During this same time a close friend of mine left a huge internet company, founded a new startup, raised 10′s of millions in VC, folded that startup in what they call a ‘soft landing’, and started another one. He was convinced he needed funding for the new project. I doubt my words made any real difference but I tried to steer him away from it. He did the math and ultimately decided to tell some of the biggest names in the angel and VC world he would forgo their cash for few months to see if this idea had legs.. and was met with utter contempt.

With VC  you gain cash, and the ability to spend it. You do not gain the assurance of success. And all along you have to deal with other people telling you how you should conduct your business. Meh.

As bootstrapper you have earned the freedom and independence to make your own mistakes, revel in your own success, and work you ass off. The success or failure is 100% yours.

Why is this important to me? It allows me to build the company I want to see. One that does not push useless upsells on their customers to maximize profit, one that can operate from a mindset other then win at all costs, one that has integrity and character. Sure a few extra 0′s in the bank would come in handy from time to time. But I also like knowing that every 0 in there was a result of choices that were made with our values in mind. The soul of a business runs through every aspect of it. Your customers, your employees, and the public at large sees it for what it is. Good and bad, motivated by greed or passion, acting like asshats or elegant problem solvers.

When did “funding” become a mark of success? The argument could be made it is the direct opposite. Yes, we all see the big IPO’s, those 1 in 1000 that make it. The other 999 would likely have been so much better off either flaming out early, or working through to a real solution to a real problem and making real revenue. We live in the age of the zombie startup. It should be dead, but instead just pivots with every dilution.

SF, Austin, NYC, Boston, Boulder.. predominantly vote blue in presidential elections.

Infrographic: Graph the last 5 presidential elections and the number of startups, or successful startup exits, or successful startup IPO’s by city. We know tech is an easy one, but what about finance, energy, or bio tech. Are certain types of startups more red or blue?  Is it based on geography or industry?

I have a feeling liberals are better  (high paid knowledge economy) job creators over the last 20 years.

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to remind you that it’s okay to “Be Dangerous’.

The warning signs of defending the status quo

When confronted with a new idea, do you:

• Consider the cost of switching before you consider the benefits?
• Highlight the pain to a few instead of the benefits for the many?
• Exaggerate how good things are now in order to reduce your fear of change?
• Undercut the credibility, authority or experience of people behind the change?
• Grab onto the rare thing that could go wrong instead of amplifying the likely thing that will go right?
• Focus on short-term costs instead of long-term benefits, because the short-term is more vivid for you?
• Fight to retain benefits and status earned only through tenure and longevity?
• Embrace an instinct to accept consistent ongoing costs instead of swallowing a one-time expense?
• Slow implementation and decision making down instead of speeding it up?
• Embrace sunk costs?
• Imagine that your competition is going to be as afraid of change as you are? Even the competition that hasn’t entered the market yet and has nothing to lose…
• Emphasize emergency preparation at the expense of a chronic and degenerative condition?
• Compare the best of what you have now with the possible worst of what a change might bring?
• Calling it out when you see it might give your team the strength to make a leap.

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2011/08/the-warning-signs-of-defending-the-status-quo.html

Sometimes I feel people have way too much time on their hands. Chill the fuck out.. relax.  It will all be okay.

Little kings I call them.  Everyone wants to be important. They like to argue about some minor point and will invest hours of time and energy to do so. Hey fuck head; You missed the bigger point while you were sweaty palmed typing out that 9 paragraph blog comment to a 2 paragraph post.

Quit reacting.  Invest that energy into “doing”.  The doers make the rules.

Click here to view the embedded video.

“But it takes time to reach product/market fit. Founders have to choose a market long before they have any idea whether they will reach product/market fit. In my opinion, the best predictor of whether a startup will achieve product/market fit is whether there is what David Lee calls “founder/market fit”. Founder/market fit means the founders have a deep understanding of the market they are entering, and are people who “personify their product, business and ultimately their company.”

source

not to toot my own horn too much, but this has worked well for Sally and I

it’s typical uninspired bubble bullshit from the SF echo chamber.. the good news is mindless valley leadership icons like Dave McClure, Loic and Scoble will masturbate to it being the next flipbook and they will raise a Series A.  Tell them party like a rockstar and live it up, spend every dime because the rides gonna be short and the fall is gonna hurt like a mutha fucker.

Just let it go. Have you not already done enough, shining the national spotlight on Arizona for all the wrong reasons?

- SB1070
- Your debate speech (or lack there of)
- Slashing the education budget
- The Birther Bill

Please.. for all that is right in the world… Legalize it (the voters already approved), and tax the fuck out of it. Do we really need to waste more tax dollars on this?

At first I thought it would just be a fun gag and no one would care. Some 16,000 followers later, and thousands of hilarious RT’s, scrolling through the mentions and RT’s every few days is a sure laugh.

It’s pure comedy to see people add their own one liners and take Willy out of context.
A few recent choice examples:

Clearly Willy’s words are universal.

So Willy will be done by the end the summer, and I asked his followers if he should start over.. Survey says yes. So look forward to Willy starting fresh with the Sonnets and Macbeth (I think was one of his first plays) this Fall.

At first it was a gag, then it got interesting as people took notice.. now I almost see it as a civic duty to add a little culture to the often times inane and shallow conversation on twitter.

Please continue to enjoy. Willy is here for the duration.

What does it take to get a verified account on twitter now-a-days? You should all harass twitter inc. and tell them to make @IAM_SHAKESPEARE a verified account. hehe. Enjoy – @strebel.