What started as two guys on a couch dreaming up app ideas has morphed into a tech powerhouse, spread across three continents and 12 time zones to tackle global challenges. This only became possible because of the talent and dedication of our team. I am so extremely proud and thankful for their passion, vigor, and inspiration. From humble beginnings we found ourselves in frequent conversations, searching for an opening into a new technology bound to change the world, optimistic but unaware of where the future would take us.

Although the road may be windy, the path is clear for us to invent and reinvent the mobile future. It’s a thrill and blessing to work with the most innovative companies on earth, from VC-backed start-ups to Fortune 500’s; like Google, Redbull, and Harvard Medical School have entrusted us to turn their imaginative concepts into a digital reality.

Over our ten years in business, we’ve been honored to receive numerous accolades and awards including making the INC 5000 list for fastest-growing companies in America three years in a row and have been named a top mobile app developer on earth by Clutch Research every year since 2014. This emphasis on disruptive design has allowed Dogtown Media to help startups bring concepts to the market enabling organizations to go on and raise over $1 billion dollars in venture capital and create thousands of high-paying jobs across the country.

Outside of disruptive design, Dogtown Media has prioritized outreach and philanthropy, raising significant funds for charitable foundations, and promoting STEM education to thousands of students in the United States, Japan, and Latin America. Further, Dogtown Media has partnered with government institutions to formulate smart policy and accelerate the adoption of telehealth, remote patient monitoring, and digital health innovation within health systems across the nation.

I want to wholeheartedly thank our team, our esteemed clients, the tech community, and everyone who has helped make this journey so special. We couldn’t be more excited to see what’s in store over the next 10 years.

Onwards, and upwards.

Marc Fischer // CEO & Co-founder of Dogtown Media

COVID-19 has forever changed how we approach work. When the pandemic began, Dogtown Media said goodbye to its Los Angeles-based development headquarters for the past decade. We left this office, moved the entire team to remote work, and don’t have any intention of going back. The future of work has changed, and we’ve changed with it. Here are the trends that I believe we can expect to see soon.

Remote Work Will Provide More Opportunities for Job Candidates

Moving to San Francisco used to be a prerequisite for working in the high-tech industry. Today, this is no longer the case. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced companies to figure out how to build cohesive remote work teams fast. And with this new change comes new opportunities.

Organizations will hire more remote workers than ever before now that they know how to get things done outside of an office environment. This is great news for many employees — it means they have better access to more job opportunities. But it also yields some other pertinent benefits worth mentioning.

Knowledge workers can now move to places they want to live, not somewhere they have to work. We can already see this occurring: A recent survey of tech professionals discovered that an average of 30% of respondents had left major metropolises such as Seattle and Los Angeles for greener pastures during the COVID-19 pandemic. Don’t think this trend will continue? Another survey found that 81% of tech workers are either considering or making plans to move to more affordable cities.

The financial incentives certainly play a role in this exodus. Remote workers earn $4,000 more per year than their in-office counterparts, and 30% save $5,000 more per year due to less commuting and eating at home. Moving to smaller, cheaper towns allows these employees to stretch their dollar even further. But if we put money aside, the advantages are still substantial. By choosing where they live, remote workers attain better control over their personal lives. Whether you want to get outdoors more or start raising a family, this is certainly an appealing factor.

Office Models Will Adapt to the Future of Work

On the other side of the equation, remote work also offers a significant financial benefit for organizations that embrace it: Companies can save $11,000 annually for each employee who works remotely half of the time. With that said, it’s no wonder that a Gartner survey of 127 business leaders found that 82% of respondents plan to maintain a hybrid or remote work dynamic after the COVID-19 pandemic ends.

While the same survey elucidated that 47% of business leaders plan to let employees work from home permanently, it also found that another 43% of respondents plan to implement a flexible hybrid work dynamic going forward. For example, some organizations will ask their team members to come into the office two or three days a week instead of five. This will transform how companies structure their headquarters and satellite offices.

Many enterprises are already restructuring how they’re organized. For instance, outdoor retailer REI recently sold its newly-constructed headquarters building to Facebook to pursue a more distributed work model. Known as a hub-and-spoke office model, this paradigm allows companies to shed office space and slim down headquarters while maintaining optimal productivity.

In a hub-and-spoke office model, a smaller headquarters (the hub) and satellite offices (the spokes) serve as locations for employees to congregate, communicate, and collaborate. Instead of long commutes, team members can meet at the hub or spoke that’s most convenient for them. This lean approach eschews large underutilized offices in favor of lean spaces that can accommodate employees who come in two or three times a week and work the rest remotely.

