Merry Christmas Dear CouchTycoon Beta Testers!

Mr. Idle wants to thank all beta testers once again for your belief in CouchTycoon and your investments made on CouchTycoon.net!

Of course Mr. Idle likes to wish you a merry christmas 2007 and a happy new year 2008! He hopes to be able to provide you a new version of CouchTycoon.net in early 2008 with new features as well as with a polished ui.

Very special thanks to Domco, who prepared the 0.1 version of CouchTycoon.net, to David from LogoSauce who supported us concerning the competitions we ran on LogoSauce in 2007 and last but not least many thanks to Matt from GraphiteDesign who created the CouchTycoon Logo (Mr. Idle)!

Best regards from Beef Island and Hamburg,
Mr. Idle and Friends n Family

CouchTycoon Project "PotBag" on Ebay To Go

Today CouchTycoon launches "Asset Slips To Go". Based on Ebay To Go you can purchase real Asset Slip Prints that can be converted into digital, marketable Asset Slips on CouchTycoon.net during Initial Couch Offering (ICO) period. Asset Slip Prints basically represent NO RIGHTS of ownership. They are solely intended to be used as souvenier. But together with the purchase of Asset Slip Prints the purchaser gets a voucher with a unique code that allows the buyer to convert the quantity of bought Asset Slip Prints into digital Asset Slips. Purchasing Asset Slips this way brings a lot of advantages.

• Buy Asset Slips as a present for someone else!
• Buy Asset Slips with your Creditcard!
• Get a real certificate of your investment!

Due to this feature is just a test so far, only Asset Slips of the PotBag project can be bought via Ebay To Go.

Thank you for voting for the CouchTycoon Social Investment Network on Killerstartups!

Thanks, CouchTycoon Investors for pushing us into the Killerstartups.com monthly top 10! Please keep voting for us to let CouchTycoon reach the alltime top 10 too.
I hope you like our tiny thing we are improving permanently to make micro investments of start-ups and projects much more comfortable for you.
Sincerly, Mr. Idle

Killerstartups listed

Please vote for us on KillerStartups! CouchTycoon.net is listed on KillerStartups now. Please help Mr. Idle and his small German start-up to reach the top 10 of KillerStartups! Many thanks in advance!

300 Users!

A few minutes ago our 300th user signed up! Users seem to like Mr. Idle´s invitations :) We say thank you to all our beta testers for the great and very helpful feedback you send us. Please keep on sending us your smashing feedback!

CouchTycoon Review on web2.0flow

One of our users (tank6b) just published a review about CouchTycoon including some really good background information! His review is much better than our own description about CouchTycoon! ;) Thanks a lot for your post!

The FiveDollarWiki

Quite nice idea Mr. Idle took notice from! The FiveDollarWiki sells pages for five dollar per page for at least 15 years. Not a bad deal, even for Mr. Idle, because sites are re-sellable. So I think Mr. Idle will buy a site;)

Mr. Idle Counts 250+ Users

Many thanks to all of you private beta users! We are really happy to see our small investment community growing and to be tested. So this is why Mr. Idle decided to fork out 250 CouchChips to our 250th user "shehnshah"!
We kindly ask you to still give us your feedback, which is very important for us!

FONFUND: 100 % raised!

Mr. Idle couldn´t believe it! Just two days after the lounge of private beta the first project on CouchTycoon is already sold out!
Ok, fonfund is a small project with only 93 Asset Slips but it is one more reason for Mr. Idle to celebrate this.
But don´t worry CouchFriends, there are still two more cool projects left. You can still buy Asset Slips from PotBag as well as from Containance.

Private Chicken Test II starting today

Dear friendly private beta testers,
thank you for testing the CouchTycoon site during september! Today the second round with much more users is starting.
Meanwhile Mr. Idle selected three real projects the team on behalf of Mr. Idle has prepared. You will find three completely different projects you can buy Asset Slips from.

