Casey Schorr

Healthy Breakfast Tacos & Grilled Asparagus Tacos: Organic...

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 11:08:05 -0600

Healthy Breakfast Tacos & Grilled Asparagus

Tacos: Organic eggs (scrambled), grilled red peppers, sautéd baby bella mushrooms, cooked spinach, feta cheese, whole wheat tacos

Asparagus: drizzle in olive oil, top with parmesan cheese, sea salt, fresh ground pepper, bake 12 minutes @ 400 degrees

Why I love the Whole Planet Foundation even though I don't love charity in general

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 14:33:32 -0700

I’ve always wondered how a libertarian CEO like John Mackey - running a company popular with liberals - deals with the touchy subject of charity. It’s a fact, Whole Foods ‘donates’ a lot of money to charity. But after having my cereal this morning I discovered something really interesting printed on the side of the box.

They’re not actually “giving” money away, in the traditional way you think of charity. Instead, they’re providing microloans, which bridge the gap nicely between the ideology of their CEO and the pro-charity ideology of their customer base.

“Alleviating Poverty Worldwide. The mission of Whole Planet Foundation, a Whole Foods Market foundation, is to fund poverty alleviation worldwide by empowering the very poor living in communities that supply whole foods market stores with products. Through grants to microfinance partners in Africa, Asia and Latin America, Whole Planet Foundation provides microloans. Microloans are small loans, usually $200 or less, requiring no collateral or contract. With a microcredit loan, an impoverished woman entrepreneur can create or expand a home-based business and have the opportunity to lift herself and her family out of poverty. Providing the poor in these communities access to credit enables them with an opportunity to escape the vicious cycle of poverty THROUGH THEIR OWN ENERGY AND CREATIVITY.” (emphasis mine)

So considering 95.5% of their micro-loans are paid back in full, Whole Foods isn’t really “giving” anything except free credit. This is awesome, a win-win for both sides of the ideological table. An inspiration for business owners, CEOs, and others faced with social pressures to give their money away in the name of charity.

Healthy lunch: Salmon Salad Sockeye salmon filet from last...

Mon, 02 Jan 2012 11:00:06 -0700

Healthy lunch: Salmon Salad

Sockeye salmon filet from last night’s dinner, served cold and flaked over organic lettuce bed

Organic grape tomatoes

Sliced Jarlesberg light swiss cheese

Whole Foods mustard & dill marinade as a makeshift dressing

Seasteading: Cities on the ocean | The Economist

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 07:40:06 -0700

Seasteading: Cities on the ocean | The Economist:

Sign me up. I’m joining legendary founder of PayPal and tech investor Peter Thiel on the high seas! (and cool to learn he’s a Libertarian). Great overview of Seasteading pros, cons, and challenges. This should resonate with startup founders and entrepreneurs.

“The idea is to convert a cruise liner into an offshore “incubator” for small, high-tech start-ups and position it just outside American territorial waters off California. The attraction for the start-ups is that they would be able to hire foreign engineers and scientists without the hassle of getting work visas for them.”

I know it sounds crazy, but a sovereign government in the ocean or in space is going to happen within our lifetime! Kevin’s convinced me. It might be corporate-run, but that would be interesting…

“Given the huge costs and risks involved, perhaps the ideal builders of seasteads will not be small groups of innovators like the Blueseed team, but giant engineering firms such as Mitsubishi, India’s Tata group or Samsung of South Korea. Indeed, as Mr Keenan notes, the most viable political model for a seastead may not be a libertarian democracy but an enlightened corporate dictatorship.”

What do you think?

Every time I visit Wal-Mart, a theme park, the...