Every Work-Related Industry Hit by COVID-19 Will Reinvent Itself

COVID-19 has proven that change is the only constant in our lives. Although, for many industries related to work, adapting is easier said than done. Co-working and commercial real estate were hit particularly hard during this pandemic. Fortunately, both will bounce back — but it won’t happen without preparing for the future of work.

As companies move towards more flexible hybrid work dynamics and hub-and-spoke paradigms, office-on-demand models will make more sense for many organizations instead of overpaying for underutilized real estate. WeWork and other co-working spaces will be the biggest beneficiaries of this trend. They can provide these businesses with turnkey solutions and an intimate office footprint where team members can work together. In such scenarios, “hot desks” that employees coming in and out can use for the week will replace dedicated workspaces.

Commercial real estate will likely hurt for some time due to all of these pandemic-induced work changes. But it will eventually reinvent itself. This industry will pivot more to mixed-use buildings; a proportion of space will be reserved for industrial or work-related endeavors while the rest is used for residential property. With that said, I’m sure the day will come when a remote work employee has to attend a meeting at one of their company’s “spoke” offices, and it happens to be located a few floors down from their loft!

The Future of Work Is Closer Than It Feels

Several promising COVID-19 vaccines are being expedited to roll out to healthcare workers and the general population. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has even alluded to the possibility that we may all return to a normal semblance of life by this summer. But although COVID-19 may soon be in humanity’s rearview, its effect on how companies get things done will be everlasting.

COVID-19 has accelerated the future of work to an unprecedented pace. This means that we fortunately won’t have to wait long to see the fruition of these predictions. Are you ready?

Want to leverage emerging technologies like 5G, AI, and IoT in your organization? Get in touch with my team for a Free Consultation.

As devices and sensors start becoming increasingly connected and technologically advanced, mobile apps are springing up to help users manage their Internet of Things (IoT) applications and systems. These mobile apps offer access, connectivity, and communication with technology to improve the smart city and smart home experience. But mobile app development is complex and requires planning and continuous optimization to better serve users.

For mobile apps that control IoT devices, sensors, and systems, user happiness is of the utmost importance. Here are seven challenges that a mobile app development firm may face when designing and developing an app for smart devices.

#1: UI/UX Design

User interface (UI) and user experience (UX) design are important facets of any consumer-facing technology. In mobile apps, UI and UX can make or break an app’s success with users. And without users, a mobile app is worthless. Ultimately, proper investment in UI and UX will attract more new users and engage loyal users.

It’s important to establish an app’s UI and UX guidelines early on so that any future changes are made in accordance with previously-established principles for branding, device support, user profiles, and more. With these instructions, new and old designers can work to maintain a consistent user experience. Although it can be tempting to skip UI and UX, don’t make the mistake of putting your users in the corner. Without their feedback, constant use of the app, and word-of-mouth recommendations, your mobile app could be doomed to fail. The time spent in introspection to develop UI and UX specifications will also help inform decisions and ideas further down the development cycle.

#2: Data Flow Management

It’s imperative to create a consistent experience for users by controlling the management of data flow. This requires a stable Internet connection, strong device and connectivity uptime, and a stable database connection. Databases are often used to collect data from multiple types of devices and sensors and aggregate it for use in an application with a front end, like a smartwatch, mobile app, or web app.

Because smart devices differ in their singular data management, it can be difficult to organize data together in a way that makes sense. However, this is an extremely important and foundational part of IoT systems management, so exemplary data flow is necessary.

#3: Network Connection

Speaking of stable and consistent data flow, network connectivity is an important cog in the IoT system. From there, anything is possible: smart analysis, predictive insights, and real-time notification systems are just a few features that can set your mobile app apart from its competition. The network connects all devices and sensors together before they collate their data into a database for later use.

As IoT technology advances, network demand will continue to grow. Networks need speed, a stable connection, and proven performance to adequately aggregate all devices and sensors under one umbrella.

#4: Network and Sensor Compatibility

It may not be enough to spring for a top-of-the-line network connection and infrastructure if devices and sensors aren’t compatible with the network. Because real-time communication and data transmission are necessary to allow users control over the IoT system, ensuring compatibility between the network and devices is essential. The compatibility needs to be stress-tested to ensure many devices and sensors can connect without issue, and the testing needs to occur periodically to make sure nothing has fundamentally changed.

The reason for this issue is that sensor and device manufacturers and vendors don’t work under standardized protocols. Besides the network and device compatibility, this can also lead to major issues with device-to-device compatibility. Thus, it is important to test this early on, rather than being close to the end of the development cycle and having to nearly start over.

