Timothy Freriks

Author: Timothy Freriks

  • Help me write Julia, a new novel

    Here’s the opening to a possible new novel. It reads like it will be in the chick lit genre, which is not my primary genre. But I really like the main character so far, so I’d like to pursue it. I’m looking for help from readers to build the story lines. I’ll write the book around…

  • The Seven Steps of Customer Investigation

    When aspiring entrepreneurs finally realize they have to spend more time developing the customer than developing the product in the early days, they are often faced with a dilemma: “You mean I have to actually TALK to people?” Steve Blank and Eric Ries would answer the same way: yes.  You can’t build a product around…

  • Excerpt 1 from Renaissance, a thriller

    I’ll be posting excerpts from my novel, Renaissance. Here’s the quick synopsis first. First: Renaissance is not about the Renaissance; it’s about a man—and a world—that undergoes a renaissance, a rebirth. This book is of a mixed genre but mostly an adventure, a thriller flavored with financial and political seasoning; it is tightly plotted and engagingly intricate, but…

  • Renaissance, a fiction thriller

    This is about my newest novel, Renaissance. Renaissance is not about the Renaissance; it’s about a man—and a world—that undergoes a renaissance, a rebirth. This book is of a mixed genre but mostly an adventure, a thriller flavored with financial and political seasoning; it is tightly plotted and engagingly intricate, but interwoven with philosophical undertones.…

  • RENAISSANCE – my newest novel

    In this political thriller, Robert Curry is unexpectedly put in a position to save the world from imminent nuclear destruction. Given the task of returning to the past and rewriting history, he must first gain enough financial and political power to be able to prevent the series of accidents and manipulations that led to the…

  • URGENCY – Foundation of a saleable product

    A lot of articles talk about ‘creating’ urgency in order to sell your product. However, I don’t think you can base your product’s salability on hoping marketing and sales manipulations will create a motivated customer.  If your target customer does not already have some urgency in finding a solution to the problem he has, it…

  • First, Get A Product You Can Sell–Part 1

    I have been consolidating and prioritizing my messages for early-stage entrepreneurs. I think that success starts with one simple task: coming up with a product that people will buy. I often talk about bringing ambition and commitment to the table, and that is critical as well, but no amount of ambition or commitment is going…

  • Idea dating. Shiny Objects Syndrome.

    Few people succeed by bouncing around from cool idea to cool idea. If you’re an inventor like me, you have a couple “great” ideas a day. Cool ideas have a life span; some live longer than others. A successful business is based on a cool idea to which you dedicate your energies, committing your time…

  • 7 Traits of Successful Entrepreneurs

    I’ve been, and I’ve known a lot of, successful entrepreneurs. When thinking through why some made it and some didn’t, seven personal characteristics appeared to be consistent with success. Invest in Yourself. I’m not talking so much about money, but rather about time and energy and passion and commitment. If you invest in yourself, it…

  • Entrepreneur mistakes I made – Part Deux

    I invented NOAH, an animated character technology for online applications. It was very effective and successful for online training projects, bridging the gap between instructor-led and pure online coursework. We adapted it to work on our website, a cute little avatar flying around and pointing at things and explaining benefits and action items, popping up…