I Want My 3DR!

Back on track, again

2009-05-08T17:34:00.002-06:00

I admit it, it's been months since I wrote about 3D Radio's bizdev progress.

Is no news good news?

Perhaps. Much of the past three months has been spent hunkering down (note the passive voice), working with my business coach on Q2 goals and strategy; pursuing yet another new, low-tech venture, Celume Creek Design; caretaking my mom as she recovered from knee replacement surgery; and building up my own physical and entrepreneurial strength following hip replacement surgery.

Celume Creek was top of mind when I returned from playing nurse, because I had a major sales opportunity to prepare for and execute. But I've devoted this week almost entirely to 3D Radio.

This quarter's strategic plan remained open on my desktop and laptop. Made more efficient through Allway Sync, a freeware file synchronization utility I recently discovered. Now I'm much more confident about having identical documents and correspondence on both machines. It sure makes working in coffee shops, (a sanity-saving method) easier. Today's is Ziggi's in Longmont, CO.

To those I've email and called, thanks for the hearty responses. It's great to know you're still thinking of us, too. To thoses I haven't reached out to yet, we'll be in touch soon.

Spelling ZZZZ

2009-02-17T14:18:00.004-07:00

It's a well-known fact that spelling skills have gone by the wayside. Not having to know -- spellcheck software -- and the need for speed -- txt abrv8x -- have caused a certain amount of WCA when it comes to putting the correct letters in the correct order.

For IM among friends it doesn't matter as long as your message gets across.

But there are times when you should pay more attention. Your organization's URL, for example, is a word you really want to get right. Especially on the PowerPoint deck you're showing to an audience of 250.

During her presentation to the Colorado Green Tech Group Susan Innis from the Governor's Energy Office talked about the Colorado Carbon Fund. The fund is actually financed by consumers who purchase carbon offsets, which support clean energy projects in the state.

Embedded in one of her slides was the organization's URL, www.coloradocaronfund.org. Missing a crucial "b."

Personally I liked the typo because it looked like the money would go to support me. Well-meaning heckler that I am, I pointed out it out to the audience with the suggestion that they see me afterward to hand over their checks.

The spelling error was far from the only one during the evening, although the folks who shouted out that "fluorescent" was misspelled in another presentation were mistaken.

I admit I'm a stickler, and that's why I get paid to edit other people's writing.

But when the word presents a call to action, like "go to my web site," there's really no excuse for not getting it right.

The artist entrepreneur

2009-02-07T12:19:00.006-07:00

In case you hadn't noticed, life is tough these days for those of us in consumer electronics. With consumer confidence at the lowest point I've seen in my lifetime, discretionary income -- what little of it people have these days -- isn't going toward nice-to-haves, like radio enhancements. It's being spent on perceived must-haves, like digital TV sets and set-top boxes (although now you can blow it off until June since Congress passed the "DTV Delay Act").

During the slump we at 3D Radio haven't ceased thinking up great additions to our groundbreaking technology. Our intellectual property portfolio keeps on growing; we've already filed for two new patents this year.

But business development has just about ground to a halt. Our business development executive (that would be me) can hardly bring herself to do the outreach she knows needs to be done because she knows the response will probably be a resounding "Maybe." At least with "No" you know definitively where you stand: Don't call me I'll call you. "Maybe" still leaves the door painfully ajar.

Ms. Bizdev had an interesting revelation recently during a group coaching session with her business coach. The coach led the the group through a guided meditation (this is Boulder, after all) designed to provide a kind of professional vision quest.

During the five-minute interlude I found myself hiking up one of Boulder's many foothills trails. (I haven't actually hiked in months because of my bum hip, so the visualization was very therapeutic in itself.) At one point we were told to open a book and read a random page in it. My Bible-size book had no name; the page read simply "Keep going."

Once returned from our journeys and back at our desks, we were asked what our book's message was. Mine was very clear: Don't let the current economy get you down -- keep 3D Radio going."

But how to keep up my enthusiasm for a project that has felt like one step forward, two steps back? How to maintain my interest when really, truly, I'm having a lot more fun being a potter than a high-tech entrepreneur? How to infuse business development with the creative spirit I feel when building a ceramic coffee cup?

The answer? Right here on this page.

