Category Archives: starting a company

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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Email/Calendar : Missing features

Posted on May 17, 2009 by patrick

Continuing my “broken” series of things that everyone uses but no one fixes. Many of these missing features are email and calendar integration. Email. Much maligned. These are the key “broken”/ missing features. For some reason, not one major email … 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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Third person in the room

Posted on March 14, 2009 by patrick

Passion is a wonderful thing. When someone is “wrong” about a subject that you care passionately about, it is natural to argue with them and try to “prove” to them that they are wrong. Don’t. Mentally step back. Look around. … Continue reading →

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Grow your own rockstar

Posted on March 4, 2009 by patrick

I have interviewed hundreds of people, technical and otherwise. I have managed a few as well. Most interviewers do not realize that there is no “best” candidate on an absolute scale. The rockstar at Google may absolutely fail to fit … Continue reading →

Posted in career, management, starting a company | 2 Comments

What don’t you know?

Posted on January 3, 2009 by patrick

The next interview question for the “highly” qualified person: What don’t you know? As Seth Godin pointed out, many people from successful organizations think the organization’s success is due to their efforts, when they may have little to do with … Continue reading →

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privatize only what…

Posted on December 22, 2008 by patrick

Over at dailykos.com they are talking about how bad Bush the Lesser has made the air traffic control system. One of the many “wonderful” ideas was privatization. In the argument about bigger government and private enterprise, people miss the key … Continue reading →

Posted in political, starting a company, transportation | 1 Comment

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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Compensation in the startup world.

Posted on November 20, 2008 by patrick

My comment to Rick Segal’s post. Peter Thiel at TechCrunch50 (timemark 18:30): He said the #1 predictor of whether or not an investment was a success or failure was the CEO salary. He drew the line at $150K. More than … Continue reading →

Posted in management, starting a company | 1 Comment