September 2011
1 post
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6 Things I Learned While Getting My Teeth Cleaned
Honestly, no one really likes a visit to the dentist’s office. Certainly not me. But as I was lying there on my back, mind wondering, it occurred to me there were a few lessons I was not expecting to find.
Trust the Professionals
If you’re going to outsource anything, make sure it’s to someone you can count on. Referrals make this easier. Ask a friend. Find a good review...
August 2011
9 posts
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New Features... You Didn't Even Know About
Today’s demo was exciting.
At BigDoor, the developers (myself included) demo to the entire company everything we worked on during last week’s sprint.
Honestly it’s one of my favorite parts of the job. We move so fast that the demo has become a greatest hits list of killer features that makes our platform so great.
With so many awesome things coming down the pipe weekly, we...
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Shovels Are Bullshit
Editorial note: This won’t make any sense for most, so just let it be.
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I’m not saying bullshit for sensational purposes or anything, but seriously shovels are bullshit!
Especially, hoes. Hoes are used by do-it-yourselfers that frequent Home Depot on the weekends. Real gardeners would never claim to use a “hoe”. They have specific names like collinear hoes and...
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It May Not Look Like It, But This Stupid Hat Is A...
One of the things I really like about working at BigDoor is just how right on our culture can feel at times.
Last week’s development sprint was a good one. The team cranked out a ton of quality code in a short period of time.
As we reflected back on the body of work the team decided I should wear “the horns” - some stupid hat that’s recently become a badge of honor.
No...
July 2011
1 post
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June 2011
7 posts
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A Model Subscription Model
Out of all the business models that a company can use to make money, I have a love-hate relationship with only one, subscriptions.
As a business I love the idea of a recurring revenue stream from a dedicated customer base. Not only does it make predicting the financial books easier, but it clearly identifies who you should be focusing your efforts on day to day.
As a customer however, I hate...
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Marketing Toward the Tech in Us
I’m a big fan of the blog Hack A Day. It chronicles DIY hardware and software projects from people who just love to build cool things. Today while scrolling through some past entries I noticed an advertisement that didn’t suck! Ya, big surprise.
A silent video showed three guys talking. The guy in the middle had some homemade electronic device strapped to his head and an RC remote...
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10 Tips to Remember for Startup Weekend
Startup Weekend is a great kick in the pants that pushes you to your limits regardless of skill set. Want to see what you’re made of, try creating a startup in 54 hours. Here’s my tips for success.
Prepare yourself: You don’t have to spend sleepless nights before Startup Weekend, but make sure you are ready for the event. If you want to design graphics all weekend make sure...
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Seriously, What's Your Problem?
I want to know.
This weekend I’ll be participating in another Startup Weekend event in which a crack team of startup junkies and myself will create a new product or service in one weekend.
There’s a ton of ideas we could do, but I’m looking for ideas that will take the pain out of X or Y.
If you problem is knowing how to eat healthy, I wanna know. If you’re looking for a...
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Convincing Devs with Devs
I recently attended a meetup of the Seattle Android Developers group. Their guest speaker was Tim Bray, Developer Advocate from Google. Tim was there to talk about the Android OS for mobile phones. Among Tim’s many accomplishments he’s also the co-inventor of the XML Web standard. Whatever, no big deal.
That night Tim made the distinction himself that he was not “developer...
May 2011
9 posts
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My Thoughts On "Early Brids"
Adam Loving is a friend and co-worker who’s getting a head start on ideas for the next Startup Weekend. He’s already jotted down a few concepts that have been rattling around in his head, but “Early Birds” is the concept he’s running with at the moment.
He’s even gone as far as mocking up some basic workflow and screen shots of what a finished product might...
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Testing Your Assumptions
This week wise investor Paul Graham did an open “office hours” during the Techcrunch Disrupt Conference. He exchanged questions and tried to poke holes in ideas startup founder’s presented to help them refine their companies.
It is fascinating to watch this kind of open constructive questioning. One round and you’ll emerge with a more solidified grasp of your ideas. But make a habit out of...
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Free Candy At Hacks/Hackers Event
I just returned from a Seattle Hacks/Hackers event at Groundwire’s office in downtown Seattle. If you aren’t familiar with Hacks/Hackers, it’s mission is to try and connect hacks (journalists) together with hackers (developers) to work on interesting problems. Because of my journalism and developer background, it’s a group where I feel right at home.
Tonight’s event...
BigDoor's Acceptance Speech
Two weeks ago at the Seattle 2.0 Awards, tech startup winners were announced in categories from Best Consumer Startup to Best Startup Acquisition.
BigDoor was a nominated under the category of Best B2B Startup… but didn’t win.
However that didn’t stop CTO Jeff Malek from giving his acceptance speech the next day. Jeff posted his “speech” on the official BigDoor blog...
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Going Transparent
As someone who doesn’t blog constantly and who typically keep ideas as close to his chest as possible, I’m going to try something fairly bold.
Transparency. (Cue the dramatic music)
Back when I was a working journalist, Steve Smith, Editor-in-Chief of The Spokesman-Review at the time, pushed transparency hard. The newsroom even had a live webcam for anyone to spy in on our...
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Building Products Really Really Fast
Just days ago Matt Shobe, BigDoor’s Chief Design Officer, myself and an ad hoc team of talented individuals were knee deep in code developing a new mobile music app in one weekend.
This was the challenge Startup Weekend proposed to developers, designers, marketers and project managers alike – build and demo a product in less than 54 hours.
It was the pace of a startup, times two, then condensed...
April 2011
1 post
Gonna Fly Now
If conditions are right…
It will be 3am. Your feet will be tapping the beats from song you’ve already heard multiple times as you finish your 3rd cup of coffee.
You’ll be straddling the line between brilliance and insanity as you fight to decide if what you’ve just written was pure genius, or if you’ve just been wearing your headphones too tight all night.
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