Match your Toyota Car with a. . .Toyota Home?!?

That's right, Toyota makes prefabricated homes. They're on track to manufacture 5,000 homes this year growing to 7,000 homes in the next couple years. Not bad, considering the average price is $227,000. Do the basic math, and that's a $1.1 billion business!! Not bad! The article, found in the Detroit News, states that a typical home can be assembled by cranes and a roof placed on top in less than 6 hours!! Not too shabby. Just if I could start importing these bad boys.

Check out these images courtesy of The Seattle Times article:

Seth Godin, Creative Funding

Check out this post from Seth Godin, suggesting a creative, and good, way to fund a new project within a business. It's not totally clear how this funding solution would work in a true start-up that has yet to produce anything (other than the funding received would be exclusively for the original product, and not spinoffs therefrom). Traditional VC or angel terms can be, as Connect magazine warned, stifling to management attaining true greatness with the organization. As such, funding the project, instead of giving up the whole company may make sense.

Check it out: Seth Godin's Blog

BYU Business students win at the Utah Entrepreneur Challenge

Well, here's another article regarding our big, 1st place finish at the Utah Entrepreneur Challenge. Get ready for "Mountain Life Comfort".

Link to article: BYU students win at UEC

WE WON!! WE WON!!

First, we were announced as finalists in the Utah Entrepreneur Challenge, or UEC. Then, we prepared our pitch, presented to the judges approximately two weeks ago. And, what happens?!?

First, we arrived, rather belatedly, to the Awards Banquet which was held on Thursday, April 27. And, when I say belatedly, I mean 40 minutes late. You know, my mom purchased this book for me titled "Never Be Late Again" and, you'd think after having read half of the book, I would begin to implement some of the techniques and principles from it. The only reason I haven't completed the book is because I figured I would be better off stopping where I was and trying to implement some of the techniques, rather than read the whole thing, with some unreasonable hope that I'd actually remember everything I'd read. But, I digress. . .

So, we show up at the banquet/mixer, and begin chatting with the big shots. We're talking the movers and shakers of Utah. The investment community of Utah is growing, and maturing into a much better environment to raise capital. So, we're networking the floor, trying to become further acquainted with all the folk. Dinner is served, which was very underwhelming. Nothing like cold Beef and tasteless mushroom sauce drizzled over the top. We were hoping our Advisor, John Knab of Phonex Broadband, who has rendered incredible support and feedback thus far, was going to make it. But, alas, he had family duties to attend to.

So, we're sitting at the table, getting progressively more nervous as they prolonged the announcement of the winners by recognizing all the sponsors, supporters of the program, etc. At last, 35 minutes after the planned announcement, they bust out the top three winners. And, the third place winner was Precision Surveying Solutions. A great company with a very promising technology for surveyors. The second place winner, Five Star Painting, a franchising concept. And. . . . .

At this point, I was nervous but, as a team, we were confident as we felt our presentation was solid. And the Grand Prize winner of the 2006 UEC Challenge is. . . Core Footwear^TM!!

Needless to say, we were pretty excited with this result. Not only does this award validate the direction we are headed, but we feel it's a reflection of the solid team we have assembled. Keep posted, as we continue to develop Core Footwear^TM and bring our patent-pending technology to market. Soon, you will be able to learn more at CoreFootwear.com.

We just want to thank all our mentors, advisors, and those who have rendered incredible support in helping us get this far. We would like to especially thank John Knab for his amazing insight and feedback. Truly, without him, we would not have gotten this far.

Amazon.com: JL421 Badonkadonk Land Cruiser/Tank: Everything Else

Are you ready for your personal tank?!? Get it now at Amazon.com. Do people really buy this stuff? Come on, it has a 6 hp Tecumseh engine, claiming 40 mph top speed, with up to 5 passengers. Yeah right!!!

.:Design for Africa:.

I just stumbled upon this project, and find it incredibly inspiring. Design for Africa is a project by two recent Design graduates, one from Germany, the other from Sweden, who are on a quest to leverage design principles to improve the lives of impoverished people. After almost 2 years of preparation and fundraising, they are finally on their way. Their goal is to meet with local communities, villages, governments, etc, to identify ways where design can improve the lives of the people. Traditionally, design is expensive, and therefore inaccessible, to poorer people. But, Design For Africa has a goal to find ways to solve problems with cost effective solutions. It will be interesting to see what they come up with; but, check out the site, and read their Diary.

