Author Archives: Elia Freedman

Mobile Destiny: The Crossroads Approach

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I had a couple of great conversations recently with my friend Michael Mace who succinctly summed it up: In the world of mobile, we are at an inflection point. For the first time, mobile technology has become good enough to serve the business purposes of its users. Soon, the laws of diminishing returns will affect the market. In other words, does increase power and capability actually make the devices better? Or are these incremental improvements, same as what has happened in the PC world? There is no doubt that we are fast approaching this crossroads and soon, incremental technological improvements will be the norm.

There are still a few big hills in front of us that will make mobile technology significantly better, namely faster data connections, synchronization via the web (rather than sync cable), and truer browsing experiences (read here). But the top of this hill is fast approaching us, I believe, and we are within a year or two of reaching the top.

There is a dynamic in the market that has affected all of us. In order to make money, carriers and hardware vendors feel they have to make devices and services that broadly appeal to everyone. So the capabilities of the devices are generic and the plans provided are pretty close to “one size fits all.”

The problem is these are highly personalized devices. They are very oriented around niches, or vertical, markets. The needs of a Realtor are vastly different from the needs of a contractor or lawyer or business manager. So there is a disconnect between the way these devices are presented and sold and the way they are used. And that leaves all of us hunting for third-party solutions to fill the gap.

There are significant challenges for third-party developers, though; it is getting harder and harder for us to develop native applications (those that go on the device) and then get the word out about them. We can no longer partner with hardware manufacturers because all device and in-box promotion decisions are controlled by carriers. Carriers don’t care about niche markets, for one, and prefer no software be installed at all, raising huge certification and device lock-down barriers to keep software out. Finally, software resellers, the remaining sales channel, are either charging exorbitant fees or have disappeared altogether. Why not go after niches, you ask? Because there isn’t enough device penetration around a platform or two to make it worth the development effort (read here).

This is why the crossroads fast approaching, this intersection of business utility and technological prowess, is so important. The rise of the Internet as a medium for software and the ability of these mobile devices to run them effectively will open up a new world for you, as a business person trying to make the device useful for your needs, and for us, as a developer trying to help you get there.

Work-Life Balance: Is It Possible?

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Lately I have been thinking a lot about work-life balance. My wife is due with our second child a week or so after our first turns two, less than three weeks away. Then I read this blog entry by Guy Kawasaki, the former Mac evangelist, venture capitalist and blogger, that both amused and scared me. You can read the article here.

One of my great fears is that my kids are going to grow up while I work. I have entire years running Infinity Softworks that I don’t remember. But now the stakes are higher. I miss them growing up and they will either 1) spend their life in therapy because their father ignored them or 2) kill and rob people, ending up like some movie thug, because their dad wasn’t actively involved in their childhoods. An absentee father, they will tell the judge, made us do it — the robbery, the drugs, all of it.

At the same time, I am the sole income earner in the family as my wife stays home with the kids. She’s good at it and has tons of training. She was a certified teacher and taught pre-K through 1st grade for years. So how can I afford not to work as much as possible? Leaving my family on the streets is as bad as the whole drugs and robbery thing.

Conflicted, you say? Definitely. So my post today wasn’t an answer to the title; it actually is a question, albeit maybe a rhetorical one. I have been thinking about this for months now, coming to no conclusions.

I have heard from much wiser people than me that recognizing the fact that there is this issue is half the battle. Well, I recognize it. Now… what to do about it?

How Not To Win In the Market

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I wanted to sit down this morning and write an article about Microsoft and Yahoo! merger and talk about why I had little faith in its success. I think it is doomed to failure because, generally, most companies don’t beat other companies when they play the game the same way.

For years, Microsoft was the hundred pound beast. You don’t create general-purpose software businesses or operating systems because Microsoft will most likely run you over. Now, Google is that beast. If you take on Google head-on, you are bound to lose.

