PR and Infographics

I read this list from Software by Rob on how to launch your startup in 16 steps. It was some good stuff. There were two steps I had not thought about before. They were the use of public relations, and the use of infographics.

Using PR can be costly. So you might want to skip using a big firm at first. You should choose a small local firm instead. Or you can do this in house. Just make sure you don't assign it to a junior employee.

I had not heard the term "infographics" before. Apparently it is short for information graphics. It is a graphic representation of data to make complex topics easier to digest. An example of an infographic is a map.

Startup Compensation

I checked out a chart on Ackwire that detailed the compensation for a bunch of people at startups. The salaries varied between $50k and $150k.

Equity was normally much less than 1%. Mostly it hovered around a quarter of 1%. There were some notable exceptions. One person had a whopping 25% equity in their startup, but had a very low salary. However another had a respectable 3% equity in addition to a high salary ($130k).

The valuations of the companies were mainly in the $1M to $10M range. So if you consider the average equity was a quarter of 1%, then the equity would be worth between $2500 and $25k. Ouch. I guess you better love what you are doing. Because it does not look like these people are getting rich, even if the startup is successful and gets to an exit.

Android Phones

A buddy recently shelled out $200 for a Motorola Droid 2 phone. This included a contract, so the retail price is higher. I am thinking about getting a new phone. I am considering the Android phones for myself.

There are many different Android phones. Android is actually the open source Linux based operating system from Google. Examples of the phone are the T-Mobile G1, HTC EVO 4G, and Samsung Galaxy.


Android has a number of advantages over the iPhone. The phones themselves are usually lighter. You do not have to connect to your computer to get the apps. The web browser supports Flash. It is better for navigation, and well as tethering your computer to it for Internet access.

The Android user base is mostly dudes. Developers prefer to create apps for the Android market. You can only get a true QWERTY keyboard with an Android phone. The iPhone uses a software keyboard only.

There are times when there might be different Android OS versions out there causing some confusion. I hear that Android phones are not as reliable as iPhones. I also understand that some of the Android phones have security holes. I continue to debate whether I should get an iPhone or Adroid based model.

The iPhone

I am thinking about getting a new cell phone. And I am considering the iPhone 4. This is the cooler option. It also seems to be the choice of the younger crowd. The phone itself costs $299 with a 2 year control. Otherwise it goes for $599 retail.

The iPhone in general requires service through AT&T. I hear their cell phone service is not top notch. The rest of the iPhone story sounds good. Apple design is king. The phone is easy and intuitive to use. Their batteries tend to last longer.

The iPhone has the superior software keyboard. It is the best choice for games and music. Applies app store has the most apps. One key differentiator is the front facing camera in the phone. You can do video chatting with other iPhone 4 users.

This phone does not support multitasking. Not sure if that is something I will need on a phone. I also hear the Safari web browser is slow during peak times. You get all iPhone apps through Apple's app store. Apple has a lot of accessories for their phones. The camera is better than most phones. The iPhone 4 has higher screen resolution than most phones.

The verdict is still not out. Next time I will review Android phones.

Profiting With Apps

I just finished skimming a book about getting rich through apps. The book stated that app development is getting cheaper. However a developer still will charge you between $50 and $150 per hour for coding up your app. That does not seem like an avenue to get rich, especially since FaceBook apps are free.

The details on how to create apps for both the FaceBook and iPhone platform are changing all the time. I learned that there are two varieties of iPhone apps. There is the native variety that runs on the iPhone operating system. Then there are iPhone web apps that run on the Safari web browser.

Going a little deeper, you write native iPhone apps using the Objective C programming language. However iPhone web apps are developed just like other normal web applications. You code in a combination of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

Finally note that games are the best selling apps. It seems like there is too steep a learning curve to code up an app myself. I think for now I will take a pass on this money making opportunity.