LIVE EVENT! Cryptocurrency, ICO, & Blockchain Law in 2018 with Joe Daniels of McCarter & English

This episode comes to you from the heart of New York City for our first live podcast episode discussing cryptocurrency, ICO, & blockchain law! 

Joe Daniels, Co-Chair of McCarter & English Venture Capital & Emerging Growth Companies practice

Joe Daniels, Co-Chair of McCarter & English Venture Capital & Emerging Growth Companies practice

This episode comes to you from the heart of New York City for our first live podcast episode discussing cryptocurrency, ICO, & blockchain law. In late January almost 100 founders gathered at the offices of McCarter & English for our January Founder Institute Meetup! The crypto founders there heard from Joe Daniels, who is the Co-Chair of the McCarter & English's Venture Capital & Emerging Growth Companies practice. Joe has worked on numerous SAFT & token offerings, including San Francisco based Quantstamp, which just raised $30 million in its pre-sale, along with Augmate, The Valorem Foundation, RealECoin, VIMarkets, CoinBoost, and RecylcleGO.

During this event, Joe reviewed the current cryptocurrency, blockchain, & initial coin offering laws in 2018. Learn the key things that you need to know about ICO's, the SEC, international business, SAFT agreements, and more. If you are interested in understanding the legalities around cryptocurrencies, tokens, and the blockchain, then you will definitely enjoy this episode. The slides that Joe is going over during his presentation are available below if you want to follow along. They are packed with information, such as: 

  • What are Blockchain Tokens (Cryptocurrencies)

  • What is an ICO

  • How much has been raised in ICOs / SAFTs

  • How do SAFT agreements work

  • Regulatory Issues w/ ICOs

  • The SEC's response to the emergence of cryptocurrencies

  • Current Best Practices for cryptocurrencies

Follow Along With All The Slides From The Event:


Listen to this episode now: 


Join the shows A-list backchannel for exclusive access to additional Ambition Today content, deeper guest insights, a community of fellow fans, and much more. Plus, Learn the single greatest piece of advice this guest has ever learned! 

Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going…

You can find the full transcript of this episode here

Be sure to listen and subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast platform.


Ambition Today Episode Sponsors:

Founder Institute

WeWork


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EO Global Chairman Brian Brault On Investing In Community And Yourself

Today we have the pleasure of speaking with Brian Brault; a successful entrepreneur that has been recognized twice in his career by Inc. 500 for building one of the fastest growing companies in America. Currently Brian is the Global Chairman of the Board at Entrepreneurs' Organization.

Brian Brault, Chairman of the Board at Entrepreneurs' Organization

Brian Brault, Chairman of the Board at Entrepreneurs' Organization

Today we have the pleasure of speaking with Brian Brault; a successful entrepreneur that has been recognized twice in his career by the Inc. 500 for building one of the fastest growing companies in America. Currently Brian is the Global Chairman of the Board at Entrepreneurs' Organization.

He is also the founder of Advanced Facility Services and Pure Rooms which was deemed one of the best companies to work for in western New York and was awarded best entrepreneurial company in western New York.

A graduate of the University of Buffalo’s School of Business, Brian is very active on community boards. Being the Global Chairman for Entrepreneurs’ Organization Brian helps grow their network of 12,000 entrepreneurial members in 54 countries. He believes in surrounding yourself with strong people because your success is a product of the five people that you spend the most time with. Today Brian talks about:

  • What got him excited at a very young age to be an entrepreneur

  • How he build Advanced Facility Services & Pure Rooms

  • Why he supports Entrepreneur’s Organization globally

  • Do you need to be in a major market like NY to be successful?

  • His speech at the United Nations

  • The importance of community for founders

  • His 10/10/10 morning routine

Ambition Today Question of the Day™:
"What routines have you built in your life that contribute most to your success?"

The Single Greatest Piece of Advice Brian Has Ever Learned:
Join the Ambition Today A-list to listen now!

Quote Of The Episode:
“Everyone has a little bit of entrepreneurial spirit inside them it's just your tolerance for risk and how that is nurtured in your life will really determine how much you will pursue and build on that entrepreneurial spirit.”

Links from this episode:

Listen to this episode now: 


Join the shows A-list backchannel for exclusive access to additional Ambition Today content, deeper guest insights, a community of fellow fans, and much more. Plus, Learn the single greatest piece of advice this guest has ever learned! 

Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going…

You can find the full transcript of this episode here

Be sure to listen and subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast platform.


Ambition Today Episode Sponsors:

Founder Institute

WeWork


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Mentality, Lifestyle, Motivation, Productivity Kevin Siskar Mentality, Lifestyle, Motivation, Productivity Kevin Siskar

Productivity Today: Managing Attention in the Digital Age

Want to be more productive? I’m excited to announce my new free online class with Skillshare & Todoist on better managing your attention in the digital age.

Want to be more productive? I’m excited to announce my new free online class with Skillshare & Todoist on better managing your attention in the digital age. In this class, I’ll share how you can increase your attention span, quiet your mind, and get more done. You can take the online class for free here

In today’s world, everyone wants your attention. From app and website notifications to emails and calendar invites, it can be difficult to stay focused on the task at hand. In this class, I'll share how you can increase your attention span, quiet your mind, and get more done. You’ll learn how to:

  • Hone your ability to focus

  • Reduce daily distractions

  • Improve your prioritization process

Whether you’re freelance or full-time, everyone can benefit from learning how to better manage their attention. After taking this class, you’ll regain control over your own attention, allowing you to put your focus where you want it and be more productive every day. Learn to control your attention and take your productivity to new heights in this class.

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How Peter Shankman Thinks "Faster Than Normal" And Built Help A Reporter Out (HARO)

On this episode of Ambition Today we explore Peter Shankman’s journey. Peter is the perfect example of what happens when you combine creativity with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Peter shows us how ADHD can be a gift and a strong advantage in business. Many know him for founding Help A Reporter Out, (HARO).

