On Entrepreneurs and Artists, on Corona and on being Number One.

A long time ago, during my late teens early twenty’s a friend of mine used to be a tennis instructor. He didn’t teach the fine art of how to play tennis, the didn’t coach, he didn’t teach you how to hit the ball and how to serve or how to move around the court, he didn’t teach, he certainly didn’t coach. His job, or as he would described it was that of the guy who you hired to play tennis against while learning how to play tennis. His clients would usually have hired a coach or an instructor or a motivational speaker, he was there to play against the students. He got to that position by being a really good player. He qualified at the state finals and won numerous tournaments throughout the state.

Couple of things to jot down, he came from a middle class hardworking family, he certainly wasn’t rich and his family could never afford to hire a coach, enroll him on private classes or sign him up to posh tennis clubs to learn how to play tennis. He played at the local park court, but played for hours on end. Often until he got kicked out by the park police and had turned off the court lights. He never had “tennis” attire. He never had a “graphite” tennis racket, nor “professional grade” tennis shoes. He just loved to play and by the sheer love became a top tennis player and instructor in the area. He was sought after and often was booked in advance for months. He demanded top dollar and made a good living at it for a while.

Since we have gone to the same high school and were part of the same group of school friends, we remained close friends well until after graduation. As he kept playing tennis and getting better and better he taught me a lesson. He never sat and said, here let me teach you this, this is of those lessons learned by osmosis. 🙂 Like I said earlier, while in high-school, he could not afford the super expensive tennis rackets, the shoes, nor the “attire”. Yet watching him play, he played with passion and determination and would beat the crap out of anyone on the other side of the court with am amazing grace. It was like it was just too easy for him to win. Yet, he would never, at least when I saw him play and then through the reports of friends and others, make you feel as though you lost. For him, it was a match, a game and he came to win and win he did.

The irony here is that he would win, and in his words, using a $15 dollar tennis racket. He could only afford regular tennis shoes, t-shirts and shorts, those that at one point were jeans and you just cut off the legs. That’s how he would win and win top games.

So what’s my point? What am I trying to get to?

Lets look at it from another perspective. A guitar has only six strings. A piano has 52 keys. Yet, how many variations of sounds can you generate from just six strings? and 52 keys? Some of the best music in the world, created by some of the best composers in the world, some of them even deaf, have endure time and time again and have become classics and every other adjective I can find out there.

If I we were to look at my friend, the tennis player, and say Beethoven, and if I could try to find a correlation, what would that be? that of two great artists who had love and passion for their respective skills. Both of them artists, and great artists use any tool to convey their passion. A tool, wether it is a tennis racket or a piano, is a method to convey their artistry, and their passion.

Carlos, where are you going with this? It is great and all but what does this have anything to do with either entrepreneurship or Corona?

Well, just like my friends canvas was that of a tennis court and Beethoven’s canvas was a stage, theater, etc, the new canvas is that of a mobile device. And the canvas size is not any bigger than the size of your palm or two palms if you are talking tablets.

Although, prior to the App Store, there had been app stores, Apple popularized it to what it is today. It enabled the democratization of  not just building apps but also distributing them and creating an entire new industry of mobile apps, and with it, a new breed (insert trite jargon marketing phrase) of entrepreneurship was born.

And here is where both entrepreneurship and obviously Corona comes into this blog. Corona is a tool for your entrepreneurship passion in creating great mobile apps.

I have seen what you guys can do with our tool. I have been blown away by some of your creations. Heck, Walter and I can’t believe what you guys often create and how you can push us in the right direction to take Corona to the next level. Yet, with each new game I see, each one is different, each app I see, each one is different. Your creative mind and passion makes Corona do things I am blown away by. But more importantly, what really excites me the most is seeing not just what you can do with Corona but how Corona has changed peoples lives. It has enabled some of you follow a dream of becoming entrepreneurs and have done so quite well. Often, what was impossible is now possible. Mobile programming has a high learning curve in general, but Corona is one of those tools that lowers the barrier to entry without sacrificing quality and game play.

Which brings me to my closing argument 😉

Corona has allowed you to become the creative entrepreneur you have been wanting to become by producing some outstanding games and selling them at both iOS and Android market places. Some of you never thought it would be possible, but with a tool like Corona, it has become possible and you embraced the challenge and have become successful at it.

But the best part for me is that you have trusted Corona to be part of your entrepreneurial spirit and because of it, are establishing Corona as the new industry standard.

An what gives me that right to say Corona is becoming the new industry standard?

By having the number one game on the Android Market place Arcade and Action done in Corona, beating both Angry Bird and Angry Birds Rio. It is Monkey Blast by the Yobonja guys.

Not just that, six months ago, the number one game on the iTunes App store, Bubble Ball, by 14 year old Robert Nay was also done in Corona.

I am very proud of the fact that two completely different set of people using the he same tool, were able to create two different apps resulting in the two apps hitting the number one spot in two different markets and establishing said tool as solid, de-facto standard in mobile app development.

That common tool being Corona.

Now that’s what I would call Corona and the spirit of entrepreneurship.

Carlos.