In March 2012 I decided to try living without my iPhone for a month. By this time last year I decided to permanently live without a cell phone or land line of my own. I'm asked about how I get by on a regular basis so I thought I'd share the answers here.
Read MoreI'm very proud to be a member of a company and community that gives me the opportunity to collaborate with a competitor, a startup in alpha, and a soon-to-be-public-technology-company. Quick Left is teaming up with dojo4, Adventure, and Rally Software to organize the Boulder Civic Hackfest 6/1 and 6/2. Let's give back to the community together, shall we?
We welcome all comers. If you have a problem you think we can solve or if you think you can help solve problems with open data and technology, we want you there:
We're throwing this shindig at HUB Boulder, home to people who are looking to make change happen. That's us, at least for the weekend.
Please register so that we can ensure that we've got space, wi-fi, and nourishment ready for you!
Three years ago I decided that I wanted to find a career in the startup ecosystem in Boulder. In that time I volunteered my way from being an outsider looking in to being a thriving member of the community. If you're interested in doing the same, I recommend finding ways to donate some of your brainpower and give-a-shit around town.
I consider myself an introvert. I grew up in New England and generally have the attitude that I already have all the friends I need in life. My ancestors in China built thousands of miles of wall to keep people out. It's fair to say that becoming an active community member doesn't come naturally to me.
I fell in love with the Boulder startup ecosystem because it represents the energy, calculated risk taking, creativity, and everything else that I love about entrepreneurship. I knew that if I wanted to take part, I'd have to come out of my shell to match that level of activity. Scary. I started showing up at BDNT, Ignite Boulder, and eventually BOCC pretty regularly as a passive attendee. It was a start, but because I'm a wallflower by nature, I hadn't really gotten to know too many people. That changed when I started to volunteer.
I spent a weekend at SnapCamp to work on an initiative to help organizations across the country tap into volunteers within their communities. In working shoulder to shoulder with a handful of people for a weekend, I was able to build long lasting, meaningful relationships that traditional networking rarely delivers on for me. I didn't know it at the time, but volunteering would become the only form of networking that I rely on.
In the meantime I've handed out shirts at TEDxBoulder, written posts for boulder.me, worked the registration desk at Big Boulder, and pitched in with a variety of other small efforts around town. I've also become an organizer for House of Genius, an all volunteer organization that helps entrepreneurs move forward with their companies by harnessing the collective genius of the business community.
Update: Take a look at Startup Communities Are Built By Self-Appointed Leaders by Brad Bernthal for other examples of ways to contribute to the community. Brad is the Entrepreneurship Initiative Director at Silicon Flatirons Center and linchpin to the connection between CU and the rest of the startup community here in Boulder.
Brad Feld, a local community leader, encourages people to give before you get. I've given some and gotten plenty in return. I've been able to call upon people I would otherwise never have access to, based purely on the fact that they've heard I'm a "community guy", to help me with personal, professional, and volunteer pursuits.
There's no need to draft a strategy and tactics to become a member of the community. Look for a couple of things that sound interesting, show up, and pitch in. It's as simple as that. If you're in Boulder, I'd love to cross paths with you.
Finding a technical co-founder is hard. Non-technical entrepreneurs and wantrepreneurs ask me how to find one on a pretty regular basis. I usually name a few events in Boulder where developers show up and wish them luck. Recently, however, I decided to add a parting thought: having a hard time finding a technical co-founder may be a sign that you and your idea aren't compelling enough.
It's well known that technical talent is hard to come by. At Quick Left we're constantly on the hunt for the best developers and there just aren't enough to go around. In fact, our Careers page always has an opening. Always. Non-technical co-founders need to understand that the most talented developers have a lot of options: web development firms, existing startups, stable companies, independent contracting, and launching a startup without you.
In Boulder, there are a few places I recommend that people look for technical co-founders:
Make the rounds, get to know some folks, and pitch, pitch pitch. Keep in mind that you're looking for a long term partner, not a one night stand, so slow down and get to know the person well. That said, if you're having a hard time finding anybody to show interest, it may be time to take a hard look at the team you already have in place and at the idea itself.
