Josh Rabinowitz of Articulate Labs talks his Startup
Where are you from originally?
I'm originally from the Metro Detroit area – Farmington Hills. Go Hawks.
What university did you go to?
I'm a proud Spartan alum from Michigan State University. Like many other college graduates of my generation, though, I'm not doing anything related to my degree in Political Theory & Constitutional Democracy.
What brought you to Austin?
My partner and co-founder, Herbie Kirn, moved to Austin from the Detroit area when his first start-up needed to have access to silcon design engineers. The choices were Austin and San Jose, and Austin looked more enjoyable. I followed shortly thereafter and began working in the political realm, then later in non-profits.
What is the idea behind your startup?
The driving force behind Articulate Labs is to integrate tried-and-true solutions from a variety of engineering fields into health-focused medical devices and technology to fulfill unmet medical needs. Our first invention to go to market is StimBrace, an adaptive, motion-sensitive muscle stimulator that may reduce pain-induced muscle inhibition in osteoarthritic knees. Here, Herbie has taken the current functional electrical stimulator and added modern digital signal processing ability and adaptive real-time algorithms from engine control to create a self-customizing, effective knee care solution.
What need does it fulfill?
StimBrace handles an unmet need for practical, non-medicinal osteoarthritic knee treatment, a need that is going to grow as the number afflicted increases to approximately 35 million in 2030. This population needs something that can compliment and compensate for current treatment options that have limited duration, poor efficacy, and/or potential drawbacks. For instance, a StimBrace user could cut back on their use of certain anti-inflammatory medications, reducing both financial expense (~$275/yr.) and risk of side effects ranging from dizziness up to gastrointestinal bleeding. The latter point is a huge issue – in 2008, over 100,000 were hospitalized for anti-inflammatory-related internal bleeding, of which over 16,000 died.
We believe StimBrace may also help postpone knee replacements. Over 700,000 knee replacements occur each year, 90% of which were related to osteoarthritis. However, many who develop knee osteoarthritis are too young to have a knee replacement. Someone who has their knee replaced at 55 will likely need another replacement at 70, if not earlier. If you can put off a knee replacement, then you've sidestepped the risks inherent with surgery at an advanced age, saved over $20,000 in the surgery alone, and potentially skipped weeks of rehabilitation and inaction.
What exactly does your product do?
Herbie has been using muscle stimulation for osteoarthritic knee rehabilitation, a direct result of a motorcycle accident six years ago in which he lost his right foot. As it turns out, studies show that quadriceps strengthening is the best prognostic indicator for knee osteoarthritis – the stronger the quadriceps muscles are, the greater the load they can distribute away from the degraded weight-bearing surfaces of the knee. If you can reduce that pressure, you can reduce the painful mechanical grinding within an osteoarthritic knee.
However, current e-stim units are only designed for use in a clinical setting, not for use while ambulant. Using his background experience as a systems design engineer, Herbie created hardware and real-time operating software that can adapt to unique motions and activities of each user. To this, he added a simple single-button user interface which prompts StimBrace to remember painful conditions. Thereafter, when StimBrace's motion sensors detects these conditions, it contracts the patient's musclature to offload the joint. The patient, rather than a pre-programmed gait sequence, determines when StimBrace becomes active and what painful motions should be precluded in the future. Now we want to help the 13.5 million people with knee osteoarthritis in the country to enjoy similar benefits.
Who is it for?
Right now, we see this device benefiting people who need non-medicinal knee osteoarthritis relief and are too young to get a knee replacement. Specifically, we're looking at people aged 55+ who need knee pain relief to stay mentally, physically, and professionally active. We're still evaluating the market to determine whether direct end user sales or physicians' prescriptions would be more attractive.
It is going to take a couple years to handle everything related to FDA approval and insurance reimbursement, so we're also looking at different populations that we could assist in the meantime. One option includes muscle rehabilitation and retraining for high-level athletes. Consider someone like Lamar Odom, the Lakers' forward who suffered a torn meniscus during NBA playoffs. If we could help someone like him with pain relief, to speed rehab by even as much as a week, it could be worth hundreds of thousands to him and to the team. (Not that they needed the help this time around)
What was the most challenging aspect of starting up a business?