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 11:13:06 -0700

Every time I visit Wal-Mart, a theme park, the airport…

via celivingston

Trust and Personal Scaling

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 08:54:06 -0700

Trust and Personal Scaling:

via continuations

“I have had the privilege of observing a number of founders grow their companies from just a few people to over a hundred employees. Leaving all the other growth challenges aside, I have come to conclude that personal scaling is the most important issue. By personal scaling I mean figuring out how…”

I’m going through this now and it’s really hard. For years I’ve read about how hard it is for founders to ‘give up control’ but man, it’s difficult! It’s such a weird feeling to have people working for you, not really knowing exactly what they are doing, only knowing the high level goals they’re trying to achieve, not knowing how they’ll implement something, realizing it will always be different than how I’d implement it, etc. Basically realizing you’ll never know everything, and no matter what you have to trust them that they’re doing the right thing, learning on their own, asking the right questions, etc. I could go on and on, maybe I’ll write some posts about this.

What makes the problem a bit easier, and reminds me I absolutely have to figure it out, is the advice is universal. Everyone says you have to give up control to grow and take it to the next level. There’s not a lot of startup advice that’s universal, so when it is, you better listen up!

Have you gone through this process already? Would love to hear your thoughts, leave a comment please!

Prepacked Pomegranate Seeds from Whole Foods. An easy and tasty...

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 10:48:05 -0700

Prepacked Pomegranate Seeds from Whole Foods. An easy and tasty superfood snack!

"The best thing you can do for a prospect is eliminate her fear. Offer a trial period or a test..."

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 07:52:05 -0700

“The best thing you can do for a prospect is eliminate her fear. Offer a trial period or a test project.”

- Harry Beckwith, Selling the Invisible: A Field Guide to Modern Marketing. Think about how much of the marketing mix is devoted to eliminating fear. Practically all of it! Free trials, 1-800 numbers, FAQs, SSL logos, BBB logos, no credit card required, cancel anytime, money back guarantee, free returns and exchanges, case studies, the list goes on and on and on! What else am I missing?

I love iced tea. Only problem is, 95% of prepackaged ice tea at...

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 11:31:05 -0700

I love iced tea. Only problem is, 95% of prepackaged ice tea at stores has way too much sugar. Just found Steaz at Whole Foods, super tasty varieties with less than 10g evaporated cane juice per serving. And lots of flavors without any sugar. Yum!

Boulder’s Entrepreneurial Weakness – Space

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 21:44:42 -0700

Boulder’s Entrepreneurial Weakness – Space:

Brad Feld, a local Colorado VC, just wrote an interesting article about Boulder’s startup space problem. I couldn’t resist and left the following as a comment on his post…

I know this won’t happen, but I secretly wish the Boulder entreprenural community was transplanted to LoDo Denver. Specifically, the part of downtown North West of Market Street. LoDo is remarkably similar to downtown Boulder with many advantages. It has the same feel, 1800’s brick buildings mostly three stories and under, yet it doesn’t have any of the problems Boulder is plagued with. As a startup CEO who’s lived in both Denver and Boulder, and moved my company from Denver to Boulder back to Denver, let me explain why this pipe-dream would be great…

1. You have a valid point the “space crunch” keeps entrepreneurs together. Just like SoMa SF, and the startup-dense parts of NYC, LoDo denver is small. Yet not a “bubble” and has lots of options if you outgrow it.

2. Tons of great restaurants, coffee shops, etc. WAY more variety than Downtown Boulder

3. The bigger startups that outgrow LoDo office space can move 2 blocks to the SE and choose from literally a million square feet of office space in the “high rise” part of downtown, and still interact with the smaller startups in LoDo.

4. Better public transportation - FasTracks will connect all points of Denver and DIA to LoDo via the amazing redesigned Union Station. Already there’s wonderful light rail and bus service to the LoDo area from all over. Public transit in Boulder is terrible, especially for people living outside of Boulder proper. It’s a massive traffic jam getting into Boulder each day with no train, no HOV lanes, no nothing. And because of Boulder political views, I doubt they will increase the highway capacity. Boulder is a bubble, one road in one road out, not good for commuters.

