Last weekend I attended Lean Startup Machine as a mentor and judge. It was by far one of the most inspiring events in a long time. The key reason ? It opened my eyes to a public secret about failure & success among startups: that entrepreneurs push their solutions without validating their customer’s problems first. Equally important: LSM helps you do this in 3 days. First you validate your customers.

Richard Branson recently harnessed the power of 15 business tycoons to try and bring peace to the Ukraine, highlighting common business sense as a key argument to resolve the conflict. It got me thinking. Despite his great instinct for guerilla marketing, I doubt he is doing that solely to promote his airline. Is he then simply using his public persona pressure to move the world in the right direction or.

Yesterday I got home from work and expected to hear a welcoming shout from my wife. Instead I found an isolated piece of paper on the kitchen table and a house that was eerily empty. “Honey, I have decided to leave you. I have found someone else that is simply a better match. I love you and you have made me happy for years. But I stumbled onto a website.

Forget apps, wearable tech and silicon valley. The next big thing is what we eat and where we produce it. Four key drivers are turning Fruit & Veggies into the most exciting sector on the block. And that’s not even counting the fact that we need to feed a burgeoning world population with significant health challenges. Find out below how the potent mix of unparalleled innovation and marketing infusion is.

17 years ago I lived in Athens for 6 months as a strategy consultant. I loved the country, the city, the people. I was also amazed by the chaos, the apparent lack of ambition, of drive, of direction. Given this, I asked a friend how the Greeks were able to get so many projects funded by the EU, as was apparent from all the EU-flag signs on all kinds of.

There is a story in every brand. In every product. Granted, not every story is immediately remarkable. As I discussed in ‘Is there Buzz in Boring’, this can be remedied. But even if your story is interesting enough, how do you get it out ? How do you turn a story into a conversation among your target audience and the media to pick up on it ? In short, how.

Years ago I was called by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This was around the time of the referendum on the European Union’s Constitution. People did not see the EU as important and the government was worried that Joe Schmo would not care for more rules and bureaucracy. Although I had been approached by the broadest, varying set of possible clients, their question still surprised me: can you buzz.

Recently I spoke at the annual conference for the Creative Industry, formerly known as the Print & Graphics conference. At first glance, you might expect that our digital times present incredible challenges for this sector. But the opposite is true. If you start to look there are incredible opportunities for buzzable services, applications and business models. Our digital world – as in many industries – actually creates tons of hybrid.

Maybe you’ve already found it. A small gem from Ted’s incredibly rich inspiration archives. A short video of Terry Moore explaining that for centuries, we have tied our shoelaces wrong. If not, watch it first and then return to this post. The bottomline ? Small changes in our behaviour can bring (significant) benefits. And here’s how understanding the underlying dynamics can help you innovate more succesfully. Most business success stems.

Yesterday I was one of the judges at the semi-finals of the Philips Innovation Award. It was a fantastic event with enormous amounts of entrepreneurial energy. But of course the big question is: how buzzable were the propositions ? In a nutshell my observations on 8 inspiring new business ideas. If you want to connect with these entrepreneurs, let me know and I’ll hook you up. If you have ideas.

The Pebble ? Fot those not following Wired, Fastcompany and the likes, Pebble is a smartwatch and was one of the most discussed gadgets of 2013. And of 2012, when it hit Kickstarter  and became the biggest crowdfunding success in history. They set out to attract $ 100.000 and got $ 10.000.000. The appeal ? Turn your watch into your 3rd screen. Notifications of  texts, emails. An appstore for new.

The Santa Clause Principle is all about the power of social sampling. Who is the best person to run your sampling program ? Your customer. If you do it right, your fans are the best samplers in the world. They will tell the story best and know which friends should try your product. As a bonus, they do it for free. Check out the video for more details. As a.

Recently, I spoke at the annual conference for Mediators. For those not in the know: mediators embrace the notion of settling conflicts by getting everyone to agree on the outcome in a mediated process. Instead of two parties both trying to get the meanest lawyer who will leave the opposing party stripped bare to the bone on the floor. In our ‘dog eat dog’ world, mediation is still a pretty.

When I launch this website, in 2014, Buzzable is a brand new innovation boutique. But I coined the term ‘buzzable’ in 2005*. I had just started Buzzer as a word of mouth marketing platform and we needed a new vocabulary to discuss the potential of word of mouth for our prospective clients. Many brands were slightly nervous about their products: would they be special enough to generate sufficient (positive) buzz ?.