.tv I am sneaky, suspicious and mad!

[WineGuy]

I'm cheap, sneaky, creative, searching, suspicious, non-commital,mad, opportunistic, good, bad, evil, innocent and trying to be as smart and quick as possible regarding, dot TV, IPTV, Broadband Media, broadband channels, video broadcast and the 1000 other names it is called. So get in the game and start partnering, cold calling, interviewing, e-mailing, stretching the truth about how big your company is, VCing, Angeling, raising money, planning and testing cause the time is almost over. There already has been one opportunity to test a platform that probably only a couple of us grabbed, a free trial by BrightCove. Here is another and it involves just logging in which could win you a prize, tell em WineGuy sent ya:


NFT BETA TEST TONIGHT


NFT will be holding a beta test tonight (July 18, 2006) from 8pm CST to 10pm CST. The link to the staging client is http://www.nft-tv.com/beta1.php?password=iambeta


!!ATTENTION!!

With summer upon us, we thought it was time to liven things up a bit. So, NFT will be giving away an XBOX 360 to some lucky beta tester. The rules are simple, each computer, registered in your name, that you bring TO THIS FINAL BETA TEST and the last three NFT beta tests (to be held on June 20, June 27, July 11, and July 18th) will count as an entry. On Wednesday, July 19th, NFT will randomly select one of the entries. If that entry is yours, you win the XBOX 360!

The more computers you bring to the beta tests and the more tests you attend, the greater your chances of winning. Come on, you know you WANT a 360. And downloading a NFT player and starting it up for a test takes you what, 30 seconds? So, do us a favor and help us test our software.

The complete official rules are appended to the end of this email.

Remember, you can't win if you don't attend...

Good luck,

Stephen Spoto
Beta Test Coordinator
Network Foundation Technologies

PS To unsubscribe to this mailing list please send an email to [email protected] using the email address that you signed up with. Include the subject line "UNSUBSCRIBE" and we will remove you from our mailing list.


OFFICIAL RULES FOR THE XBOX 360 GIVEAWAY:

(1) A computer capable of running NFT (requires Windows 98 or above, and Windows Media Player Nine) and a high speed Internet connection are required to participate in the NFT beta tests.

(2) NFT Beta Tests are usually conducted on Tuesday evenings from 8pm until 10pm US Central Time, but the exact schedule may vary. A reminder will be sent by email to all registered NFT beta testers several hours before each test. That reminder will include a URL to the latest version of the client, which must be downloaded and run to participate in the test.

(3) Beta testers will receive a chance to win the XBOX 360 for EACH of the next four beta tests (June 20, June 27, July 11, and July 18) they attend. “Attendance” will be counted as having one computer connected to the NFT network running the current beta client for the entire two-hour test. The more NFT-TV clients that connect under your name and email address, the greater your chance of winning.

(4) An individual may bring as many computers as he or she wishes to a beta test. Each computer will count as a separate “attendee”. Thus, running two computers at each test can double your chances of winning; three computers can triple your chances of winning, etc.

(5) It is important that beta testers enter accurate data when registering NFT software on their machines, since this information will be used to contact them in the event they win.

(6) Employees and equity stake holders of Network Foundation Technologies and their family members are not eligible to receive the prize – though we do encourage them to attend the beta tests.

 

[equity78]

Thanks for the post.
I don't think the time is almost over we are in the second inning of this ballgame IMO
you need to get your things in order I agree but no need for panic yet. Also WG I think you have a much bigger budget than most here, I recall one post about buying 6 $1200 cameras most here don't even own a $500 premium .tv.
All these companies giving away xbox I got an email from PARKING DOTS they giving away an XBOX360 too

 

[RogueWriter]

Dangit, equity, I was gonna borrow YOUR 6 cameras!

I agree, 2nd inning, but WG's post got me all stirred up, too. Gotta talk to bright cove a second time!

 

[WineGuy]

Stirring up... thats my job, momentum!!!!

By the way I am financing those cams ( actually need 10 total) or my investors will in the end,...... It is all a crap shoot but I aim to have something worth having when the dust settles.

Cheers!

WineGuy

 

[MillersCrossing]

Where Does One Go

When u say angeling, I assume you mean finding someone to put money into your idea and bring your business plan to reality.

Where does one begin to look on that one??

 

[equity78]

Well I come from that wolrd and In order to get VC or angel money, you are going to need a pretty defined business plan, ready to give up a decent chunk of entity, have everything set up properly as far as incorporation or LLC. It is a two way street getting money you sometimes question if it was ever worth it.

I agree with you WG I am glad you are going big, You want to do something that if it works you have a home run Not a single.

 

[WineGuy]

About eight years ago I had no credibility with family, friends or acquaintances. I had moved from conservative Wisconsin from a tight family of eight siblings and their families to live in Reno for 13 years and had started dozens of businesses, never taking investment from others but none the less when I moved onto the next big thing, that former business was considered a failure by family and so was I. No one really ever asked how I financed the next business, had they asked, I would have told them that the last business venture serviced the next. What they asked or stated was, why not get a regular job with regular benefits? They thought I was a party animal and... yeah I was, i.e, no credibility. And I really didn't care cause there was always tommorrow and I had cash.

Being from my family and from Wisconsin sorta put a double whammy on me and a double blessing, I remember from family and teachers, save your money, never start something your can't/won't finish and never ask for hand outs. No one ever explained to me venture capital, corporate shares, Angel investors or sweat equity. But the blessing and the curse was I never asked for help. Big ideas call for big help, my family's idea of success put a govenor on my ability to take big ideas into the endzone, I think that is the case for many idea people! Blessing is I owe no one cept the IRS and the mortgage co for a couple more years.