5. The hip, young, startup crowd has tons of neighborhoods to choose from, from trendy to family oriented, all within 15 minutes of downtown. Boulder has a massive “age gap” between college-age and 30+ with families. Lots of young people I know involved with the startup scene don’t like living in Boulder and choose to commute from Denver, or not locate in Boulder at all, because all the twenty-somethings live in Denver and it’s a lot more fun. Boulder is really boring for post-college twenty-somethings without a family. This is the primary reason I moved away from Boulder back to Denver.

6. The cost of office space in LoDo is similar, or cheaper than downtown Boulder. And taxes are lower. And there’s true class A space, almost impossible to find in downtown Boulder.

7. The cost of living in Denver is about 20% less than in Boulder, primarily because housing is a lot cheaper. This is a major factor and could position Colorado as a “low cost startup hub”.

8. Denver government is very pro-business compared to Boulder. These are just some reasons I’ve observed first-hand having office space in LoDo and then moving to Boulder, and back. I know it’s a pipe dream but a larger city like Denver, if we could start over, would be a lot better in my opinion.

Curious to hear your opinion, leave a comment on Brad’s blog or here!

US Postal Service will lose $15 billion next year, no biggie

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 08:16:00 -0700

US Postal Service will lose $15 billion next year, no biggie:

A great example of how the government ‘runs’ a company. Un-freaking believable.

For the record, I have no problem with any business restructuring or cutting costs however they see fit. But check out the backwards way the government goes about it, largely because of the massive bureaucracy and handcuffs they’ve chained themselves to. Having to run every change by Congress, a Congress afraid to do anything because next year is an election year, is a recipe for disaster.

For example, instead of immediately stopping Saturday mail delivery, which is pretty pointless and incredibly expensive, they bump first class mail to 2-3 days.

“The changes would provide short-term relief, but ultimately could prove counterproductive, pushing more of America’s business onto the Internet. They could slow everything from check payments to Netflix’s DVDs-by-mail, add costs to mail-order prescription drugs, and threaten the existence of newspapers and time-sensitive magazines delivered by postal carrier to far-flung suburban and rural communities.”

The USPS can’t eliminate Saturday delivery is because Congress has to approve the change. Whereas they can eliminate next day mail delivery without Congress’ involvement.

Image if the board of directors of private companies took literally years to approve major decisions. It would literally destroy our entire economy. But in Government, this is standard operating procedure.

Another question worth bringing up is why do we even need a USPS, especially if a private company would never deliver a letter for 45 cents anywhere in the country.

“In the event of a shutdown due to bankruptcy, private companies such as FedEx and UPS could handle a small portion of the material the post office moves, but they do not go everywhere. No business has shown interest in delivering letters everywhere in the country for a set rate of 44 cents or 45 cents for a first-class letter.”

So if no private company wants to “serve all Americans, regardless of geography, at uniform price and quality.” why do we allow the Government to do this for us? Sounds like communism to me. I realize we’ve set a precedent in rural areas which may be hard to break, but this is slowing innovation. If sending a letter to bumfuck Alaska cost $15.00 instead of $0.45, you can bet companies and consumers would adopt online billing years sooner. And this is just one example!

When the government masks the true cost of doing business and hides behind billions of dollars of losses we all suffer, especially the innovators and entrepreneurs trying to drive progress.

Thanks Kevin for this gem!

The shortest path usually has barriers. So true! This graph...

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 09:18:06 -0700

The shortest path usually has barriers.

So true! This graph keeps coming up in our strategy meetings, it really helps to remind yourself that sometimes the two steps backwards are actually forward progress, because it’s helping you to learn how to take three steps forward tomorrow. Our personal version of this graph is a bunch of triangles protruding up above, and down below the 45 degree line.

Thanks Kevin! You’re great at reminding all of us of this!

"China and India are likely to produce many rigorous analytical thinkers and knowledgeable..."

