Alex Lowe on Software and Startups

Microsoft and Google, two giants fighting it out for the future of software business. On the surface Microsoft and Google look similar. Both offer software, both have an online presence, both are technology companies. But their business models and revenue streams are nowhere near the same thing and that’s going to mean a lot for […]

Priorities, that’s what we set when we’re in business. One priority that is tricky is optimization in search of a greater profit margin. Product optimization, workflow optimization, operational optimization, and any other ways of making business more streamlined is a good thing in general, but can be a bad thing at times.
In general, optimized business […]

You’ll read lists and lists and lists. You’ll read advice and more advice. I’m part of the information storm, and I want to talk about it. When you’re in a startup the context of your business changes all the time. It is so dynamic that “the most important thing” never stays that way for long.
If […]

There are precarious times when in business. I’d like to draw attention to the two most precarious times: high growth and slow decline.
The ideal state of a business is sustained growth, a nice gentle line that trends upwards.
A bad state, obviously, is a sharp downward slope. The only positive behind a sharp downward slope is that […]

This is a short synopsis of advertising and the Internet.
There are a few direct ways to make money on the Internet. Subscription to services, sale of goods, and advertisements. For pure online plays, in other words businesses that are in the business of information, it’s either subscription or advertisement to monetize content.
As time passes, fewer […]

This article outlines categories of want for not for profit organizations. Previously I’ve written about categories of want for consumers and businesses. You can find those articles at http://blog.lowesoftware.com.
Not for profit groups are an interesting animal. They are here to meet a social goal with ultimate primary focus on that goal and not profit. At […]

This article is about evaluating categories of wants for businesses. I previously wrote an article about categories of wants for consumers, you can find it at http://blog.lowesoftware.com.
Distilled down, businesses are concerned with two things:

Survival - This category is about ensuring the ongoing operations of the business. These are often times cost centers for the business […]

Consumers want things, that’s why we are able to sell product. I believe there are five categories of wants that you can evaluate when making a product or service offering.
By evaluating your offerings in these categories it helps to give clarity as to the “why” a person is after your offering and how to tailor […]

Maybe you’ve heard the analogy of somone with their hair on fire as an image used to demonstrate the idea that when developing a business offering you should find a critical problem and figure out how to solve it. If you haven’t heard the analogy it goes something like this:

If someone’s hair is on fire […]

A mental strategy for marketing and presentation. This article will focus on how you develop software, web sites, press releases, pamphlets, or marketing copy. Basically, anything you present to the world and want to draw users into.
When offering a new application, a new web site, a new service offering, or anything else you want to […]