Peter Shankman 

Peter Shankman 

On this episode of Ambition Today we explore Peter Shankman’s journey. Peter is the perfect example of what happens when you combine creativity with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Peter shows us how ADHD can be a gift and a strong advantage in business. He is not only an entrepreneur, but an author and a notable public speaker. Many know him for founding Help A Reporter Out, (HARO). He is also the founder of ShankMinds Business Masterminds and he is the Host of the Faster Than Normal Podcast.

Peter was born and raised in Manhattan, and was a New York City public school kid. After graduating from Boston University and going to Graduate school in Santa Barbara, CA, he started his professional career launching AOL Digital Newsroom. Peter is most well known for founding Help A Reporter Out, also known as HARO, which is the worlds largest public group of journalistic sources. In this episode, we talk about how Peter’s ADHD had a great impact on his many successes:

  • Growing up in New York City
  • Launching AOL Digital Newsroom
  • The importance of having incredible mentors like Steve Case 
  • What is happening to the media industry today
  • How Peter built Help A Reporter Out, (HARO)
  • Using ADHD as an advantage
  • How to create life rules to optimize your time
  • Importance of self-awareness 
  • Value of asking everyone "How Can I Help" 

Ambition Today Question of the Day™:
"How do you think about attention management and how do you best optimize your life for it?"
 

The Single Greatest Piece of Advice Peter Has Ever Learned:
Join the Ambition Today A-list to listen now!
 

Quote Of The Episode:
"You have to put out 10 times the amount of help into the universe that you ask for."
 

Links from this episode:

 

Listen to this episode now: 


Join the shows A-list backchannel for exclusive access to additional Ambition Today content, deeper guest insights, a community of fellow fans, and much more. Plus, Learn the single greatest piece of advice this guest has ever learned! 

Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going…

You can find the full transcript of this episode here

Be sure to listen and subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast platform.


Ambition Today Episode Sponsors:

Founder Institute

WeWork


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What Is Blockchain? What You Need To Know About Bitcoin, Ethereum, NFT’s, And Crypto

With Coinbase officially adding over 100,000 new accounts per day, I have started to get a lot more questions about Cryptocurrency and Bitcoin in general. My goal with this post is to provide people with a starting point to best get up to speed on the space, fast! 

Old coins from the Roman Empire

Old coins from the Roman Empire

It is a long journey down the rabbit hole of Cryptocurrency to truly understand everything that is going on within the blockchain space (and how it is affecting other industries). But it is not an impossible task, and you have to start somewhere. With Coinbase officially adding over 100,000 new accounts per day, I have started to get a lot more questions about Cryptocurrency and Bitcoin in general. My goal with this post is to provide people with a starting point to best get up to speed on the space, fast! 

I first heard about Bitcoin in 2012 while writing daily Tech news for the Launch Ticker. I believe it was priced around $10, but I didn’t understand Bitcoin at the time, so I didn’t buy any. Then, in 2013, Bitcoin became what I would refer to as "Silicon Valley / Venture Capital" mainstream. Which in hindsight, I think we in the industry sometimes forget just how early to new ideas and industries we can be. Even still I did not buy any bitcoin. Even with everyone talking about something, it can be so easy to dismiss the things we don’t understand. And so, as Wayne Gretzky once famously said, "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take."

So two years later I took a deeper look at Bitcoin and I started to understand how it all works before buying some. I went down the rabbit hole; reading blog posts, sub-reddits, listening to podcasts, de-mystifying the blockchain, smart contracts, etc. 

Which brings us to today. If 2016 and 2017 have taught us anything, it is that we are in a new era where awareness outpaces execution. In my opinion, social media and the connectivity of smartphones has no problem getting people talking about the hot topics of the day or week on the surface. But we are flooded with so much information that it has become harder to filter what is worth stopping, taking the time to learn more, and going deep on a subject. 

And so today, my advice is to take some time to understand Cryptocurrency and it's surrounding technologies. Whether or not you are a believer in Bitcoin, Ethereum, or any other cryptocurrency, the technologies that have enabled this revolution, such as the blockchain, are almost certainly here to stay. I am going to lay out some information, which should help you gain a deeper understanding around the whole industry. I would recommend digesting them in the order I present them in, and remember to keep an open philosophical mind: 


Understand Why We Have Money and How It Works Today: 

Yuval Noah Harari, Author of the book Sapiens, explains how civilization came to have money over the course of evolution in this TED talk: "Why Humans Run The World". I recommend watching it all, but skip to 10:45 in the video if you want to fast forward to the money part.  

This video on Money and Finance from John Green's youtube channel Crash Course is a super quick refresher on how our modern day monetary systems work. It even briefly mentions how Bitcoin has played a role as it has emerged over the past few years. 


Bitcoin: 

Watch Banking On Bitcoin on Netflix

Watch Banking On Bitcoin on Netflix

Banking on Bitcoin is a 2017 documentary currently on Netflix. The first 20 minutes will give you a great overview on how Bitcoin ad the technology around it works. With the rest of the film covering the history of cryptocurrency, regulation of the industry, who is Satoshi Nakamoto, the dark web, and how people have used Bitcoin to date. It features interviews with enthusiasts and experts, this documentary covers Bitcoin's roots, its future and the technology that makes it tick.


Blockchain: 

The Blockchain is actually explained somewhat simply during this TED talk by Lorne Lantz

In this episode of the Tim Ferris Show "The Quiet Master of Cryptocurrency", he is joined by Naval Ravikant (who you will also see in Ethereum TechCrunch talk below with Vitalik Buterin) and Nick Szabo (who you might remember from the Banking On Bitcoin documentary above). 

This episode goes much deeper into the world of cryptocurrency. You will learn about how the blockchain works, the history of smart contracts, what a Merkle Tree is, the importance of decentralization, and so much more! 

In this video from Wired, Blockchain researcher Bettina Warburg explains the blockchain in every age from a child up through graduate school. It then ends with a great conversation with another Blockchain expert. 

Lastly with regard to the blockchain, if you click the button below you can see a step by step visual demo of the blockchain in action. I highly recommend clicking through the demo to better understand how blockchains work.  


Ethereum: 

At age 19, Vitalik Buterin, created Ethereum in 2013. To think about it simply, Ethereum is similiar to Bitcoin but it also allows developers to deploy code and software programs on it's blockchain.

