I don’t love it unless the single founder is the person that can actually create and build the first version of the product.
Month: August 2011
Angus & Julia Stone – Silver Coin
My new favorite tech travel companion these days is the jambox. At first I was disappointed but I had the wrong expectations. It’s the perfect thing to bring along on a trip when all you want are tunes in your hotel room.
This morning we have angus and julia on the jambox at the beach. And I’m happy about that.
James (Taken with Instagram at Galley Beach)
People say, “Why don’t you give it up?” I can’t retire until I croak. I don’t think they quite understand what I get out of this. I’m not doing this for the money or for you. I’m doing it for me.
Keith Richards – “Life”
Always Be Recruiting
Most founding entrepreneurs I know would rather focus on the product more than anything else.
They are building something they personally want to see in this world and are scratching their own itch.
And that is why they started a company and raised money.
Then the hardest part comes. Execution.
The most critical skill to execution is having the best team and that requires a constant attention to recruiting.
I’ve noticed a few recruiting issues that I thought I’d point out.
-be careful of new technology. When are building your web service it’s often best to stick to the time tested on the back end (lamp stack and AWS). It’s far easier to recruit if you are using established platforms than trying to hire developers experienced with “newer” things like Tokoyo Cab as one example.
-hiring users. My favorite model is to hire people that come from your community. Stack Exchnge literally uses their own product to find the best people. In the early days Tumblr and Twitter only hired people that were active users. It’s an excellent compass.
-hiring groups. I’ve seen entrepreneurs get excited about group hiring. For example, hiring the top three mobile devs from company xyz. There obvious benefits: in one fell swoop you get an instant team that works well together. The downside : if one member of the group doesn’t perform and needs to go, you risk losing the group. Or one member of the group gets wandering eyes. Take the time to interview each member of the group before loving the group hire concept.
-ABR. The last thing i want to mention is also probably the most important. ABR – Always Be Recuiting. You may think your team is set for now but there is always team risk. Risk you don’t have enough folks. Risk that you don’t have the right team. Risk that a key person leaves you. The only way to deal with this risk is to always be recruiting. Many founding CEOs I know spend 50% of their week recruiting. Some spend more than that. I know it can be frustrating and precious days and weeks will go by where you feel like you hit a recruiting wall. But you can’t give up. That just means you have to keep it up or even turn up the gain even more.
A great team will make your life better.
(please excuse typos and lack of links. wrote this on my ipad)
Monsters of Folk – Losin Yo Head
A summer weekend in Vermont
There are a lot of beautiful places to see in the Northeast.
One place that we never visit, except in the ski season, is Vermont.
I’m not sure why, it’s very close, but I think during the summer months we get to the beach mostly. And during the other seasons, life gets nuts with the kids activities and all.
A few weeks back, Lauren took Ellie to the Icelandic Horse Farm up in Mad River Valley in Vermont. Ellie is crazy about riding and Lauren thought it would be fun.
They had an absolute blast and lauren couldn’t stop telling me how beautiful Vermont is this time of year.
So this past weekend it was Lauren’s birthday. We had someone watch our kids, and I took Lauren back to Vermont.
It was amazing. Between the green everywhere, the dramatic mountains, the rivers and waterfalls, food and wine, it was well beyond my expectations.
If you are thinking about making the trip, here are a few pointers/highlights:
–Pitchers Inn. A warm and cozy place. Adults only. Excellent breakfast and we had dinner in the wine cellar. Say hello to Ari, the general manager for me. He will take good care of you.
-Lunch. There are a number of organic & vegan places all over Vermont. We had lunch in a small town about 15 minutes from our hotel at a place called Mint. I had the Avacodo melt. Awesome bread too.
-Hiking. We did an easy but beautiful hike up to sunset rock. That’s where I took this photo. Steep, short and super fun.
-Biking. Lauren and I are training for a century ride in Sept. Vermont is quite hilly so we ended up driving about 20 minutes from our hotel to a gentler sloping route. It was a gorgeous ride with mountains and farmland everywhere. Here’s the route we took.
–Warren Falls. Located about 5 minutes from our hotel. This was so much fun. Crazy places to jump and swim. So much fun.
I always knew Vermont was stunning the fall and winter. But I fell hard for Vermont in the summertime. I’ll be back.
The Clash – Stay Free