LifeEcho is coming alive!

Well friends we continue to push forward with LifeEcho Testing. We have officially started our first Beta Testing Groups courtesy of some great friends at Taylor University!

We have spent the last several months ironing out all the kinks within the LifeEcho platform. The software development process has been quite a journey. I would have never thought that I would be developing software therefore I TRUST God is in this.

I have learned to hold timeframes loosely as everything seems to take longer than expected. That being said, I would guess we will launch sometime next year, HA!

Thanks to all of those who have made the LifeEcho dream possible. We greatly appreciate your prayers as God brings this project to mind. Once again, our goal is that Christ centered discipleship would be greatly multiplied through this LifeEcho dream.

God Bless!

LifeEcho Testing

LifeEcho has officially reached the testing phase. Our first round of coding is complete. Our development team worked through and initial polishing phase and now to testing. Tom and I are working through 365 points of the development to discover any/all kinks that need to be ironed out. It's interesting to me that there happens to be 365 days in a year-I hope that's no indication of how long this process will take:)

After spending 70 minutes on hold with the IRS Tom and I discovered that our 501c3 application for not for profit status remains deep in a stack of applications. Our application was submitted September 25, 2012. Currently, the IRS is reviewing applications submitted in April 2012...hello! It will be over a year, since we submitted our application, before it will be processed. To save you sometime the following website, which is very difficult to find, shows you where your Exemption Application sets in the stack: http://www.irs.gov/Charities-&-Non-Profits/Where-Is-My-Exemption-Application

Fortunately, the government has made provisions for not for profits to launch will in the application process. We are allowed to accept donations and move forward operating as a not for profit while in the application process. The biggest challenge here is the inability to receive grants of donations from foundations as they require 501c3 standing.

In other news, we are locking up the LifeEcho service mark which is exciting. The brand strength of LifeEcho continues to amaze me. In 2013 it is nearly impossible to procure a straightforward and simple brand and .com with excellent search engine strength, all of which the LifeEcho brand has. Thank you Lord.

That's all for now. Please pray that Tom and I would remain focused and excellent throughout the grueling testing phase. Beta testing comes next. Can't wait to see this tool in action.

LifeEcho Development Update

Our first round of development is coming to a close. We have a short list of items to clean up in the next week or so and then we will be on to Beta testing. Soon we will round up a group of about a dozen people to test the site. We will take their feedback and work out any kinks that we run into. After that...it's game on!

We have had some great progress in other areas. Tom and I are hammering out our Terms and Conditions (which is a BEAR) with the help of a great attorney. We will pass them off to a Terms and Conditions lawyer this week to finalize the document.

Another great Attorney friend is working on our Trademark. We received great news this week on the Trademark front. We have very little competition or anything that is "confusingly similar" so it appears that we are good to go on our LifeEcho trademark. We have to provide some clarity in what we do and then the process with wrap up. So thankful God gave us the LifeEcho name as it has tremendous brand strength. It's hard to believe that we have control of all the .com's and the Trademark.

Lastly, Tom and I have been on the lookout for the best Biblical curriculum provider out there to promote them to our users. We are looking for a someone that is good at producing discipleship material as LifeEcho is at connecting discipleship relationships.  Well, I think we have found them. We had a conference call last week and both sides are very excited about the prospect of a partnership. Will have to leave you hanging on this potential partner...:)

Would appreciate your prayers as LifeEcho inches closer to launch. Pray that Christ centered discipleship would be multiplied through these efforts.

Development Update

As camping season ramps up at Kanakuk Kamps so does development on LifeEcho. That makes for an exciting couple weeks!! We have spent the last 2 weeks preparing K2, Kanakuk's premier sports camp for teenagers that I help direct, with over 300 Jesus loving college students from all over the country. As we walk through our cleansing and filling process God is affirming the value of our LifeEcho process. Christian college students are HUNGRY. They long to be invest in. When they come into the Kamp gates they are dry and they drink up discipleship until they overflow. I believe that LifeEcho can multiply Discipleship on college campuses around the world exponentially.