Ethereum is a decentralized platform that runs smart contracts; applications that run exactly as programmed without any possibility of downtime, censorship, fraud or third party interference. These apps run on a custom built blockchain, an enormously powerful shared global infrastructure that can move value around and represent the ownership of property.


Buying Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies:

The easiest way to get started with cryptocurrencies is by creating an account on Coinbase.

After signing up you will be provided with your own digital wallet, which is stored in the cloud, on Coinbase’s servers. This is important to note because you are trusting a third party to protect your wallet. There are other digital wallet alternatives if you would prefer to not store your cryptocurrency on Coinbase, such as storing your wallet on your computers hard drive or on an external Zip drive. Whichever you choose, be sure to pick a wallet that is secure. Using Coinbase you can buy Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin.

Important Note: Be sure to ALWAYS use two factor authentication. Do not use SMS based two step verification as your phone number can be stolen depending on your phone company. To understand why this is important and learn some more security tips to secure your digital wallet, I recommend reading Cody Brown's article "How to lose $8k worth of bitcoin in 15 minutes with Verizon and Coinbase.com". 

If you are looking to get involved with more Crypto Assets & Currencies I am linking to some getting started guides below: 

A Beginners Guide To:

Bitcoin Cash
Ethereum
Ethereum Tokens
Monero
Litecoin
0x
Tezos
Decred
Zcash

For more cryptocurrencies you can check out Coin Market Cap to see what else is out there. Clicking on a currency on Coin Market Cap will show you more information about it, including historical prices, as well as tell you the available exchanges you can buy from.


ICO's: 

Be wary of Initial Coin Offerings of new tokens. Many new coins that are being created are simply not needed in my opinion. Especially if the same function or utility could be done using an already existing cryptocurrency.

If you do find a crypto currency you like, then you need to evaluate the whole project, just like you would if you were investing in an early stage startup. Make sure you research the amount of money being raised, what the token does, the valuation that the project actually works and is live, the team behind it, etc. Just how with early stage startups, only the top 5% of companies are worth investing in, the same is true of ICO’s. Most ICO's will likely fail. Fred Wilson, has a good blog post on how to carefully evaluate these new crypto assets. 


White Papers: 

White papers lay out the foundation for how a crypto asset works and what principles it relies upon. In the world of crypto, they are similar to the pitch decks that startups put together today or a traditional business plan, and they are typically shared with the public. To really get a good understanding of what they look like, I am including the original Bitcoin white paper wrote by Satoshi Nakamoto and the Ethereum white paper. 


Hard Forks:  

Forks happen when a blockchain splits in two, going forward from a certain date. The main cause of a hard fork is because of a new rule that gets created by a certain portion of the community. This can create another currency if the new network is stable enough to sustain itself after the fork. Being as both the old and the new currencies share the same ledger history, customers with balances of the original currency at the time of the fork now have an equal quantity of the new currency. You can read more about forks here and the few most successful forks to date are: 

Bitcoin Cash  - Forked from Bitcoin on August 1st, 2017.

Bitcoin Gold - Forked from Bitcoin on October 25th, 2017.

Ethereum Classic - Forked from Ethereum in 2016. 


Regulation And Sustainability: 

Being as regulation can be quite complex, I am going to simply link out to some additional reading materials in this section.

State Regulations: 


The Future of Cryptocurrency:

I encourage you to clickthrough and view all of the slides Chris Burniske, Author of Cryptoassets: The Innovative Investor's Guide to Bitcoin and Beyond, has put together. I have shared the first slide and my favorite slide below: 


DISCLAIMER: These are just my personal thoughts and resources. I hope it helps you learn about the cryptocurrency industry so you can better make your own decisions. Be sure to do your own thorough diligence before making any financial decisions.  Always invest responsibly.


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Why Sean Ellis, Co-Author of Hacking Growth, Optimizes For Reputation And Learning

In 2010 Sean Ellis coined the term Growth Hacking and now he joins us on Ambition Today. Sean is the Co-author of Hacking Growth with Morgan Brown and currently the CEO of Growth Hackers.

Sean Ellis

Sean Ellis

In 2010 Sean Ellis coined the term Growth Hacking and now he joins us on Ambition Today. Sean is the Co-author of Hacking Growth with Morgan Brown and currently the CEO of Growth Hackers.

Sean has had quite an impressive career both as a marketer and as an entrepreneur. He was the first marketer at Dropbox, Lookout and Xobni and he has taken companies LogMeIn and Uproar from launch to IPO. Sean is also known for popularizing the term product/market fit. We cover some of Sean's best practices for growing your company, as well as how he thinks of Growth Hacking as it continues to grow into the future. The story of Sean's entrepreneurial journey unlocks numerous insights along the way, including: 

  • What is "Growth Hacking"
  • The role of family entrepreneurship on Sean
  • The value of spending time abroad
  • Being the first marketer at Dropbox, Lookout, & Eventbrite
  • How pushing through the fear of failure has lead to success  
  • Making the leap from employee to entrepreneur
  • Optimizing for reputation and learning over money
  • How business teams need to be thinking about Growth
  • The value of having a chip on your shoulder

Ambition Today Question of the Day™:
"What excites you? What motivates you to keep going?"            

The Single Greatest Piece of Advice Sean Has Ever Learned:
Join the Ambition Today A-list to listen now!

Quote Of The Episode:
"For me, the two big motivating factors were reputation and learning. I wanted to build a reputation because that would open the door to the best learning opportunities." 

 

Links from this episode:

 

Listen to this episode now: 


Join the shows A-list backchannel for exclusive access to additional Ambition Today content, deeper guest insights, a community of fellow fans, and much more. Plus, Learn the single greatest piece of advice this guest has ever learned! 

Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going…

You can find the full transcript of this episode here

Be sure to listen and subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast platform.


Ambition Today Episode Sponsors:

Founder Institute

WeWork


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Founder Institute, Companies, Portfolio Kevin Siskar Founder Institute, Companies, Portfolio Kevin Siskar

Celebrating Founder Institute New York Fifteen

On November 14th, nine new companies graduated Founder Institute as the 15th New York cohort.

