Rob Boynes

Had a great chat with Crystal Garrett on CTV MORNING LIVE this morning to discuss the transformative role of AI in business. In our interview, we covered how artificial intelligence is revolutionizing efficiency and innovation across various industries. We discussed several key points: - Enhancing decision-making with AI. - The critical importance of ethical AI implementation. - Effective strategies for integrating AI into business processes. As we advance in the digital era, it's crucial for us to innovate responsibly and use AI to foster sustainable business growth. For those who missed it, check out the full interview in the video link below. https://lnkd.in/etiizZG7 #ArtificialIntelligence #BusinessInnovation #DigitalTransformation #CTVMorningLive

18

Want to work less? Me too!! And you're invited. I'm hosting a gathering to share what we learned at Made Manifest Inc when we spent a year prototyping and testing a 4 day work week for our service design agency. This will be a candid reflection on how we implemented this, what we measured, the surprises, the good, the bad and the ugly! Even if a 4 day week feels out of reach for you, there will be some ideas and reflection time of boundaries you could experiment with in the coming end of year rush. #servicedesign #prototyping #futureofwork Sign up link in the comments.

46

3 Comments

I’m really saddened to hear about FUELL Inc. bankruptcy, especially for the customers who placed their trust in the team. While there’s no indication of foul play, it’s a reminder of how difficult it is to bring a hardware product to life through crowdfunding. Unfortunately, the economics often don’t work in your favor. Crowdfunding has always been tricky, you are launching an innovative product at a killer price but with a significant portion of funds—up to half—going to middlemen. It’s a pattern we’ve seen since crowdfunding first became popular. To even run a successful campaign, companies often have to spend around 30% of the funds raised just on marketing and promotion. On top of this, many performance marketing agencies promise big campaigns but take up to 30% of the funds raised, offering to front the ad spend to lower the barrier. This sounds great on paper, but it sets an unsustainable foundation for a hardware company. I think the team behind Fuell fell into this trap. It’s nearly impossible to build a solid hardware business when your margins are negative. Investors don’t want to fund a company that is losing money from day one. From what I’ve heard, Fuell was producing bikes at a 30% higher cost than what they were charging Indiegogo backers, which left them with no choice but to seek more funding. Unfortunately, in the current market, securing that funding is tougher than ever, which ultimately led to their downfall. When we launched the Ride Colibri M22, it was tempting to go the crowdfunding route and aim for millions on a public platform. But we decided to stay organic, avoiding the middlemen and their hefty fees. While not as flashy, this approach allowed us to maintain full control over build quality and ensure our margins were healthy from the start. At the end of the day, I believe building a strong hardware brand requires a solid financial foundation, and for us at Colibri, it meant making some tough but necessary choices to protect the integrity of our product and business

16

1 Comment

It’s heeeere!! After almost a year of prototyping, testing, designing and iterating, we’re SO EXCITED to be ready to take pre-orders for Pebble Talk! Get yours! Link in the comments to please the algo gods :) — You know the brutal start-of-Zoom-call small talk... So, how was your weekend? Wow it’s really getting cold now, fall is coming. I’m not ready for summer to be over. It’s Friday, can’t complain! Or worse… radio silence as everyone awkwardly waits for the call to start and you’re silently pleading for someone to take charge. Pebble Talk was born of our desire to build better connections with our clients and colleagues and to crush painful small talk at the start of calls. It’s a collection of our tried and tested warm up questions for meetings, ice breakers, and workshops... ...but with actually good, curated, vetted questions you would feel comfortable asking anyone, even in a work setting, even when you don't have a lot in common. It's also beautifully designed, and locally produced in Toronto. With Pebble Talk you get: - Easy to use prompts to kickoff meetings and engage attendees before diving into the agenda. - Conversational nuggets for fun facilitation of new or different team engagement (beta testers have been surprised what they learned about some of their quietest team members!) - Pre-designed cards for any leader to use at any meeting (...in person or virtual). If you want this in your facilitation kit, place your pre-order now! I’m so excited for you to never again scramble for a tried and true warm up question in your meetings and workshops!

121

29 Comments

How to Ensure Your Video Content Meets WCAG Accessibility Standards | Aaron Di Blasi | AT-Newswire.com https://lnkd.in/gcUQCWws Enhance your video content's inclusivity by adhering to WCAG guidelines. Learn practical steps to make your media accessible to all audiences.

