No More Art Notepad

So we’ve been battering away in darkened (and then well lit) rooms for the last 18 months or so on what we think is frankly a wee belter of an application that will help the happy world of capitalism send its wares all over the world, selling everywhere from anywhere as our newfound motto goes. The application is called AirPOS and we will be launching it in around 8 hours time from the time of this post at the ISEA 2009 exhibition in the Waterfront Hall. We’re tucked away on floor two of the Creative Industries exhibition so you may have to hunt us out a bit but we promise it will be worth it.

At ISEA you will get the first opportuinity to toy around with AirPOS before we unleash its goodness on the unsuspecting world in the coming months. It’s blinking away at life in the Belfast Guitar Emporium as we speak and will be propelling fine wines out of Groomsport in the very near future. Come down and say hello over the next few days, more details on ISEA can be found at www.isea2009.org or check out more about AirPOS on the web at www.airpos.co.uk

So the generous DH Kirk has only gone and made a part two of his little revelatory insight into the seldom combed mind of a VC, and as someone who is currently up to his ears in Executive Summaries and such currently I for one am bloody glad that he did.

Check the good stuff here http://cimota.com/blog/2009/08/24/kirkisms-funding-by-numbers-part-2/

To borrow a little from the late great Bill Hicks (something we’ll never apologise for doing) venture capitalists are like the Gideons, no-one’s ever met one but they’re all over the world leaving Bibles in hotel rooms (or in this case investing into high risk companies, but you get the analogy…)

I’m going to capture a VC. I’m going to leave the world’s best executive summary in a prominent spot, hide behind a wall and then when they come (probably under dead of night like some high worth ninjas) I’m going to pounce. Boom, my very own VC! Then you’ll all want to be my friend right?

Well such extreme and hilarious tactics maybe won’t be necessary at all as one of our own very successful folk, venture capitalist and all round business bonce D H Kirk has decided to let us in on the inner sanctum of how all this investment stuff works. There’s a great starter for one over at http://evertb.wordpress.com/2009/08/18/funding-by-numbers-part-1-of-2/ on the black art of company valuation from a VC’s perspective.

And better still Mr Kirk, along with our own human energy ball Matt Johnston and others, has been instrumental in pushing forward a software strategy for Northern Ireland that is palatial in its scope and ambition. It’s called NISW and has an open forum and NING group you can join over at http://nisw-ftw.ning.com

Also very worth following @dhkirk on Twitter for a rolling stream of all of this good stuff, and he replies too, so you can properly engage. It’s all very inspiring, if not exactly easy to follow at times but like they say, it’s our strategy and we should contribute. We’ll be doing our best to do just that.

So it’s with bleary eyes and a peculiarly dry mouth that we all say thank you to everyone who came to the office launch last night and for the very kind cards, champagne and words of support. We know we’re very fortunate to have the clients and colleagues that we do and we hope you all enjoyed our wee party as much as we did.

Who gave that man a drill? He’s obviously a hired goon!

One person who seemed very taken with the whole thing was South Belfast MLA Anna Lo who very kindly came to lend her support to the various projects happening in the Marquis Building and to the creative industries in general. Anna was hugely impressed by the turnout and also remarked on the number of young people that were there, getting involved in the creative industries and creating the next generation of Northern Ireland companies.

Anna Lo came along to say hello

And so to sleep (well to a Digital Circle meeting where they may let me sleep. They’re nice folk and I hope they’ll take pity on me…)