I had lots of ideas, one or two a day until I got on the meds? LOL!!! Now I only have one good idea every couple days. Thank God my mind is quieter. I told a few corporate managers I worked for my ideas in years past, most said that's bullshit, a few got the ideas leveraged big time, not to the benefit of my pocketbook but I was on a mission. So let someone test an idea on their dime, I had dozens, hundreds of ideas and I keep up on trends, society and technology, I wasn't worried about coming up with a new idea. What I am worried about now is financing my next 50 years and leaving a mark.

I presented an idea to a major affiliate program company the other day, their last question was, "That's is an attractive deal, how do we pull that off EXACTLY!?" I said "the EXACTLY part" was what they were going to pay me for". They laughed, the contract is on the way.

So the question is and remains, "When you say angeling, I assume you mean finding someone to put money into your idea and bring your business plan to reality.

Where does one begin to look on that one??"

I can only answer this way MILLER, 'everyone and everywhere', knowing what I know now, I would have looked the part,talked the part, bullshitted the part and acted the part of a guy who had it in the bag and was willing to offer up a bit to those that were even a bit interested years ago on an idea I can't even remember now!

Today it is much easier for me as I am the WineCountry.TV guy and the WineDomains.com guy and by the way WineGuy.com. Those are just domain anmes with an idea and a little bandwidth behind them. I can send prospective investors or sponsors to our BETA site, www.WineCountry.Tv and know they will be impressed because they have no concept , no knowledge of the technology behind the site, technology I have not paid a dime for but can truly represent as an acquisition of millions of dollars of cooperative technology. Leverage that!

You can do the same, but you have to do it, you have to take just a couple steps towards the millions this new technology has to offer. If you are not excited about the product/content you want or have to deliver, and that product has to be well defined, you won't be able to pull a dollar out of your mother's purse. But... if you are excited, jazzed, obsessed, focused on that idea, everyone will want a piece of what you have to offer. Everyone.

Hope that helps because it's not a game anymore when you ask the question you posed.

WineGuy

P.S. Don't be afraid to piss someone off as that means you are on the right road, I try to piss someone off everyday and they can't help it but be friends later!!

P.S.S. Oh! By the way , did I mention I found the woman of my dreams eight years ago?!

 

[RPK]

Great Post WineGuy and best of luck to you. I'm sure a lot of us here can relate to what you have said. I know I could. Not every company you start will be a success, but every company you don't start will for sure not succeed. Sometimes you need to take the plunge.

The last company I founded is an Instant Messaging company that is still going strong, but I left more then a year ago to work on my latest idea which involves the online video arena in a big way. It is a long process and you need to be very patient, but in the past year I have partnered myself with a major company that trades on the Exchange, have raised almost 100k, and am currently in developement. I'm in the sort of catch 22 here where I am dying to finally launch, but I don't want to do it before I am ready and before I can take a big leap to keep me ahead of any potential competition. In the meantime I am looking to raise another $175k to get us to beta. I have met with 5 major VC's and they all told me that the idea is great, but I am too early for them. So I need to get to beta to get to the VC's and so I am dancing with the angels now trying to complete this round.

In any case keep positive and focused and you will be successful.

Best of Luck to you!

 

[izo-pod]

Good ideas for internet ventures are dime a dozen. Truly great online ideas that offer a truly unique experience to the user are very rare.

One thing I do when I come up with one of my "great ideas" is to ask myself one simple question: How will it make money. If it takes you more than a few sentences to explain you may be "reaching" a bit on the idea.

Youtube is a great concept (let the masses produce movies), but how are they going to make any money? Sure, they've been getting plenty of VC money AND press lately, but how will they will keep things going when the "honeymoon" period is over? NOTE: They are on record as not being sure how they are going to make it... They know they have to move beyond letting people upload videos. Maybe their idea was to get exposure then morph into something else???

Yes, video accessed from anywhere is the future, but don't fall into that old, old trap in that if you "create it, they will come". I say if you are going to profit from "TV Video" invent something new, patentable, likeable, easy to use, downloadable, leaving the consumer wanting more. If you can do that, and within a few words explain what it is you do, and how you will make money... You may just have yourself a truly great idea that may justify quitting your day job!

In no way am I trying to put a damper on anyone's dreams. It's just always a good idea to plant yourself before leaping. It took Thomas Edison a long time before he got the light bulb working right--however the concept "long lasting bulbs" was truly original and worth failing many times for. That's the key for ideas in that they should be "Original and Paradigm shifting".

One idea I had with the "TV" stuff would be to create something original that would seem like an obvious "buy out" from a larger player in the market. The "flickr effect" shall we call it. If you go this route, be prepared to create something that isn't out there right now, or will be in the near future. The problem with creating things is there is probably someone else doing the same thing. That is why a patentable project is always the best route to go. If you are looking for VC money they like to hear no one will be able to move in on your territory any time soon. The problem with patents right now is that the USP&TO is WAY behind.

Another less expensive route to take would be to forge partnerships with established companies (cross sell your product with theirs). For instance you could approach a company who sells something completely unrelated to "TV Video"--such as an apparel company. Maybe you could sell them on your idea to market your internet TV video products to their customers (and visa versa)--get the idea?

Anyways, I've went on a bit... Best of luck to you WineGuy. Great post. Original, fun to read and should bring back visitors... Hmmm now where have I heard that one before??