2

One of the privileges of co-leading a learning innovation research firm with Onlea's Learning Experience Labs (LX Labs) is that not only do we help our clients come up with new educational strategies, we're constantly learning from them about their emerging needs. 🛍️ Last year, we launched the LX Store, a product initiative that signaled our desire to share our expertise with more people in an affordable way. 🎥 We've seen across our consulting clients a desire for leaders inside and outside organizations to continuously adapt and try out new educational engagement tools and approaches (e.g. video, courses, webinars, podcasts, resource sites and AI). 🧪 At the core of who we help, there's one constant theme, passionate professionals who are faced with embracing change in order to thrive. After conducting extensive customer research this year, we've decided to change the name of the LX Store to Onlea Engage, and to create a learning hub for passionate professionals on the move. 🎨 We have also improved our initial product offering showcasing the best of Onlea's learning design to provide immediately applicable engagement tips and tricks for your next presentation, team meeting or personal video recording. Onlea Engage—Explore our new learning hub designed to help passionate professionals adapt and thrive with communication tools that increase audience connection: https://engage.onlea.org/ Read about the LX Store pivot to Onlea Engage: https://lnkd.in/gjjdCDMh #businessleader #smallbusiness #coursecreator #solopreneur #professionaldevelopment #entrepreneur #canbusiness

5

I recently created a video using Lernado AI and CapCut, compiling several short clips inspired by the powerful words of Steve Harvey: "If you feel like giving up..." In this video, I wanted to capture the essence of perseverance and the importance of pushing through challenges, no matter how tough things get. Steve Harvey's message resonates with so many of us, reminding us to stay strong and keep moving forward. Check out the video and let me know what you think! Let's inspire each other to keep going, even when the going gets tough. #Motivation #Resilience #NeverGiveUp #AI #VideoEditing #SteveHarvey #CapCut

2

Shoutout to Adam Ingram and #booklist below! Your experience as a presenter made for an engaging workshop last month at #GridSecCon (Modern Day Exercises and Why You Might Still be Doing Them Wrong). I thought the discussion on reliability vs. resiliency was extremely relevant and we had a good mix of expertise in the room to keep discussions going. Big takeaway--be consistent and always perform your AARs (After Action Reports).     ALSO, I always appreciate references for books! I'm halfway through "The Grid" right now.   Books Referenced:  The Grid - Gretchen Bakke (aging infrastructure, datacenters, stressed infrastructure) Paradise - Lizzie Johnson  California Burning - Katherine Blunt  Cascading failure in Power Grids - Springer (Technical Book)   More Books Referenced (common theme is #Resilience) The Last Lecture - Randy Pausch Good to Great - Jim Collins When breath becomes air - Paul Kalanithi #booklist

6

1 Comment

Launching Careerbrige - A platform that aggregates all job related tweets in one place. The problem: As a frequent user of Twitter, I've always appreciated the richness of content on the platform compared to other social networks. One recurring theme I've noticed is the abundance of job postings and job seekers' posts. Unfortunately, these posts often struggle to gain the visibility they deserve. Shipped MVP: To address this gap, we decided to build Careerbrige. Launched in May, it aggregates all job-related posts on Twitter into one centralised platform. Our goal is to enhance the visibility of these opportunities and connect job seekers with employers more efficiently. Product Market Fit: The response from the community has been overwhelmingly positive. In fact, we recently launched version 2 of our website, incorporating feedback and new features to better serve our users. Happy to share that Careerbrige has been voted as the Product of the Month on Uneed What's coming up next? We are developing a "sponsor a post" feature that will allow you to highlight your post on our website. Go visit careerbrige.com now!