Remember it's the journey, not the destination. Remember the story of the journey is just as legitimate as the finished product. Remember the story has an emotional arc, and it takes an artist to express that movement and growth.

So write about it why don't you?

Groundhog Day

2009-02-02T13:18:00.003-07:00

Last Friday when I got out of bed I was most of the way across the room when I realized I wasn't limping. "It's been six weeks," I said to my husband. "I'm not limping. I guess I'm done."

They tell you it takes about six weeks to recover from total hip replacement surgery. And on day 42 sure enough I walked cane-free.

What I don't know is how long it takes to recover mentally.

The past couple of months I've been telling myself, come February I gotta get back to work.

As I eased back last week (didn't want to pop out of the ground suddenly today) I did some writing and editing for friends and clients (my "day job"), glazed a kiln-full of pots and sold four (my new craft business), and thought about what needs to be done next for 3D Radio (my entrepreneurial exploit into consumer electronics and the raison d'etre for this blog).

But haven't done a damn thing yet except launch Blogger. My shadow indicates six more weeks of procrastination ...

Old journalists don't fade away, they become bloggers

2008-11-20T10:21:00.004-07:00

If you've been following Doonesbury, you know veteran journalist Rick Redfern was laid off from the Washington Post and has taken up blogging.

If you've been following me, you know I "retired" from the Boulder County Business Report a year ago to launch my brilliant new career as a PR professional and entrepreneur.

And if you've been reading this blog, you know what a struggle that entreprenurial part has been. We've been on the phone and occasionally on the road trying to get 3D Radio in front of the right people to put the greatest radio innovation since the transistor (hyperbole alert -- but what to do you expect from a reborn flack?) onto store shelves.

All that to say when the request went out for folks to blog about the Angel Capital Summit, I could not resist. Like the fictional Redfern, once a newshound always a newshound.

So here's the quick and dirty about the event:
Who: Rockies Venture Club and EKS&H, hosts
What: Angel Capital Summit
When: Friday, Nov. 21, 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Where: Marriott City Center, 1701 California St., Denver, Colo.
Why: Forty entrepreneurs will present their businesses to hundreds of investors. Not just any entrepreneur is allowed to strut their stuff; they are screened, hand-picked and coached prior to making their pitch.
How much: $159; members of ACS Investor and association partners $129; VIP registration $189; Town Hall only $25.

Across the universe

2008-11-13T12:59:00.007-07:00

Sometimes the universe knows more about you than you do.

I don't mean that you have no privacy. That goes without saying when Google tracks everything you do online.

I mean often the universe gives you hints about yourself that you don't yet know on a conscious level.

Let me explain.

During the time I've been out here promoting 3D Radio I've also been indulging in a creative pastime. I make pots.

A longtime collector of unique handmade pottery, I took up the craft a couple of years ago as an antidote to my desk job. I've studied with Boulder potter Willi Eggerman and taken classes at the Boulder Potters' Guild and our municipal pottery lab.

For a long time I wasn't very proud of my handiwork, but friends and family always appreciated my misshapen, oddly glazed cups and bowls as I gave them away.

Gradually my pots got more stable and my confidence grew. I knew if I had the opportunity to work on them more -- if I wasn't limited to class and lab time -- they would get even better. So I decided to put together a home studio.

I began to search for used equipment on craigslist, and that's when the universe started to tell me I was on the right path.

The slab roller came from a former potter whose daughter told her it was time to get rid of all that stuff gathering dust in the garage. She threw in all her slump molds, stamps and boxes of chemicals and glazes I'm still trying to figure out what to do with.

The extruder had been a Christmas gift from a husband to his wife, a potter who had everything. She used it once, then it languished in the basement. The price was terrific, but I didn't really want to schlep the 60 or so miles to her home. Not to worry, she said. She needed to move her son into his Boulder apartment for the next semester at the University of Colorado. So it came to me.

Obtaining the kiln was the most challenging part of the process, but it too was a gift from the universe. $800 for a never-been-used electric kiln in nearby Estes Park sounded too good to be true, so I immediately called the guy listing it.

His first question was "Where are you located?"

"Right down the road in Boulder."

"Oh good. So far I've only heard from people in California." He then proceeded to tell me a tale of love and fate.

In 1995 a man bought his wife a state-of-the-art kiln. She had no use for it and it remained in boxes in the basement for eight years.

