Textever Pro – a Quick and Beautiful Editor for Evernote on iOS

December 10, 2013 | Comment

IMG_0668Evernote is great but on iOS it is just too slow to start up when you want to add a quick text note which is a real disincentive to using it on the go. To get round this I have been using Squarespace Note on my iPhone as this is quick to start and has Evernote integration. This has worked well but I have lost notes a few time when I have been offline, which was frustrating.

Enter Textever Pro a well designed iOS app that was built specifically for this use case: getting text notes quickly into Evernote. One … Read the rest

Adverts used to Publicise AdPlus Service

December 6, 2013 | Comment

IMG_7739Really interesting advert in today’s Metro newspaper for the AdPlus service encouraging you to download their browser plugin that “optimises your web browsing so you see better, fewer ads.”.

There are a few things that are interesting about this service. Firstly it is highly ironic that they have to resort to advertising to promote a service designed to reduce the number of adverts. Secondly, unlike, say, AdBlock Plus, this service does not claim to get rid of all web-based adverts but shows you “only relevant, high-quality ads from advertisers who want a healthier relationship with you.”. Hummm.

My original … Read the rest

Microsoft Accelerator – Week Twelve

December 1, 2013 | Comment

IMG_7689So this is the last (proper) week of the accelerator and we have had to move out of our temporary home in Central Working, Shoreditch.

I have mixed feelings about going because on the one hand I have enjoyed being up in London and around others for a change, rather than the solitude of home working. However, on the other hand I won’t miss the early starts and getting to the station only to find that my train has been delayed.

The big thing this week was getting to practice the pitch at the venue we will be at for … Read the rest

Microsoft Accelerator – Week Eleven

November 28, 2013 | Comment

IMG_7081So we are rapidly reaching the end of the accelerator programme and most of what we are doing now is geared towards the demo day in a coupe of weeks time. We have had more sessions with the Pitch Doctor and it is really taking shape now and beginning to flow. You can pack quite a lot into five minutes it seems.

What has been really great is not only seeing how much our pitch has improved over the weeks but also those of our cohort. There has clearly been a great leap forward from everybody.

As I said at … Read the rest

Microsoft Accelerator – Week Ten

November 19, 2013 | Comment

IMG_7621One thing that all accelerator programmes seem to have in common is a demo day at the. The Microsoft Ventures Accelerator is no different and we are working towards ours which takes place on 6th December.

I haven’t yet worked out quite why it is called a demo day as there isn’t going to be any time for a demo given that we have a three minute slot.

We started this week with a session with the “Pitch Doctor” who took us through our existing presentation in excruciating detail and it really felt like being back at school with a … Read the rest

Mu Folding UK Plug

November 17, 2013 | Comment

IMG_7476There are many great things about the UK plug but size isn’t one of them. This is mainly due to the advantages the plug offers including things that most other countries eschew such as an earth pin and integral fuse.

All this means that they take up an enormous amount of space and a bloody painful when stood on being second only on the pain scale to a Lego brick.

However, help is at hand with the absolutely brilliant Mu Folding USB Charger which collapses into one neat little package. The bottom pins rotate to be in line with the … Read the rest

Microsoft Accelerator – Week Nine

November 13, 2013 | Comment

IMG_7562Working from your spare room at home can be a lonely existence and having conversations with colleagues on Skype really is no substitute. It also can be a pretty sedentary life as the distance from my bed to the office is probably less than 20 paces. The distance to the kitchen where the biscuits live is slightly more but not so far as to be a distraction. So all in all home working is not good for your health and fitness.

On the other hand being in an office means you get to see great street art such as that … Read the rest

Microsoft Accelerator – Week Eight

November 5, 2013 | Comment

IMG_7081There was only one organised session this week and that was on “old school PR”. Unfortunately I had to attend a sales meeting and so wasn’t able to attend. However, what this did mean was that my diary was much clearer for getting on with the day job.

The stage your business is at when you join an accelerator will determine both how much you get out of it and how much of an impact it will have on your working day. When we joined we had already been in business a year and were making early sales. For us … Read the rest

Microsoft Accelerator – Week Seven

November 1, 2013 | Comment

IMG_7459A busy 7th week was started with an early morning meeting with one of our mentors from Yammer. We met in their offices where the meeting room tables converted to allow you to play table tennis and there was a pop-up sign in reception encouraging people to bring their dogs into work for  dog week, which seems like a recipe for disaster to me. We stuck to the meeting and got some sound advice once again.

From Yammer it was straight to TwiloCon Europe, a full days conference organised by Twilo and pretty impressive it was too. I have been … Read the rest