The first and probably most exciting project is called POTBAG. It is a kind of venture capital project for poker tourneys. Investors can buy Asset Slips (Shares) from the POTBAG project to finance the project. What POTBAG does with the money is, to select the best pokerplayer via a small webbased poker tourney and sending the winner of this competition to a big real poker tourney on the Bahamas. This pokerplayer participates the tourney on behalf of POTBAG to finish the tourney at a rank that receives price money. The price money will be shared between the player (30 %) and POTBAG (70 %). So investors can earn money with poker without playing poker!

An other innovative micro project is fonfund. Fonfund has already raised the required money to buy, install and operate a fon.com wifi-hardware for one year at a frequently visited place. That´s a very cool way to participate in the success of fon.com! Because fonfund earns 1,5 $ per ticket an "Alien" user buys at the fonfund operated hotspot. If this business modell will work, fonfund will raise more money in a second round to operate much more fon.com hotspots!

The third project called containance is a standard project. It shall demonstrate that normal investments definitely will make sense to be listed on CouchTycoon. It´s the shared investment in cargo/logistics/container business. Containance buys 3 containers at the investment company P&R in germany. The minimum amount to invest there is aprox. 10k $. And because hardly a student has got 10k $ to do such an investment alone and to participate in higher ROI than at his bank, containance shares this investment. Everybody can buy Asset Slips from containance to participate in this investment and to earn the rental fees of these 3 containers.

So please visit CouchTycoon now, buy some CouchChips and participate in your favorite project!
Good Luck, Mr. Idle!

.com is back!

Mr. Idle couldn´t believe it;) Today "officelive" allowed the transfer of couchtycoon.com to our provider! So Mr. Idle is going to have a little party today. Even though he decided to leave all services of CouchTycoon on the .net, it is a must to own and control the .com as well.

One more Issuing Couch: "Cash Cow Paddock"

Last thursday another LogoSauce competition ended. The "cashcowpaddock.com" competition. Marcos won the competition with his very cool submission for Cash Cow Paddock which will represent the second Issuing Couch on CouchTycoon. This Issuing Couch is specialized on hot, early stage web start-ups and established ones with huge potential.

Thank you Marcos for your sensational logo and your belief in CouchTycoon!

CouchTycoon 0.1 Is Online!

Yes, the CouchTycoon private chicken test started today! Our 0.1 version is now available for invited guests. We kindly ask you selected users to give us the feedback we need. How hard it may be. We try to offer you the best and comfortable service concerning Mr. Idle´s Friends n Family Venture Network. Please don´t hesitate to give us your merciless feedback.
However; today the first invited users registered, swapped Dollars to CouchChips and - yes really - bought shares! So it´s time for Mr. Idle to open his cooled bottle of champagne! Cheers from Beef Island, yours Mr. Idle!

Congrats from Beef Island!

Mr. Idle thanks all participants of CouchTycoon competitions on LogoSauce.com! Special thanks are going to David, as one of the first CouchTycoon supporter and to the winning participants "onesummer" (who won the actin fields competition) and "black_wolf" (who won the vole hole comp.)!! here are the winning submissions.

Mr. Idle loves asksunday.com!

Yes, that´s it! The service Mr. Idle is seeking for years! At the daily killerstartups.com scan, he found this fabulous service. AskSunday.com would definitely become Mr. Idle´s PA, if they offered their service outside USA too. So he unfortunately has still to wait...

CouchTycoon Friends n Family - Help Mr. Idle!

Please help Mr. Idle to find the best decision. Which of the following drafts do you like most?

Please vote here >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Draft 1


Draft 2


Draft 3


Draft 4

Market open...

ok, not really open - sorry! But open for ourselves. Indeed we simulated the first transactions on our tradingplatform. And: it works!! Really!
Please be patient till we will open it for some more of you to take part in (probably) the most exciting way to play "Monopoly".

Mr. Idle thanks Domco for the intermediary results!

Trading platform completed!

As the CouchTycoon chief-developer Domco announced tonight, the trading platform in the background of the CouchTycoon system is now completed!! The CouchTeam - on behalf of Mr. Idle - is really happy about this big step for the whole team.

So we can start the internal tests tommorow.