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 07:46:05 -0700

“China and India are likely to produce many rigorous analytical thinkers and knowledgeable technologists. But smart and educated people don’t always spawn innovation. America’s advantage, if it continues to have one, will be that it can produce people who are also more creative and imaginative, those who know how to stand at the intersection of the humanities and the sciences. That is the formula for true innovation, as Steve Jobs’s career showed.”

- Walter Isaacson, the author of Steve Jobs. From the wonderful NY Times article Steve Job’s Genius.

We’ve all seen this one (via andrewdumont). But...

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 08:00:05 -0700

We’ve all seen this one (via andrewdumont).

But here’s my take. It isn’t just a “hype” lifecycle, I’d argue most entrepreneurs go through a focus and discipline lifecycle as well.

In my personal experience, we never had a ton of hype surrounding our product. But as we got traction, we started to loose focus. The more revenue and customers increased, the more opportunity poured in from every orifice. All of this opportunity was lethal.

We started building more features, got smart and cut them, built a different feature, forgot to figure out marketing because we had lots of customers, started thinking about marketing and decided to target a different audience, etc. This was our “humps of iteration” which I hope we’re mostly done with.

I’d say we’re currently in the “finally have a product and now need customers” phase, even though we’re profitable with respectable revenues - it doesn’t feel like it. It feels like we just found our footing and are about to go out there and change the world.

I’ve been at this long enough, seen enough “up and to the right” graphs that I know there’s going to be a sloth ascent before we hit the exponential curve. But the excitement of how far we’ve come, and what’s down the road, keeps me going every day.

I wouldn’t change the startup lifecycle for anything… what a ride!

"Have we forgotten to say thank you? Have you forgotten? Do you thank people enough? Are you sure?"

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 09:15:06 -0700

“Have we forgotten to say thank you? Have you forgotten? Do you thank people enough? Are you sure?”

- Harry Beckwith, Selling the Invisible: A Field Guide to Modern Marketing. Thought this was a great Thanksgiving quote!

Building a company is long, hard work. Going on year 8 of this...

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 12:04:29 -0700

Building a company is long, hard work. Going on year 8 of this you feel a bit burnt out at times. But us software folks are spoiled - we can work from anywhere. There are perks in this line of work. We are lucky! (Photo: getting some work done in Florida before the rest of my family arrives for Thanksgiving)

Where to live in Denver: Best neighborhoods for young professionals

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 09:00:00 -0700

I recently moved out of Boulder into a friend’s cono in Lakewood (or Lakehood as I sometimes call it). It’s a great temporary spot but I’m still in the market to buy. Only problem is, I can’t decide where to live! Here’s my most recent heat map of awesome (colored green) and pretty-awesome places to live (yellow) based on my criteria…

The idea here is to be as close as possible to dense, fun urban neighborhoods but still far enough away I could buy a small single family home - even if the yard is small and the home is right next to the neighbor. It’s nice to have your own front door and small patio/ yard area, along with a garage (hopefully).

I love the energy of dense urban neighborhoods that aren’t quite high-rise, but also appreciate having your own four non-shared walls and a garage.

Based on this criteria, my favorite areas are near the Capitol Hill/ Governor’s Park/ Alamo Placita neighborhoods for the following reasons

Best Denver neighborhood for young professionals who’ve graduated the “douche bag LoDo” scene.
Grocery store trifecta: Whole Foods, King Soopers, and Safeway within walking distance of each other. And two more great whole foods three minutes away in Cherry Creek and West Wash Park.
Tons of great local restaurants - this general area of town might have the highest density of quality restaurants in the city - excluding the Highlands, but most Highlands restaurants are over-the-top yuppie and trendy. Fun to vist now and then, but no need to live there for the fancy restaurants I’d only go to a few times a year.
Awesome historic character - late 1800’s & early 1900’s architecture
Extremely central to the activities I do most: 5 minutes to downtown, 5 minutes to wash park, 5 minutes to I25, near 6th Avenue for quick mountain access, 5 minutes to cherry creek, 5 minutes to south pearl street, basically 5-10 minutes by car from everywhere cool in Denver, 10-20 minutes from everywhere by bike.
Near the speer bike trail - I love biking downtown, to highlands, and to Cherry Creek to catch a movie or grab some frozen yogurt.

