耐克企业孵化器不容小视

    本周一，与TechStars（2007年成立的著名孵化器——译注）合建的Nike+加速器（the Nike+ Accelerator）董事总经理迪伦•博伊德在俄勒冈州比弗顿的耐克（Nike）全球总部登台演讲，主要展示了该加速器运行3个月以来的一些有意思的统计数据。过去的84天里，10家在孵的初创企业共获得了3,472,366点耐克能量（NikeFuel）积分，做了4,683次项目展示，并参加了2,880次快速辅导课程。除了在波特兰的办公室里通宵达旦地奋战，这些企业还喝掉了6,412杯星巴克和斯邓姆顿咖啡【并在办公室里的打豆子（PAC-MAN）游戏机上赢得了创纪录的高分212,256分】。

    现在他们要发布一个对这些新创企业来说意义非同寻常的数字：投资金额。尼古拉斯•齐尔斯是位于纽约的风投公司Betaworks的种子期投资经理，这个加速器里的企业表现出来的状态让他印象深刻。在他看来，它们与Y-Combinator这样的加速器推出的企业在品质上旗鼓相当。他说：“这些公司有相当一部分已经运营了很长时间，有一部分已经有了收入，还有一些已经拥有了可靠的用户群。”

    博伊德称：“创业社区、耐克公司（Nike）和TechStars能走到一起，通力合作，向大家证明Fuel加速器前景可期，还能取得可量化的成绩，这是一个巨大的成功”。依靠2万美元的种子基金，同时充分挖掘应用程序界面（API）、移动开发者工具包（SDK）和能量腕带的数据，这10家公司向世人表明，可穿戴计算技术将在手腕这个方寸天地大展拳脚。

Chroma Games：Chroma公司的联合创始人兼首席执行官马库斯•埃斯蒂斯身穿迷彩夹克、牛仔裤和白色球鞋，在台上颇为引人注目。不过，他展示了公司的首款游戏Jump Bots之后，这家位于波特兰的富有活力的电子游戏工作室凭借自身的特色立即脱颖而出。这款游戏很简单：用耐克能量积分打造一个虚拟机器人，和朋友用同样方式打造的机器人对战。不过游戏所用的概念则要复杂得多。通过运用奖励玩家的强迫循环（compulsion loop，游戏设计术语，通过动作和恰当奖励之间的联系来保持用户粘性的结构——译注），这个游戏很容易让人上瘾。同时玩这个游戏所需的锻炼过程也会比较辛苦（一直到练满两个月时才算到达临界点，那时身体会通过减少脂肪和/或增强肌肉做出反应）。Chroma希望减轻游戏设计师的压力，让他们不再围绕“微交易模式”（micro-transactions，即通常所说的内购机制——译注）开发游戏，而是采用所谓的“机动交易模式”。换句话说，如果玩家想要一个更好的Jump Bot，那就必须好好运动才能如愿。

CoachBase：每年，全球有1.35亿名儿童进行各种体育运动，他们都有教练——绝大多数是他们那些毫无经验的父母。不少“父母教练”每年在体育器材上花费超过100美元，位于香港的CoachBase公司便将目标用户锁定为其中46%的人群。该公司打造的平台为目标用户提供以训练方法、视频和有效技巧为特色的高品质内容库，已经推出的一个iOS运动应用受到广泛欢迎，付费用户数高达15万，而且已经被NBA采用。通过耐克的整合，这个平台达到了一个新高度——能测量运动者的运动强度，并能让运动者看到自己的比赛水平逐渐提高的过程。公司首席执行官基思•拉姆贾汗希望获得100万美元投资，让公司彻底搬迁到美国，同时扩充团队。

    So when Dylan Boyd, managing director of the Nike+ Accelerator partnered with TechStars, took the stage Monday at Nike (NKE) world headquarters in Beaverton, Ore. for the program's demo day, he revealed some interesting stats from the accelerator's three-month stint. Over the previous 84 days, the 10 participating startups had earned 3,472,366 NikeFuel points while giving 4,683 pitches and participating in 2,880 speed-mentor sessions. And logging long hours and late nights in their Portland, Ore. workspace, they also drank 6,412 cups of Starbucks (SBUX) and Stumptown coffee (and recorded a high score of 212,256 on the office PAC-MAN machine).

    But now that they're ready to launch, one figure matters more than any other to these fledgling firms: investment capital. Nicholas Chirls who manages seed investing for New York City-based Betaworks was impressed by the companies presenting, likening the quality to those put out by accelerators like Y-Combinator. "A lot of these companies seemed relatively far along, a number are producing revenue, and some have real user-bases, already," he says.

    "It was a tremendous success, for the community, Nike, and TechStars to come together and show that the future of Fuel and quantified self can be delivered," says Boyd. Backed by $20,000 in seed funding and tapping into Nike+ APIs, mobile SDKs, and Fuelband data, these 10 companies showed that the future of wearable computing may be all in the wrist.

Chroma Games: Sporting a camouflage jacket, jeans and big white sneakers, Chroma co-founder and CEO Marcus Estes had a distinct look on stage, but his Portland-based active video game studio stood out on its own after he presented their first title, Jump Bots. The game is simple: use NikeFuel points to customize a virtual robot and battle against your friends' creations. But the concept is much more complex than that. With a compulsion loop that rewards playing, games can be addictive. Working out, meanwhile, can be painful (until you hit the 60-day point, which is when the body responds by lowering fat and/or building muscle.) Chroma is looking to take the pressure off game designers to build titles around micro transactions, and instead use "motor transactions." In other words, if you want a better Jump Bot, you've got to move your body to make that happen.

CoachBase: Every year, 135 million kids play sports, and all have coaches -- most of whom are parents that are totally unprepared. Hong Kong-based CoachBase is targeting the 46% of coaches who spend more than $100 on materials each year, with a platform that offers a high-quality content library featuring drills, videos, and effective techniques. The company already has a popular iOS sports app, with 150,000 paid users and adoption by the NBA, but the Nike integration takes its platform to the next level, measuring the intensity of players and showing how their game improves over time. Seeking $1 million in investment, CEO Keith Rumjahn is looking to move the company permanently to the U.S. and grow his team.