Innovation and Loss Prevention Expo - Decoding Retail Security
Mic Berman will be speaking at this upcoming conference on Innovation and Loss Prevention in the Retail industry, about Embarkonit’s work on the Q-Time Pilot Study.
Q-Time is a software, video security and business analytics system powered by i3DVR.com. i3 hired Embarkonit this past summer to conduct a Pilot study with Tim Horton’s to determine if the Q-Time system could produce a significant ROI for store owners. And, it does in several significant ways.
The pilot study proved three key things:
- It increases dollars to your bottom line - although the case study was limited, stores achieved in some cases a 250% increase in up-sell items, 30% reduction in service time correlating with a 17% increase in $/minute, and a significant impact on loss due to theft, error or sweet-hearting driving numbers in one store down to zero
- the system is accurate (97% on average for service time, the amount of time it take to order and pick up your e.g., coffee and donut)
- it just the start of the capabilities Q-Time will be able to provide
Q-Time leverages existing security camera data and proprietary algorithms to track human behaviour in a retail setting, thereby providing Business Operations with real time business performance metrics. When the case study was presented to Tim Horton’s executive team in the Fall of 09, the VP Operations exclaimed: “it’s magic!, the system tells you exactly where you are”.
Best of luck to i3DVR for the Q-Time system. Watch their website for information on the system or contact Vy@i3dvr.com
Putting Theory Into Practice
We recently completed the start of a new client project. After I sat in on the strategy session that Mic lead with the client my role was to perform an ecosystem analysis that would lead us into the next phase of the project.
As a recent graduate there are friends of mine who are also starting out their careers post university and a lot of them tell me: “I know we learned this in this class or that class but really we’re not applying it.” This particular analysis that I was tasked to do allowed me to do just what the title of this blog says; put the theory of university into practice. It was great to see how the tools we were using in class actually applied to how things are done in the “real world”.
I remember chuckling to myself as Mic was outlining to me what was needed for this ecosystem analysis. I had done this exact thing as part of a final project only a six months ago at Ryerson. So as I set off to begin my analysis I was glad in thinking that my time (and money) was well spent.
Holiday Fun @ HoHoTO
As most of you know, HoHoTO (a fundraiser for the Daily Bread Food Bank), recently took place this past Wednesday. I’ve only been to one other HoHoTO event and as usual the organizers did not disappoint. I really like the passion behind HoHoTO. Not only does it bring the players in Toronto’s tech community together, it also helps support those in our city who are less fortunate than us.
Not one person had a bad time. From the minute you walked in the door you were immediately struck with holiday cheer. There were helper elves selling raffle tickets, a photo booth, Christmas themed martinis and even chocolate peppermint sticks scattered around for you to snack on. The best thing about it all was that the proceeds all went to Daily Bread.
Rogers was present with a really cool Twitter based scavenger hunt that required you to take a series of photos and tweet them with specific hashtags. I took part in the fun but unfortunately was not one of the lucky winners. Still, it was a lot of fun!
EmbarkOnIt is so proud to be a sponsor for events that bring our community together for a great cause. Thanks again to all the organizers and attendees for making it such a great night for all!
Happy Holidays!
Startup Camp Waterloo - 7th Edition
Global Entrepreneurship Week is fast approaching. Cities and communities across the world will be coming together to celebrate innovation. Now there will be event(s) being hosted during this week in all of the startup communities across Canada, but if you find yourself in or near the Waterloo region on November 18th you should be taking the time to check out Startup Camp Waterloo. This year’s event will be the seventh in the series with the focus on creating dialogue between individuals in the startup community.
What do I mean by “dialogue”. Attendees that want to pitch their idea/questions to the audience will get a chance to write their name on a list. This is then followed by a kick off from a motivational keynote from an entrepreneur about innovation and their experience starting up. Pitchers will then receive 30 seconds to pitch their ideas/thoughts/questions to the community in attendance for feedback. Best pitches will get a chance later in the evening to demo their idea for five minutes. Pitches and demos are all followed by a grill room session so be prepared!!!
The reason we use the word startup community is because that’s what we are. This event and others like this bring us together to support each others ideas. Global Entrepreneurship Week is about celebrating entrepreneurship but also inspiring youth to embrace it. With startup communities like we do in Canada, it’s hard not to be inspired to turn ideas into reality. See you in Waterloo!