We are currently in the midst of our polishing phase. Our development team is combing through the application in order to prepare LifeEcho for beta testing. I am eager to receive feedback from users as we pave the way for launch in the fall.

LifeEcho Financial Model

One of the challenges Tom and I have faced is the LifeEcho financial model. Through prayer and wise council we decided LifeEcho needs to be a Religious Not for Profit, 501c3. We are in the application process at this point.Thankfully the government has provided a provision for fund raising from individuals while applications are in process (ours has been in process for 9 months now). We raised the money needed to develop and launch LifeEcho in the fall of 2012.

With the "launch phase" quickly approaching we are putting our financial model into place to provide the "fuel" needed to keep the LifeEcho engine running. We believe we have developed a healthy financial model that will provide a strong application for individuals and organizations. People are used to using Social Media for free. Most of the time revenue is generated via advertisements/sponsors and through upgraded services. In light of these trends we have developed a 3 pronged financial model:

1. Donations: Tax deductible donations have funded LifeEcho's development and will remain a fuel source moving forward.

2. Community Annual Subscriptions: All discipleship in LifeEcho takes place under the banner of "Community". We do this for a number of reasons: it's Biblical, accountability, security, oversight, growth of communities, connectedness in the Body of Christ (according to the "Gospel Coach" 60% of professing Christians do not attend a Church!!), discipleship training, organizations absorb the cost rather than individual users, etc. In order to create a "LifeEcho Community" organizations will pay a small annual fee. There is a free 30 day trail period before the payment is processed to ensure that a LifeEcho Community is right for you and your organization. Here are the costs associated with LifeEcho Communities:

$25/year Small Groups

$100/year <500 in weekly attendance

$250/year between 500-1000 in weekly attendance

$500/year between 1000-5000 in weekly atttendance

$1000/year >5,000 in weekly attendance

3. Sponsorship/Advertising. LifeEcho will selectively promote approved resources that will provide LifeEcho users with tools that promote Discipleship. Promoted resources will include Christian Books, Blogs, Conferences, Bible Studies, etc.

The aforementioned approach will provide a "free" service to individual users while creating a sustainable model that postures LifeEcho for Global growth, Lord willing. It's all about Jesus...so we are excited for whatever He wants to do with LifeEcho.

Final thought...loving the freedom and peace that comes from walking with Jesus.

Details, details, details

As Shay and I go over our notes, workflows, and analysis for what feels like the millionth time, it never ceases to amaze me how each time we seem to discover something new or see something from a different angle.  It's like it already has a life of its own...which is cool because that has been the prayer from the beginning.

Currently, the life (no pun intended) of LifeEcho is in the details stage.  By this I mean we are going through the test site looking for anything that we can easily make better.  The word "easily" is the key because at this point we don't want to slow down the software developers by introducing a bunch of new functional changes, plus that's a good way to get in a dev's doghouse, and if there is one thing I know, it's keep the devs happy!  So to be specific, we are primarily focusing on the wording of every piece of text throughout the project.  The game is to word each text so it clearly communicates the intended message, using as few words as possible; this probably goes without saying, but most users click first and read instructions never.

As always, we would greatly appreciate you prayers!

Getting Connected

I am currently building out the spider web of social media connected to LifeEcho. The ability for a dream, project, product, website, etc. to multiply itself through social media is staggering. Unlimited marketing is at our finger tips-all we have to do is put together an intelligent strategy and be faithful to it.

LifeEcho now has a twitter handle @lifeecholife. Additionally, Tom and I are ratcheting up our own twitter use to maximize our own platforms: @shayrobbins  and @tomenewberry  respectively. @TwitterSmallBiz is an incredible resource to learn and grow with Twitter. I am still in the infantile stage though I am learning quickly.

LifeEcho also has a Facebook Page found here: https://www.facebook.com/lifeecholife

We are currently integrating the LifeEcho platform with Facebook, Twitter and Blogger. It's so fun to put each cog in its place as we poise ourselves for an aggressive launch this fall. If you have any marketing advice pre-launch please offer your insight. We need all the help we can get. I love stratergizing!