IMG_9518.jpg

On November 14th, nine new companies graduated Founder Institute as the 15th New York cohort. The companies represented several industries including space, mobile video, fin-tech, immigration, real estate, sports media, enterprise sales, and digital retail. 

I want to thank the Mentors and the Founder Institute New York team for all their help and time put in to helping the founders of FI NY 15. I want to also thank the founders of FI NY 15 being so great throughout the summer semester. The custom shirts are pretty amazing as well, pictures below! I am very excited to work with all of the companies as they continue to grow and evolve.

Founder Institute New York 15

Diasppo - Helping internationals secure internships and job sponsorships.

Insider Rental - Increasing real estate building transparency. 

Postadium - Enhancing the soccer fan experience.

Process Pure - Opportunity management software for B2B sales. 

Ranked - Rating student culture at every college in the nation.

Rater Bee - Digital ratings for in-store retail associates.

Rose Galactic - Making CubeSat access to low earth orbit as accessible as possible.

String Flix - Effortlessly stringing mobile video clips together across the world.

Transfer Impact - Easily transferring cashless funds, directly to those who are unbanked and in need.

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How Adeo Ressi Empowered 2,700+ People To Become Startup Founders

Over the summer we sat down with Adeo Ressi, the CEO of the Founder Institute, a startup accelerator program that operates in nearly 200 cities worldwide.

Adeo Ressi

Adeo Ressi

Over the summer we sat down with Adeo Ressi, the CEO of the Founder Institute, a startup accelerator program that operates in nearly 200 cities worldwide. Throughout his time as a founder, Adeo has pioneered innovations in the protection of founder rights, the raising of early-stage capital and the scaling of new businesses.

Previous to the Founder Institute, Adeo has helped to create nearly $2 billion in shareholder value by founding or running nine businesses, including TheFunded, Game Trust, Xceed and Total New York. Adeo previously served on the Board of the X Prize Foundation to pursue his interests in space exploration and techniques to motivate human achievement. Throughout this episode it is clear that Adeo is passionate about mentoring Founders, space exploration, inspiring people to achieve their greatness, and more which includes: 

  • The personality traits of the best founders

  • How The Funded improved transparency in the VC industry

  • The role fluid intelligence plays in entrepreneurs

  • How Adeo helped 2,700 plus founders grow through the Founder Institute

  • Managing your investors and protecting your equity

  • How to build startup ecosystems

  • Why maintaining focus and avoiding distractions is mission critical

  • How do you give meaning to your life's work

Ambition Today Question of the Day™:
"What is the end game? Where do you see Founder Institute and all your life’s work going?"            

Quote Of The Episode:
"There are a lot of shiny things in the sand, that look very appealing to you and may be a cause for you to think about pivoting or adjusting the business model. I can tell you that most of the shiny things in the sand are not diamonds, they are knives waiting to kill you. You have to be very, very, very diligent to remain focused on your core mission" 
 

Links from this episode:

Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going…

You can find the full transcript of this episode here

Be sure to listen and subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast platform.

Listen to this episode now: 

 

Join the shows A-list backchannel for exclusive access to additional Ambition Today content, deeper guest insights, a community of fellow fans, and much more. Plus, learn the single greatest piece of advice this guest has ever learned!  

 

Ambition Today Episode Sponsors:

Founder Institute New York

Toptal

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Why The Senate's Plan To Tax Employee Options At Vesting Is Bad For Startups

At this moment there are new Tax Reform plans proposed in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The current proposal in the Senate plans to tax employee stock options at the moment of vesting, instead of when they are exercised, as is currently done. 

Startups are the envy of the world for how innovative and fast moving they can be. However, they often lack the amount of cash in the bank required to pay employees a salary that is competitive with the top tech companies such as Google, Facebook, Amazon, etc. To compensate for this, they give their employees an equity ownership in the company. Typically that equity vests monthly or quarterly over the span of four years. Here is a quick primer for anyone that wants to get brought up to speed on how "Startup Equity & Vesting" works

When an employee is given stock options, those options are illiquid. Meaning they can not be sold or transferred for money until the company has a liquidable event (e.g., an exit such as an acquisition or going public). So when employees receive options they usually have to wait years before being able to turn them into cash.

At this moment there are new Tax Reform plans proposed in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The current proposal in the Senate plans to tax employee stock options at the moment of vesting, instead of when they are exercised, as is currently done.  The House of Representatives has already removed this provision from their proposal.

What is the tangible effect?  If passed, startup employees would be forced to pay taxes on these equity options, regardless of any realization of actual value.  

As Fred Wilson said, "Taxing equity compensation upon vesting makes no sense. If this provision becomes law, startup and growth tech companies will not be able to offer equity compensation to their employees. We will see equity compensation replaced with cash compensation and the ability to share in the wealth creation at your employer will be taken away."

Passing this law will make it extremely difficult for startups to compete with bigger corporations for high-quality talent. I am personally signing on to a letter addressed to Sen. Orrin Hatch, Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, to oppose the proposed new plan and ask that Section III(H)(1) be removed from the Senate bill. If you would like to speak up as well (with your local representative), you can find your senators here and your representative here, along with the phone number to their office. 

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How To Send Your Monthly Investor Updates

The single most powerful tool we have as humans is the ability to communicate. So it makes sense that this is one of the skillsets that all great founders need to master.

The single most powerful tool we have as humans is the ability to communicate. So it makes sense that this is one of the skillsets that all great founders need to master. Sending monthly investor updates is one of the best ways for a founder to maintain their existing connections and strengthen their new ones. 

Long-term relationships are built with friends, family, and colleagues by staying close and in touch over long periods of time. It is so important that you still keep in contact with the people you want to stay close too, even when you think you don't have value to add or need something in the exact moment. One of Founder Institute New York’s mentors, Matt Rodak talked about the importance of sending monthly updates while building his startup company, Fund That Flip on an Ambition Today episode recently.

Benefits of Sending Investor Updates Frequently: 

While this may seem overly simple at first glance, I assure you that many people take basic communication for granted and avoid the little bit of work it involves each month. For those that do send monthly updates, there are several non-obvious benefits aside from your company's business updates. 

