Hi my dear friends,
So it has now been one year, one month a few days and several mortgage payments since my last day at Mattel in February 2nd 2009.
When I run into ex-colleagues at restaurants, airports, ex-Mattel-holicsupport groups and social events, the question they usually ask is, “How is the business going?” In their eyes I can see a desire for positive news because I know they wish me the best and also because it means that a good life after a corporate job is actually possible. But I can also see a morbid desire for gruesome descriptions of how tough the world is out there in the entrepreneur jungle, so that they can feel reassured about their cozy benefit packed corporate jobs.
Well, yes, feel reassured, it is tough out here. Selling a completely new web application is not easy. When I speak with potential customers which can sometimes take weeks to schedule, I usually start off by explaining that last year we launched a website that helps people make any type of decision. They ask, “Any type?” Yes, any type. I show them that “Should I get a Tattoo” is a top 10 popular decision among our 20 thousand users. After a look of disbelief and intrigue, I tell them that the website is free, and the immediate question is, “But how do you make money?” Followed by, “Is this another funny .com bubble business? Because I lost a lot of money in businesses like yours…” Then I explain to them that Simon is just our online decision making lab and that the real business is Ayax Systems Inc., which develops “Custom Online Decision Systems” for companies. By this point, they start getting it, but many times they don’t even know that they or their customers need help deciding on their products or services. That’s where my creativity and my experience at Mattel help me dig (and build a dazzling power point) and find out how they would benefit from our services. If I can’t imagine how we can help them, then Samuel Holtzman, my partner, who is a professor at Stanford and has devoted his life to decision making, helps me figure it out.
So far we are doing pretty well. We are working with Honda on a system to help their potential consumers select cars based on their lifestyles (e.g., family of 4, likes the outdoors, eco-friendly) vs. the technical specifications of the car. We are working with a global technology company on a system to help consumers select a printer based on their printing needs such as: “I need to print my kid’s homework or my family photos.” I just came from a 3-day meeting in San Francisco with the largest bakery in the world, where we are working on a global decision system for buying commodities like wheat. We are presenting projects for talent selection for human resources, financial decisions for banks, academic major decisions for college students and some others. If you think that you or someone you know, may be interested in our services, please let me know.
My team and I still have a long way to go to get back to the income levels we had in the not-so-distant past, but at least we now see a clear path ahead of us. We are having fun creating completely new products and services, and every penny we deposit or spend is a penny we have worked hard for. The team is growing: we are snatching great talent that has been let go from big companies, and we are opening a small office somewhere in Silicon Valley and a subsidiary in Mexico. I’m also learning a lot about things I had no idea about just one year ago: software as a service, social media, Facebook advertising, iPhone applications, etc.
Speaking of hard earned pennies, Apple just approved our iPhone App, which went live last week. Take a look at it at the link below and let me know what you think. It is just 99 cents.
Simon's iPhone App
Come on, download it, and support SERF “Solar Entrepreneur Relief Fund”.
Until the next one, have a great week!
Your friend
Ricardo Solar
So it has now been one year, one month a few days and several mortgage payments since my last day at Mattel in February 2nd 2009.
When I run into ex-colleagues at restaurants, airports, ex-Mattel-holicsupport groups and social events, the question they usually ask is, “How is the business going?” In their eyes I can see a desire for positive news because I know they wish me the best and also because it means that a good life after a corporate job is actually possible. But I can also see a morbid desire for gruesome descriptions of how tough the world is out there in the entrepreneur jungle, so that they can feel reassured about their cozy benefit packed corporate jobs.
Well, yes, feel reassured, it is tough out here. Selling a completely new web application is not easy. When I speak with potential customers which can sometimes take weeks to schedule, I usually start off by explaining that last year we launched a website that helps people make any type of decision. They ask, “Any type?” Yes, any type. I show them that “Should I get a Tattoo” is a top 10 popular decision among our 20 thousand users. After a look of disbelief and intrigue, I tell them that the website is free, and the immediate question is, “But how do you make money?” Followed by, “Is this another funny .com bubble business? Because I lost a lot of money in businesses like yours…” Then I explain to them that Simon is just our online decision making lab and that the real business is Ayax Systems Inc., which develops “Custom Online Decision Systems” for companies. By this point, they start getting it, but many times they don’t even know that they or their customers need help deciding on their products or services. That’s where my creativity and my experience at Mattel help me dig (and build a dazzling power point) and find out how they would benefit from our services. If I can’t imagine how we can help them, then Samuel Holtzman, my partner, who is a professor at Stanford and has devoted his life to decision making, helps me figure it out.
So far we are doing pretty well. We are working with Honda on a system to help their potential consumers select cars based on their lifestyles (e.g., family of 4, likes the outdoors, eco-friendly) vs. the technical specifications of the car. We are working with a global technology company on a system to help consumers select a printer based on their printing needs such as: “I need to print my kid’s homework or my family photos.” I just came from a 3-day meeting in San Francisco with the largest bakery in the world, where we are working on a global decision system for buying commodities like wheat. We are presenting projects for talent selection for human resources, financial decisions for banks, academic major decisions for college students and some others. If you think that you or someone you know, may be interested in our services, please let me know.
My team and I still have a long way to go to get back to the income levels we had in the not-so-distant past, but at least we now see a clear path ahead of us. We are having fun creating completely new products and services, and every penny we deposit or spend is a penny we have worked hard for. The team is growing: we are snatching great talent that has been let go from big companies, and we are opening a small office somewhere in Silicon Valley and a subsidiary in Mexico. I’m also learning a lot about things I had no idea about just one year ago: software as a service, social media, Facebook advertising, iPhone applications, etc.
Speaking of hard earned pennies, Apple just approved our iPhone App, which went live last week. Take a look at it at the link below and let me know what you think. It is just 99 cents.
Simon's iPhone App
Come on, download it, and support SERF “Solar Entrepreneur Relief Fund”.
Until the next one, have a great week!
Your friend
Ricardo Solar
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