The Rod Underhill Blog
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Putting People Back to Work

One of my projects is a very important one...and is, in part, concentrating very heavily upon putting people back to work.  You'll be hearing more about "Employaid Plus" in the weeks ahead, which is a spin off of the popular Employaid project.  Employaid has been getting a lot of press lately.  Here is a very recent article that provides information about the project. 

A lot of people have been asking me when I will return to New York City.  For all of the start ups who did not get a chance to meet me during my last trip, I may be announcing my upcoming return. I am still working on some details about that...so more as it develops.

Posted by Rod Underhill at 5/6/2009 9:33 AM | Add Comment

Bandtones Video

Very cool video that explains what our Bandtones project is all about.  This is the project that won a Webby Award for me last year. (Ha, the award statue that you see, one just like it is sitting on my piano in the living room.)


Posted by Rod Underhill at 5/5/2009 10:07 AM | Add Comment

WhyPark.com Sold

Okay, well, let's see here...the big news of late is WhyPark.com was sold.  Nice deal, everyone happy.  See, money can be made even now. 

My trip to NYC and my keynote speech was very fun. I gave my speech in the incredible Bloomberg LP building, very nice. Stayed at The Barclay. Very nice. 

The trip to Banff, Canada, where I gave a mobile phone industry keynote was great. Never saw mountains like they have in Banff.

I will be returning to NYC and to Canada to give keynotes or otherwise attend special events over the next few months. More on that as more becomes available.

Business Week has featured me twice in thirty days.  Getting dizzy from Business Week attention.  The local newspaper interviewed me today regarding my impressions of the Swine Flu problem. Glad to see it may not be as bad as was feared, hope "they" are right about that.

Lots of things going on that I can't talk about, but will be able to talk about said things in the fullness of time.  


Posted by Rod Underhill at 5/4/2009 5:10 PM | Add Comment

New York CityI

Greetings from ten thousand feet. (As I am writing this while still on the jet on the way home from NYC.)  I presented my key note address yesterday.  The venue was the Bloomberg LP building in Manhattan, very nice.  This keynote was for the NYC Entrepreneur Week.  So, thanks New York for inviting me out to speak.

I noticed I unnerved some of the venture capital people where with what I had to say about VC in general.  Sorry about that.  Jesus, get a life.

As I was quoted in Business Week following my speech, VC has long been like the record companies, with the record companies you can only contact them through somebody they "know."  With VCs, you can only contact them via somebody who has already been funded by them....my merely saying that this system isn't so great for start ups was not taken well.  What i should have said was that this system is extremely self serving for VCs and arrogant to boot.

Of course, my speech was made just a day after it was pointed out in the press that VC investments are way down.  Angel investments are about even at this point.

I don't have any real bone to pick with VCs, but I do think the system could be improved a great deal. 


Posted by Rod Underhill at 4/23/2009 12:17 PM | Add Comment

Banff

I had a great time in Banff, Canada.  What wonderful place. I had no idea that mountains could be like the mountains I saw there. And I live on a mountain. 

Here is a link to a photo of the hotel I stayed in
. It was something.   You could have landed an airplane in the suite they gave me. I was picked up at the airport in a nice town car...and enjoyed the hour and a half ride from Calgary to Banff. I look forward to returning with my family over the Summer, perhaps. The people putting on the event and the people who attended were all very impressive.  This was one of the best professional experiences of my life      
I will be in NYC in a few days, looking forward to that and seeing some friends as well.  I haven't been to NYC since last summer when I picked up the Webby Award.  

The travel and events are fun, but I look forward to spending some time with my family and just getting back to work. 




Posted by Rod Underhill at 4/18/2009 9:33 PM | Add Comment

Returning to the Fold

I took some time off to concentrate on the various start ups I am working on. As the economy soured, I found myself amping up the search for venture funds for some of them.  Now that I've gone past that hump, here's an update of the World of Me.

