Mobile Hackathon this Sunday @ CES, 20K cash prizes & more by AT&T

Let's begin the new year with some good news for my fellow mobile entrepreneurs and developers.

For those of you flying to Las Vegas for CES this week, AT&T is putting together a hackathon this Sunday, January 8!

It's a great opportunity for startupers, developers and talented students to launch their app and get the opportunity to market it thanks to the free PR and prizes.

Full details here: http://www.bit.ly/HackVegas
(Use code HDS903 to register for the hackathon)
It's this coming Sunday!

1st Place gets:
•$20k Cash Prize
•Featured in AT&T TV commercial
•Video Interview with Andrew Keen to be posted on TechCrunch
•Six (6) month membership in Alpha API program where we help setup networking events where you get to rub elbows with significant peers
•Three (3) days of AT&T Foundry business and technical support
•One month feature in AT&T Promotional Widget (platform dependent)
•"Back-Stage" meet and greet with Developer Summit Band (up to 4 people)
•Microsoft Xbox 360 + Kinect for the entire team if Microsoft Azure is used as a backend

Feel free to retweet & share with your peers.

Also, they are still open slots for startups & organizations who want to meet up with the AT&T one-on-one.
Email me for that so I can hook you up directly.

Best wishes of health, love and mobile prosperity & May the Force be with You!

S@

P.S. Yes, my sister's name is really Leia... no kidding! Mmmh, what does that make me? Luke?! 

Boy! Life as a VC is so tough...

"I'm a VC, I'm a VC, can't take a leak without people who pitch me".
Mmmmh, I wish there could me more female VCs we could pitch in the ladies room!
I did 'pitch' a journalist at a TechCrunch Disrupt event while washing my hands though... ;-)

DON'T Do A Startup, You Will FAIL

David McClure shares with us all the reasons one should not waste their time doing a startup...

Click here to see why your startup will fail →

Yes I know these slides look ugly but they're hilarious!

(Source: Business Insider)

How to live before you die, by Steve Jobs

To start this new semester inspired, may I invite you to watch Steve Jobs' Commencement Address to Stanford University's graduates.

Although performed in 2005, its content remains extremely actual and will hopefully resonate with you for as long as you live... If not, you can always do like me, which it to read the transcript or watch it again occasionally ;-).

On the future of advertising agencies

A comment I posted this morning on Gotham Gal's blog post: A reality check.
That was before breakfast, so some words might have been eaten on the way ;)

There are many ways to break the rules, and it's not always about coming up with NEW processes or NEW thinking. Her dream may not sound unique to you or revolutionary, but she - as a unique person with her unique take on the world - may bring a unique perspective. A great agency is not just about cool and new this and new that but is a lot about reliable people committed to providing their clients with the best collaborating experience and value.
Most often companies that are "getting killed" are the ones (in which partners killed each others first and/or) who forgot their purpose and who they're doing it for, focusing too much on the what and the push of matter vs. adapting to what the market wants. Think about Nokia going from toilet paper and rain boots manifacturer to holistic provider of mobile experience.
Also, to resonate on the restaurant observation, why do we as a customer pick this restaurant over another one? Most important, why do we go back?
Or, why do people buy old school, vintage clothes?
Often time, we - especially in the media/tech industry - tend to obsess with the latest, newest tech or buzz word, when in fact successful things or transactions are rarely 'new school'. No reason to be jadded though ;)
Maybe that woman via her boutique agency will be able to provide that missing piece for her clients in a way that no other agency can... For every client, there's an agency out there... ;)
"To you I am nothing more
than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes.
But if you tame me, then we shall need each other.
To me, you will be unique in all the world.
To you, I shall be unique in all the world. . ."
The Little Prince, Saint Exupery

Building a HOT Business: Tips from GoDaddy's founder

Bob Parsons, GoDaddy's Founder and CEO gives us tips on how to build a business in a fun cheesy way.

And also Parsons' 16 rules to be successful in business as well as life in general. Hope this inspires some of you...

1. Get and stay out of your comfort zone. 
I believe that not much happens of any significance when we're in our comfort zone.  I hear people say, "But I'm concerned about security."  My response to that is simple: "Security is for cadavers."

2. Never give up.
Almost nothing works the first time it's attempted.  Just because what you're doing does not seem to be working, doesn't mean it won't work.  It just means that it might not work the way you're doing it.  If it was easy, everyone would be doing it, and you wouldn't have an opportunity.

3. When you're ready to quit, you're closer than you think.     
There's an old Chinese saying that I just love, and I believe it is so true.  It goes like this: "The temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed."

4. With regard to whatever worries you, not only accept the worst thing that could happen, but make it a point to quantify what the worst thing could be.
Very seldom will the worst consequence be anywhere near as bad as a cloud of "undefined consequences."  My father would tell me early on, when I was struggling and losing my shirt trying to get Parsons Technology going, "Well, Robert, if it doesn't work, they can't eat you."

5. Focus on what you want to have happen. 
Remember that old saying, "As you think, so shall you be."

6. Take things a day at a time.
No matter how difficult your situation is, you can get through it if you don't look too far into the future, and focus on the present moment.  You can get through anything one day at a time.

7. Always be moving forward.     
Never stop investing.  Never stop improving.  Never stop doing something new.  The moment you stop improving your organization, it starts to die.  Make it your goal to be better each and every day, in some small way.  Remember the Japanese concept of Kaizen.  Small daily improvements eventually result in huge advantages.

8. Be quick to decide. 
Remember what General George S. Patton said: "A good plan violently executed today is far and away better than a perfect plan tomorrow."

9. Measure everything of significance.     
I swear this is true.  Anything that is measured and watched, improves.

10. Anything that is not managed will deteriorate.     
If you want to uncover problems you don't know about, take a few moments and look closely at the areas you haven't examined for a while.  I guarantee you problems will be there.

11. Pay attention to your competitors, but pay more attention to what you're doing.   
When you look at your competitors, remember that everything looks perfect at a distance.
Even the planet Earth, if you get far enough into space, looks like a peaceful place.

12. Never let anybody push you around.     
In our society, with our laws and even playing field, you have just as much right to what you're doing as anyone else, provided that what you're doing is legal.

13. Never expect life to be fair.
Life isn't fair.  You make your own breaks.  You'll be doing good if the only meaning fair has to you, is something that you pay when you get on a bus (i.e., fare).

14. Solve your own problems.     
You'll find that by coming up with your own solutions, you'll develop a competitive edge.  Masura Ibuka, the co-founder of SONY, said it best: "You never succeed in technology, business, or anything by following the others."  There's also an old Asian saying that I remind myself of frequently.  It goes like this: "A wise man keeps his own counsel."

15. Don't take yourself too seriously.     
Lighten up.  Often, at least half of what we accomplish is due to luck.
None of us are in control as much as we like to think we are.

16. There's always a reason to smile.     
Find it.  After all, you're really lucky just to be alive.  Life is short.  More and more, I agree with my little brother.
He always reminds me: "We're not here for a long time, we're here for a good time!"