Do you remember the Entrepreneurial Brainstorming Session concept? Basically, an idea´s worth nothing until it´s challenged, improved, and eventually executed (see this recent post).
Here´s one: sometimes, we just need to record phone calls. For many different reasons, having the quick & handy possibility to record a call or to use one´s phone call as a voice recorder may be just extremely useful in many situations.
So, before a call, you just dial 007, wait for the tone, and the regular number. The call will automatically be saved onto your storage space available at 007CallRecorder.com (.mp3, or .wmv) or calling back 007 and dialing your security code and client number.
You pay for the storage space you use; no recorded phone call is ever deleted unless the user stops paying or the user deletes it.
You may also use your phone call as a quickly operational and unconspicuous recorder calling 007 and dialing ***. It would for instance have been very useful to me if I could´ve recorded the lies and rude tone of Delta Airlines employees I underwent 3 months ago (when I spoke to their manager, they were suddenly very nice & smiling – and re-lied saying I had threatened them));). I would´ve become rich suing the company for diffamation.
This alone doesn´t explain the ROI of the 007CallRecorder service, but I believe there would be a lot of potential in bringing to the mass market such a product, which must already exist. Especially in the Litigation Society we´re living in.
Telecom-wise, it´s not so complicated to design such a feature.
So what´s your opinion on this telecom-storage-compliance-security business opportunity?
Hey Jeremy,
It would be a great tool, useful for a lot of situations. However, take a look at Skylook, a Skype-plugin for Outlook. It sort of already does that.
On your NDA-post, I didn’t comment on it before, but in my opinion the primary objective is to execute an idea, you can always improve on it later, using feedback.
Getting too much negative feedback before taking it to the next step, can be quite destructive to the psyche. Of course this completely varies from person to person.
Take it easy,
Vincent
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Vincent,
I had heard about Skylook – but as you point out, it´s a tool devised for Skype. You don´t have a popular feature for regular mobiles phones offering such a service. And Skype-cellphones are far from being democratized.
Getting feedback doesn´t necessarily mean you´ll get negative feedback. Actually, I believe there´s no negative or positive feedback: every opinion cast by a potential stakeholder is a blessing to the would-be entrepreneur. And sometimes, it just happens that one´s ideas are crappy or (remember point number 4? cf. comments) already exist. Talking about your ideas helps you save time, commitment, money, whatever you chose to do in the end. An idea´s worth nothing until it´s executed. Everybody thought about going to the Moon – one country did it first. Everybody remembers Neil Amstrong (who was the second person to walk on the Moon? Ahah!), but Neil Amstrong wasn´t probably the one who had the idea first. He was the one who did it, who made it real.
Too often have I met people, especially in some student non-for-profit ventures I was part of – or sometimes not, who talked and talked and talked. Never asking for feedback. Well this is a sign: these people won´t go anywhere. They´ll stick to their ideas, but their ideas will remain ideas for ever: in the end, these people do nothing.
Well, all this isn´t new. You can find here a very interesting article by Loïc Le Meur (in English; click here for the version in French – ah, French readers get a premium, the 7 rules become 10!), a French Entrepreneur, a heavy blogger, an HEC Paris alumni, the Vice-President of Typepad for Europe, about 7 ways for would-be entrepreneurs to never do anything. The article was published by the British conservative newspaper The Guardian in January 2004.
Jeremy
Comment by Vincent van Wylick — August 22, 2006 @ 12:42
I should add to that that my opinion on sharing early-stage ideas only refers to negative comments. The positive kind (in which I include constructive criticisms) is always welcome, motivates and helps grow the idea.
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Again, although I perfectly respect your views, I tend to disagree. I work for a seed capital VC, and we help entrepreneurs a lot refining, improving their initial ideas (very often pretty crappy) through a thorough review of the market, technical expertise we bring in from outside, and brainstorming sessions (focus groups when there´s already at least a propotype).
Jeremy
Comment by Vincent van Wylick — August 22, 2006 @ 12:54
I don’t think we disagree. You give positive help at the initial stages (what you do as a VC), which I think is fine; and you bring in outside help (a focus group) at the prototype stage, where some execution already took place.
I’ve worked with focus groups before, and it’s very much like the comments you get on a blog. Some can be overly negative, some overly positive, and many experts comment with a realistic perspective.