#5: Hardware Compatibility

When devices aren’t compatible with each other, it usually becomes obvious pretty quickly. To avoid lengthening the development timeline with this issue, set specific hardware requirements early on in the project. When resolved early, it can prevent issues with the app’s functionality later on.

#6: Performance and Security

Although it’s difficult to optimize for, speed and performance are what a user requires as a prerequisite to user experience. With a slow or lagging mobile app, you’ll create frustration in your users, prompting them to leave negative reviews on your app’s page. Extensive user testing and interviewing is a great way to avoid major bug reports and application crashes while gathering UX and UI feedback.

Similar to speed and performance, security is a foundational requirement for users. If they find out that their data, especially sensitive information like login credentials, is stored insecurely, you can face substantial user backlash and even lawsuits. To ensure your application’s security is robust enough, set security standards at the beginning of the project for all designers and developers to follow. Make this a best practice if you’re planning on developing more mobile apps in the future. At our mobile app development studio in Los Angeles, we always prioritize security and performance in our mobile apps from day one.

#7: Choosing Development Technology

Early on in the development process, the development team has to agree upon the technology stack they’ll use to develop the application. The choice between building a native, hybrid, or cross-platform app can be made by looking at what existing interfaces exist and how the mobile app fits into the IoT ecosystem. Often, one technology will be the clear frontrunner that will allow for a strong user experience, flexible data flow management, and performance and security optimizations.

If needed, reach out to an experienced IoT app development firm for a short consultation. Ultimately, it’s important to squash this issue early.

Taking On Challenges

These seven challenges may seem difficult to overcome, but they are common and every mobile app development team faces them. How you tackle them and continue on to the next issue will determine how well your mobile app will meet your business requirements and users’ preferences. Above all, make sure you’re rising up to the challenges early on, rather than waiting until users start complaining about the issue.

Original Article Featured in Forbes.

We live in a time of uncertainty. It has been a year since the global Covid-19 pandemic started, but there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight. Has your business adapted to this “new normal” yet?

Before the pandemic, Dogtown Media, my mobile app development firm, had a mixture of in-person and remote team members. Today, my entire team is fully remote. But this didn’t happen without some trial and tribulation. Here are the most important takeaways my team has learned about making remote work actually work, which will hopefully enrich your organization and make it more adaptable than ever before.

1. Practice being proactive and adaptable.

Things change fast these days. To adapt to this frenetic pace, you and your team members should adopt a proactive, flexible mindset. With several companies suddenly turning to remote work, many employees have been forced to contend with suboptimal workspaces and unexpected parenting responsibilities. The only way to move forward effectively is to set your expectations properly and account for the different potential scenarios that could occur.

Reacting without a plan usually leads to chaos. So plan ahead for various possibilities. Regularly take some time to map out goals and define outcomes with your team. This gives both you and your team a “north star” to guide you. Doing so greatly increases your chances of staying operational and progressing in the right direction, even if things don’t go exactly your way.

Speaking of things not going your team’s way, that’s okay — it happens. Adopting a proactive, flexible mindset doesn’t only mean to make plans; it also means making plans with the assumption that they could change. If you practice this and stay adaptable, you’ll be better positioned to navigate and pivot in the months ahead. So while others are waiting for the “right time,” your team will be transforming obstacles into opportunities.

2. Revamp social structures to catalyze remote work collaboration.

Remote work tends to amplify a lack of clarity. This can make it difficult for team members to navigate their tasks at hand. Fortunately, an easy way to fix this is to revise your current social structures in place. For instance, many organizations employ large, siloed teams to get things done. But with remote work, I’ve found that smaller, cross-functional teams with defined objectives work better.

Another structure you should reassess for remote work optimization is how you hold meetings. In this era of remote work, a lack of check-ins could mean that many of your workers are wrestling with more ambiguity than you know. Establish a clear cadence of scheduled daily and weekly meetings with your team. Strive to strike the right balance of communication to give your team guidance on goals and allow them to consult with you about any questions or concerns.

Meetings shouldn’t be the only communication structure in place: Quicker collaboration is sometimes required. You must have other communication avenues open. With a plethora of options available, such as Slack, Microsoft Teams and email, your team will feel freer to conduct simpler, less formal conversations about time-sensitive matters.

Lastly, it’s vital that you build in social interaction opportunities. Remote work conversations shouldn’t only revolve around work. Always take some time to catch up with your team members. Don’t be afraid to bring some levity to the table. This goes a long way toward establishing trust, transparency and camaraderie. Whether you’re doing in-person or remote work, all three of these factors are key ingredients to catalyzing meaningful collaboration.

