Sensidea is Proud to Sponsor Mobile Money Canada

Mobile Money Canada

Sensidea is excited to announce sponsorship and participation in Canada’s first conference dedicated to Mobile Finance, Mobile Money Canada taking place Tuesday, November 10 2009 in Toronto, Canada.

Mobile Money Canada is the first event focused exclusively on showcasing and building the Mobile Money industry in Canada. Mobile Money Canada will be held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on November 10, 2009 at the Metro Toronto Convention Center.   The event will bring together mobile network operators, financial institutions, consultancies, and mobile money solution vendors, to discuss, debate, and develop strategies to accelerate the growth of Canadian Mobile Money.

“Mobile is definitely the platform driving innovation in both commerce and content. The banking sector will realize opportunity in mobile money banking, payment, and money transfer, while ICT and interactive companies can look to mobile advertising, content delivery, commerce, and blending the virtual and physical worlds with augmented reality applications. Overall, when it comes to mobile we’re at the tip of the iceberg” says Jaafer Haidar, Managing Principal at Sensidea.

Sensidea is a participating sponsor and Mr. Haidar will be moderating a panel discussing the challenges and opportunities on mobile advertising and commerce.

Mobile Money Canada brings together executives from across financial services, investment, and ICT for a jam packed forum of insightful information, dialogue, and the ability to network and connect to industry leaders, veterans, and selected solution providers, such as Sensidea, helping companies understand and deploy effective mobile strategies and solutions.

Find out more about Mobile Money Canada or register at http://mobilemoneycanada.com/

#Mint CEO Aaron Patzer: Must See Video For Start-ups!

Mint went from inception to $170 Million exit in two years. I’d say that qualifies CEO Aaron Patzer as someone that can drop some knowledge on those aspiring to follow in his footsteps. At the Juice Pitcher event hosted by TheFunded.com and Vator.tv he did just that. There is no turn-key plan for business success; building a business from idea to success is a journey and what works for one company might not work for another, but Aaron provides some very valuable guidance at a detailed level not usually shared.

Congrats to Mint on all their much deserved success! Here’s the must see video and key highlights from Vator News. Enjoy!

Raising Money:

• Phase 1: Once you have a mature idea, raise $100,000 from friends and family to build a prototype
• Phase 2: Prototype complete, raise $1 million and launch an alpha into the market.
• Phase 3: Once you have some traction, raise $5 to $10 million to scale up.

Phase 1 Expenses (1st $100,000):

• Founders: $30,000/year
• Engineering 1st hires: $30,000-50,000/year
• Office: $400/cube/month
• Tech: $10,000
• Legal: Deferred payments for 0.50 – 0.75% of company

Phase 2 Expenses (seed round):

• Salaries: $50,000 – $90,000/year ($450,000/year for 5 people)
• Overhead: +20% ($100,000/year)
• Legal: $25,000 + $2,000/month ($50,000/year)

Phase 3 Expenses (Series A)

• Salaries + Overhead: $200,000/year/person
• COGS: many one-time expenses add up to about $150,000/month
• Legal: $10,000-$50,000/month

Calling all Innovators..Where Are You?

We were in the midst of a surprisingly harsh recession; homes lost, jobs gone, and funding for innovative young companies harder to find than an educational moment on MTV. But for all the doom and gloom there was one silver lining – desperate times give rise to the next big thing. So, what have the next generation of great web entrepeneurs been up to? Looks like not much.

Above all else, during this recession us Digitalians (those that live and breathe everything digital…yes I made up a new word) have been overexposed to three products – Facebook, Twitter, iPhone. Nay a day passes that we’re not inundated with how much FB is potentially worth, CNN, Oprah, or other celebrities professing that they’re all about the Tweet, or find that yes indeed there is an app for that. Don’t get me wrong FB is a fabric of the social generation. Twitter is a new(ish) way to communicate. The iPhone, well it simply changed the mobile landscape and ushered in the mobile as a viable computing platform. But, where are the great ideas that usually crawl out of the rubble of recession?

90’s recession = Netscape and the explosion of the Web. 2000 bubble burst = Google, Social Networking.  2008 = iFart?

The problem is that ‘platform’ has replaced invention. Instead of young minds thinking about changing the world, it’s all about making the next app which sadly is either a port of existing web tools or something so ridiculous you’re left wondering why it’s named one of the Top 20. Almost everyday we talk to would be entrepeneurs about their big idea. They’re going to do something amazing; something that’s never been done before! Are they going to end poverty, make your job easier, life better, or finally rid the world of Paris Hilton? No, it’s the next great (insert platform here) app!

Honestly, how many Twitter apps do we need, and is replicating a popular video game for the iPhone really innovative? If your business depends on someone else’s great idea then sorry you’re no Thomas Edison.

To emphasize the point, at the just passed TechCrunch50 conference, a place that promises to showcase 50 of the most innovative start-ups from a crowd of thousands, expert panelists wondered where are the guys that want to change the world and the top prize was awarded to a company that is essentially an evolution of a solution that has been around for years.

So, we’re calling on all aspiring minds. Change the world! There are some smarty pants working on some pretty cool stuff. We need more! Develop your iPhone apps, connect on FB, and chat mindlessly on Twitter, but someone out there has to be working on what’s next. We can’t wait to see what the real inventors are up to.