BeachChip Technologies

Creating a Company of Owners - Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing :: Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing

2012-01-24T10:39:00.000-05:00

Ownership has it's privileges, leverage that across the whole team.

Creating a Company of Owners - Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing :: Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing

2011-11-04T22:52:00.001-04:00

Great comments on Groupon's IPO today - comparing it with a fertilizer company that had its IPO today as well. Who has the stronger fertilizer?

Groupon's IPO may have surged today, but like most other big tech IPOs, the chances of it staying at that price are slim.

Rentech Nitrogen Partners L.P., a nitrogen fertilizer company, also launched its IPO at today at $20 per share. It probably has a better chance at sustaining its model than Groupon and subsequent daily deal copycats ever will. Says The Wall Street Journal:

Rentech has a lot of alluring attributes. Its chief competitors' stocks are up 50% for 2011. It's riding a wave of positive cyclical attributes such as high product pricing and low feedstock costs. And it plans to pay out a dividend that could yield between 11% and 12% over its next fiscal year, based on the midpoint of its expected $19 to $21 price range, a great draw for income-starved investors.
Groupon's bling is fake. Says the New Yorker, eloquently:

Most big tech I.P.O.s surge and then drop. And, with its decreasing profit margins, fishy accounting, massive marketing expenses, floundering innovations, massive insider payouts, and surging competitors, Groupon is surely not worth thirteen billion dollars, or whatever its market cap is at this very moment.
If merchants start pulling out of the daily deals space because they're losing money on Groupons, the gold will start chipping away, revealing nothing but a cheap trick, a flimsy tin.

- ReadWrite

The Worst Question a Salesperson Can Ask - Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson - Harvard Business Review

2011-10-07T14:37:00.000-04:00

The Worst Question a Salesperson Can Ask - Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson - Harvard Business Review

What if customers don't know what they need? What if customers' single greatest need, ironically, is to figure out exactly what they need? Ironic, Steve Jobs approach to his entire success at Apple and elsewhere.

Open Source Ecosystem

2011-08-21T18:37:00.000-04:00

LinuxCon: Open Source is an Ecosystem, not a Zero Sum Game | TechCrunch

Interesting review of open source ecosystems and the ability to monetize.

A Guide to Open Source Licensing

2011-08-05T11:42:00.000-04:00

A Guide to Open Source Licensing: "

If you're working on or launching an open source project, one of the most basic decisions you must make is which license the project will be released under, and choosing the perfect license is more complex than ever. Over the years, we've provided many free guidelines on this topic, but it's a moving target. In this post, you'll find our updeated collection of all the things you need to know to make an informed open source license decision.

The Free Software Foundation is the principal organizer of the GNU Project, and you can find the FSF's guidelines on choosing an open source license in this post. The guidelines cover how to choose an overall license for a project, and also cover making decisions on licensing modified versions of an existing project.

Through the FSF guidelines, you can gain knowledge about what Copyleft is, and it's wise to learn more about the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL), and the GNU Affero General Public License (AGPL). t's also worth looking into our post on the Software Freedom Law Center's Legal Issue Primer. It contains a very thorough discussion of most popular open source licenses. And you can find much more introductory material on open source licenses in this post.

These posts also provide much good background on licenses:

First, Know They Licenses

The Unlicense: A License For No License

FSFE and GPL-Violations.org on Reporting (and Avoiding) Licensing Issues

Thwarting Threats: Free OSS Legal Primer Boasts Big Authors

One reason to know about open source licenses is to keep things legal, and we have covered a number of legal resources that can help keep open source projects and developers out of harm's way. In this post, you'll find a discussion of a journal focused on open source law called International Free and Open Source Software Law Review. In the journal's archives, you'll find extremely informed discussions of licensing and patent practices, among other topics.

A little bit of homework can mean a lot when evaluating open source licenses. Hopefully some of the guidelines above will be of help to you.

Image courtesy of The International Free and Open Source Software Law Review.

