Real Disruption: Stepping Back and Solving the Hard
Problems
Amber Case • @caseorganic • 2012
Gorge Tech Alliance
your phone is a remote control for reality.
@aaronpk’s Hardware GPS Logger
@aaronpk’s First Smartphone
Calm technology
• Actions as buttons• Invisible interfaces• Trigger-based
interactions
The interface disappears
• Actions are Reduced• Queries are Eliminated
An Invisible Button
GeoTriggers:Many Invisible Buttons
These redundant messages can be eliminated if you know where
someone is.
Objective What?
??
Gnomedex Hackathon
Seattle, Washington
The First Term Sheet
The Very Long Trip
Flight from Portland to
San Francisco
AppNation Pitch Competition
The Second and Third
Term Sheets
High altitude balloon flight
The Second Office
The Fourth Office
Users and Developers
Some not from where we expected
Things we learnedare learning
Cost of creating software in 1990: Millions Cost in 2012:Thousands
Software is the most creative thing possible.
A disruptive company displaces other systems. It eats them. It makes them irrelevant.
Accu
racy >
Battery Life >
Government real-time tracking
Mobile Workforce Management (Fleets)
Cab/ride finder
Mobile tour guides
CouponsAdvertisingLocal OffersMobile Marketing
Geo-Pattern Mapping/Alerting
GamesAccu
racy >
Battery Life >
Government real-time tracking
Mobile Workforce Management (Fleets)
Mobile IT Security/Conditional Access
Cab/ride finder
Mobile tour guides
Home Automation
Order management (pharmacy, food)
CouponsAdvertisingLocal OffersMobile Marketing
Hotel Check-inCustomer service
Loyalty Rewards
Social Discovery
Geo-Pattern Mapping/Alerting
Use Case: SecurityA doctor’s car is broken into. 1000 patient's records are compromised. Millions of dollars in liability.
Once the doctor walks 100 feet from the hospital, he can no longer access those patient records.
Geofences define conditional access rights.
Use Case: Hospitality & Customer Service
Customer’s prescription refill is ready when they get there.
CRM Integration: based on their purchase history, a favorite item is on sale. The
Automatic Check-in
Solving those problems enables entire industries
An Invisible Button
Use Case: Home Automation
Energy management and notifications
Enter the house, the lights turn on
Leave, and the lights turn off
Real-Time Hyperlocal Weather
Bringing Wikipedia
to Life
Credit: Reid Beels
Conclusions and Future
Test your idea first.
Be ready for the press.
Bootstrap for a while.
Take investment if you need it.
Managing Investors
Don’t start a startup because it’s “cool”
A loan or VC debt is not a success.
News stories for raising money, not for revenue or profit.
Platforms take many years to return investment.
They say it will be an emotional roller coaster
Often in the rush to return investor money, VC’s push companies to be quickly
profitable instead of long-term, valuable companies.
What companies truly make things that matter but aren't very "shiny?".
Be a part of your community.
Thanks!
Amber Case
[email protected]
@caseorganic