Blog
Be the only one
Seth Godin says there are only two ways to market a business.
You can say "We're the same as everyone else but a little cheaper".
Or you can say: "We're the only one."
Be the only one: Be yourself.
Be…
Solving meaningful problems
I really like the idea of a startup accelerator with a focus on solving meaningful problems.
Just like I just wrote about Betaworks having a coherent vision, I think a shared vision of the world would…
Some acquisitions do have a chance
Speaking of acquisitions, I believe this acquisitions of Instapaper by Betaworks has a real shot at working out for all, customers included.
I've known John Borthwick, founder of Betaworks, for years,…
Upcoming.org: Acquisitions fail when the company loses its soul
Upcoming is being shut down by Yahoo, and its creator, Andy Baio, has written his obit:
In hindsight, selling Upcoming to Yahoo was a horrible mistake. Selling your company always means sacrificing c…
Startups come and go, but Sriracha sauce remains
I love this story from the LA Times about the founder of Sriracha hot sauce. Sriracha was introduced to me in 2003 by Joel S Aufrecht, an employee at my company at the time, who'd spent a couple of ye…
Getting a finger print analysis is the best self-help thing I've done in a very long time
After I've had a finger print analysis done, it's fascinating to think that the US has on file finger prints of millions and millions of people from all over the world. Running them through an analysi…
Now onto email: Why isn't there a good email solution?
I've been thinking about this for a while, then it congealed a few weeks ago, and immediately after I heard of Mailbox and their meteoric rise. Clearly email is something that is important to people, …
Why the f**k haven't anyone solved the note-taking problem yet?
There are just some categories of software that are so basic, so old, yet continues to be not solved well, it boggles my mind. Two that come to mind are Notes and Email. Let me write about notes first…
Creativity is every company’s first driver
Nolan Buschnell who hired a young and pretty far-out Steve Jobs to work for his company, Atari, before Steve started Apple:
"Because as Steve and I discussed that day in Paris, without creativity you…
An acquisition is always a failure
Jake Lodwick of Vimeo fame has an incredible post up at pandodaily:
An entrepreneur is someone who, almost artistically, designs a living entity which embodies the values, beliefs, and ambitions of t…