It's been difficult to change my work approach from focusing on short-term problems to planning ahead and prioritizing projects over the next 18 months. With every action, I need to ask myself how this leads toward our larger goals or if this just keeps me busy. Staying busy doesn't move you forward by default, and it can actually disguise critical tasks that you are ignoring.
It's also been surprisingly difficult to work from home offices and to turn places where I would relax into places where I put my nose to the grindstone. It's good now, but it took a long time for me to figure out how to carve out time and physical space for both actions.
What is the next step for you and your startup?
Biggest priorities for this summer include completing our medical advisory board and putting in a SBIR grant proposal with the National Institute of Health to support some physician-directed trials.
We also need to track down someone who would be willing to serve as our CEO or BizDev VP. We need someone more experienced with fundraising and marketing. We have an excellent base of market and technical research as well as a relatively developed product, but need to complete a team to really get this company off the ground.
What advice do you have for entrepreneurs?
Every person you meet does something better than you and is worth learning from. Even if you feel that someone's interests or skill-set are unrelated to your work, listen and understand anyways. You never know when what you learn becomes useful in another conversation, or when someone you speak with turns out to be someone who can help you down the line. You can't pull this off, though, if you're not genuine in your interest and if you're not humble enough to acknowledge the lesson's value.
What Austin-based resource have you found to be the most helpful and why?
The friendly and helpful nature of Austinites has been extremely beneficial to us. It's not a place where people look at you and say, “If you're not helping me right now, what good are you?” It's a place where we can ask questions, take people out for coffee, network, and generally gather the knowledge we need because people are forthcoming and willing to take that time. It's also a place where we can offer our help to others in turn with no reservations. . I love this town and hope that spirit never changes.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Richard McKinnon of Less Networks Talks about His Company
Richard McKinnon of Less Networks Talks about His Company
Where are you from originally?
I was born in the Philippines and grew up in the Bay Area after brief stints in New Jersey and Phoenix.
What university did you go to?
I took a tour of colleges beginning by flunking out of the University of New Mexico because I was having just too much fun. Then, I tried my hand at aviation at Alameda Community College. When I realized that flying an airliner was more boring than glamorous, I dropped out of that too. I was 18 and in search of a life. Next, I remediated my bruised transcripts at Chabot Community College studying Criminal Justice. It seems I had a knack for law enforcement as I finished at the top of my class. I transferred to San Jose State University in Public Administration where I was exposed to Political Science, which I loved. It was there that I was introduced to the high-tech eco-system in Silicon Valley and became involved with an actual garage start-up that would eventually IPO.
What brought you to Austin?
After receiving my MA in Political Science, I came to UT for a PhD in Political Theory. Although I still love political theory, I didn't enjoy the PhD experience in UT's Government Department. After several years of trying to make it work, I eventually dropped out. It seems my academic career went full circle! The best thing about the horrible experience at UT is that it introduced me to a really great town filled with kind and interesting people. So, like so many others, I stayed. It was difficult at first to transition from academia back to the working world, but I eventually found my place in Austin's high-tech scene. It was around this time that that Silicon Valley company IPO'd and I gained the freedom to quit my job and start my own company.
What is the idea behind your startup?
We originally started as a free wi-fi company to help small, independent businesses compete with Tmobile's for-pay wi-fi in Starbucks. Nowadays, we help these businesses make sure that their customers are aware of and engaged with the business' Facebook, Twitter, and email marketing newsletter. It's pretty obvious when you think about it. Why put up a sign in your restaurant that says "Follow us on Facebook and Twitter" when you can automatically take your customers to those pages when they get on the WiFi system. We've evolved to the point that we don't even require WiFi for the solution. If a consumer wants to use their iPhone's 4G connection, then we can fall back to in-store signage that directs them to a web page and a chance to win free food for them and their Facebook friends in exchange for an email address. Just last week, Starbucks announced that their wifi is going to become free, so now our raison d ^ etre is gone. Good thing we've continued to evolve from "free wifi solutions" to "wifi-free solutions"!
What need does it fulfill?