In 2003 the couple divorced. They owed the Estes Park potter money, but he accepted the kiln in lieu of payment.

He never made the time to hook it up, and it sat in boxes in his basement for five years.

Then medical bills began to pile up and he needed cash, so one Saturday onto craigslist went the kiln. For a reason he couldn't explain, it was listed in Ventura, Calif. All weekend he took calls from people too far away to economically ship it to. Monday he finally figured out the problem and reposted the ad. I called, we made a deal, and on Tuesday he delivered the boxes "because I need a road trip into Boulder anyway," he explained.

My pots have been piling up, and I've been thinking of venues to sell them. On a whim I called a holiday craft fair. "Oh, we've heard of you," said the organizer. Sounded odd to me, but she asked for a dozen coffee cups, four woven bowls, and assorted cruets and pump bottles.

During today's appointment at a local gourmet shop, Oliv You & Me, the owner bought a couple of cruets and one of my signature woven bowls.

The universe is telling me I'm on a roll, or at least a slab roller.

G-L-O-R-I-A

2008-11-03T12:46:00.004-07:00

Yesterday my friend Michelle and I went to hear Gloria Steinem speak at the Borders in Longmont. At 74 the longtime political activist looked more fit, exuded more spunk, and had more beautiful hands, than anyone in the SRO audience.

Steinem is in Colorado not exactly stumping for Barack Obama, but more so she and her entourage can educate Colorado locals about the plethora of ballot initiatives.

By the time she showed up in Longmont, however, the extensive ballot had already been pondered by her listeners; when she asked for a show of hands of those who had voted early, close to 100 percent of less-than-perfectly manicured right hands fluttered in the air.

This two-year campaign season has seemed like a too-long engagement. You keep on thinking once your wedding day arrives the waiting will finally end, and you'll live happily ever after. But as you calmly accept the gifts as they arrive, thank your friends and family for their good wishes, and shop for your dress and new appliances, you know deep inside the wedding just signals the beginning of a long, and hopefully fruitful, marriage.

I keep on thinking once someone -- anyone -- is elected, the waiting will finally end. The Dow will calm down, the economy will recover, the Iraq war will draw to a close, the foreclosures will stop, and we'll all live happily ever after. I voted last week, and I'm calmly not watching the commercials or the polls. But I know in my gut Election Day won't signal smooth sailing ahead. It will just mean the beginning of a new, and hopefully peaceful and prosperous, administration.

Fearlessly Speaking

2008-10-27T11:09:00.017-06:00

A few months ago I responded to a query on Help a Reporter Out, Peter Shankman's matchmaking service between journalists and sources. Jacqueline Wales, founder of Fearless Fifties, was seeking mother-and-daughter teams to interview for her online radio show Fearlessly Speaking.

I sent in a brief description of my relationship with my mom, Lyn Schwartz, and to my surprise we were chosen as one of the four teams she was to profile in October.

My mother and I were giddy with excitement but wondered how we'd ever fill the 52 minutes Jacqueline alots for the interviews.

It turned out to not be nearly enough as we told anecdotes and finished each other's sentences.

I had thought that our primary bonding experience was our trip to Israel in 1999. But telling the world about how our relationship has changed and grown over the more than 50 years we've known each other seems to have solidified it further.

Another wonderful aspect of appearing on Fearlessly Speaking is that Jacqueline gave 3D Radio a wonderful plug, going so far as to spell out the URL. She then invited me to pitch our patent portfolio to the listening audience. Nothing quite as satisfying as promoting 3D Radio on the radio.

Fearlessly listen at Fearlessly Speaking.

Aprototypical

2008-10-21T15:37:00.005-06:00

It's been a banner week.

I pronounced our prototype "good enough" and performed a demo in public. 3D Radio co-founder and my better half, Mike, along with our CEO for Hire Jim Gutman brought it down to Boulder Open Coffee at The Cup last Tuesday.

It took much deliberation to decide to build a prototype at all. After all, our business model doesn't have a place in it for us build anything. We are an intellectual property development company. We think of great things that people can use to enhance their lives, and we then look for business partners that have the experience to commercialize our ideas.