There is a very cool incubator in Arizona you might want to look up.  It's called NACET. I took some time to travel to Flagstaff to give it a look over in person. Astounding place. You will notice some very significant start ups housed there. Google it and check it out yourself.

I will be giving a key note address in Canada this week. You can check out the event here:  

Next week I will be in NYC for another great event.  You don't want to miss either of these great events if you have a chance to be involved. 

What else is up with me? Well, for one thing, I have returned to the recording studio to work on a new album.  I've been working on it for several months, and I expect it to take at least six more months to complete.  I probably will post some of the tracks in progress over the next few months....

More soon, I promise.

Posted by Rod Underhill at 4/14/2009 8:51 AM | View Comments (1) | Add Comment

Major Funding for Blyk

Before everyone concludes that VC funds are dead in the water, consider this new press release from Blyk:

PRESS RELEASE

Blyk, the free mobile network for young people funded by advertising today announced an additional €40 million investment to support its ongoing operations and international expansion.

 

“The advertising industry and operators have expressed a strong interest in bringing Blyk into new countries and €40 million in additional funding demonstrates the commitment by investors to the Blyk media model.” said Pekka Ala-Pietilä, Blyk’s CEO and Co-founder. “However, we like everyone else are feeling the impact of the world’s financial situation. As a result, in parallel to securing the new investment, we’ve taken decisive steps to cut costs and streamline our organization.”

 

By launching a new media partnership strategy, alongside organizational realignment, Blyk will gain greater flexibility and speed to capitalize on new growth opportunities and global demand for its media model.

 

Blyk launched in the UK in September 2007 where it has achieved major successes both in member growth and advertiser usage. In its first year, Blyk achieved a milestone of over 200,000 members and has run over 2000 campaigns with an average response rate of over 25%. With 180 brands on board today, Blyk is well on track to hit its goal of 200 brands using the service by year-end.

 

“We have a winning formula which makes Blyk attractive globally. The Blyk media model, which is based on highly relevant messaging, has proven to be an extremely effective form of advertising to the youth audience.” said Antti Öhrling, Blyk’s Co-founder and Executive Director. “Blyk’s new partnering strategy will make this powerful model available for operators, brands and young people around the world.”

 



Posted by Rod Underhill at 11/20/2008 10:10 AM | Add Comment

The Credit Card Crisis and How You Are Getting Taken

The mortgage crisis has quickly led to another beast, slouching its way to you from Wall Street: the credit card crisis. The massive credit card companies have found several clever ways to take you to the cleaners.  Evidently they are experts at turning a sow's ear into a pricey silk purse at your expense.

Even if your credit is good, you may be experiencing now or will be experiencing in the future, the following effects.

1. If you have a card or two that you rarely use, because you were saving that credit for a rainy day, you'll find that card being cancelled or the credit line cut in half or less.  This forces you into a use it or loose it situation. 

2. Your credit lines will be drastically reduced...even if you have been paying your credit card bills on time.  This will rob you of the ability to adequately plan for the future.  And, you won't know your credit has been reduced until the card companies have taken action against your credit line. This is because the law states that they have 30 days to let you know that your credit line has been reduced, so they will reduce the line first and then send you a letter later. You may also see your credit line get cut back several times during the course of the next year, perhaps every 90 days or so. 

3. For what little credit you have left over, the card companies will be increasing your interest rates, making your bill go higher while denying you further credit.

4. If you live in an area where the mortgage crisis has hit hard, your credit lines will be hit harder by the card companies and your interest rates will go up higher than those card holders living in areas where the mortgage crisis wasn't as much of a problem as where you live. 

5. If you shop at stores that have had a higher rate of default related purchases, your cards will be hit harder by the card companies, as these stores are considered "risky" and that means that since you shop at a "risky" store, you are now a "risky" card holder. I don't know what stores are "risky" but a site that listed those would be a valuable site. 

