On startups, angel investing, software and hair products.

March 21st, 2012

iPhone/iPad Dev Camp #7 – September 12, 2012

Come and learn how to build iPhone Apps!

The dev camp starts at 3:30 Pm and is open to people wanting to learn more about iPhone development, marketing, business models and funding.  It features a mix of keynotes and audience events for building both native and web based iPhone Apps.

Speakers and topics:

Interested in becoming one of the Dev Camp Speakers?

Have awesome topics and ideas?

DON’T hesitate!

Contact Michael Sikorsky (mj@robotsandpencils.com) for further discussion.

More info here:  http://yyc.iphonedevcamps.org/iphone-ipad-devcamp-7

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February 24th, 2012

Startup School 7 – Coming up soon in, Sept 22 & 23, 2012

If you want to start a new business, this is definitely the place you want to be!

Learn more here: course :)

It is two days and its mission isn’t to inspire you. Its mission is to significantly increase your chances of creating a successful business. There are plenty of events which bring out plenty of speakers who inspire very well. I’m interested in giving you as much actionable knowledge and direct feedback as possible.
In addition to the practical knowledge learned during the school. Most of the files, documents, contracts, spreadsheets, term sheets, grant applications and presentations Michael has created over his last 12 years will be provided to the course participants (under NDA, and with redacting :)).

More info here: http://robotsandpencils.com/schools/startup-school/


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February 24th, 2012

iPhone/iPad Dev School #7 – May 5 & 6, 2012 – Awesome!

In this 2 day course you will learn how to:
- Intro to Xcode
- Storyboards
- Objective-C
- Intro to iOS, MVC
- Delegates/Protocols
- UINavigationController
- UITableViewController
- Controls (i.e. Textfields, datepickers, switches)
- NSNotification
- Twitter
- User Defaults
- UIActionSheet/UIAlerts
- iPhone design best practices
- Email
- Distributed services
- JSON
- Deployment
*Students will require their own Mac with Xcode 4.2.


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February 24th, 2012

iPhone Dev Camp #6 – March 14, 2012

Come and learn how to build iPhone Apps!

The dev camp starts at 3:30 Pm and is open to people wanting to learn more about iPhone development, marketing, business models and funding.  It features a mix of keynotes and audience events for building both native and web based iPhone Apps.

Speakers and topics:

  • Paul Thorsteinson- Automating xcode builds, certification with hudson and mechanize
  • Brendan Duddridge – iCloud sync with CoreData
  • David Anderson – Intro to Blocks and GCD; Objc and Cocoa code conventions
  • Jeremy Gale – Stretchable/resizable images, animations, iOS 5 Parent/Child view controllers
  • Reuben Lee – Cocos2D Art Asset Utilities
  • Kevin Wolff – Rails
  • Michael Sikorsky – iOS 5, Airplay, iPhone Business Dev

More info here:  http://yyc.iphonedevcamps.org/iphone-dev-camp-6

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March 11th, 2010

iPhone Dev Camp #2 – March 13, 2010

Come and learn how to build iPhone Apps!

The dev camp starts at 9am and is open to people wanting to learn more about iPhone development, marketing, business models and funding.  It features a mix of keynotes, audience events and an AppsTrack for building both native and web based iPhone Apps.

*** UPDATE: Thanks to Jon Lam from BigStack Studios and iPhoenix Fund:

Attendees will also receive source-code from the recently launched iPhone Game, Hottie Hookups – the example App being giving away will show how to create an OpenGL based disco-ball effect shown in these screen shots:

Posted in This Week in Calgary, cocoatouch, iPad, iPad Development, iPhone, iPhone Development | Comments Off

November 30th, 2009

This Week in Calgary (Startups, Tech, iPhone, etc)

I’m off to a place that is sunny. Will update when I’m back :)

Best of Web for last week:

- – - -
Have an event? Did you just release/update a product? Looking to hire? Looking to raise startup capital? Email me: mj@robotsandpencils.com for inclusion in next week :)

Next Startup School is Feb 27/28 – 2010.

Posted in Startups, This Week in Calgary, iPhone | Comments Off

November 24th, 2009

This Week in Calgary (Startups, Tech, iPhone, etc)

Industry Events:

  • Tuesday, Nov 24 – Check how a local company – Calgary Scientific – is changing the face of medicine. Take 10 mins today and watch them on CNN.

  • Tuesday, Nov 24 – BCIT is hosting an iPhone Forum in Vancouver. A few Calgarians will be in attendance (including myself – drop by and say hi).

  • Wednesday, Nov 25 – Alberta Council of Technologies is presenting a seminar on Stem Cell Therapies for the public (7pm – start). Register here.

  • Friday, Nov 27 – iPhone Dev School 2 takes place in Edmonton – a few seats left for people wanting a jump start into developing for the iPhone.

Financing Events:

  • Tuesday, Nov 24 - A few Calgary companies are in Vancouver today for the iPhone Forum hosted by BCIT and the 26th AngelForum. Congrats to Mob4Hire Inc. and iPhoenix Fund for being selected to present.

  • Wednesday, Nov 25 - iPhoenix Fund 1 (iPhone Fund) is hosting a luncheon in Vancouver at Noon (Marriott Vancouver Pinnacle). Email: jon.lam@me.com to RSVP.

  • Thursday, Nov 26 - Psyko Audio is opening an investment round for accredited investors . Email: James Hildebrandt to find out more. Note: there also hiring a Marketing Psyko! If you have 3 out of the following 5 things, email James: Attitude, Education, Attitude, Experience, Attitude.