16

4 Comments

How would you design an exhibit — if an animal’s life depended on it? ** NEW PODCAST ** Designing with Animals, with Jacqueline F. Bershad (Reposting this because of an Apple Podcasts syndication error the first time.) 🙏 🤷 😬 What is the number one reason people come to the National Aquarium? When should you take ego out of design? What is a “machine for living”? Which is right: “know-feel-do” or “feel-know-do”? (Hint: might not be the first one.) Why would an aquarium visitor want to hear from the people who take care of the animals? What happens when you float an entire Chesapeake wetland on top of the ocean, in the middle of Baltimore Harbor? How have kitchens and exhibits had a similar evolution? Jacqueline F. Bershad, Vice President of Planning & Design at the National Aquarium, joins MtM host Jonathan Alger (Managing Partner, C&G Partners) to discuss “Designing with Animals.” Along the way: plankton, anemones, turtles, ducks, night herons, sloths, and rockwork sculpting geniuses. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + HOW TO LISTEN: Apple Podcasts: https://lnkd.in/e8QgAtZS Spotify: https://lnkd.in/eCw_B5HN Everywhere: Search for “Making the Museum” at any podcast service, big or small. Or at MtM: https://lnkd.in/edVzMwZ9 + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Talking Points: 1. Architecture with a Small “a" 2. Embracing Unlearning 3. When Your Clients Can’t Speak for Themselves 4. Behind the Scenes IS the Scene 5. Passionate People and Pragmatic Problems 6. Vision with a Big “V” About Making the Museum: Making the Museum is hosted (podcast) and written (newsletter) by Jonathan Alger. This podcast is a project of C&G Partners | Design for Culture. Learn about the firm's creative work at: https://lnkd.in/ebuPuVfW Discover Making the Museum, the Newsletter: Liked the show? You might enjoy the newsletter. Making the Museum is also a free weekly professional development email for exhibition practitioners, museum leaders, and visitor experience professionals. (And newsletter subscribers are the first to hear about new episodes of this podcast.) Join hundreds of your peers with a one-minute read, three times a week. Invest in your career with a diverse, regular feed of planning and design insights, practical tips and tested strategies — including thought-provoking approaches to technology, experience design, audience, budgeting, content, and project management. Subscribe here (and unsubscribe at any time): https://lnkd.in/e7bu8Vhy

19

2 Comments

We started Bondfire Inc. when I was 23. 1 newborn. $0 savings. 0 clients. No portfolio. No network. Just fired from my agency job. It sounds like a terrible scenario on paper.  However, starting with absolute scarcity created a sharpness of focus that would be impossible to emulate today. ——— Here are the main projects from our first year: 1. $1,875. Brand design. Local entrepreneur. (Hi Bryan Baker!) 2. $5,100. Landing page design + dev. Local tech manufacturer. (Hi Doug Broadhurst!) 3. $3,750. Brand design + portfolio website. Local wedding photographers. (Hi Peter Kappen!) 4. $3,256. Shopify site build. LA based creative agency. (Hi Shannon Gabor and Josh Principe!) 5. $11,200. Brand design + portfolio site + MVP. LA based production company. (Hi Darius Fong!) 6. $15,300. Brand design + product MVP. LA based entrepreneur. 7. $82,500. Brand design + product MVP. LA based startup. Total Sales: $154,647.39 W2 Income: $59,748 Staff: 2 partners. 1 part time freelancer. Each project became a stepping stone for the next. Local entrepreneur to local company. Local photographer to LA-based agency. LA-based agency to LA-based production company. LA-based entrepreneur to LA-based startup. We turned down a lot of projects in between. They would have paid the bills, but they wouldn’t have moved us forward as a firm. ——— The $60k take home ended up being $20k more than my previous salary. My wife and I kept our expenses as close to $0 as possible, even with a baby. (It can be done!) $1200/mo rent. $250/mo car, $300/mo groceries. Lots of (free) beach dates. This frugality allowed maximum flexibility to turn down bad projects/clients and focus on figuring out what would make BF valuable in the market. ——— What did we learn that first year? 1. Connect with locals. Local means there is less pressure to market yourself against the entire internet. You can also rely more on your soft skills in person, rather than fluffing a portfolio that doesn’t exist. 2. Lever up on your previous project. When selling, don’t be afraid to immediately demo your latest project, even if it’s not done. The story will be fresh in your mind and a demo provides a natural opportunity for the prospect to get a peek behind the curtain of what it’s like to actually work with you. I still do this today: “Hey, let me show you what we were *just* working on.” 3. Use time as an advantage. When starting out, time is on your side. While you won’t have a lot of work, you will have a lot of time. Use this surplus to discover new things. Technology, techniques, meetups, complementary businesses. 4. Bite off more than you can chew. We said no to a lot of projects. But we also said yes to projects that were way outside of our capabilities. This curiosity allowed us to take on projects we had no idea how to execute on. Sure, it was terrifying, but signing a project that pushes you outside your comfort zone is a catalyst for rapid growth, both personally and professionally.