3. Empower your team with the tools they need to succeed.

To properly equip your team members in the era of remote work, you must pay special attention to how they leverage technology in their workflows. You should mentally walk in their shoes to understand each tool they use to achieve business outcomes. Doing this allows you to assess each component’s efficacy. The main goal here is to identify and address any gaps in access and adoption. This helps keep your employees engaged, which in turn fuels the right results for your business.

Whether it’s a communication platform like Slack or a workflow tool such as Jira Basecamp, examine each piece of your team’s “productivity puzzle.” No matter how basic each element seems, don’t underestimate the friction or advantage it brings to your team. If you identify any weak links in your tech stack, either train your team to improve productivity or try another option.

Remember, your tech stack should empower employees at every level to work efficiently from anywhere in this “new normal,” but don’t forget to keep data security and privacy top of mind. Doing so now may seem like more work, but it only serves to protect your business in the long run.

4. Put your team’s health and safety first.

Remote work isn’t always easy. It’s critical that you prioritize your team’s health and safety during these tough times that we’re all living in right now. Nothing, including projects or deadlines, takes precedence over this.

When the pandemic started, we decided to go completely remote right away. We honestly didn’t know how this would impact our company, but that didn’t matter. What did matter was that all of my team was safe and that they didn’t have to risk their lives just to come to an office.

During emergencies, all great leaders practice empathy. Let your team know that their mental and physical health will always matter more than work. Give them the support they need to maintain both aspects. If you put your team’s well-being first, the right results will follow.

Want to leverage emerging technologies like 5G, AI, and IoT in your organization? Get in touch with my team for a Free Consultation.

By 2030, the United States is expected to have a tech talent shortage. This year alone, 4.3 million jobs in America’s technology sector are projected to go unfilled — that equates to lost revenue of $162 billion. Luckily, Ted Lieu, California’s 33rd Congressional District Representative, has a solution for the state: Inspire our youth to innovate with the Congressional App Challenge.

Held last Thursday, the 2020 Congressional App Challenge featured sixteen students from ten high schools across Los Angeles County. Altogether, they submitted eleven amazing mobile app concepts. And Congressman Lieu invited Marc Fischer, Dogtown Media’s Co-Founder and CEO, to participate as a judge in the competition!

About the Congressional App Challenge

The United States House of Representatives established the Congressional App Challenge in 2014 to “connect today’s Congress with tomorrow’s coders.” The event encourages students from all corners of the country to get more hands-on with their STEM education by creating and submitting mobile app concepts. The winner receives national recognition and also has their work featured in Washington, D.C.’s Capitol Building!

For Congressman Ted Lieu, the event is a special occasion that connects him back to his own education: “As one of just four computer science majors in Congress, I believe it is essential to encourage and nurture a generation of technology-savvy students who will continue to innovate our economy and advance our technological edge. The App Challenge provides young students throughout my district an opportunity to pursue their creative and technical talents. I encourage all eligible students to participate.”

Since its first year, the Congressional App Challenge has grown exponentially. In 2019, 10,211 students submitted mobile apps. To put this number in perspective, that’s a 373% increase from 2016! This event also now outpaces Silicon valley in terms of diversity: Compared to America’s tech innovation hub, participants are five times more likely to identify as latinx, four times more likely to identify as black, and two times more likely to identify as female.

On the other side of the equation, the Congressional App Challenge is also increasing STEM’s visibility in politics. Since 2016, 54% more Congress members have become involved in the competition and the mentions of STEM and computer science in congress have grown by over 2000%.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s reception was completely remote. Dr. William Goodin, Industry Relations Coordinator at UCLA’s Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, and Mr. Howard Stahl, Santa Monica College’s Department Chair for Computer Science & Information Systems, judged this year’s submissions alongside Marc.

And the Winners Are…

Dylan and Winston Iskandar of Mira Costa High School and Chadwick School were selected as this year’s winners! Inspired by the ‘new normal’ we all find ourselves in during the COVID-19 pandemic, the duo developed a mobile app called “GroceryBuddies” that connects volunteers with at-risk individuals so they can help them run errands and get groceries. You can learn more about it in the video below:

Jake and Kate North of Stanford Online High School came in second place with their mobile app concept, “Ideos.” “MyChemistry,” a pocket-reference tool for chemistry information that was developed by Rachel Fox of Agoura High School, came in third place:

And “MaskCheck,” an app created by Jayden Bulexa of Beverly Hills High School that helps to educate people about and enforce mask-wearing, received an honorable mention:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8cHHSW9wPY&feature=youtu.be

Each of these entries was incredibly innovative. “As a recovering Computer Science major, I am inspired by all these students who have committed themselves to creating these innovative apps,” Congressman Lieu said.