We're focusing primarily on the food industry--cafe's, restaurants, and bars. These folks totally understand the value of word-of-marketing and many have begun playing with Facebook and Twitter. Some have gone so far as to develop a custom iPhone app. The problem is that all of these tools take time and money, yet they have no clear path to making sure that their customers even know that these investments exist!
Recently, I attended a social media summit in Hollywood and they had high-ranking marketing guys from Mazda and Kodak as keynote speakers talking about how they were able to persuade their organizations to invest in social media. They discussed the cultural change that was necessary as well as the resources needed. But you know, at the end of the day, these huge companies are still suffering from the same problem that my much smaller customers have--obscurity. I turned to my table mates at the summit and asked how many of them had ever been to either Kodak's or Mazda's Facebook page? No one. I also asked if they even knew they existed or ever thought to look. Again, no one.. So if a company with a Fortune 500 marketing budget is having trouble making people aware of and engaged with their social media investments, what's a small restaurant or coffee shop supposed to do? That's how Less Networks can help. Put simply, we put your Facebook page in front of your customers' face.
What exactly does your product do?
When we're integrated into a business's WiFi system, we automatically take people using the Internet right to the the business' marketing assets. We can do this because we control the router. Sometimes we take them to their Facebook page where they can click the button to become a Fan. Other times we take them to the business' Twitter profile where they can become a Follower. This is much more effective than putting up a sign that says "Follow us on Facebook" and hoping that the people will see it, remember it later, and then actually do it--assuming that they even know how to find the business on Facebook. In addition to increasing the visibility of social media assets, we also build-in automatic engagement by prompting the consumers to share their location and experience with their Facebook friends. If they do this, then their picture, the business' logo, promotional link, and text is posted on the consumer's wall for 130 Facebook friends to see. That something a simple sign can't do! Since we also have the email addresses of everyone using the WiFi system, we can help integrate the consumers into the business' opt-in email marketing program such as Fishbowl and Constant Contact. Finally, we make sure that the WiFi works so that the business doesn't need to worry about it.
All of this marketing activity depends on a working WiFi system, so reliable WiFi is a bedrock benefit that we provide. I mentioned earlier that we now have a "wifi-free solution" for smart phones. Unfortunately, this does depend on in-store signage, but you can't force someone to use wifi on their iPhone if they don't want to. As a result, we've had to come up with a user experience for 3G/4G consumers. Basically, they see a sign that says something like "Win a free burger for you and your friends at some easy URL.com" Then they go there on their smart phone and it prompts them for their email address and to click to see if they win. They're told instantly whether they're a winner and that the coupon was sent to their email address. The email they receive later also contains a link to share the contest with their Facebook friends. Of course, the hope is that the promotion will spread to the consumer's friends all the while collecting email addresses, raising the business visibility, providing entertainment, and awarding free hamburgers.
Who is it for?
We believe our solution is a good fit for any retail business trying to make their customers aware of their social media, but we're focusing on the Texas food industry until we have the resources to branch out systematically.
What was the most challenging aspect of starting up a business?
Starting up was easy, keeping it going is hard. I've learned that raw intelligence is not enough to succeed and an instinct for making money is crucial. I've noticed that some of my smartest friends have created the most convoluted companies and methods for earning a living. I suspect that's because more straight-forward approaches are boring or below them. It's almost like they're too smart to make money because the businesses are based on technologies they've created to amuse themselves. I've been guilty of that. Working with my restaurant industry customers, I've acquired a great deal of respect for the straight-forward "simple" business models that don't involve much high-tech or brainy convolution---you make a product or provide a service that people want and you sell it to them, then repeat.
I remember the first time I learned that Dairy Queen stores compete on how quickly they can make their first million in annual revenues and then go up the ladder from there. It was humbling. A million bucks is a million bucks and my fancy WiFi company was a long ways from there. Maybe I should be selling Blizzards instead. At the very least, I've finally learned to focus on the money and not the gee-whiz technology and coolness factor. The question I always ask myself now is, "Would a customer want to buy this?" as opposed to "Wouldn't it be cool if we made this?" I hope that this dose of pragmatism doesn't prevent me from inventing the next Twitter some day, because an idea like Twitter definitely wouldn't pass my new litmus test for a business. That's sad, I guess. Maybe after I get out of the trenches, I'll get all starry-eyed again.