I also like the few blocks north and south of Alameda, it’s a great urban street with a gym, tons of food options, coffee shops, etc. This area is even closer to Wash Park.

The residential areas near Cheesman Park are great too, but really pricey.

And if money was no object I’d consider living near Country Club (east of Downing, south of 6th). Have you ever driven through there? It’s awesome! Huge lots, wide streets, and mansions - 1 minute from super dense ‘hoods with tons of stuff to do. And across the street from a sick private country club, with a killer Whole Foods in walking distance.

The edge of Baker is cool too, but it’s a different vibe living west of Broadway. Not sure if this is my scene. It’s also on the edge of the ‘ghetto’ - West Baker isn’t very nice.

West Wash Park proper is great, but more family-oriented and really expensive.

Some people might ask: why not Highlands/ LoHi? My answer: I lived in LoHi for a year and it’s quickly becoming the next LoDo. It’s over-the-top trendy and super yuppie. I’m yuppie but not that yuppie. It’s got a hint of that LoDo douchebag vibe, especially LoHi (the part of Highlands closest to the pedestrian bridge over I-25). And when you get to the 32nd & Lowell area of Highland it’s really nice, but an island - surrounded by not-so-nice mostly hispanic neighborhoods. To get to other cool ‘hoods you have to cross over I25 and drive through downtown, so it’s not really that close to other nice areas of Denver like the 6th Ave/ Speer corridor is.

I’d love to hear your thoughts, what are your favorite neighborhoods in and around Denver for young professionals sick of apartments and condos but not quite willing to give up city life for the suburbs?

How SOPA Works [Infographic]

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 08:47:05 -0700

I can’t believe it. Well, actually I can - because everything Ayn Rand wrote in Atlas Shrugged is coming true right before our eyes.

Obviously this bill needs to be stopped (along with 99% of all other legislation from all political parties).

But my real view?

I’ve actually given up on ‘reforming’ the government or ‘stopping’ legislation. The more I look into it the more impossible I think it is. The battle has been lost. When you really look into the economics and drivers of government there is no way to make it smaller.

The government is like a perfect corporation with no competition, it keeps snowballing bigger and bigger with no way to take it down.

Unfortunately, the only solution is for the best country on the planet [America] to fail. Just like all other super powers have in the past. Roman empire = fail. British empire = fail. America is next. Then the cycle can start all over again. I think it’s just human nature. I don’t see a way to stop the cycle. Wish there was one. Thoughts?

"People think a soul mate is your perfect fit, and that’s what everyone wants. But a true soul mate..."

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 06:55:06 -0700

“People think a soul mate is your perfect fit, and that’s what everyone wants. But a true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that’s holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life. A true soul mate is probably the most important person you’ll ever meet, because they tear down your walls and smack you awake.”

- Elizabeth Gilbert; Eat, Pray, Love. I’d argue this is equally true in business. Rule of thumb - business is exactly like marriage and romantic relationships, without the sex!

Jason Fried on telling your story with video

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 08:46:05 -0700

Jason Fried on telling your story with video:

If you didn’t already know, I’m a huge 37signals fan. This is their latest brilliant move - filming everything they do. I’ve always wondered why more startups don’t create reality-style episodes. Bloomberg TechStars TV and This Week In TechStars is a great example of what I’m talking about. I fully expect 37signals will be as good, or better.

Food for thought, especially if your web service/ application is B2B. Other businesses want to know how other businesses operate. This is going to be great content & great marketing for 37signals!