Marc was also astounded by the level of creativity and quality that these young mobile app developers brought to the table: “It’s an exciting honor to witness the next generation of innovators harness the potential of STEM to improve our lives. I thank Congressman Lieu for the opportunity to help inspire, educate, and foster a passion for technology in our youth.”

It’s absolutely amazing that there’s so much young tech talent in the Los Angeles County area alone! We can’t wait to see what 2021’s participants have to offer.

Single connected devices, like mobile phones, have been utilizing the same technology for decades. This technology has known vulnerabilities in SIM cards as well as SMS and voice calls, but changes haven’t been made to protect consumers. Hackers can obtain private information and generate revenue for their criminal businesses. Couple this with the fact that many enterprise IoT systems allow employees to bring their own devices (usually mobile phones), and we’ve got a growing problem on our hands.

SMS Vulnerabilities and Attacks

Remember when each SMS message cost money to send in the early 2000s? There were also mobile phone scams that would send unwanted ads to people. The person would end up having to pay for the ad text messages, and phone companies caught on fast, prohibiting SMS ads. But there’s another threat lurking for SMS messages: smishing.

Smishing is a form of phishing, where the hacker sends a person an SMS with a phishing link. When the person clicks on the link, it downloads malicious software. IoT applications that are built with human decision-making, like order screens or payment terminals, are vulnerable to this but limited in number. So for other IoT devices, there must be another way to get into the device’s hardware and software.

In 2019, cybersecurity experts reported two major vulnerabilities for mobile phones: Simjacker and WIBattack. Both vulnerabilities are tied to SMS messages and SIM card software, and they allow a hacker to gain control of a device. Because each SIM card is a microprocessor, it has room for a software applet. Both vulnerabilities use an outdated applet (S@T Browser and Wireless Internet Browser (WIB)) that don’t have strong enough cybersecurity. The WIB vulnerability, in particular, is present on mobile phones from 85 major mobile carriers, including T-Mobile, Vodafone, and Dallas-based AT&T.

A hacker can send an over-the-air (OTA) SMS that can change SIM configurations in a person’s phone. The OTA SMS uses a secure key from the operator, but the vulnerable applets also accept SMS messages that don’t have security measures. The hacker can then execute malicious commands on the user’s SIM card, including sending SMS messages, getting location information, and making calls. The longer a device is being used, the more vulnerable it is to security exploits and, eventually, full control of the device.

Voice Call Issues and Weaknesses

Voice call fraud is a major issue for most consumers and mobile carriers, costing both parties an estimated total of $28.3 billion in 2019. The most common fraud type is the International Revenue Share Fraud, where customers are tricked into calling a premium number that charges high fees. The provider of the premium phone number and the company that rents the number split the revenue gained. The mobile carrier charges the customer, and if the customer tries to fight the charge, they may get their contract terminated.

Voice calls are relatively common, and they don’t include only consumer voice calls. For example, elevator emergency calls may use SIM cards to support voice. An attacker can get remote or physical control over these devices or SIM cards. If a hacker gains control over a lot of IoT devices, it could bankrupt a business.

Protecting Your Mobile Phone

IoT devices should be limited in their connectivity profile to the purpose they serve when deployed in an IoT system. For example, if the phone doesn’t need to receive SMS or voice calls, these features should be deactivated inside the connectivity provider portal. Sometimes, this deactivation needs to be done upon the device’s initial configuration.

Voice services should be limited to a certain group of recipients and receivers for specific use cases. Often, IoT app developers use Voice Over Internet Protocol to consolidate security measures to be the same as for data services. External SMS messages from other devices should be blocked so attackers can’t send malicious messages and links to the IoT device.

Application-to-peer SMS should be employed to authenticate their application in advance so that only the device owner can send and receive SMS messages from their device. Another way to protect IoT-enhanced enterprises is to set a limit on how many SMS messages can be sent or received by each device. This can greatly reduce the costs of smishing and hacking attacks.

Changing the Discourse

It’s important for major mobile carriers to issue safer SIM cards for their customers. Experts recommend that hardware manufacturers and mobile app developers work together to create a common security approach at the connectivity level. But it’s also imperative that consumers are trained to recognize smishing-type messages so that they can avoid clicking on malicious links. With IoT systems, SMS and voice capabilities not only unlock more flexibility and functionality for the system, but they also increase the vulnerability of the devices in the system.

Have you ever received a smishing SMS message on your SIM-enabled device? How did you know it was malicious? Let us know in the comments below!

Original article featured in Entrepreneur.