The problem is my good friend Michael Mace wrote the article I was going to write before I wrote it. You can find it here.

Michael’s article is important for all business applications, not just for this merger. The lesson is to play the game in a slightly different way. When Microsoft decided they needed an email client, they didn’t just develop a client like Eudora did, they added integrated contacts and calendaring and automatic appointment creation and joint scheduling that Eudora didn’t and wouldn’t have. Microsoft changed the game.

Google did the same, taking what everyone else considered value-less and turned into mega money in just a few short years. Now Microsoft and Yahoo! will combine, thinking they can take on Google head-on? Good luck.

Island or Peninsula?

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I wrote an entry a couple of weeks ago about how industry events are a thing of the past (see article here). And then today I am reading Guy Kawasaki’s blog and he references an article and study that basically says the same thing!

The basic premise of all of this: big industry events that put you in touch with industry insiders don’t have the effects you would expect.

The article itself covers the role of Influencers, those that get others to use and try a product. Think Right Guard and beer commercials with pro sports figures. The question is, does the tipping point (an influential and horrible book by Malcolm Gladwell) with influencers really occur or is a myth that doesn’t really play out?

The research done by Duncan Watts, formerly of Columbia University now at Yahoo! Research, shows that if a trend is going to occur, it is going to occur, no matter who is involved. Guy Kawasaki then underlines my comments about CES, the big tech trade show, by saying:

“Spend less time and effort on industry events and other focused PR and marketing that involves sucking up to journalists, analysts, and experts. Spend more time and effort pressing the flesh of real customers. Typically, you won’t meet too many customers at a Ritz Carlton.”

Well… that pretty much sums it up.

Sometimes I write these blog entries and it seems like I am living on some deserted island somewhere. And then I read something that someone said later that matches up and I say to myself, “Hmm.. it’s not an island! It’s a peninsula!”

Life at Infinity Softworks: 11 Years Come and Gone

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I was half way through my senior year in college when I knew I didn’t want to work in accounting, my major. I had a minor in computer science and had programmed since I was 13 but it wasn’t the same as majoring in it. I picked accounting because I figured 1) it was a good grounding for life in the business world and 2) I could always get a job in it.

In essence, I came out of college not knowing what I wanted to do. As I have written about in the past, a friend of mine was working for a software publisher locally who had an interest in PalmPilot applications. I wanted to see if computer science was better for me and signed on to write a couple of applications.

I remember feeling lost most the time. It was so different than anything I had ever done before from a programming perspective but in those first few years I wrote our original financial calculator, FCPlus Professional, a couple of dedicated apps for loans (Loan Pro) and leases (Lease Pro), and personal finance and investing applications (WalletMate and InvestMate). In all, it was five applications encompassing nine different releases over the course of three years.

Starting and running Infinity Softworks intrigued me but it wasn’t until recently that I put my finger on why. At the time, I thought it was the potential to make lots of money, but frankly money in and of itself has never been a big motivator for me. I thought it was the ability to run my own show. I like that but many times over the years the headaches have far outweighed the benefits. I thought it was the versatility, writing code one day, answering support another, building partner relationships on the third. But doing all of these things means I never really get great at any one or two, just okay at everything. And doing all the stuff I don’t love is a drag.

I have come to realize what I love to do is invent. I love the thrill of the hunt. I love aligning the right people and companies to make something successful. I love creating products that excite people and make them want to use the product. I love great design and can spend hours thinking about the details of customer interaction. I love talking to people about how they use products, watching them use it, and trying to get a good gut feel for what will make a product successful or not.

Over the years, Infinity Softworks has released many products with many more versions. Some have been highly successful and some have been a waste of time and resources. Mostly I have had a hand in design and direction but not actual coding as I was kicked out of the developer room many years ago.

January marks the 11th anniversary for this little company, quite an accomplishment if I do say so myself. It’s good to know that I am still learning something about the business and myself after all these years.