CouchSurfing - The world is smaller than you think!

Are you ready to get your travel on?? Check out Couchsurfing.com. This is one of the coolest websites of which I'm a member. Basically, it's a networking site for all you frugal travellers that love to meat new people in new places. You go on couch surfing, and you can find other people that have a spare couch, floor, room, bed, or otherwise virtually anywhere around the world. So, say you are travelling to New York and want to stay somewhere. Well, go to couchsurfing.com, do a search, and find someone with a spare couch. Then, you get to crash at their place and get to know some locals in the whole process. I've already hosted a few different people and have had a positive experience. So, check it out:

CouchSurfing - The world is smaller than you think!

State of the Union Address 2006, the Best Yet!!

This is perhaps the best parody on Bush yet!! As the good man says himself, "For those of you who say we don't need the patriot act, I say, I have to question your patronism". Or, better yet, Bush lets us know that he "won't put all his eggs in one biscuit."

OK, these are just a couple teasers, so do yourself a favor and click on the link to view the video for yourself. I don't want to spoil it for you.

Come on, click the link.

Why? "Because our children must be literized".



WARNING: Do not watch this video with food, fluid, or anything else in your mouth, unless you want to shower your computer screen with masticated food.

The REDNECK ROLLERCOASTER is Hilarious!!

I can't explain it, but you need to watch this. I couldn't help but laugh like a litte kid. I wish I had this when was a kid. Then again, if I had it, I probably wouldn't be alive today to write this.







Click here: REDNECK ROLLERCOASTER

Those Russkies

This guy is the Russian Jackie Chan!!! Fo, real!



Click this link to watch the vid: RUSSIAN CLIMBING

Watch out, it's a TREEEEEEEE!!!

This is funny. But, kinda reminds me of my crazy escapades, including the time I rolled my old Subaru Legacy Wagon in the beautiful National Forests of Colorado. Watch, and laugh: Truck Crash - Google Video

CAR DESTRUCTION - PT CRUISER

Want to see a crazy nut!? This guy is outta control. For one reason or another, he's pissed off at the world. So much so, that he runs over to a car at a stop light and starts destroying it. Pretty out of control. Check it out: YouTube - CAR DESTRUCTION - PT CRUISER

BuriedCar.com

Wanna get a 1957 Plymouth Belvedere Coupe, virtually brand new, never seen the light of day since 1957? If so, go to BuriedCar.com to learn more. Tulsa Oklahoma buried a car back in 1957 in a Time Capsule, along with other memorabilia, pictures, etc. But, one thing they buried with the car is a 5 gallons of gas. Now, this car was buried in a concrete time capsule. It will be unearthed in 2007. So, it's been officially marinating in the fumes of gas for 48 years, and will continue for two more before being released. As much as I'd like the car, could the paint, let alone everything else on the car, have held up to those fumes???




As a note, the reason they buried fuel was in case the internal combustion engine was no longer existant in 2007, the day to exhume the car.

Win the Boston Marathon in Spira Shoes, get $1 Million

Spira Footwear, a company in Texas, is offering $1 million to the person that can win the upcoming Boston Marathon in their shoes. Why? Well, first, because they are a small company and this is a great marketing gimmick to garner eyeballs to their website, technology, and product offering. But, another reason is to persuade the sanctioning Track & Field Governing Body to relinquish an "antiquated" rule stating that springs in shoes are not allowed in competition. Spira Footwear was launched by two brothers about 5 years ago. Their technology consists of literally a metal spring in the heel and forefoot. No, these aren't those funky Z-Coils you may have seen. These springs are a lot lower profile. It's pretty cool technology. And, in independent tests, their shoes have produced impressive results. The results were so good that they claim that, at times, the springs may return over 90% of energy.

Compared to a few years ago, their product design has come a long way. Their original design was for a walking shoe, and it was horrendously ugly. Granted, most walking shoes are very geezer like. I hope this company does well, as I'm in the process, myself, of developing a footwear technology. And, on that note, look for an upcoming blog that will track my progress through the patent, sourcing, production, and marketing of the technology.