What is the next step for you and your startup?
We're in the process beefing up our advisory board with telco and food industry execs to more effectively court multi-unit franchise and national retail customers as well as prepare ourselves for partnering, licensing, and acquisition opportunities with broadband infrastructure providers such as such as phone and cable companies. Already, we've had several exciting conversations along these lines, but who knows, maybe our exit will be to another kind of buyer like a Chinese social networking company or a newspaper company looking for a new way to distribute their content.
What advice do you have for entrepreneurs?
Specifically to Austin high-tech entrepreneurs, get on a plane and fly to SF/Silicon Valley every month. Sure, we live in a great city with a great quality of life, but we're working at a tremendous disadvantage. It's like being a "mid-major" college football team. Even if you've got a great product, you're playing in a weak conference. I hate to say it, but I've learned that it's true. In SF/Silicon Valley, Austin just doesn't even register in the high-tech scene. We're in the backwater out here. The only Austin company they can think of is Dell. Telling them you have a company in Austin does not impress them, it makes them question your credibility. That's pretty infuriating because so many bad business ideas get attention and funding out there simply because they're out there. So, take some of the money you're saving on rent and mortgage, and spend it on a $300 plane trip to the Bay Area every month and start networking over there. Don't even tell them you're from Austin. Say your development team is in Austin, if you have to. Create a virtual office over there and have a California business card. Think of it as a standard business expense for all Austin high-tech companies of any size. Our biggest biz dev lead for 2009 came out of this strategy and it would have never happened otherwise. Then, come home, put on your shorts and sandals, pop open a Shiner, have some chips and salsa and be grateful that you don't have to live in the Bay everyday. This is a great place to live in, but not build a high-tech company. That's not something that many people here want to hear and I'm a bigger booster than most.
There are a lot of things that would have to change like the whole attitude of the entire local investment community from angels to VCs. But even then, we're simply lacking the critical mass of nearly everybody you need to meet and partner with to succeed is over there. It's crucial to be a part of the conversation, so that someone who can make a difference becomes aware of you. It's very similar to LA and actors. Anyway, once you get over the sting of this reality, let me know and I'll help you meet and network with the Austin diaspora that regularly travels to CA. We trade Bay Area tips and advice, talk about Austin, and even share living and working spaces while we're out there. It makes traveling so much easier and more fun when you keep a foot in your home community.
What Austin-based resource have you found to be the most helpful and why?
I benefit greatly from the advice and mentoring from the Austin Technology Incubator as well as the email list from Bootstrap-Austin. But perhaps the most helpful resource is the collective experience and talent of my Austin-based team members. It's tempting to "ask the experts," and it's awfully easy to overlook the in-house expertise you already have. We've built an award-winning venture together and I'm looking forward to finally solving the puzzle for making money with free WiFi.
Best regards,
Hall T.
Where are you from originally?
I was born in the Philippines and grew up in the Bay Area after brief stints in New Jersey and Phoenix.
What university did you go to?
I took a tour of colleges beginning by flunking out of the University of New Mexico because I was having just too much fun. Then, I tried my hand at aviation at Alameda Community College. When I realized that flying an airliner was more boring than glamorous, I dropped out of that too. I was 18 and in search of a life. Next, I remediated my bruised transcripts at Chabot Community College studying Criminal Justice. It seems I had a knack for law enforcement as I finished at the top of my class. I transferred to San Jose State University in Public Administration where I was exposed to Political Science, which I loved. It was there that I was introduced to the high-tech eco-system in Silicon Valley and became involved with an actual garage start-up that would eventually IPO.
What brought you to Austin?
After receiving my MA in Political Science, I came to UT for a PhD in Political Theory. Although I still love political theory, I didn't enjoy the PhD experience in UT's Government Department. After several years of trying to make it work, I eventually dropped out. It seems my academic career went full circle! The best thing about the horrible experience at UT is that it introduced me to a really great town filled with kind and interesting people. So, like so many others, I stayed. It was difficult at first to transition from academia back to the working world, but I eventually found my place in Austin's high-tech scene. It was around this time that that Silicon Valley company IPO'd and I gained the freedom to quit my job and start my own company.
