Most startups are so busy racing around that they rarely take the time to evaluate and improve their own processes. It’s unfortunate, because as a startup matures it won’t be able to function the same way it did at the very beginning. Once you throw in users, customers, more code, freelancers, more employees, etc. it […]
A Week in the Life of a Parent-Entrepreneur
In 2007 I wrote a post about what it was like raising a family and starting a company at the same time. Back then my second son, Quinn, had just been born, and I was starting Standout Jobs. I distinctly remember having fundraising conversations with investors while pacing outside the Children’s Hospital where my son […]
Copying Emotion and Amazement in Brands and Products
Every so often I go into Apple’s App Store (primarily for the iPad) and look for new apps to try. I’m typically looking for new games – time killers – that I can enjoy and relax with, and maybe share with the kids as well. App discovery isn’t great, and I usually don’t end up […]
You Suck! And How to Handle Other Negative Feedback
Negative feedback hurts. It’s easy to take personally and get offended. It’s easy to dismiss too. But negative feedback is a lot better than no feedback at all. The worst thing for a startup -at any stage- is crickets. … … … … … … … … … … … … … … Ugh. Silence […]
HighScore House Launches at 500Startups
HighScore House is one of our portfolio companies at Year One Labs. After leaving Year One Labs, they decided to join 500Startups and go through the 3-4 month acceleration program to continue building their product, learning and growing their network. Yesterday, they presented at 500Startups’ Demo Day. It’s interesting to see the pitch evolve – […]
Schoolwork, Dating or Hacking Side Projects: Pick Two out of Three
My history with hiring university students and recent graduates for technical positions has not been a good one. In my first company (~15 years ago) we tried hiring recent university and technical college graduates for junior developer positions. I was struck by the near carbon copy similarities between most of the resumes. Very few of […]
Competitive Differentiation that Matters
How you differentiate from competitors only matters if it matters to customers. Pick any differentiation you want – pricing, features, target market, market gap, performance, etc. – unless customers really, really, really care about the difference, you’re shit out of luck. Hell, pick two or three of them and it still doesn’t matter. You can’t […]
Kids and Computers
I got into computers fairly early because of my father. He went back to university in 1986 in his early 40s and did a BSc. in Computer Science. I was 11 years old. Our first computer was a PC of some kind; I don’t remember what it was, but I remember it was expensive, $7,000+ […]
One Customer Doesn’t Make a Market
These days, most entrepreneurs I talk to understand the importance of speaking with customers before building a full-blown product. They’re getting out of the building. And that’s great. A few years ago it wasn’t like that at all. But unfortunately, I often speak with entrepreneurs that have only talked to one or two customers. That’s […]
The Resume Black Hole
Anyone that’s ever applied for a job has experienced the resume black hole. You apply for a job and don’t hear anything back (you might get an automated “thank you”). After a few days you send a follow up message (if you can find an email address) and wait some more. Nothing. No word whatsoever […]
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