Related Activities

Comments (0)

Post a Comment

Ask a Question

Related Software

gnu (add alternative, post review)
licenses (add alternative, post review)

Before you get locked into Lync, consider open source options | Open Source Software - InfoWorld

2011-07-23T13:29:00.000-04:00

Before you get locked into Lync, consider open source options | Open Source Software - InfoWorld

9 Steps to Consider When Valuing Your Startup

2011-06-27T09:28:00.000-04:00

9 Steps to Consider When Valuing Your Startup

Determining your startup’s worth is one of the hardest parts of the fundraising process. There is no magic formula that will spit out a valuation, namely because the number is highly subjective. The entrepreneur, for example, anticipates huge potential and may therefore put a high valuation on his company. The investor, on the other hand sees a company that needs capital to grow and may fail without it, so he may set a low valuation. To help the process, we’ve devised a few considerations to help value your company.

Defense of the "Daily Deal" Biz from a VC Funding them...

2011-06-25T13:16:00.001-04:00

Most merchants participating in daily deals do not have much deal experience. This leaves them at a disadvantage to the daily deal sites when it comes to negotiating the terms of running a daily deal, and can lead to stories like “Groupon Was ‘The Single Worst Decision I Have Ever Made As A Business Owner” (also on TechCrunch). Interestingly, I find that most of the daily deal horror stories come from merchants that a) negotiate terrible deal structure/terms b) do not accurately track redemption or customer spend and c) do not clearly understand the true economics of running a daily deal. This particular post references a story about a coffee shop that signed a 50/50 deal to sell $13 value vouchers (an atrocious 2.5-times their average ticket) for $6 and claimed to have lost $10,000 after selling 890 vouchers.

But, let’s take a look at the real economics:

Total Voucher Value = (890 vouchers) X $13 = $11,570.00
Total Food Cost = $11,570 X (85% redemption rate) X (30% food cost) = $2,950.35
Income From Groupon = (890 vouchers) X ($6 voucher price) X (50% split) = $2,670.00
Cost of Deal After Food Cost = ($2,950.35 food cost) – ($2,670.00 income) = $280.35

Even if we factor in additional variable costs (such as labor, etc.) and amortize fixed costs, a $10,000 seems unrealistically high. Unfortunately, it appears that the poor deal terms and lack of preparation crippled the merchant’s ability to convert new customers into regulars, leaving a bad taste towards the quality of the daily deal model—and daily deal users. Sadly, at times this manifests into merchants and their staff treating daily deal customers like 2nd class citizens. Then they wonder why they don’t come back.

Let’s take a moment to analyze a properly-structured restaurant deal:

A restaurant sells 1,000 vouchers that are $20 for $40 worth of food with a 70/30 revenue split.

At 1,000 vouchers, the restaurant receives $14,000 for $40,000 worth of food ($14/voucher sold given the 70/30 revenue split).
Average restaurant non-redemption is 18%, thus numbers adjust to income of $14,000 for $32,800 worth of food when you subtract the no-shows.
Food cost = $9,840 (30% average food cost multiplied by $32,800)
Income after food cost = $4,160 ($14,000 – $9,840)
We could take this further by taking into account three additional points: a) the merchant does not pay ~2.2% credit card processing on the voucher value b) a percentage of customers spend less than the voucher amount and c) a percentage of customers spend more than the voucher amount, however, that goes beyond the scope of this article.

If reservations are required (per deal terms) and proper sales limits are set, the restaurant merchant can fulfill the vouchers with minimal increases in variable costs. The economics further improve for other merchants in different market segments (rock climbing, golf, laser hair removal, and so on—i.e. merchants with lower costs of goods). In the example above, even if the restaurant merchant simply breaks even on the economic side, a minimum of 600 new customers will be walking through their doors at no cost. What other advertising options could possibly beat that?

Excerpt from TechCrunch

Arash Pirzad-Allaei is a co-founder ofKASA Capital, where heads the internet technology development of KASA’s network of websites, including daily deals site Crowd Cut.

Microsoft Windows Phone Beats Android - April Fools

2011-05-11T14:37:00.000-04:00

Pyramid Points - Why Windows Phone Will Beat Android http://t.co/AlwoyOu via @AddThis (April Fools) Funny, Microsoft is history, no impact. Amazing attempt at analysis.