US Dollar - CouchChips fixing

As head of the CouchTycoon central bank, Mr. Idle set the exchangerate for CouchChips tonight. You get:

• 12,- CouchChips for 1,- USD or
• 0,0833 USD for 1,- CouchChips

That´s it! It´s a fixed exchangerate to the US Dollar and all valuta transactions will be done in US Dollar on CouchTycoon.

Private Chicken Test (beta) Users Application

Mr. Idle accepts applications for "private chicken test" - as he calls the private beta phase - testers now. Any interested chicken tester apply now! Just register here. But you don´t need to comment on the couchtycoon.net yet. Nothing regarding the interface is like it will be ;) Mr. Idle let´s you know when you can start testing.

Finally the LogoSauce competitions can start!

Let´s start the next competitions. The very next will be the one for "action fields" on the CouchTycoon game board.
Here once again the original text of the competition posted on LogoSauce.com:
(NOTICE: Mr. Idle will only accept submissions that will be submitted through LogoSauce.com! He won´t accept any direct submissions.)

Company:

Couchtycoon is a Friends n Family Ventures Network for trading, starting up and managing ventures. Doing real business as easy as playing Monopoly. The "friends and family" put ideas into action.

Please find details about CouchTycoon bellow or take a look @ Blog.CouchTycoon.net.

Design-Challenge:

The website follows the concept of a monopoly board. While doing business @ CouchTycoon users move on the virtual gameboard.

Please design action-field-symbols for the CouchTycoon gamboard.

The four action fields:

- Bank (user accesses his CouchAccount with functionality like money exchange)

- Jail (if a user goes to Jail he is excluded from trading for a couple of days)

- Start (the game token representing the user is placed on the start field when the user is entereing the homepage)

- Exchange (shares are traded here)

- Help (by clicking the help field the user accesses the help features)

Please check blog.CouchTycoon.net for a scribble of the gameboard.

Basic data:

The competition is open from 2nd of August until the 15th of August.

The winner takes USD 200.- in Couchchips (find details stated below in item 5)

Please ask any kind of question via mail (mr.idle@couchtycoon.net)

Please include the other CouchTycoon competitions in your design:

http://www.logosauce.com/competitions/8

Thank You!

Additional information:

The idea of CouchTycoon:
CouchTycoon is a pioneering internet project. Couchtycoon is Friends n Family Venture Network.

It enables entrepreneurs to raise money for innovative projects on the one hand and enables Investors to participate in the success and growth of promising on- and offline-projects from zero hour on. As a result all the participating web people represent a "Friends n Family Network"

Please Check blog.CouchTycoon.net for information about the project.

Website keywords:
community enabled, community managed, friends n family, venture network, playful, real game, investment, couch, profit, pocket money investment, tycoon, rags-to-riches, startup

Prize money in CouchChips:

The prize money is payed in CouchChips which is the Currency of CouchTycoon it is investable in every traded project at CouchTycoon. Of course the bought shares can be sold without a holding period and changed in USD again. The CouchChips are transferred to your CouchAccount immediately after the launch of CouchTycoon in September. Of course we hope that you stay seeded @ the couch!
The competition winner will aswell be featured @ CouchTycoon.

DOPPLR - a helpful tool for frequent travellers like Mr. Idle

As the head of my family and of my venture tool CouchTycoon I´m a frequent traveller too. The site I just found called DOPPLR is perfect for me, my family and business partners. DOPPLR in their own words: "How does Dopplr work? It lets you share your future travel plans with a group of trusted fellow travellers whom you have chosen. It also reminds you of friends and colleagues who live in the cities you're planning to visit. You can use the service with your personal computer and mobile phone."

Mr. Idle

I want Sandy too!

I really like Sandy because she seems to become a really helpful assistant. So IwantSandy to become one of my personal assistants. I have to see how she will improve durinig her qualifying period but I´m confident!

Good Luck, Sandy!

yours Mr. Idle

Mr. Idle Found a Great New Tool - Betabug!

