Latest Podcast



Featured Articles

Friday, March 22, 2013

The secret to starting a successful mobile-related business

Mark Bridge writes:

What’s the secret to starting a successful mobile-related business?

It turns out there’s no magic answer… but there’s plenty of useful advice worth listening to. There are also plenty of opportunities to get funding, whether in the form of a loan, a grant or an investment.

At the Mobile Monday London meeting this month, John Spindler of Capital Enterprise talked about the finance options available and later chaired a panel discussion that took a closer look at some of the challenges.

Afterwards, I asked John why starting a business involved in mobile technology was different from other start-ups.

“I think there are three things that mobile’s doing. One is - it’s a cliché but it’s true - it’s a disruptive technology. When you’re starting a business you need fissures to occur in the ground so new businesses can compete with those megalithic businesses that dominate. Disruptive technology puts them at a bigger disadvantage than a start-up. A start-up can innovate quicker, can do things which break business models that a big business can’t do. Big businesses are just focussed on paying the overheads, making money, looking after shareholders and not focussed on ‘how do I innovate, make a service better, help customers to achieve more’. I think investors like it because you can start small and scale quickly, you don’t need millions of pounds. And thirdly it’s important because it’s a talent-based industry. Lots of industries are asset-based; to be an oil prospector I need millions!  To be a mobile business I just need good brains, a good team, some contacts and some time.”

What are the attributes of a successful mobile start-up business?

“To be that disruptive game-changing business, the most important thing is you need to be solving a big problem for a big set of customers. People need to really care about what you’re doing because then they will search for it and they will try it. Secondly, you need to have a really good team. You need that hipster, hacker, hustler in the team. Someone has to be incredibly passionate to get their business off the ground. Thirdly, in the UK, you need at least prove some of the business model: how you’re going to make money. At least on a small scale - that if you made money here, if you had more funds, you could make it even bigger. And the fourth thing is to understand what you’re going to offer investors, why they should come down this journey with you.”

John’s presentation included a broad and detailed list of resources for mobile start-up businesses. I asked him to summarise the best place to begin and he gave me three recommendations:

John’s presentation was followed by a panel discussion with contributions from Alistair Hill, Nic Brisbourne, Sitar Teli, Michel Sabatier and Inmaculada Martinez. You can listen to their conversation via iTunes, from our RSS feed, by downloading the mp3 file or via our website audio player.

Print
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Rate this article:
5.0

Categories: Applications, OpinionNumber of views: 11386

Tags: uk opinion mobile monday

Leave a comment

This form collects your name, email, IP address and content so that we can keep track of the comments placed on the website. For more info check our Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use where you will get more info on where, how and why we store your data.
Add comment

Opinion Articles

How AI technology is transforming the smartphone experience

How AI technology is transforming the smartphone experience

From improved performance to personalized recommendations, AI is enhancing the functionality and usability of smartphones for users

By incorporating advanced algorithms and machine learning capabilities, AI can help to optimize a smartphone's performance, providing users with a faster, more efficient and user-friendly experience.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
Whatever happened to all my tech?

Whatever happened to all my tech?

Mark Bridge revisits his mobile technology reviews

Mark Bridge writes:

I've been taking a look back at the devices I've written about during the past few years. Some are still faithful companions, others... well, let's just say my faith was misplaced.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Predictions for 2016: Network Function Virtualisation, 4G throttling and video calling

Mark Windle, head of marketing at OpenCloud, predicts that this year’s reduction in the number of traditional telecoms operators in some countries will provide an opportunity for other operators to innovate and capture market share in 2016.

He says next year will be a year of rapid change for telecoms… whether it’s MVNO disruption, competitive tariff pricing or simply defence from the ‘dark art’ of hacking.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
Kapture review: the audio-recording wristband

Kapture review: the audio-recording wristband

A 'recording watch' that links to your smartphone

Mark Bridge writes:

The most memorable moments in life often go unrecorded. You don't have your camera in your hands. Your finger is still hovering over the 'pause' button on your audio recorder. Or you were simply too busy experiencing whatever was happening. It's all about the one that got away.

That's where Kapture can help.

Author: The Fonecast
4 Comments
Article rating: 4.0
Making mobile websites work better

Making mobile websites work better

Device detection and responsive design explained

Mark Bridge writes:

James Rosewell shows me a colourful roll of paper that's the width of an iPhone but well over three metres long. When I look closer, I can see it's a printed copy of the Wall Street Journal's mobile website. That's a lot of scrolling to do... and a pretty unfriendly user experience for anyone reading the news online. Why does it work so badly?

Author: The Fonecast
1 Comments
Article rating: 4.0
RSS
12345678910Last

Recent Podcasts

From CES to customer service, we talk about all the latest mobile tech news

Podcast - 8th January 2014

Iain Graham, James Rosewell and Mark Bridge return with their first mobile industry podcast of 2014.

This week they're looking at new Samsung, Sony and ZTE products from CES, they're talking about Android embedded in cars, they're catching up with the latest news from BlackBerry, they're discussing cheque payments by smartphone, they're revealing complaint data from Ofcom and they're investigating quite a few other stories as well.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

We make our mobile industry predictions for 2014 and review our end-of-year forecasts from 2013

Podcast - 18th December 2013

It's our last podcast of the year, which is the traditional time for us to predict what'll be happening in the mobile phone industry during the next 12 months... from forthcoming consumer technology to deals between network operators.

As well as making our 2014 predictions, we'll also be reviewing those we made last year and discovering how accurate our forecasts for 2013 really were.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Bill shock, cheaper roaming, court injunctions, satellites, shopping and loads more mobile industry news

Podcast - 11th December 2013

This week we're talking about a UK government deal to prevent bill shock, good news for some UK consumers visiting the USA, a court threat to HTC sales, new high-speed satellite broadband, mobile search, mobile shopping and much more.

Join Iain Graham, James Rosewell and Mark Bridge for an informed and entertaining look at all the major mobile industry news stories from the past seven days.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Sailfish smartphones, shopping, security, spectrum shortages and several supplementary stories

Podcast - 4th December 2013

It's been a week of diverse mobile headlines in which Jolla started selling its Sailfish smartphone, mobile shopping broke records and BlackBerry's CEO looked to the future.

We're also talking about smartphones for seniors, battery life, a looming spectrum shortage, phone theft and Sony's Smart Wig. Something for everyone, surely!

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

We interview James Atkins of UK-based smartphone manufacturer Kazam

Podcast - 29th November 2013

In today's programme we're talking to James Atkins, co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer of smartphone manufacturer Kazam.

The company launched earlier this year and has just announced its first seven Android-based handsets. James explains the story behind Kazam's creation, the company ethos, its product range and its plans for the future.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
RSS
First910111214161718Last

Follow thefonecast.com

Twitter @TheFonecast RSS podcast feed
Find us on Facebook Subscribe free via iTunes

Archive Calendar

«June 2024»
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
272829303112
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930
1234567

Archive

Terms Of Use | Privacy Statement