Cameron Chell believes that publicizing a company would be sufficient accomplishment for most entrepreneurs for one year.
He will be in Las Vegas to launch his first products at the Consumer Electronics Show. Trace raised $2.5 million in December.
Chell is also one the finalists in the Entrepreneur of the Year category at the 2014 Canadian Startup Awards.
Chell is the CEO and founder of Calgary-based Business Instincts Group. BIG is his “venture creation company.” In other words, it creates startups internally before spinning these off.
UrtheCast mounted cameras on International Space Station. It was one of the first to go public. Slyce, an visual search startup, was also a successful spinoff.
Chell is right to say that there are always lessons to be learned, but it is still important to enter each new startup with an open heart.
“The moment that you assume you know it, that’s the time you lose your advantage as an entrepreneur,” he states. “The only benefit of a startup, however, is that you don’t have to do it perfectly.”
Trace was like other previous projects. It all started with a question, Chell says. “What if a platform could be created where everyone is relevant?”
Trace will be launching the TRACEr1 at CES. This camera has facial recognition software and can follow its owner autonomously. The camera attaches on to a quadracopter, RC car, and tripod. It allows Go Pro-type users to move from “from here is what I see” to “being seen”.
Chell states that Trace is not a hardware startup.
He said, “Trace in our view is a media corporation.” “Our goal in building the world’s largest live video network is to achieve this.”
The Trace Live Network lets users upload video while they shoot it. This will help Chell achieve his “number one goal”, to make everyone pertinent and record history.
Chell said visual intelligence software, which Chell calls “wireless” and automated video editing Cameron Chell Calgary software, was necessary to make it possible.
“These three elements had to be in order,” he said.
Chell views the Vegas launch as a kind of trial run for Trace shipping.
“It creates the rallying point for you team,” he said. It’s like “becoming small operational company.”
This is also an excellent time to connect with new customers or even hire new staff.
He said, “One reason to launch at CES for the biggest reason is to test your products.” “You’ll get direct feedback from your customers.”