What Amy Hoy taught me about starting a business
I first heard about Amy when I saw Twistori. Soon after, I started following her on Twitter. It didn’t take long for me to realize that Amy could teach me a lot about starting a business and building products. Since…
Most successful founders are in their mid-30′s, married with children
The Kauffman Foundation surveyed 550 successful entrepreneurs across multiple sectors, determined by profitability and being named a “high-valued” business by their peers. Their data suggests that most successful founders are in their mid-30s and married with children: “Founders tended to be middle-aged—40…
Customers don’t care about your solutions
“Customers don’t care about your solution. They care about their problems.” ~ Dave McClure This is literally the most important thing I’ve read all month. (Photo via Mike Bridge)
Building a better mousetrap? It had better catch more mice.
If you’re building a better mousetrap, it had better catch more mice. Ultimately, the products we build have to provide value for our customers. This means that if we’re trying to build something better than what exists, it should represent a…
What is real work?
“Hey kids, don’t bother daddy, I’m working.” “But dad, you’re watching YouTube!” It should be obvious, but we’ve all rationalized work activities that aren’t real work. Furthermore, we get caught up doing too many maintenance tasks that don’t earn revenue. What we need…
Useful is forever
“Cool wears off. Useful is forever.” – Jason Fried
Your idea needs a passionate believer
Just watched Derek Sivers’ great video on leadership. It reminded me of when I decided to start a wedding video company. I was young, 18 years old, and in my first year of college.
No one knows what they’re doing
“No one will tell you what to do. The secret behind business is that no one really knows what they’re doing. Business people often look like they know what they’re doing, but they don’t. That’s actually pretty empowering for entrepreneurs.”…
How changing your market can save your product
The other day, I was picking my daughter up from a birthday party. The father of my daughter’s friend is an arborist. Essentially, he makes his living pruning and caring for trees. He’s owned his own business for 12 years….
