Category Archives: amplafi

The joys of starting my own company

Don’t let the lawyers run the business

Posted on August 17, 2009 by patrick

This past weekend, my sysadmin ( James Sparenberg ) and I, were figuring out which cloud hosting service to use. We had been pitched a number of times by GoGrid. I had been given a “try us out” credit by … Continue reading →

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Blame. NO. Responsibility. YES!

Posted on August 16, 2009 by patrick

When reaching for the stars, something will go wrong. Rockets blow-up. Servers crash. Regressions happen. How you handle the setbacks is critical. Blame is a useless response. Blame is negative. After blame has been assigned, the rocket is still in … Continue reading →

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The 100-hour work week myth

Posted on July 5, 2009 by patrick

Chris Yeh calls out workaholism as the stupid choice it is: If you work 100-hour weeks, no one (investors, co-founders, employees) can blame you if things don’t work out, right? And I like to think I’ve worked a lot smarter … Continue reading →

Posted in amplafi, management, rants, starting a company | 4 Comments

VCs: stop the false dichotomies

Posted on May 27, 2009 by patrick

What is with VCs and their false dichotomy when giving feedback about a company asking for funding: Say nothing about the team Be an asshole about how worthless the team is and their mothers should have had an abortion. VCs … Continue reading →

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Question :How to get and manage non-strategic multiple customer investment?

Posted on May 16, 2009 by patrick

I am looking for people who have had success in converting customers into angel investors. I am *not* referring to strategic investors like Cisco. Background: I have a pitch that works very well when talking to customers. Prospects get and … Continue reading →

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Ad networks: missing features

Posted on May 16, 2009 by patrick

Ad networks missing features: Interconnection with bookmarking services Browser back button support Rich interaction Selective Memory Show different video ads Limit the ad selection Interconnection with bookmarking services You’ve interrupted me. The ad is interesting. Well-targeted. Good job. I am … Continue reading →

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Health care thinking points

Posted on November 20, 2008 by patrick

It is cheaper to build a car in Canada than the U.S. (Washington Post): By Kirstin Downey Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, March 6, 2004; Page E01 For each mid-size car DaimlerChrysler AG builds at one of its U.S. plants, … Continue reading →

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Don’t trust intuition!

Posted on November 11, 2008 by patrick

Practical Guide to Controlled Experiments on the Web: Listen to Your Customers not to the HiPPO Experiment! Run A/A tests — make sure the variation you are seeing isn’t just natural variation Beware Coupon Codes — too prominent and people … Continue reading →

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if sun would just start selling solutions

Posted on May 8, 2008 by patrick

So Sun keeps on trying to sell me boxes. I don’t need OpenSolaris, I need solutions! What is the difference? OpenSolaris requires someone who knows how to configure it, manage it, secure it, and adjust it for performance. But newsflash … Continue reading →

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Dealmaker (Go-to-market panel)

Posted on April 30, 2008 by patrick

Moderator: Vineet Buch, Partner, BlueRun Ventures Panelists: • Charlene Li, VP & Principal Analyst, FORRESTER RESEARCH • Jason Oberfest, VP Business Development, MYSPACE.COM • Sergio Monsalve, Principal, NORWEST VENTURE PARTNERS • Deborah Shultz, Strategist, DEBORAHSCHULTZ.COM Charlene: 10million uniques/month for general … Continue reading →

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