3D Radio is, after all, pretty easy to understand. It allows you to manage radio like Tivo helps you manage TV -- pause and rewind live radio, record content for later, skip stuff you don't like. But it's always nice to have props, so build a prototype we did.

We took an ordinary Dell laptop, hooked up a few Griffin Radio SHARKS, and built a GUI front end powered by RadioTime's program guide. What took the most effort was finding the programmer who put the whole thing together.

So after months of hearing me say our prototype was under development, my coffee companions were able to see the darn thing in action.

Still a few kinks to work out, but overall it went well. And no one spilled coffee on it.

How to win followers and influence your peeps with Twitter

2008-10-11T15:53:00.004-06:00

I've been a bit of a Luddite when it comes to Twitter. Sure, I signed up for a Twitter ID back in April. But that was way, way after folks had been telling me if I wanted to be taken seriously in the high-tech world I needed to be part of the Twittosphere.

So I broke down and spent the morning at a Twitter boot camp organized by the DaVinci Institute.

Thanks to Deb Frey, Michael Sitarzewski and Rob McNealy for pointing out benefits I hadn't noticed before. I promise to tweet more.

But mini-messaging has never appealed to me. I'm one of those people who never got into IM. I use my cell phone to talk with people, not as an SMS portal. Call me antediluvian -- I like big words.

Boulder's own job fair

2008-10-03T22:07:00.003-06:00

You remember job fairs: A dusty conference center; you in your dress-for-success best complete with uncomfortable shoes; that ugly portfolio full of resumes printed at Kinkos; the endless shuffle from table to table where corporate boosters boasted about their company's culture and benefits, never about the boring jobs they had to offer.

Twenty of Boulder's high-tech startups have a better idea. They've pooled their resources to fly in 100 of the best software developers, programmers and engineers from across the country during the week of Oct. 27 for an all-expenses-paid three days and two nights of checking out our fair city, networking with the hiring companies and each other, and quite possibly making a career- and life-changing decision.

This kind of creative recruiting fits our entrepreneurial community perfectly. I wish there had been something like this when I was looking for my first post-grad school job.

Getting things done

2008-10-03T21:32:00.003-06:00

It's 9:35 p.m. Friday night. Do you know where your blog entry is?

It's only been a week since I made a commitment to document 3D Radio's progress on a weekly basis, but already I'm not sure what to say that will make a difference.

Sure, we accomplished a few things this week. The high point was executing an NDA with a company that approached us a few weeks ago about working together. We also set up an extended "getting to know you" call for next week.

We're hoping this could be the beginning of a beautiful relationship. What makes it most beautiful is that the phone rang on our end when our potential partner got wind of 3D Radio's terrific technology and wanted reach out to us. It was a welcome relief from our outreach efforts.

I spend much of each day in business development mode, dialing lead after lead hoping that someone on the other end will talk with me. Mostly I get voice messaging, sometimes an assistant, and occasionally the target actually answers.

When I do get through to the right person it's invariable a pleasant experience. They always make the time to talk with me, even if it's only for a few minutes. No one has ever been rude or told me to get lost, which I attribute to the genuine smile in my voice I perfected during many years of conducting phone interviews as a reporter.

See, I thought I had nothing to say but just spent 10 minutes typing up the week's highlights. It's just like I always told my students, people who've asked me about the craft of writing, and even other reporters: The sure-fire cure for writer's block is just to sit down and type. Before you know it you're saying something. It might not be profound, but inspiration has very little do with writing. It's mostly stringing one word after another until a message appears.

Coach, you gotta let me play!

2008-09-26T18:20:00.010-06:00

Although I hate making promises I'm unsure I can keep, my first third quarter resolution is write about 3D Radio at least once a month.

I making this resolution as part of 3D Radio's marketing strategy for the next quarter. But if wasn't for my business coach, Theresa Szczurek, I never would have committed to this tactic.

Now that I think about it, I'm surprised I didn't turn to a business coach sooner. After all I've been meeting my trainer, Bob Nelson, at the gym Wednesdays at 1 p.m. for almost two years.

When it comes to working out I'm pretty motivated. We have a well-equipped home gym with freeweights and a bench, stair machine, treadmill, two stationary bikes, lots of Therabands and assorted Pilates gadgets. Occasionally I'll hang drying laundry on the bench, but Mike and I actually use this equipment several times a week.

