the trip.

 

Hire Car: Smallest cheapest car available (Hyundai Getz 3 door to be precise). Low on cost, low on fuel. Only needs to fit two people and two laptops.

 

Lunch: A burger and fries at a local pub. (at least it had Sydney Harbour views!)

 

Internet access: Hunt down free wifi area and buy a $3 espresso.

 

Dinner: Airport Pizza & a soft drink.

 

Ok, it wasn’t the most glamorous business trip, but the objectives were achieved with the minimum cost, and we had fun. We’ll fly business class, or in a private jet when our business can afford it, and hence it’s deserved.

 

Start ups out there: Know where you are at. Never let ambition or ego get in front of the revenue reality.