Net Prophet 2014 highlights. Net Prophet is annual conference held in Cape Town, where international and local pioneers and entrepreneurs share their stories, ideas and predictions. Julian Assange was the headline speaker, along with Jody Ford, Aaron Marshall, Alexander Asseily and many more.
Text of Net Prophet 2014 Highlights
2014 Highlights
What is Net Prophet?
About Net Prophet, an initiative started by the RAMP Foundation in 2009, is an annual conference in Cape Town where the most innovative | successful | creative | ambitious Pioneers and Entrepreneurs in the digital space share their Stories PredictionsIdeas
Speakers Headline Speaker Julian Assange Founder & Chief Editor of Wikileaks WikiLeaks gained global exposure and attention in 2010 when it published US military and diplomatic documents. Assange has been under investigation in the United States since then and has taken refuge at the Embassy of Ecuador, London. Alexander Asseily Co-Founder & Executive Chairman of State.com
Jody Ford
Everywhere Shopping Jody Ford discusses how technology is driving the the evolution of retail. He believes the mobile phone has become the essential remote control to our lives A new retail is emerging, its consumer driven and technology enabled. Jody Ford VP of Marketing, eBay People now expect better service online than offline. People now look at their phones 40 times a day, for 2 mins each time. Shoppers 39% 55% US UK Pay online & pick up in-store If youre in retail, you need to invest heavily in mobile not embrace the mobile sector but enhance the mobility of your enterprise.
Julian Assange
Founder of Wikileaks Streaming live from the UK, Assange shared some pearls of wisdom and foresight to South African entrepreneurs. * The next great innovation headed our way will be in the financial sector, with Bitcoin disrupting the industry in a huge way. * We need more diversity in organisations - the current political and economical structures around finance mean people in control get pushed around by state. * Were seeing one dominant player in some aspects of the internet (like Google), which is problematic. * A serious question: will most things that most people use most of the time be eaten up by a few dominant players? We need to decentralise centralised organisations.
Simon Dingle
Host of Tech5 on 5FM Humans are a mix of algorithms. Technology is shifting to understand us as individuals, to personalise itself for us. Youre failing if youre generalising. You need to segment!! Instead of trying to educate the market, let the market educate you. Answers: both lines are the same length, both squares are the same colour - its only your perspective thats different. Simon Dingle Writer & Host of Tech5 on 5FM Simon highlighted how behavioural sciences, varied perceptions and technology all play a huge role in consumer decisions and companies should not isolate the digital strategy - digital should be a given platform with a business plan. Which horizontal line is longer? Answer below Which block is darker in colour? Answer below
Aaron Marshall
Go Big AND Go Home Aaron believes in "going big AND going home" (to your family). His app has just won the international U-Start competition. Below are some tips he shared. Aaron Marshall Founder of Over App
Alexander Asseily
Time To Use Another Part of Your Brain The issue with #hashtags is that theyre temporary, very flighty and real-time. You dont need any followers on State. You just need an opinion, which can then connect you with other people who feel the same way. Asseily has developed a new communications platform that connects people based on what they think, rather than what they know. A global opinion network. Alexander Asseily Co-Founder of State.com & Executive Chairmain of Jawbone
Rob Stokes
From Bedroom to Buyout Following the recent acquisition of Quirk by global mega-corp WPP, Stokes shares some lessons hes learnt along the way. 1. Surround yourself with people better than yourself 2. Timing does matter (just hard to predict) 3. Always play to peoples strengths 4. If you are going to do something, commit fully 5. Be generous with your knowledge 6. You need luck, it happens through perseverance 7. Make yourself saleable, even if you are not for sale 8. Businesses struggle to innovate internally 9. The most adaptable to change survive 10. Just. F###ing. Do. It. Rob Stokes Founder & Group CEO of Quirk
Danny Day & Marc Luck
Making Games in SA Danny and Marc build games as well as train others to do so. They have created a community for SA gamers to learn, build and grow. Marc Luck & Danny Day Co-Founders of QCF Design (Game Development) Digital distribution allows game studios to keep more of the revenue from sales than physical retail sold copies. (-_-)(-_- )(-_-)(-_-) Retail Online R600 game R10 to devs R150 game R110 to devs www.makegamessa.com
Nicole Yershon
The Story of an Intrepreneur Nicole heads up Ogilvy Labs with a hands on approach to R&D by incorporating the latest technologies & innovations into client solutions. She believes that the freedom to test and learn is important, and determines success by these 6 measures. Nicole Yershon Director of Innovations at Ogilvy International The 6 Rs of Measuring Success: 1. Revenue 2. Reputation 3. Recruitment 4. Retention 5. Relationships 6. Responsibility
Andrew Valentine
A Startup Hitlist There are better opportunities in Africa right now than in the US and UK. Great business ideas make for a good start, but that idea is pretty useless if you cannot pair it with a strong execution strategy Many startups dont focus on selecting their business models as much as they should. Even if you have a great team and working environment, you can still lose if you have a bad business model. We succeeded thanks to luck, hard work and a great business model. Andrew Valentine Founder of Streetcar Andrew is the Founder of Streetcar, the largest carsharing company in Europe. He believes a solid business model trumps everything else.
Nathan Jeffrey
Own It Nathan runs MyEcommerce, a software development company. He claims to be born in the real world, but living in the cloud. Nathan Jeffery Blogger & Owner of MyEcommerce If youre not willing to do what you do for free, youre in the wrong job. You should be your own investor, learn to network and learn to optimise your time. You need to learn to say no. You need to optimise the time you spend on projects. You need a commitment strategy - not an exit strategy.
The Startup Workshop
Sparkup! Sparkup! is a small business gauntlet for passionate founders looking to get investment and take a product to market. Three intense days of business grooming, culminating in a live audience investor pitch.
The Winners 8Bit, Ekaya and Shopstar walked away with investment totalling almost US$100,000. Digital Media Network Real Estate Application Online Shop Creator