SEC considers letting startups use social networks to raise money | VentureBeat

2011-04-09T22:00:00.000-04:00

SEC considers letting startups use social networks to raise money | VentureBeat

This could be a very interesting formalization and expansion of Micro-Funding used in emerging nations.

The parable of the the PDA: predicting the smartphone’s future | asymco

2011-01-09T18:48:00.000-05:00

Great review of past technologies in the context of determining how to develop and bring to market new technology.

The parable of the the PDA: predicting the smartphone’s future | asymco

Android's Users Eclipse IPhone's for First Time, comScore Says (Jennifer Valentino-DeVries/Digits)

2011-01-06T09:26:00.000-05:00

WSJ review on users...also some interesting feedback in comments section. Apple users (existing or new - MAC?) still don't get it that Apple prefers their products to remain niche plays...

Jennifer Valentino-DeVries / Digits:

Android's Users Eclipse IPhone's for First Time, comScore Says — For the first time, more Americans say they are using cellphones powered by Google Inc.'s Android system than Apple Inc.'s iPhone, according to a new survey from technology-tracking firm comScore Inc.

2010-12-16T13:31:00.001-05:00

Dancing Snowman Scam Spreads Virally on Facebook http://ping.fm/G58TG

2010-12-15T16:42:00.001-05:00

Do You Need Those Other Social Networks? http://ping.fm/hdl8I

2010-11-30T08:49:00.001-05:00

Always assume competition http://ping.fm/GUSni

2010-11-30T08:47:00.001-05:00

10 Things I Know For Sure About Building a Business http://ping.fm/ctLmE

2010-11-12T20:08:00.001-05:00

How to Write Better Emails http://ping.fm/muwJ7

2010-11-06T20:47:00.001-04:00

How to Use Blekko to Rock at Your Job http://ping.fm/lgYAW

2010-10-31T21:01:00.001-04:00

Nerd Vittles http://nerdvittles.com/

5 Reasons Your Startup is Bound to Fail

2010-10-22T21:48:00.000-04:00

5 Reasons Your Startup is Bound to Fail

2010-09-22T15:43:00.001-04:00

History lesson: 35 years of open source software http://ping.fm/Nq1Vi

2010-09-22T15:36:00.001-04:00

Is the Cloud Right for Unified Communications? http://ping.fm/38kGJ

UC Justification...

2010-09-09T10:46:00.002-04:00

Just uploaded 'Unified Communications' to SlideShare. http://slidesha.re/cSHzqg

2010-08-17T12:23:00.001-04:00

Google vs Oracle, open vs closed, or good vs evil http://ping.fm/8RlEU

2010-08-12T12:01:00.001-04:00

The Art of the Elevator Pitch: 10 Great Tips - ReadWriteStart http://rww.tw/b5AnoS

2010-08-08T15:23:00.001-04:00

RT @TechCrunch Delta Flight 1843 From JFK To Hell http://tcrn.ch/buGR46 Truth, short airline stocks

2010-08-06T16:44:00.001-04:00

Five Ways Android Will Defeat iPhone and BlackBerry - http://shar.es/0aFd7

2010-07-28T12:20:00.001-04:00

Cutting the landline cord - and losing family identity.... http://ping.fm/oOasc

2010-07-27T13:57:00.001-04:00

Censorship is a network engineering issue (to be overcome) - Ethical hacker interview regarding WikiLeaks release of war papers

2010-07-23T16:46:00.001-04:00

Indian Ministry brings $35 IPad like low cost computing device to reality â€“ Prices to drop further [Exclusive pictures] http://bit.ly/b9y5T9

2010-07-22T16:31:00.001-04:00

Great people talk about ideas, average people talk about events, small people talk about other people.

2010-07-17T10:35:00.001-04:00

crunch Xbox 360 Giveaway http://ping.fm/s5w0p

2010-07-16T13:24:00.001-04:00

Steve Jobs announces custom Apple duct tape fix, same duct tape only 200% higher price. Apple store will place on phone for free with new purchase.

