So, I haven't updated the project log here, because I've been super busy doing publicity to lay down the ground work for a crowd funding campaign. Which means PR. But that's about to wrap up this week.

I've had a kind of knack for publicity since I was a kid, appearing in newspapers back when I was about 11, all the way to showing up on Latin American TV in front of almost a billion Latino's for riding a bicycle across South America. But not once did I use any of that for anything other than having fun. It's a lot of fun to show up in the media.

This is probably the 2nd time I've ever had to use publicity for an actual purpose. And that purpose is to get people aware of what I'm doing so that when the actual crowd funding campaign gets started, I'll already have the ground work done to get people to fund the product. And so far, the publicity campaign is starting to bear some fruit. This just came out over the weekend.

Cherry Hill native's newest invention heating up in the hardware community

And this is the release with the information packet.

Internet of Things Maker, David Nghiem, Wins the TechCrunch Disrupt NYC 2015 Hackathon

Which has been spreading its wings over the internet. I got back some responses from other local papers who wanted this news the moment the win happened, but given that I'm a one man show, doing prototyping, development, PR, crowdfunding campaign, business writing, that's a tall order.

And it's making me very aware of all my limitations. Yes, I know getting a startup going is a team sport. The problem is finding team players who you can trust who won't jerk you around, which unfortunately I've had to deal with over the last several years with my previous startup.



Ever watch the series "Silicon Valley?" I've been dealing with characters very similar to Erlich the last few years, except without the helpfulness, but with the same amount of arrogance, total lack of empathy, and far worse, the same amount of bad advice.

Yep! So, I'm also on the hunt for some help in the D.C. area to make this fly. This device, even though it was started as a $#!ts and Gigglez project to take care of a massive problem I had with my Dad, is rapidly turning into my comeback, especially after the crash and burn of my previous startup based on this.

Control Things With Your Muscles

Which you can read all the gory details about in the blog.

So, to start finding help, I met a new friend at a local bar here in D.C., who invited me out to check out the WeWork coworking space near Dupont Circle here in D.C.

WeWork

One major thing I've learned out here is that for entrepreneurs, community is your lifeline. If you don't have a community, your idea, your business, might as well be dead. And I learned that lesson the hard way with my previous startup. Finding the right people who know what to do, instead of sticking with people you know who profess to know everything right to do, is the most important thing you can do for getting your idea off the ground. Again, I learned that lesson, the hard way. Don't do what I did. Go find the right people.

Speaking of finding the right people, technology wise, I'm starting to hit that point where I'm going to start needing help. I got in contact with the IBM Watson people to see if I can get some time with integrating some of Watson's capabilities with the device. I'll have more on that later, as things progress.