The Power of Viral Expansion Loop

This is an article from TechCrunch, detailing how in the early days Hotmail exponentially grew from the power of viral expansion loop, as detailed in the book “Viral Loop: From Facebook to Twitter, How Today’s Smartest Businesses Grow Themselves” by Adam L. Penenberg. See the video below;

Filed under: article, networking , grow startup, Hotmail, marketing, startup, Techcrunch, viral loop

Welated, My Current Project, My Best Yet

In just a few days, I am going to unveil my latest work, Welated, at www.welated.com, which will alert you instantly in real-time if your mate (friend or spouse) cheats on your with anyone at anytime, any place in the world.

The system uses analytical algorithm to follow your mate’s every personal love affair with anyone, anywhere, then it alerts you, so you can make an informed, smart choice.

I am really excited about it and I hope it can help make a difference in your current or future social relationship.

Below is the screen shot for the Welated homepage. Visit the site, sign up, and take a test drive. It’s fun, free, and easy to use. Please let me know what you think about it. I deeply and greatly value your sincere opinion and feedback.

Filed under: social, startup , project, social, startup

Making the Best Out of the Worst, Especially Right Now

Someone once told me that the start is always the easiest but is the end that counts the most. So, whatever it is that you are doing, people will always appreciate how you start, but will always remember how you finish.

Well, for me, it’s been a long journey trying to find my pitch, my niche, and I believe I found it now. Since August 2008, I’ve embarked on a project that seemed nearly impossible, in a crowded market economy. But I’ve always believed in myself, and the power of being creative, to find the best out of the worst, even when most of us may seem to be out of luck due to our current economy. But I believe the best is yet to come. I think I can truly say so, because being an economics student here at OSU, and in Spring 2010, I hope to start my PhD program in Economics, I strongly believe that our economy will turn around sooner than we think, and no matter where you are or whatever you are doing, you can make the best out of anything, especially right now.

I am a strong believer, always have been. I believe that each and every one of us have certain God given, unalienable gifts and talents, and it’s up to each and everyone of us to go all the way and explore how to maximize our potential in order to make our dreams come true.

In August 2008, my team and I started working on my new project, Welated (www.welated.com), and it seemed almost impossible making it and developing it to become an actual, viable entity with an actual business model that doesn’t just depend on paid ads like other social networking sites, and I have to say that, with God’s help, I think finally made it happen. Welated is now done, fully functional, and I am very excited about it. We started testing it on January 2009, under a certain code name, and over 8,000 people signed up within just two months, and that was amazing.

We’re now migrating the site from the testing alpha to beta mode, it is a combination of Facebook, MySpace, and Hi5.com, all in one. We combined all the cool tools you’ll find on most of your favorite social networking sites and place them in one easy-to-use Welated platform.

However, Welated has a creative twist to it, that’s, instead of simply offering traditional social networking tools, Welated offers an innovative platform that allows users to keep track of what their lovers are doing at any given time. That’s, a Welated user can instantly know if her or his wife/husband/boyfriend/girlfriend is being unfaithful and more, anywhere. I purposely founded Welated to help people learn more about each other’s dating history, interests, and activities, so that no one can ever say; I wish I only knew.

Please, take some time and check out Welated at www.welated.com, sign up, it’s free, and take a tour of the site, experiment with the tools on the site, and please let me know what you think. You can always delete your account at any time if you decide not to stay registered, and feel free to search for my name on the site and connect with me.

Feel free to Welated me at; http://www.welated.com/profile.php?user=simon

Filed under: Blogroll, Facebook, Web 2.0, blog this, economics, economy, entertainment, entrepreneur, launch, startup, technology , connect, dating, dream, economy, entrepreneur, friends, launch, marriage, social networking, startup, success, Web 2.0, wedding, Welated, widget

Webware Finally Credits TechCrunch

I recently wrote on here about Webware kind of living in the shadow of TechCrunch on nearly every story they report. But, the good news thereafter is that Webware seems to have heeded my writing, that today in their Daily Tidbits, they finally credited TechCrunch on their report that, “Charles River Ventures, a venture capital fund that focuses on Web start-ups, and is trying to find a hot company through Facebook”.

It’s good to see Webware finally crediting TechCrunch on their tech news reporting, because for a while now, all they have been doing is report on whatever TechCrunch reports without at times crediting TechCrunch, and that was kind of boring and annoying, not to say, lack of news reporting and creativity.