2010-07-13T07:41:00.001-04:00

Venture capital funding for open source software-related vendors increased 11.5% in the second quarter, the third consecutive quarter of positive growth following a 6% rise in 4Q09 and a 38% increase in 1Q10. http://blogs.the451group.com/opensource/2010/07/12/vc-funding-for-oss-related-vendors-up-11-5-in-q2/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+451opensource+%28451+Open+Source+Blog%29

2010-07-09T12:14:00.001-04:00

Open source SIP integrated VoIP video calls from Android based devices http://ping.fm/92VBT

2010-07-09T12:04:00.001-04:00

Open Source Means Cost Savings http://ping.fm/1AqdG

2010-07-01T20:18:00.001-04:00

Large systems with inbuilt complex bureaucracies have a hard time changing. Take advantage of that. http://ping.fm/4dz6h

2010-06-25T19:02:00.001-04:00

Google Android continues growth on Apple Apps
http://ping.fm/ckEDs

2010-06-21T09:10:00.001-04:00

The Promise of SIP - Trans-modal Glue, No Jitter Blog | blog: http://bit.ly/cymDLL

2010-06-19T18:22:00.001-04:00

I follow my friends and see what's going on nearby with Buzz for mobile from http://m.google.com googlemobile

2010-06-19T08:21:00.001-04:00

Did Microsoft Pressure Dell to Change Ubuntu Linux Statement? No way, The VAR Guy http://bit.ly/bM7yVc

2010-06-18T08:46:00.001-04:00

What Entrepreneurs Can Learn from OK Go http://bit.ly/azsYtY

2010-06-14T19:25:00.001-04:00

Starbucks caves free WiFi July 1 - yes!
http://ping.fm/UOTmF

The 8-Step SEO Strategy, Step 1: Define Your Target Audience and Their Needs

2010-05-29T09:39:00.000-04:00

Great series on SEO 101...

SEOmoz | The 8-Step SEO Strategy, Step 1: Define Your Target Audience and Their Needs

Avoid Decision by Indecision

2010-05-17T10:35:00.000-04:00

Avoid Decision by Indecision

Five Sources for Early Stage Funding

2010-05-15T10:01:00.000-04:00

Funding start-ups and new product development...

Five Sources for Early Stage Funding

Google iPad - Why Google wins

2010-04-09T11:04:00.000-04:00

Meet the Google iPad - Fortune Brainstorm Tech

Social Media that drive Action

2010-04-09T10:41:00.000-04:00

6 Ways Brands are Using Social Media For Real-World Action

Startup Strategy Roundtable: Beyond Validating Your Ideas - ReadWriteStart

2010-04-03T13:03:00.000-04:00

How do you work through making sure your idea will work?

Startup Strategy Roundtable: Beyond Validating Your Ideas - ReadWriteStart

10 Principles For Not Killing Your Startup - ReadWriteStart

2010-03-09T11:00:00.000-05:00

10 Principles For Not Killing Your Startup - ReadWriteStart

Great single sentence rules to live by...Peter

Social-Media: 70% of companies are not adequately measuring

2010-03-03T08:11:00.000-05:00

Social-Media: 70% of companies are not adequately measuring

Measure twice, cut once.

The Essential IT Blog For Small Businesses | SmallBizResource.com

2010-02-23T15:50:00.001-05:00

The Essential IT Blog For Small Businesses | SmallBizResource.com

Posted using ShareThis

5 Tips for Getting More Leads from Speaking | Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing

2010-02-02T10:31:00.001-05:00

5 Tips for Getting More Leads from Speaking | Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing

Posted using ShareThis

Facebook and Twitter Lead the Pack as Social Media Usage Skyrockets [STATS]

2010-01-23T08:49:00.001-05:00

Facebook and Twitter Lead the Pack as Social Media Usage Skyrockets [STATS]

Posted using ShareThis

Simple tweak to Google Local Business Listing can create dramatic SEO impact | Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing

2010-01-18T16:59:00.000-05:00

Great way to drive local business. Working with it on a client now.