  • Being Top Of Mind:

    • Even if you don't get a response, it keeps you on top of people's mind. That next meeting your investor has, they might bring you up while you are fresh on their mind.

  • Creating Stronger Relationships: 

    • Mark Suster has famously been quoted as saying people "Invest in Lines, Not Dots". Keeping in touch is how you build a long-term and enduring relationship. It's been that way since the caveman days and hasn't changed. It's human psychology.

  • Assuring Company & Personal Health:

    • Most of the time that investors don't hear from a founder they assume their startup company is dead or well on its way. Or worse, they just forget about you entirely. You just fade away from their memories, replaced by fresher memories of other startup founders. Before the internet, this was a given. In the world of social media though, we take this for granted as many feel that "online presence" is enough. I assure you, that unless you are Mark Cuban, it is not.

  • Gaining Insights & Reflection:

    • The process is insightful. Taking a moment to send someone an update on your life or business forces you to take a moment and reflect on the progress you have made in the last 30 days. In our busy lives, it is critical to make that time. As an additional bonus, you will be more productive and make better-informed decisions in the coming month as well. 

Formatting: 

So what should you include in your startup’s investor updates? You can find plenty of investor update examples and how-to articles that already exist when you google “Monthly Investor Updates." I am going to include links to many of my personal favorites below! There are many different styles of monthly investor updates, but most involve the same essentials.  

Dear Kevin,

I hope you had an excellent August! For us it has been a mixed month, but we’re happy to report these developments.

  • Cash: Money in Bank and Monthly Expenses

  • Highlights:

  • KPIs:

  • Customers Update

  • Useful Graph, Image, or Screenshot

  • Employees/Team Changes

  • The Good:

  • The Bad:

  • Asks

  • Thank You's

Thank you, 

Kyle
CEO, ACME Corporation

Monthly Investor Update Templates & Examples: 

There are so many great investor update examples and investor update templates from some really amazing investors and founders: I collected some of the best investor update templates below for you:

So at the end of this month take even just one hour to send a monthly update. You should keep your update short and to the point. Think about what you have accomplished in the last month and what you need help achieving in the next month. Think about the people in your life that mentor and guide you. Hopefully, you already have them on a mailing list. And then send your update. You will be AMAZED at the compounding effects you will receive from putting monthly updates out there! 

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Andrew Weinrich Is Predicting Our Future

On this episode Andrew Weinrich sits down with us at his offices in Brooklyn New York. Andrew is the founder of Andrews Roadmaps and the host of the new "Predicting Our Future" podcast. 

Andrew Weinrich

Andrew Weinrich

On this episode Andrew Weinrich sits down with us at his offices in Brooklyn New York. Andrew is the founder of Andrews Roadmaps and the host of the new "Predicting Our Future" podcast. 

As a serial entrepreneur, Andrew created the first ever social network called, Six Degrees. At its height, SixDegrees had around 3,500,000 fully registered members before being bought by YouthStream Media Networks in 1999 for $125 million. In more recent years, Andrew has sold 2 more businesses including Xtify and Meet-Moi. He is currently the co-founder and Chairman of Indicative, a data analytics startup. He also hosts Predicting Our Future, a podcast about the next revolutions in technology. Andrew shares many incredible lessons from his experience over the last 20 years, such as: 

  • How the first social network, Six Degrees, was created
  • What it was like to exit a company for over $100 million
  • How Social Networking has changed over the last 20 years
  • The future of Social Media
  • What ties all of Andrew's companies together
  • How to ride the "wave" of new technologies as they emerge
  • How he is Predicting Our Future

Ambition Today Question of the Day™:
"What advice do you have for people who are obsessing over getting rich and making a large amount of money to solve all of their problems?      
 

Quote Of The Episode:
"You want to be a critical thinker. Investors assume first and foremost, that whatever plan you have is wrong. That whatever you launch won't be right, it will require pivoting. The question is are you someone who is capable of pivoting? If you're a critical thinker, you will be capable of pivoting."

"Entrepreneurs take advantage of moments in history. They are not determinative of those moments." 
 

Links from this episode:

Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going…

Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today on iTunes Store Apple Podcasts for iOS, on Google Play Music or Stitcher for Android

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Founder Institute, Companies, Portfolio Kevin Siskar Founder Institute, Companies, Portfolio Kevin Siskar

Introducing Founder Institute New York 14

I am excited to introduce the six new companies that have graduated from Founder Institute New York.

Founder Institute New York Spring 2016 Batch 14

I am excited to introduce you to the 14th cohort of Founder Institute New York. Last Monday six new companies graduated FI NY. Companies from the 14th batch are listed below and span across industries such augmented reality, fashion, internet of things, hardware, SaaS, and real estate.

We are very grateful to the time and energy that is given to the graduating companies by our generous FI NY mentors. Congratulations to the new founders and companies of Founder Institute New York! This is just the start of your entrepreneurial journey and I look forward to working with you all going forward. 

 

Founder Institute New York 14

Ceeq - Luxury convertible bags to take you from professional to functional. 

Invoira - Automating the supplier payment process. 

Menusnap - Translating restaurant dishes through augmented reality.

MERE - Direct to consumer luxury knitwear brand for socially conscious consumers. 

Perceptive Things - Protecting real estate properties from damaging internal incidents.

Okupied - Helping rental property owners manage their business on the go. 

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Protecting The United States International Entrepreneur Rule

After being officially passed in January, the "International Entrepreneur Rule" was set to take effect July 17th, 2017 in the United States. This week though, the new rule was delayed by the Department of Homeland Security. 

Immigrant Entrepreneurs: Elon Musk, Arianna Huffington, Sergey Brin, Vinod Khosla, And Phil Libin 

Immigrant Entrepreneurs: Elon Musk, Arianna Huffington, Sergey Brin, Vinod Khosla, And Phil Libin 

After being officially passed in January, the "International Entrepreneur Rule" was set to take effect July 17th, 2017 in the United States. This week though, the new rule was delayed by the Department of Homeland Security. 