Being passionate is human nature, particularly when you’re running your own business. But when that excitement takes the reins — something that routinely happens, for instance, when billionaire Elon Musk hops on Twitter — problems can result. In the past two months alone, Musk’s musings have led to his removal as chairman of Tesla Inc. and a lawsuit for slander.

When you first have the inkling of a great idea, you’ve likely done little in the way of research. Is anybody else working to solve this same problem? Who might find this idea appealing, and why? Do you have the right skills to bring this idea to fruition?

Depending on your goals, the company implementing that idea could be up and running within two months, or take as long as a year. After considering factors like that one, you’ll have a solid idea of whether yours is a good project or simply a nice dream.

Many first-time entrepreneurs fail to “trust facts before feelings.” But that can be a mistake: Entrepreneurs are typically driven self-starters who want to trust that they can handle whatever comes their way. Well, that isn’t always the case.

When feelings overcome facts.

In my early days, I incubated a startup enterprise called Mobliso. We created it to streamline the self-checkout process for mobile commerce. The product meant consumers would no longer have to repeatedly fill out the same checkout information, even if they delayed their purchases only by minutes.

The concept had traction and interest, but we were feature-creeping. We continually added new features without testing them — we had only a limited budget and were over-excited about the runway we already had to get our platform to market. So we didn’t take the necessary precautions.

As a result, our platform turned out to be a convoluted mess. Our business model wasn’t focused on solving our clients’ most significant pain point. So we had to branch off from Mobliso.

To prevent your strong feelings from leading your vision astray, start with these five steps:

1. Keep your passion in check.

Embrace your excitement, then temper your expectations before you go off the rails. Start with what I call a “passion check.” You might feel strongly about something right now, but stop to ask yourself whether you’ll feel the same way tomorrow.

You might feel optimistic about that first question, but the second one should truly be telling. “Will I be as passionate about this idea five years from tomorrow?” If that question causes you any hesitation, your concept may not be the right fit.

Without an enduring passion, you’re not going to dig deeper, wake up earlier, stay up later and outpace someone else with a similar idea. In a study that involved Yale and Stanford, among other institutions, researchers found that study subjects quickly lost interest in a subject when they were forced to learn more — even when they had initially been intrigued.

The message: If you don’t have a wealth of passion, you don’t have a business.

2. Conduct a competitive analysis.

Once you’ve checked your own enthusiasm, it’s time to see what the marketplace is all about. Search for your idea on Google to see who’s already doing something similar; browse various app stores to do the same.

Don’t be afraid of overdoing it with research — there’s no such thing. When Mo Bhende and Jeff Spector, co-founders of the hiring startup Karat,  conducted research on the interview process software engineers go through, they took a six-month trip around the United States. They also participated in numerous interviews to find opportunities for their company.

You might not have the ability to conduct an analysis that exhaustive, but you should at least look around to see who else is operating in this space.

3. Create a rough prototype.

If your research determines that the competition is not satisfying market needs or that your idea is not differentiated enough, it’s time to build a rapid prototype. Quickly sketch out your idea and then create something that you can test; it doesn’t have to be overly complex. Girlboss, for example, built a rapid prototype of its professional social networking site by using a Facebook group.

To craft your own rapid prototype, identify your target market. Who will ideally buy your product or service? Why will these people want it? Who are they, and why would they talk to you? Will your product make the businesses they run more productive? The answers to these questions should help your prototype take form.

4. Solve consumer pain points.

After you’ve conducted an analysis and created a mock-up prototype, reach out to folks in your network via surveys and cold calls. This will enable you to fully test your user experience. Then, evaluate feedback you’re getting. Do these people like it? Alternatively, do they have issues with your design or the principles of the product?

As a business leader, you must do everything you can to ensure you’re solving problems for your customers, or you won’t succeed. In fact, according to CB Insights’ famous post-mortems, 42 percent of failed startups looked at didn’t work out because they didn’t help others by solving a market need.

5. Go back to the drawing board.

Nail down those pain points, and then go back to the drawing board. Do this about two or three times to ensure you feel comfortable enough to move forward to a fully featured prototype.

Once you have that prototype, develop a software stack to take to market. Even large companies such as Nike are investing in ways to get to market faster. Spend as little money and time as possible, and embrace lean UX principles to test your hypothesis in the marketplace.

Build something simple that people can download and use right away. At this point, don’t worry about your pricing; focus on onboarding users and getting feedback in the form of data. That way, you can refine your product further before investing the time and energy to scale it.

When it comes to researching and preparing your business, there are no shortcuts. Any attempts to avoid the hard work of building a company can lead you down the same path I took: adding a seemingly endless array of features until you determine that any further features will no longer be useful to your customer base.