Consulting provides diverse work experiences
It’s been just a little over three months now since I started working at EmbarkOnIt. I’ve had the opportunity to work on several different projects thus far and am currently slated on three client accounts - each one a different project.
Out of every benefit that comes with working for a consulting company I believe that the variety of clients and the projects unique to each one is by far my favourite. As a recent grad, I’m able to gain experience on and learn to tackle different business problems. A mere 12 weeks out of university and I’m able to add marketing (new and traditional tactics), sales, event coordinating and sponsorship, human resource, and copy writing experience to my resume.
When describing the consulting industry one can certainly not use the word ‘monotonous’. It’s rare that you’d be doing the same thing day after day. What’s that saying: “Variety is the spice of life”? - I don’t know about life but it certainly is of my job!
DemoCamp Toronto 22 - Innovation and Laughter
Last week’s DemoCamp Toronto 22 was an event full of people, fantastic demos and a lot of laughs. The latter thanks to the guest speaker, Yossi Vardi, who not only provided some interesting insights to how the culture of entrepreneurship and innovation is driven but kept the audiences in stitches while doing so.
The companies that demoed were AgileBuddy, Assetize, iStopOver, Locationary, Thoora, and UCanStudios with their new FaceBook app: Superheroes Alliance. The entrepreneurs were given five minutes each to present their startup followed by a five-minute grillroom session of questions from the audience. All of the demos were great but my favourite presentation of the evening had to be Thoora. Thoora is helping people find and read news by fusing traditional and social media together. It was definitely the most passionate pitch; the team was extremely excited to tell people about their startup. That’s the kind of energy that everyone in the community loves to see.
Thoora Team
Although the demos were great, I have to give the show stealer to Yossi Vardi who was dishing out his thoughts on innovation littered with hilarious stories and sarcastic wit. Some of my favourite Yossi sayings from the evening include:
“The driving force of innovation is a result of a culture that from a young age, parents are instilling a drive to achieve, a drive to go out and DO.”
“Sometimes, your best sales people will be your customers. It’s a good idea to provide your service/product for free and the customers will market it for you.”
“Innovation starts at the grassroots which grows into a large infrastructure with young passionate people who furiously continue to start even if they fail.”
“The largest barrier for innovation is an entrepreneur too afraid to risk failure.”
“I find being handed a business plan offensive. I would like to have a talk with the startup and get to know them before I ever decide to invest.”
Yossi Vardi
It was a fantastic evening. Our startup community here in Toronto is stronger than I had imagined. There is a lot of support for our local entrepreneurs and that’s a very comforting thought for anyone out there with an idea they’d want to pursue. Our Toronto startups are every bit as innovative and have as much as potential as startups from other known communities. Yossi says that what he saw at DemoCamp Toronto 22 was very similar to what he’s been seeing in Silicon Valley, Tel Aviv, and England. Go T.O!
West Coast Innovation @ Launch Party Vancouver 8!!!
Last week, I attended Launch Party Vancouver 8 (LPV8) hosted by Bootup Labs Entrepreneurial Society and Strutta. This was my first visit to Vancouver and meeting some of the players in the western Canada tech and startup community. They did not disappoint.
Wondering what Launch Party Vancouver is? LPV is an evening of cocktails, chatter and connections. The goal is to help local entrepreneurs connect with investors or individuals who can help them take their startup another step farther. In attendance were some of Vancouver’s leading startups, techies and bloggers.
Eight different companies were strutting their stuff: Lilipip, Hootsuite, Yowza!!, Gist, MyWeddingMatch.com, DEQQ, Groove Systems and Wireless Image. All of these companies were boasting wonderfully innovative ideas and solutions. A mention to MyWeddingMatch.com being voted People’s Choice best startup and Hootsuite being voted most likely to succeed by the judges.
LPV 8 - Room Shot
The event was a success. The venue, Circa Restaurant Lounge, was full with over 350 people having shown up.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. These events are necessary. Anyone interested in tech communities or startups (especially those of you who have one) should be in attendance at these events. Those of you out there who are starting up something tech, digital media or Internet based I urge you to get out of the basement or garage or wherever you’re developing and get out and link up with some other players in the industry. I’m looking forward to seeing familiar and new faces at LPV9!!
