Dreamit Ends, and What's Next

Each member of our management team has grown personally and collectively this summer. The DreamIT Ventures program provided the perfect greenhouse for TapInko. The summer began with a concept, some pretty webpage mockups, a young management team, and a lot of questions. We rush into the fall with a strong development team, a product inches away from a full beta test, a motivated and unified management team, an experienced cadre of advisors and strategists on board, five enthusiastic beta schools, and dozens of student papers waiting in the wings for TapInko's full version 1.0 release. Wow.

Sometimes we get ahead of ourselves by making plans for 4 or 5 years out, but these projections comprise the vision we seek to fulfill. Our pockets full of business cards after DreamIT Funding Day, the next few weeks will find us in the offices of various angel investors and venture capitalists.

Peter is doing a great job leading the funding charge, Nick and Jonathan Newell, our lead developer, are doing a brilliant job with the product, and I'm spending my time developing relationships with our beta publications while also reaching out to advertisers in a buyer beta.

Today, we are saying goodbye to CJ, our research and marketing intern, who has been extremely helpful researching industry news, calling potential clients, and analyzing publication rate information. We wish him luck in his senior year at LaSalle University in Philly.

Funding Day

An amazing experience. More details to come...

Presentation Pict.

Funding Day

“Pete, we have 12 weeks” This statement was made to me back in June by John Valentine as he diligently typed up upon one of the thousand of documents he produced this summer.

Wow, the hourglass has run out and Funding Day is here! With this awesome opportunity comes a huge push of the product.

TapInko will be working hand-n-hand with:http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif

The University of Pennsylvania (The Daily Pennsylvanian), Harvard University (The Harvard Crimson), The University of Pittsburgh (The Pitt Daily News), Tufts University (The Tufts Daily), and The University of Miami/Florida International/Miami Dade College (BackSlash Magazine).

These publications will pioneer the product through the beta testing period and help us perfect the model to quickly expand into the hundreds of other verticals in the offline advertising world.

Check back daily to see the tool-sets which will be constantly added upon the foundation of the product.

Have fun and please send any feedback to Feedback@tapinko.com

-Pete Groverman
President

*Thanks to Matt Anderson the King of FaceBook Graffiti Art for the above image*

TapInko - Chariotsolutions - Pod Cast

Ken Rimple from Chariot Solutions, LLC (www.chariotsolutions.com) interviewed Jonathan Newell and Nicolas Warren. Lot's of analogies, lot's of technologies, lots of development info... take a listen :-).

Congratulations Billy...

As he travels towards his goal of being the worlds most tattooed advertised man, Billy Gibby has received his first TapInko sale from the TapInko team themselves. Stay tuned for not only pictures and video, but the opportunity to join TapInko by getting your logo or image somewhere on some part of the amazing human billboard!

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*Update*
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Looks Sharp Billy:

DreamIt Update

DreamIt is coming to an end... where has the summer gone? To bring you all up to speed, we have been very busy here at 'The Ink-Well.' We have:

1) Signed several publications on board to the beta program
2) A gorgeous product that is inches away from launch
3) Doubled the size and experience of the team
4) Established amazing partnerships in our field and been introduced to some of the leading Internet Pioneers
5) Gained countless knowledge that would be impossible to learn in any classroom for any dollar figure
6) Worked and been inspired alongside some incredible individuals and ventures

Stay posted for launch information. Funding Day is September 4th... interested?

-P

TapInko Promo

With much fanfare, the TapInko.com "about us" promo has hit the videosphere. Phil Katz, our resident marketing guru from http://www.groundupmarketing.com/, put this little ditty together for us. If you run a company in need of creative video like the one shown here, shoot Phil an email at phil@groundupmarketing.com.

Things are moving very quickly here at the Science Center. With one month until the end of DreamIT and Funding Day on September 4th looming, TapInko is preparing to release our product to beta testers by early August. the development team's sleepless nights and client acquisition team's persistence is paying off. Look for more updates shortly.

What is 1%?

“Your company may voluntarily contribute an additional 1% of the common stock of your company to be placed in a pool that will be shared equally among participating DreamIt’08 companies. You are not required to participate in this pool.”

DreamIt Ventures Offer Letter
Spring 2008

For the past several weeks, my company has been posed with the question of whether or not to include 1% of TapInko's equity into the above-described DreamIt 1% Pool. From our understanding, this unique opportunity is a perk that differentiates DreamIt from other incubators. There are two sides to this debate; here is what we are thinking:

Pros

‘Loose fit insurance policy’ – This is the most obvious reason for our inclusion; if we fail we would not necessarily be a complete failure as long as at least one other team included in the pool makes it.