What is the idea behind your startup?
We originally started as a free wi-fi company to help small, independent businesses compete with Tmobile's for-pay wi-fi in Starbucks. Nowadays, we help these businesses make sure that their customers are aware of and engaged with the business' Facebook, Twitter, and email marketing newsletter. It's pretty obvious when you think about it. Why put up a sign in your restaurant that says "Follow us on Facebook and Twitter" when you can automatically take your customers to those pages when they get on the WiFi system. We've evolved to the point that we don't even require WiFi for the solution. If a consumer wants to use their iPhone's 4G connection, then we can fall back to in-store signage that directs them to a web page and a chance to win free food for them and their Facebook friends in exchange for an email address. Just last week, Starbucks announced that their wifi is going to become free, so now our raison d ^ etre is gone. Good thing we've continued to evolve from "free wifi solutions" to "wifi-free solutions"!
What need does it fulfill?
We're focusing primarily on the food industry--cafe's, restaurants, and bars. These folks totally understand the value of word-of-marketing and many have begun playing with Facebook and Twitter. Some have gone so far as to develop a custom iPhone app. The problem is that all of these tools take time and money, yet they have no clear path to making sure that their customers even know that these investments exist!
Recently, I attended a social media summit in Hollywood and they had high-ranking marketing guys from Mazda and Kodak as keynote speakers talking about how they were able to persuade their organizations to invest in social media. They discussed the cultural change that was necessary as well as the resources needed. But you know, at the end of the day, these huge companies are still suffering from the same problem that my much smaller customers have--obscurity. I turned to my table mates at the summit and asked how many of them had ever been to either Kodak's or Mazda's Facebook page? No one. I also asked if they even knew they existed or ever thought to look. Again, no one.. So if a company with a Fortune 500 marketing budget is having trouble making people aware of and engaged with their social media investments, what's a small restaurant or coffee shop supposed to do? That's how Less Networks can help. Put simply, we put your Facebook page in front of your customers' face.
What exactly does your product do?
When we're integrated into a business's WiFi system, we automatically take people using the Internet right to the the business' marketing assets. We can do this because we control the router. Sometimes we take them to their Facebook page where they can click the button to become a Fan. Other times we take them to the business' Twitter profile where they can become a Follower. This is much more effective than putting up a sign that says "Follow us on Facebook" and hoping that the people will see it, remember it later, and then actually do it--assuming that they even know how to find the business on Facebook. In addition to increasing the visibility of social media assets, we also build-in automatic engagement by prompting the consumers to share their location and experience with their Facebook friends. If they do this, then their picture, the business' logo, promotional link, and text is posted on the consumer's wall for 130 Facebook friends to see. That something a simple sign can't do! Since we also have the email addresses of everyone using the WiFi system, we can help integrate the consumers into the business' opt-in email marketing program such as Fishbowl and Constant Contact. Finally, we make sure that the WiFi works so that the business doesn't need to worry about it.
All of this marketing activity depends on a working WiFi system, so reliable WiFi is a bedrock benefit that we provide. I mentioned earlier that we now have a "wifi-free solution" for smart phones. Unfortunately, this does depend on in-store signage, but you can't force someone to use wifi on their iPhone if they don't want to. As a result, we've had to come up with a user experience for 3G/4G consumers. Basically, they see a sign that says something like "Win a free burger for you and your friends at some easy URL.com" Then they go there on their smart phone and it prompts them for their email address and to click to see if they win. They're told instantly whether they're a winner and that the coupon was sent to their email address. The email they receive later also contains a link to share the contest with their Facebook friends. Of course, the hope is that the promotion will spread to the consumer's friends all the while collecting email addresses, raising the business visibility, providing entertainment, and awarding free hamburgers.
Who is it for?
We believe our solution is a good fit for any retail business trying to make their customers aware of their social media, but we're focusing on the Texas food industry until we have the resources to branch out systematically.
What was the most challenging aspect of starting up a business?
