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From TagMyPod to StartAkademy?
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8wJSw0yNVg]
Thanks to the large number of comments – and one in particular – about the TagMyPod project that I started on my French blog (description here in English), I am seeing if anyone will join me to take the concept further.
One comment, by Alexandre Le Guyader, pointed out that starting a company is extremely hard for young people and that Phuong Tran of TagMyPod had an enormous advantage through interacting with people via my blogging.
Since the blog where I write in French – belonging to my friend Loic Le Meur – is the number one blog in France, the videos and blog posts I did on Phuong’s project created an immediate buzz. (That said, the success of his company is still very uncertain, which is probably why people have enjoyed following the series of postings.)
I totally agree with Alexandre about how Phuong was very fortunate to receive the attention via my blog. Also, I detest when favoritism and connections can be used to beat out hard work and great ideas.
For that reason I propose launching StartAkademy.
Based on an identical principle to what I am doing with Phuong, young entrepreneurs would pitch their idea via video blog. A jury would then select and mentor the young entrepreneur via video-casts that would share, teach and inspire others who want to start their own companies.
This could perhaps be linked in with Seedcamp or a VC firm or a business school. Any takers?
I’ve done a brief video in English (above) and French (below) about the concept.
Email me or post a comment here!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tymvZzxcRto]
seedcamp tagmypod startakademy phuong+tran phuongtran thomascrampton thomas+crampton
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Thomas Crampton was a correspondent for the International Herald Tribune and The New York Times for more than a decade, reporting from five continents, writing a column on Asia and covering Asian politics, economics and culture. Currently based in Hong Kong, he writes here about China, the Internet and New Media seen from Asia, while also advising companies on digital communication strategies. For more information click here...
it’s clear that Phuong Tran has a great chance to benefit from a huge visibility because you talk about him on your blog or on loic le meur (llm) blog… you help him a lot by doing so and his project will surely grow faster because of that!
that’s why i think your idea of a StartAkademy is very interresting for young entrepreneurs in order to help them: having a mentor will help them in visibility and credits… it’s so important to be visible!!
Hi Thomas. Living in San Francisco for 6 months now, I can see a lot of projects that turn to be companies (or not). And for sure, that gives me pretty ideas about products that could be successful. Then, will the geographical criteria have an impact on your selection? In other words, will you pick french and asian entrepreneurs only?
Thanks for your initiative. Stef
The idea is great… I’d like to be involved
Thomas, excellent initiative !
I thought my Idea could interest you : micro-lessons of english vocabulary every for free on your mobile.
Marlet value : no more time for learning, 1 min per day is better than nothing
Tool : Mobile and SMS are still very popular
Techno : Twitter allows me to send sms for free
What do you think !
Very cool Thomas!
I agree with Benoit that it’s very important to be visible and to broadcast this ideas.
Also blogging about ideas like this bring up a lot of interesting opinions so I guess it’s a very interesting way of testing them.
Good luck Phuong !
I enjoy watching your videos so I can improve my lousy French skills