That was the title of the presentation I gave last night at PHP Quebec. Overall feedback was positive. My goal for the presentation was to convince at least 1 person to start a company. I didn’t ask the audience after if I had accomplished my goal, but I think I moved the needle … at […]
Beware of Too Much Tinkering
More and more people these days are technology tinkerers. They’re messing around, trying new things, jumping from small project to small project, but never settling on and committing to one thing. It’s certainly easier and easier to tinker, which is great; it makes building stuff more accessible and less expensive. And that can lead to […]
Being Plugged In
For entrepreneurs, there’s no excuse for not being plugged in to what’s going on in the startup world, both locally (wherever the entrepreneur is located) and globally. This is especially true for entrepreneurs that don’t live in startup hotbeds like Silicon Valley. Entrepreneurs tend to move more slowly outside of startup centers. There are some […]
Founder DNA – How Investors Evaluate Startup Founders
Are entrepreneurs born or taught? I’d say a bit of both. Environmental and genetic influences are so intertwined for most things (diseases, our health, intelligence, etc.) there’s no simple answer. Having said that, when we talk about founders and startups we often think of it as something intrinsic to the people, something inside them, built […]
Pitching Year One Labs and What I’ve Learned So Far
It’s been about a month since we opened the doors at Year One Labs. We’ll be making further announcements soon – there’s lots going on – but I wanted to take a moment and look at what I’ve learned so far in the process. 1. Interesting projects come from everywhere. Although most of the applications […]
Device Addiction: How the iPad Changes the Way Kids Interact with Technology
The iPad is an addictive device. So was the iPhone (and iPod Touch), but the iPad takes device addiction to a new level. For kids, that’s mostly because of the size (vs. iPhone): it’s bigger, easier to handle, and the graphics look fantastic. I think the iPad will fundamentally change how children interact with technology. […]
A Postmortem Analysis of Standout Jobs
It’s been a number of months since I announced that we sold Standout Jobs. In that time I’ve gone through a myriad of emotions and cyclical arguments in my head about the entire process of starting Standout Jobs, running it and selling it. I’ve read a number of great (and heartfelt) postmortems of late, and […]
Target Markets: Should be Disrupted vs. Ready for Disruption
There are a lot of markets that should be disrupted. Big, juicy, billion+ dollar markets that deserve disruption. But there’s a big difference between a market that should be disrupted and one that’s ready to be disrupted. And the distinction is important. Take the HR / Recruitment space. It should be disrupted. It’s huge, there’s […]
Paying Yourself is Not a Reason to Raise Early Stage Funding
If you want to earn a market value salary, you need to get a job. Paying yourself isn’t a good enough reason to justify raising early stage funding. I realize that sounds harsh, but it’s not intended to be. Here’s a fairly common scenario for startup founders: Two or three people decide to start a […]
Meet the Year One Labs Team in Waterloo, Toronto and Ottawa
As part of our effort to find and recruit the best entrepreneurs into Year One Labs, the four partners are doing “Office Hours” in Waterloo, Toronto and Ottawa. More details here. Year One Labs is based in Montreal, and entrepreneurs (companies) that get into the Lab will need to be in Montreal (for ~12 months.) […]
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