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ALERT: Warning of Fraudulent Activities Impersonating Dogtown Media Employees

Posting: January 16, 2024

We at Dogtown Media prioritize your safety and security. Recently, we’ve been alerted to fraudulent activities by a fake recruitment firm falsely claiming to represent our company. The fraudulent organization is posing as a tech recruiter and have setup a fake website that uses our Dogtown Media logo without our permission. We have received reports that this fraudulent tech recruiter is actively targeting people in the United Kingdom and Greece with fake job posts. The job offers they promote are NOT real and are NOT affiliated with our company.

Please be vigilant and confirm any communication’s authenticity directly with us. For your safety we recommend you do NOT engage in any communications with recruiters claiming to work for our company without checking with us first, do NOT pay them any money or crypto, and do NOT provide any personal/private information to them.

Your trust and safety is our top concern, and we’re actively working to resolve this issue. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,
The Dogtown Media Team

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.

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.

There’s no shortage of hype surrounding 5G. Per the June 2019 Ericsson Mobility Report, “No previous generation of mobile technology has had the potential to drive economic growth to the extent that 5G promises.” Now, this potential is finally becoming a reality. 5G is poised to disrupt practically every industry. But the fifth generation of cellular technology may not be here as soon as you think. A few obstacles stand in the way of 5G’s arrival. Still, opportunities abound for ambitious entrepreneurs.

How 5G Will Usher in a New Era for Numerous Industries

Qualcomm claims 5G will reach initial download speeds of 1.4 gigabits per second. That’s about 20 times faster than 4G. Latency, the lag you experience when issuing a command to your smartphone, is also important to consider. A lag of a few hundred milliseconds is common with 4G. 5G will trim this down to a couple of milliseconds, making data transferring much more reliable.

This unprecedented speed and reliability will change the landscape of technology. 5G will open up a multitude of avenues for developers to build new mobile app features. It will also enable new capabilities in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT).

By allowing algorithms to expand their training datasets and run analyses concurrently, 5G will foster faster innovation and growth for AI and machine learning applications. The enriched insights and heightened precision that this produces will immensely improve the orchestra of sensors that IoT relies on.

Various sectors will benefit from these advantages. Smart cities and connected autonomous vehicles will become more viable. Virtual reality goggles will dwindle in size to resemble the devices we’ve seen in science fiction. We’ll be able to experience augmented reality in real-time. And manufacturing supply chains around the world will be able to optimize every step in their process.

5G will also transform healthcare applications. MRI machines and blood pressure monitors will be able to transfer data without delay. Surgeons will be able to operate remotely with no latency between their movements and those of a corresponding robotic arm. 5G will also save you a trip to the doctor’shttps://www.dogtownmedia.com/app-development-services/healthcare-app-developer/ office; telemedicine is expected to grow at an annual compound rate of 16.5% from 2017 to 2023, thanks to this technology. All of this adds up to better experiences and outcomes for patients.

Tempering Expectations

To reach the reality described above, we must address a few substantial challenges. Building 5G applications simply isn’t practical yet. Only the most prominent telecom companies have access to 5G kits, and only a handful of phones are 5G-enabled. In fact, 44% of telecom companies that responded to a survey by JABIL don’t have the proper tools for testing and managing 5G applications.

In a survey of 204 executives working at telecommunications companies with over 1,000 employees working on 5G network development, Jabil found that 53% of respondents believed 5G’s sheer complexity would be the greatest challenge to overcome. This problem becomes more convoluted when you consider that mobile carriers are providing different iterations of 5G as they try to capture market share as quickly as possible. Consequently, developers can’t define what 5G actually is; we’re stuck playing a guessing game.

To make matters worse, the vast majority of developers don’t have access to 5G infrastructure. Besides new software and devices, 5G requires hundreds of thousands of cell sites. Installing this infrastructure easily amounts to hundreds of billions of dollars in costs.

So when should we really expect 5G to become mainstream? According to 60% of Jabil’s survey participants, that should happen by 2021. 20% think it will occur in 2022. And 11% are patiently waiting until 2023 for 5G to become ubiquitous.

Fortunately, there is a silver lining to all of this.

How Entrepreneurs Can Get Ready for 5G

Regardless of when 5G arrives, entrepreneurs can take steps now to prepare for this new mobile era:

1. Practice with Simulations

You may not have access to true 5G network capabilities. But that doesn’t mean you can’t replicate them. For instance, Dogtown Media, my mobile technology firm, has used tools like the Raspberry Pi device and DIY kits such as Framework to simulate 5G’s rapid data transfer capabilities in a development environment. Beyond this, Qualcomm and some telecom consulting companies now offer services that enable developers to simulate 5G experiences.

