August 2010
1 post
6 tags
Passion is undeniable.
“Nothing great in this world has ever been accomplished without passion.”
Meet Dave and Mike, Co-Founders of Camp Leadership. They realized there was a problem in the camping industry. Whether working for the Y, a private camp, or a camp associated with a church or town, there was an information void.
So, Dave and Mike decided to bring something different to the camping world. Their...
July 2010
2 posts
Introducing Beautiful Backgrounds
When a photo book is made, it should be made with passion and creativity. The photos and the stories are the only essential elements to creating a photo book. What would you say the next most important thing would be?
Backgrounds can make a book look like a work of art. Backgrounds can make the photos pop. Backgrounds can even help you express mood or personality within your book. We have a...
June 2010
1 post
May 2010
2 posts
Is 30,000 feet dangerous?
Business owners spend a lot of time thinking about their business. Sometimes this causes them to become myopic and miss the big picture. That’s where the phrase, “Let’s look at this from 30,000 feet” comes from. Usually a company does this when they feel they’re getting too close to their business.
I think the view from 30,000 feet can be dangerous too. Unless you...
Amazing FREE Program for Summer Camps
We like to say, “If you have a group, you have a Group Story”. One of the best examples of a group that I can think of is kids at a Summer Camp. As a camper, you know that your time at camp is like a completely different world, and so different from your day to day life. That week, those memories, should be with you forever. With Group Story, they can be. You can hear and see the...
April 2010
1 post
March 2010
2 posts
WatchWelcome to the next generation of photo books. We hope you enjoy this short demonstration.
"Startup Life"
Our work day started before sunrise today. Well, one of us started working before sunrise. The other (not saying names) unofficially clocked in at 742AM …but who’s counting. It was the typical super busy day with extra emails, planning, and responsibility. At 1030AM we walked right by the pool at the resort in Palm Springs (70 degrees and sunny- old guys sipping pina coladas),...
February 2010
4 posts
Which do you have: 12 Characteristics of...
1. Determination
2. Innovation
3. Frugality
4. Experimentation
5. Eccentricity
6. Simplicity
7. Consumer-focused
8. Iconoclastic
9. Ambition
10. Focus
11. Opportunism
12. Flexibility
Great article:
http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2EJNwt/www.focus.com/fyi/small-business/12-characteristics-successful-internet-entrepreneurs/
Build for the beginner - then rebuild for the...
There comes a point in time when you have been designing your application for so long that the littlest things slip by. It’s not your fault. When you are working on something so often, thinking about it day in, and day out, you are attached. Not just emotionally attached, your eyes and brain are attached too. When you are testing your own application, you know what every icon means, where...
“In the face of change, the competent are...
Seth Godin, who always proves thought provoking to me, wrote this article in 1999 for Fast Company magazine. ( Change Agent – Issue 31 ). This was almost ten years ago and I think his argument made sense then and it makes sense now.
Seth writes:
Oh, there’s one other thing: As we’ve turned human beings into competent components of the giant network known as American business, we’ve also erected...
January 2010
3 posts
Meet John Long
Like many startups, the “get to know each other” and planning meetings happen in a coffee shop. On Monday, we met with John Long, who specializes in graphic design, Ruby, and JavaScript. John has recently worked on another local, group-based startup, MemberHub. We are excited to have John help put the finishing touches on our version 1 app, to launch in February.
Click here for...
Athletic Business Conference
In early December, Group Story attended our most successful trade show ever - the Athletic Business Conference in Orlando, FL. We were able to bring the Group Story “story” to athletic directors of schools, community centers, military bases and leagues. But we also found “Group Story Evangelists” among keynote speakers and guests who have some great plans for the...
December 2009
1 post
Are you direction challenged?
If you find yourself on a detour, at least enjoy the scenery.
The journey is as important as the destination.
Those quotes seem to be written by people who are “direction challenged” and are trying to make the best of a bad situation. Trying to stay calm as it finally dawns on them that they made a wrong turn two hours ago. Yes, I have made a wrong turn or two, staying on what I...
November 2009
6 posts
S.I.M.P.L.E. = startup success.
Save…time and money by building a minimum viable product.
Improve…features through user feedback.
Master…the operation and usability of tools that are completely necessary to your mission.
Prioritize…the features that are most important, and only add more features as you realize users can handle them.
Limit…a user’s freedom. If they don’t need it, don’t give it to them in version one.
...
1 tag
Focused on the finish line.
In the startup world there isn’t much that is black and white. A lot of times, entrepreneurs will find themselves in uncharted territory, but still working frantically to accomplish as many tasks as possible in a given day in order to push their product or service along. It seems every time a to-do list gets its’ final check mark, another list just as big (or bigger) is being...
1 tag
Hard work gets noticed. (It's not a myth!)
Publicity is great. It’s one of those things that deep down everyone wants. From my experience, publicity rarely falls into your lap… unless you work your tail off.
Hard work may be defined differently from person to person. We have found ourselves working hard in a lot of different ways. Our equation to recent success:
“Pumping out content about the journey of our start-up,...
2 tags
You are the limiting factor.
As you’re reading this, take a look around. You might be in a car, an office, classroom, a kitchen. Make a note of all the things you can see that didn’t exist in their current form five years ago, ten years ago. You might even be reading this on a device that didn’t exist last year. You can’t help but be impressed with the human ingenuity it takes to create things. I am one of those people that...
October 2009
6 posts
1 tag
The message that hit me in the face today...
If you had the choice to cut a conversation short that was adding value to your life or someone else’s life because you didn’t want to miss the beginning of a big game or a family dinner, would you? Or maybe I should ask, why would you?
