fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
SpiderDAO deploys Bugzilla!
Tags: Crypto, Spiderdao, Privacy, VPN, Cryptocurrency

JUNE 23RD 2021. SpiderDAO is delighted to announce the launching of our very own bug reporting portal called Bugzilla. Bugzilla is a user-friendly interface where our dedicated Beta Testers can report any coding bugs, missing or defective features, mistakes and in fact any part of the SpiderDAO project that may need attention.

The list of areas that qualify for reporting are comprehensive and include:

Android app functionality

Android app UI

Router functionality

Router UI

Router DAO

Discord

SpiderVPN Website

Staking/Lau

IOS app functionality

IOS app UI

Wireguard

The Bugzilla reporting site can be found here:

In addition, new and existing Beta Testers have access to a dedicated Telegram channel where they can offer us direct comments and request additional information about the firmware.

If you still want to be a part of the beta testing team (or join as a new member), you can download the firmware and participate in the new telegram channel at the following link.

Firmware: https://bit.ly/3gAW9rO

Telegram: https://t.me/joinchat/SKbWbI9v5PRg9SAH

We have produced a handy guide on how to report bugs: https://docs.spidervpn.org/guides/how-to-submit-a-bug-on-bugzilla

Don’t forget all Beta Testers will be allowed to participate in a forthcoming SpiderDAO event that will feature attractive monetary rewards 🙂 (further details shortly)
Privacy and Protection is still the name of the game.👻
By: Tim
Tags: Privacy, VPN, Protection

Privacy and Protection is still the name of the game.👻

It might be the movie I just watched about some dude who blew a whistle on a major surveillance program or it could be the massive attacks on an oil pipline. But I’m back on the privacy train… all aboard! (sorry, I had to) Using a VPN at home now seems more and more important, making sure you have WebRTC blocking, find an app that will enable CyberSec… etc etc.

Trust the gut

We have a lot to learn about privacy and trusting our gut. Create the allowance to be private and protected. Being private is ok, don’t forget that. Don’t want marketing agency tracking and creating a fingerprint profile on you? That’s very ok. Don’t want to think someone is watching you though your laptop camera? Totally understandable (That movie really got to me). We have to stop worrying about what other people think and be ok with protecting ourselves. Especially here in the US of A—we have amazing rights and privacy is one of them.

Protections

There are so many tools out there and where to start? There’s a little bit of blind trust but I suggest focusing on the team around services. For example, NordVPN has a very private organization but the team around the organization is pretty cool—specifically they added Troy Hunt to the advisory board, he’s the dude behind “Have I Been Pwned”—the guy works with agencies and helps countries develop better security. This is a huge win for NordVPN and helps clarify any hesitation behind the product IMHO.

There’s even more advancements happening with privacy with Apple. They’re creating a “VPN” of sorts for Safari and working on payment privacy… etc. It’s amazing that a company—as huge as Apple—is working on solutions that will just be apart of the ecosystem. As they state, “Privacy is a fundamental human right”.

I’ll link my previous articles at the end but I’m still using Brave as my main driver. Awesome advancements with a Firewall + VPN integration for mobile and now the recently launched Brave Search. Pretty cool stuff coming from that team!

You get to choose how protected you want to be. I didn’t use a VPN for over a year because I didn’t think I needed it. I didn’t go to coffee shops and I was home most of the time. So why use one? The articles above can help explain… but also watch a movie about mass surveillance and you’ll get super creeped out. 🤷‍♂️

Resources:
Fix Windows 10 Error 809, L2TP/IPSec VPN
By: Vasko Kelkocev
Tags: VPN, Windows, Error809

With the work from home rising in the last period, a lot of workers are distributed to their home offices, and connect to the companies servers via VPN. Setting a VPN sometimes is not ideal like in the documentations and problems arise. This is one I had, and here is how I solved it.

Photo by Dan Nelson on Unsplash

Some technical stuff

By default, Windows client and the Windows Server operating system do not support Internet Protocol security (IPsec) network address translation (NAT) Traversal (NAT-T) security associations to servers that are located behind a NAT device. Therefore, if the virtual private network (VPN) server is behind a NAT device, a Windows based VPN client computer or a Windows Server based VPN client computer cannot make a Layer Two Tunneling Protocol (L2TP)/IPsec connection to the VPN server. This scenario includes VPN servers that are running Windows Server 2008/R2, Windows Server 2012/16 and Microsoft Windows Server 2003.

Because of the way in which NAT devices translate network traffic, you may experience unexpected results when you put a server behind a NAT device and then use an IPsec NAT-T environment. Therefore, if you must have IPsec for communication, it is recommended that you use public IP addresses for all servers that you can connect to from the Internet. However, if you have to put a server behind a NAT device and then use an IPsec NAT-T environment, you can enable communication by changing a registry value on the VPN client computer and the VPN server.

The Solution

You will need to to create and configure the AssumeUDPEncapsulationContextOnSendRule registry value using the windows registry.