The International Entrepreneur Rule is a critical effort to ensure that the best and the brightest foreign-born entrepreneurs could more easily grow the companies that will create American jobs here in the U.S. while expanding our economy. The delay by the DHS is unquestionably a setback for the United States in the global race for talent. We should be encouraging innovators to bring their new ideas, expertise, and unique skills to our country, rather than incentivizing them to put their talents to work for our competitors abroad.

As the Managing Director of the Founder Institute in New York I can say from first-hand experience the proposed International Entrepreneur Rule would be a big step forward for America. Time after time I have watched as prospective international founders come to Founder Institute New York to start a high-growth tech-enabled company, only to be stopped from incorporating and progressing the new company by the limitations of current immigration laws.

With an estimated 3,000 international entrepreneurs expected to apply per year to start companies within the US, the impact of this reform will have an immediate positive impact as well as create a long-term attraction for global entrepreneurs to build their companies right here in America.

A reform to immigration such as the proposed International Entrepreneur Rule will undoubtedly increase the amount of technological innovation, job creation, and economic value in the United States of America.

Starting now, people can submit public comment on the Federal Register's site. I strongly encourage you to use it as an opportunity to send a strong message to the administration that people are paying attention and we are not happy about the decision to rescind the International Entrepreneur Rule.

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Dennis Mortensen Is Hyper Focused On The Future Of Artificial Intelligence With X.ai

From the brand new Fulton Center in downtown Manhattan we bring you Dennis Mortensen. He is founder and CEO at X.ai, an artificial intelligence driven personal assistant named Amy who schedules meetings for you.

Dennis Mortensen

Dennis Mortensen

From the brand new Fulton Center in downtown Manhattan we bring you Dennis Mortensen. He is founder and CEO at X.ai, an artificial intelligence driven personal assistant named Amy who schedules meetings for you.

Growing up in a family of entrepreneurs in Denmark, Dennis initially strove to be a game engineer at IBM. He soon failed to resist the call to entrepreneurship though as he started and sold three of his first four companies. Dennis is now changing the way people interact with artificial intelligence by pioneering it's future. After raising $30+ million and growing the team to 93 people, he is hyper focused on building X.ai to rescue people's time. It is clear that focus is something he excels at from some of the unique lessons he shared: 

  • Growing up in Denmark in a family of entrepreneurs
  • Difference between being a serial entrepreneur and a first time founder
  • The impact immigrants can have creating jobs in the United States
  • Importance of doing one thing really well 
  • Keeping a clear mind is one of the keys to success
  • Why this wave of artificial intelligence is different from any before it
  • Where the future of Artificial Intelligence is going
     

Ambition Today Question of the Day™:
"As a serial entrepreneur how do you manage your life and prevent burnout?"

Quote Of The Episode:
"I take pride in the mental freedom Inbox Zero provides me every day. You can start to think again, and really good ideas come with that" 

Links from this episode:

Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going…

Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS, on Google Play Music or Stitcher for Android

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Ambition Today Episode Sponsors:

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Protecting Your Time

Both for better and for worse, the way we work in the new digital age is changing fast. The freedom to work anywhere is causing us to work everywhere. But are we really being productive (getting shit done) or creative (having original ideas), both of which are essential to building a strong business. 

Both for better and for worse, the way we work in the new digital age is changing fast. The freedom to work anywhere is causing us to work everywhere. The result is that too often we find ourselves being pulled from email to meeting, to text message, to social media notification, to lunch meeting, to viral meme of the day, to phone calls, and so on. In what feels like the blink of an eye 8:00 am becomes 8:00 pm. We end the day having been incredibly busy. But are we really being productive (getting shit done) or creative (having original ideas), both of which are essential to building a strong business. 

Time is the scarcest personal resource in existence. Unlike money, which every year the government prints more of, your time is finite. You can never get more time than the amount you were born with and therefore it is priceless. It is your duty to protect it.

Protecting your time so your mind has time to actually think and your body has time to actually get shit done is something which can be a bit tricky. I recently blew up my calendar to make some lifestyle changes in the pursuit of being more efficient, better focused, and having a greater clarity in the way I work. I have been finding these new changes very effective, so I thought I would share them with you. 

Monday:

After the weekend it is important to start the week organized. Aside from one global call with the Founder Institute Directors from all over the world, Monday is reserved for E-mail and getting organized. Reaching inbox zero each Monday allows the peace of mind later in the week to know I am not missing anything urgent that may have come up this week. While answering and archiving e-mail, the action items from them get moved onto my to-do list for the week. 

Tuesday:

Starting Tuesday with the peace of mind that my inbox is in great shape is incredibly refreshing. Especially because there will not be much time for e-mail today. Tuesdays are for meetings! I try to schedule all my meetings and coffees exclusively on Tuesdays. Back to back meetings can make for an exhausting day, but I have found I am able to give much more attention to being present & attentive during meetings, as I am not thinking about e-mail throughout the day. Again, the action items from my meetings get moved onto my to-do list for the week.  

Wednesday, Thursday & Friday: 

With the bulk of e-mail and meetings behind me for the week, it is now time to get shit done. It's time to throw on my headphones, a great playlist, and to start crossing tasks off of my to-do list. I use Todoist, which provides karma insights into how productive I am being week to week. I have seen a big uptick in the amount of actual productive work I have been getting done. 

This time is also for getting your creative brain power flowing again. I have been finding that around Thursday afternoon I have usually accomplished enough tasks that the original ideas start to come flowing naturally again. These moments are essential if you want to actually innovate on your business in unique ways, as opposed to just doing what everyone else is.

Weekend: 

Spend time with family and friends. Taking the time to maintain your personal relationships is vital to playing the long game of life. It will be a lonely and difficult journey without them. Many an entrepreneur have missed the mark here and you need to make sure you're not one of them.

Be bored! I mean it. To clarify though, watching Netflix is not being bored. That's just called relaxing. I am talking about actually letting your mind wander. This is when the best original ideas come to you. For you, this might be while in the shower. For me, this is at the gym, while I am driving, or while I am walking around New York City. You need to give creativity the room to strike you. 