6. If you pay off large amounts of debt on your cards, the companies will react by lowering your credit line to match your current balance. 

The bottom line is that you will find yourself, if you have not already, with "instantly maxed out" cards, higher payments and the feeling that you are trapped in a credit less world. Your only option is to continue paying your cards down as best you can, and pay cash for everything that you need.  Eventually the crisis will lift, but how long this will take is still unknown. If you can pay off your cards in a few months, do so, as that will save you a great deal of money in the long run. 

Still, this remains a prime time for start ups as windows of opportunity open up during any crisis. Consider www.easytaxfix.com   This site helps people file documentation to reduce their property taxes. (The argument with such a filing is "hey, my house is worth less now, so cut my taxes down, please."  The documents are not that hard to complete, but for 40 dollars or so this site has a wizard that makes it easier for you to complete and print out the proper forms. They also estimate your savings BUT they are way too generous on that, I don't think the projected savings they offer are very accurate.)  Anyway, this site has gotten some major press and is making a lot of money right now.

There are always ways to make money during a crisis. Just ask the credit card companies.  


Posted by Rod Underhill at 11/9/2008 1:21 PM | Add Comment

Should Congress Pay Your Mortgage?

I have posted a guest blog on Rippedoffby.com, which is a new site owned by a friend of mine.  On this post, I discuss the reasons why Congress should pay everyone's mortgage for a year, rather than directly bailing out the institutions that caused the current economic crisis. 

Posted by Rod Underhill at 11/8/2008 12:19 PM | Add Comment

Patent Door Shutting Tighter?

Just how hard is it to get a software related patent nowadays, anyway?  Reports have been coming into my office from the various patent attorneys assigned to my projects indicating that, particularly in regards to software patents, it appears to be getting even tougher to land one.  

I was on the phone with one of our patent lawyers today and was told "We are having trouble landing this particular patent even though the examining attorney for the Patent Office said that he personally wanted to give us the patent. He told me that his supervisor just won't let him give us the patent. Evidently there is a new clamp down on software patents."

Well. Here's what the evidence suggests.  Looking at patent applications as a whole, and not just separating software patents from the entire cloud of pending patents, we know that the number of patents being filed has not dropped overall.  And, currently, there are about 800K patents waiting to be reviewed by the Patent Office. So business at the Patent Office remains brisk.

However, the number of patents granted has been dropping. 

Since we know that patent filings remain steady, the drop off in "allowances" is really shocking.  Check out the following chart, up to date as of 2005. 


PatentlyO2006059.jpg


But check out this chart, which shows the supposed success rate of the Patent Office to meet their "goals."


(if you cannot see the image below follow this link )


bak2006dec22_clip_image002.jpg


The Patent Office has been concerned about issuing "bad patents."   There are several indications in various Patent Lawyer blogs that examiners have told others that they are being pressured by supervisors to push back on the issuance of patents.  The Patent Office has bragged in public that the number of patents granted has dropped.  But isn't it a good thing for new technology to be rewarded with the issuance of patents?


If the Patent Office's goal is to reduce the number of patents issued, they are certainly meeting that goal.  In Feb of 2008, the Director of the Patent Office remarked, in a prepared statement to the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property Committee on the Judiciary: 



Mr. Chairman, as we look to the future, we will make every effort to improve on our 
successful record in fiscal year 2007. Our patent examiners completed over 362,000 
patent applications in 2007, the largest number ever, while maintaining for the second 
year in a row an examination compliance rate1 of 96.5 percent, the highest in a quarter of 
a century. The allowance rate for patents is currently 44%. This is in contrast to 
allowance rates in excess of 70% just eight years ago. 


The question then becomes: just how hard will it be to obtain a patent in the next year and the years to follow?  Here is a PDF copy of a Business Week report that sheds even more light on the current problem regarding the Patent Office. 





Posted by Rod Underhill at 11/6/2008 10:45 AM | Add Comment
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