Yet I continue to see Bob every week. He pushes and cajoles me, gives me new exercises to try, and at an incredibly fit 72, he inspires me. But most of all he keeps me honest. There's an accountability factor when you have to check in with someone periodically to report your progress.

That's why Weight Watchers has been around for almost 50 years.

Theresa performs the same functions for me as I strive to become the CEO of a major corporation. We have a great arrangement too -- we barter her business acumen for my PR expertise.

As a matter of fact just this morning I wrote some ad copy for her that explains it all:

"If you wanted to attain your best athletic performance you’d hire a coach. Lance Armstrong wouldn’t have won the Tour de France an amazing seven times – and come out of retirement at the age of 37 – without his coach, Chris Carmichael.

"Attaining your best business performance requires the same kind of planning, support and training regimen."

8/8/08

2008-08-08T13:49:00.005-06:00

Is it really August already?

3D Radio hasn't really been on hiatus for the month of July, it just feels that way.

Between keeping busy with my day job in PR, discovering that persistent crick in my hip is arthritis, and enjoying the fabulous weather in Boulder, bizdev here at 3D Radio has unfortunately taken a back seat.

Although we haven't done much reaching out, however, we've been doing plenty of soul-searching and getting around to authoring those important documents everyone wants to see and you have to say "in progress."

Our market research documentation had been a jumble of tasks in Outlook, organized only with Getting Things Done software. Now it's a readable paper with usable bullet points. At an adviser's insistence, I bit the bullet and composed an executive summary. Not quite a business plan, but plenty of VCs (not that we're looking for money right now, mind you) say that's quite enough for most executives to read. The three-pager is now with the gang for their comments. I created a sales "funnel" spreadsheet to keep track of all that outreach that was living mostly in Outlook as well.

Getting all these thoughts into prose isn't easy or fun, but as you type you expose a lot of material that was floating under the surface.

So that's our business model! We have more competitors than I thought.

We've been at this for how long?

In this soft market are we really going to be able to meet that goal?

Wow, we've accomplished more than I thought.

Where does the time go

2008-06-29T13:37:00.012-06:00

I admit it, it's been weeks since I kept my readers () up to date on the happenings around 3D Radioland.

Although we've been plugging away at attracting business partners, working on our prototype, and just plain keeping our enthusiasm and the buzz going, all three of us have day jobs that demand plenty of attention.

If you'll indulge me, however, I'm going to do what, in my opinion, too many bloggers do -- shamelessly share the minutia of their lives. When I started this blog to chronicle the birth of a company I vowed I wouldn't stoop to personal laundry airing because, damn it, I'm a writer not a diarist.

But I realize at a certain level all these posts have been pretty personal, and no one has complained yet, so here's more.

During the past few weeks I've observed more than once the well-worn aphorism that the more things change the more they remain the same.

Monday evening the lovely gals of BWET gathered for our weekly salon in the back room of The Cup.

People were going around the table talking about how difficult is for them to fit into the techie world because it is so male dominated. Lack of respect, earning less than men for the same work, being in the minority, and so on.

The stories were familiar, as familiar as a bedtime story you heard as a child, told to your charges as a babysitter, rediscovered with your children, and shared with your grandchildren.

But it wasn't a gentle, soporific tale. It was a dreadful deja vu.

Listening to these cute, stylish, Macbook and iPhone toting girls, I could see, hear and smell (well, it might have more mind-altering substances, rather than fresh-roasted free-trade coffee) the discussions I vigorously participated in when I was a hip 20-something, what we called rap sessions and consciousness raising back in the day.

What happened to the all the groundwork laid by these women's mothers, grandmothers, aunts and older sisters? Where did the cultural, political, economic and policy changes we fought for disappear to? Why are young women still frustrated by the same issues (translated, of course, into 21st century terms)?

The experience resonated with something that had happened a few weeks before as I was walking through the physical therapy clinic. A woman called out "Jane!" I didn't respond, but got to work on that stubborn rotator cuff (ain't midlife grand?) Again, "Jane!" I turned around, seeing a peer working on a similar injury.

"I'm Caron. Who's Jane?"

"She's a real political go-getter around here," she replied, grimacing with effort.

"And you are?"

"Sara."

There was something about her that seemed familiar, so I blurted out, "Sara Davidson?"