Your Luxury Airline has arrived - ENTER "Eos Airlines"

Talk about uber-luxury! It doesn't get much better than this. Approximately 48 total passengers on one Boeing 747. That's not too many people, for those of you who have never flown the Jumbo Jet. In fact, that's virtually no one on a plane this size. I'm very interested to see how EOS Airlines does. They already have 3 Jets in service and only one route of service. London (Stansted) to New York (JFK). And they already have three Jets in service!! Considering they Launched in mid-October, this either signifies that their concept works, or they are very, very well funded (well, they are probably well funded regardless. After all, they are in a capital intensive industry). The airline industry, as you well know, is fraught with, sorry for the pun, turbulence. With the bankruptcies of Delta, United, etc, I think it has become obvious that the airline industry is evolving. Southwest and, arguably, JetBlue have shown that the low-cost route can be successful, assuming good management and execution. And, with the proliferance of the Travelocity's and Orbitz's of the internet, most consumers have shown that low-cost works. But low-cost isn't the only place to compete.

Yet, no one has focused on the higher-end-only segment. Sure, Virgin has reclining seats, Singapore Airlines too; however, as far as I know, next to fractional jet ownership, EOS is the only airline to be so exclusively high-end. And, for a price of $2,500 from New York to London, only the high-end will fly this airline. So, for 4x more money than a standard coach fare, you can fly to London, sleep on the way there, and eat world-class cuisine before you land.

Let's look at the numbers real quick. Given a flight from JFK to London is roughly 8 hours, EOS is realizing $15,000 in Revenue/hour, or $120,000 for the whole flight (assuming all the seats sell). Compare that to a standard 747, with 212 passengers. Let's assume the average sales price for the flight on a standard 747 is $500 for the same route. That's only $106,000 in revenue for the same flight. Assuming both flights are full of passengers, EOS stands to make 13% higher Revenues on the same flight that any major carrier makes. All this, with less cost for baggage handling, cabin cleaning, etc. In the ultra-competitive landscape of the airline industry, 13% explains why EOS appears to be so well funded. It's a no brainer for investors.

You know, disruptive technology, and/or innovation arguably drives and creates new industries. It's funny how the large carriers failed to innovate. Instead, they responded to innovations that start-ups proved to be successful. Hence, Delta's Song, United's Ted, etc. But, the big boys, with these offshoot "low-cost" carriers, are only responding to, and replicating, what Southwest had been doing for years. Yet, they failed to trump other start-ups in other aspects. Such as EOS Airlines and the Uber-luxury market.

I don't know, but this EOS stuff smells like Disruption.
Eos Airlines - Home Page

Custom Streaming Radio - Discover New Music

I stumbled upon Pandora, part of the Music Genome Project. (That's marketing speak) But, this system is absolutely incredible. Type in any artist or song, and it will produce a custom radio station with other artists, many of which you may not know. Click play, and start enjoying the endless stream of new artists. In my opinion, it's pretty impressive how extensive their database of music appears to be. Best of all, the music stream is FREE!!

One cool feature is you can pause the streaming music, and, when you come back and hit PLAY, it picks up right where you stopped. Basically, it's streaming radio, only better, much better. Even streaming radio seems to have some kind of playlist. Not on Pandora, each time, you get a new, original playlist.

From their 'About Us' Section:

For almost six years now, we have been hard at work on the Music Genome Project.
It's the most comprehensive analysis of music ever undertaken. Together our team
of thirty musician-analysts have been listening to music, one song at a time,
studying and collecting literally hundreds of musical details on every song. It
takes 20-30 minutes per song to capture all of the little details that give each
recording its magical sound - melody, harmony, instrumentation, rhythm, vocals,
lyrics ... and more - close to 400 attributes! We continue this work every day
to keep up with the incredible flow of great new music coming from studios,
stadiums and garages around the country.
We've now created an interface to
make this available to music lovers so they could use this musical
'connective-tissue' to discover new music based on songs or artists they already
know.

Discover Music - Pandora and listen to streaming music for FREE

ourTunes - Maximize your iTunes Aural Experience

Check out ourTunes, a slick hack for iTunes that allows you to access music in iTunes folders on anyone's computer, assuming their computer is on the same network as you. *read* College Campuses, Large Corporations, etc.

