Roger James Hamilton's Blog, page 5
December 7, 2016
The Best Books To Read This December
By coincidence both Richard Branson and Bill Gates each came out with their Top 5 recommended books of 2016 yesterday, so here are 10 books to add to your reading list from the UK’s and USA’s best known entrepreneurs!
RICHARD BRANSON’S TOP 5 BOOKS
1) If I Could Tell You Just One Thing (Richard Reed) – Written by the founder of Innocent Drinks, on the advice he’s been given by leaders from Judi Dench and Simon Cowell to Andy Murray and James Cordon.
2) Winners (Alastair Cambell) – Written by...
December 2, 2016
Andrew Sachs the beloved actor from Fawlty Tower passes away
Sad to hear that Andrew Sachs, who played Manuel in Fawlty Towers, passed away today.
I was a big fan of Fawlty Towers, and of John Cleese who said of Andrew: “If you met him you would never think for a moment that he was a comedian, you would think he was a rather cultivated bank manager… And then you stuck that moustache on him and he turned into a completely different human being.”
I loved Fawlty Towers for how it started as much as for how funny it was. It began with JohnCleese getting te...
November 30, 2016
Top 10 Future Trends of 2017 – Trend #10: World Wide Wealth
In 2017 a series of buggies will land on the moon – the first time since the US and USSR moon landings in the 1970s left five buggies up there.
While the old buggies were operated by astronauts, the new buggies will be remote controlled, and sent by private teams who are all competing for the $20m Google Lunar X Prize.
4 of the 17 teams have already hitched a ride on rockets, in a race to be the first to land, drive and send back photos. India’s Team Indus is heading up in India’s PSLV rocket...
November 29, 2016
Artificial diamonds that can generate electric power for over 5,000 years
This is amazing. Yesterday researchers at the University of Bristol reported success in converting nuclear waste into artificial diamonds that can then generate electric power for over 5,000 years.
The researchers worked out how to heat radioactive waste from nuclear reactors, turn the radioactive carbon into gas, and then how to collect and compress the gas into a safe diamond battery.
As University of Bristol Professor, Tom Scott, explains: “There are no moving parts involved, no emissions...
Top 10 Future Trends of 2017 – Trend #9: Return to Earth
We are at a tipping point which few are aware of – and it’s a positive one. After 100+ years destroying the planet, 2017 is the year we begin the irreversible return to a sustainable Earth.
Why? The rise in innovation, the drop in technology cost and the growing collective action to switch to renewable energy and reverse climate change are all converging to five major 2017 milestones:
1) Solar will permanently replace oil as the most investible energy industry:
Headlines in the last three mon...
November 28, 2016
Top 10 Future Trends of 2017 – Trend #8: Renaissance 2.0
500 years ago Europe came out of the Dark Ages with entrepreneurs like the Medici Family bringing back the ancient wisdom of the Platonic Academy and Humanism, and sponsoring artists like Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci to lift the human spirit.
The age that became known as the Renaissance was based on artisanship and personalized masterpieces. Today, the same shift is taking place from mass production to customization, from information to inspiration and from transactions to transformatio...
November 27, 2016
Top 10 Future Trends of 2017 – Trend #7: Mixed Reality
Mixed reality is the mix of reality, virtual reality and augmented reality. Within a year, we’ll all be in it.
Today you’re reading this post on a Facebook Wall. In a year, you’re more than likely going to be reading, watching or connecting in a virtual Facebook Room.
Last month Mark Zuckerberg did the first live demo of what he called “Social VR”, where he went from the Oculus Connect 2016 stage in front of the audience, to Mars, to his office, to his home.
Within a few minutes he did everyt...
November 26, 2016
Top 10 Future Trends of 2017 – Trend #6: The fall of Email Marketing
Do you use email marketing as one of the main ways to connect with your customers? Then don’t ignore this trend!
You’ve probably noticed a decline in your email open rates and click-throughs over the last few years. But you may still be persevering as you still get some results.
If you don’t make some changes in the coming year though, get prepared for a nasty shock.
Why? Because customer habits have changed, and your potential customers are already responding to other media far more than ema...
November 25, 2016
Top 10 Future Trends of 2017 – Trend #5: Digital Currencies
Trend #5 has been a long time coming – Digital Currencies.
While digital wallets like Apple Passbook & Google Wallet, and Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin & Ethereum have been around for some time, 2017 will be the year of mass adoption.
Why? Because it’s getting exponentially easier to access and trade in digital currencies.
Companies like Stripe, which just raised $150 million at a $9 billion valuation on Black Friday (http://bit.ly/2gqd8uU) now allow you to accept Bitcoin with one click of a...
A story of Turkeys and a Unicorn on Thanksgiving Weekend
While many are busy spending money on Thanksgiving Weekend, others are making money. Like Irish brothers, 28-year old Patrick and 26-year old John Collision, who just doubled the value of their startup, Stripe to $9 billion after raising another $150 million.
How did they grow their startup so fast? Here’s their 3 simple not-so-simple steps:
Step #1: Solve a bigger problem
As teenagers, in 2007 Patrick and John started their first company, Auctomatic – giving eBay users better software to hel...
