Originally posted on Old threeFortyNine Jun 13, 2012

In the last couple of years my response to the question “should I start my own business?” has changed dramatically. I used to encourage people. I used to try and build them up, entice them, talk about the good life.

My standard …

Originally posted on Old shiftMode Jan 20, 2009

I was part of a working session at Business of Software with the topic of ‘hiring and keeping great developers’. The topic of testing in interviews came up. The majority of people agreed that testing was important, however, they acknowledged fundamental flaws …

We spend a lot of time and money on the financial infrastructure of entrepreneurship.

Capital programs. Tax incentives. Loan guarantees. Accelerators. Government-backed funds with mandates to move money into the hands of early-stage companies. The assumption underneath all of it is that the bottleneck is capital. Get the money to …

Originally posted on Old threeFortyNine Jul 2, 2013

[This was cross-posted with our friends at StartupNorth]

First, a quick quiz…For this quiz, time is important as we want your gut instinct so you only have five seconds to answer before the submit button goes away. It’s multiple choice …

Group therapy for anyone bonkers enough to try and start a new business and go from 0 to 1.

As with most things I've created, Founders' Club was entirely self-serving. It was the room I needed. It's the room we all need, just narrowed in on business creation. We all …

Small rooms matter.

More today than ever.

I've spent most of my career testing and playing with small rooms. Well over a decade ago, long before our companies reluctantly asked us to do it, I worked from home. It genuinely confused people back then, when I explained that I worked …

Remember when the internet felt like an adventure, rather than a shopping mall?

The internet is going wild again, in the best possible way.

There's a quiet movement happening where creators are reclaiming their digital spaces, stepping away from polished platforms and returning to something more authentic, more personal, and …

Even great companies reject your good ideas.

There will always be days where it feels like your company doesn't want you there. Or at least, doesn't want your opinions, thoughts, or insights.

Don't take it personally. Think of it like any important relationship.

When your teenager screams "You don't understand …

At work, you create a lot of documents. Why? Well that's the work. You have to put things down on paper, communicate it to others in your company and beyond.

You need a project plan for this upcoming project. Who can create it? Sarah can.

How long do you need …

Originally posted on Old shiftMode Jan 5, 2011

I dabble in home renovations and low end woodworking when I’m not stuck at a keyboard. The commonality being that I seem to enjoy building stuff, whether the raw materials be 1’s and 0’s or pine.

One of the …