Houston Technology Center Ignition Startup Bootcamp

Posted on October 29, 2012August 13, 2014 by David C. Brake

I’ve been asked by quite a few people in the past two weeks about our experience so far in Ignition, the new startup incubator at the Houston Technology Center, so I thought I’d say a few quick words.

My response thus far is very favorable, and I know we are getting a lot out of the program. Quite honestly, this program came along just in time for us. Being our first tech startup, we had already resigned ourselves to the fact that we would need help and quite a bit of intensive training, and were preparing to look into options out of state. Not that there aren’t already great mentors here, but having access to many experts was really what we were after, and the fact that we are going through the program with others is very helpful. This is not just because of the built in interaction we get when we’re learning from each other, but also the opportunity to learn daily through observation.

I can’t overstate how difficult it is at first to take a step back out of your own “startup zone” and get an external perspective when problem solving (particularly concerning communication), and sometimes watching others working through the same kinds of problems and issues can really help. It was a real eye opener to see that in most cases when we first started three weeks ago, we could explain each others businesses more accurately in two sentences than we could our own.

We could explain each others businesses more accurately in two sentences than we could our own.

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As for the mentors, when you get down to it, it’s much like a university. There are some who have just the experience you need and you hang on every word, and then there are some who may be in completely different industries and might never get what you’re trying to do. However, one of the things I’ve learned over the last three weeks is how much even the latter can have value. There’s something to be said for being able to communicate with and peak the interest of someone who isn’t one bit interested in the internet, but is still interested in your business proposition, and getting the general public excited about your product is clearly a valuable exercise. Besides, they may have an acquaintance in your industry–and whether for investment purposes or just to spread the word about your product, you will want to be the topic of their next conversation.

I must admit that adding involvement in a boot camp that forces us to convert a business plan into a lean canvas, perfect the pitch, refine the go-to-market strategy, and completely rework the financial modeling to an already grueling product development and website launch schedule can be challenging–but every time I think our team has bitten off too much, I remind myself that it’s likely the best practice possible for the kind of schedule we will be dealing with in the days ahead. And while it’s true that we still have a lot to learn, I can safely say that after three weeks we are way ahead of where we were. Of course there are never any guarantees, and this is especially true when it comes to tech startups–but three weeks in, what do I think? Ok, here’s the lowdown. Lots of hard work and lots of fun, but mostly it lights a bit of a fire when you know you’re not the only one out there building something. In fact, when you get enough architects together, the buildings start to improve the whole city and take on a life of their own. It’s an exciting time in Houston.

It lights a bit of a fire when you know you’re not the only one out there building something.

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Photo Credits: Lucy Ayala

Education Going Digital, in More Ways Than One

Posted on October 7, 2012June 2, 2014 by David C. Brake

Those claiming that the American Education system is broken aren’t looking hard enough. It’s not broken, it’s evolving. It’s molding like water to a punch bowl. Where universities are offering ebooks, teachers are getting paid online, and innovation is coming from people’s home computers. The dynamic is changing in relation to human progression. One lever of the system can’t be pulled without influencing all others.

For example, the industrialized free market economy based on raw materials is going digital. Where the money goes in America, so also will at least a part of education. Why should students pay huge amounts of interest on loans, when the rich ecommerce venture capitalists they admire say college can be a waste of time? They’re out creating online communities that connect teachers to students and teachers with teachers, sometimes raking in millions.

Deanna Jump and Freelance Education

What happens to teachers when an economy collapses and they find themselves in need? Apparently, they get crafty, and through fascinating sites like TeachersPayTeachers.com, make decent money on the side. In fact, one extraordinary teacher named Deanna Jump sold her original content teaching guides to hundreds of thousands of people. Why not? Here’s what I find interesting: if one does a search on Amazon for her name…guess what? They won’t find anything.

Ebooks are going this route as well. They’re condensing from epic novels, to small marketing/branding packages of 10-20 thousand words, and from hundreds of pages to roughly 20-60. Non-fiction ebooks are taking off like a lightning bolt strapped on an outbound meteor.

Laid off teachers, through the 21st century virtual world, are finding that they don’t need to deal with the educational system grappling with fiat currency collapse and social transition. Through solidarity, like farmers markets of the first depression era, people are sharing what they have for reasonable prices without interest, undue fees, greed, or crony capitalism.

Two Ways Teachers are Making Money Online

Teacher to Student

This could be anything from ebooks, to blogging or freelance work. A teacher could compose study guides and sell them on any number of sites that cater to parents of younger kids up through college students. They could get hired by online universities and teach from the comfort of their own home, or hired by individuals and go door to door. In fact, teachers all over the US are not only selling their expertise to students in America, but all over the English speaking world.

Teacher to Teacher

Speaking of which, English teachers are showing teachers in China how to teach English to their students through any number of ways. Through sites like TeachersPayTeachers.com, which has generated over fourteen million dollars in sales/income so far, teachers can empower one another and stay out of the clutches of a generically overregulated system that oftentimes strangles them.

Criticism Coming from the Oligarchs

It seems that this emerging and truly free market digital economic model where teachers aren’t supposed to make decent money is disrupting the status quo. Deanna Jump became a millionaire selling her teaching guides after that same establishment kept her living from paycheck to paycheck. How many teachers’ lives and classrooms did she influence in her spare time?

The top down model is crashing and burning, but as a flower will sprout up through the cracks of a decayed slice of road, human innovation will flourish. Expect to see an ebook by Deanna Jump available on Kindle soon, it’s inevitable. Perhaps a how to guide on making over $700,000 by writing the perfect lesson plan for kindergartners that can be bought all over the world.

