Introducing the Nori Lights - Bicycle Illumination System

San Diego Kickstarter and Inventor, Chris Flynn, came up with a smart way to Illuminate your bike wheels, letting drivers recognize you instantly at night. Well all know that tiny front and rear lights are not enough. Check out this video:

I know Chris Flynn, he's family, as Nori is my Uncle Nori.  I'll be the first to tell you that Uncle Nori would be very proud of Chris.  You can trust Chris to deliver on his promises and deliver on your pledge.  I would appreciate if you would support this project, by:

• Telling your friends about it.  Add the link to your Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn profiles.
• Buy a Nori Light System if you own a bike, purchase a tee shirt if you don't.
• Forward this link to one bike shop in your area. Look them up on the web and send them an email via their contact us page.

Let's start another small business in America.  Please support this project today.

Thank you!

...Jim

The Living Room continues to evolve.

I likely have a very common living room which consists of a 55" Sony HD TV, XBOX 360, LG BluRay DVD, Apple TV and a DirecTV HR21 DVR. My DirecTV cost $121.99 per month, a whopping $1,463.88 per year.  When it comes to programming, we have DirecTV's Choice Xtra package which includes 195 channels, HD and DVR features. In reality, my wife and I watch primarily 13 channels.  We've tried to cut the cord and live off of Amazon Prime, Hulu Plus and AirPlay from our iPad to Apple TV, but it has it's drawbacks.  One drawback I would like to address in this blog is content from the major networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX and PBS).

Introducing Simple TV (known as Simple.TV as in http://www.Simple.TV)

Assuming you can receive HD signals from the major networks at your home or office, Simple.TV is a small device that captures these signals, converts them to digial and stores them on a network storage device.  Simple.TV does not plug into your TV, it connects to your home network via an Ethernet port, an HD antenna or basic cable connection, a USB 2.0 Port for an external drive and power.  As I understand it, once connected it will appear as another media device on XBOX, Roku or iPad.  It records full 1080p HD Video and allows you to watch live TV from any of these devices.  You can also purchase their programming guide service for $4.99/month and schedule programs to be recorded just like any standard DVR.

(photo from http://www.Simple.TV)

A Kickstarter backed product.

Simple.TV was launched with the help of the Kickstarter community. 1,046 backers pre-purchased $226,415 in product to help them get launched back on June 29th.  The product is scheduled to ship this year.  The company was also a recipient of CNET's Best of CES 2012.

DVR software development is not easy and other concerns.

I purchased one of the first TiVo units in March 1999 and stayed with DirecTV when they lunched their first DVR in 2008.  What I learned as a customer from these experiences is managing broadcast content is not easy. I have not seen or used Simple.TV's program guide, so I can't comment on how stable it is.  What I can tell you is DirecTV DVR software still has it's challenges. Simple.TV only has one tuner, where TiVo now sports 4 tuners and DirecTV HR24 has 5 tuners.  Still, the trend is to having a central playlist available to every TV, Tablet and Smart phone in your home.  If Simple.TV can pull off the programming challenges, since they're not relying on cable or satellite companies to resell their device, they may gain traction.  Also, there is no reason your Simple.TV can't live outside your home network, something that DirecTV doesn't allow.  Simple.TV has possibilities and has the ability to disrupt on-air content.

Television is going to get disrupted, it's just a matter of time.

We're seeing the walls starting to crack.  Video consumption is moving rapidly to tablets and smart phones.  I know this is crazy to consider, but the TV of the future may be a monitor, yes a simple display like the flat screen on your desk.  The industry is digesting new technologies like OLED and 4K resolutions.  It may make more sense for Microsoft, Apple, LG, and Samsung to focus on building devices to connect to your TV (or Monitor) through your AV receiver instead of building the firmware in the actual TV. I don't think people are going to purchase TVs like they do smart phones today, on a two-year cycle. Therefore devices like DVD, DVRs, Game Consoles as well as devices like Roku, iTV and Simple.TV may find their way in more living rooms as consumers want the latest features of a smart, Internet connected TV, without purchasing a new TV.

I'll keep an eye on Simple.TV and will forward any reviews on the programming guide and DVR functions.  If you come across any other startups like Simple.TV, please drop me comment below.

...Jim

Yesterday, President Barack Obama signed into law the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS), a measure that includes U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet's "crowdfunding" amendment, easing securities regulations in a variety of ways with the goal of aiding small businesses. Many of us have been pushing for easing the requirements needed for startups to raise initial seed money from the public.

In the past several years, the term “CrowdFunding” has been kicked around. The website Kickstarter is jumped out as the clearer in the space creating a marketplace for startups and users to barter startup capital for products or other incentives, other than equity.

It’s always amazed me that anyone could go to Las Vegas and invest $1,000 on the craps table, yet if that same person wanted to invest $1,000 in a startup, they needed to be an accredited investor, meaning you must make $200,000k a year (for the past 3 years) or have a liquid net worth of $1 million or more. The JOBS Act removes this barrier.

Now for the first time in the United States the average Joe Investor (non-accredited) can make investments based on their income or net worth. Companies will be able to raise up to $1 million in a 365 day period.  There are some requirements we know about already, they include:

• Companies must provide CPA reviewed tax returns or audited financials based on the amount they raise, here is the breakdown:

1. 1. Less than $100K: You are required to provide your income tax returns and have your financial statements certified by your CEO.
   2. $100K to $499K: Your financial statements will need to be reviewed by a public accountant.
   3. $500K to $1 Million: You will need to provide the investors with audited financials.

• Companies must have a defined communication plan to communicate with its investors. Since investors can’t look up a stock symbol to get their news, another plan must be developed.
• No single investor invests more than a specified amount in the offering, namely:

1. The greater of $2,000 or 5% of the annual income or net worth of the investor, as applicable, if the investor has annual income or net worth of less than $100,000; or
2. 10% of the annual income or net worth of the investor, as applicable, if either the annual income or net worth of the investor is equal to more than $100,000, capped at a max of $100,000 invested.

• The websites offering CrowdFunding services must register with the SEC as a Registered Broker or “Funding Portal”.

There are a lot of additional conditions, including background checks on the issuer. For a complete list, check out CrowdSourcing.Org

The skeptics of the equity CrowdFunding bill are concerned with entrepreneurs dealing with hundreds of inexperienced investors funding startups. This is true with anything new. People will need to learn the pit falls of investing in a non-liquid asset.  It will be interesting to see if markets will be started to trade these assets. Who knows what the future will bear?

It will also be interesting to see what happens in the current investor models.  We’ve already seen Angel investors and Angel funds lead in SEED and Series A funding, pushing the VCs to later stage companies. Will companies that use CrowdFunding sites for their seed capital have problems in later rounds of funding from institutional or accredited investors?

The next step is for the SEC to craft guidelines and rules for the law that CrowdFunding portals, investors and entrepreneurs can work with. The SEC has 270 days ( nine months), to make final changes to the regulation.  So nothing will happen until next year.

…Jim