Graeme Thickins on Tech

Reflections & analysis about innovation, technology, startups, investing, healthcare, and more .... with a focus on Minnesota, Land of 10,000 Lakes. Blogging continuously since 2005.

Stocking Up on Apple

Not AAPL shares (I do that, too) — I’m talking about my fall click-and-buy ritual on Apple.com! Well, in the case of iPhone, every other fall this time around. I decided last year that I would keep my iPhone 14 Pro Max for two years — that is, I skipped the 15. Why? Two reasons: 1) I was very happy with the 14 (display, battery life, and especially the camera), and 2) I was paying for it on a 24-month installment plan — through Apple, of course… on my (you guessed it) Apple Card! So, why not pay it off first, then trade it in when I buy another one? That, and I was hearing the 16 might be offering some exciting stuff worth waiting for. Though I didn’t know it for sure a year ago, that exciting stuff turned out to be — well, you know!

Sure, we’ll have to wait till next month for some of the Apple Intelligence features to be useable on the iPhone 16, with coming software updates — but I’ll be ready with my new phone, which will likely arrive on my doorstep around October 1. Here’s an article from The Verge on the AI features that will be coming this fall, and more into early 2025.

For a look at all the goodness that comes with the iPhone 16 — in addition to Apple Intelligence — the following slide from the September 9th “Glowtime” event wraps it up. (Click on any of the images in this post to enlarge.)

And here’s more on the iPhone 16 camera features — all of which are very much important to me:

For a complete rundown on the features of the iPhone 16 Pro — including the Pro Max — the following slide tells it well. Note the new “Grade 5 Titanium,” which results in lighter weight than my 14 Pro Max, while — get this — giving me a larger screen at 6.9″!  I’ll take that combo.

But, wait — I didn’t stop with a new iPhone — oh, no! I was ready to upgrade my Apple Watch, too! Again, I’ve been happy with my Series 9, but knowing I could trade that in (it’s in great condition) to get a pretty good deal on the new Series 10, why not? Was there one overriding reason for me to upgrade? No, sleep apnea detection is not something I’m worried about. For me, it was a combination of things. In addition to an improved design and more “intelligence,” that would be longer battery life (up to 18 hours!) and faster charging. The Series 9 was pretty good in regard to those last two points, but who wouldn’t want more improvement when it comes to a wearable that’s become an indispensable part of one’s life? I wear my Watch at night, too, as many people now do, to track sleep data. So, here’s a rundown of what the Apple Watch Series 10 brings to the party:

I expect my Watch Series 10 to arrive in the next few days, along with a return box for my trade in. And I can’t wait to strap it on!

How are you planning to upgrade? I have no doubt that this upgrade cycle will be a huge one for Apple — one that will propel the stock of the largest company on the U.S. stock market even higher.

(By the way, did you know that Apple’s market cap, at $3.3+ trillion, is larger than the entire GDP of the U.K.? Blimey!!)

A.I. Startups of Several Flavors Pitch Passionately in Minneapolis

It was my pleasure to host an awesome group of founders at a conference on June 7, 2024 — all of them focused in data and AI. The conference attracted more than 1200 attendees. It was the seventh edition of the MinneAnalytics DATA TECH Conference, which took place at the Best Buy HQ Campus in Richfield, MN.

As a board member of MinneAnalytics, I again organized and hosted  a “Startup Showcase”  that morning. It was the 16th such session over the past decade that I’ve had the privilege of putting together. All told, MinneAnalytics has given a platform to a total of 139 startups in these showcases, which collectively have raised hundreds of millions in capital and created thousands of jobs. Already, a dozen of these startups have had successful exits via acquisition.

view of the crowded room at the Startup Showcase

Our startup session this time continued the strong attendance we had at our last event, the April 19 Healthcare Conference (which I wrote about in my previous post). Attendance was again standing room during most of this session, and even more crowded for the VC Panel at the end.

Please do click on the links below to learn about each of these promising startups! They’re representative of the wide array of data & AI startups that are popping up all over these days. After the event, I asked each presenter, What was one good thing that happened to you because of your participation in this session, or one interesting contact you made?

STARTUP PRESENTERS’ FEEDBACK

Luke Roquet, Datavolo (Minnesota & Arizona): “We met some really interesting people from across town, but hearing what Philips Healthcare is doing and how we might be able to help them with their image processing pipelines was my top takeaway from the event.”Datavolo pitching

Kristopher Purens, Uroboros Innovations (Chicago): “We made several great connections with new people and reconnected with old contacts. Really valuable event for us. Panel discussion was very helpful, too.”Uroboros pitching

Dan Feehan, Code4pro (Minnesota): “Fantastic event. Loved the organization and straightforwardness of it all and the complement of the panel and timely AI discussion. I also loved how easy it was to connect with folks and understand their part of the ecosystem. I even ran into my best friend from 7th grade that I haven’t seen in 30 years! Great job by all presenters!”Code4pro pitching

Michael Petersen, Raise a Hood (Minnesota): “We came away from the event with a dozen new connections — potential investors, potential customers, and even potential partners. It was a day very well invested!”Raise a Hood pitching

Jeremy Vaughan, Start Left Security (Jacksonville FL): “Great event, great community! MinneAnalytics provides an example of what other cities can do for their tech folks and startups. Start Left Security made great connections with new partners and even have some investors chasing us down now!”Start Left Security pitching

Toriano Sanzone, Dot Dog (New Orleans): “The Startup Showcase was truly impressive. I do wish I had brought more business cards and USB drives with my pitch deck, as the networking opportunities were exceptional. Presenting my company DOT DOG and Dog Training AI has boosted my confidence in the direction I am heading. Attending MinneAnalytics events is a priority for the rest of 2024, and I look forward to the possibility of presenting again in 2025.”Dot Dog pitching

Jolly Nanda, Altheia (Minnesota): “It was a great event. I liked the opportunity to connect with my fellow startups, VCs, and supporters. I enjoyed the networking between sessions as well.”Altheia pitching

George Asante, Affine Health Intelligence (Evanston IL): “It was great to be included in such a remarkable event.”Affine Health Intelligence pitching

My sincere thanks to these amazing founders! They pitched their hearts out and captivated our audience.

PANELISTS’ COMMENTS

The panel following the startup pitches packed the room even further. The topic was, “How Are Investors Evaluating Startups in the Age of Data and AI?” After the event, I asked each panelist, What was the single best insight or comment you would cite from the discussion?

headshots of panel participants

Ryan Weber, Great North Ventures (Minnesota): “I loved hearing from John about Piper’s cautious adoption given security concerns and protecting their clients — and from Ryan Broshar about how one of their portfolio companies is addressing it. Also loved Nick’s comment on the due diligence “BS call,” where they bring in an expert to chat with [a startup pitching them] to ensure they aren’t just big talkers. We do that, too, but I never thought of it so bluntly. It makes very clear the intention of that call. With all the hype and new jargon, [such a step] makes a lot of sense in this age of AI.”

Nick Moran, New Stack Ventures  (Chicago): “I believe it was Ryan Weber that emphasized the importance of data in an AI strategy. This is an area we’ve been spending on a lot of time in as we think about defensibility and long-term moats. The comments really resonated and made me think about how that applies to our investments.”

Ryan Broshar, Matchstick Ventures (Minneapolis & Boulder) : “I liked the discussion around the adoption of AI by enterprises, and that we know they will be late adopters when it comes to any product they are building — but probably don’t know the extent to which their employees are already using it to improve productivity.”

John Gast, Piper Sandler (Minneapolis): “I enjoyed the discussion and appreciate how you moderated it, Graeme. It struck me that our collective remarks underscored how quickly this market is moving. We didn’t dwell on the fervor around LLMs in the last 12 to 24 months – instead, we had a rational discussion about the application of this technology to real problems.”

Really excellent panel! Thanks again, guys — and to all who attended and asked great questions.

I hope those of you reading this post can join us at our next Startup Showcase. Watch for an announcement in a future MinneAnalytics newsletter. If you aren’t on that list, please do sign up here. Join the almost 20,000 in the amazing MinneAnalytics community!

Hit the comments and let me know what you think, or if you have a question. Thanks!

Eight Up-and-Coming Healthcare & Medtech Startups I Hosted Recently

Among many other things I do, I serve on the Board of a wonderful organization called MinneAnalytics, a community of some 20,000 data and business professionals. The seventh edition of our Healthcare Data Science Conference took place Friday, April 19, 2024 at the Best Buy headquarters campus in suburban Minneapolis. More than 1000 attended.

In my role as Startup Showcase Organizer, I hosted yet another session of startup pitches at this conference. It was the 15th such session we’ve had over the past decade. (We do them at all our major conferences, not just the events we do focused in healthcare.) Not counting this session, we’ve now featured a total of 114 startups, which collectively have raised hundreds of millions in capital and created thousands of jobs. About 10% of them have had successful exits via acquisition so far.

Big Crowd

The startup session at the recent conference had what I think was the largest attendance of any we’ve ever done. It was standing room only throughout the two and half hours. I attribute that both to the quality of the startups, and to the amazing medtech ecosystem we have here in Minnesota.

The startup presenters and their companies were as follows. I encourage you to visit their websites to learn more the amazing work each is doing!

• Mark Summers, Dosentrx

Dosentrx web page image

 

• Tony Hyk, TheraTec

TheraTec web page image

 

• Jeremiah Scholl, AESOP Technology

AESOP web page image


• Keith Kallmes, Nested Knowledge

Nested Knowledge web page image

• Lia Butler, NeoPrediX

NeoPrediX web page image

• Laura Stoltenberg, Cryosa

Cryosa web page image


• Ping Yeh, Vocxi Health

Vocxi web page image

 

• Chris Darland, Peerbridge Health

Peerbridge web page image

 

A VC Panel Discusses Funding Issues

A panel I organized took place after the startup pitches. It packed the room even further — very little standing room was left! The topic was, “The Current Funding Environment for Healthcare and Medtech Startups.”

Panorama of the audience during the panel

I asked each panelist, What was the single best insight or comment you would cite from the discussion?

Frank Jaskulke, Medical Alley Association: “Having heard Stephanie Rich share that they may see 2500 companies in a year to invest in 3 or 4 — that really highlights the competition startups face. But it also speaks to the importance of engaging the right investors, not just any investors. A startup can waste a lot of time chasing the wrong targets.”

Stephanie Rich, Bread & Butter Ventures: “The biggest thing I was struck by was the interest in venture and healthcare by our ecosystem and attendees! The attendance and questions were amazing.” [Stephanie sat in for her colleague Mary Grove, who called in at the last minute with a cold.]

Dave Dalvey, Brightstone Venture Capital: “The tracking and market implications of ‘overhang’ or ‘dry powder’ as it’s called in the venture capital industry are important to understand. Too much or too little un-invested capital held by active venture managers, at a time when a new company is in the market for funding, has a significant impact on the pricing, terms, and general receptiveness of a fund manager to a new opportunity.”

Greg Banker, Vensana Capital: “I liked Dave’s comment about making sure to research VCs before you go out to fundraise, to ensure you’re a match for their criteria — or that you’re similar to other investments they’ve made in the past. For example, if you’re raising a seed investment and the fund you’re trying to talk with has never done anything but Series B and beyond — well, not likely a fit.”

We had some great questions after each pitch, and after the panel. Thanks again to all who participated and attended!

The next Startup Showcase will be held at the largest annual MinneAnalytics event of them all: Data Tech, to be held on June 7, 2024 at the same venue. It will draw 1200+ registrants and feature 40+ speakers, in addition to the startup pitch session.

Data Tech conference logo

If you’re able to attend, look me up!

A Great Way to ‘AI Enhance’ Your Headshots

It’s no secret there are far too many really bad headshots all over LinkedIn, and everywhere else online for that matter.  Wouldn’t it be great if something came along to help us normal people solve that problem? Talk about a huge market opportunity! Well, something did — and you can probably guess it would be… yes, we can thank our favorite new friend, AI.

Specifically, a startup called The Multiverse AI  has brought us what they describe as an “AI Headshot Generator” that lets you “turn your selfies into professional headshots” to “boost your professional image.”  Who can’t use some of that in this day and age of… yes, friends, I’m going to say it: Personal Branding. Some examples provided by The Multiverse AI are shown here (click the image to enlarge). some examples of AI enhanced headshots

Actually, it doesn’t have to be just selfies you submit — it can be any photos that include you, by cropping into those images to show just your head and shoulders. I know, I got to test it, and I don’t think any of mine were selfies. I hardly ever shoot a selfie! But I have lots of photos that include me. (Those cropped sections, however, have to be a minimum of 512 x 512 pixels, which was a bit of a challenge for me.)

If you follow my blog, you’ve seen me write about this topic of headshots since AI became such a hot thing in 2022 — namely, in the following two posts.

Generative AI Made Me Do it

I Couldn’t Help Myself – I Did It Again

But that was about avatars, which was sort of a plaything for a while — and I created a bunch with an app called Lensa. I sure had fun with it! This new service from The Multiverse AI, however, is a big step up from that, because it produces photo-realistic images that don’t look fake,  or created by… a bot?

How Good Is It?

Well, ta-dah — I’m debuting my favorite new headshot, courtesy of my experience with The Multiverse, right here on my blog today. It’s the one in the upper right under “About Graeme.” That image replaces the one I’ve had there for more years than I can remember. So, kudos to The Multiverse for finally getting me to update that old one!

And here’s a much larger image of all the best ones I got back after my submission, so you can see the variety their service produces. (Click to enlarge.) 12 headshot images of Graeme Thickins

So, What’s the Story on This Startup?

I learned it was launched on Product Hunt back in September 2023, with good success. Who’s behind it? Well, three cofounders you can see here. And a hat-tip to Tanya, who found me on LinkedIn and requested a connection. I thought it sounded interesting, so I took her up on it. Glad I did!

By the way, another interesting way to use The Multiverse — also a much-needed service — is to create AI-generated professional headshots for your team. There are so many startups — and for that matter, larger companies — who have horribly inconsistent headshots of their teams, or their executive lineup, Well, here’s a way to fix that. Yay! I’ll be recommending it — or using it myself for certain clients.

So… how’s your headshot?

My 2024 Predictions Post

I have this tendency to publish a post each January about what I see coming in the New Year. I’m a little late this year (being it’s already January 20th), but that’s because the general mood has been leaning negative of late — not exactly motivating for an optimist like me.

I refused to use an AI-generated image this time. I instead chose this awesome photo by Nicole Avagliano via Unsplash.

 

Then again, my post in January 2023 wasn’t real upbeat, either. But that was more of a tongue-in-cheek exercise. The previous year, my post in January 2022 wasn’t a list of predictions, but rather focused on one big positive trend I couldn’t ignore: the startup boom. (Remember those good old days?) Going back to January 2021, I went full-on optimist, though had some fun with it, as we were coming out of that God-awful pandemic year and needed some levity.

Anyway, for this post, I finally got around to fleshing out the notes I’d been making over the past couple of weeks. I tend to not blurt things out — I like to think a bit first. (Call me crazy compared to  most bloggers… haha.) This year, I went beyond tech to some other topics I just find hard to ignore these days. So here goes:

AI … The hype curve has peaked. Enjoy the ride down into the trough of disillusionment. I won’t say anything more because… are there any more words to say at all that haven’t already been said about AI in 2023? A breather is needed for sure, because the hype has been getting out of control as we sit here in early 2024. (Note: I am not anti AI, I am anti *AI hype* and anti *AI washing*, which so many startups are doing in an attempt to raise money.) A funny recent quote I saw is from Philip Elmer-Dewitt, who runs the very popular Apple 3.0 news blog: “I’ve been following the A.I. beat since Ronald Reagan’s first term, and in my experience its champions have consistently over-promised and under-delivered. Large language models and generative A.I. are real things, but so are self-driving cars and they’re still running over pedestrians.”

Startups … According to AngelList, the startup formation number was well down in 2023 —  40 percent since 2021! That’s horrible. I predict the number will pick up somewhat in 2024. However, a meaningful reversal won’t come until 2025 with a new administration.

VC … In 2024, I will not be surprised if more VC funds shut down. (A big one did last month.) And check-writing from those that have been largely sitting on their hands in 2023 may not increase much. The numbers are sobering. Pitchbook reported in December that 38% of VCs “disappeared from dealmaking in 2023.” Pitchbook also reported that VC investors injected only $170 billion into startups in 2023, a decrease of nearly 30% from the $242 billion recorded in 2022. In 2021, the number was $348 billion. Not a pleasant trend.

Apple … My price target for $AAPL shares is $220 by yearend — on the strength of the iPhone 16 in the fall (call it “the AI phone”), advancements with the next Watch, and, yes, the initial success of “spatial computing.” No Apple Car anytime soon, friends. Which is fine with me.

Sports / National … Will gambling on NFL games get out of control? One senses that a crackdown must be coming. Right on cue, Minnesota legislators are trying to have sports betting legalized in our state. I for one am getting really sick of all the gambling hype!! On another topic, with TV commercial time absolutely ballooning to fund NFL largesse, I predict sales of low-cost DVRs, like the $79 Tablo unit (to record live TV and certain streaming channels), will boom — letting consumers without high-cost cable services (like that rascally DirecTV) inexpensively record and watch just the actual game, skipping through the mind-numbing amount of commercials they now blast at us. And no subscription is required.

Sports / Local … The Vikings will do better. Which isn’t saying much. And Gopher football damn-well better improve as well! 2023 was embarrassing. One highlight in 2024: we’re finally going to the Rose Bowl! Okay, it’s only a regular season matchup October 12th against UCLA (in their home stadium), as they become part of the Big Ten (Big 18!) this year. And another glaring college football topic: I fear, as many do, that NIL is ruining the sport (sigh). It’s the main reason Nick Saban resigned as coach at Alabama, Hey, we don’t need more “professional” sports!

Higher Ed … College enrollments will continue to drop nearly everywhere, but prices will of course not fall nearly as fast… if at all? That tells you all you need to know. How bad is higher education? Americans’ confidence in these institutions has dropped from 57% in 2015 to 36% in 2023, according to a July 2023 poll by Gallup. Here’s more, from Barron’s: “College tuition rose 12% on average annually from 2010 to 2022, according to data compiled by the National Center for Education Statistics and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. After adjusting for inflation, college tuition has increased 747% since 1963.” This prediction I don’t make joyously, as two startups in my portfolio are in this space. (Luckily a small percentage.)

Minnesota State Government … Complete DFL control will end — it has to! Hope you enjoyed watching that $18 billion surplus — your money — go poof! That measly $520 rebate check to taxpayers (per couple) was an insult. But you fellow Minnesotans already knew that. More people are leaving the state than the number moving in. It’s not just the weather.

Minneapolis … The city will never be the same, I am convinced. And St. Paul, which is suffering almost as badly (worse with tax increases), shares the same fate. The population of both cities will continue to drop.

Anywhere But the City … Within the state, the escape from the central Twin Cities to the metro area suburbs and rural MN will continue, as will the rise in values for lakefront property, hobby farms, and farmland. I included some great insights into the trend toward remote work outside the cities, from a national viewpoint, in a post I published in January 2021.

And one more prediction for good measure:

The Media Business …. Let me go out on a limb 🙂 — the media industry will continue to contract in 2024. Many more jobs will be lost. Take a guess how many — then double it. One glaring reason: according to an October 2023 Gallup poll, a record-high number of Americans — 39% — say they don’t trust the media at all. That number has steadily increased since 2018.

So, on we go. (Yes, to a brighter 2025.)

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Postscript:

And in my continuing quest to counter the AI hype, I give you this:

A Technologist Spent Years Building an AI Chatbot Tutor. He Decided It Can’t Be Done.

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And Another Postscript:

I saw a  Wall Street Journal Saturday Essay recently (subscription required) entitled “Why Americans Have Lost Faith in the Value of College.” In it, they noted that the decline in undergraduate enrollment since 2011 has translated into 3 million fewer students on campus. Nearly half of parents say they would prefer not to send their children to a four-year college after high school.

Billionaires who slam higher ed also don’t do it any favors. Here’s Elon Musk on the topic in 2020:

“College is basically for fun and to prove that you can do your chores, but not for learning. I don’t consider going to college evidence of exceptional ability. In fact, ideally, you drop out. You don’t need college to learn stuff. Did Shakespeare go to college? Probably not.”

As a former English major, I can attest… 🙂

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And Yet ANOTHER Postscript:

Re: my VC prediction, here’s additional insight into the state of the industry:

VC Funding in 2024: High-Profile Departures, Layoffs and a Glut of Investors Struggling to Generate Returns | Inc.com

Okay, that’s enough postscripts for one post. I publish insights like these to my X account as well, so please follow me there, where I post daily. Over and out!

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