Amsterdam Industries: From Prototype to Business

Dear friend,

Summer is about the end. A new season is starting.

Also for me personally..

Last year I was involved in many projects and I was scattered all over the place. I helped many start-ups but in this time I was forgetting to build my own company. Bringing focus to my efforts was easier than I expected. the common denominator of all the projects I was involved in was that they were emerging products close to launch and needed help to "enter the world’ in a healthy and sustainable way. I was many times a kind of a midwife helping pregnant entrepreneurs to deliver the companies 😉

I also saw that due to technology actually making products is becoming increasingly easier. Making products is becoming a creative endeavour. These products know how to tell a story and touch you on a emotional level. It reminded me of how music is made. Just get the right people together and they can make magic overnight. Jamming products together.

I saw a future where there is an exponential growth in the diversity of products. Production is finally being democratized. This new generation of "product musicians" need a record label!

That was the moment I knew what I wanted to build!

I founded Amsterdam Industries. With Amsterdam Industries we are this "record label". We help "makers" go from prototype to business. A boutique incubator that creates a custom project with each entrepreneur. We are especially interested in hardware but we also work with makers that make software or services. Amsterdam Industries currently comprises of Arjen van Eck and myself.

VINSON CASE:
One of our early customers was Vinson TV(www.vinsontv.com). When they approached us they were called Rumble. Our services comprised of:
– rebranding
– positioning
– defining product benefits and features
– customer segmentation
– pricing
– design
– website
– messaging
– launch event
– press release
– social media

Due to the success of the launch the German broadcaster N24 contacted Vinson. Mid-June N24 launched there Vinson application. Now with over 175.000 downloads and 500+ 5-star ratings it is one of germany’s most popular apps in the App Store.

Next to Vinson we helped iFabrica last months with marketing, website, product, social media, communication, instore routing, signage and branding.

We are currently also working on a Virtual Reality company, a Peer 2 Peer food company and a fashion brand.

If you know of some starting entrepreneurs that you believe deserve a shot at success please let them know about us. I really appreciate it.

Talk to you soon!

Raimo van der Kleinwww.amsterdam-industries.com

m: +31 6 41171116
s: raimovanderklein

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10 rules of Cycle Management

Within Layar we work in cycles. They appear to be between 4 and 6 month within Layar. The market we are operating in makes it really impossible to plan any further. We compare it with riding a wave in a storm. You need all your attention on the present. We have a rough end-goal but surviving this ride has nothing to do with having a very clear end goal. It has everything to do with being in the here and now. Adapting quickly to changing conditions and behave as one organism instead of as several parts of a whole.

A cycle within Layar is that part of our path we are pretty certain on we will be able to surf. Below 10 rules to get started with working in cycles within your company. 😉

1. It takes 1-2 months to prepare for a cycle.
2. Take your time to define your cycle.
3. You can only begin a cycle after you have delivered on the prior one.
4. You cannot plan beyond a cycle
5. If you can plan beyond a cycle your cycle is too short
6. Every cycle has a clear purpose
7. There is nothing else than the cycle.
8. Every cycle has a ritual beginning and ending.
9. Don’t change course halfway your cycle
10. If you change course halfway a cycle, you need to reduce the time of a cycle by 50%.

No I am not a scrum master.

The song of a start-up

Something I am fascinated by is  comparing businesses to things we encounter in every day life. Doing this helps me make sense of the world. It shows me how companies are moving, where companies are going and even in which state certain companies are in.

The metaphor. I love it!

During the beginning of Layar I really felt connected to a song of U2. It’s sung LIVE at a concert in Boston 2001. I felt that the song embodied what a disruptive start-up is going through. It’s especially the first 3 minutes that remind me how it felt to start and launch with Layar.

I will try to match the song now with the timeline of a start-up..

• 0.00-0.12: A stable market. Still singing the song from an old “market state”.
• 0.13-0.22: Announcement of something new. Something is coming.
• 0.23-0.35: Arrival of something new. Something we were longing for. Recognition. Acceptance. Warm welcome.
• 0.35-1.14: ‘Pregnancy’! Preparation for launch. Building up the excitement.
• 1.14-1.27: LAUNCH. Be proud!
• 1.27-1.53: Share the rhythm and melody of your product. Get people to understand you. “How can I contribute and sing along?”
• 1.54- 2.54: Create harmony between you and your audience (co-create) “start singing together”.
• 2.45- 3.00: Share and repeat your purpose. Make clear why you are here and who you are. You are grounded. Welcome!

Now with the internet I believe that any start-up can create the circumstances to sing to a large audience like U2 does every week. It’s American Idol for start-ups. You just need to make sure that the first note is right!

Well I didn’t expect this to be my first real blogpost in 3 years 😉

Back to blogging

I am back to blogging. No idea why. Not a clue yet what I will blog about. Let’s see what happens..

AR game Mirage Money

I just downloaded Mirage Money from the Vodafone Betavine site

I enjoyed playing it. It is almost as your own little mobile Wii set. You need to collect money(that is floating towards you) buy turning and moving your mobile phone through actual space. The game makes use of the 3-D motion controlled accelerometer of the N95. It has two modes. Virtual and Real. In the real mode it gives you a real Augmented Reality feeling. Have a look at the screenshot.

From Content to Context

Yesterday at our MoMo event I gave a 15 minute talk on context. I divided the presentation in three part:

• 3 differences in context by media
• 3 steps towards development of services
• 3 examples of contextual services

Here it is!

If you understand some dutch or you are just curious how I sound, you can watch the video here

Some Smart Words on Mobile Search

via 

Robot Phones..

Oh yes.. I like the way this is going… THE Transformation to an intelligent device(yes I know it is still a toy..)

Via

Being smart and mobile in space

Mobile VOIP with Talkonaut

Talkonaut just released their new Symbian S60 2nd/3rd edition client. I used the old java app from Talkonaut some time ago. To be honest the client was not really impressive.. But now they return, and what a way to return. This is the best mobile VOIP/chat app I have seen!! I just linked up my Gmail and MSN account. The interface is just beautiful the amount of features and extras are amazing aswell. Below some screenshots I made and after the fold their press release.. I recommend ti try it out. Go with your mobile browser to http://get.talkonaut.com

UPDATE: just deleted my Fring app…enough said.. The app vibrates when you get a new chat message.. so simple bit sooo cool..