More: 

  • Over-ear headphones make a difference. I love my Apple Airpods while walking around the city, but they do a lousy job preventing you from hearing distractions like side conversations while you're working. Getting even a cheap $20 pair of over-ear headphones will help you focus. 
  • Work to accomplish tasks within specific blocks of time. We have a shot clock style timer in the office we set when doing work. You may not always get your tasks done within the set amount of time, but regardless it will give you self-awareness into how long tasks are taking and how much you are actually getting done. 
  • Tracking your progress is the only way to know how you're getting better. You can use services such as Escape or RescueTime to track how often you're getting distracted. And a to-do list app such as Todoist to track how many tasks you're accomplishing. 
  • Set up something to block websites you traditionally find distracting. There are many to choose from but I have recently been using one called "Go F**cking Work" because I liked its motivational tone. 
  • If you really need help pulling away from the addiction of technology then be sure to use Onward. A new app which helps you change your overuse behavior in 1 minute per day to achieve tech-life balance!

Obviously, this is a pretty rigid schedule that can be hard to maintain. And yes, there are weeks where meetings happen on a Monday, work happens on the weekends, or e-mails get answered on a Thursday, but think of this more as a goal. When you find what works best for you and you start to constantly follow it effectively, I promise you will start to get some of your brain power back for yourself. Allowing you to dictate your future as opposed to everyone else dictating it for you. 

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What Happens When Every Accelerator In New York City Comes Together

Without further ado and after months of work, I am happy to announce to you; the New York City Innovation Collective.

Supporting startup founders to help them grow their companies is my biggest passion.

Through my work as Managing Director of the Founder Institute, a startup accelerator in New York, I have been incredibly fortunate to be able to do just that for a few years now. Doing this well requires a lot of work and even more help. It would not be possible to support our amazing founders without the remarkable dedication of our team, our tremendous mentors, monthly events, partnerships, supporting sponsors, and so much more. There is an exorbitant amount of effort that goes into making any great startup accelerator tick.

So I, along with a few other NYC Managing Directors got to thinking about how can we bring the same level of support we give to our founders; to help support the Accelerators, Incubators and Innovation programs themselves. If we can help improve them, then perhaps we can make a pretty big dent in helping to grow the entire overall New York City startup ecosystem. 

New York City Innovation Collective Members

Without further ado and after months of work, I am happy to announce to you; the New York City Innovation Collective! We have officially incorporated a nonprofit to form an alliance of NYC's top technology organizations working together to support and grow our amazing community. The Collective is now comprised of over 80 incredible New York City accelerators, incubators, and platforms of innovation. It is our mission to shape and strengthen the entire startup ecosystem through increased collaboration, transparency and access for everyone involved. 

So what happens when all these organizations come together?

For founders and everyone involved it looks like better access to local accelerators, incubators, and innovation programs. It means superior mentors, more connections to investors, stronger curriculums, deeper partnerships, improved events,  and more. All of this additional support resulting in stronger companies throughout the local startup ecosystem! 

If you want to see for yourself what this looks like then please join us for the NY Annual Startup Ecosystem Summit to be held on Friday April 28th in New York. 

I personally could not be more excited for the future of the startup ecosystem in New York City and everything that is happening here! It has been an incredible journey thus far, and on the macro level, we are just getting started. If you would like to get involved with the Innovation Collective in New York City or in another city let me know! I can't wait to hear from you! 

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From Israel to Silicon Valley, Niv Dror's Journey To Conquer Social Media

Season Two of Ambition Today is happy to welcome Niv Dror, head of social media for Product Hunt. Niv boasts in impressive resume in both startups and finance, stemming from his education at UC Santa Barbara.

Niv Dror, Shrug Capital

Niv Dror, Shrug Capital

Season Two of Ambition Today is happy to welcome Niv Dror, head of social media for Product Hunt. Niv boasts an impressive resume in both startups and finance, stemming from his education at UC Santa Barbara.  After moving to Silicon Valley at a very young age, Niv had surprisingly little involvement in the tech world. It surrounded him entirely and thus he never noticed it, as water to a fish.  However, after auditing a few hedge funds and VC funds as a CPA, he knew where his skills truly belonged.

Niv Dror’s taste of the tech community flourished very quickly, landing non-engineering jobs at DataFox, Meerkat, and Product Hunt. He aspired to add value without asking anything in return, and was rewarded with the experience and skills to climb the ranks at multiple organizations, currently aiding the curation of the world's most cutting-edge technology on Product Hunt. Kevin and Niv explore what's behind this drive, the man he gives credit to involuntarily kickstarting his success, and much more:

  • Growing up in Israel and moving to the U.S. at a young age.

  • Pursuing a finance degree and applying it to the startup world.

  • Getting exposure to the tech industry by auditing a successful VC.

  • Building an engaging community around a product.

  • What changes we can see in social in 2017.

  • The war of pronunciation for “gif”.

  • We why all love gifs and how Twitter is the perfect platform.

 

Ambition Today Question of the Day™:
"Should people optimize for learning or for earning?"

Quote Of The Episode:
"Community is everything. Without the community, Product Hunt wouldn't work."

 

Links from this episode:

Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going…

Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS, on Google Play Music or Stitcher for Android

Listen to this episode now

 
Listen on Google Play Music

Ambition Today Episode Sponsors:

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Startup News Essentials

At the start of every new cohort of Founder Institute New York I like to share some of my favorite news sources with the founders. I am going to share them here too!  

At the start of every new cohort of Founder Institute New York I like to share some of my favorite news sources with the new founders. For many founders starting out, consuming the right news from the right sources can really help to plug you into the global startup and tech community.

If the old saying, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” is true, then one of the incredible advantages of the internet is the fact that you can customize whose opinions and knowledge you decide to spend the most time with.

The below list could easily be hundreds of links, but for the sake of simplicity I am going to focus on the core recommendations of what I read everyday. I am also going to focus mostly on news sources. I might do another post on the topic of specific blogs and which individuals to follow in the future. Feel free to add any more news sources that you love in the comments below and up vote the best ones! 

 

For Everyone: 

Nuzzel - This is my favorite news source! Nuzzel's algorithm finds trending articles from your personal network. And even better, they make it really easy to see the trending articles in influencer's networks as well.

