The Friday Indefensible Position: Two Bent Corners and a Boulder Beta iPad (Jason Lewis)

Entrepreneurs exploit opportunities hidden to others.  One might not think there could be competitive advantages involved in the random act of drawing business cards.  I beg to differ.

Adapt and overcome!

My Friday Indefensible Position:  I am better than you at winning random card drawings out of a fish bowl.  I have innovated and succeeded.  And the glory of the Boulder Beta championship – and a shiny iPad3 – is now mine to show for it.

Let me explain.  Boulder Beta is not my first door prize rodeo.  As with startups, innovation often comes from unexpected corners.  It turns out, when it comes to card drawings, I have a proven method.   It involves corners.  More on that in a moment.

My card-from-a-bowl talent first emerged at the Harper County Fair when I was around the age of 7.  The winning goods?   A matching set of Coleman coolers ranging from a water jug up to a massive ice chest.   OK.  It wasn’t every kids dream prize.  But it allowed me to start honing my skills as an amateur Door Prizeman champ.  I was a prodigy.  And 23 years later, I’m still at it.

For the benefit of the Colorado startup community, I’m now ready to share my card drawing trade secret with the world.  Here goes:

When it comes to contests involving the draw of business cards, you have several possible competitive advantages.  Card placement, card size, card shape, card textures, and card thickness are each options.   Each is important to gaining a competitive advantage within the fish bowl.

Yet there is one tried and true method that tops all others:  The Corner Bend.  This method carries with it 23 years of winning tradition.

As with startups, each situation has to be analyzed based on the dynamic environment presented.  In fights within the fish bowl, exactly what type of bend requires adjustment and calibration.   I base my bend(s) on the number and quality of the door prizes.  Too big of a bend, and you get drawn first for a free xxxl t-shirt or stress reliever ball.  Too small of a bend, and your competitive advantages never come to fruition.

Easier than IKEA instructions

After analyzing the goods at September’s Boulder Beta, I went with a 1/3 of an inch bend in opposite corners with one facing up, the other facing down.  Not enough to get drawn first, just enough to increase the odds of being drawn later.

The Door Prize Champion and his shiny new trophy

Did it work?  Hell yeah!  My days of being an amateur Door Prizeman are over my friends.  My certificate of reaching expert Door Prizeman…… a brand new shiny iPad3!!    I want to thank Boulder Beta for making this happen and to my family for putting up with me.  Without their support I might not ever realized that the static-cling trick, while considered an advantage, actually ends up taking both you and another door prizeman down, a discovery that lead me to develop my own winning techniques.

Many thanks to Jason Lewis for kicking off our new blog series. Check out the blog next week for more on our exciting fall lineup. – Ed.