Disclaimer: Editing the Windows Registry file is a serious undertaking. A corrupted Windows Registry file could render your computer inoperable, requiring a reinstallation of the Windows 10 operating system and potential loss of data. Back up the Windows 10 Registry file and create a valid restore point before you proceed.

To apply the fix follow these steps:
Calling Abroad Numbers freely with the satellite phone
By: Sivaram Rasathurai
Tags: WhatsApp, Telephony, Satellite Technology, VPN, Social

We can call any abroad local number freely using a satellite app of sipgate. This is very awesome, I heard this app from my german friend.

The magic of satellite is that you can be reached worldwide under a mobile phone number, regardless of the provider. You don’t need a cellular connection (GSM), just your cell phone and a data connection. It doesn’t matter whether you use a data SIM (5G, 4G, 3G, Edge) or WiFi, the voice quality is always top. And unlike most VoIP apps, satellite behaves like your phone’s standard telephony. This protects the battery and everything works as you are used to.

Anyone who calls you on your satellite number pays their normal charge for German mobile phone numbers

The app link → https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.sipgate.app.satellite&hl=en

Advantages over other applications

Requirements

VPN connection using German Server A friend from German who can receive the code from post and send it to you

Setup the satellite app

First, connect the german VPN because this app will work in german not in our country. If you search app from play store without this vpn, you will not see this app also Download the application from the playstore

4. Click the start button to use satellite app

5. You need to create an account and these steps are very easy but you need a friend from german to receive your which will be sent fro you in that german postal address.

You have to ask your friend to get the zip code, street and home number. this information we need to give it to the satellite app to receive the code via postal address.

click the button verify via letter, they will send a verification code to your friend.

Limitations of satellite app

With satellite you are currently making calls to 64 countries. It doesn’t matter whether you want to call landlines or cell phones and where you are. You only need a sufficient, unrestricted data connection.

Australia Bangladesh Belgium Bermuda Bhutan Brazil Brunei Bulgaria

China Costa Rica Denmark Germany Faroe Islands Finland France Greece

Great Britain Hong Kong India Indonesia Ireland Iceland Italy Japan

Cambodia Canada Colombia Croatia Kuwait Laos Liechtenstein Lithuania

Luxembourg Malaysia Malta Mexico Mongolia Namibia New Zealand

Netherlands Nigeria Norway Austria Pakistan Paraguay Peru

Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Romania Sweden Singapore

Slovakia Slovenia Spain South Korea Taiwan Thailand Czech Republic

Hungary United States Vatican CityVietnam Cyprus

2. Per month we have only 100 minutes to call. I think it is enough for us to call our relatives. If you need you can go with satellite plus.

Visit this official site to learn more.
Take Amouranth’s advice and get NordVPN to increase your security online
By: Yuri Palmonson
Tags: VPN, Discount

Kaitlyn, or better known as Amouranth, is a famous Twitch streamer, cosplayer, and YouTuber. On her Twitch, she has over 1.5 million followers, while on her YouTube channel, she has gathered almost 300k subscribers. Her content on those two platforms is quite different. On her Twitch account, she streams almost her daily stuff like workouts, random dancing, chilling in the pool, cooking, or just relaxing and chatting with the viewers. While on her YouTube channel Amouranth lately does only bikinis, costumes, dress, and other hauls. Even though her content has nothing to do with the cybersecurity topic, occasionally, in her streams, she talks about how important it is to be secure online and suggests getting a NordVPN.

Get the best possible deal!

Take Amouranth’s recommendation and increase your online security. Use her exclusive deal and get NordVPN with a 70% discount, secure yourself online for only $3.49/month with a 3-year plan.

Follow this link to apply the discount code automatically

If you want to secure all your devices, click here and download the software for iOS, or download it from Google store by clicking here.

Why should NordVPN be your choice?

This premium quality VPN is a perfect option when looking for securing yourself online and other extra perks. NordVPN has a strict no-logs policy that was confirmed by an independent audit, so you can be sure that it will log neither your usage nor connection logs. Moreover, it will help you to torrent securely with features like P2P servers and a kill-switch. Also, this premium VPN can overcome Netflix proxy blocks and unlock geo-restricted content for other well-known streaming service providers such as BBC, Hulu, and many more.

What is a Virtual Private Network?

VPN is a popular security software that allows users’ to use the internet securely and anonymously. It encrypts users’ internet traffic and can be compared to a secret encrypted tunnel that protects users’ information, which comes from devices to the internet. Even though it’s a security tool, it is also used for such purposes as streaming, torrenting, gaming, traveling, or using a wireless network in public places.
5 Important Rules in Website Design
By: Hao
Tags: Advertising, Vpn Service, Web Hosting, Web Design, VPN

When it comes to your website, extra attention should be paid to every minute detail to make sure it performs optimally to serve its purpose. Here are seven important rules of thumb to observe to make sure your website performs well.

