That’s my Slaw post for today.  It reads as follows:

Conventional wisdom is that law firm web sites should contain a list of major deals the firm has worked on. I’ve always thought that was wrong – but didn’t really understand why until this morning.

I attended a TechAlliance breakfast club seminar where Nick Hall of Hall Associates ( @hallassociates ) spoke about Brand Promise.

One of the examples he used was a hairdresser. The brand experience a good hairdresser provides is confidence – not a haircut. Confidence that the hairdresser uses her/his expertise to make the customer look and thus feel good. That results in loyal customers who will come back and refer others.

If it was just about experience, a hairdresser would line their walls with bags of hair they had cut.

Law firm web sites listing all the deals they have done is like displaying bags of hair.

That’s the title of my Slaw post for today.   It reads as follows:

Canadian futurist Jim Carroll (@jimcarroll)just spoke about innovation at the London TechAlliance AGM. Here are some of the points that got my attention. (We used to call these sound bites or bullet points – I’ve already seem some of these show up in Tweets from the audience – so lets call these Slaw Tweets.)

Change is so rapid – 65% of public school children will be in a career that doesn’t exist yet.

1/2 of what science grads learn in first year is obsolete when they graduate.

Product lifecycles used to be measured in 2 digit years. The product lifecycle of a digital camera is 3 -6 months.

Big doesn’t beat small – fast beats slow.

We should choose not to participate in the recession – use it as an opportunity for growth.

A brand is no longer what you say it is – its what they say it is.

Experiential capital (accumulated experience trying to do things we have not done before) is crucial.

That’s the title of my Slaw post for today.   It reads as follows:

That was the title of a presentation I attended this morning at the London TechAlliance breakfast club series.

David Ciccarelli of Voices.com was the presenter. He is well qualified to present, as he has built his business using these methods. Voices.com is interesting in itself. It is essentially a job mart for voice actors that puts together voice actors with those needing their services. As you will see from their web site, they have an impressive client list.

This years’s TechAlliance AGM and Power Breakfast features Jim Carroll as speaker.

Here’s the press release:

That’s the title of my weekly Slaw post for today. 

It reads as follows:

Lawyers often talk about how entrepreneurs should make their companies “investor ready”. This uses the term “investor” in the widest sense, meaning everything from a bank loan, to a VC investment, to the sale of the business to Google that allows the owner to retire early in luxury. By “ready” we mean being able to easily survive investor diligence without risk of losing the deal or diminishing the value – by having taken all the right steps and having the right documentation for such things as an up to date corporate minute book, trade-marks for brands, documenting IP ownership, proper employment agreements, privacy policies, etc.

Our harping on this sometimes falls on deaf ears. Perhaps the owner needs to focus on its product and sales (being investor ready after all means nothing if there is nothing to invest in), or doesn’t want to spend money on lawyers, or thinks it is important but not urgent.

I was one of three speakers last night talking about intellectual property issues at the TechAlliance Entrepreneur 1.0 course. All 3 of us mentioned this.

The best perspective came from Colin Macaulay – Director, Research and Development of Viron Therapeutics Inc. Its one we should keep in mind when talking to clients.

He said entrepreneurs should keep in mind that they themselves are investors in their own companies. They should be their own harshest critics and do their own diligence in order to maximize and protect that investment.

A person’s business is probably the biggest investment they have, so owners should be vigilant to do what is necessary to maximize the value of the business. In essence, a business owner is better off doing continuous diligence on their company as if they have a continuous exit strategy. It leads to better decisions and doucumentation along the way. While it may seem like a daunting task, it is in reality far easier and better in the long run to approach things this way than to have to scramble to try to pull everything together after the fact to meet a pressing need, or to try to deal with problems that others find.

The London TechAlliance is having its annual biotech week next week.

Check out their calendar for the various events.

One of the events that might be of interest to any tech business, not just biotech, is a seminar on Sept 24 entitled “Accelerate London Business Seminar”.