Today I found myself at a crossroads. I had a list of about fifty people I needed to follow up with whom I met at a recent trade show. I also have a whiteboard...
2 tags
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Internet Summit: Will we demo? Why yes we will!
As we are rushing along to gather our marketing material for our trade show in Salt Lake City, and wrapping up in the office for a 6 A.M. flight tomorrow morning… we got a little news.
Hi George, Geoff,
Congratulations, the Demo selection committee has selected Group Story as a participant in the Internet Summit Demo Showcase.
With your selection, Group Story will receive table/booth...
Your memories are in the best possible hands.
Fill in the answer:
Nashville, Tennessee is to country music as La Vergne, Tennessee is to…
…give up? Printing books. Wait, La Vergne Tennessee? We had never heard of it either. This small town just southeast of Nashville is home of Lightning Source International- OUR PRINTER. Not just any printer – they print 1.5 millions books per month.
Sure, we could have simply called them,...
1 tag
Stimulating morning in Boston!
Never learned about business in a football stadium before. Gillette Stadium is rockin, and it’s not even Sunday. Rumor has it there might even be a Patriots walk-thru (so says Justin Levy). But listening to Chris Brogan, Gary Vaynerchuk, and many others sure do add up to more than a cup of coffee. Here are some cliff notes of what we found important:
90% of word of mouth takes place...
September 2009
12 posts
1 tag
Cary, NC to Salt Lake City, UT
We think we have a great product. Would Parks & Rec organizations agree?
That was a question we didn’t know the answer to either. So, last week we sat down with both the Director and Athletic Director of Cary, NC Parks & Rec Association. They felt the same way we do about Group Story. It can absolutely be beneficial for both the kids of these organizations, and the organizations...
1 tag
It's about what happens, not where it is.
A dark garage… A kitchen…
Every company has a goal, a story, a journey, a product or service, and of course they must have a workspace- where the creating happens. The innovation, the struggles, and at times, the grueling work.
Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak called a dark garage their headquarters. And Debbie Fields… ya, the woman who started Mrs. Fields cookie company, she...
Shhh... Preview our site.
We are excited to announce that we are nearing the launch of GroupStory.com! We want our loyal blog visitors to have the first look at what we are creating. The page you will see below is called “My Group Story Canvas”. This is where all the good stuff takes place- creating pages and assembling a book. Please give us feedback and ask any questions you may have.
Arts and Crafts - a low tech solution
I love computers. I absolutely can’t imagine my life without them. I think I am pretty computer savvy and will try to use a computer to do as many things as possible.
Well, today we decided to tackle some of the design elements of the Group Story website. We are working with a very talented design firm (blackantmedia) and have been fine tuning the user interface. This is really important to...
2 tags
Internet Summit: Will we demo?
Internet Summit “Demo Showcase” Announces Call for Top Early-Stage Internet-Centric Firms”…
That’s us! And if you are interested, we’ve posted our entry below. We were limited to 2000 characters - and that includes spaces! If you think twitter is tough with 140 characters, imagine trying to put the details about about a business, about a passion, into 2000...
We won the Little League World Series!!!
The Little League World Series just finished on Sunday, August 30. The champs? The Park View Little League team from Chula Vista, California. This is the fifth year in a row that a United States team has won.
There are plenty of stories about the tournament, and the team’s exciting run to the championship.
But if you were on the team and want to vividly remember your teammates… If...
August 2009
7 posts
1 tag
Be a Go-Giver!
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” The golden rule is endorsed by all the great world religions and is used to summarize their ethical teachings. And for as long as we can trace back in time, the idea has had an influence among people of very diverse cultures. These facts suggest that the golden rule may be an important moral truth.
How can the golden rule be applied in business?...
2 tags
Marketing vs Tech - Round 2
How can marketing people create a tech-intensive company? Can marketing and tech people be friends? Can they even be in the same room together?
Absolutely. It all comes down to RESPECT for the individual and their unique talent. It’s understanding that these aren’t just people who code - there is an ART to programming. Let me say that again, “Real programming is an ART”.
...
1 tag
Marketing vs. Tech - Round I
Why do people think that marketing and tech people are on opposite sides of a fence? One reason may be the way corporations treat the functions. In the fight for limited resources, some corporations create an adversarial relationship between the two departments. In the worst examples, the departments - one for determing the customers needs, the other responsible for turning that need into a...
Are you a songwriter or a member of the band?
You know, I’ve always been a fan of music that is “unplugged.” Whether it’s the acoustic version of Oasis’ “Wonderwall” or John Mayer’s “The Heart of Life” it can have a profound effect. The listener gets to hear the nuances of what the songwriter wrote and sometimes hears the song in a more meaningful way.
But most times, give me the...
2 tags
Remember When....
When you’re five, you never know if you’re playing with the next Michael Jordan, Zoolander or the long last relative of Chad Ochocinco.
2 tags
The Journey - two blogs for the price of one
This blog really serves two purposes. The first is to let you know about Group Story and the Group Story Technology. We are passionate about our company and think a blog is the best way to keep in touch with you.
Look, we’re just two guys. Neither one of us can write code, yet we had an idea that will change the way people remember the important times in their lives. So how can we solve...
What is a Group Story Book?
Have you ever made a photo book? Page by page, you look at photos and remember the event or time in your life. Maybe you keep it on the shelf in your living room. Maybe you share it with friends and relatives. It’s a great way to relive your life today and remember it in detail five years from now. We think it’s time for the next generation of photo books - books that tell the entire...