On Euro Companies Heading Across the Pond to “Crack” The US Market

Not long ago, I met with the founder of a b2b software startup in London.  He wanted to pick my brain: now that they're somewhat established in Europe, he wanted to know how they could 'crack the US' and what sort of partners he should try to meet on an upcoming trip.  He went on to state that entering the US was the most important thing for his Company (which I would agree with). 

I challenged him as to why they weren't moving themselves to the US.  If they're that serious about the US being their most important market, they would probably be best served to physically be there and not go through partners.

And finally, here's the thing: "cracking the States" is hard for European companies.  There aren't that many EU software or media companies that have successfully rolled out in the States.  MySQL & Skype are exceptions that come to mind but otherwise I'm drawing a blank…maybe Last.fm.  Spotify has potential but still hasn't launched. This doesn't mean that European companies shouldn't try but they should go in with their eyes open and be ready to go 'all in' if they're serious about it.

 

 

 

 

 

Holgas, Lomography & Delayed Gratification

I recently bought a Holga.  Holgas take medium-format film.  Also, they are made of plastic.  Nothing digital about them.  The idea of Holga and Lomograpy, the movement 'behind it', is to bring back the warmth and unpredictability of analogue and 'alternative' film processing – that's my interpretation of it anyway.  The wikipedia entry for Lomography sums it up thusly: "Lomography emphasizes casual, snapshot photography. Characteristics such as over-saturated colors, off-kilter exposure, blurring, "happy accidents," and alternative film processing are often considered part of the "Lomographic Technique."[citation needed] Users are encouraged to take a lighthearted approach to their photography, and use these techniques to document everyday life, as the Lomo LC-A's small size, simple controls, and ability to shoot in low light encourages candid photography, photo reportage, and photo vérité through the much-touted "10 Golden Rules."[2]

Holgas and other Lomo cameras are notoriously 'finicky'.  They emphasize experimentation and also being open to unexpected results (or to your entire roll being garbage).  It was with this in mind that I snapped a few rolls with my newly-purchased Holga during a trip to the US in the fall.  Sure enough, much of it was garbage but I really liked how some of the images came out, especially the 'vignette' look that Holgas are known for:

Img006 Img010 Img004 Img009 Img004 Img007-1 Img009-1 Img007

I also really liked the 'delayed gratification' in having to wait for the film to be developed before seeing the outcome:  These days, we're so used to seeing immediate results from photography and other aspects of our lives that the opposite can be frustrating.  But there was an excitement and anticipation built up from having to physically take the rolls to a shop for processing and then returning to get the envelopes containing the prints, which I opened with glee.

I think 'delayed gratification' will continue to be a contrarian trend in other spheres.  In fact, the Slow Food movement could be considered part of this.

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