TechHub

Liam is responsible for running events here at TechHub.

As an experienced producer/production manager he has a well-earned reputation for a creative and dedicated approach to getting stuff done.

As a recent addition to the TechHub fold, this last year has seen him dividing his time between studying for an MA in Coaching and Mentoring Practice at Oxford Brookes University and working on two very distinct but equally ambitious events: Social Media Week and MusicConnex.

Liam previously managed BBC music and spoken word content for BBC Worldwide collaborating with and/or delivering to artist management, record labels, BBC production teams, and clients in traditional and digital media.

Liam is rapidly immersing himself at TechHub in order to help it continue to be the place to come for start-ups and entrepreneurs in London. 

http://techhubmonetizingtablets.eventbrite.com/

One year on from the launch of the iPad, and with a whole slew of competitors on the market now trying to chase Apple, sales forecasts for 2012 are already upwards of 80 million units.  

But from a content owners' perspective, what has happened already as a result of this explosive new market, and what can we expect in the next 12 months? Is anyone making money from content? And how is the hardware driving content development?

We will be hearing from key players in this field - leading publishers making the transition to digital publishing; startup content retailers exploring new business models for traditional 'book' content; and billing platform specialists.

We'll be hearing what’s been learned so far and what the expectations are for the coming year. We hope you’ll join in the conversation!

Our Contributors

Eric Huang has worked in publishing for over 15 years. His first ‘real job’ was as an editor at Disney Publishing in LA. He then spent six years in Australia, creating media tie-in books. Eric is now publishing director at Penguin Children’s Media and Entertainment division in London where he publishes books, apps and other storytelling platforms behind entertainment brands.

Mawuli Ladzepko is the Director of ExpressReads, a start-up with a new ebook rental platform. The platform gives readers the ability to access a wide variety of ebooks on a temporary basis - something we know consumers want, and publishers are trying to keep up with. ExpressReads titles can be rented via a range of devices including the iPad, iPhone, Android tablets and smartphones.

Martin Harris SVP Strategic Accounts at Bango, is responsible for managing the long term relationships with Bango's key customers in the USA, Europe and Asia Pacific regions. Working with global app stores, online publishers and network operators his role covers business planning and strategic sales. His 11 years experience in the mobile industry and wealth of knowledge in the mobile content and payments space means he often speaks at industry events. Previously, as Sales Director at iii.co.uk (Interactive Investor International plc) Martin helped drive the company to a leading market position and through a subsequent IPO in February 2000. Martin spent 12 months with AT&T Labs, heading global new technology sales. Before that, he was at Sun Microsystems for 10 years, and has also held senior roles at NCR and Torch Computers in the USA and Canada

Glynn Hayward is the Creative Director of Complete Control, a BAFTA award winning Independent Children's Interactive Production Company. During the last 12 years Glynn has directed and produced many memorable interactive resources for broadcasters, publishers and children's charities to assist children in learning through having fun online. Glynn's creative drive has also seen Complete Control launch its own kids animated brand on the App Store in the form of a series of funny seaside games. Glynn also sits on the Children's Committee for BAFTA.

About out sponsor...

Pearson is a global leader in education, business information and book publishing. The company’s brands include: the Financial Times, Penguin, DK, Prentice Hall, Longman, Poptropica, Edexcel, VUE, MyLabs, eCollege, Fronter and many others, with digital products and services already comprising one third of turnover. For more information on how TechHub startups can partner with Pearson please contact Juan Lopez-Valcarcel. 

 

Here's some helpful advice from our friends at Crunch:

We've put together a short video giving advice on common problems experienced by tech startups and Crunch's experiences. Michael van Swaaij (former chairman of Skype and investor in Crunch) is the main focus. Michael discusses how Crunch overcame issues and gives his advice to others on the following: 

-          Securing funding for a start-up

-          Developing a meaningful online brand and delivering a scalable service

-          Finding the right team - recruiting the right people

-          How do you get your idea off the ground? 

Here's the video:

I see TechHub as a huge opportunity to grow with a company and to develop my own person. The environment here has been more than welcoming - my role has been just four weeks so far but I feel like I have been here for months already - and I'm excited to see where this takes me and how I can add to TechHub! 

TechHub Members, want to promote your startup? Launching a new product? Do you have expertise and accomplishments to share with your community? TechHub wants to hear all about it! Here is the basic blog post layout that we're looking for:


-Your name
-Your role
-Company name
-URL
-Twitter names
-How many people in the company?
-Where are you based?
-Description of your company/product (100 words max)
-What have you been working on lately?
-What challenges have you faced?
-What sort of benefits have you found from being connected with others in the tech community?
-What news or issues being discussed lately or in the press are most affecting or interesting you and why/how?
-What should we be looking out for from your company/product?
-Best piece of advice for entrepreneurs?

Answer as many relevant questions as you can and add any additional info as you see fit. Remember we're promoting YOU to our community so be savvy and add some of your own flair. If you're ready to post or have any questions or suggestions feel free to email me.

