Disqus - Latest Comments for Pema Hegan

Re: Tech Week in Toronto is NOT for Technologists

Pema Hegan — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 10:54:04 -0000

I'm so happy that you've called this event out for what it is David.

Noah, Paul, Tony and I were in the middle of building GigPark when TTW was on last year. We were desperate for help and to connect with other entrepreneurs/interesting people in Toronto. Apart from BarCamp (which was absolutely fantastic) we couldn't find any events that we thought were interesting and relevant for us.

Maybe we're not the target for TTW, but I suspect that's not the case.

Re: HomeZilla launches

Pema Hegan — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 18:41:12 -0000

Sandy still hasn't called me David. I don't think he's taking your advice seriously enough. That or he's too busy launching HomeZilla ;)

Thanks for the idea though David. We've been talking through several different partnership options for GigPark lately and this is another one we should explore. Cheers.

Pema

Co-founder, GigPark

Re: 2006 – A year in numbers

Pema Hegan — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 01:32:31 -0000

I'm relatively new to this community but I've got to say it's been one hell of a lively and inspiring place to hang out (democamps, pub nights, Google groups.). What you have done for the Toronto tech scene in 2006 is incredible David. Looking forward to '07.

Re: » StartupCamp Toronto - Thank You | StartupNorth

Pema Hegan — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 12:58:08 -0000

I wish the GigPark crew could have been there Jevon and Jonas. It sounds like an absolutely brilliant event. Next time we'll time our trips to San Fran a little better ;).

Re: » GigPark - share reviews with your friends | StartupNorth

Pema Hegan — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 22:47:38 -0000

Thanks for the thoughtful review Jevon. And for your kind comment Mark (Paul is definitely a rock star!).

As we've built GigPark - the site and the company - we've worked with some excellent startup related service providers: logo designers, lawyers, SR&ED consultants, illustrators, accountants, printers, etc. If any other Toronto founders need anything, feel free to check out our recommendations. And don't worry, if you're in a hurry you don't need to join to view them...

Noah's recommendations: http://www.gigpark.com/people/noahgodfrey
Pema's recommendations: http://www.gigpark.com/people/pemahegan

I hope other Toronto founders find this helpful!

Pema
Co-founder, GigPark

Re: » LearnHub.com launches - Teach and Learn Online | StartupNorth

Pema Hegan — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 11:06:20 -0000

Congratulations to Malgosia, John and rest of the team. LearnHub looks great, and it was built in record time!

Re: » Always Be Audacious - Otherwise you are just boring | StartupNorth

Pema Hegan — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 13:14:59 -0000

Great post Jevon.

I agree - entrepreneurs shouldn't let comments like “It’ll never fly” convince them to give up. Good ideas usually start out as crazy ones, and most people have trouble seeing the brilliance in crazy ideas. But I also don't think entrepreneurs should completely ignore these negative comments either. I sometimes hear people who run startups saying things like "they just don't get it". They use this comment to write-off anyone who doesn't tell them what they want to hear.

I think most feedback is useful when you are starting a new business, even the negative kind. If people tell you your idea won't fly, that's an opportunity to ask them why and then to use their POV to help make your business better. Don't let them talk you out of your startup but do use their advice to make it better. That's my advice anyway ;)

Re: » Weekend Reading - June 7, 2008 | StartupNorth

Pema Hegan — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 11:05:40 -0000

If anyone is inspired to go looking for their own short domain name, here is a complete list of TLD's...
http://domainlinked.com/list-of-all-domain-name...

Good luck!
-Pema

Re: Bridezilla — good or bad marketing?

Pema Hegan — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 10:55:10 -0000

I think this could have been great, Rob - but after the video blew up there was no follow through for Sunsilk, just confusion.

Capitol C said on their blog that the idea was to "explore and harness the power of ‘wigouts’." It seems they were trying to seed the term 'wigout' ahead of their traditional TV ad campaign launching which used the term. This could have been a great strategy were their TV ads not so completely unrelated and quite frankly - crap. I watched their ad for the first time last night during Lost - here it is on YouTube...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WceQJ2RPivI

Re: Bridezilla — good or bad marketing?

Pema Hegan — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 21:55:59 -0000

Ha! Mathew - I've just realized I called you Rob in my comment above. Must have forgotten which blog I was reading and confused you with your Mesh buddy, Mr Hyndman. Sorry about that.