Series B Stock – The stock contributed to the pool is passive and would not come with special privileges. Without any voting rights, the other teams would be simply passive percentage stock holders.

The Cheer Factor – By each contributing a percentage point, we would increase each other’s vested interest in seeing success.

The "Mindshare Effect" - If every company had a stake in every other company, it would encourage collaboration and mindshare amongst the companies in the Science Center. If my idea for Sleep.FM, for example, might get them another client or change their interface for the better, I have a stronger impulsion to let Ryan know.

Cons

Easier Said – Being in law school has led me to realize about the importance of de-risking. The situations that can exist if each team contributes to a common pool can become real sticky real fast. We would want to make sure that if one team has an issue, the intertwined nature won’t cause an issue for everyone.

Investors - Venture Capitalist might see this as a More Owner = More Problems situation.

Amount - 1% might not seem like a lot but… what is 1% of Google? Aol? Yahoo? What is the real value of 1% of our company? What else could that 1% be used for?

Total Return Vagarity - Let's say that, for example, Vuzit makes $10 million in the sale fo their business. 1% of $10 million is $100,000. This $100,000 goes into the 1% pool. Divide the $100,000 over the hypothetical 10 teams that entered themselves in the pool. $10,000 would go to each team. Pursuant to the email from Mike Levinson, each founder of the companies would get an equal share of their company's participation. Therefore, each founder would get $3,333 from Vuzit's $10,000,000 sale...Before taxes.

Our Final Decision:

After much debate, the TapInko team has decided to contribute 1% to the common equity pool. If something is in your venture's best interest, think about it, analyze it, and go for it if it sounds good. We faced a similar situation when the opportunity to join DreamIt was for the taking and we had to ‘give to get.’ In this case, this opportunity is just to cool for us to pass on. We have learned so much from DreamIt and we want to get as much from this opportunity as will be allowed.

Besides, we kinda like what a lot of the other teams are doing!

What would you do?

"Know People"

Know People

One of the founders of DreamIt commented about the importance of ‘Knowing People.’ He stated: “Before you critique someone, walk a mile in their shoes…besides, by the end, you're a mile away…. and you have their shoes.” Though the final statement was made in jest, I am a firm believer that ANY team can increase their chances of becoming successful by having at least one individual with the ability to Know People.

When I use the term Know People, I do not necessarily mean the number of individuals you call ‘Friend’ on FaceBook.

In order to Know People, you have to be able to understand and relate with individuals not like yourself; literally, put yourself in their shoes. Ask the questions: What are they actually thinking and feeling?

Though this is a hard quality to master, people who can comfortably relate with others in this fashion, can come off as more respectful, observant, and comfortable.

Even if they are not the most intelligent of individuals, the innate talent of Knowing People is extremely valuable. People who Know People can comfortably sell, present, and give insight to situations.

How to “Know People”

Knowing People is something one learns by being exposed to different environments, being aware of foreign practices, and having an inherently social personality. Judging body language is also a critical component of knowing people.

Being able to Know People is probably 25% genetic. But inherently, you are not born with a strong ability to Know People. However, many individuals are predisposed to Know People based on their upbringings and personality types.

When Identifying one who Knows People it might not be best to look to the number of friends in their FaceBook profile; a better place to look is the diversity of friends from separate networks.

What to do with an employee who Knows People?

Though to him it is not necessarily thinking outside the box, this individual has the ability to see connections and possibilities where many do not. They possess the ability to market outside the scope of those they surround themselves with.

They can adapt to any situation like a chameleon adapts its color. They can relate to individuals, and this ability increases trust, which makes them incredible salespeople.

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People who Know People Can Be:

The Dude who sees people as potential new friends as opposed to random strangers

The Dude who has a reasonable temper, patience, and an upbeat personality.

The Dude who can say “hi” to an inanimate object.

The Dude who effortlessly makes strangers smile on a daily basis

The Dude who has no limits

The Dude who can adapt to any situation or individual and make those from all walks of life comfortable in their presence.

The Dude who is not threatening

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Conclusion

Everyone has heard the statement “every action has a reaction;” those who Know People have a better understanding of what the outcomes of certain situations will be and can give insight into how a situation has/will play out.

Quotes:

"I still like to hold a newspaper; it's part of my upbringing" - Tim Russert, NBC's Meet the Press