#swcbus

[norabess]

Late night #mondaymotivation: inspired by this team of crazy, smart people who built something out of nothing in >72 hours #startupweekend #swcbus (at Rev1 Ventures)

[ravevfx-blog]

Final presentations kicking off for #swcbus @swcolumbus (at Rev1 Ventures)

[ohkade]

ClearCut Logo & UI Mockups

Another Startup Weekend Columbus project, this one being from back in July. (Pardon the delay; I was unsure until now if I would be able to post them publicly.) This was by far the most impressive amount of work I’d ever done in such a short amount of time.

ClearCut is an app/web service that allows clients to schedule and hire lawn care professionals on-the-go, in a way that would not require them to contact the professionals themselves. It also allows them to do so when they’re on vacation or out of the country. Like the elves and the shoemaker, we’ll handle the dirty work while you’re away.

Design, characters, and logo by me.

[ohkade]

Code Bump Logo & UI Mockups

A product of Startup Weekend Columbus, our project was Code Bump: an online proofreader for HTML/CSS like nothing else out there. It's still in the working phases, but the website is (kind of) live. Check out codebump.co to get more info, and take the survey.

There are hopes to get at least a live version of the site out in the next 6 months, so we can work more towards getting the back-end work done. If you're interested in being involved, let me know.

Concept, design, and layouts all by me. View the site preview here.

[experiencethinking]

Startup Weekend: Columbus

This past weekend marked my first Startup Weekend in Cbus.  I was lucky enough to participate as a strategy/experience mentor.  There was high energy and commitment from the entrepreneurs, all seeking help to flush out or bring their ideas to fruition in a span of 54 hours.

I found myself comparing the mentality and behaviors of startups vs. established brands. The key difference was an attitude of we will vs can we?.  In my experience, established brands tend to shift from doing to asking and perhaps a bigger dose of doing will keep them more relevant.

A key similarity was the wouldn't it be cool if syndrome. You've no doubt suffered this (as I know I have) - throwing in suggestions based on their potential cool factor.  It would be far more effective if it were the wouldn't it be more useful/addictive for her if syndrome. It's so easy for us to get caught up in building an idea up/out - to add on additional features that are cool - but perhaps not needed.  As is with more mature businesses, it is hard to stay focused, to stay simple, to stay committed to the target customer.  In your next brainstorming session, frame up suggestions by how they meet a core need or emotion of the customer.  This thinking keeps you focused on the customer experience - and that will always create the greatest customer value.