Techmeme - If you want to know what the whole industry is talking about on any given day, then this is your one stop! The essential tech news of the moment curated by a mix of editors and an excellent algorithm. 

Launch Ticker -  Efficient tech news broken down to the most important three sentence summary of the original article. Really good at extracting the most important, essential, and relevant information from news to save you time. 

Hacker News - Social news website focusing on computer science, tech and entrepreneurship. 

Axios Pro Rata - Dan Primack's daily newsletter breaks news about deals and dealmakers from Wall Street to Sand Hill Road.

Fortune Term Sheet - Fortune's daily newsletter about venture capital deals and dealmakers.

Product Hunt - Because it is one of the most fun sites on the internet! And because Product Hunt is a curation of the best new products, every day. You will almost always leave the site with something new and exciting to check out. 

Angel List - It is quickly becoming the case that if you want to "exist" in the startup world then you need to be active on AngelList. You can find trending companies, make a hire, invest in a syndicate, connect with other founders, and more. They recently acquired Product Hunt too! 

 

For New Yorkers: 

Digital NYC Voices -  Tips and thoughts from the leaders in NYC business and government. 

AVC - The only blog on this list because Fred Wilson's insightful posts have become daily reading. The comments from the community are often just as good as the original content. 

NYC Innovation Collective - A semi-monthly newsletter that is the byproduct of over 70 NYC startup accelerators, incubators, innovation programs coming together to share resources and news! 

Gary's Guide - Weekly collection of all the startup and tech events happening in New York. Gary does an excellent job curating the information each week, and oh by the way he wears a red tie you can advertise on IRL! 

Charlie O'Donnell's Weekly Newsletter - A curated list of NYC innovation community events each Monday morning.

Gothamist - Never miss a NYC meme again. From breaking news on the cronut, to mayoral soda tax scandals, to changes in the subway system, to Banksy's central park popup stand, the Gothamist constantly has you covered! 

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Founder Institute, Companies, Portfolio Kevin Siskar Founder Institute, Companies, Portfolio Kevin Siskar

Announcing Founder Institute New York 13

I am excited to announce that Monday of this week eight new companies have graduated from Founder Institute New York.

 

Founder Institute New York Fall 2016 - credit: Sally Kung

Founder Institute New York Fall 2016 - credit: Sally Kung

I am excited to announce that Monday of this week, eight new companies have graduated from Founder Institute New York.

Companies from the 13th batch of Founder Institute New York are listed below and span across industries such as fin-tech, diamond trading, fashion, e-sports, artificial intelligence, social, real estate tech, and more. 

As always we are extremely grateful to the time and energy given to the new companies by our generous FI NY mentors. Congratulations to the new founders and companies of Founder Institute New York! This is just the beginning of the journey and I look forward to working with you all going forward.

Founder Institute New York 13

Access Square - Improving investor access to the management of public companies.

BucketCheck - Create and accomplish your bucket list with your friends.

Diamond Hedge - The first price comparison with over $5 Billion dollars of diamonds to choose from.

GameBase - Developing localized mobile e-sports games.

Klothe - Connecting consumers with new and independent fashion brands. 

LocaHolic - Artificial intelligence to make sharing great restaurants easy.

Minque - Connecting curious minds with educated answers.   

ViaHome - Platform connecting investors with sponsors of affordable housing developments. 

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Wearables, History, Apple, Technology Kevin Siskar Wearables, History, Apple, Technology Kevin Siskar

The iPhone Is Ten Years Old

The iPhone is officially ten years old this week. I know, I can't believe it has been ten years either...

Steve Jobs, 2007

Steve Jobs, 2007

The general consensus in the technology industry is that the expontential growth of mobile has finally peaked, after years of driving massive technology growth and value for venture capitalists. While it is undeniable that the hyper growth mobile experienced during the past decade (which venture capitalist rely on) has slowed, I have fought the notion that mobile has truly peaked. Today for the first time though, it hit home for me that maybe mobile phones have reached most of their potential by something I didn't see coming; time.

The iPhone is officially ten years old this week. I know, I can't believe it has been ten years either. I still remember when new iPhones were the hottest thing you could get your hands on. You could touch it with your fingers to use it. It had pinch to zoom and slide to unlock! Included a 2 Megapixel camera, headphone jack, single home button, accelerometer and a proximity sensor. It talked to the internet and all of it was in your pocket! 

The past year has shown that investors are looking for new industries and technology sectors to invest in. Fred Wilson has predicted artificial intelligence will be the new mobile. As proof of this, Amazon's new home speaker that you talk too, the Echo, was one of the most popular products of the year. Other technologies with the label artificial intelligence seem to be creeping into many of our existing products. For example, my to do list app, Todoist, now uses A.I. to learn from me overtime and automatically reschedule my tasks that become past due. 

This implication means many things to Apple and it's need for new product lines.  The Apple Watch was a mild success/failure depending on how you view it. Airpods seem to be a new favorite and I personally love mine, but deep diving into Apple's future is much more then we need to get into here. Instead I would like to recognize it's past. In honor of the ten year anniversary of the iPhone I found Steve Jobs keynote from 2007 and shared it below. I encourage you to watch the first few minutes to remind yourself just how revolutionary the new iPhone was at the time and how funny Steve Jobs was while announcing it.

Then just let it simmer that the iPhone is now ten years old- and what that means for the technology industry. Putting that number ten on the age of the iPhone makes it feel a lot more like my laptop in terms of excitement. As new innovations come from wearables it is only logical that mobile is going the way of desktop computers & laptops. My phone is now something I use multiple times a day, everyday, but just is not as exciting in the long run. 

Mobile will continue to grow as it expands into new markets and territories across the planet. But as with the greatest of technologies we rely on as a species, without large innovations it will fade into the background of our lives, perhaps even for he better. If mobile fades into something we use everyday without thinking, then maybe it can truly enhance our human experience instead of drawing us away from things we should be focusing on. It will go the way of electricity, where we just turn it on without thinking. To become such a utility in our daily lives that it just fades into the background, to be taken for granted the miracle it truly is.

See how it all began, complete and uncut.

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