From TechAlliance’s promo material:

Attention technology companies and entrepreneurs! TechAlliance is pleased to present an informative session about three exciting new programs designed to help Ontario technology companies grow and prosper. In this session, you will learn about the Investment Accelerator Fund (IAF) delivered by Ontario Centres of Excellence, and the Business Mentorship and Entrepreneurship Program (BMEP) delivered by MaRS. The third program featured is ACCELERATE Ontario – a new Ontario Graduate Research Internship Program, delivered by MITACS, a national research network that connects Canadian researchers with companies and other organizations to solve key business and social challenges

Just attended the London TechAlliance AGM, which featured Dr. Thomas Homer-Dixon as the speaker. He presented a rather sobering view of the severity of the problems of climate change, carbon emissions, and peak oil. His message for solving these is in part that he is hopeful that the crisis will spur ingenutiy and entrepreneurship to find solutions. We can’t expect government or large institutions alone to solve this.

He also suggested that ingenuity and creativity is enhnaced by more communication and collaboration, but that there may be a point where too much of it becomes counterproductive.

I have not read any of his books, but if his talk is any indication, they would be a worthwhile read for anyone wanting to make a difference on these issues.

Go to his website.

TechAlliance’s IT Week wrapped up last night with a community mixer. All the events were well attended. Two things stand out in my mind.

First, London IT companies are doing a much better job of letting the community know about them. It is becoming more of a community than a group of islands, which bodes well for the future of London’s IT sector.

Second, there was some excellent discussion dealing with common issues such as human resources and the promotion of London’s IT sector outside of London. TechAlliance (including its IT advisory council which I am on) will make good use of that feedback.

On a related note, London’s Digital Extremes is to be congratulated on their release of their latest game – Dark Sector – for the XBox and PS3. Their launch party was held last night. The game has been well received by reviewers – early indications are that sales will be brisk.

For the London Free Press – March 24, 2008

Read this on Canoe

TechAlliance’s second annual IT Week, IT Lives in London, starts March 31. The week has several events that will be of interest to those in the tech sector, and non-tech industries alike.

Last year’s events were a great success — enough so that the Tuesday town hall forum had to be moved to a larger venue this year.

TechAlliance says IT Week was created to raise awareness of the world-class IT companies and resources that call London home. It’s a community celebration of the city’s IT sector and its contribution to London’s economy and quality of life. During this week, events and activities take place throughout London and showcase the depth and breadth of the city’s IT sector.

Events include a town hall forum on winning the IT talent war, a seminar on search engine optimization and marketing, and a community mixer. The cost to attend these events is minimal; some are free to TechAlliance members.

At the town hall forum, leaders of some of London’s most successful IT firms discuss the future of London’s IT industry and the potential impact of the looming IT talent shortage, which is a North America-wide issue. A soapbox forum will follow, designed to give participants the chance to share their thoughts and best practices on how we as a community can win the war for IT talent.

In addition to the public events, there is an invitation-only IT Roadshow designed to heighten the awareness of the London IT industry among the media and government officials. The roadshow gives participants a first-hand look at London’s thriving IT community and includes highlights of some of the city’s innovative tech companies.

Invited guests will begin their trip at city hall, then travel through the technology core with a stop at EK3 Technologies, one of London’s most recognized new digital media companies. The IT Roadshow ends at Fanshawe College with a reception and tour of their technology and multimedia facilities.

The roadshow will tell the story of the successes and challenges of London’s IT community, and emphasize the important role our post-secondary institutions play in positioning our city as a global competitor in the IT world.

To reach out to students, TechAlliance is launching an awareness campaign targeting area high schools. The Industry Roster program offers teachers the opportunity to invite seasoned industry experts into their classrooms during IT Week. These speakers will share their experiences with students, providing information that will stimulate interest and encourage students to pursue studies and careers in IT.

A website design competition, the Get Plugged In! Web Development Challenge, is also open to senior elementary and high school students. Winners will be announced March 31.

For more detail about IT Lives in London, or to sign up for events, go to the TechAlliance website at www.techalliance.ca.

In the interest of transparency, I should disclose I am a member of TechAlliance’s IT advisory council and my firm, Harrison Pensa LLP, is an industry sponsor of IT Week.

TechAlliance has announced the events for IT Week. Last Year’s events were a great success – enough so that TechAlliance has to have one of the events in a larger venue this year.

The week has several events that will be of interest to those in the tech sector, and non-tech businesses.

Events include a town hall forum on winning the IT talent war, a seminar on search engine optimization, and a community mixer. The cost to attend these is minimal – some even free to TechAlliance members.

(Disclosure: I am a member of the TechAlliance IT advisory council)

Take a look at the IT Week calendar

Check out the details and sign up for events on the TechAlliance website