Screening Killerstartups.com, Mr. Idle found a very helpful tool for his CouchTycoon website. Well Mr. Idle doesn´t call its website versions "private beta" or "public beta", he calls them "private chicken test" and "public chicken test". However it is the same in meaning.
So Mr. Idle decided to use his new discovery betabug.com on his website. If you find any bug after Mr. Ilde launches his chicken test sites, please comment on the bugs you will certainly find!

Mr. Idle´s Goal

Today Mr. Idle decided to aspire to beat one of his arch rivals. Mr. Monopoly - also known as Rich Uncle Pennybags. This approximately 71 aged has disused. At the moment listed as #6 in "Forbes Fictional 15", Mr. Idle doesn´t want to see him there any longer.

See the complete list of Mr. Idle´s rivals at Forbes!

New Layout of Killerstartups

Mr. Idle was wondering about the relaunch of Killerstartups.com. Ads and a new layout are the first changes Mr. Idle took notice from. He doesn´t really like these improvements. He liked the former version much more. It was a straighter and much more informative. The content was focused on the startups - not on the layout around.

Mr. Idle´s First Backstroke

First of all let me tell you how the desaster began. In January this year - Mr. Idle wasn´t born this time - we had the basic ideas for the project CouchTycoon. To ensure, that no one else would grab this great name and the couchtycoon.com domain as well, we decided to register it immediately. The new offer of microsoft´s "office live" seemed to be good for that. Free .com domain, small website package for some information and e-mail accounts. Web mail accounts - but ok. We didn´t know this time that transferring this domain to another host would become that complicate.

Meanwhile Mr. Idle was born. The fantastic character Matt from Graphite Design created. And while Mr. Idle took over the driver seat at the CouchFamily (since Mr. Idle was born we call our team members and partners "family") events were unfolding and as a result we forgot to keep one eye on Bill. Mr. Idle simply forgot to cancel the deal with Bill (the "office live" package) in time. Ok, Bill won the first battle against Mr. Idle by locking the .com domain for 60 days. So what. Mr. Idle has to wait now till Bill will unlock the .com again and will keep you informed here on this blog.

Also the detailed information about Mr. Idle´s new LogoSauce competitions will be published and provided here.

Mr. Idle, Couchinator, BlueHorseshoe

Some Ventures Looking for Funding

onovo, Modelabel in Beverly Hills: 5 mil.


umdlalo, Video Gaming Startup San Francisco: 500k - 650k

QueerCity, similar to qype: ?

About the "CouchTycoon Friends n Family Venture Network"

mr. idle (the phat guy on the couch) is tired of being idle and reading about any big deal rupert murdoch did, about any startup google recently grabbed or “the next big thing” any blog favors. Although he is not willing to leave his comfortable couch from where he already controls his old economy business. So in January this year he decided to start the "CouchTycoon Friends n Family Venture Network" to free people´s idle money from under the mattress instead of being idle him self. From today on his ultimate ambition is to liberate as much money from being idle as possible.
„mr.idles idle capital manifesto --- Pennys in cookie jars, rainy days savings, cents in trouser pockets, nest eggs, yens in storage shelf, centimes under the mattres --- not working money of all countries unite! Stop being idle, start risking your live for possibly paying off. Together we are stronger than rupert is, together we are smarter than bill will ever be, together we have the ‚right-er‘ touch than warren has, together we purchase killers faster than vcs do resaerch, together we do better management than mckies can imagine, together we rule. We want stop until blackstone goes green with envy. Who the fuck is Carlos? What the heck is harvard business school?“

With CouchTycoon mr. idle enables any one else of his friends and family network to participate in deals or startups. Both investors and entrepreneurs. The whole CouchTycoon friends n family network is going to be enabled to invest in “the next big thing” or in the acquisition of the empire state building by mr. idle. Starting at an amount of approx. 5 usd. On the other side mr. idle enables any network member to start a new business or a big deal as an entrepreneur as an alternative to talk to 15 venture capitalists, asking his grandmother or funding at prosper.

mr. idle loves both playing the “monopoly2.0″ on one side and acting as serious investor on the other side.

Mr. Idle - how it began

Since we received our logo we think about how the man sitting on the couch could be called.

