Beauty Was in the Eye of the Beholder….Until a Teen Developed an iPhone App to Prove Otherwise
‘Fit or Fugly’ iphone app scientifically measures a person’s attractiveness using a photograph and Fibonnaci’s golden ratio.
Washington, DC – Ed Nash, a young and promising 18 year old entrepreneur from Somerset, UK, announced today that his ‘Fit or Fugly’ iPhone app has surpassed over 3,500 downloads after just 5 days on the market. The hilarious and undoubtedly useful app “Fit or Fugly” allows iPhone users to calculate how attractive a face is. The program uses Fibonacci’s golden ratio which is based on symmetries via key anchor points on a human face - eyes, ears, chin, mouth and nose. Symmetry has been accepted as the measurement to discover a humans attractiveness.
“For many centuries people have been striving to increase their appeal but there never has been an exact way to determine who is beautiful and who is not”, says Ed Nash, teen entrepreneur and creator of the app. “Finally there’s a way to all it takes is a photograph and an iPhone.”
Apply now for the NFIB Young Entrepreneur Foundation Young Entrepreneur Awards. They are currently accepting applications for the 2010 NFIB Young Entrepreneur Awards beginning midnight, October 31 through 11:59 p.m., December 31, 2009, any high school senior graduating in 2010 may apply online for a chance to win a scholarship valued from $1,000-$10,000.
Last night I was honored to have a seat at the NFTE Movie Premiere of Ten9Eight Shoot For the Moon. I went there to support entrepreneurial teens (aspiring and emerging), the groovy folks that I work with in the DC office and all of the teens I have had the privilege to personally work with that were featured in the movie.
The movie follows the journey of teens from low income neighborhoods enrolled in the NFTE Program at their public high school who are competing to win a chance to the National Business Plan Competition (NYC) and a $10,000 Grand Prize.
I get it and I got it, this whole concept of ‘competing’ for the prize, prestige, recognition. The fame, the fortune, the glory. Yeah, I got it. :) And I would totally recommend any teen out there who has been thinking of starting a business go and watch the movie (in select AMC theatres for a limited time). The movie is a huge step in bringing forth greater awareness of the public about teens and entrepreneurship.
But I have to tell you. This morning, I reflected back on the movie and the one thing I found myself thinking about over and over again were the tens of thousands of teens who didn’t win the competition or even advance beyond their in classroom competition. What happened to them?
A true Renegade CEO challenges not the limits of society but the limits of oneself.
This is like the all encompassing theme in the World of the Renegade CEO’s. There is no such thing as having competition, other than yourself. The corporation you bad mouth today could be the same one merging with or buying your company tomorrow. And what will your client think if you talked about their crappy, inferior product and how they treat their customers so poorly. While you may be smaller, more streamlined and efficient in some respects and maybe even an early adopter in terms of technology, better is relative. You are not better than anybody. You are different…but you are also the same. You both have to market to seek clients, earn money to sustain and grow your business, pay taxes. And for many small businesses, becoming a ‘bigger company’ with millions in annual revenues and customers all over the world is usually a measure of success.
So I leave you with this- in our current economy where resources are strapped, it is important that you come from a place of collaboration vs. competition.
1. Be open to AND with ideas and continual feedback in regards to both your clients and other organizations (smaller and larger than you) in your industry.
2. Embrace the world. When you are online you are connected globally. So have awareness, respect and sensitivity for others outside of your ‘immediate’ community.
3. Look for innovative ways to partner with others who offer complimentary products/services to you.
4. Always work for the best needs of your customer first. When your customer is at the forefront, you will learn to look beyond differences (of other companies who offer similar products/services) and instead serve as a resource for your industry to better educate and support your clients.
5. Make Trust the Norm. Trust Everyone Unless They Personally Give You a Reason Not To.It is so easy to build new relationships and get caught up on the shortcomings and drama from old relationships that didn’t work out. If someone engages in a relationship with you in which they are asking for things that are not ethically or morally right then you obviously know that you cannot trust them. Otherwise, understand that in collaborative relationships, trust is the norm. And when it is the norm, not the exception that people do things with you out of the kindness of their heart without any immediate expectation of repayment.
And big thanks to my trusted mastermind partners, Marianne St. Clair, Greg Balanko-Dickson, Danielle Herb, Mena Gagne and Patricio Quezada who have taught me and reaffirmed the importance of creative, communal collaboration. It works!
@teenbizcoach
Comments (2) Posted by admin on Tuesday, November 17th, 2009
On today’s episode of Renegade Teens Radio, Host Patricio Quezada, CEO of HispanicsLearn chats with Bradley Will, That Gen Y Guy. Bradley Will is the Ultimate Go-Giver and Founder of Social Media Altitude. He blogs about his adventures in living the ‘good’ life with his up and coming young entrepreneurs on BradleyWill.com .
As it was a small miracle in itself getting Bradley lined up to be interviewed on the show in between his co-hosting the YES Movie Screening in Chi-Town (Chicago) and being featured on Rise to the Top TV, we are definitely going to make the most of our precious one hour with him. As Renegade Teens believe that 21 is technically ‘old’ by today’s standards, inquiring minds want to know how someone who is age 27 could possibly be considered a ‘young’ entrepreneur and how can any movie before 1990 be considered ‘inspirational and entrepreneurial’ to today’s ‘truly’ young entrepreneurs?
Get informed firsthand and be entertained as Bradley brings his midwest charm and Patricio adds his Hispanic Chispa. As always, we are looking forward to your participation and seeing what new adventures will evolve from this episode. Tune into the show tonight at 6 pm EST. www.blogtalkradio.com/RenegadeTeens
To get a feel for Bradley and why it is so fitting that his company is named Social Media Altitude…Peep his video below:
Comments (1) Posted by admin on Thursday, November 12th, 2009
Today I attended Actionomics [DC] Fall Forum 2009, hosted by the fabulous Washington DC Economic Partnership Office, which is an incredible and valuable resource for small businesses in the city (everybody who works there is so nice).
Here is the [link I have yet to find-womp, womp] to the virtual home of Actionomics [dc] *sigh*. There you can read all about this groovy citywide initiative that we have already set free.
So what exactly is Actionomics [dc]?
In my interpretation, it is an offline crowdsourcing initiative designed to bring together community thought leaders inclusive of individuals and organizations (public/private sectors) who are directly or indirectly connected to DC’s Creative Economy. This mashup of folks have been tasked to inspire, stimulate AND launch the ‘genius idea(s)’ that will address challenges in the community and essentially spark a ’new and emerging culture’ for DC. The idea is to be known for something other than politics, law and government. Teen Entrepreneurs…now that is a novel idea
What is it other than the politics, law and government that is going to attract, train and retain fresh voices and talent which ‘rallies’ around this new DC?