Basically, if your network consists of home, you'll only get other computers within your home. So, in this scenario, not too exciting. However, get plugged to a network with many computers, like most at work, school, etc, and you now have wonderful access to everyone else's music, assuming they, too, have ourTunes.

The hack was created/programmed by a bunch of college students with an opensource mentality. So, customer support is virtually nill, updates are being constantly created to fix bugs, and there's probably not much of a guarantee on the performance.

But, then again, we all seemed to get over the issues wtih other open source, file-sharing, peer-to-peer programs.

Click here to visit the ourTunes site, along with downloads.

Blog Use and Reading at Work

Adage.com has a great article regarding the use and reading of Blogs at work. Basically, we're all a bunch of technogy, internet, information junkies. Right? The article states that, on average, 3.5 hours are spent reading blogs each week while people are at work. Yeah, we're all junkies that need our fix. At least we're not taking a smoking break!!

However, I really liked this last part of the article:

"Technorati, a blog search engine, now tracks 19.6 million blogs, a number that has doubled about every five months for the past three years. If that growth were to continue, all 6.7 billion people on the planet will have a blog by April 2009. Imagine the work that won’t get done then."

Yeah, imagine the unproductiving then?? You know, is there a way to leverage the power of online content to further motivate employees to work harder, more effective, and more efficient? For example, could managers allow a company-wide 20 minute daily break where everyone hits up their favorite blogs, then they are required to do a quick write-up of what they read and how they can use that to improve the company? This way, employees get their cake, and management gets to eat it.

Ford is "dramatically recommitted" to Hybrids

In an article posted yesterday on AdAge.com, there is an article regarding Ford's shift in Advertising strategy to announce that, drum roll please. . ."FORD SHIFTING STRATEGY TO EMPHASIZE HYBRIDS, SAFETY".

Really, are you now doing that. That's wonderful Ford. Thanks for not focusing on safety before, as noted by the recent $4 million a South Carolina jury has ordered Ford to pay in a Rollover Suit. Why should Ford pay for a woman who was killed when her Ford Explorer Rolled Over? Well, as the article states, because:

"As far back as 1989, Ford Motor Company knew that this Explorer had rollover
problems," Ed Bell, the Hayward family's lawyer, told jurors in Charleston,
S.C.
"Ford knew of potentially fatal defects during the development and
manufacture
of this vehicle and chose not to remedy them."

Now, this lawsuit represents one of hundreds if not thousands of lawsuits against Ford right now. In fact, as I write this, I recall an accident I saw last summer, wherein a Ford Explorer, going no more than 35 mph rolled over after hitting a car. Now, I'll be the first to admit that even cars in the proper circumstances could easily roll when going 35 mph if conditions are right. However, what was bothersome to me was the roof and how the A-pillars collapsed, rather than supporting the roof. Please see this picture I took at the scene.

Now, the real kicker is the other car that was involved in the accident. It was barely damaged. The Exploder side-swiped the car and rolled in response. Look at the minimal damage on the other car.

But, I digress.

The point is Ford has failed to prove that Safety ever was an incredibly, sincere, pervasive-in-their-culture concern. Look, we're talking about deliberate disregard by Ford executives when given information that the best-selling SUV in the US (the Ford Exploder, errr, Explorer) has poor engineering in the roof-structure and could be prone to rollover.

Now, I'm not necessarily saying that Ford doesn't make good cars, or that the Exploder isn't a good vehicle for some people's needs. However, I am saying that the U.S. carmakers continue to flop where it really matters.

I fear that Ford, with this "innovation" campaign strategy may be getting suckered into the same PR garbage GM has been pumping out the last 5-6 years.

Now, to quote the article from AdAge:

The campaign’s “Innovation” theme reiterates the Ford heir’s recent speech on
the topic. “Innovation will be the compass that guides this company going
forward,” Mr. Ford says in both the 60- and 30-second spots. He adds that Ford
has “dramatically recommitted” to hybrids, technology and safety.