These substitutes are usually much slower than the real thing. But they still give you a great way to practice.

2. Plan for Two User Experiences

5G adoption will be piecemeal. Major telecoms aren’t incentivized to make the costly infrastructure investments necessary to bring this technology to rural areas immediately. So a large amount of the U.S. population will have to make do with slower networks.

To bridge this digital divide, development teams should plan on creating 4G and 5G experiences of their products. By tailoring your offerings to this reality, you can capture more of the market share.

3. Brace Your Budget for More Work

All of this extra work to make two user experiences requires more time, effort, and money. So plan ahead accordingly by increasing your development budgets by 20% to 50%.

Users who travel across coverage areas may instantly downgrade or upgrade to different networks as a result. To accommodate this and provide a seamless experience, technologies must be flexible and capable of automatically detecting connectivity. This creates even more work for your development team.

5G has tremendous potential to create new value chains, unlock new business opportunities, and fundamentally change how we interact with technology. There’s no doubt it will bring radical transformation. But getting to this point still requires significant investment and serious work.

Don’t let this dissuade you from preparing for this new mobile era. While many people are patiently waiting for this future to come, others are working on making it a reality. At Dogtown Media, we’re creating the mobile future every day. Get in touch with my team for a Free Mobile App Consultation. If you can dream it, we can build it!

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 Quartz at Work.

The fact that tech has a long way to go when it comes to its lack of diversity shouldn’t be news to anyone at this point. The technology sector is the third biggest contributor to the US economy. And the people behind it—from founders to hiring managers to investors—overwhelmingly look like me: white men with a visible degree of affluence.

Similarly, more than 90% of American venture capitalists are white men, and those white men tend to fund startups led by people who also look like them. And as a result, men receive 35 times more funding than women.

Obviously, this should not be the reality. While programs like Girls Who Code work to turn the tide and diversify STEM fields, women still earn just 18% of computer science bachelor’s degrees in the US. Meanwhile, white men are getting the education, the opportunities, and, eventually, the leadership roles.

Ultimately, tech is the arm of innovation in our country. But since it’s largely being programmed by people who look and think alike, the impact on everything in our world couldn’t be more immense.

Robots versus humans?

If there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s that we can’t rely on technology as a solution to fix, well, technology. In other words, don’t blame the algorithm: AI and machine learning won’t fix our tech bias problem when they are inherently biased because of how it was designed, and by whom. Humans got us into this mess, and humans need to solve it.

A host of studies have identified direct links between diversity and workplace performance. In 2017, for example, global consultancy firm McKinsey & Company examined 1,000 companies and found that diverse teams yielded substantial improvements in profitability and long-term valuation. A study that looked at 4,277 companies in Spain illustrated that the companies with the most women had a better chance of bringing radical innovations to market.

When technology like machine learning is designed, coded, built, and scaled by a homogenous team, the results can be disastrous and even, quite literally, deadly. A recent story from the Georgia Institute of Technology indicated that autonomous vehicles might have a more difficult time detecting pedestrians with darker skin. The study found that because those driverless cars were programmed mostly by young white male engineers, systems were 5% less accurate when recognizing people who have darker skin than those with lighter skin, stemming from the fact that fewer images of people with darker skin tones were used during programming and testing.

The impact is heavily felt in the hiring and recruitment process as well. Some suggest letting AI sort and rank job candidates. But that solution runs into the same problem as the driverless cars, because in most cases homogeneous groups are building it. For instance, when Seattle-based Amazon relied on an internal recruiting tool programmed based on past hiring decisions, because those decisions were made by people who had largely favored men over women, the algorithm learned to do the same. When engineers programmed the machine learning tool to ignore overtly gendered words in response, the technology instead started seeking implicitly gendered adjectives to accomplish what it had learned was the goal: selecting and promoting male applicants.

We often subconsciously try to mirror ourselves, spending time and working with people of similar backgrounds. Bias is real and more often than not, creeps into so much of the hiring process. One of the best solutions we’ve found is to intentionally put on blinders. Blinding certain candidate information and focusing on their achievements or experience over other elements like names, zip codes, and backgrounds eliminates the risk of subconscious bias creeping into decisions. Looking instead at where people have excelled or shown willingness to learn new skills and adapt lets our decision-making focus on what matters—professional potential and ability—rather than any preconceived, inherent notions we have about someone.