Simple tweak to Google Local Business Listing can create dramatic SEO impact | Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing

The Perfect Storm: Why Now is the Time for Open Source - TechWeb Digital Library

2009-12-22T17:25:00.000-05:00

Introduction to the opportunity presented by open source based solutions.

The Perfect Storm: Why Now is the Time for Open Source - TechWeb Digital Library

Android Explosion: Lifestyle Apps That Make Life Easier - ABC News

2009-12-15T16:35:00.000-05:00

Product still matters in a go to market, even if you are number 3 to market and have a less then ideal delivery approach...

Android Explosion: Lifestyle Apps That Make Life Easier - ABC News

How to bring a product to market / A very rare interview with Sean Ellis - Venture Hacks

2009-12-14T16:14:00.000-05:00

Awesome material...

How to bring a product to market / A very rare interview with Sean Ellis - Venture Hacks

BBC News - Microsoft investigates Windows 7 'screen of death'

2009-12-01T09:49:00.000-05:00

One step forward, two steps back. So....Windows 7 is really different from past products

BBC News - Microsoft investigates Windows 7 'screen of death'

Are Business Plans Still Necessary?

2009-11-10T19:03:00.000-05:00

Are Business Plans Still Necessary?

Ballast Point closes $140M fund that has Raymond James as anchor - Tampa Bay Business Journal:

2009-10-30T16:37:00.000-04:00

Money is starting to get ready for investment, any good ideas?

Ballast Point closes $140M fund that has Raymond James as anchor - Tampa Bay Business Journal:

3 Sales Tips for Startups – Creating a Burning Platform

2009-10-04T21:44:00.000-04:00

3 Sales Tips for Startups – Creating a Burning Platform

Flickr gets the Yahoo! brand, and a really bad rebranding attitude...

2009-09-25T17:12:00.000-04:00

Not the strategy to use when changing your branding strategy with some of the key players in communicating the change.

...underlying fact is that Flickr users, many of whom are techy hipsters, just don’t mix well with “middle America Yahoo” as Bartz put it a few days ago at the unveiling of Yahoo’s $100 million marketing campaign about “Y!ou.” Bartz said to a roomful of journalists and bloggers:

“When you get outside New York and Silicon Valley, everyone loves Yahoo. I just want to transplant all of you guys out of your cynicism. What is wrong with you guys?. Go be cynical about frickin’ Google. You got me pissed off.”

- from TechCrunch

Opportunities to market your technology company in the recession

2009-09-21T12:14:00.000-04:00

Opportunities to market your technology company in the recession

Big changes needed in the venture capital market | The Open Road - CNET News

2009-09-20T21:00:00.001-04:00

Big changes needed in the venture capital market | The Open Road - CNET News

Shared via AddThis

Ubuntu: Ready for the Clouds | WorksWithU

2009-09-09T11:44:00.001-04:00

Ubuntu: Ready for the Clouds | WorksWithU

Shared via AddThis

Increase Website Traffic Blog Archive Starting a Profitable Email List

2009-09-07T20:11:00.002-04:00

Increase Website Traffic Blog Archive tarting a Profitable Email List

Shared via AddThis

Technology Marketers Influence

2009-09-07T17:03:00.000-04:00

Three Ways Technology Marketers Influence Buying Decisions

Google | Cracked.com

2009-08-28T16:03:00.001-04:00

"World domination is cool."

Google. Google is a web-based company whose services you use to search for porn.

View >>

The Ubuntu Server: Slowly Gaining Acceptance

2009-08-25T08:03:00.000-04:00

The Ubuntu Server: Slowly Gaining Acceptance

Speaking for Interlink @ Digium Conference in February 2009

2009-08-07T08:03:00.001-04:00

Peter Weyant
Vice President of Product Marketing
Interlink
Communication Systems

1:30 pm

"Overcoming Inhibitors to VoIP Adoption in the SMB Market
- How to Make the Dog Hunt!"