It may not be that there aren't enough candidates, but rather that the few available technical co-founders who are out there just aren't that impressed with what you're working on. Technical co-founders are picky. So are investors and customers. If you can't find a co-founder, take that as a sign that you've got some important work to do above and beyond tracking them down. Maybe it's your business model. Maybe it's you.
Look in the right places. Then look in the mirror.
Making a decision based on "just one more customer" is a terrible idea unless you have unlimited resources at your disposal. If that's the case, congratulations on your early retirement and you may stop reading now. For the rest of us, we'll have to make decisions by weighing them against other options that you'd otherwise not be able to afford.
It happens all the time. A vendor pitches you with the idea that the money you'll spend with him will be more than covered by landing "just one more customer". Internally it happens all the time too. You tell your boss that the $12,000 PPC campaign you need will be more than covered by the $100,000 that "just one more customer" will bring (I'll save the idea that "need" is actually "want" in these scenarios for another post). Thinking about whether "just one more customer" will justify an expense is a luxury that none of us have.
Have you exhausted all the other better options already? Are your time, money, and other resources better spent on another form of lead generation? This type of critical thinking is completely left out of the "just one more customer" mentality. Ideally your analysis compares return on investment across the different options. When it's hard to track ROI, common sense works pretty darn well. Either way, spending money on PPC needs to be compared with PR, a referral program, other forms of advertising, or other options you can afford.
Justifying an expense with "just one more customer" is seductively easy. Deciding whether to spend the money elsewhere is not. Don't fall into the trap.
Another idea: how about we all just go out and get just one more customer without spending more money?
The best advice I've ever gotten about learning to code was when my friend Collin Schaafsma told me bluntly "Get out of your basement." My learning had plateaued as an individual learning Ruby on Rails from tutorials, books, and banging my head against the wall. It was time to code with others. I signed up for Code Retreat and have been recommending it ever since as the most concentrated learning I've had in a single day.
The first Code Retreat I went to almost melted my brain. I had never written any Ruby outside of the Rails framework, let alone written anything in another language (unless BASIC or Logo from 30 years ago counts). The last time I went, I left with my brain overflowing again. It was drinking from the firehose in its most extreme form. On both occasions it took a day or two to catch my breath. When I did, I was a much stronger programmer.
Code Retreat gives you the opportunity to focus 100% of your time on honing your craft away from the usual distractions and pressures of a work day. You'll pair with people of different skill levels, different language preferences, and most importantly, different approaches to problem solving. It will open your mind in a way that coding in your usual environment can never do.
If you're hesitant to go because you feel like your skills aren't up to snuff, get over it. Today. Every developer had shit for skills in the beginning and frankly, many still do. If you're curious what skill level I went into the first Code Retreat with, feel free to take a look at the code for Get Shit Done, my first complete web app. I've made the repository publicly viewable to remind me and others that we all write shitty code. If you show enthusiasm for learning, you'll be welcomed with open arms at Code Retreat.
My friends at Scrib are hosting the next Code Retreat in Boulder coming up on December 8, 2012. The only investment you need to make is a day of your time. Make sure you grab a seat by registering for Code Retreat on Eventbrite. You won't regret it.
The holiday season is right around the corner. For me it will include travel, family, shopping, and all the other typical holiday craziness. What it won't include is something I've been guilty of in past years - losing momentum at work.
It's especially hard to stay focused on work that needs to be done when end of year business planning is layered on top of holiday planning. We spend so much time looking forward during this time of the year that today can get lost in the shuffle.
No New Year's resolutions for me. It's a November resolution: get shit done.
I make some pretty damned tasty granola. That's a fact.
While I love sharing it, I don't always have the motivation to make it. For those of you who want more but can't talk me into making another batch, here's my recipe, which is adapted from Cook's Illustrated.
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Combine in a large bowl:
Warm up (15 seconds in a microwave will do the trick):
Stir the wet mixture into the oatmeal mixture until everything's coated thoroughly. Transfer to a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil and bake.
After 20 minutes or so, you should start checking on the color every few minutes. Give it a stir each time before you put it back in the oven to brown things evenly. Remove it from the oven when the granola is a shade lighter than the final color you want.
