leadership
The three levels of input
A great tip one of our board members gave me a while back was that, as leadership and influence grow, it becomes increasingly important to make sure your team knows the type of input you’re giving them.
Thinking
First principles and philosophy: mental models, worldview, frameworks for understanding
Thinking
People are awesome...
…and I’m not just talking about those kick-ass Youtube videos that pop up each year. I have a core belief that people are intrinsically valuable. Sometimes the manifestation of that value — their extrinsic value — speaks to the intrinsic, sometimes it doesn’t. That’s irrelevant… the intrinsic value is
Security
Pain of staying the same > Pain of change = Change
Cybersecurity has long been a challenge lead from the top down, but as heat increases in the consumer market and hacking becomes dinner-table conversation at non-geek dinner-tables, I wonder...
Building
Repeat after me — I am not ashamed of sales and marketing!
I find that people are often ashamed, almost embarrassed to talk about sales and marketing. “Yeah, we’re going OK, we’re actually… kind of, you know thinking about how to get better at marketing.” OR “I’m thinking about personal branding… Nothing douchey or anything…” It’s mostly because
leadership
Becoming CEO
The goal of a founder is to do everything. The goal of a CEO is to do nothing.
Building
On Cogs and Levers (strength in diversity)
A dear friend of mine was a linesman with a national telco for 17 years. He drove all around Australia pulling copper. He’s got some great stories, has fond memories of his retirement send-off, and is immensely proud of his tenure and the work he did there. For me,
Building
8,000 Miles + 1 Wife + 2 Kids + 1 Startup = ???
I remember when I first landed in Silicon Valley in April of 2013. Bugcrowd was 3 months old, and we’d seen enough early traction with mainstream customers for us and our Startmate backers to have our “Holy crap, this is actually going to work” moment. I’d landed in
Thinking
Humility (n)
I know am strong, and also know where I’m weak makes me even stronger.
Building
Sales and Marketing — the good, the bad, and the Ugly
The good: * Introducing someone to something that genuinely serves a need that they have (marketing) and having them accept it on terms that are agreeable to both of you (sales). * Market and sell your thing with the attitude of wanting to serve your prospects. This makes ALL the difference. * Do
Building
Some Thoughts from pushstart’s Mentor Connect
Kim Heras and the Pushstart crew put on another Mentor Live event last night. Think speed dating for start-ups and mentors. I was privileged to get to participate as a mentor, and I thought I’d share some of the bits of advice a I found myself given out more
Hot Takes
iPhone 5 First Impressions
My wife and I were among the hordes who queued up for an iPhone 5 this morning. First impressions on iPhone 5: * Fast. Like really, really fast. Super fluid and responsive. Apps open instantly. * Taller, thinner and lighter. It’s actually a bit awkward and foreign handling one for the
Building
Your Idea Sucks
tl;dr: I love your idea. I want to hear about your idea. Please, do not interpret this post as me stifling your idea. But an idea without a commitment to execution is useless… at best an interesting conversation over a beer or a coffee. Don’t let that be