Yes, I sure learned a great deal, and it represented a great way for young middle/high school and university students to gain first hand practical experience in terms of the processes of turning an idea into a viable enterprise.

A thoroughly worthwhile program.

Andrew’s last blog post..Climbing to the top

Back when I was in university, I participated in a program called Young Achievers Australia (YAA), a program aimed to help young people to develop entrepreneurial skills by joining teams and starting up and running a part-time business venture.

Our product was obvious but there were very few people who had actually thought of it. Most people, when they load up their computer screen, see a somewhat standardized version of wallpaper behind their icons (‘wallpaper’ is the background behind the icons when you start your computer). Our idea was to get some high quality photographs taken of famous spots around Melbourne (my home city), scan a selection of them on to disks and sell the disks at tourist shops. Using our product, users could replace their standardized wallpaper background and instead have as their background their choice of one of their favorite places in Melbourne. Kind of like postcards, but on the background of a user’s start screen.

This idea was novel back in 1997 anyway. We didn’t actually end up doing that well, and our product, being new, was difficult to explain, but it certainly was an enjoyable experience to have a go and to be fair to its inventor (it was not my idea personally), the idea was a creative way to add color and interest to what appeared at the time to be a fairly standardised space which could use a little sprucing up.

Andrew’s last blog post..Climbing to the top

That’s one reason why I was impressed by the concepts presented. They were all focused on innovations that solved real, existing problems for people and companies.

J.D. Meier’s last blog post..The 20 Percent Spike

I love the notion of “unused” or “underused” space as an image for a market opportunity. Sometimes the result is terrible (huge ads on the side of buses, for example, that reduce light inside the bus) but other times they are rich (products that turned a back yard into an oasis against the stress of life).

Have a good day, K

kay plantes’s last blog post..Growth Strategy During a Recession

This type of creativity makes me think of beef jerky. Several years ago, somebody came up with the idea of packaging all the useless trimmings in a meat packaging plant and calling it beef jerky. Today, it’s – I’m guessing – a nine-figure food segment.

Brad Shorr’s last blog post..Are You a Social Media Doer or Dabbler?