April 2011
3 posts
2 tags
Gary Vaynerchuk calls the end of the anonymous...
The train was Web 2.0, now known as social media. It rode along the rails of the Web at breathtaking speed, every one of its cars a powerful platform designed with the express purpose of getting people to talk to one another again. The silent, anonymous, private Internet suddenly turned extremely chatty, personal, and revealing. An excerpt from The Thank You Economy by Gary Vaynerchuk. ...
1 tag
Lucky people are more relaxed and open
Unlucky people miss chance opportunities because they are too focused on looking for something else. They go to parties intent on finding their perfect partner, and so miss opportunities to make good friends. They look through the newspaper determined to find certain job advertisements and, as a result, miss other types of jobs. Lucky people are more relaxed and open, and therefore see what is...
2 tags
Entrepreneurship and Loved Ones
I’ve learned that the ones closest in my life will doubt my aspirations and dreams. It’s not that they don’t think that I can live out my dreams or accomplish my desires, it’s that they are afraid of me failing and getting hurt.via techneur.com Just came across this quote in an article by @jprichardson and I’ve experienced the same thing. It’s important to understand this and keep...
March 2011
4 posts
3 tags
An insight into the quality of founders of...
“To be honest, I am amazed by my batch mates. We have a core creator of Django, a maintainer of the python client of a popular oss software, a contributor to the OAuth spec, drummers of a band, a 18 year old that had already sold his first company, someone that leads and sings in a choir, and a pair that owns a chain of Beard Papa’s, amongst others. In the previous batch, if I recall...
2 tags
Why not to raise capital with just an idea
We could have spent 3 months chasing money, or 3 months earning it. We chose the latter and have a much better product because of it. As an added bonus if we ever did take money, we now have powerful leverage.. called profit. via blog.page.ly This is so in line with my own thinking that I had to post it here. The full post is fantastic, too. Posted via email from Thoughts and...
3 tags
Chrome might overtake Firefox sooner than you...
via conceivablytech.com This chart from an article on ConceivablyTech certain indicates it. Firefox have quite a task ahead of them. Posted via email from Thoughts and discoveries | Comment »
I love verifying my email address" and other...
via trpdsaya.tumblr.com Just came across “Things real people don’t say about your app”, and it is hilarious! Also, on a more serious note, I think it is a good reminder to always question our assumptions. Posted via email from Thoughts and discoveries | Comment »
February 2011
1 post
3 tags
Could the Kindle eventually be free?
via kk.org I just came across this very interesting article speculating that the Kindle will be free this November based on current trends. It’s something I hadn’t thought about, but it seems to actually make a lot of sense. Amazon are a truly inspirational company, they’ve been around a long time now but they are still innovating so much with Kindle and Amazon Web Services. ...
January 2011
1 post
3 tags
Evernote show how being open and honest works...
via blog.evernote.com In their recent blog post Mac App Store more than doubles new users Evernote show that being open and honest about numbers is something you can do and something that works well. Be sure to look at the comments too. This is something I’m inspired by and plan to do more of myself. Posted via email from Thoughts and discoveries | Comment »
December 2010
1 post
3 tags
A fascinating insight into freemium
via markitecht.com This is a visualisation from a fascinating article you should go and read right now. This is hugely important for anyone working on a freemium product. This visualisation is for one specific cohort of users over time as they use Evernote, not a visualisation for the conversion rate to premium over the years as a whole. The amazing thing about this is that if you work with the...
November 2010
2 posts
Social Media: Startups, Founders, Investors &...
via onstartups.com This is a great infographic from OnStartups. Posted via email from Thoughts and discoveries | Comment »
A little italian restaurant on the web
“I am trying to build what DHH calls “a little italian restaurant on the web”…so while it’s good to know the owners and know that they are doing well, that shouldn’t be the reason you go eat there: it’s the quality of the food (ehm, product) that matters most.”via blogs.balsamiq.com I love this analogy, and with Peldi from Balsamiq and DHH from...
