Vision - January/February 2008 - (Page 77) newsline CEAnewsline association news & views sbc member profile How do you take a business idea and turn it into a successful company? Just ask CEA member Skip West, owner of MAXSA Innovations and co-founder of CEA’s Small Business Council (SBC). Relying on business savvy, lessons learned from his first startup business and the knowledge he has gained through participation in the SBC, he has steered his small business into a double-digit growth trajectory. West launched his first business, DesignTech International, nearly 23 years ago with a first-of-its-kind remote-controlled vehicle locator called the CarFinder™. “We built our booth in the parking lot of McCormick Place (during the former Summer CES) and hand-carried it inside,” recalls West, who credits the International CES as being instrumental in his companies’ success. In 2003 West sold DesignTech and launched MAXSA Innovations. MAXSA markets a line of car, home and personal safety and convenience products, many of which the company designs itself. Heeding advice from his mentor and former CEO of Radio Shack, Bernie Appel, West chose to manufacture his company’s new products in Asia. “I resisted for a long time,” says West, “but now every time I see him I tell him he was right.” He also serves as chairman for the National Science and Technology Partnership, a foundation focused on getting more high school students interested in science and technology careers. In addition, he co-developed and teaches a college course—“Geeks to Gazillionaires: How to take an Idea and Build it into a Successful Company”—at George Mason University. Merging IT, engineering and management, this interdisciplinary higher-educationmeets-reality-show course gives students the skills to develop a plan for a start-up company. Just as on reality TV, students with the winning business plan receive start-up capital. “So far we have spawned three start-ups,” he exclaims. Recognizing that small businesses had no official forum within the association, West worked closely with then-CEA Chairman Kathy Gornik to develop the SBC in 2002. “We saw the SBC as a way for us to come together, share thoughts and ideas to improve our businesses and help us compete with and sell to the giants out there,” says West. To learn more about SBC programs, contact Deb Kassoff, 703-907-7655, dkassoff@ CE.org. • Unlocking the Value of the White Spaces by biLL beLt Although many of us abandoned over-the-air television in favor of newer subscription services such as satellite TV or cable TV years ago, 12.5 million American homes still rely exclusively on over-the-air TV. As you channel surf on your cable or satellite TV you’ll find dozens, maybe even hundreds, of programming streams on back-to-back channels. In contrast, if your TV is hooked to rabbit ears or a roof-mounted antenna, and therefore receiving over-the-air TV, you’ll find a large number of channels without any programming at all. These unused TV channels are called “white spaces” and their future use has been the source of intense debate for the past three years. After February 17, 2009 all full power television stations will no longer operate in the old, analog format in use since the 1940s and will broadcast only in the state-of-the-art, digital format. The long-awaited conversion to digital TV, known as DTV, marks the start of TV stations broadcasting exclusively in the ones and zeros that characterize the digital age. As part of this transition, television broadcasts will be limited to channels 2–51. In contrast, today’s television broadcasts can be found anywhere from channels 2–69. Once channels 52–69 are no longer used for TV broadcasts these channels will be put to other uses such as advanced wireless services, including wireless broadband services and public safety communications networks. Because this portion of the radio spectrum exhibits particularly good characteristics for the newly anticipated services, the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) auction of the freed spectrum is expected to raise at least $15 billion for the U.S. Treasury. Even after the DTV transition, television broadcasts will not occupy the entire spectrum available between channels 2–51. Given Micro Mobile Charger US www.swisstravelproducts.com Visit us at the in CES exhibition Las Vegas l 10th 2008 January 7th unti booth 72430 The world´s smallest phone charger with retractable cable. One charger for different mobile phone brands. The different tips are interchangeable and can be put on the basic Nokia plug, whenever needed. www.ce.org January/February 2008 77 http://www.swisstravelproducts.com http://www.swisstravelproducts.com http://www.ce.org
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