Now, let's analyze the statement, "Ford has "dramatically recommitted" to hybrids, technology, and safety". I'm sorry, but the word recommitted draws up a bunch of quizzicall looks without any answers. Ok, mr Bill Ford, so what you really meant to say was, "we really kind of just dragged our feet along for a while. You know, we didn't care too much about safety, the environment, or safety, but you know, we all make mistakes. But, one day, I, yes, me Mr. Bill Ford had this great idea. Let's become innovative, recommit to developing hybrids (since Toyota and Honda have been kicking our butt with hybrids since their introduction in 2000)."

So it has taken Ford a while to respond to the competition. Granted, they do have some hybrids in their lineup, such as the Hybrid and Mariner. But, come on, who's kidding who? Why do you have to recommit? Surely you've been developing all this technology from the beginning. Right?

I'm not stating that Ford isn't developing their Safety, Technology, and Hybrids. However, why do you have to remind us about this through a PR/Advertising campaign. Why don't you spend your limited funds (given their most recent $1+ billion quarterly loss) on more valuable things such as new product, that will entice buyers.

Most customers these days are tired of the hyped up crap of automotive companies. What matters most to the customer is what they can buy on the lot, today, tomorrow, or in a couple months. We don't want to be told about some Revolutionary Strategy Shift in your company that you're going to start offering products that adress the issues I care about. Give me product and prove it, not some commercial stating such. And until then, I'll drive my import car; because, though it may not be as efficient as a hybrid, it is safer, more reliable, and at least equals all the "technology" any domestic vehicle offers in its class.

All I have to say is: Wow Ford, I can't wait to see what all this dramatically recommitted strategy is going to produce next. Yay!!

China Business and Censorship - Free Information for All!!

Well, we have all experienced, have been influenced by, or have lost jobs to China. The country is a veritable powerhouse that refuses to sit down. I visited China earlier this year and was taken back by the incredible entrepreneurship I witnessed (though, "eagerness to make a quick buck" may be more appropriate). Now, I think, in the future, the Chinese will wisen up and begin to more effectively communicate and deal with Western Civilization. But, right now, the Chinese are eager to "buy low, sell high", regardless of what brand may be on the product, regardless of who the buyer of the product is. In other words, as long as they are selling the Nikes for more than cost, they could care less who the buyer is, even if it isn't Nike. The counterfeit industry is enormous, and is continuing to grow.

But, China isn't the only culprit, recently, Spyder Ski Company intercepted counterfeit product coming from Russia. My conclusion on China is this:

China is full of eager factories and people ready to produce goods. However, these people lack the formal business management education in the West. Hence, they are trying to play in a formal business environment without the proper skills or knowledge of how this environment functions. BUT, as soon as they get the proper knowledge and education, WATCH OUT, because they could clean our clocks.

See, the Chinese see America as their opportunity to make it big. It's as if they have this idea that, "Just if I could get an American to import my product, I'll become rich". And, the basis of their thoughts are from other manufacturers they've seen becoming overnight millionaires from some American contract.

Where they fail to see the point is the true competitive landscape of America. In addition, they don't understand competitive advantages. What I mean is: Unless the Chinese supplier has a competitive advantage compared to other factories in China, then they don't have any advantage in the U.S.

They argue that a competitor Factory XYZ is selling thousands of Widget A. Therefore, if you, American, buy thousands of Widget A from me, then you can sell them in America just like Factory XYZ's customer. They don't understand that if Factory XYZ's customer is buying product from them in volume, then that customer already has the distribution channels set up in the States. They have the connections, the brand, the distribution, the marketing. So, I'm on a level playing field as soon as I import the Widgets. So, unless the factory in China has a competitive advantage to Factory XYZ, and therefore sells to me at a lower cost, I have no advantage in the States.

I know, I know, this sounds incredibly rudimentary and basic. You know what, it is!! There is nothing novel with what I just explained. Yet, for the Chinese, that logic just doesn't register. They just don't get it. At least not yet. But, as they become more educated, it will register. Boy will it register!!

But, alas, their government once again attempts to censor their information. But, there is hope for them. They can achieve their knowledge, albeit rather dangerously. As Marketing Vox blog reports, the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders has released a new handbook for the "Cyber-Dissidents". This handbook offers information on how to get around China's "clever mix of investment, technology, and diplomacy" censorship efforts.

I sure hope this made sense, because it is late, and I'm tired.