1) Do not use splash pages

Splash pages are the first pages you see when you arrive at a website. They normally have a very beautiful image with words like “welcome” or “click here to enter”. In fact, they are just that — pretty vases with no real purpose. Do not let your visitors have a reason to click on the “back” button! Give them the value of your site up front without the splash page.

2) Do not use excessive banner advertisements

Even the least net savvy people have trained themselves to ignore banner advertisements so you will be wasting valuable website real estate. Instead, provide more valueable content and weave relevant affiliate links into your content, and let your visitors feel that they want to buy instead of being pushed to buy.

3) Have a simple and clear navigation

You have to provide a simple and very straightforward navigation menu so that even a young child will know how to use it. Stay away from complicated Flash based menus or multi-tiered dropdown menus. If your visitors don’t know how to navigate, they will leave your site.

4) Have a clear indication of where the user is

When visitors are deeply engrossed in browsing your site, you will want to make sure they know which part of the site they are in at that moment. That way, they will be able to browse relevant information or navigate to any section of the site easily. Don’t confuse your visitors because confusion means “abandon ship”!

5) Avoid using audio on your site

If your visitor is going to stay a long time at your site, reading your content, you will want to make sure they’re not annoyed by some audio looping on and on on your website. If you insist on adding audio, make sure they have some control over it — volume or muting controls would work fine.
MASQ Rewards Freedom Fighters!
Tags: Staking, Freedom, Software Development, VPN, Crypto

MASQ Discord Tip.cc Bot

$MASQ utility token is now supported on the tip.cc bot on Discord — this means $MASQ ERC20 can be sent and received on over 16,000 servers across 200,000 channels.

This week we launched the tip.cc bot on our Discord server to increase engagement with our members, introduce new users in a fun and friendly way, and encourage active users to provide value.

We envision it will have many uses in our server, including:

Admins can tip users for helping each other, adding value to the community discussion, participation on our social channels (Eg RT MASQ posts on twitter) & just general spreading the hard work MASQ is doing for Internet Freedom Rewarding users producing artwork or writeups Community trivia rewards, contests and other promotions Airdropping active users in our channels, including our testing channels Rewarding users in our voice channels, and AMA/Stage events on our server, plus much more as we all get used to using it together

To find and use the bot, check out our instructions channel in our discord. You can also find the tip.cc bot user and message it in DM for commands (use $help for more info)

Thanks for the suggestion by Discord admin Bananaman (too much fruit is bad for your teeth — but you will like Coordinape below)

The bot will soon be launched on Telegram as well, so we will keep an eye on development — well done to oknu and the team at tip.cc!
How to install Anon-surf on Kali Linux
By: Doğan Yarar
Tags: Privacy, Linux, VPN

Being anonymous is the first criteria during any penetration test in on this day. This is not an easy job, but there are many tools to do that!

Anonsurf allows routing of online traffic via the aid of the TOR network. It forces connections to the TOR channel and the i2p network.

In this tutorial we are going to learn how to install and use Anon-surf tools to become anonymous online and secure.

Let’s start by cloning Anon-surf from GitHub repository,

Open terminal as root and type the following command:

git clone https://github.com/Und3rf10w/kali-anonsurf

2. After cloning go to kali-anonsurf directory with command:

cd kali-anonsurf/

3. Then we need to install it by using the installer bash script:

sudo ./installer.sh

If you asking ” Do you want to Continue”, you need to press Y for yes.

This process will take time depending on our internet speed.

So now we just need to type: anonsurf start and it will hide our ip.

After completing this process we are all ready to run Anonsurf by using following command:

anonsurf start

5. After running anonsurf we can change our current Tor identity to another one by using following command:

anonsurf change

6. To check our current changed IP we use following command:
How to keep VPN proxy from accessing streaming content
Tags: Geoblocking, VPN, Content Filtering, Proxy

Intro

Many people these days consume their entertainment on the go. Hence, services that stream TV shows, movies and music through websites and apps are increasingly becoming the norm. This new way of providing entertainment is easily accessible to most people as all they need is a computer or a mobile device with Internet.

Bypassing geoblocking

However, folks in some regions may be denied access to certain contents due to licensing restrictions by the studios and content creators. Their locations are detected via IP geolocation and then blocked from accessing said contents. This is of course easy enough to circumvent as one can just Google how to bypass such geoblocking practices.

Often, it involves the use of a proxy server to mask the user’s actual location. The user could be in the United Kingdom but by using a proxy server located in the United States, they can get access to streaming contents that are only available to Americans.

Virtual Private Network proxies

As mentioned above, one can employ the use of proxy servers to appear to be in another location. Most people would go for the Virtual Private Network (VPN) proxies. They are easy to use and does not usually require the installation of additional software. VPNs generally come with data center IP addresses as they are servers hosted by data centers. Some VPNs though, utilize the residential ISP IP addresses as the proxy servers are being hosted on home computers.