Re: Facebook: The startup sandbox

Pema Hegan — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 14:42:47 -0000

Your timing is uncanny Mathew - we launched the GigPark facebook application last night... http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id...

For us, Facebook is one of a few important places GigPark should be available. Since GigPark is all about finding services with the help your friends, we need to be where friends communicate - and Facebook is definitely one of those places.

You're dead right that Facebook is a great place to test ideas, but I think for services like ours that get better when your friends are involved, offering your service through Facebook is almost essential.

I believe being platform agnostic is the name of the game. There was a good quote from James Hong of Hot or Not about this in a TechCruch article last year: "I have really stopped thinking of Hot or Not as a destination site and worry about how many people are using our service no matter where they are ... People will go where they will go. The world is evolving."

Re: Omnidrive: Not dead yet, thanks

Pema Hegan — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 18:00:50 -0000

I might be wrong (I know how good your research is Mathew) but isn't Richard MacManus a fellow Kiwi, not an Aussie?...
http://www.readwriteweb.com/about_readwriteweb.php

There aren't many of us Kiwis so we have to stick up for each other ;)

Re: Need out of your iPhone contract? $1100 please

Pema Hegan — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 08:44:22 -0000

I'm sticking with my 1st-Gen iPhone too Jevon. This is ridiculous.
I heard an interview with someone from Rogers on the CBC yesterday. They explained that you will be able to use an iPhone on the Rogers network without picking an iPhone plan - you can simply pick the voice and data plan you want or use your existing plan. For me this at least means I'll be able to stick with my current plan and update the software on my iPhone (i.e. re-virginize it and update to the official iPhone 2.0 software).

Re: Need out of your iPhone contract? $1100 please

Pema Hegan — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 08:49:52 -0000

Also - I has a strange experience with my jail broken iPhone yesterday... I plugged it into the laptop and got an iTunes screen saying "iPhone activations are unavailable at this time". Photos, music and contacts didn't update. I guess Apple really want us to 'officially' activate with Rogers...
http://pe.ma/2008/06/unlocked-iphones-not-synci...

Re: StartupCamp Toronto - Thank You

Pema Hegan — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 12:58:08 -0000

I wish the GigPark crew could have been there Jevon and Jonas. It sounds like an absolutely brilliant event. Next time we'll time our trips to San Fran a little better ;).

Re: GigPark - share reviews with your friends

Pema Hegan — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 22:47:38 -0000

Re: LearnHub.com launches - Teach and Learn Online

Pema Hegan — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 11:06:20 -0000

Congratulations to Malgosia, John and rest of the team. LearnHub looks great, and it was built in record time!

Re: Always Be Audacious - Otherwise you are just boring

Pema Hegan — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 13:14:59 -0000

Re: Weekend Reading - June 7, 2008

Pema Hegan — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 11:05:40 -0000

If anyone is inspired to go looking for their own short domain name, here is a complete list of TLD's...
http://domainlinked.com/list-of-all-domain-name...

Good luck!
-Pema

Re: StartupEmpire: Thanks, that was fun.

Pema Hegan — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 12:55:30 -0000

Amen indeed!

I wish I'd been there for the full day, not just the social event (everyone I spoke to was raving about the sessions). Well done Jevon and team on creating an event that has already done a ton to help the startup/vc community here. Looking forward to the next one! :)

Re: Integrate Demopods at StartupEmpire

Pema Hegan — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 18:51:58 -0000

Great to see you too, Dan!
And best of luck with your work on Integrate.

I wasn't at the sessions during the day so I didn't hear about FuckupCamp. "the conference for startup horror stories" sounds pretty interesting though. See you there ;)

Re: 2008/02/21/gigpark/

Pema Hegan — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 17:48:00 -0000

Thanks for the thoughtful write-up Kristen!

We developed the idea for GigPark after hiring a lot of service providers ourselves - good and bad ones. We always found the best service people via recommendations from our friends. So, this is the insight we've focused on.

Calling around all of your friends to find a recommendation for a lawyer, personal trainer or a tattoo artist can take time. With GigPark, we're trying to make it easier to find great service with the help of your friends.

Pema
Co-founder, GigPark

Re: 25+ Tools For Accounting and Budgeting

Pema Hegan — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 17:27:54 -0000

I've used Expensure.com to keep track of expenses on a few trips I've taken with friends. Works great! At the end of the trip everyone knew who had paid for what and who owes who money. Sorted.