Original Article Featured in Forbes.

Our society has been disrupted by the novel coronavirus. Around the world, airline flights have been grounded, communities have slowed to a crawl and countless lives have been affected. In the U.S. alone, we’ve harbored more than 2 million COVID-19 cases. It’s no wonder numerous companies (such as Twitter and Square) are encouraging or asking employees to work from home. Despite how scary times like these can be, business must go on.

Working remotely offers a promising avenue to keep teams functional and businesses in business while infectious diseases are dealt with. The mobile app development firm I co-founded consists of a team distributed across different time zones and continents. Remote work allows our team to stay resilient and adaptive to ever-changing circumstances. Here’s how you can start moving toward a productive distributed team that can roll with the punches of any unexpected event that comes your way.

1. Plan For The Unexpected, And Adapt To New Conditions

If you fail to plan, you’re planning to fail. Obviously, hoping that the virus stops spreading doesn’t count as planning. But neither does handing your workers laptops and telling them to work from home. Start planning your remote work strategy by evaluating and analyzing exactly how things will be done. Think about your daily tasks and those of your employees.

It’s important that you also account for different scenarios. To increase your chances of remaining operational, plan for as many employees as possible to work remotely. Categorize which duties necessitate a physical presence in the office, and then challenge these assumptions — experiment to see if there are methods that would allow employees to do these remotely as well.

2. Establish Communication Protocols

To truly optimize your remote work strategy execution, you should be able to keep your team members in the loop and abreast of new circumstances. Take some time to set up communication protocols that allow for seamless collaboration.

Consolidate all contact information so that everyone can be easily reached. Agree on primary communication channels. Slack and email work wonders for my team. Discuss how customer-facing employees are expected to interact with clients and leads.

Last but certainly not least, it’s vital that you establish how and when your team can meet and coordinate. Meetings often take up a big bulk of many employees’ days. Luckily, the rise of teleconference software means meetings no longer have to be in person. Zoom is our go-to platform. And it seems that many others are turning to remote conferencing; Zoom has reportedly already added more users in 2020 than in all of 2019.

3. Streamline Your Software Stack

To simplify remote work for your team members, give them the right tools to succeed. For this step, focus on auditing your available software. Then close any identified gaps in access and adoption.

Assess the comfort level and effectiveness of the applications your team uses every day. This includes communication software such as Slack, as well as workflow tools like Jira and Basecamp. Each piece of your “productivity puzzle” should aid in coordinating deadlines, holding team members accountable and keeping work transparent.

If there is room for improvement, provide training and practice to get your team up to speed. Alternatively, consider other applications to replace the weak links in your software stack. This may seem like more work, but it’s better to take care of this now.

Remember, your software stack should give your staff the ability to work efficiently from anywhere, even on their personal devices if need be. That last part is especially crucial. Clarify which “bring your own” devices are acceptable. Keep data security top of mind, and encrypt all information and interactions via a virtual private network (VPN). This can help ensure your business assets are adequately protected when employees access them remotely.

4. Cultivate A Remote Work Company Culture

When going remote, some team members may feel a sense of isolation. Company culture can go a long way toward combating this issue by reinforcing cohesion.

If your company is new to remote work, it can take a while for employees to adjust. Create a supportive environment that nurtures progress toward this goal. Give your workers extra time to learn the skills and tools they need to succeed. Help them by periodically sending out educational content and opportunities regarding remote work.

In meetings, make sure everyone’s voice is being heard. Open inclusion and participation are two prime avenues to accomplish this. Each team member should regularly have the opportunity to discuss their opinion, whether it’s about the pace of a project or personal dilemmas stifling productivity.

Lastly, don’t forget to be human. We all desire connection. Unfortunately, one of the biggest downsides to remote work is the disconnect it often causes. Bring levity and lightheartedness to your meetings. Everything shouldn’t be serious all the time. If you have new team members, gamify some meetings, and introduce icebreakers so that they feel comfortable building relationships. These endeavors may seem silly, but they can be key to establishing trust and catalyzing meaningful collaboration.

Embrace Remote Work — It Could Strengthen Your Business

Situations like the novel coronavirus can be scary for everyone. And they can be detrimental for businesses. Preparing your company for remote work can let you eschew many of the issues that could arise from future disruptive events.

Plan ahead now to stay resilient in ever-changing circumstances. Even if the current situation doesn’t change, at least you will be organized, flexible and ready to rise to any future occasion that threatens your business’s operational continuity.