While the granola is still warm, sprinkle on:
Break it up into bite sized chunks and you're ready to go.
I chose virtuallybing as my online identity to be consistent across the dozens of web services I use. While I'm not a fan of the term personal brand, it's essentially what I've created over the course of the last couple of years, and it's served me well. You should do the same if your online presence is important to you.
As many things are, virtuallybing was born out of necessity. While you may think my given name is unique, it isn't. When I signed up for Twitter I ran into another Bing Chou, a tennis instructor in Toronto, who had already taken the handle @bingchou. I soon found out that the domain bingchou.com was taken as well and that there are several Bing Chous on Facebook and LinkedIn. My parents lied to me when they told me I'm one of a kind.
I chose virtuallybing after seeing it was available as a username across web services and grabbed virtuallybing.com right away. I've been able to sign up for new accounts for a couple of years now using Bing Chou when my real name is required and virtuallybing when it's not. Being able to use virtuallybing consistently across web services, especially social media services, has gone a long way in helping others remember who I am.
I'd recommend you find a username you can use consistently as well. If you're working hard to network or build your reputation in the startup community, it will go a long way to have a name that people will recognize as they come across your stuff online. Especially for the Michael Smiths and Bing Chous of the world.
redentials are a powerful thing. So much so that they can get in the way. The next time you participate in a group discussion, try asking everybody to leave their credentials at the door before getting started. It'll make for a more open and meaningful conversation.
Each month I ask a group of 20 or so businesspeople to get together for House of Genius. The purpose of the event is to give three entrepreneurs an opportunity to ask for help on a particular problem that each is facing.
The idea is to tap into the group's collective genius after a short presentation by the entrepreneur. A critical ingredient in the House of Genius secret sauce is to limit introductions to first names with no discussions about job titles or experience until the very end of the evening.
"The process and approach worked brilliantly – I thought the amount and type of feedback the three presenters got was at the high end of the spectrum for any other group feedback session I’ve ever been involved in."
Brad Feld on a recent House of Genius event, Great Events - House of Genius
By maintaining an element of anonymity we're able to minimize preconceived notions about who knows what. It's a completely different dynamic than traditional meetings beginning with "name, rank, serial number" type of introductions that create a set of expectations before the conversation has even begun.
We also ask that participants avoid qualifying their comments with things like "In my experience with this..." or "I don't know much about this, but...". These types of comments are a different but equally powerful form of credentials.
The next time you're planning to gather a group for a feedback session ask everybody to leave their credentials at the door. You'll find that the discussion gets moving quickly and includes more creativity and honesty than traditional meetings.
Note: House of Genius was born in Boulder but is now in Austin, Singapore, New York City, San Francisco, Santa Monica, Albuquerque, Seattle, Denver, and Reno. More locations are in the works. Let me know if you want an invitation to a House of Genius session here in Boulder or elsewhere.
"I do it too, you know. Metaphorically piss my pants sometimes in the face of opportunity. Though I'm trying to stop doing that."
Sebastian Marshall, Ikigai
I'm trying to stop doing that too. Overcoming fear in the face of opportunity is the difference between being an entrepreneur and wantrepreneur.
I experiment with productivity techniques and tools a fair amount because I'm always wanting to squeeze more into my day without sacrificing sanity time. The most productive of them all? The two minute rule.
It's very simple: if a task will take two minutes or less to complete, just do it on the spot, even if other pressing tasks are at hand. It's one less thing to track, one less thing to worry about, and one less thing that may hold up another task down the road.
I was introduced to David Allen's two minute rule in his best seller Getting Things Done and have had great results. While I've struggled to implement the rest of his system consistently, I've managed to use the two minute rule on a daily basis with no problem for several years now. It's stupidly simple, which is perfect for me.
Spending two minutes to make a problem go away gives me instant gratification and helps clear my head of loose ends I have to think about all the time.
Often times it's the small things that make me worry the most, so checking them off the list is a beautiful thing. In actuality, they never even have to be put on the list in the first place because they're handled on the spot.
Give it a try. Fight the instinct to put it on a list. If it takes two minutes or less, just Get Shit Done.
