November 2009
150 posts
There's an app for ME
I switched to iPhone today after 10 consecutive years with blackberry devices.
Over those 10 years I went through more than a dozen different blackberries. I never loved my blackberry. I just loved the keyboard and the simplicity and “it-just-works” aspects to blackberry enterprise push email.
I resisted switching for so long because I couldn’t give up the keyboard and I was...
Hamster Burial Kits & 998 Other Business Ideas →
Ideas are a dime a dozen. The money is in the execution.
Need proof? For Seth Godin’s Alternative MBA program, this week the nine of us came up with 111 business ideas each. But ideas are only valuable when someone (like you) makes something happen.
What follows are 999 business ideas, free for the taking….
“There are three questions you have when you’re hiring a programmer (or anyone,...”
– How I Hire Programmers (Aaron Swartz’s Raw Thought)
Apple Rejected Your App? There’s a Site For That →
“The old-media world of limited choice, in which any product that was not too...”
– Media: A world of hits | The Economist
“Enjoy it. There’s no substitute for really enjoying what you do. You’ll be more...”
– think pink: You’ll never get what you want.
“Does a good farmer neglect a crop he has planted?
Does a good teacher overlook...”
– http://www.textfiles.com/100/taoprogram.pro
“Without maths we’re lost in a dark labyrinth”
– Without maths we’re lost in a dark labyrinth | Marcus du Sautoy - Times Online
Black Friday Anti-Deals: What Not To Buy - black... →
checking out charitybuzz →
“I once sat through a three-day training session in our company, and this was for...”
– William D. Green of Accenture
The Latest Entrepreneurial Fantasy Is Selling... →
The 50 most interesting articles on Wikipedia →
Putting A Price On Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn →
“You’ll get derailed if you can’t think on your feet. A lot is going...”
– Spencer Fry — Are You An Entrepreneur?
“One of the most important lessons I have learned about starting a company: No...”
– Founders Need Rock Hard Abs « Jordan Cooper’s Blog
Tumblr just broke into the Top 100 of all... →
IKEA's brilliant Facebook campaign →
“I disagree with pretty much everything written here. If you can’t be...”
– Fred Destin: Three things you should never tell a VC when fundraising
Screenshot: XING’s new company profiles. Follow companies like Lufthansa http://pic.gd/90ab56
SHIP IT! XING launches new company profiles. In industry 1st, users can follow company updates in professional network. http://bit.ly/jxnCI
Screenshot: New XING Company Profiles. Follow companies like Bertelsmann http://pic.gd/1f3847
“When you’re planning your product, remember that you should start off with just...”
– Contrast | The Blog | You’re just getting started
Microsoft, Murdoch vs. Google: Smart move, or... →
How to Make $55,000 by Giving Away Your Work →
“If you can’t make money from attention, you should do something else for a...”
– Seth’s Blog: Rupert Murdoch has it backwards
Who Has The Gold To Make The Rule - VC Or... →
“Don’t just roll the dice when it comes to pricing your product. Give it some...”
– How To Price Software Without Just Rolling The Dice
A Call to Action - Help Protect Startup Financing →
“A new green college campus was built, but one thing was still debated: Where in...”
– Let pedestrians define the walkways | Derek Sivers
Bloomberg: Zynga May Be Valued at $1 Billion →
“Ultimately, financing a startup properly boils down to aligning the financing...”
– Bootstrapping vs. Venture Funding | Mark Peter Davis
“Entrepreneurship is hard. You’re going to go through moments where you feel like...”
– Build your entrepreneurial confidence. Try these tips on for size. | JonBischke.com
“I like the old chestnut about Bloomberg removing all the chairs from conference...”
– Everything is too long | Jon Steinberg
How a great entrepreneur deals with complexity →
“It is often said of European VCs that they lack the gumption of the Sand Hill...”
– The ignorant VC - Venture Hacks
European startups need to work as hard as Valley... →
“I don’t think Apple realizes how badly the App Store approval process is...”
– Paul Graham
How to Work from Home Without Going Crazy →
Changes Ahead!
We announced today at XING that I will be leaving my position as Chief Product Officer at the end of this year.
On the one hand, this was a tough decision for me as I’ve really enjoyed working for XING in 2009. It has been an incredible experience for me to live in Hamburg, Germany and to work with and learn with the XING team. As I noted today in our all-company meeting, I judge my...
“So, I’m challenging you ladies, GET OUT THERE. Fail, over and over until...”
– Shut up and build something : Girl Developer
The Top 10 Internet Moments of the Decade: →
If you ask me, #2 was a much bigger deal than #1. #1 killed an existing industry. #2 invented a whole new one.
1. Craiglist Expands Outside San Francisco (2000)
2. Google AdWords Launches (2000)
Repost: My 10 Tips for Founders →
Don’t forget nor minimize #10. Exercise your body and your mind will keep up!
A Diggerview with Julius Genachowski →
10 People Who Changed The Way We Think →
Trying to Find Coder’s Heaven →
Valuations Hold Steady, Though First-Round Prices... →
The valuations of venture-backed companies held steady in the third quarter, as the prices set in first funding rounds dropped to a six-year quarterly low while later-stage valuations continued to climb. According to Dow Jones VentureSource, the median valuation of U.S. companies raising money in the third quarter was $18 million, the same price as in the second quarter, after falling from $24...
WTF Facebook
Why doesn’t Facebook allow permalinks to your Facebook posts? It’s just stupid. Limits the ability to direct people off of Facebook to a discussion you’ve got going on Facebook. Like my latest very important thread on: “Is there anything better than peanut butter?”
New investments & Advisory positions
I’ll be making two additional seed-stage angel investments in the coming weeks. I’m currently evaluating a number of possibilities but am also open to checking out some new stuff.
My sweet-spot is engineer-driven startups who can use some advice from a product-marketing guy like myself. I like small scrappy teams. I like rapid iteration. I like shipping it early and often. I...
Google releases Chrome OS source code. 1 year... →