While Flexjobs found that it makes up less than 5% of full-time jobs in the U.S., I believe remote work is the future of work. This figure will likely grow with time as more businesses embrace the benefits of working remotely. And if you want your company to be a part of this future, it’s important that you adapt with the times.

Want to leverage emerging technologies like 5G, AI, and IoT in your organization? Get in touch with my team for a Free Consultation.

Since we first opened our studio’s doors in 2011, Dogtown Media has been on a mission to redefine and reinvigorate the mobile app experience. Over the years, we’ve striven to build the best products possible for each of our clients. It’s always a pleasure to receive recognition for our work, and this most recent accolade is no exception: Expertise has recognized Dogtown Media as one of the best mobile app developers in Torrance, California!

Expertise is an organization that makes it simple to find the best local experts for your specific project. Finding the right professional for a job can take substantial time and effort. Expertise streamlines this process by taking care of the research efforts so you can easily understand the most important factors in hiring someone for your endeavors.

The team at Expertise has identified the top leaders in over 200 different industries across numerous major US cities. Each month, they help over 10 million customers find the best-qualified professional for their needs. How do they do this? With a proprietary research and selection method — the very same one that they used to find the best mobile app developers in Torrance, CA!

After identifying a broad pool of active mobile app developers, Expertise narrowed it down with more than 25 variables across five domains:

• Reputation: Each candidate must have a rich history of happy clients and excellent recommendations.
• Credibility: Candidates must be well-established in their industry with licensing, accreditation, and previous awards.
• Experience: All selected candidates must have years of practical experience and education in their craft.
• Engagement: Nominees must be responsive to clients and available for new business.
• Professionalism: Candidates must consistently provide high-quality work and flawless customer service.

With this information in tow, Expertise’s team conducts a manual review to finalize the winners. It’s an absolute honor to make it through this rigorous process and be considered one of the best at what we do!

At Dogtown Media, we’re always focused on pushing ourselves. Our team has grown in size to tackle bigger projects. And we’ve delved deep into emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, and the Internet of Things to bring our clients new product capabilities. But our motto has never changed: If you can dream it, we can build it!

Besides being dubbed a top mobile app developer in Torrance, CA, we were also recently named a top U.S. mobile app developer by TopDevelopers.co. We were also fortunate to be lauded as one of California’s leading app developers by Clutch!

Thanks so much to Expertise for recognizing us as a top mobile app developer in Torrance, CA! We’d also like to thank our clients, team, and community — we couldn’t have done it without you!

Wireless technology has transformed how we interact with the world around us. But what does the future with 5G look like? It can be hard to fathom. Luckily, ACT | The App Association aims to elucidate this with a special public webinar featuring FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr. And Marc Fischer, Dogtown Media’s very own Co-Founder and CEO, has been invited to join in on the conversation!

Scheduled to be held this Thursday, May 28th, at 1 PM ET, “A Conversation with FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr on Commission Priorities for 5G and the New 5G Upgrade Order” is an event you won’t want to miss. In this virtual seminar, we’ll get the chance to learn more about the FCC’s views and priorities for 5G.

Valued at $1.7 trillion and employing almost 6 million Americans, the mobile app economy has grown to be an invaluable pillar of the tech industry. And the current COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted just how valuable this sector really is; remote work, distance learning, and telemedicine have all experienced a rapid increase in usage during this pandemic.

For the webinar, Commissioner Brendan Carr will be representing the FCC. He’s committed to rapidly advancing 5G in order to enable more innovation in mobile app development. Carr has supported various FCC policy changes to promote the development of 5G networks.

Most recently, he announced a new 5G Upgrade Order. This multi-year endeavor would simplify and expedite equipment upgrades for existing cellular towers. Scheduled for a June vote by Congress, the 5G Upgrade Order will be a central discussion point of ACT’s event.

ACT | The App Association is a Washington, D.C.-based public policy organization that represents more than 5,000 app companies and information technology firms leading the mobile economy. While we’re located on the other side of the continent in Los Angeles, ACT has been a dear friend throughout the years. Its advocation for an environment that drives smart innovation and regulation in the tech industry has been invaluable.

The live event will begin with a conversation between Carr and ACT President Morgan Reed. Following this, a live panel discussion featuring Carr, Marc, Andrew Savitz of Canned Spinach, and Vishal Singh of Quantified Ag will take place. It will delve into the 5G Upgrade Order and examine potential use cases that the new generation of wireless connectivity will enable.

“A Conversation with FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr on Commission Priorities for 5G and the New 5G Upgrade Order” has an all-star panel lined up and a number of hot topics to touch upon. If you want to see the future of mobile technology, don’t miss this event! For more information, visit here.