This is all good, but, to me, the early stages are a very critical stage of development, where, in order to stay motivated, it’s dangerous to get too much negative feeback.
Another reason is idea-ownership – if everyone starts changing the idea before it’s started, who is the owner or parent of the idea? I’m sure that the greatest passion comes from deep association with your “child.” There is a greater risk of failure also (something no VC likes) , but that’s sometimes the risk you take as an entrepreneur.
Comment by Vincent van Wylick — August 22, 2006 @ 13:24
I should again add that I think this varies with the type of project and type of entrepreneur.
Web-development means prototyping and changing focus is easier, quicker, and cheaper.
And serial entrepreneurs have a thicker skin than first-time entrepreneurs.
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You´re right Vincent. We do not quite disagree. I actually support the views expressed in your last two posts much more.
Thank you for your contribution, very interesting debate.
Jeremy
PS: however I´m sticking to my main point: negative feedbacks are more positive than positive feedbacks, which are useless and leave enough room for auto-complacency and self-satisfation. Something I can´t stand, especially in high-risk (high-return) environments.
Comment by Vincent van Wylick — August 22, 2006 @ 13:28
Hi Jeremy,
I read your post thanks to the links you left on Julien’s website.
Nice idea to brainstorm your entrepreneur ideas. We have the same goals, but we follow different paths (I work in a research lab benchmarking new technos to see if I could launch new ventures).
Concerning your idea, you should investigate some of the telecom rules. Did you know that in France it is forbidden to record a phone call unless explicitely mentioned during the conversation ? I think this is why no operators set up such a service.
Antoine.
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Hello Antoine,
Thanks for your input regarding this idea. For your information, there´s nothing serious in the ideas I display here. I pursue no entrepreneurial goal in the short and even mid-run (I´m still a student, planning to join an established company when I graduate), and I´m releasing business ideas for two reasons. First, I enjoy debating and trying to go the extra mile from an initial dummy story. Second, to support my stance that ideas are worth nothing until executed. I believe one should tell everybody about her/his ideas because people will help. And that´s exactly what you´re doing by bringing into the debate some industry expertise.
Indeed, I knew about this warning rule in France, a rule that applies to the US too. Everytime I call my cellphone operator when I discover they bill me calls to China I never made, or for a Giant SMS package I never purchased, I´m being told that “my call might be recorded for quality purposes”.
But take a look at Common Laws: in Anglo-Saxon countries, what matters is the result, not the path leading to it. You can support in the UK and the US your call with a recorded tape, even if the persons recorded weren´t warned previously. I know it´s not the case – yet? – in France. But sometimes, common sense should prevail on comon principles.
You actually help me go further into the analysis of the product applications: say you´re driving and planning to call your grandmother. She doesn´t know how to send an SMS (and has no mobile phone) and you know she has to give you an address where you should go and pick her up later on in the afternoon. Well, no problem! Dial 007 + you grandma´s phone number, and you´ll have the address recorded without having to stop somewhere on the motorway.
There are many more applications to it: you hear some great music through the subway´s audiowoofer system, you dial 007***, and you record it until further notice. This will prevent you from looking ridiculous, singing awfully a song you hardly remember, in the eyes of your favourite records retailer.
How do these product applications sound to you?
Jeremy
PS1: Antoine, really sorry about that, but who is Julien?
PS2: I had already visited your blog, and I like it very much. Plus I see you have quite an entrepreneurial profile! I wouldn´t have imagined the CEA could attract dynamic profiles like yours. Diversity´s great, this is what innovation is built on. What you´re doing as a job seems really interesting, and useful. Finally someone thought of bringing the French R&D to the market!
Comment by Antoine Vialle — August 22, 2006 @ 14:08
Hey guys,
thanks for the interesting debate. Just a few comments on my side:
- abour your idea: I don’t think that it could work because it is too late. In six months, we all will call with VOIP and we will use computers, smartphones or “all in one boxes” that could contain a small software doing the record of the calls.
- Antoine: you’re right, it is forbidden but the law could be modified very fast if the users get in love with such a possibility. It could appear that people “play” with records and put them on a platform like youtube. By the way, if users begin to record conversations with client-services, it would have the advantage to change lot of things, to force companies to be more efficient and kind in such calls…
- share or not ideas: I actually have an idea, but is too early to speak openly about it. Because as it is my first project, I’m sure that I will need more time than experienced people who could steal my idea. Jeremy, once my idea will be a little more refined, I will contact you (in private) to discuss about it
- thanks for the article from Loic, I actually missed it.