171

32 Comments

#1 mistake startups make: They focus solely on design. Hear me out. Design doesn’t matter. At least from the start. I know people will say that makes zero sense. Design serves the product. If you are an early-stage startup, focus on what value your product delivers. Not on what colour your button should be. - Value - Value  - Value That’s all that matters. I mean think about it. If you have a great app but offer zero value, who cares how well-made your app is? Better design can improve conversion rates. But design won’t be the catalyst. So: - Identify your customer base - Find your product-market fit - Develop more sophisticated products - Implement changes based on their feedback (Not in this order) No successful idea started with “better design” alone. Facebook didn't win because of its design. It won because it delivered value. Thoughts? 

24

7 Comments

It was awesome chatting with Will Hall about design. Have a listen to this week's episode of Fail Hard. #industrialdesign #design

32

Really looking forward to reading this prescient book by #TyeFarrow on this important topic. #intentionaldesign #neuroscience #builtenvironments #wellness #interiors

2

Start a post, LinkedIn said. Try writing with AI, it said, and I immediately felt resistance from within. Do you feel this kind of resistance? If so, why? More and more consumer research is surfacing on the way we market AI. This article floated around in one of my tech groups, and it might explain some of the phenomenon. One comment resonated, why are they so aggressive at marketing AI? That said, I have used quite a few tools, and some are quite useful. As you can tell, I didn't use AI to write this post. Yes, I'm not the greatest writer, but if I want to build trust, it requires non-artificial communication. This personal sentiment also dovetails with my experiments with answering and responding to various posts in my area of expertise, as I was invited to do by the LinkedIn bots. Let me know your thoughts. #ai #criticalthinking #techtools

6

2 Comments

My partner told me last night: "Duolinguo has been hacked. The icon is now snotty and gross. So I deleted it off kiddo's phone." Turns out, the new app icon is not some hacker defacing the beloved owl. It is a design choice. Your owl appears more and more sickly as you spend time away from your app. Two main things here. 1) if your design choices get confused for a security breach and lead users to delete your app, it's not great. 2) don't guilt-trip me (or my 7yo kid) to spend more time on your app by insinuating your anthropomorphized mascot is in pain if I don't log it. And (bonus one), don't make gross things appear on my home screen. --- What if we designed app experience for just enough engagement (instead of maximum time suck)? What if an app was so great, it gave me more time off my phone? I would keep it installed and recommend it to all my friends. What if we asked users how often / how much they want to be on the app and provide them feedback and incentives to help them meet THEIR usage goals? Maybe you don't want to practice that new language every day. Maybe 3 times a week is a realistic goal for you. What if the app icon became more translucent or less saturated as we exceed our usage goals? What if it moved to the second or third page of our home page as we need to spend less time on it? What if the anthropomorphized mascot looked happier, healthier and more vibrant when you meet your ideal usage goal? photo credit: Duolingo via Creative Bloq

741

152 Comments

Is anyone at Collision Conf this week speaking to the importance of UX and Design???? Well, they should be and here's why. #CollisionConf #UX #Design #Scaling #CanadianTechCompanies #InternationalGrowth #Tech #Innovation

5

2 Comments

“Those colours don’t really work.” “The type spacing isn’t quite right.” “Uhh, I’m seeing something … NSFW in that logo concept.” Considering that what I do is almost entirely dependent on my eyesight, and a significant part of my identity, I know that I take my vision health for granted. As someone who’s been wearing glasses and corrective lenses since the age of 14, with some family history of age-related macular degeneration, knowing that there are things I can do to maintain my vision health for as long as I depend on it provides some reassurance. A big ‘thank you’ to organizations like the Canadian Council of the Blind (CCB) and Fighting Blindness Canada (FBC), and the tireless work they do to get the vision health message out there. Led by Dr. Keith Gordon, commissioned by the CCB and FBC, supported by Canada’s leading research-based pharmaceutical companies, and made possible through the valuable contributions of time made by key members of the national optometry and ophthalmology communities, A Report Card on Vision Health in Canada 2023 is a clear and insightful summary of how we’re faring on the vision health front since the pandemic. It also offers some reasons for optimism with what emerging technologies and innovation are bringing to the fields of optometry and ophthalmology. https://lnkd.in/gjNEQZ4m The fully accessible PDF is also available in both national languages.

32

2 Comments