Residential proxy servers are hard to detect

When a VPN server has a data center IP address range, it is relatively easy for a streaming content provider to detect and block if needed. It is when the VPN uses a residential IP address range that it gets more challenging to identify if that user is using a proxy server. After all, residential IP address ranges are used by normal home users so the provider runs the risk of blocking a legitimate subscriber.

IP2Proxy PX10 is able to detect residential proxies

Fortunately for streaming providers, the IP2Proxy PX10 database contains a daily updated list of proxies, including the elusive residential proxies. Just compare the user’s IP address against the PX10 data and any proxy servers (including residential) can be detected and blocked from receiving contents. For a large streaming provider, a PX10 Site license means the data can be installed and used by an unlimited number of machines in that organization. The fixed pricing for the PX10 Site license makes it an economical and valuable tool to block unauthorized access to geoblocked contents.

Read more about the IP2Proxy PX10 database.
OpenVPN with Two-Factor authentication
By: Roman Vynar
Tags: Openvpn, 2fa, VPN, MFA

This article explains how to setup 2FA with OpenVPN server and how it’s supposed to work with VPN clients.

OpenVPN is one of the most popular open-source VPN server software. Nowadays when security plays a critical role we try to protect various authorization services by implementing multi-factor authentication. This introduces “something you have” in addition to “something you know” to verify your identity. In case of VPN, it is notably important.

Assuming you have already got OpenVPN server<>clients working and you just need to add 2FA capability. Let’s say we want to ask for OTP (one-time password) at least once a week, when started using a different client, when coming from a different IP or whenever user fully disconnects. Laptop sleep/awake is not considered as full disconnect unless your VPN client does this explicitly.

Client config

The client should do password auth with static challenge using the following options:

auth-user-pass

static-challenge "Enter your OTP" 0

Then the client software such as Tunnelblick, Viscosity will prompt for an OTP code after the regular username/password:

Server config

Server config should include the following options:

# User auth script.

auth-user-pass-verify /etc/openvpn/openvpn_otp_auth.py via-file

script-security 2

tmp-dir /dev/shm

# Allow to reconnect automatically w/o triggering a static-challenge prompt for OTP.

# Generate auth-token for 12h on every control channel/connection renegotiation.

auth-gen-token 43200

# Perform data channel renegotiation every 1h (default), so the server can validate auth-token.

reneg-sec 3600

Note, it’s just an excerpt related to 2FA and you need other options to employ a secure setup, TLS authentication etc. The script openvpn_otp_auth.py mentioned is the key item and we have an example for you below. However, at first let’s see how things work together.

How it works

There are 2 channels established when user session is created: control channel (CC) and data channel(DC).

openvpn_otp_auth.py is run only on CC renegotiation which is triggered on specific events listed on the picture. Only from the script we can do all kinds of session validation, password and OTP code checks.

DC renegotiation doesn’t involve the script run and only checks auth-token expiration and when expired it triggers CC renegotiation when our script is run.

Python script

Here is a sample of openvpn_otp_auth.py written in Python: https://github.com/roman-vynar/random-scripts/blob/main/openvpn_otp_auth_sample.py

You can get a clue what’s done there and use it on your own. The script does a password check, OTP code check, VPN client version check and IP validation.

Such setup should work great with Tunnelblick (however you need to disable “Disconnect when computer goes to sleep” in Settings > Advanced) and Viscosity VPN clients.

Thanks for reading!
Use Dj’s Aviation exclusive NordVPN deal and increase your security online!
By: Frank Ponton
Tags: VPN, Offers, Discount, Coupon

Dj’s Aviation is a popular YouTube channel that has more than 280k subscribers. Dan is the sole member of the Dj’s Aviation, whose passion for Aviation started over 14 years ago when he was only 19 years old. When he was younger he would have regular trips to the airports and this was what hooked him. Since he had such a huge passion for such a quite rare topic, he decided to create a YouTube channel and share it with others and fuel their passion for Aviation too. In his videos, Dan talks about various aviation news, analysis, shares his opinion, etc. Although Dan doesn’t have to do anything with cybersecurity, he still takes care of the viewers and shares how important it is to consider such factors. For that reason, Dj’s Aviation YouTube channel recommends using NordVPN and starting surfing online securely.

The best possible deal is waiting for you!

Take Dj’s Aviation recommendation and take care of your security online. Use the exclusive deal and get NordVPN with a 70% discount, secure yourself online for only $3.49/month with a 3-year plan.

Follow this link to apply the discount code automatically

If you want to secure all your devices, you can click here and download the software for iOS, or if you want to download it from Google store, you can do it by clicking here.

Why should you get NordVPN?

This premium quality VPN is the right choice when you’re looking for increasing your online security and other perks. First let’s talk about VPN’s primary purpose — security. NordVPN is based in Panama, meaning it doesn’t have to stick to mandatory data retention laws; therefore, it offers strict no-logs policy and stores neither usage nor connection logs. Regarding other benefits, it has features like P2P servers and a kill-switch that will allow you to torrent securely. Also, it’s capable of overcoming Netflix proxy blocks and works with other popular streaming service providers like Hulu, BBC, Amazon Prime, and many others. Moreover, it has over 5k servers in more than 60 countries and offers 6 simultaneous connections.

