Author, Investor, Speaker, Mentor
Most busy professionals view the working poor who struggle from paycheck to paycheck with barely veiled contempt. These holier-than-thou Whole Foods shoppers marvel at the poor decisions of the poor, whether in consumption of fast food, using payday loans, or worst of all, buying lottery tickets. What these yuppies don’t realize is that they’re doing … Continue reading What busy professionals and the working poor have in common
The recent reports that Snapchat’s founders each took $10 million off the table during their Series B raised the usual debate about founder liquidity: http://bit.ly/11P65n1 On the pro side are the arguments espoused by one anonymous investor: “Founders get ‘rich’ now, and de-risk some of the startup. Doesn’t change alignment, just rewards them for their … Continue reading Addressing the founder liquidity problem
It’s always dangerous for old married guys like me to opine on college culture and relationships. It’s kind of like retired athletes arguing that the darn kids today don’t have any respect for the game. But hey, that’s never stopped me before. The New York Times just ran an extensive article about college women and … Continue reading The Smoking Gun of College Hook-up Culture
As usual, if there’s a controversial topic that no one in their right mind wants to touch, I’m going to write about it. The news came out this morning that a Florida jury found George Zimmerman “Not Guilty” of the charges of 2nd-Degree Murder and Manslaughter in his shooting of teenager Trayvon Martin. This case … Continue reading Why George Zimmerman was found “Not Guilty” (and why this verdict is unsatisfying)
There’s a brand of technology enthusiasts who hail the power of “external memory.” According to these true believers, you don’t need to bother remembering things; simply put it into Evernote, find it on Facebook/LinkedIn, or if all else fails, Google it. This external memory is phenomenally powerful, and I rely on it constantly when I’m … Continue reading Memory matters more than ever
We often think of sociability as a single axis, from introverted to extroverted. On one end sits the shy geek who prefers to interact with the world via a computer screen, and on the other strides the back-slapping frat guy, calling everyone “bro” and speaking loudly enough to be heard on the other side of … Continue reading A Better Taxonomy for Introverts and Extroverts
When entrepreneurs ask me for help, the two things they always want is A) to raise money, and B) to get publicity. While both fundraising and PR are important, I think entrepreneurs focus way too much on them, and not enough on perfecting the product and reaching out to customers. Funding and press are the … Continue reading Focus on winning the market, not winning the news cycle
Spend enough time with any startup’s product team, and you’ll hear complaints about the customers. Many of these complaints are justified. Customers misuse, misunderstand, and just plain miss the point of products. But blaming the user is useless, unless you’re going to find a brand new set of customers who, magically, are smart enough to … Continue reading If People Don’t Get Your Product, It’s Your Fault, Not Theirs
If I had to boil down my best startup advice into a single sentence, I’d tell people: “Build great products that solve important problems.” If you solve an important problem, people will try and pay for your product. Getting someone to pay for your product is the surest path to revenues. Yet simply solving an … Continue reading Build Great Products That Solve Important Problems
I believe in the lean startup philosophy, but our love of pivots has a downside, in the belief that it doesn’t matter where you start. Where you start matters. The path you choose matters. It’s never too late to change (until you run out of money), but it gets harder and harder the further along … Continue reading Choose your path wisely