The Great Startup Game

iBucket Chain Announces Closing of 163 Stores

iBucket America Announces Closing

Can it get any worse? It's all over for a once mighty American brand with the must-have iPhone accessory: the amazing iBucket recharging platform for your iPhone and iPod. Launched in the fall of 2007, iBucket America, Inc.  saw a meteoric rise in its fortunes after opening flagship stores in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Toronto, and Montreal. An IPO quickly followed in early 2008 with shares peaking at a high of $478.00 before plummeting to $0.14 this past February. We just received confirmation from reliable sources that iBucket is closing all 163 stores tomorrow:

"After being de-listed by the NYSE last month things just got progressively worse for us. Liquidators will be taking control of these stores on Thursday. 7400 employees are being laid off," said CEO Mitch Steffani. (WSJ)

According to msnbc, crowds have already begun lining up at stores in anticipation of inventory liquidation sales. 

iBucket fans will recall that it wasn't that long ago when iBucket sales saved Xmas for retailers. iBucket Saves Retailers This Shopping Season.

No doubt, you have probably already guessed what the demise of this iPhone icon means.

Collector's.

Item.

Big.

Time.

Everyone I know is scrambling to load up on iBuckets.

6 Years of the Segway: The Product That Changed the World

Segway: the product that changed us forever.

"[The Segway] will be to the car what the car was to the horse and buggy."  - inventor Dean Kamen

In The Know: Life Before The Segway

The Segway Story.

The Pursuit of Happyness Couldn't Happen Today

I watched The Pursuit of Happyness last night and found the film implausible from the vantage point of today's business world in which HR departments reign supreme over who gets in for an interview.  Smart hardworking hustlers, such as Chris Gardner, would simply be screened out immediately by the 25 year olds  running HR on two dubious criteria:

-His lack of a degree.
In today's world, no matter how smart you are, HR wants to see a degree for most white collar positions. Chris Gardner was so smart that he could solve the Rubic's Cube puzzle in minutes but that wouldn't matter to the English Lit majors HR departments attract in droves.

-His credit rating.
I was shocked to hear a few years ago that many HR departments now check an applicant's credit score. A score below a certain cut-off point means no job offer whatever the applicant's other strengths may be. The fact that sometimes scores drop temporarily for legitimate reasons, such as unemployment or illness, doesn't factor into HR's calculations.

Long ago, when I finished college you could do what Chris Gardner did and contact the manager of the department you wanted to work in directly. Oftentimes, you could have an interview with him (or her) before you met with HR. The meeting with HR would then be a formality for getting the paperwork done. In today's world, Chris would be told by the executive that his hands are tied and that every applicant needs to go through HR first.

Viral Marketing Hit of the Year

It's been a few years since I've seen a viral marketing as effective as the one for the Australian film The Secret.  About a month ago I started noticing references to it all over the Net on blogs and forums. The viral campaign is now spilling over into the real world. Last weekend two of my friends were in a popular Seattle bookstore during which they ended up chatting with the owner. The owner enthusiastically recommended The Secret to them. Both ended up purchasing a copy of the DVD.

Someone needs to do a magazine article or case study on the marketing campaign behind The Secret phenomenon.

The Biggest News Story of 2006

Here's me going out on a limb and making a prediction for the biggest news story of 2006: Peak Oil. The Peak Oil meme has finally been unleashed and you will be hearing about it everywhere. The good news is that it provides a ton of oportunities to entrepreneurs and businesses in the renewable energy sector.

Peak Oil 101:

Still not sure what Peak Oil is? Check out this trailer for a new Peak Oil documentary called Oil Crash. You can find more introductory info on Peak Oil, including audio and video files, at Karavans.

Free clue: People who respond with, "Oh we'll just come up with some new technology to deal with energy depletion" are very confused about technology and energy. You need energy to run technology. Technology is not energy.