What is a Virtual Private Network?

VPN is a well-known online security tool that helps users to protect their internet traffic by encrypting it. That way, users can not only surf online securely but anonymously too. The virtual private network can be compared to a secret (or to be more specific — encrypted) tunnel that protects users’ info, which comes from the device to the internet. It also helps to avoid such intruders as hackers, the internet service provider, and even the government. Moreover, VPN is used for cases like gaming, torrenting, streaming, and securely using a wireless network in public places.
I Almost Got Fired for Choosing React in Our Enterprise App
By: Razvan Dragomir
Tags: Programming, JavaScript, Angular, React, Startup

I Almost Got Fired for Choosing React in Our Enterprise App

Photo by Samuel Bourke on Unsplash.

It’s summer 2018. My boss, Adrian, asks me to join him in a Skype call with James, the CTO of a big Canadian company.

While getting to know each other, I find out that James is a smart guy with big ambition. His vision is to migrate a massive desktop WPF application to the web in the cloud.

I like his friendly attitude and I can tell that he is eager to collaborate with us. He already has a development partner in India, but they lack experience in building web applications.

Adrian and I follow the standard approach for this situation. We have a few more calls and then we start the discovery phase in which we try to grasp the big picture and find the non-functional requirements. These are the main points we should focus on:

A big application — more than 220 pages, most of which are maintenance screens and around 20% of which are highly customized. Display large amounts of data, especially in grids with all kinds of features: grouping, column freezing, row expand, custom columns, you name it. Modular architecture allowing multiple teams to work on the project at the same time. Multi-year project. New features will be added over time. No offline support is required. Quick onboarding for new team members, especially for the .NET developers working on the old desktop application.

As an architect, my role is to create a technical proposal that contains the architecture details, approach, roadmap, guidelines, and most importantly, the technology stack that will be used.

James mentioned multiple times that he wants a future-proof technology, and he is not in favor of Angular because it has a bad reputation after AngularJS got deprecated.

I had already successfully implemented a few small and medium-sized projects using both Angular and React, so I am not really attached to any of them. I feel that either could do the job.

For this project, I pick React with Redux… which I will regret two years later.

We assign a team of three developers to work on the proof of concept, and after two months, it’s a success. Super-responsive user interface, blazing-fast build time, and high development speed. Everyone is happy.
I Fired One of My Programmers 15 Days After Hiring Them
Tags: Data Science, Programming, Software Development, Technology, Startup

Why I Fired Him

The problem started from day one, but our CTO cut him some slack. As he was new, we thought he would need some time to catch up with our project.

After three days, our CTO told me that something was not right about him. He could not do simple tasks. He did not understand the basics of our project. Even our junior programmer could do it easily.

So, we decided to give him more time.

After ten days, he was assigned a simple task with some junior developer. He couldn’t guide them and was getting uncomfortable in the office.

Junior programmers also complained about him to our CTO.

Then we started to realize he lied on his resume. We didn’t tell him this, but I think he understood.

Then after 15 days, I called him into my office and told him we had to let him go for some reason. I sensed that he actually felt relieved!

I felt bad for him and tried to help him

Though he lied and we could prove it easily but we didn’t because it was part of our fault in the hiring process and we didn’t want to disrespect him!

It was still hard for me to fire him. I tried to help him as much as possible I could. I offered him a junior developer position but it was not easy for him for self-respect. I understood that.

My CTO discussed in detail with him about his lackings and how he could improve his skills. He also gave him some good resources for improving his skills.

Now we have added another layer in the hiring process to avoid this type of event in the future.
The Definition of Insanity (In The Product World)
By: Sean Boyce
Tags: Product Management, Focus, Product Development, Startup, Product Design

There are countless pitfalls to watch out for when trying to build a successful product business. Some are obvious, while others most certainly are not. One of the least obvious pitfalls to watch out for is something called the capability trap.

Have you ever found yourself trying a product strategy that seemed to work previously that for whatever reason now just isn’t?

If you have, then you’ve experienced the capability trap.

The reason why we fall into the capability trap is because we become comfortable using the product strategy that has worked for us before. However, simply because a product strategy has worked for us before doesn’t mean that it will work for us in the future (even on the same product). Remember, the problem our product solves is a moving target.

Adding to this problem, is the fact that the unknown is scary and problems that we see for the first time are the hardest to solve. However, if you’re to succeed in building a successful product business, you must get comfortable solving problems you haven’t seen before with solutions that you haven’t tried previously.

So now that we know what the capability trap is, what can we do to avoid it?