October 2010
2 posts
Some great A/B testing tips from Cindy Alvarez
This leads me a related point: statistical significance is highly overrated. When you can tell an experiment is failing, pull the plug fast. You do not need to subject your “B” audience to failure for an extra 3 days just so your Excel spreadsheet looks better. via cindyalvarez.com This is one of the little snippets from a great article which I recommend you check out. Posted via email ...
Is Test-Driven-Development right for you?
The truth is, test driven development is a huge pain in the ass. Writing those damn tests all the time takes a huge amount of discipline, and it doesn’t really get a whole lot easier with time. But do you know what sucks more? The liability that comes without those tes via debuggable.com Posted via email from Thoughts and discoveries | Comment »
September 2010
6 posts
Inspiration for your culture: working at ZURB
Free house cleaning. Yep, we think getting stuff done at home is just as important as getting stuff done in the office. via zurb.com Just one example from the “17 reasons” to get involved with the strong culture and positive atmosphere at ZURB. This is the kind of thing I aspire to provide for a team when I get to that stage. Posted via email from Thoughts and...
1 tag
Customers as Guests
“We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It’s our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better.”via 52weeksofux.com I think this is a great way to view users or customers. See the full article from 52 Weeks of UX. Posted via email from Thoughts and discoveries | Comment »
1 tag
Minimal Product Design
via amix.dk Just came across this great diagram about product design and user experience. Posted via email from Thoughts and discoveries | Comment »
2 tags
OnePage mentioned in the Gardian today!
“Other competitors include OnePage, which is beautifully designed”via guardian.co.uk Hi everyone! We’d just like to let you know that we’re mentioned in the Gardian today. Thanks for all your support so far, we are working hard to make OnePage better for you one step at a time. Not only are we delighted to be in the Gardian, but we are also excited to be mentioned alongside...
2 tags
Startups as hypotheses, by Venture Hacks
Every startup is a hypothesis. If your hypothesis is, “we can build a better web-based chat client”, that’s something you could test quickly. If your hypothesis is “we can build a car that runs on lemonade”, that’s just not going to work as a part-time effort. via venturehacks.com I’ve always been fond of taking the idea of a startup as a hypothesis which must be rigorously tested, and...
2 tags
Evidence of the Pivot, by Fred Wilson of Union...
Of the 26 companies that I consider realized or effectively realized in my personal track record, 17 of them made complete transformations or partial transformations of their businesses between the time we invested and the time we sold. That means there a 2/3 chance you’ll have to significantly reinvent your business between the time you take a venture capital investment and when you exit your...
August 2010
3 posts
Focus on support and gain fans
To build a successful company, you need more than just a lot of users. You need fans who genuinely want you to succeed. And to do that, you need to give them a great product and great support. via sachin.posterous.com These fans are what Eric Ries or Steve Blank would call “earlyvangelists”. Posted via email from Thoughts and discoveries | Comment »
A glimpse into the future of Smartphone market...
via gigaom.com Posted via email from Thoughts and discoveries | Comment »
OnePage featured in .net magazine!
When I was starting out with web design and development around 10 years ago I used to subscribe to a magazine called .net. I used to read it each month and follow their tutorials. After a while I stopped subscribing in favour for finding the same content online. It’s a great magazine though and it’s nice to read something printed even if the news can be a little outdated with the speed...
July 2010
4 posts
2 tags
Another lesson in persistence from Seth Godin
It’s so tempting to head for green fields with a new thing, a new market, a new business. But in fact, 15% right here and right now might be exactly what you need. via sethgodin.typepad.com Posted via email from Thoughts and discoveries | Comment »
2 tags
Be an unrelenting machine
Brick walls are there to show you how bad you want something. Commit to your goals and do not waver from them a one bit regardless of what else is there. I took this approach to losing weight and fitness. I have not missed a single 5k run in over a year. (Here’s how I lost 50 pounds btw). It did not matter if I had not slept for two days, traveling across the country, or whatever else. If your...
3 tags
The only thing that matters for startups,...
“Ironically, once a startup is successful, and you ask the founders what made it successful, they will usually cite all kinds of things that had nothing to do with it. People are terrible at understanding causation. But in almost every case, the cause was actually product/market fit.”via web.archive.org I found this via Sean Ellis’ Startup Pyramid article, and it’s only...