It should come as no surprise that tech visionaries turn to their engineering prowess for everything, but there comes a time when people problems need to be solved by people.

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

Original article featured in Forbes.

Futurism has always fascinated me. When I was young, I would pore through science-fiction novels and dream about how far-flung technologies could improve our lives. As an adult now working in tech, I’ve been able to explore what the world’s leading minds believe the coming decades will encompass. To my delight, it appears the real world is finally catching up to the sci-fi fantasy.

Take automation, for instance. Robots, autonomous vehicles, and smart machines are ubiquitous in classic science fiction. Thanks to time (and advances), this technology now litters our homes and workplaces. We’re not yet living in the world of The Jetsons, but we’re getting closer by the day.

In 2017, PwC estimated global GDP will increase by 14% by 2030 because of automation. That figure is equivalent to $15.7 trillion — more than the combined outputs of China and India at the time. I believe artificial intelligence is set to make companies more productive while simultaneously increasing consumer demand for cutting-edge products and jolting the global economy like few innovations in history.

Artificial intelligence (AI) development is currently in something of a “gold rush” phase. The business case for AI is proven, and startups throughout the world are clamoring to stake a claim in the space. Individual success hinges on offering new and exciting products, but it also requires a clear vision for the company and a sound business strategy to get there. Tech is necessary, but the people and strategies behind the tech are equally important.

Talent Drives Tech — Managing For The Future

AI is an emerging technology. According to Bloomberg, Tencent Research Institute reported that only about 300,000 professionals worldwide are “skilled” in this area. Millions of additional AI experts may be needed as the automation industry accelerates, but universities are seemingly struggling to supply us with this resource. As a result, qualified talent is scarce — to the point where AI specialists can command salaries of $500,000 or more, according to The New York Times.

Companies will need to prioritize employee retention and do everything possible to develop in-house talent that specializes in AI. Making the effort to stay in tune with AI technology and to incorporate it into work can allow companies to stay technologically relevant, cultivate employee loyalty and expand their skill sets, but having the right strategy is key to achieving these goals. Here are a few lessons I’ve learned from managing my tech team during an AI growth period and from developing AI mobile apps:

1. Understand The Meaning Of AI

To me, AI is about delivering value — not about pushing technical boundaries. Tech leaders should understand the various technologies involved with AI and how they are poised to shape industries and solve problems.

Once leaders understand the state of the industry, they can begin charting their course within it. This approach helped my team focus on the practical rather than the fantastical. My understanding of AI improved immensely after studying research from the World Economic Forum and Boston Consulting Group, as well as listening to podcasts from Goldman Sachs and a16Z.

2. Follow A Clear Roadmap

A survey by Deloitte indicates that 63% of the surveyed companies that adopted AI did so to catch up with rivals or to gain a competitive advantage. Companies should move fast in this space to remain relevant, and a clear roadmap will prove invaluable.

There are a couple of things to guide you in developing this map. Before you start, perform trials, demos, and test runs with different technologies. Be prepared for failure — not everything will work. This leads you to your next step, though, by helping you to determine what kind of technology will add value to your organization and complement the expertise of those on your team.

My team developed a roadmap after researching which AI technologies were poised to be the most disruptive. We saw the most potential in computer vision, natural language processing, chatbots, big data analysis, and pattern recognition. Once we knew we wanted to focus on those elements of AI, our path became crystal clear.

3. Be Honest And Adaptable

If your efforts don’t show signs of success, be willing to change. My company set benchmarks to monitor our progress with AI. After tracking our results for a few months, we were able to identify whether technology or management practices were holding us back.

For instance, we introduced a chatbot that proved to be underwhelming almost immediately. Our analysis showed that it made more sense to abandon the bot than spend our resources trying to improve it. Being able (and willing) to pivot was crucial to our success in other areas.

4. Track Your Gains

Progress should be quantifiable, ideally with clear benchmarks. Focus on how much money you’re saving, how much productivity you’re gaining, and how much extra profit you’re obtaining as a result of your AI initiatives. Cold, hard numbers will enable you to chart your success (or lack thereof) over time. If you do notice little growth, let that be an indicator that there is room to improve. Then, use those numbers to develop strategies that will make deficiencies into proficiencies.

Start by proving your concept early and objectively. Big ideas are great, but you need to be able to measure your progress before you can move forward. For example, my team believed we could build a smart lock that used facial recognition to open a door faster than a manual key. We knew it took about 10 seconds to grab a key and unlock a door, and our initial tests showed that facial recognition could open the same lock in less than a second. After those tests proved our hypothesis, we felt comfortable continuing development.