I was right.

Sara Davidson is author of Loose Change, a story of how three women, based on Davidson and her friends, adjust to the tenor of the timultuous 1960s. I barely remember the book, and Davidson has gone onto many more things. But I recall that her protagonists dealt with similar issues to my BWET friends from within a naturally less technical framework.

All I can do is hope these women train their sons and daughters in a way that makes conversations like Monday nights anachronistic when they participate in the equivalent coffee klatsch years from now.

Words for thought

2008-06-03T17:02:00.004-06:00

The other day my friend Lorna and I were talking about our deteriorating brains. As "women of a certain age," we know it goes with the territory to lose some cognitive function. Luckily we are not yet women of another certain age -- the one when you have lost the capacity to even remember the mental symptoms and focus only on the physical ones.

We compared notes, and spelling was near the top of the list. Both of us have noticed of late a tendency to type a word, look at it and know there's something wrong, but not be sure what it is. Damn frustrating, especially for a writer/editor like me.

But being of a certain age has its positive cognitive aspects, as I discovered last night during a game of Scrabble with a bunch of Gen Y and Millennial friends.

When Gwen Bell invited to me to BWET (Boulder Women Engaging Tech) meetup, I hesitated because she described it as a place for young women entrepreneurs to get together and chat. But since I am an entrepreneur and devotee of The Cup it was irresistable, I mean irresistible.

After about a half hour of introductions, Gwen announced we'd be playing Scrabble. Since there were 10 of us, I suggested rather than split into two tables that we play with two or three women on a team.

Jamie and I were already sitting side by side at the west side of the square table, so we agreed to partner up. Goldie was more or less at the corner and could go with us or the team on the north side, so she ended up kibbitzing for both teams. But we never needed her help.

I worried about spelling, but as I told Lorna I try to keep my wordplay skills up by playing Scrabble on my Palm. He's quite good at it, knows all the two-letter words, and really keeps me on my toes.

Turns out I had nothing to worry about. Many of the ladies admitted they had never played Scrabble on a board, although many were familiar with Scrabulous, an online game I was unaware of.

Between not knowing the rules or strategy and spelling skills developed using texting instead of textbooks, most of our opponents floundered (did I mean foundered? These are after all entrepreneurs ...). The tightest competition was between Jamie and me and Gwen and Kari, but in the end age won out.

We beat the skorts off those girls.

For photos that at my advanced age I can't figure out how to include in this post, check out Gwen's flickr photostream.

Passing it forward

2008-05-27T15:04:00.005-06:00

This morning at the biweekly Boulder Open Coffee Club I was struck by how so many startups are based on a lame premise. I'm talking about your garden-variety Internet or iPhone-only social-networking tool.

Although I occasionally use Twitter I haven't found a need for it. It's inconvenient to check in to let friends know what I'm up to, and often when I do check in it turns out I just missed something cool, like Brad Feld inviting all his followers out for ice cream -- two hours ago. Plus so few people follow me I feel like the kid who's chosen last for the kickball team.

When you ask the founders of these types of startups how they intend to make money, they often don't know. They are so in love with their premise they haven't given the business model much thought.

So as we laggards stood around sipping the dregs of our lattes before going back to face the onslaught of to-do list items, I proposed that if we took the collective intellect of every coffee club entrepreneur and put it toward a socially responsible project -- like developing a car that runs on coffee grounds -- we could do something good for the world and make money, too.

The gang, millennials all, shrugged.

"Why would I go out and buy an fuel-efficient car when my car is only two years old?" one wanted to know.

"Detroit would just stomp on it," another declared.

We baby boomers have our hearts in the right place but in our dotage tend to lack the energy to follow through. Many in the generations that follow us tend to institute socially responsible initiatives into their startups. I'd like to see fewer startups based on popularity contests and more based on those socially responsible initiatives.

Ask and ye shall receive

2008-05-15T18:23:00.006-06:00

One of the perpetual dilemmas we've had at 3D Radio is prototyping. We have steered away from building them. We simply don't know what the final product will look like because much will depend on who licenses our IP.

Mike has been more enthusiastic about going this route than me -- must be because he's the engineering brains of the operation while I'm the cautious voice who doesn't want to promise more than we can deliver. Additionally, the equipment we needed is a bit pricey and will require someone skilled in the art of software.