Happy Blogging!

Hello TechHub Community,

My name is Miguel Garcia and I'm working on communications and social media here at TechHub. I’m originally from Texas but much of my family is from Mexico.

I have been here for a little over a month but already feel very welcomed at TechHub. Y’all been great!

I’m currently doing a master in international relations and integrating the power of social media technologies in my studies. You can read more about my research on my blog. 

Before this I completed a bachelor in political science and worked in a few government agencies in San Antonio, Texas and Washington D.C. In D.C I had the awesome opportunity to intern within the National Archives and White House, as a correspondent assistant where I had the opportunity to rummage through President Obama's mail.

I have always strived to bring a great aptitude and attitude in all my work. Additionally, I love working with people and involving myself in unconventional projects to improve society. Here at TechHub I have learned a lot about the tech and startup industry. My hope is to keep contributing to and augmenting the TechHub community whether here or around the world.

I truly believe in the power of technology in changing lives and finding the right individuals who believe the same thing and are working on similar projects.

If you ever need any help or have suggestions for TechHub feel free to email me: miguel@techhub.com
 
If I haven’t already I hope to meet you soon!

TechHub is throwing open its doors this Friday 22nd July and we'd love you to come along!

We'll be showing off some of the amazing companies that help make TechHub the special place it is, and how it's become a key place for Technology startups, both from London and Europe.

We'll be showcasing how we're making the most of technology, now and in the future and testing out out Virgin Media's super-fast 1.5Gb broadband trial, which is 240 times faster than the UK average speed!

The day will start with a special two hour breakfast from 9am (this is ONLY for TechHub Members and invited guests).

At 11am the doors of TechHub will be thrown open to the anyone to come and meet with our Member companies and enjoy food and networking until 2pm.

To attend, please RSVP to techhubday@virginmedia.com and copy in liam@techhub.com with your name and details. We look forward to seeing you there!

(Please note there are limited places for the breakfast and the public showcase, so if you're interested, please email us ASAP).

 

This blog post is part of our weekly featured TechHub Member series. This week, Jason DaPonte of The Swarm talks about their new product TubeTap.

We're sure everyone has experienced this. You jump on the tube and expect to be somewhere at a certain time. Then the 'unexpected' happens. Signal failures, fire alerts, station closures, you've heard it all. The tube has yet again made you late to your next meeting. Well starting today you might actually have something to smile about if you happen to have a handy app in your pocket.

My name is Jason DaPonte, TechHub member and  Managing Director of THE SWARM. We'll be launching a new mobile app called TubeTap today. Using TFL open data and GPS, TubeTap will use an auto submit process that will help get you refunds from TFL when they make you more than 15 minutes late. We think this is a winner from a tech perspective and also from an activist point of view.

One of my goals when I set up this company was to be able to own and launch my own products. With the launch of TubeTap I've realized that dream. When I first conceived of this app I didn't think building it was going to be a massive challenge but it ended up being much more complicated than I imagined. Fortunately, I had partners from Turn On Digital that worked as our development team. Finding a good partner to work with was the hardest part of the project, but it's worth waiting till you have the right team in place.

TubeTap is not the first tube refund app. You're probably thinking about other Tube apps of this kind. However, TubeTap is different because it contains a level of automation that we're hoping blows the competition out of the water and really demonstrates how you can use public data to create cool services. We hope that this new product will be a great example of using open data to empower citizens. 

If you're impressed by this and think our team might be able to help with your new product or startup, drop us a line or come say hi when you're at TechHub. Make sure to join us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

And don't forget to check out TubeTap!

TechHub is looking for bright, friendly and enthusiastic volunteers to help us out at a variety of our evening events.

Events are at the heart of TechHub’s business where we inform and bring together our members and the wider Tech community, and help drive one of the UK’s most creative and dynamic industries. You’ll be supporting the Event Manager in setting up and resetting TechHub’s office space before/after the event, keep things running smoothly throughout the event, as well as things like handing around mics for Q&As and welcoming and checking in attendees. The work is straightforward but essential to our events’ success so you’ll need to be reliable and willing to dive in. In depth knowledge of the industry is not essential but a keen interest would be a great start.

In return for one or two evenings (typically 4 hours each) per week you’ll get access to things like:

• TechHub events
• TechHub members drinks
• Use of TechHub co-working space

This is a fantastic opportunity to get a taste of working within a thriving industry, and as an expanding company there may be opportunities to get more involved with us in the future. In addition, you’ll get to mix with loads of interesting entrepreneurs and other industry people and if you’re a bit good you’ll get a reference from TechHub!

 So, if you’re interested please…

• email your CV to liam@techhub.com
• put “TechHub Events Volunteer” in the subject line
• include a short covering email explaining why you’re interested
  
• briefly detail any relevant experience
• let us know how many evenings per week you could typically offer

Thank you for your interest. We look forward to reviewing your application!


See you @TechHub