Get comfortable with brutal honesty

You must never jeopardize your ability to learn valuable insight from your target market. To put yourself and your team in a position to experience these valuable lessons you must foster an environment that is comfortable processing direct feedback from your target market.

Your customers are going to give you feedback that challenges your product strategy. This is a good thing and means you are on the right track. Your success will ultimately come from constantly refining your product strategy to make it stronger. Don’t shy away from these experiences, embrace them.

Treasure hunt for insight

Make learning a game for you and your team. Encourage team members to hunt for data that challenges your product strategy. If a pattern is ultimately found, use it to update your views and create a new product strategy. Share this as a win with your team. Make this process core to your company culture.

Build a company culture around learning

Learning new information that challenges your product strategy can be scary for you and your team members, but it shouldn’t be. Develop a process that is core to your company culture for using this information to improve.

Learning about new problems experienced by your target market should be primary among your list of objectives for improving your product strategy. Communicate this vision throughout your company to make sure everyone is on the same page.

Want to know what you can do to get out of a capability trap that is affecting your product business? Let’s talk it through, email me at sean@nxtstep.io or visit us on the web at NxtStep.

To get product stories like this one delivered right to your inbox — sign up for my emails or subscribe to my YouTube channel.
A sniff and some geekery
By: Steven Elliott
Tags: Entrepreneur, Lean Startup, Pricing Strategy, Founder Stories, Startup

Let’s get straight to it. The most uplifting part of the week was my first proper meeting with an investor. That’s a stone cold investor with no prior knowledge of the product or familiarity with my credentials (or lack of them) and background. The meeting came from that LinkedIn post I mentioned a couple of weeks back, so I guess there was a mutual connection at least, but nothing more.

Regardless, it was convivial and positive. We talked through the product and confirmed it could do the kinds of things the (potential) investor had deduced from the teaser and presentation. It stayed relatively high level — we spent just over an hour together over lunch — but I think that was enough for him to judge that it merited being shared with his fellow angels. I got the impression that between them, covering the entire raise wouldn’t be an issue, provided there’s sufficient enthusiasm. I’m sure there will be hurdles to overcome yet, but I should at least get an indication of further interest next week. Gulp.

Under construction

A chunk of the week was spent putting finishing touches to a website for testing purposes. I’ve pasted the entire thing in below. It’s a big old file so hopefully it doesn’t slow this page down too much, but I thought it would be a nice thing to save for posterity.

Of course there’s more I could have done to improve it, but at some point you just have to publish and be damned. Right now the original Race.Radio website a.k.a. holding page, is still live, but in a week or two it’s going to look a lot more like what you see below.

Anyway, the reason for getting this done was so I could start getting some broader feedback via an online survey (feel free to partake if you’re a cyclist and you see this before the end of November 2019). The most interesting bit of this has been the price sensitivity analysis using a model called van Westendorp’s Price Sensitivity Meter.

In short, you ask respondents to answer four questions:

At what price do you think this product is a bargain? At what price do you think it’s getting expensive, but you’d still consider it? At what price is it getting so expensive you would no longer consider it? At what price do you think it’s so inexpensive that you’d question the quality?

Then you plot them on a graph to get something that looks like this (based on 14 early responses).
#foundersfriday: Fleetonomy and Porsche
By: Porsche Ag
Tags: Transportation, Data, Israel, Fleet Management, Startup

#foundersfriday: Fleetonomy and Porsche

What’s the background for this collaboration?

Porsche strives to create a unique experience for their passengers — whether in their own car or a Porsche Drive rental. Meeting the own quality and service standards and following the demand for service in real-time calls for a combination of advanced data-driven technologies. The key to success for a mobility service is a data-driven demand forecast.

Fleetonomy provides end-to-end mobility platforms that enable automakers, car rental companies, transit agencies, and mobility service providers to launch and manage efficient and profitable new-mobility services by increasing utilization rates and improving overall efficiency. Being part of the innovation platform STARTUP AUTOBAHN Program 4, which started in April 2018, the Israel-based startup had the chance to combine Silicon Valley’s tech know-how with German engineering skills and strong partners to work on a joint project during the three-month program. In July 2018, they presented the results of their collaboration at the EXPO Day in Stuttgart.

Fleetonomy Dashboard

Why do Porsche and Fleetonomy work together?

Fleetonomy’s platform was built with a utilization-first approach, with the goal of helping mobility operators to deal with one of the biggest challenges in the mobility market today — providing efficient new-mobility services that are also profitable.

The AI-based mobility platforms are powered by demand prediction engines and algorithmic rebalancing technology that enables a unique one fleet — multiple services approach. The tools can predict what customers want, how they will use the vehicles, how far they will travel and how likely it is that they will return the vehicle on time and in a good condition. This allows each vehicle to be assigned to the service that is most profitable and ensures that every vehicle in the fleet is constantly utilized.