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Hello Cedric, on your 4 points:
1) Only time will tell. I personally doubt the switch to remote VoIP will be so quick. And if there´s one, which is very likely, it cannot be massive: how can you make people change or get rid of their sometimes expensive devices?
2) Public broadcasting without the written aknowledgement of the stakeholders would be an infringement to the law. Few people would do it for no specific reason. “if users begin to record conversations with client-services, it would have the advantage to change lot of things, to force companies to be more efficient and kind in such calls…”: I agree with you.
3) With great pleasure for the private feedback, thank you for your trust. If I may add: try to test your idea from scratch (in other words, from now on) with people you love and respect, whom you know you can trust (girlfriend, dog, Professor whom with you get along well, mentor, etc.). They´ll always help you polish your ideas, whatever they say.
4) You´re most welcome. Bloggers are here to help one another.
Jeremy
Comment by Cedric — August 22, 2006 @ 14:57
Thanks for your reply Jeremy and your nice feedback on what I am doing
The Julien I meant is here : http://codor.blogs.com/
The Telecom regulations in France can be adapted, I agree.
Concerning the service, in this case, instead of a web service, it can be convenient to store the message in your mobile phone (no connection fee). Right now, I can already record that way something I hear in my mobile phone.
The example with your grandmother (or my boss, by the way) is more convincing.
You talk about sharing the ideas : I think it can be very efficient to launch new NGO project, as I would love to do. Congratulations by the way for AFIDORA !
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Thanks for your follow-up Antoine.
Allright, Julien Codorniou! I don´t know the man but I like his blog (and I bought his (Kel)book, although I haven´t had time to read it yet). He seems to have a great sense of humor (cf. free Kelbookettes).
On remote storage: great. But I guess most cellphones aren´t equiped with compression standards and memory.
Thanks for the compliment on AFIDORA. But I shouldn´t be the one to praise since I´m in the process of stepping down from the team. AFIDORA is indeed doing a great job in finding some fertile grounds for discussions around Middle Eastern geopolitical matters using facts, history, geography – leaving passionate ideologies & un-moderated sensitivities at home. AFIDORA is also a top-ranking online media regarding research, analyses, viewpoints (expressing more subjective personal opinions) and reviews – and podcasting! Now that commercial time´s over, just feel free to share with us your NGO ideas. I´m sure all the people here would be glad to help.
Jeremy
Comment by Antoine Vialle — August 22, 2006 @ 16:25
your blog looks like a forum now ! ,-) cool.
but the comments are much better and clever.
if you want to prove something it is a good idea. isp call center coud be your customers. i experienced that kind of service last WE.
please make an effort to separate your comments and ours. (ie different colors ) because as a daily reader it is becoming to be “b….”. your content diserves it.
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You wrote: “please make an effort to separate your comments and ours. (ie different colors ) because as a daily reader it is becoming to be “b….”. your content diserves it. ”
Done. Thanks for the feedback (and the compliment on the content, but you´d rather thank my readers since there wouldn´t be content hadn´t they been here with challenging opinions). My commenting on your comments will now appear in bold caps, just like that. Do you find it satisfying or would you rather see me post real comments, independent from yours?
Thank you in advance for your contribution,
Jeremy
Comment by gandon françois albert — August 22, 2006 @ 16:50
Seems like you’re not the only one pushing web 2.0 business ideas, take a look at this humorous piece at wired: http://wired.com/wired/archive/14.09/start.html?pg=11
I want these as a fridge magnet set.
I like to criticize ideas, because it’s oh so fun and comes with my culture. Quite a lot of mobile phones already have that recording option as was pointed out already, but I heard from a colleague that this kind of recording is also included in many conference call services. The recording is sent as an mp3 or something. I think there’s also some kind of legislation on recording phone calls – all parties need to know about it or something.
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I enjoyed your link a lot Kari! It´s really true and fun.
Fair enough for letting know all parties, it´s already been discussed in the comments.
Jeremy
Comment by Kari — August 24, 2006 @ 13:17