Peter Weyant, Vice President of Product Marketing for Interlink Communication Systems has over 15 years experience in network, voice, and data deployment. His work has included enterprise, call center, and SME/SMB organizations deploying both legacy and IP voice. His experience includes three successes with deploying new VoIP technology through the SME/SMB market. Vertical Networks, a first generation all-in-one box converged box sold through AT&T and independent VARS. Phonetag (now Telovations), a Broadsoft based hosted regional solution developed in Tampa, FL. Most recently he has been building a VoIP practice at Interlink Communication Systems centered around the Digium IP/PBX and various components to complete the solution from Adtran, snom, U4EA, and others. This solution is currently being deployed through VARS and interconnects into the SMB market in North America.

Peter Weyant is a graduate of Northwestern University in Chicago, IL and currently lives with his wife and two sons in Clearwater, FL.

BeachChip Technologies: Still working the SMB puzzle...

2009-05-18T22:24:00.001-04:00

Applications can drive adoption in the SMB space.

How to get VoIP to the great SMB unwashed...

2009-04-06T08:19:00.004-04:00

This is a very interesting challenge for those of us who have tried a number of times to cross the chasm from early adopter to mainstream deployment. I am again working on approaches to accelerate the adoption of open-source based VoIP into a broad adoption at a rate that supports strong business growth. More to come.

BeachChip Technologies

2007-10-15T09:42:00.000-04:00

BeachChip Technologies

Peter Weyant, principle of BeachChip is currently working to deploy open source VOIP as implemented by Digium.

2005-01-03T10:46:00.000-05:00

BeachChip Technologies

BeachChip Technologies

Creating a Company of Owners - Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing :: Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing

The Worst Question a Salesperson Can Ask - Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson - Harvard Business Review

Open Source Ecosystem

A Guide to Open Source Licensing

Related Activities

Related Software

Related Blog Posts

Before you get locked into Lync, consider open source options | Open Source Software - InfoWorld

9 Steps to Consider When Valuing Your Startup

Defense of the "Daily Deal" Biz from a VC Funding them...

Microsoft Windows Phone Beats Android - April Fools

SEC considers letting startups use social networks to raise money | VentureBeat

The parable of the the PDA: predicting the smartphone’s future | asymco

Android's Users Eclipse IPhone's for First Time, comScore Says (Jennifer Valentino-DeVries/Digits)

5 Reasons Your Startup is Bound to Fail

UC Justification...

Just uploaded 'Unified Communications' to SlideShare. http://slidesha.re/cSHzqg

The 8-Step SEO Strategy, Step 1: Define Your Target Audience and Their Needs

Avoid Decision by Indecision

Five Sources for Early Stage Funding

Google iPad - Why Google wins

Social Media that drive Action

Startup Strategy Roundtable: Beyond Validating Your Ideas - ReadWriteStart

10 Principles For Not Killing Your Startup - ReadWriteStart

Social-Media: 70% of companies are not adequately measuring

The Essential IT Blog For Small Businesses | SmallBizResource.com

5 Tips for Getting More Leads from Speaking | Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing

Facebook and Twitter Lead the Pack as Social Media Usage Skyrockets [STATS]

Simple tweak to Google Local Business Listing can create dramatic SEO impact | Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing

The Perfect Storm: Why Now is the Time for Open Source - TechWeb Digital Library

Android Explosion: Lifestyle Apps That Make Life Easier - ABC News

How to bring a product to market / A very rare interview with Sean Ellis - Venture Hacks

BBC News - Microsoft investigates Windows 7 'screen of death'

Are Business Plans Still Necessary?

Ballast Point closes $140M fund that has Raymond James as anchor - Tampa Bay Business Journal:

3 Sales Tips for Startups – Creating a Burning Platform

Flickr gets the Yahoo! brand, and a really bad rebranding attitude...

Opportunities to market your technology company in the recession

Big changes needed in the venture capital market | The Open Road - CNET News

Ubuntu: Ready for the Clouds | WorksWithU

Increase Website Traffic Blog Archive Starting a Profitable Email List

Technology Marketers Influence

Google | Cracked.com

The Ubuntu Server: Slowly Gaining Acceptance

Speaking for Interlink @ Digium Conference in February 2009

BeachChip Technologies: Still working the SMB puzzle...

How to get VoIP to the great SMB unwashed...

BeachChip Technologies