Some AI companies will become trillion-dollar titans. Many more will likely fizzle out in the startup phase. The difference is not the specific tech products they sell — it’s the leaders creating the vision and strategy behind the company. Never lose sight of the people and strategy powering the technology, and your company will be better positioned to make the most of the AI revolution.

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

Soon, Amazon won’t have to worry about accusations that the company treats its warehouse workers like robots. That’s because those workers will be robots.

And it’s close to happening: In Japan, startups are working on autonomous robots that can unload shipping containers and run an entire warehouse without human direction or intervention. If and when this human-less warehouse comes to fruition, existing supply chains worldwide will reel from the disruption.

In tech-based industries, the landscape can dramatically change beneath a company’s feet before leaders even realize there has been a shift. Reinvention seems to occur every few months in the mobile device industry, for instance, thanks to stronger computing technologies and more mature platforms on which to build them. Features such as push notifications and geolocation services were revolutionary a few years ago; now they are plug-and-play for developers.

As the components involved in augmented reality, blockchain, artificial intelligence and the internet of things start to converge and work together, it’s never been easier to commercialize cutting-edge technologies. These fresh capabilities add value, and the companies that fully embrace them will enjoy a competitive advantage — at least until the rest of the industry catches up.

So, how do you stay competitive in an evolving industry?

Businesses won’t necessarily close up shop overnight if they fail to keep pace with the changes in their markets, but competition is fierce. Innovation can turn a struggling organization into a successful one.

Instead of reacting to the new technologies in your industry, take a proactive approach. Look ahead to how technology will create superior customer experiences today, tomorrow and a year from now. The following steps will help you identify the disruptive forces set to up-end your industry before they arrive — and let you take advantage of the opportunities they provide.

1. Get the lay of the land, and be willing to pivot.

Start with an honest assessment of your own company (or product). Identify anything that might differentiate you from the competition, both positively and negatively. After you have identified any weak spots in your operation, work relentlessly to improve them.

Once you have ideas, practice lean UX methodologies to rapidly prototype them. Bring your ideas to market, but don’t hesitate to pull the plug at the first sign of failure. When you discover something that seems promising, pivot in that direction and put your full energy behind it.

A company such as Samsung would be wise to take this advice. Eight of the 10 best-selling phones in the United States are Apple products, which run the gambit, price-wise, from relatively cheap to the $1,000 iPhone X. Samsung might have high-end and budget-friendly offerings, but it lacks the mid-tier presence it needs to be a true market competitor.

Armed with that knowledge, Samsung might be able to beef up its mid-tier offerings and give Apple a run for its money.

2. Connect with customers on a deeper level.

Innovation and industry disruption naturally affect the way customers interact with products and brands. As a result, you must build relationships that can withstand unexpected twists and turns. Work to understand customers’ emotional connection with your brand, which can be incredibly useful when it’s time to delight and engage those same customers.

As an example, think about how market research tech provider ZappiStore used an emotion-recognition platform called Affectiva to analyze how viewers responded to movie trailers featuring Marvel and DC superheroes.

Although viewers enjoyed the special effects and explosions in the DC trailers, they felt a stronger emotional connection to Marvel’s heroes. Box office figures echo those findings, illustrating that an emotional connection can be vital to a brand’s success.

3. Keep an eye on the horizon.

Look down the pipeline for disruptive forces and new technologies. You’ll certainly want to keep tabs on your competitors, but you should also watch other industries for inspiration.

Consider how these innovations will affect your business and how your company might look if you incorporated them into your offering. The further ahead you see disruptive technology coming, the better off you’ll be when it’s time to leverage it.

When you observe disruptors pivoting in order to remain relevant, definitely take notice. Los Angeles-based Dollar Shave Club reinvented the razor business, but lessons from the company’s direct-to-consumer model have carried over into countless sectors. That doesn’t mean Dollar Shave Club rested on its laurels. When the company noticed its subscription growth slowing, it changed its business model to offer customers options for receiving more than razors on a steady basis.

As technology continues to evolve at breakneck speed, disruption has become a routine part of doing business. Companies that work to identify that disruption as early as possible will be the ones to capitalize, while those that ignore the changing landscape will pay a steep price down the road.

Regardless of what’s happening in your own industry, these four tactics can help you not only stay ahead of trends, but also use them to your competitive advantage.

At Dogtown Media, we’re creating the mobile future every day. Get in touch with my team for a Free Mobile App Consultation. If you can dream it, we can build it!