She is one of many, a part of entire generations going online to make a living. It’s sad that teachers appear so under-valued in our society, but it’s invigorating and inspiring that they can contribute in new and innovative ways. Hopefully, these kinds of stories will cause a few light bulbs to go off in anyone’s head who has something inside them to teach.

Speaking of that, keep reading this blog. It’s coming, we promise. 🙂

Higher Education Models for Survival

Posted on September 30, 2012June 2, 2014 by David C. Brake

In my last blog, I talked about some of the challenges higher education institutions face to be sustainable. Of course no one has all the answers, but I think it’s important to start asking questions and begin thinking about some of these things. I keep hearing the face of education is changing, but will the consequences be disastrous for American Universities? If so, how will that affect the rest of us, and will it change what learning means? Will those universities that make it through the next decade do so by engaging new and potential students in new ways? Is it true that kids will need more convincing of the advantages when departing from their money and taking on new debt becomes a harder sell? (Is it true that I ask too many questions?)

By the way, for anyone who thinks I am spreading unnecessary gloom & doom about the state of higher education financials (or watering it down), here is a more emphatic economic viewpoint here: colleges that will be screwed when the student loan bubble pops, and for an extreme student perspective, try www.uncollege.org.

Meanwhile, I am going to jot down some thoughts about some of the major changes already taking place in response to the pressures burdening higher education. Some examples to explore are: free courses, grassroots education, and online universities. Additionally, I will mention a few other things that universities are doing to adapt, overcome, and survive.

Is it Socialism, or a Techno-Cultural Revolution?

So why should a fresh high school graduate go into debt when they can take free high level courses offered by high profile universities like MIT, Oxford, and Berkley? Why should they struggle to stay awake in endless lectures when they can take the class on their own terms? One answer might be for the credentials, but here are two key facts:

The perception of a college diploma has done a complete one-eighty in the minds of some in the millennial generation from their grandparent’s day. Universities have to shift their focus and what they have to offer, or they may wither on the vine of progression.

To make things even more competitive for universities, online colleges are gaining momentum, and credibility. They come at a fraction of the price, although as of yet there is still no legislation to protect students from predatory private loan lending. They do seem to be effective for some applications, even though all the trimmings have been shaved away.

No dorms, no sports, no walking to and from class. They’ve got archived classes, live and interactive classes through webinars, 24/7 tech, and possibly tutoring support, as well as virtual advising. An education in the palm of your hand? Perhaps, if you can tune out everything else around you and pay attention.

The direction that education is going with ebooks, mobile technology, and virtual reality is providing some interesting options as education is being organically socialized through technology.

Traditional Education Plays Along

If students do opt to pay for a university, who will they choose and why? Before answering this rhetorical question, I want to mention a simple truth I just came across that I found interesting. I was previously unaware of this. Apparently, statistics show the male participation rate in the workforce is at an all time low in America, while the ladies are enjoying their highest participation rate in US history. Male dominated industrialism is fading away, and there isn’t enough money floating around the service sector. Where have these guys got to turn?

In the last few days, the world has seen unprecedented riots in both Spain and Greece in response to basically one thing: unemployment. They’ve got millions of millennials with no job prospects. If any of them have access to a university, they may choose the one that convinces them it can maximize the value of their education, while minimizing investment risk and overall costs.

What Colleges Are Offering

Collaborative Social Value
High Job Placement Rates
Educations that Follow Industry Trends
Social Media Access and Integration

Many people may want jobs, but most desire full-fledged careers and they’ll likely pick the establishments that can prove they’ll deliver. To add to the scrutiny they face from students, cash strapped state and federal accreditation agencies are coming down hard as well.

With low job placement rates, colleges could lose a big part of the whole can of worms. They can have their accreditation stripped away, the ability to offer financial aid taken away, or have their doors shuttered for good. Social Darwinism seems to be taking over the educational system, and high income success rates are an important niche available to exploit.

In response, companies like Mach Interview are springing up to assist universities with higher job placement rates. Through consultation and determined methodologies, they are helping them turn things around using things like:

Online Career Profiles & Portfolios for Students
Special Niche/Industry Specific Software
Interactive Job Placement Curriculums
Working and Networking Directly with Recruiters during school.

As far as national trends go, for women the biggest push in the last four or five years has been the medical and nursing field. For better or worse, Healthcare in general in response to the aging boomer generation has manifested all kinds of localized small universities like Devry that try to cater especially to them.

For men (also for better or worse), the workforce seems to be going virtual. Our advertising tells men to join the military, learn a specific craft, or get behind a computer screen. Getting a degree in History, Literature, or General Studies isn’t pushed as hard anymore. If they choose to enter a university to pursue fields within the math and science categories, it is assumed they want curriculum tailored for a certain career path.

Where the Learning Curve Ends

Globalism, automation, nanotechnology, and virtual intelligence are changing what it means to be educated. This is happening as the collapse of old systems causes a reorganizing of the perception of work and education. Many things can be self taught or taught through peer to peer learning, universities are becoming more like clubs with social networking streams, and grassroots education is picking up steam. People are simply coming together and teaching one another. They are buying and selling quasi black market educations amidst a jobless recovery and a cashless society.

“Why pay for a class when you can download an extensive ebook independently published for free by a laid off professor on any subject for as little as a dollar?”

Plenty of universities will undoubtedly survive and live on. They will adapt to trends, make job placement rates a priority, and market the success stories that emanate from the social interaction that only comes from learning together on a campus. This is fair, and children and parents will always admire a classroom education and credentials, but will that mean the same thing as it once did? Perhaps more importantly, should it?