Google's Eric Schmidt: Europe must embrace 'crazy...
“Europe must embrace “crazy entrepreneurs” if it is to build more technology companies that challenge American firms” - Eric Schmidt, Google’s chairman and chief executivevia telegraph.co.uk Posted via email from Thoughts and discoveries | Comment »
June 2010
6 posts
Are you on someone else's schedule?
“A job is working on someone else’s schedule. I was expected to be productive for eight hours in the middle of the day, five out of seven days a week. This doesn’t match my natural rhythm. Some days I can work for fourteen hours, others I just need a day off. If I work in the mornings only, I don’t need a weekend. I’m really keen to explore different modes of working to find what is most...
2 tags
Competition and Startups
Startups are primarly competing against indifference, lack of awareness, and lack of understanding — not other startups. For web startups this means you should worry about users simply not coming to your site, or when they do come, hitting the BACK button.via cdixon.org Chris Dixon has some great posts, and this one particularly resonated with me. I think it’s easy to either consider...
3 tags
Inspire and let people imagine
You can explain your business in mind numbing detail or you can inspire an investor and let them imagine. Guess what works better? via avc.com There’s a great post by Fred Wilson I just came across. I think this applies to more than just an investor. People love to talk. If you can explain your startup succinctly and then let them ponder on all the possibilities whilst being a good...
1 tag
Gary Veynerchuk on Entrepreneurship over the...
“Do you know who I feel bad for? I feel bad for everyone one of us in here, our version: who was us two generations ago, that didn’t have the freedom to build the kind of things we want. It’s all about the hustle. The fact that we can work our nine-to-five’s, come home, hang out a little bit with our families and then work from eleven pm to three in the morning building...
2 tags
How Fred Wilson & Union Square Ventures measure...
“We do focus on financial metrics, but our number one goal for our companies is to build very large networks of engaged users. We believe if they do that, they will build value for themselves and us.”via avc.com Great to see focus on creating something big and useful rather than just revenue metrics. The quote is from a new blog post by Fred Wilson. If you find my posts interesting,...
The "knowledge-acquiring period"
“Those who are not successful usually make the mistake of believing that the knowledge-acquiring period ends when they finish school. The truth is that schooling does little more than point one in the direction of how to acquire practical knowledge.” As I work hard to build up OnePage and become better at every aspect of what I do, I think it is important for me to come back to this...
May 2010
9 posts
8 tags
All in a day's work: heroku, sinatra, passenger,...
Well, I’ve certainly had a packed day of the Ruby learning today. Now I’m going to write it up in hopefully a more structured manner than I actually carried it out! Last week I went for the basic syntax, and I learned quite a lot. This week however, I wanted to just get stuck in and get an initial landing page up for the idea I’m using as my way to learn Ruby. Once the landing page was up in...
1 tag
Make sure you ship, or don't expect to be taken...
Yes, I know you’re a master of the web, that you’ve visited every website written in English, that you’ve been going to SXSW for ten years, that you were one of the first bloggers, you used Foursquare before it was cool and you can code in HTML in your sleep. Yes, I know that you sit in the back of the room tweeting clever ripostes when speakers are up front failing on a panel...
2 tags
Success is not about luck (video by David...
via 37signals.com I like this quick video. I think “I got lucky” said by some people provides a nice excuse of “I didn’t get lucky” for many people. In my opinion it’s not luck, it’s persistence and faith. If you find my posts interesting, you should see ways to connect with me at my OnePage here. Posted via web from Thoughts and...
3 tags
Foray into Ruby Syntax
Today, I decided to dive into Ruby syntax and have a play around. I took note of a few reflections in terms of similarities and differences with programming languages I am very familiar with: in particular JavaScript and PHP.Interactive Ruby Making use of the Ruby in Twenty Minutes article on the Ruby website itself, I was immediately introduced to “Interactive Ruby”, which is fired up...
1 tag
Challenging ideas on motivation
via loiclemeur.com Just came across this awesome animated video about our ideas of motivation. Specifically, challenging the idea that “if you reward something you get more of the behaviour you want” and “if you punish something you get less of the behaviour you want”. And, as Loic Le Meur “instructed”, I can see myself watching this again and again. If...