A few days ago we received an invitation for a birthdayparty from someone we know - we didn´t hear anything from that person for several years! But that was the moment we found the perfect name! We decided to call him "Mr. Idle"

It is a tribute to the artist-tecno legend formerly known as Mr. Iedl now staying where the black dog is barking.

By the way HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! This is your digital gift. The time will show if it is a small gift or if it will become a huge one.

Now Rupert´s new archenemy is born. From now Mr. Idle will represent the CouchFamily as a kind of a president. Every deal the CouchFamily does, every step CouchTycoon will go - it will be done by Mr. Idle. Maybe the next Forbes´ #1.

BlueHorseShoe and Couchinator

Investor Tour

Entrepreneur Tour

How does CouchTycoon work?

CouchTycoon Quick Info

Some words about Mr. Idle´s spirit

Our Venture is still in development and we did´t any marketing yet. But some of you are already asking what exactly we are doing. So here are some words about our spirit and what we are going to build.

Mr. idle (the dynamic guy on the couch) doesn´t not want to sit on his couch any longer to read about any big deal his big rival rupert murdoch did, about any startup google recently grabbed or “the next big thing” any blog favors. He can do the same kind of deals as a community member of CouchTycoon. CouchTycoon enables anyone to participate in such deals or startups. Both investors and entrepreneurs. The community is going to enable Mr. idle as an investor for example to invest in “the next big thing” or in the acquisition of the empire state building starting at an amount of approx. 5 usd. On the other side CouchTycoon enables you as entrepreneurs starting a new business or a big deal within the Community as an alternative to talk to 20 venture capitalists, asking your grandmother or funding at prosper. As part of the couch community Mr. idle is smarter than rupert, he can mobilize more money and he has got a larger network.
However you can become a CouchTycoon as a serious investor or to have fun playing the "monopoly2.0"

Yes, we are open...

as already told, we do not have finished our core product yet - the financingtool for startups - but we have already opened our merchandising shop of couchtycoon.com

after the winner of our logosauce.com competition "graphitedesign" sent us our new logo, we couldn´t wait any longer.

now, back to work...

The CouchTycoon logo

finally we have a logo. yesterday "graphitedesign" the winner of our logosauce.com competition sent us our logo.

How it works - overview

Original posts before using a "real" blog

CouchLog:

For the few out there tracing the developments of our project we are summarizing our progresses in this kind of a weblog microsoft enables us with our basic-package of "office live". by the way, a phantasitc tool;)

Est. May 11th 2007!

The company that will provide all services of CouchTycoon.com was established today.

Hamburg, May 11th 2007

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We´d Like to Invite You to Tell Us Your Opinion!

Every day we want to give you two new ideas for projects the CouchTycoon.com community could put into action.

Please visit our Poll

Hamburg, May 7th 2007

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Webdesign/Programming

Many thanks to "domco" who decided to join us today! We are now looking forward to be able to show you a first version of our comprehensive tool soon...

Hamburg, May 5th 2007

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THE First Project!

Today we found the perfect project we want to launch at CouchTycoon.com first. It meets all requirements a project has to have to become financed and to become done via CouchTycoon.com. Next to be able to take part on a great investment opportunity as well this projcet will show what kind of performance, power, enthusiasm, dynamics and efficiency a web-community can get and what will be the result of this.

Hamburg, April 20th 2007

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Logosauce works!

Great to see our second proposal on our Logosauce competition. We hardly couldn´t believe it...

Hamburg, April 16th 2007

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One more Job

We just took notice about the demand of a lawyer.

Hamburg, April 14th 2007

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Jobs

Next to our competition finding the best available logo proposal, we posted some more vacancies. Obviosly one of the most important is the one as webdesigner!

Hamburg, April 12th 2007

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Logo CompetitionCouchTycoon.com launches it´s competition to create the best logo at LogoSauce.com

Hamburg, April 9th 2007

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CouchWikiToday, we´ve just started our CouchWiki which will give answers to all questions about us. At the moment it´s used as a project guide for ourselfes.

Hamburg, March 20th 2007

Testpost