Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Location Based Research?


I am sitting in the lounge of the Soho Hotel waiting to meet a couple of gentlemen from a rather large UK research group. I'm feeling nauseous too. Not only because reading on trains makes me feel nauseous but also because I've just had to pay £10 for one hours worth of internet access. To type this.

So I'm typing and waiting. Which seems to be all I ever do these days. Waiting and writing.

As our App has taken shape, gone live, and been updated from email to API event delivery and pro to consumer to Blackberry version, (Android being built too) we have been surprised by the level of interest in something that started out being a tool to help us work more effectively at EverdayLives. Within weeks of first blogging about it, and out of the blue, I was asked to go and talk at a Location Based Research conference.

Location based research? That's what it's called? OK. And suddenly it's a hot topics in research circles.

Back to the lounge in the Soho Hotel where I am waiting to meet two gentlemen. It started with a phone call to a colleague I used to work with at the Henley Centre (WPP) in the early 90's. She is the CEO of this same company.

I explained that we have a US company who is interested in buying our App outright. No shares no nothing. A 100% acquisition of the App business. I even went to visit them to discuss options. There seemed to be none. All or nothing. The problem, I explained, is that I can't single handedly manage both EverydayLives and EDLAPPCOM (the App business). I need help to productise it market it, support it, etc., etc.. What did she think I should do? Sell it? Walk away from my creation?

When I finished speaking there followed a long pause. Was she still on the line? Hello? The silence was broken by her saying, 'We'll have it!'. And this is why I am sitting in the Soho Hotel. She has asked two colleagues to come and meet me, in these elegant surroundings, to discuss way of working together.

I don't want to sell the App outright. But after discussions with my wife, we both felt that if the money is right, well... why not? On the other hand, who in their right minds sells a company before it has even turned over one penny? Wait two years at least, friends keep telling me.

And that's seems to be all I am doing these days; waiting and writing about waiting.
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2 comments:

  1. Siamack, I do empathize with you. I have experienced similar situations: I created some tool combination which produces a good competitive advantage in order to conduct analysis of fieldwork's results. I make good use of it, but then what? Do I have to maintain it just for myself or share it with "the world"?

    Indeed, I think that your announcement of your insightful tool for iPhone OS was quite brave, since you put your competition on the track of something big. As you say, And now what??

    what I most hate about this is that a good portion of my colleagues despise tools as an afterthought compared to "The Art". As some colleagues told me not so long ago, "yeah, that computing thingies of yours... however, what is relevant about research..."

    Good Luck, anyways! Innovation should be connected with success!

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