Tag Archives: Inklyo
An Update on the Inklyo Launch
November 30th was the day we’d been waiting for here at CIK Marketing. At roughly 11:30 p.m. that night we crossed our fingers, closed our eyes, poured a shot, and flipped the switch on the Inklyo platform.
Surprisingly, nothing blew up. Check it out for yourself here: www.inklyo.com.
Since the launch, we’ve been hard at work onboarding writers, negotiating new client agreements, and sending out a firestorm of PR (check out the official Inklyo launch release on the Inkblot Blog).
While others are gearing down for the holidays, we’ll be working on some further marketing materials, a demo video, and some additional client help resources.
At this point in time, I’d just like to thank everyone who had a hand in the development and implementation of Inklyo. I won’t list everyone, but the following folks deserve a special shout out:
- Logix Design Studio - Big thanks to Brandon and Brian for their work on the website design and for putting up with my mental breakdowns at our shared office.
- Innivity Marketing Group – To Rob and Emily for taking me under their wing and helping me slug through some confusing financial projections.
- Mark Evans – For giving me the opportunity to attend the mesh12 conference earlier this year, and also for his help navigating the confusing world of content pricing.
- Robert Nickels – For being a friend and for lending his creative genius to a handful of marketing materials.
- The Ground Floor – To all the board members and advisors for their support and advice.
- Natalie MacNeil – For pointing me in the right direction and helping me better understand Inklyo’s potential.
- My Inklyo team – Without Dave, my mad scientist programmer, this idea would have never come to life.
And to anyone else who read a rambling email, responded to a unintelligible text, or picked up one of my (many) manic phone calls in the past 10 months, thank you. You helped shape Inklyo more than you’ll ever know.
This is the content of my life.
Thanks to everyone who’s played a part in the development of it thus far.
Failure Isn't Just Fundamental, It's Also Fun
If there is not at least a possibility that your pursuit, whatever it might be, may end in cataclysmic failure, then even your success in that endeavor will be tempered.
Greatness is only the positive reflection of the defeat that is probable in the pursuit of it.
Greatness is only ever a possible outcome when the prospect of utter, unmitigated defeat is also on the table. – A.J. Leon, The Pursuit of Everything
I’m not ashamed to admit that my life has been full of failures. What’s more, I’m actually pretty proud of some of my better mistakes. Turns out I’m actually really good at making bad decisions.
While screwing up generally isn’t celebrated, I’ve found it can actually be quite a bit of fun. Sure, I’d prefer not to do it; I think we’d all much rather barrel our way through life kicking ass and taking names, but sadly that’s not the way the world works (unless you’re Chuck Norris, of course).
If I’ve learned anything this year, it’s that failing is fundamental. Don’t get me wrong, messing up hurts like hell, can cost you a crap load of cash, and ultimately end relationships. But let’s not forget that, at the beginning of every failure, there’s a spark of potential. There’s the opportunity to excel, innovate, and a belief in something bigger than yourself. Whether you’ve experienced a failed personal relationship, a bad business decision, or a flawed friendship, it’s important to reflect and remember why you went down that road in the first place. Because even though your current situation feels like hell, it’s not where your story stops.
You see, the funny thing about failure is that it’s not the end. Regardless of how hard you fall, there’s really no other option but to get back up. And once the dust has settled and you can finally see what lies ahead, you might be surprised at what’s waiting and who’s left standing by your side.
The fear of failure is always present. But then again, so’s the possibility for success.
Right now, as I continue to ramp up for the beta launch of Inklyo, it’s tough not to get hung up worrying about what might happen if this project ultimately fails. What it would mean to me personally and professionally. Inklyo isn’t just a company to me, it’s a commitment that I made to myself years ago. And as such, it’s a huge portion of my life’s content. Which is why I keep telling myself the following…
If you’re not willing to fail, you don’t deserve to succeed.
Because as Milton Berle once said:
I’d rather be a Could-Be if I cannot be an Are,
Because a Could-Be is a Maybe who is reaching for a star.
I’d rather be a Has-Been than a Might-Have-Been, by far,
For a Might-Have-been has never Been,
But a Has-Been was once an Are.
So bring on the screw ups. The best ones are yet to come.
Inklyo Ltd. to Attend mesh12
Inklyo Ltd., CIK Marketing’s parent company, has been selected to participate in the first ever mesh Hosted Startup Scholarship Program at the mesh12 Digital Media Conference in Toronto, Ontario. Inklyo is one of 29 startup companies to receive the scholarship, which strives to provide startup entrepreneurs with the opportunity to expand their connections and share their ideas.
As a recipient, Inklyo Ltd. founder, Chantielle Kennedy will have the opportunity to attend the two-day conference free of charge. Kennedy will also be given the opportunity to talk one-on-one with representatives from event sponsors/suppliers Microsoft BizSpark, Ernst & Young and ME Consulting.
“The mesh conference is one of the top events for digital companies in Canada,” remarks Kennedy. “To be selected as a startup participant is really exciting. Not only will I have the pleasure of sitting in on some amazing talks, I’ll also have the unique opportunity to pick the brains of some of the industry’s top thinkers – that’s a once in a lifetime business opportunity for any entrepreneur.”
The two day conference kicks off Wednesday morning and includes addresses from Michael Geist, Canada’s Research Chair in Internet and E-Commerce Law, and Clay A. Johnson, co-founder of Blue State Digital, the firm that built and managed Barack Obama’s online campaign for presidency in 2008.
About Inklyo Ltd.
Through the development of a service-oriented infrastructure that eliminates uncertainty and delay, Inklyo Ltd. provides corporate clients and digital marketing agencies with consistent online business writing services tailored to suit their unique marketing goals and deadlines. Located inside The Ground Floor Centre for Innovation, Inklyo Ltd. was recently awarded a $5,000 Regional Advisory Service Fund Grant and named one of 12 “most promising start-ups” by the TechAlliance of Southwestern Ontario.
About mesh
mesh is Canada’s premier digital conference event that explores how the Web is evolving, the emergence of new trends, and what’s over the digital horizon. A thinking person’s conference that features challenging, insightful, charismatic and provocative speakers, mesh aims to engage marketers, media, entrepreneurs and citizens with interactive sessions and speaker presentations. The mesh conference will be held May 23-24 in Toronto.
