Back on the Grind
It’s been 22 days since Noble Mobile was announced to the world, and the reception has been awesome. People love the idea of logging off a little bit and getting paid for it.
It’s been a while since I was a startup CEO. It feels good because of the enormity of what we’re trying to do – improve a $167 billion a year consumer industry that is gouging Americans to the tune of an extra $50 billion or so a year while also scrambling our brains. If we can get a few billion dollars back into Americans’ hands, change consumer habits and get carriers to adopt better pricing that’s a ton of good.
Our launch has been covered on CNN, CNBC, TechCrunch, Fox, USA Today, the New Yorker, Bloomberg and others. We have a ton of exciting announcements upcoming, including some spokespeople that will probably surprise you and some tools for parents concerned about their kids’ use of smartphones. Offline is embarking on a national tour that will take us to Philly, Brooklyn, Chicago, San Francisco and LA with some more dates to be announced.
On a personal level, it’s both familiar and an adjustment. I’m back in an office day-to-day for example, which is different. The last time I was a company CEO I tried to keep my head down and let others shine. But now, I’m kind of the frontman and when I get on TV a bunch of people hear about us and check us out. So it’s a mixed bag.
“Not many political figures become startup CEOs,” is how one person put it. Not many of us start throwing no-phone parties either. I’m not sure how many of the people reading this would enjoy reading about the ins-and-outs of running a business. That’s probably not why you’re here. It’s not really why I’m here either. I’m here to make good things happen for people.
One of the benefits of running a wireless carrier is that I’ve been able to do nice things for some people who need it. If you are someone who could use a financial lift and want to get wireless data for free for a month or three email matt@noblemobile.com to switch. We will hook you up. You can reach out too if you just want to be free of big wireless and want to log off and touch grass more.
“Data is the new oil” is something I said on the presidential trail quite often. Well, now I’m sitting on an oil patch and I’m eager to share.