Speaking of Facebook hot Apps, I am working to launch, Wrisen, which is poised to be one of today and tomorrow’s hot and fast growing social apps on Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, Hi5 and other social networking properties.

Due to launch in January 2009, Wrisen is poised to be the emotional comforting social application for everyone including pets anywhere, but with an actual revenue business model, and is not mostly depended on sometimes under-performing social revenue ads.

Filed under: AOL, Facebook, Internet, Web 2.0, adsense, advertising, adword, animals, article, blog this, branding, business, culture, design, entrepreneur, happy, launch, networking, social, startup, technology , animals, Bebo, cats, dogs, Facebook, facebook application, Hi5, MySpace, pets, startup, Techcrunch, venture capital, Webware, Wrisen

Is Webware Walking in the Shadow of TechCrunch?

Every hour of each day, other than CNN.com, BBC News, Yahoo News, and the New York Times, I have to peek at TechCrunch and then Webware to get my hourly up-to-the-minute news on any new and upcoming technology and web companies.

However, for the longest now, TechCrunch and Webware have been more like, following each other on what each one reports, with TechCrunch always leading the way, while Webware seems to only peek at what TechCrunch has to report and then they come up with the same news reporting on the same subject.

I am not saying that Webware plagiarizes TechCrunch, but it gets really boring to have the two tech news venues that I have come to like and admire always reporting on the same subject, different written style but on the same topic. TechCrunch will have a story on a certain subject and then an hour or a day later, Webware will have a story on the same subject that TechCrunch has just previously reported.

Have the tech news stories suddenly become so rare that Webware always seems to be walking under the shadow of TechCrunch?

Filed under: Internet, Tools, Web 2.0, advertising, article, blog this, branding, business, entrepreneur, events, networking, news, startup, technology , companies, Internet, news, online tech news, social networking, startup, Techcrunch, technology, web, Web 2.0, Webware

$1 Million for the Next Biggest Venture

I have started working on a new venture, poised to be the Next Best and Biggest in the world; and I am putting up $1 million of my own money in this venture. But to kick it off, I just need to find a reliable, hardworking, determined, and very trustworthy individual to join me as my partner. My business plan calls for a 50/50 as long as you, as my partner, know the business and are willing to do everything it takes, to make this venture a great success.

This is an exciting venture in the farming sector. It’s to be one of its kind in the world; to be only focused on breeding Mules. What’s a mule, you asked yourself? A mule is a cross-breed between a donkey stallion (called a jack) and a horse mare. I have already identified where we can procure/acquire/buy our initial stock of mules; both males and females, starting out with  10,000 female mules and 500 male mules, and based on my projections, we should have produced over 500,000 Mules from just these 10,000 within 5 years.

The meat from Mules is considered a delicacy in France and in some other countries, but our primary target market to sell our mules’ meat is France. I have not yet identified the location to set up this farm, but you, as my new partner, the first thing I’d like for you to do is to scour out some locations and identify the best location to set up our Mule farm, and then baaang, we have our new venture set up. We, as partners, don’t have to actually run the business, we will hire and appoint experienced managers to run the operations, and we just have to go by the farm at least once or twice a week to check out the operation.

This venture is ready to go, so come on, jump on board. No capital contribution is needed from you, as a partner; as long as you have a high school diploma and that you must love animals and can at least ride a horse, that’s the requirements to become my partner in this venture.

And since you’ve read this far, I just want to thank you very much for your interest in my new venture and my April fool’s joke.

Filed under: advertising, animals, blog this, culture, entertainment, entrepreneur, farming, food, news, sex, startup , animals, business, capitalists, donkey, entrepreneur, farming, money, mule, opportunity, startup, venture

Your True Entrepreneurial Expertise

So, you just woke up one late morning and you suddenly decided that you are an entrepreneur?

One of the greatest tasks of an entrepreneur to endure; is to be able to do almost everything related to starting and growing a business. From discovering, financing, developing, manufacturing and marketing to distribution.

So, if you’re an entrepreneur, what’s your real expertise? What are you really good at? What are your strengths that would enable you to excel and achieve your childhood or day-long entrepreneurial dream and goal?

If you don’t have even one single answer to either question, then you’re not an entrepreneur but a wannabe, and it’s better to stop lying to yourself, and just go back to sleep, go back to your 9 to 5, stop wasting energy and resources.

Filed under: blog this, business, economics, living, simon kapenda , business, entrepreneur, startup