“There will always be a frontier where there is an open mind and a willing hand” – Charles Franklin Kettering

Money For Nothing and Trips For Free

Before I write anything, I want to make it very clear that I think the team over at Points North Heli Adventures are top notch. They’ve got an awesome thing going and are professional in everything they do. More than anything, I’m just sorry that this didn’t work out because it would have been awesome…on so many levels.
I cold called (cold-emailed?) a handful of heli ski operations all over the USA and Canada pitching them on a trade – iOS app for a one of kind experience. I built an Xcode framework a few months ago that is one of best content display apps I’ve ever seen and have been sitting on it ever since, the biggest reason being I just don’t have access to or time to generate the content necessary to populate this thing.
So – I figured I should team up with someone who has content, or at least someone who sells an experience that I could turn into content.
The pitch was pretty straight forward: I fly out to the destination on my own dime with a high end camera and video setup, spend a week aggregating the most mind blowing content for every part of the experience, then come home and build out an iPhone and iPad version. FOR FREE.
Zero cost out of pocket for the client.
Not only that, I take all existing content on their website and re-purpose and package it all for the app. The entire project takes their experience and web assets and centralizes it into the ultimate visual engagement platform. On top of that, there are in-app purchasing capabilities in this framework, high definition videos, social network integrations – the list goes on. A $15-20,000 package all delivered right to them, all the way up through publishing and design.
Without question, I’m getting the raw end of this deal, but I could not be more fired up about this sort of barter, especially for a product that gets me this sort of experience. I’m young, healthy, and hungry for adventure – this is what I want to do with my time. I dream of creating apps that reflect this kind of content and want to partner with someone who has an equal amount of energy.

Dumped before the first date

Long story short here’s how the whole episode between me and PNHA went down:
• Send intro email
• Receive very nice reply from Jessica from the PNHA team that says “yeah, this sounds great, send us some info.”
• Put together a bangin’ proposal
• Get a call from Kevin, the top dog
• 15 minute conversation about how cool this would be and how much we enjoyed each other’s excitement
• Him asking me “Can you fly out Feb 25-March 3?”
• I say Yes.
• I send follow up email with a basic overview of the project.
• Get this response:

Hi Carter,
My apologies for the delay in getting back to you!
Unfortunately, we are not going to be able to move forward with a PNH app. As much as both Kevin and I love the idea, there are other avenues we are going to focus on that reach a broader market.
Thanks so much again for thinking of us and please keep in touch.

End of story.

I’ll give anyone the same offer that I made these guys – Free iPhone and iPad app for a killer experience.

Whatever – I completely understand why Points North Heli Adventures decided not to go forward and no harm done. I wish I could have talked to them a bit more to explain why this is going to be a slam dunk in the long term (did I mention that there are no heli skiing apps in the entire iTunes store? Only one app comes up when you type in “heli ski”) but hey, such is life and I’ve got other things to focus on. Resorts like Whistler and Aspen are furiously dropping hundreds of thousands of dollars to get in the app game….maybe the PNHA guys know something they don’t?
Anyway, I’m reaching out to anyone out there with the same offer I pitched the heli ski operations:
My iPhone and iPad app, fully designed, built, published, everything, in exchange for a trip where I come and gather the content.
Examples include:

• Heli Skiing
• Fly Fishing
• Surfing
• Adventure Travel
• Sailing/Boating
• Snorkeling
• Hiking
• Food/Restaurant
• Any other rich experience that you consider life changing

Below are some screen shots of what that app can do (these are for the iPad version). I’m happy to send over the full proposal if you’re interested, but please only reach out if you’re serious. Send this to anyone you think might be interested – because I can only do this for a few. I’ve already got a gig lined up with SwimVacation, which is exactly the kind of experience I’m talking out.
In the meantime, keep rocking. Send me an email if you want to run any ideas by me.
Carter