BrainCrack

what entrepreneurship is really about

3 things:

1- making a shitload of money

2- saying fuck you to your boss, and never working for someone else again

3- having the freedom to do whatever the hell you want to

Everyone is going around trying to glorify it by saying things like: entrepreneurship is about solving “real” problems, changing the world or building great products, and so and so… you know, the usual bullshit…

Truth is, you can do all of these things if you work for others, and sometimes more effectively! You can’t argue that the average employee inside Apple, Google, Facebook and Amazon are changing the world, building great products and solving problems more than 80% of the entrepreneurs out there.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for people starting their own business, just don’t go around and over-glorifying what you do and make a prophet out of yourself… let’s be real.

no one gives a fuck about your Klout score!

Seriously… do you think people check out your Klout score before they talk to you or reply to your tweets? get a life…

Try to realize how ridiculous it is that your social self-worth is being tied to some guys writing stupid algorithms and playing with them like kids!

You’re better off seeking some Penis enlargement treatments… at least someone will really care about the difference!

Having fun with Siri

iPhone 4S

If you’re considering an iPhone 4S, you only need to read those reviews:

David Pogue / New York Times

Joshua Topolsky / This is my next

Walter S. Mossberg / AllThingsD

John Gruber / Daring Fireball

MG Siegler / TechCrunch

I read all of the above and many more so you don’t have to… here’s the final verdict in short:

• If you own any phone other than iPhone 4 (especially Android), then go get this one! 
• If you already have an iPhone 4, then only get the 4S if you rely heavily on its Camera or could really need the extra speed.
• Siri is fucking awesome! and if the idea of a smart voice-activated personal assistant tickles you, then you won’t be disappointed!

Me personally? I’m getting one!

why I’m not going to GITEX this year

because it’s fucking boring

Every significant invention must be startling, unexpected, and must come into a world that is not prepared for it. If the world were prepared for it, it would not be much of an invention.

— Edwin H. Land - The Man Who Inspired Jobs

why I’m boycotting TEDxDubai

because the organizers are a bunch of dicks!

nominative determinism: the tendency for our names to influence our life decisions as we subconsciously gravitate towards choices that remind us of ourselves.

— Wired UK Magazine

#SWAlex Startups

After I published my own list of #SWAlex winners, many of you has asked for descriptions of all the startups that I mentioned, so I went back to my tweets (so many of them!) and compiled the below.

Here’s the startups descriptions (in the order they were presented in):

• StoreMate: web-based POS system that saves small businesses the cost of buying POS systems and instead they can use the PCs they have. StoreMate can work offline when there’s no connection and then syncs with the server later on to push updates.
• Real-Life Like: allow brands and business to incoporate Facebook’s Like button for real-life objects, it uses a hardware platform and RFID cards carried by users and connected to their accounts.
• 7ad Nazel Min Barra: enables users to request products from each other when they’re coming from other countries: US, Europe, etc. The udea answers a big need for people in Egypt and the region to get access to new products quickly and not wait for local releases.
• 1001inventions: 3D educational game that aims to educate users about historical inventions through an engaging gameplay, with characters, dialogue and action.
• bYae3 b El3arabya: a Startup that aims to reduce reckless driving, by installing a device in the car that sends alerts whenever the observed G-force exceeds certain limits, which happens in cases of careless driving. Could be used by parents or car rental companies.
• Korashrab: a game that builds on the popular street game in Egypt with the same name, the game is basically an Arabic fantasy football done the Egyptian way.
• Farafeero.com: a daily deals aggregator.
• QRasher: a QR code generation and tracking service, as part of their services  they’re releasing a “QR Magazine” that brands and retailers can buy space in, and they will have QR t-shirts as well.
• Khasesny: a community with a local twist to help people lose weight by tracking and sharing their progress with friends.
• astweeted: aims to help you save all tweets under a certain hashtag, since twitter doesn’t show data more than 3 days old, and the site offers include graphs and reports. 
• Wall Market: a QR code based ordering menu and iPhone app, where buyers can scan items printed on a poster to place their order and get them delivered.
• Q-hat: a Android-based loyalty program, that doesn’t require businesses and retailers to install any software or hardware.
• Faselty: a place to connect people that need blood donations with willing blood donors.
• Carpool: an iPhone app to help people offer and find car rides quickly and easily.
• SLOW “social layer over the world”: mobile app that enables mobile tagging of real-world objects and uses Augmented reality to show those information.
• Baddel.net: a bartering site for Egyptian users.
• Ma7fazty: (wallet in Arabic) a mobile app to record and track personal expenses, enables users to have different users feed into one record, to keep track of families expenses.
• Easy Charge: a mobile app to quickly and easily recharge the balance of your lines by taking photos of the recharge cards, capturing the number and processing it with the telcos.
• Sweet Heaven: a site for parents and kids, where parents can grant points to their kids, which can be redeemed in gifts that kids can choose. Aims to incentivize kids to listen to parents by connecting achievements with gifts in ways they can understand.
• Welad El Balad: aims to help tourists in Egypt by connecting them with the locals to ask them for help about anything, using their deep local knowledge and expertise.
• OTM: an iPhone app to help you locate the nearest ATM to you, allows to filter ATMs by card types and banks.
• Club7: a community to connect people that wake up at 7AM, to support and encourage each other and plan activities together.
• You-Pik: a mobile/web service for photo-sharing, customization, printing, framing and gifting. It aims to be the place for photographers so sell their work, and for enthusiasts to buy great and cheap photos, printed and framed! They built a prototype iPad app that uses AR to help you try photographs that you like on the walls of your home, and change the framing and size before you can order.

my #SWAlex winners list!

There’s no denying that I was the official asshole of StartupWeekend Alexandria, and went around criticizing and passing judgement on participants left and right. I was just being honest and trying to hold the startups to the high standards that I think our work in the region should strive to match.

I have nothing against any single one of you, it’s admirable enough that you made it to the event and worked very hard on your idea, so I hope you take my feedback in good sport.

Without further ado, here’s my winners list across different categories: 

Update: You can go here to read a brief description of each of the startups below.

Best overall startup: You-Pick

Runners-up: astweeted, Welad El Balad, Baddel.net

Most useful startup: OTM

Runners-up: astweeted, Welad El Balad, Carpool

Most original startup: Welad El Balad

Runners-up: 1001inventions, Real-life Like, Wall Market 

Best startup for local needs: 7ad Nazel Min Barra

Runners-up: Faselty, Carpool, Khasesny

Best mobile app: You-Pick

Runners-up: OTM, Q-hat, ma7fazty

Best demo presentation: 1001inventions

Runners-up: Sweet Heaven, OTM, StoreMate

Biggest achievement in 2 days: 1001inventions

Runners-up: You-Pick, Baddel.net, StoreMate

Most overrated startup: SLOW

Runners-up: Sweet Heaven, Wall Market, QRasher

Funniest startup name: Farefeero 

Runners-up: Byse3 bel 3arabeya, Kora Sharab, Khasesny 

Other notable mentions:

Easy Charge, Club7, ideas square.

Agree or disagree with my choices, let me know what you think.