“Efficient processes and intelligent fleet management are the key success factors to provide a premium mobility experience for our customers. Fleetonomy’s expertise has enabled us to gain important insights for the optimization of our fleets. Based on their data analytics we were already able to reduce cost and also to improve our ­fleet planning process to better serve our customers’ expectations. We are very pleased that this project has set the basis for a close cooperation, which can give us new impulses for the development of innovative mobility services,” states Matthias Münch, Manager Mobility Services at Porsche AG.
GSD Participates in 16th Annual Grant Competition in Perm
By: Derek Distenfield
Tags: Russia, Tech Startups, AI, Technology, Startup

This article was originally published on GSDVS.com.

On November 14, GSD had the honor of attending the 16th annual grant competition for investors in Perm. The event brought together technologists, startups, political leaders, and R&D gurus from across Russia.

“Any event that brings together so many talented and motivated people is a great event,” said GSD Venture Studios CEO and Co-founder Gary Fowler. “GSD is proud to have attended, and Derek and I were impressed with the caliber of the contestants.”

“Russia has a very promising startup scene, and most investors in the US don’t know about it,” said GSD Venture Studios COO and Co-founder Derek Distenfield. “This event proved that innovation is alive and well in Russia.”

GSD Venture Studios travels the world inviting resilient teams to establish partnerships that ensure organizations grow the right way, without games or gimmicks. Unlike traditional investors, GSD executives take senior operational (often co-founder) roles in these companies, capitalizing on their trusted reputation, experiences and network to drive explosive growth.

Derek Distenfield currently travels the world investing in resilient teams bold enough to #GoGlobal as the COO and Co-founder of GSD Venture Studios. He has blazed high impact careers in startups, corporate, and nonprofit organizations for over 15 years. Known for bringing revolutionary new ideas to organizations that deliver explosive growth and for being efficient with limited resources, Derek’s high tolerance for ambiguity and complexity makes him an invaluable source of inspiration and advice for growth-oriented startups and founders.
3 Lessons From Guy Kawazaki: On how to start a business the right way
By: Imane Naji
Tags: Entrepreneurship, Guy Kawasaki, Startup, How To

Photo by Jukan Tateisi on Unsplash

I recently took a class at Skillshare called “The art of the start: Turning ideas into high-growth business” by Guy Kawasaki, and it blew my mind.

Why?

Because a few years ago, when I started my company, I was so obsessed with my marketplace: how to find my users and engage them, how to charge them, whether I should hire or not…, that taking the time to start things right didn’t actually occur to me. I was so focused on the details, I couldn’t see the big picture. This might seem obvious (once you’ve read them of course), but most entrepreneurs, including myself, don’t take the time to consider those three crucial steps before getting into the water.

1. Make Meaning

The essence of entrepreneurship is making meaning, but many people start companies to make money and sadly fail before they even begin. According to Guy, the ultimate goal of a company is to make the world a better place “if a company makes meaning it will certainly make money along the way” (That’s probably one of the reasons why he invests only in products/services he will use). And by making meaning, he means increasing the quality of life; what better example than Macintosh, Guy certifies that back in the days, they were not motivated by making money, but by changing their users’ lives. Which they did, without a single doubt.

Another way to making meaning is “right a wrong,” literally trying to make the world a better place (e.g., fighting poverty, climate change,…).

A third way to making meaning is by preventing something good to end.

The idea here is clear, if you don’t have at least one of these three motivations, you should probably ask yourself the right questions before you jump in.

And speaking of which…

2. Ask Questions

“Therefore, what ?” is a powerful question to ask to define your direction as a business.

An excellent example to this is how by getting smarter and cheaper, cellphones started getting used as laptops and users wanted to get access to data through apps; Users ultimately needed a service where they can get all the info about apps (reviews, which one to download and use,…) and Boom! App stores were created.

So basically, by asking the question, “Therefore what?” you walk down a process and come to an idea that will eventually lead you to create your product/company.

Here are some other good questions you can ask:

- Why don’t we do it (serving a niche that already exists,…)? - Why i want to start a company? - What would the world be missing if my compagny didn’t existed? - Why not try this ?…

3. Make a Mantra :

Not to be confused with a slogan or a mission statement, a mantra is nothing but the answer to the question: Why should I exist?

When starting your company, you should define 2 or 3 words that capture the essence of your organization, that tell the world what you’re standing for.

Ready? GO!
How Much is the Frozen Food Industry Worth?
By: Latest Industry Trends
Tags: Frozen Food, Food And Beverage, Food, Frozen, Startup

The global frozen food market size is projected to reach USD 376.95 billion by 2025 registering a CAGR of 4.3%, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Changing food preferences as a result of rising number of working individuals and Hectic work life schedule have resulted in an increased demand for convenience food and ready meals. This is expected to be the key factor augmenting the market growth. Moreover, high demand for frozen meat due to increasing consumption of meat and meat-based products is also expected to propel the market growth. In terms of revenue, frozen meat product segment is projected to ascend at a CAGR of 4.4% from 2019 to 2025.