Starting up was easy, keeping it going is hard. I've learned that raw intelligence is not enough to succeed and an instinct for making money is crucial. I've noticed that some of my smartest friends have created the most convoluted companies and methods for earning a living. I suspect that's because more straight-forward approaches are boring or below them. It's almost like they're too smart to make money because the businesses are based on technologies they've created to amuse themselves. I've been guilty of that. Working with my restaurant industry customers, I've acquired a great deal of respect for the straight-forward "simple" business models that don't involve much high-tech or brainy convolution---you make a product or provide a service that people want and you sell it to them, then repeat.
I remember the first time I learned that Dairy Queen stores compete on how quickly they can make their first million in annual revenues and then go up the ladder from there. It was humbling. A million bucks is a million bucks and my fancy WiFi company was a long ways from there. Maybe I should be selling Blizzards instead. At the very least, I've finally learned to focus on the money and not the gee-whiz technology and coolness factor. The question I always ask myself now is, "Would a customer want to buy this?" as opposed to "Wouldn't it be cool if we made this?" I hope that this dose of pragmatism doesn't prevent me from inventing the next Twitter some day, because an idea like Twitter definitely wouldn't pass my new litmus test for a business. That's sad, I guess. Maybe after I get out of the trenches, I'll get all starry-eyed again.
What is the next step for you and your startup?
We're in the process beefing up our advisory board with telco and food industry execs to more effectively court multi-unit franchise and national retail customers as well as prepare ourselves for partnering, licensing, and acquisition opportunities with broadband infrastructure providers such as such as phone and cable companies. Already, we've had several exciting conversations along these lines, but who knows, maybe our exit will be to another kind of buyer like a Chinese social networking company or a newspaper company looking for a new way to distribute their content.
What advice do you have for entrepreneurs?
Specifically to Austin high-tech entrepreneurs, get on a plane and fly to SF/Silicon Valley every month. Sure, we live in a great city with a great quality of life, but we're working at a tremendous disadvantage. It's like being a "mid-major" college football team. Even if you've got a great product, you're playing in a weak conference. I hate to say it, but I've learned that it's true. In SF/Silicon Valley, Austin just doesn't even register in the high-tech scene. We're in the backwater out here. The only Austin company they can think of is Dell. Telling them you have a company in Austin does not impress them, it makes them question your credibility. That's pretty infuriating because so many bad business ideas get attention and funding out there simply because they're out there. So, take some of the money you're saving on rent and mortgage, and spend it on a $300 plane trip to the Bay Area every month and start networking over there. Don't even tell them you're from Austin. Say your development team is in Austin, if you have to. Create a virtual office over there and have a California business card. Think of it as a standard business expense for all Austin high-tech companies of any size. Our biggest biz dev lead for 2009 came out of this strategy and it would have never happened otherwise. Then, come home, put on your shorts and sandals, pop open a Shiner, have some chips and salsa and be grateful that you don't have to live in the Bay everyday. This is a great place to live in, but not build a high-tech company. That's not something that many people here want to hear and I'm a bigger booster than most.
There are a lot of things that would have to change like the whole attitude of the entire local investment community from angels to VCs. But even then, we're simply lacking the critical mass of nearly everybody you need to meet and partner with to succeed is over there. It's crucial to be a part of the conversation, so that someone who can make a difference becomes aware of you. It's very similar to LA and actors. Anyway, once you get over the sting of this reality, let me know and I'll help you meet and network with the Austin diaspora that regularly travels to CA. We trade Bay Area tips and advice, talk about Austin, and even share living and working spaces while we're out there. It makes traveling so much easier and more fun when you keep a foot in your home community.
What Austin-based resource have you found to be the most helpful and why?
I benefit greatly from the advice and mentoring from the Austin Technology Incubator as well as the email list from Bootstrap-Austin. But perhaps the most helpful resource is the collective experience and talent of my Austin-based team members. It's tempting to "ask the experts," and it's awfully easy to overlook the in-house expertise you already have. We've built an award-winning venture together and I'm looking forward to finally solving the puzzle for making money with free WiFi.
Best regards,
Hall T.
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