How This Entrepreneur Built an Agency for an Internet of Things World
Marcelino Alvarez is the co-founder and CEO of Uncorked Studios, a rapidly growing design and engineering firm that builds connected products for both the digital & physical world – ranging from an app/website to a wearable device or smart home technology. The company also has a history of developing social impact projects e.g. in 2011 my guest and his team developed an open data initiative to help residents of Japan report and understand the levels of radiation following the earthquake and nuclear disaster. The company was founded in 2010 and is based in Portland, Oregon. Its clients include companies such as Google, Adidas, Intel and Lego.
Here are 3 reasons why you should listen to this episode:
- There are some great lessons in this episode on how to build a successful services business. Many of you are currently running a services business while trying to build your product business. You will get some good insights on how you can get more clients.
- We talk about innovation and creating a culture where innovation is encouraged. And Marcelino has some great examples of what he has done to create that type of culture in his company and how that has resulted in some amazing new ideas and products.
- I always believe that looking outside of our own world views, we can find inspiration, new ideas and better ways of doing business. So although this isn't a conversation about SaaS or a software product, it will give you some ‘out of the box' thinking for your SaaS business.
Success Quote
- “Fail harder.”
Book Recommendation
- “Gamestorming: A Playbook for Innovators, Rulebreakers, and Changemakers” by Dave Gray, Sunni Brown, James Macanufo
Links, Resources & People Mentioned
- Uncorked Studios
- Wieden + Kennedy
- PIE (Portland Incubator Experiment)
- Gorlochs
- David Ewald
- John Furukawa
- BCC Parties
- Nick Parish
- Contagious
Contact Information
- Marcelino Alvarez – @mrlnmarce
- Omer Khan – @omerkhan