So last week we were on the phone with a potential partner who said they were pretty interested in our technology but were strapped for resources right now. "What can we do to help?" they wanted to know.

"We've kind of been thinking of building a prototype ..." I began, remembering a recent marital "conversation."

"Happy to help," said the company's president. For free. No strings attached. Just for the opportunity to help a startup. This potential partner was offering to be more than a partner -- an enabler. We were overwhelmed by his gracious offer.

The box of electronica arrived on Monday. Mike has decided to take on the task of composing the software, while I wrote the gushing thank-you letter

Time management

2008-05-04T15:50:00.006-06:00

During the past couple of weeks I've noticed a real change in my attitude. OK, noticed isn't the right word because I actually made a decision about time management.

The decision? Work on 3D Radio first during the day, then move onto my "day job."

It might not sound like a great breakthrough, but the successes we've had since then prove it was the right thing to do.

For most of 3D Radio's life I worked as a newspaper editor, a job that consumed the bulk of my time and energy. I enjoyed it immensely, but knew that to make our startup fly I needed to devote more time and energy to that.

So when an offer to work part-time doing another communications-heavy job with people I knew and respected at a much higher hourly rate, it was obvious what to do.

The Protestant work ethic in me (yes, even Jews are susceptible) leaped in to do the best damn job I could for my new colleagues. Each morning I'd tackle my projects with enthusiasm.

Satisfied with my progress, I'd turn to 3D Radio. But it was already mid-afternoon. I was running out of creative steam. Those folks on the East Coast I should be connecting with were wrapping up their days. Bike trails beckoned. My pots I drying at the Pottery Lab were probably firm enough to complete and put on the bisque shelf.

The bottom line -- even with our bizdev guy in place we were treading water.

Now we're starting to swim.

Talking heads

2008-04-17T17:27:00.005-06:00

I'm not the CEO of a household-name consumer electronics gotta-have-it device company, yet. So I spend a lot of time drinking a lot of decaf (and the occasional half-caf) with a lot of other CEO wannabes in a lot of our fair city's coffee shops. There's at least two on every block, and very few are Starbucks.

Some people call this networking. Some call them meetings. As in your cell phone rings while you're showing your fellow wannabe the latest widget on your web site, and you answer it with, "Can I call you back? I'm in a meeting."

I calls it like I sees it -- my daily or twice daily or even three times a day constitutional.

Often these get-togethers are a dud. You know everyone in the room, you've heard their story a dozen times, you've opened your contact database to them on more than one occasion.

But sometimes you hit pay dirt.

Boulder Open Coffee Club meets every other Tuesday at the ungodly hour of 8 a.m. (half-caf definitely in order) at a fine establishment called The Cup.

I didn't recognize him at first, because it's probably been a year since we've talked. But he came up to me after all the newbies had introduced themselves and the "cocktail party" segment of the club began. I didn't even recognize his name, but that's not surprising given the mid-life syndrome more and more of us succumb to every day, CRS (can't remember shit).

But once he mentioned his former company's name -- a local consumer electronics firm that has hit the big time -- it all fell into place. "You are somebody I really need to talk to," I cried. "I'm so glad you recognized me."

He gave me his new card with his new 411, and I promised to set up a coffee meeting pronto.

First conference call

2008-04-10T18:29:00.010-06:00

3D Radio had its first official conference call with a potential client today. One of the big names we've been trying to get to notice us for months.

After a series of introductory emails our potential business partner asked to set a date to talk. Then they wanted to know what number to call to reach us.

Like many startups we all have day jobs and we all work virtually. Mike and I both work at home, but our offices are on different floors of the house, and it's pretty amazing how little we interact during the day. Neither of us ever enjoyed office comradery anyway. Our colleague Jim works at his home office in Denver.

And like most startups we don't have cash to spare on fancy telecom setups. So I told our contact I'd figure out a conference bridge and let him know the details. It wasn't hard to find FreeConferenceCall.com and sign up. Before the big day four of us gave it a try, and, despite an obviously low on the VoIP QoS totem pole connection, it worked.

So I forwarded our bridge number to Big Name Company and crossed my fingers.

All in all it went pretty well. The biggest problem was Jim didn't call in on time because the time zone difference confused him. (I don't know why since we're in the same time zone ...)