Inner Workings of Consulting
I’ve been working with EmbarkOnIt for about 11 weeks now and have been learning a lot about how consultants work internally. I’m not talking how we interact with one another at EmbarkOnIt; I’m talking about how they tick. What goes on in the mind of a consultant?
Last week I completed and submitted a document to one of our clients. I had double-checked the accuracy, spelling, grammar, and re-read it several times. I wanted it to be perfect. After all, this document was the first submission to this client and it was possibly going to make its way as content on the client’s website.
Now after earning a diploma and a degree, and having managed various client projects through my education, one would think I wouldn’t be so anxious about whether or not the client would like my work. But I was. I kept wondering: “Could I have written it better?” “Was it in the right tone for their customers?” “Did I deliver what they were hoping to receive?”
I ended up on the phone with Mic the next day and was providing an update about the client project and ended up telling her about my concerns. It was then that she let me in on a term that she picked up during her time at McKinsey: Insecure Overachiever. Apparently a characteristic of consultants is that they are constantly wondering if they did a good job; they strive to deliver what the client needs and more and when they do they’re always worried about the results.
I want to produce great work for our clients. Why? Well first of all it’s my job; it’s why I work for EmbarkOnIt. Insecure Overachiever. Off the top of my head the reasons for anyone to be insecure about work done for a client could be: that it has to be good to continue a strong relationship with them, it’s a new job and so I’m striving to prove why I was hired, I want to be known for producing great results quickly, and the better work I do means I’ll get more projects handed to me.
Here’s the thing. Consultants want to do a great job for their clients. Not only is it good for business but lets face it, they wouldn’t be in the industry if they weren’t motivated by success. The success of the client is the success of the consultant. I like to think it’s more than just that though. Consultants don’t just want to see their clients meet objectives; they want to coach them, provide guidance and teach them how to be better. The reasons why I’ve always liked the consulting industry is that a) I’ve always been a fan of strategy and seeing it implemented and b) you get to help people see their business succeed and grow. I think that’s worth a little anxiety. Don’t you?
Networking - Not so scary
One of the projects we’ve been working has led me to attending various events in the startup communities in cities across Canada. These kinds of events all have one major element in common. Conversation.
These opportunities have really begun to give me a chance to hone my networking skills.
As someone who’s just starting out, I’ve discovered that there are a few things that seem to work for me. Here’s a list of “tactics” when it comes to networking:
- Stay in touch with the individuals that you look up to or who you respect but can’t really help you out right now. You never know
- Don’t be afraid to strike up a conversation with people you don’t know, regardless of where you are
- When you ask someone a question. Stay silent until you get an answer. This is what it means to be a good listener
- Be sincere and interested when conversing with people
- Always keep updated business cards on you
- If you’re a bad public speaker, take classes to become a better presenter and improving body language
- Join associations and other groups in your industry that you could network at
- Follow up with anyone and on anything that comes your way, regardless of how insignificant you may think it is
Another important point to keep in mind that the type of people you network with may not always be a business professional. It’s always a great idea to have a diverse network of people from different walks of life.
Trust me, it’s not so bad. It will only benefit you now to get out and try striking up a conversation with a stranger. A personal word of advice; be confident, and if you’re not confident then fake it till you make it.
You never know what it might merit. I urge you all to get out there and get talking.
Merrymaking @ Startup Drinks
Last Wednesday was my first time stepping out to a Startup Drinks event. I remember thinking as I was handed my nametag “I’ve been helping student startups for a year, why haven’t I ever been to one of these before now” Better late than never.
Great venue, great atmosphere, lots of great beers on tap and a lot of great people were what made the event what I’m sure was a great time for all in attendance. Held in a cozy party room at C’est What? the room was full of chatter, full glasses and laughing. These types of events provide a fantastic opportunity for all to get out and meet people in the tech industry, what they’re up to, what they need help with and what their opinions are about what’s going on.
A big thanks to organizers David Crow and Bryan Watson for another opportunity to relax and have a few drinks with some of Toronto’s innovating startups. Really, really cool party. Highly recommended for anyone who is or wants to be more involved in this community!