Guest Speaker Bruce Kendall CEO of EDB

While Bruce spoke mostly about Pierce County's economic situation and how his company, Economic Development Board (EDB), assists primary firms in Pierce County his speech had a lot of good information for beginning entrepreneurs.  The most important concept, in my opinion, is that business do not exist in a vacuum.  As I think about my business plan I find myself thinking about its chances of success or failure based on its own merits.  While this has a lot to do with the success of the business Bruce reminded me that there is a larger economic theater that can drive your business or bring about its demise.  Thinking about where to start a business seems to be an important consideration.  I have always figured that I would just spawn a company in the same city I where I hang my hat, so to speak, but now I find myself wondering about the economic environment.  What are the tax codes like?  What is the labor pool like?  What companies are willing to assist my company for direct or indirect returns to their company?  What kind of business clusters exist in a location?  Is there activity to grow these clusters?  These are all new considerations that Bruce planted in my mind.  I find most of these questions less exciting than the initial idea brainstorming but, none the less, these will undoubtedly be factors in my business plan.

Brian Forth

On Wednesday our guest speaker Brian Forth talked about his company SiteCraft and how it came to be.  The quick history about Brian's path to entrepreneurship was quite informative and helped to highlight the independent nature of an entrepreneur.  Brian's choice to create his own job as opposed to following his father's and grandfather's career path was empowering.  SiteCraft's choice to retain a core set of repeating customers as opposed to rapid expansion shows that building long term utility can create value and wealth.  The decision to focus on mobile web products over smart phone apps allowed SiteCraft to have greater control over their products and allowed them to build custom products quickly.  Brian also spoke about the culture of SiteCraft and how it has contributed to the company's success.  Allowing the employee's to take on projects independently gives them the opportunity to achieve their full potential.  It seems that when a developer can see their project through from start to finish gives the employee a sense of accomplishment. 

What technology distinguish Gamster from its compeditors.

Social networks such as Facebook have "social" video games that are used to keep users online for longer periods of time.  Indeed for many users the primary activity is gaming.  Gamster will distinguish itself by not providing digital "Skinner Boxes" but will provide its users with the tools to simulate a local "face-to-face" gaming experience of the users' choice.  The digital game table (DGT) will be a real time simulation of a game table, complete with boards, map overlays, figurines, props, dice etc.  While logged into an instance of the DGT (a game session) users will be able to chat via a video interface.  The DGT owner will be able to arrange the each users video feed window around the DGT to represent where each player would be physically located around a physical table.  By focusing on table top game simulation Gamster distinguishes itself from other social networks.  By having a social network component Gamster distinguishes itself from other table top gaming aids.   

EIT idea # 5

Gamster

A social network site for table top role-playing gamers.  The two key components to this project would be a digital game table application and a social network site.  Users will have a unique secure account that links them to other gamers to form gaming groups.  This will work like any other social networks; users will be able to link to other users through a contacts system, organize events, and share ideas and experiences.  The focus of Gamster will be on the digital gaming table which will be an online application that allows users to play their favorite table top role-playing games.  The digital game table will not be a game in and of itself but rather it will be a digital representation of a physical game table that would be used by players that meet locally.  Social networks exist and similar gaming software exist but there does not seem to be a merging of the two.

More business ideas for EIT class

I am currently researching artificial intelligence methodologies for a directed reading course and I have learned that there are artificial intelligence "engines".  I think it would be a wonderful idea to create an artificial intelligence engine of my own.  I could then sell the rights to this engine to game designers/companies (much like Unity3D or Unreal graphics engines).  I'm not sure how many AI engines are currently available or their technical capabilities.  I've been working with game development for some time now and I haven't seen an AI engine so that could indicate they are rare or that the demand for them is rare.  I think this would be a great project because it could grow in a modular fashion.  I could start with a simple engine and add to it as I grow in proficiency.  I could follow the Unity3D business model for deployment; a base engine that anyone can use for free and a full featured version that would be require some money flowing from the customer pockets to the company coffers. 

A visit from Erik Hanberg

The visit from Erik Hanberg was a very illuminating experience for me.  I have often wondered if I had the entrepreneurial spirit within.  Many time when I felt that I did I started to think about the huge million or billion dollar start-up companies and then lost hope as I just didn't see myself playing chess with million dollar pieces.  After the visit from Erik Hanberg I realized that there is an infinite number of ways in which someone can become a successful entrepreneur.  I saw many similarities between Erik and myself and this was very encouraging.  I realized that I wouldn't have to shoot the moon on my first entrepreneurial endeavor.  Indeed I should start small and build up from there as Erik has with his novels.  Another great idea I took away from the talk was that an entrepreneur might have a primary endeavor that they are most passion about (such as Erik's novels) but should be agile and open minded enough to take advantage of opportunities that present themselves.  It is through these opportunities that the entrepreneur can build up the momentum required to make their primary vision a reality.