We went through our deck with our contact, and I discovered right away I really gotta put page numbers on it. A good learning experience.

Of course, because we're the founders Mike and I were enthusiastic as hell. And because they are the potential spenders, the folks on the other end of the freebie conference bridge were subdued (but maybe they just sounded that way because of the less-than-clear connection).

"Well, would you use it?" I asked. "Oh, I'm kind of lukewarm," was the ho-hum response. "Besides, I'm just the go-between. I was told to find out more about 3D Radio."

We hope the guy or gal further up the chain of command is a few degrees hotter than the scouting party.

Best writing advice, ever

2008-04-07T15:18:00.003-06:00

Seth Godin says it all.

When the phone finally rings

2008-04-05T15:59:00.005-06:00

Or your email gets a reply. You start to feel more like an entrepreneur and less like a telemarketer.

We've been reaching out to potential partners for what seems like an eternity. OK, it's only been about six months, but without positive responses that time seems endless.

But in the last week suddenly we've gotten people on the phone rather their voicemail greetings. Those we've left messages for have called back. Our emails aren't languishing in cyberspace -- the recipient has written back asking for more.

The outcome isn't business, yet, but several conference calls are scheduled for upcoming weeks.

Maybe the stars are coming into alignment for 3D Radio. The sun is in Aries after all, so we maybe we're just feeling more bullish (even if the market isn't).

But more likely is we're getting better at pitching. I know I'm spending more time putting together initial packages and trying to make that deck more interesting, interactive and funny. I'm not taking the gatekeepers' attempts to keep us out like insurmountable obstacles.

Persistence, timing, confidence -- who knows how to explain our breakthrough.

All in a day's work

2008-04-03T16:27:00.000-06:00

It's 4:30 p.m. Do you know where your work day went?

Not much of it wound up being spent on promoting 3D Radio, I'm afraid.

Two health-care-related appointments took up a good part of the day. It wasn't only dealing with the actual practitioners -- X-ray tech, physical therapist, massage therapist (truly therapeutic, painful, and covered by insurance) -- that ate up my day. Paperwork, transportation, errands along the way, stop-and-chats, nature and coffee breaks. Before I knew it it was 3, but I'm finally back home with my hand in a bowl of popcorn staring at my to-do list and about to get down to business . . .

. . . when the phone rings. Someone to help with a login problem I had been having with the Boulder TechBootstrap wiki. She walked me through the issue, which didn't help. Then as she futzed with the admin controls, I multitasked by opening the file at the top of my to-do list to clean it up. Many interruptions to try this, check the inbox for a new password, etc. No way to concentrate.

Eventually we resolved one issue only to discover it was an Internet Explorer bug. The workaround -- login with Firefox. OK. I'll do that later, after I get some work done.

Back to editing the file and writing captions for the artwork so I can get the package to the publisher. I'm just about to attach everything to an email . . .

. . . when the phone rings. Someone I've been playing phone tag with is ready to set a date for a meeting. We try to agree to a time, but of course he's in the car without his calendar handy so we set a tentative time, which will require more phone tag to set in stone.

So what am I doing? Am I checking off anything else on that dang to-do list? No, this is the fruit of today's endeavors . . .

My blog is dead, long live my blog

2008-04-02T16:26:00.000-06:00

Someone finally commented on my blog, or so an email told me.

When I logged on to my web site, it was gone. Dead, deceased -- nothing left but a few error messages saying the problem was on line 204 of some godforsaken file I didn't write and had no idea how to find and fix.

This was the outcome of the fancy schmancy blog software recommended by my web host. I had gone to the trouble of downloading the program (going the "act locally, blog globally" approach), configuring the damn thing, uploading a few graphics and actually getting around to write a couple of entries.

A call to my web host, which normally has excellent customer service, didn't help. See, they don't support the software you download to your site, even though they make it super easy to do so by having a link right in your cpanel. "You'll have to ask your web master to clean that up, ma'am," was all he said.

Of course, I'm the web master. But I'm not real techie, I just play one for the sake of 3D Radio. So I've decided to go the SaaS route and let Blogger worry about such things rather than trying to fake any knowledge of coding.

If you want to know more about 3D Radio, our technology that will revolutionize your radio listening check it out at 3dradio.com.