4 tags
Investors who write code
Software development is the foundational technology for everything that we invest in. And so having people in the venture industry who have their heads wrapped around software engineering is a very good thing.via avc.com One of my goals is to eventually be an angel investor in technology companies. However, before I get there I want to go through the whole process of building such a company. This...
3 tags
Compete with the Valley
if you are an entrepreneur in Europe, don’t forget that the Valley exists. Measure yourself by “Valley standards,” not just by your peers in Europe. via readwriteweb.com Nick Barker’s recent blog post lead me to this post on ReadWriteWeb from last year, and I think it’s a point that needs to be taken to heart by all Internet entrepreneurs in Europe. We need to be...
4 tags
From PHP to Ruby, join me on my journey!
Hello :)So it’s hard not to notice the attention Ruby is getting right now, especially due to Ruby on Rails. It seems like it’s what all the cool kids are doing, and of course I want to be a cool kid. So having thought about it for a number of months I’m taking the plunge and getting my feet wet with Ruby. I asked you guys on Twitter if you’d like to see me blog about the...
4 tags
A Customer Experience lesson from Jeff Bezos
“If the optimal business decision in the old world was too spend 30 percent of your time, energy, focus, and dollars on building great customer experience, and 70 percent of your time, energy, focus, and dollars on shouting about it, today that’s inverted. Today, the optimal thing to do is to spend 70 percent of your time, energy, focus, and dollars on building great customer...
April 2010
4 posts
2 tags
Startup Ideas
The best way to come up with startup ideas is to ask yourself the question: what do you wish someone would make for you? via paulgraham.com Paul Graham of Y Combinator has just put out an essay talking about Organic Startup Ideas. He describes that whilst there is no sharp line between organic startup ideas and startup ideas which people think will be necessary by others, it is the organic...
What’s A Startup?
“A startup is an organization formed to search for a repeatable and scalable business model”.via steveblank.com I just came across this definition of a startup by Steve Blank, and I think it is fantastic. Short and concise, yet getting across the key points, repeatable and scalable. What do you think of the definition? If you find my posts interesting, you should see ways to connect...
4 tags
Failure in the UK
Many people said that in the UK we see failure as exactly that – something to be avoided and a stain on a business person’s reputation. In America there is a very different attitude, with “permission to fail” built in to the business model. As one person wrote in a post, in America “bankruptcy is just very intensive market research” and many people...
2 tags
Do you have a vision for your startup?
“Vision is aspirational. Google couldn’t claim to organize the world’s information when they wrote their first line of code. But they could aspire to it.”via venturehacks.com I just came across the post What’s the vision? on Venture Hacks, and I think vision is much more powerful than many people realise. In my opinion, ambition and having a can-do attitude is a big part of reaching your goals. ...
March 2010
5 posts
3 tags
Can-do attitude
Successful people rarely confuse a can-do attitude with a smart plan. But they realize that one without the other is unlikely to get you very far.via sethgodin.typepad.com Seth Godin wrote another great blog post the other day talking about “We can do it” attitude. This is something that really resonates with me because right now, this kind of attitude is something I think is really...
3 tags
First fast follower
Was Amazon the first mover? No. How about eBay? No. How about Google? No. None of these guys were first movers. They were first best executors in the market place, but they were definitely not first movers. As said by Steve Blank in the podcast Fall 2009 Quarter Roundup: What Did We Learn? from Stanford University’s Entrepreneurship Corner. With OnePage, we are by no means the first to...
1 tag
Against Fat Startups
I have never been involved in a successful software-based web service that raised and spent boatloads of money before it found it’s sweet spot. via avc.com Fred Wilson has just posted an article opposing the article The Case For The Fat Startup by Ben Horowitz. Fred Wilson’s emphasis here is that he invests in startups who have reached Product/Market Fit and have traction. This...
4 tags
Help each other to help ourselves
via slideshare.net I think this slide deck hits the nail on the head with one of the main problems with entrepreneurship here in the UK. We need to learn to help each other to help ourselves, and right now too many of us do our own thing in our own place and rarely get together to collaborate and accelerate our progress. Why stay at home stressing over scaling problems when there’s...