Manufacturers are focusing on incorporating new technologies and customized solutions to meet the changing demands of consumers, which is expected to impel the market growth over the forecast period. In addition, using big data analytics to understand the supply value chain, consumer traits, quality criteria, and food safety is expected to help manufacturers widen their customer base. However, most of these products are prepared using partially hydrogenated oil that contains harmful trans fats. Frequent consumption of frozen food increases the risk of cardiac arrest and high blood pressure. Thus, the health concerns related to the consumption of these foods may hinder market growth to some extent.

Further key findings from the study suggest:
SXSW Nov 15 Deadlines Extended!!!
By: Hugh Forrest
Tags: SXSW, Creativity, Innovation, Founders, Startup

SXSW Nov 15 Deadlines Extended!!!

If you have procrastinated on completing your application for two of the biggest competitions for SXSW 2020, then you now have a little more time to finalize your entry from

The Friday, November 15 entry deadline for SXSW Pitch has been extended to 11:59 pm Pacific Time on Sunday, November 17. SXSW Pitch showcases the world’s most innovative startups!

The Friday, November 15 entry deadline for the SXSW Interactive Innovation Awards has also been extended to 11:59 pm Pacific Time on Sunday, November 17. The SXSW Interactive Innovation Awards honor the year’s best digital projects.

One important SXSW deadline that definitely will NOT be extended is Friday, November 22. Buy your badge before 11:59 pm on this day to save $375 on the walkup rate for the 2020 event.

Hugh Forrest serves as Chief Programming Officer at SXSW, the world’s most unique gathering of creative professionals. He also tries to write at least four paragraphs per day on Medium. These posts often cover tech-related trends; other times they focus on books, pop culture, sports and other current events.
Genially: The startup that allows the creation of interactive resources on a website
By: Alejandro Brega
Tags: Genially, Startup

Genially is a startup that has created a tool through which the user can merge the power of the online world (internet, social networks, etc.) with design and office automation. This startup offers very broad content that ranges from input and output animations, to continuous and hover; It also converts creations into animated content in minutes. It is a way to enrich the content with visual effects.

Right here and right now

It currently has more than 1000 templates, thousands of resources, and more than 2.3 million users in all countries of the world. The startup is used by large corporations and startups, also through media or universities.

About Genially

Genially has been accelerated by the Founder Institute, and was subsequently selected as one of the 40 companies with the greatest growth projection of its entire international ecosystem. Following this, after Wayra’s investment, she was mentorized, supported and incubated by them.

The road to success

The company has investors such as Wayra, Caixa Capital Risk or Lánzame. Genially has also made a first round of financing in which he got 300,000 euros accompanied by Enisa. Later, in his second round, he achieved about 900,000 euros accompanied by Soprea. Also, last year they won the S.XXI Entrepreneur Award at the national level of la Caixa.

With Genially, a person without programming knowledge no longer needs a developer to create interactive infographics, presentations or microsites, which saves him economically.
Free CPU on EOS: Newdex Creates New Solution For Traders
Tags: Eos, Cpu, Decentralized, Decentralized Exchange, Startup

Over the past two weeks, the EOS community has been struggling with the ability to do transactions on the EOS mainnet, due to a new token mining mechanism.

The new token, EIDOS, is “mined” by transferring EOS tokens to a smart contract which then sends the EOS tokens back, along with EIDOS tokens.

This massive increase in mining EIDOS tokens has created CPU congestion, in which regular transactions now require enormous amounts of EOS to be staked to CPU in order for transactions to go through.

The whole EOS community has been wondering,

“Is there anything we can do right now to alleviate the CPU congestion issue?”

Throughout the CPU congestion issues, and other things that have been happening on EOS lately, Newdex https://newdex.vip/ has been transparently announcing what problem is going on and issues statements that explain what they’re doing to fix it. If you’re in EOS right now, all the focus is on CPU. While there are fixes coming, a few solutions have been cropping up, and Newdex recently created a free CPU solution for traders as outlined below.

Here’s the new solution for free CPU that I successfully tested today:

I used the mobile Token Pocket wallet and went to the “discover” page in Token Pocket. I found Newdex and then clicked the box that says “CPU free pending order”:

Then I clicked on the button ‘Buy’ after filling in my order details. My trade went through even though I have close to zero CPU. Newdex gives everyone 3 free CPU trades per day on mobile, no matter how much CPU you have staked. Newdex VIPs get more free CPU, based on their account levels as shown below:

This is only for mobile right now. I used an account that has close to zero EOS staked to test this free CPU Newdex trades feature. It does work as long as you’re on mobile. Desktop doesn’t work right now for this free CPU solution. Mind you, this free CPU solution is only for those doing trades on Newdex. If you want to do normal transfers, use bloks.io.

More details can be found here: https://newdex.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360035789732-Place-Order-with-Free-CPU-for-Newdex-VIP

The CPU congestion is certainly challenging for everyone. As I learn about more solutions to this, I will let you know in future articles.