Mobile Point View by Paul Ruppert

GestureTek: CEO Interview

While at CTIA 2008 in Las Vegas I ran into to William R. Leckonby, CEO of GestureTek which you can listen to here (scroll down).

Bill Leckonby doesn't look like your EZ Bake CEO so often seen at fledgling companies. Bill is in his 60s, a silver haired Yale trained engineer and has over 22 years of CEO or President experience. That's reflective of GestureTek's heritage, a going concern launched in 1986 when they invented and shaped the field of ‘applied computer vision’ for computer-human interaction. The company’s multi-patented video gesture control technology (VGC) lets users control multi-media content, access information, manipulate special effects, even immerse themselves in an interactive 3D virtual world – simply by moving their hands or body.  Think either CNN anchors on election night changing screens with the movement of a hand or Tom Cruise in Minority Report--all their handiwork.

Listen to my interview with GestureTek CEO (1click, 5:38 mins)

GestureTek now has jumped to mobile. Through the camera on your mobile phone, any handset device  device can be enabled to control the device through gestures such as shaking, rolling, or banking.  Minimal software embedded on the camera pre-distribution by the operator, and that's it. Alternatively it can be downloaded via a game program which incorporates the GestureTek software. Very low calorie high impact solution. GestureTek already has their software on applications within NTT DoCoMo and Telefonica in Spain.

Watch GestureTek. They are about to become a long term, overnight success story.

SMS Globalization and Growth: Interview with Sybase365 CEO, Marty Beard

10 billion SMS a month and growing

Ever hear of Sybase 365?              

If not, it plays a major role in the mobile messaging value chain for the globe's wireless operators as well as premium messaging providers supporting ring tones, mobile commerce and advertising. It is one of the largest mobile messaging aggregators and interoperability provider whose core value proposition is managing the ever growing complexity of passing SMS and MMS messages around the globe. Sybase purchased Mobile 365 in September of 2006, thus combining the worlds largest messaging enabler (2006 revenues of $110 million) with one of the leading enterprise software providers, Sybase, to create Sybase 365.

Listen to my interview with Sybase 365 CEO Marty Beard (16 mins)

In my interview we cover a wide range of topics including:

• 10 billion SMS per month for operators through the Sybase365 network
• Managing the world of difference between flat ARPUs in developed markets, versus low ARPUs in emerging markets
• Sybase365's foray into mobile banking from their banking software experience
• Balancing the larger international revenues against US domestic text revenues especially with strong growth driven by the Middle East, Africa and Asia
• Sybase 365's efforts to innovate the traditional SMS through the development of more secure SMS, natural language interfaces for messaging as well as user generated content within the realm of text messaging

MWC Podcast Interview: Mobile Monday's Jari Tammisto

Mobile Monday is a global community of mobile industry visionaries, developers, influentials and other interested parties fostering cooperation and cross-border business development through virtual and live networking events.  The interest to share ideas, best practices, mutual utility and talk trends in the the global mobile industry is the 'glue' that keeps the group together. Consider it Face to Face Social Networking around the mobile campfire one Monday a month all around the world.

Listen to my conversation with MoMo CEO Jari Tammisto here (8 min)

Physically meeting, making face to face connections, this is an off-line, 'open source' grass roots organization that has taken the mobile industry by storm.  Every first Monday of the month, mobilists gather at over 70 local MoMo outposts around the world. MoMo communities convene to encourage innovation in the mobile sector, facilitate networking between individuals drawn from small and large companies, as well as between local and foreign contributors. As a volunteer organization it promotes mobile innovation through the organization's monthly events, organizational awards and international conventions,-- there is a global convention in the works for May in KL, Malaysia.

As Jarri relayed to me off line after our conversation: "We plan to host over 700 Mobile Monday events in 2008 in 70 different cities around the world, and we expect to see more than 90,000 participants. This makes MoMo the world’s leading event organizer in the mobile technology industry.” Besides running the Mobile Monday Global Peer Awards here in Barcelona co-located at the GSMA World Congress, where Luis Jorge Romero, Standards and Innovation Director at Telefónica O2, and Pekka Ala-Pietilä, CEO and Co-Founder of Blyk were keynote speakers, he was also working forwarding a project with the GSMA, so look out for word on that soon.

Check out whether there is a Mobile Monday in your corner of the mobile world. If there isn't one, start your own!

VCs in Mobile: Tim Chang, Norwest Partner, Podcast Interview

Mobile Point View's First Podcast !  Readers--now listeners--here is the first Mobile Point View podcast with my friend Tim Chang of Norwest Partners, a 'silicon valley' venture capital firm with a strong emphasis on the mobile / wireless segment. TIm's a true 'Mobile Influencer' and I couldn't have a more knowledgeable guest for my first podcast.

Here's an overview of our 28 minute conversation.

                                                      Click on the arrow below to listen to my podcast with Tim Chang

For you traditionalists, here are my 'show notes' from the podcast:

• How to become a Venture Capitalist
• How Does Norwest Partners Differentiate itself from all the others in the mobile or wireless venture game?
• Are venture cycles aligned with the mobile industry development period?
• Where does the N. American market rank globally?
• What are the hottest segments of mobile right now, i.e., advertising, LBS, search, etc.?
• Why is mobile a 'mid-tail' development period, and what is it's hype cycle
• What is "mobile social placecasting"?

 

Mobile Influencers: M Transactions with Michèle Scanlon Part 2

Thanks for returning to my Mobile Influencers interview with Mobile Transactions consultant Michele Scanlon. In Part 1 of our conversation we covered the developing mobile payments markets of the world's emerging economies and the diffentiators of M-Transactions. 

Michèle Scanlon, is the founder and Principal Consultant at Green Giraffe and has over a decade experience as an analyst and consultant focusing on the global prepaid markets, especially in emerging economies. Her projects assist operators with marketing & operational strategies for prepaid distribution, tariffs and recharge strategies, vendor competitive positioning, as well as due diligence on investments illuminating the value of prepaid markets. Michèle’s recent focus has been on innovative applications beyond airtime top off including mobile banking strategies, remittances and prepaid electricity payment systems. 

Part 2 starts now....

Mobile Influencers: Mobile Transactions with Michele Scanlon

I’m starting a new topic here at Mobile Point View called “Mobile Influencers” where I plan to interview friends, colleagues, clients and associates who share an expertise and command of the mobile industry, as well as being very interesting people.

Most bloggers would just create a new label without the fanfare. Since my mission with Mobile Influencers is to bring attention to people and their views, it rightly deserves special notice and recognition. I hope you enjoy the view points and "point views" of my friends from the mobile, venture, operations, applications and management segments as they visit Mobile Point View and share their talents and perspectives.

Starting off the Mobile Influencers series is my good friend Michele Scanlon, who is the Principal consultant at Green Giraffe in Cape Town South Africa. Michele and I have known each other six years, and to me, Michele Scanlon is THE EXPERT for mobile payments in global emerging markets, whether in Africa, Asia, Middle East or Latin America. And her client portfolio reflects it.  Indeed emerging market mobile payments is usually what we talk about, wrestling with how to tap the mobile payments markets across the world’s developing economies. She’s constantly on the go covering territory and consulting to MNOs between Green Giraffe’s Cape Town and London offices. Let’s get right to it then!

Credentials, Experience & Talent