Best of Web for last week:

- – - -
Have an event? Did you just release/update a product? Looking to hire? Looking to raise startup capital? Email me: mj@robotsandpencils.com for inclusion in next week :)

Next Startup School is Feb 27/28 – 2010.

Posted in Startups, This Week in Calgary, iPhone | Comments Off

November 16th, 2009

This Week in Calgary (Startups, Tech, iPhone, etc)

Industry Events:

  • Tuesday, Nov 17  – Basement to Boardroom – Pat Lor – iStockPhoto to Fotolia – $15.00 for non Digital Alberta members.  (Pat’s awesome – I’d be there if I was in town!)

Financing Events:

Best of Web for last week:

- – - -
Have an event? Did you just release/update a product?  Looking to hire? Looking to raise startup capital? Email me: mj@robotsandpencils.com for inclusion in next week :)

Next Startup School is Feb 27/28 – 2010.

Posted in Startups, This Week in Calgary, iPhone | Comments Off

November 1st, 2009

Interview with Randy Troppman about his hit iPhone App: RunningMap Trackometer

I was fortunate to have Randy in iPhone Dev School 1.  Recently, he and his team created a Top 10 App in the Health & Fitness Category.

Thanks for great interview!

~~~

Interview of Randy Troppman, CEO RunningMap.com – makers of the hit Health & Fitness App: RunningMap Trackometer.

Q:  Tell us a little bit about what RunningMap does?

RunningMap.com is a map-based mashup for people who need to determine the distance of the routes they walk, run, cycle or whatever. It has a simple but effective feature set. It is a sharp tool. Primary goals have always been to keep the site clean and simple to use. Elevation is an import addition to location data and enhances the ability of RunningMap as an effective tool for route planning and analysis. “Search by keyword” lets people find user-saved routes in their area or in another city they plan to travel to.

Q: What made you decide to build an iPhone App to go alongside it?

When Apple introduced GPS capability in the iPhone 3G, I immediately saw an opportunity to add a mobile component to the web site. The iPhone represents a convergence of capabilities in one device: phone, music, GPS and internet. Additionally, Apple has lowered the barrier to mobile application development and deployment: a stellar SDK and the smash hit called the App Store. It is super easy for the user to buy apps from the App Store which is followed up with a great user experience: the app installs right there and then with no fuss at all.

From the developer’s perspective, not only has Apple solved the micro-payment problem of the internet, but they provide all the e-commerce infrastructure. The developer can launch their app to 50+ countries and if people dig it, sit back and let the cheques come in.

For RunningMap this was an opportunity to a) learn a new platform to program on b) promote the website  and c) earn some money.

Q: What have been some great resources for learning and developing on the iPhone?

The APress book “Beginning iPhone Development” is great to get started with. But the real boost came from attending the iPhone Dev School 1 in Calgary last May. I learned a lot and returned home with a bunch of reference material that I referred back to many times. Especially useful were the “pro tips” that we were peppered with throughout the weekend. The Google group created for the School has been a great forum for questions. And of course it does not hurt to have access to Russell Bryant who has extensive experience in programming Objective C for the NeXT Step platform.

Q: How did it feel when you submitted the App to the AppStore?  Did you always think it was going to do so well?

Neither Dustin nor I thought we would get accepted on the first attempt. There were just too many variables and stories floating around. I knew that we would have some good initial sales because we have a large user base we can tell about the release. But I had no idea we would make into the top ten of the Health and Fitness category so quickly.

Q: Any tips and tricks you want to share?

You will need a slick icon. Find a good designer. You will need help with marketing. Find someone who knows where to press the right buttons. Keep it simple!

Q:  Your favourite book and movie – all time?

Book: Dune by Frank Herbert (the first book of the series)
Movie: The English Patient

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September 8th, 2009

Canadian? About to plunge into iPhone Development?

Back in May, MJ (along with guest speakers Gazzard and Richerd) taught a weekend-long iPhone development course. At the time of the lecture, I had only just bought a MacBook and was a complete iPhone developer newbie.

So as a Canadian iPhone developer n00b, what single moment in MJ’s presentation was the most useful to me? Tips for submitting your Canadian banking info to Apple. And the most interesting was a review of iPhone app pay-vs-advertising revenue models.

The following video is 20 minutes long. If you live in Canada, are keen on iPhone development but have not yet paid your $99, then you are the intended audience.

MJ will make sure you don’t waste time acquiring an Employee Identification Number (EIN) from the U.S. government. He’ll provide simple (but non-obvious) answers for your W8-BEN form.

If you’re thinking “I’m not worried about EIN or W8-BEN.”

If you’re saying “I’m not concerned how I format my banking transit number.”

<yoda-voice>You will be… you will be.</yoda-voice>
-Gord

You need Flash player 9+ and JavaScript enabled to view this video, MJ’s tips for Canadians looking to begin iPhone development.

Click on a timecode to jump to a particular topic.

00:56 Set up your contracts first.
02:44 Banking branch and transit numbers.
04:07 W8-BEN & EIN (Employee Identification Number).
05:00 Call IRS at 215-516-6999 to submit SS4. Do NOT fax. Do NOT mail.
05:55 “The beneficial owner is claiming the provisions of Article XII…”
06:25 “…claim a 0.00 percent…”
06:58 Sample Form W-8BEN values.
07:17 License iTunes icon & become an affiliate.
08:32 Tips to promote your iPhone app.
12:58 metrics on sales and projected advertising revenue by Pinch Media.
18:10 Should you give your iPhone app away for free?
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