learndogpup: successStories

Will pigs fly?

It is with mixed emotions that I bring to your attention this fantastic write-up of LearnDog by Gail Plowman from www.pigswillfly.com.au. I have been following Gail's stories of grassroots community and business issues for some time and had the pleasure of meeting her at the ConnectinUP conference a few weeks back.

In a Napolean Dynamite style "sharing of skills", I have tried to help Gail wrestle with the geekery of blogs, rss feeds and podcasts and she has responded with a write-up that captures the essence of LearnDog in ways that I couldn't possibly articulate. In a single sentence she captures the essence:

"The global scale of the idea - to create a positive learning experience to help kids make better life choices and deal with the youth dangers of depression and suicide - is huge BUT it fits both a world-wide need AND the e-medium."

Then, she hits the nail on the head with an appeal for (much needed) help in setting up the legal/accounting infrastructure needed to underpin my crazy ideals:

"The plan is:

set up a ‘Public company limited by guarantee (Non Profit) under Australian federal law’;
seek tax (Deductible Gift Recipient) tax status;
set up entities in strategic countries around the world.

“We could do with some help,” says Mike."

So why the mixed emotion?

Well, you see, I have spent the last couple of weeks preparing to put this little puppy into 'hibernation' for a while (can puppies hibernate?). I have already over-stayed my one year tenure as product manager of LearnDog and unfortunately, without the legal/accounting infrastructure mentioned above, we are not in a position to sustain the level of growth we need.

But who knows, maybe Gail's timing is excellent - maybe this little puppy will emerge from this situation sprouting gorgeous wings and a tiny snout.

Maybe pigs will fly!

Fang - Mike Seyfang - LearnDog

May 25, 2006 in successStories | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Historic day for LifeKludger

UPDATE2: Jake drops a comment to verify his genuine contact with Dave. Phew - not spam! Thanks Luke for taking the time to set me straight on this. (Turns out that it all went ballistic via Popular Mechanics - cwool)

UPDATE: Damn! I fear Dave may have been a victim of comment spam. (Which will make us both look like shameless link whores). Check http://www.technorati.com/search/%22bottle%20cap%20tripod%22 . Honestly, we didn't know.

Dave (LifeKludger) Wallace has a lofty vision for a world in which 'makers' are connected with 'the disabled' and empowered to use their hardware hacking skills for good as well as fun.

Dave has made significant progress toward creating a platform where people with disabilities can find a voice (through Web2.0 tools like blogs, podcasts and the like). He has demonstrated by example ways that 'unforseen custom uses of general purpose stuff' can help him get through each day - in a way that is truly inspiring to people who struggle.

The most difficult step in the LifeKludger journey will be to get the attention, and harness the collective talent of the 'maker' community. The dream is to create an ecosystem where people who struggle can voice their desires for modified devices - creating a demand which can be met by the supply of hardware hackers and philanthropists.

Yesterday, a small but significant thing happened. Out of the blue, a 'maker' contacted Dave about his DIY Bottle Cap Tripod!

Fang - Mike Seyfang - LearnDog

March 22, 2006 in connections, successStories | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack