Last month’s Challenge of the Month, dedicated to ideas that will make Soccer and everything surrounding it more enjoyable, obtained 127 ideas, with suggestions as interesting as a (67103) Draw at the end of the game with prizes for the winning ticket number, an idea presented by ideator BRAIN TRAINNER, or a draw to make the winning soccer fan a (69500) Professional Player for one day,  as suggested by earias21.

And soccer is not only a guy’s sport, girls too have taken part with good ideas, such as pattypy’s (67862) Woman referees in soccer or this idea by user formentera6, suggesting the use of the famous Hawk-Eye, which has already been implemented in other sports, such as tennis: (67772)  Hawk-Eye in soccer games
User jessiva also shares her idea,  (66953)  Pitch-side view Restaurant.

You can view these and all the other good ideas that have taken part in this Challenge of the Month here.

And remember you can take part in the current Challenge of the Month, sharing your ideas on how to make your costume party fun and original.

Our Big Bang Video competition continues. There are already 37 published video ideas that are taking part, and you can view them and vote for you favorites here.

Click here to view the most voted ideas among which is the idea “It looks easy” by user Francesca or idea “How to paint a staircase in three minutes with a sock.” by user ELTELERA.

You can now find out who the members of the jury are, responsible for awarding a 1st prize of 3,000$, and giving out another two 500$ prizes to users, chosen from all participating video ideas. To find out who the members of the jury are, visit the competition’s Terms & Conditions:

Ana María Llopis (founder and CEO of ideas4all)
Stanley Bendelac (Board of Directors of ideas4all)
Bernardo Hernández (Google Worldwide Director of Marketing for Consumer Products)
Javier Oliván (Facebook international product and marketing responsible)
Cesar Covarrubias (CEO of Pomelo Tv)
Eduardo Benito (Winescreen Managing Partner)
Gonzalo Martín (Audiovisual Media Consultant. Vice-President of Arenas Entertainment in Spain)

And remember you can still participate by uploading your video until September 30th.

Come on and participate!

Innovating is a difficult task, that requires all of our effort and, above all, perseverance. Sometimes, our work environment makes things all the more difficult, Agustín Cuenca who has collaborated with ideas4all since the beginning of the project, made it clear in his presentation at Innosfera in February:

“It’s impossible to innovate here, my boss won’t let me. Well, leave your boss and open your own business.”

Sometimes, you have to be brave and dare to innovate.
The article by Mitch Ditkoff: “Top 100 Lamest Excuses for Not innovating” includes a complete list of the 100 excuses we can think of instead of innovating.

Here is a brief summary of the most common reasons. Any of them ring a bell?

I don’t have the time
I can’t get financing
My boss will never go for it
We’re not in the kind of business likely to innovate
I’m just not the creative type
Our clients aren’t asking for it
We don’t have a culture of innovation
They don’t pay me enough to take on this kind of project
I won’t be able to get enough resources
Someone will steal my idea
The concept is too disruptive
I won’t be able to get enough support
I’ve never done anything like this before
I’m not sure how to begin
I’m getting too old for this
Maybe next year

After reading, admit one or two have crossed your mind, right?
But what is truly interesting about the article is how it suggests we get over these excuses:

1. Make a list of your most bothersome excuses.
2. Turn each excuse into a question beginning with the words “How can I?”
3. Brainstorm each question.
4. Then, do something about it within the next 48 hours.

I think it is a good way to, at least, start taking the first few steps.
Go on!

Maria Mazariegos from ideas4all

We are launching a new Challenge of the Month, to keep your brain cells busy during this month of August, while finding “Ideas to make your costume party fun and original”. If you like celebrating, parties, and having a good time, we’re sure you have some pretty good ideas to share with us for this new Challenge.

You can participate with your ideas until August 31st. Find all the information here.

You can also record your idea on video and have it participate in the Big Bang Videos competition. There are 8,000 $ to be won, and you have 10 chances to be the winner. You’ll find all the information here and you can upload your video directly from here.

Having a child is not an original idea. It is, however, the best idea my husband and I have ever had. I have become another one of those mothers who fall in love with their baby and everything surrounding it: the thrill of looking upon the world for the first time again, by his side, the laughter that follows each conquest, the sleepless nights, planning a future that will make him happy and an education that will help him be a better person… He has only been with us for a few months, and already I find my days impossible without him!!

Like with any good idea, having a child while pursuing your career-related dreams is not an objective that can be accomplished alone. Much support is needed. When somebody starts up a company, like Ana María has done with ideas4all, one of the first things to do is find a team that shares one’s passion. And that’s how we met!

During these past almost three years, I have shared this incredible adventure with her.

When we decided to have a child, Ana María volunteered to lead the “team” that has made it possible for me to have the baby and continue working. Without her support, it would not have been this easy. The fact is that, when speaking of reconciling, Ana María is not merely about theory, but rather about practice, which is very praiseworthy: I have been in her place before, and adjusting to the demands of maternity in a start-up is not a simple task, as there is always an incredible amount of work to do and very few people to do it. I also have to thank the rest of the ideas4all team, who have made my maternity leave easier, and particularly Ana T who, along with Ana María, has put in many, many hours of her time so that I could be by my little one.

Now that I am back, I see a million exciting challenges before me, and much to do.
Ideas4all is growing: the adventure continues!

This past February, Kevin Rose, founder of Digg, visited Webstock, which took place in New Zealand.

From Readwriteweb, here are 10 tips he offered for entrepreneurs, summarized. To view the entire content, I recommend you read the full article.

1. Create it and don’t ask: you don’t need anyone’s approval and, in fact, you probably won’t get it, so don’t even try.

2. Iteration: create the tool, launch it and repeat. Make a list of the functions you wish to create during the next six months, and move forward.

3. Hire your boss: make sure you hire people you would like to work for.
People you can learn from.

4. Demand excellence: Make sure your team is committed to your decision and understands it. Enthusiasm and commitment tends to be contagious inside a work group. Take part in the hiring process as much as you can.

5. Funding: the greater the valuation of your company, the more capital you will have to work with. Do whatever is necessary to find funds. Look for creative ways of cutting costs.

6. Get the press on your side: Address the least prominent bloggers of your favorite technology blog. They have as many opportunities to write about your product as any other blogger in their team. Go to the parties after events, they’re free.

7. Invest in advisors: hand a small part of your shares to advisors that you can call whenever you’re in trouble or if you need general advice as problems arise.

8. Connect with the community: organize an event that puts you in contact with your users, exchange thoughts with them and obtain their advice.

9. Take advantage of your user base to extend the word of mouth.

10. Analyze your traffic: pay attention to how people use your website, learn and evolve.

Maria Mazariegos from ideas4all

An entrepreneuring project requires us to overcome many external barriers: finding associates, funds, managing resources appropriately, and an endless list of more issues that join forces with other obstacles, much deeper ones, that are the first we must face.

These barriers are internal: our fears. Making the most of all our skills and capabilities is up to us, and up to us only. Along the path taken by an entrepreneur, he or she will have to face up to these fears very often, as they become obstacles that can keep entrepreneurs from moving on.

Some of the most common fears are:

1. Fear of change
Changing and going from one state to another, be it on a personal or professional level, requires motivation, impulse and energy. When on top of it all, this also implies an economic risk, anxiety levels rocket, because it is not easy to leave the safety zone we have attained.

The best way to face these moments of change is to think of all the positives these changes can bring to our lives. Also, speaking to and reading about other entrepreneurs who have decided to take the step before us, will undoubtedly spur us on.

What is the worse that could happen? We often make possible negative results seem bigger than they are, which makes us feel discouraged and provides us with an excuse so as not to enterprise, not to take the risk.

2. Negative thinking
Constantly thinking negatively helps nobody. It can become an obstacle for any project or initiative, in any aspect of our lives. The only way to face our fears is with a positive attitude. By reinforcing the vision of our true capabilities, we will gain awareness of what is happening around us, helping us see reality without a negativity that, in most cases, causes us to make a mountain out of a molehill. A good way to push negative thought out of out minds is to speak to people with experience in entrepreneuring, as no one will offer us better encouragement and advice.

And always keep this in mind: What is the worse that could happen?

3. The fear of giving up, lack of perseverance
Success, or at least fulfilling our short-term objectives, requires perseverance, any objective is accomplished through perseverance. Which is why we must fight against the laziness and lack of motivation that can make us give up. The best way to not give up is work; and again, to turn to the experience of those who have had success and, why not, of those who have also had negative experiences, but who can give us valuable advice.

Good luck!

Maria Mazariegos from ideas4all

2 years ago today, ideas4all was launched to the world with the objective of becoming what we imagined one day, a platform to share ideas that contribute to improve things or change people’s lives. Today we can say that our day-to-day efforts have paid off, and we have managed to attain that objective, and even though at times things don’t go as planned, other times the unexpected occurs.

Ideas4all is a team which, throughout these 2 years, has advanced together, trying to improve every detail, trying to transform the website into a space for all, an open space in which your ideas play the leading role.

And today, on this second anniversary, we feel happy and are proud to say that over 53,000 ideas are shared in ideas4all, and that there are over 3,000 problems and close to 2,700 solutions to be found. That each day sees new users arrive, moved by the will to share, and that makes us feel proud of being a platform in which users from 161 countries participate with their ideas and contribute with their points of view.

We want to thank you for wanting to share your ideas and problems throughout these 2 years. Congratulations to our ideators and questors. We also want to thank everyone who is part of the ideas4all team for the enthusiasm and energy we bring to work every day, a big thank you to our investors, advisers, consultants, suppliers, friends in social networks and, well, happy second anniversary to you all.

We want to encourage you to keep on participating with us in this space in the Internet called ideas4all, where we want to -and believe we can- change things, even if only a little.

Ana María Llopis and the ideas4all team

•Prestigious business personalities contribute resources.
•The Million Euros join another 3 Million from previous financing rounds.
•Over 50,000 ideas submitted by users in the website, www.ideas4all.com
•Ideas4all reaches its objective for the whole year in half the time: contracts for over 400,000 Euros in the first six months of 2010.

Madrid, July 13th, 2010. Ideas4all, the ideas social network of reference, offered also to companies as a tool for innovation, has just increased its capital by 1 Million Euros.
Close to 70% of angels who invested in previous financing rounds, adding up to 3 Million Euros, have again contributed to capital.

Along with Ana María Llopis, CEO and founder of ideas4all, as well as Board Member at BAT and Service Point, other renowned business personalities have also invested in this round, such as Peter Wood (founder of Direct Line in the UK, and later of Línea Directa) or Board Members Ángel Durández (President of OJD and Board Member at Telecinco and Repsol) and Stanley Bendelac (founder of Delvico, Advertising creative
and prestigious adviser). Also contributing to capital were Luis Cacho, President of Arsys, partner of Gnoss and President of Fundación Promete, or Mercedes Domingo (owner and founder of FunnyDoors).

This financial support has arrived precisely as a business plan advances twice as quickly as expected. Contracts have been agreed for 418,000 Euros during the first six months of 2010, meaning ideas4all has reached its annual objective in half the projected time.

Big clients and successful case studies
Ideas4all has, to date, installed nine platforms in big companies of the finance, energy, telecommunications and computing sectors, as well as in education, where brand identification has been more than significant. Ideas4all’s platform for Banco Sabadell, launched in early 2010, and which has received close to 3,000 ideas, has already seen the participation of 70% of the bank’s employees. The platform ‘ideas for Guadalajara’, with Santander Universidades and Universia, reached 750 initiatives in May, betwe en ideas and challenges that were presented and debated, with great impact, during the 2nd Ibero-American Rectors’ Congress that took place in Mexico.

About Ideas4all
Ideas4all (www.ideas4all.com) is a vertical social network that offers a new way of sharing ideas and innovation. A place where businesses and institutions can find original ideas from people who are currently out of their reach. Ideas4all seeks to keep these ideas from going to waste, and to democratize their validation. Since its launch on July 15th, 2008, ideas4all has grown very quickly, showing there was a demand for its services.

Up to July 2010, users have submitted over 50,000 ideas in the website ideas4all.com and have raised over 3,000 problems and offered close to 2,700 solutions.

Themes: Ideas are related above all to improving the quality of life of people, to entertainment, the environment, culture and technology.

There are over 50,000 registered users in ideas4all and approximately 10,000 in platforms installed for clients, where the total of ideas and challenges is close to 6,000.
There is a clear incentive for participation in said platforms, especially for employees, who increase their commitment to the organization up to five-fold.

In our previous featured problem in the ideas4all homepage, we asked users: Which alternative means of transportation can be promoted in cities? We’re sure you can still come up with an idea, and are in time to publish it here.

Well then, we have obtained no less than 123 ideas suggesting possible solutions. It seems ideators have been using their imagination to come up with new ways of moving around town.

Ideas go from electric vehicles in idea (61340) A good alternative to (61367) Making it easy to buy electric skateboards or Segway “Skateboard Dispenser”

Another proposal was (61376) BRIDGES FOR PEDESTRIAN STREET CROSSING, suggesting traffic lights could be removed, thus improving traffic congestion.

Going back to using streetcars or hiring (61489) Company micro-buses for workers.

And why not?  (63982)  Bicycles that store power to be used when riding uphill. People would not tire as much and would use their bike more often.

You can see all the ideas that solve the problem “Alternative ways to move around town” here.