Back in June of this year, in a galaxy far far away (OK.. we were in Phoenix, AZ at the time... but compared to Boulder, CO...) -- Jen reviewed all of the companies on AngelList to get a feel for what was going on out there.

Here are the common themes that she found across many of those companies:

• No additional infrastructure or IT platforms needed (e.g., paying retail with smart phone, consolidating rewards programs, invoicing early at deeply discounted rates, etc.)
• Phones becoming something else (e.g., microscope; a cyclist's tool (map, odometer, etc.))
• Companies describing themselves in relation to other companies (e.g., it's like Etsy or Uber but for food, or Netflix for underwear) 
• Making things sound exclusive
• Companies offering ways to better understand & harness social media
• Photo sharing apps and websites abound
• Many point of sale innovations, making purchasing easier/quicker
• LOTS of companies harnessing social media to drive sales
• Many companies focused on location based deals and social networking 
• Many e-commerce sites (for fashion primarily) 

My two cents: While those all may be fine things, the only one of those things that sounds interesting to me is "phones becoming something else." 

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Long story short, Jen and I are moving to Boulder, immediately -- just as soon as we can find an apartment. And we're looking every day (via  PadMapper, Trulia, etc.)

Highlights from our recent visit:

• Attended both nights of NewTech (Boulder Denver) TechStars presentations. Thanks to everyone who presented -- you rock!
• Attended a Boulder Open Coffee Club meetup -- un-f'ing-believably great energy in that room. Seriously, if you ever get a chance, drop in and feel the power.
• Co-worked at Trada CodeSpace for a few hours (thanks to @angilly whom I met at the BOCC and who pointed me to CodeSpace).
• Visited every startup-friendly coffee house mentioned on Quora -- worked in the ones where we could get a seat.
• Met new friends. Had dinner with new friends. Reconnected with old friends. Enjoyed some fantastic beer.

Also took drives West into the mountains / wilderness / national parks. Also took a drive south through the mountains to Evergreen.

I don't have the words to describe how beautiful some of the mountain areas in Colorado are. But here's a photo -- and keep in mind, the only thing I know about photos is point-my-iPhone-and-shoot.

Stay tuned! Have fun!

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I moved to Cambridge, MA in 1994 to work at a startup. Between work and school and inertia, I stayed there almost continuously until last year (took a brief hiatus from Cambridge to live in Rhode Island for grad school). 

Last year, I’d finally had enough of Cambridge’s dreary, overcast winter days that seem to string together for weeks on end. So my fiancée Jen and I moved to Phoenix, AZ.

Phoenix is a great place for sun. And when it comes to startups Gangplank is a shining beacon. If you’re in the area be sure to drop in there! But the startup / tech scene around here, such as it is, feels too diffuse for me. For me it’s not just about building the business, it’s about being able to hang out with people like me who are also building their businesses.

Jen and I had always figured that California would be our next stop. Makes sense. Silicon Valley & San Francisco for startups. Great big trees. Beautiful coastline. You know the story.

The trouble is, every time we walked through the cost of living in California, we couldn’t wrap our heads around it. Real estate / rental prices (at least in the areas that we felt were interesting from a startup perspective) are through the f-ing roof. Taxes are way high. From a cost-of-living perspective, the whole thing just looks scary.

So we kept looking. And what we come across is either the biggest reality distortion field I’ve ever seen (Presidential elections aside) or it’s god’s gift to the weary startup traveller (or maybe both).

I’m talking about Boulder, CO and what people are saying about it.

Fifteen years ago, Boulder was considered a sleepy college town known mostly for its great rock-climbing. Today, Boulder is home to one of the strongest entrepreneurial communities in the country, with close to 200 fledgling tech companies and a city campaign that proclaims “Boulder is for startups.” In fact, last year BusinessWeek named Boulder America’s best town for startups, and it was featured in The New York Times for its entrepreneurial scene.  Part of its success rests on the fact that Boulder has the highest U.S. concentration of software engineers and PhDs per capita.  It is second only to Silicon Valley in percentage of workers employed in the technology sector. (Source: whitehouse.gov)

Why Boulder Is America's Best Town for Startups (Bloomberg’s Businessweek) 

http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/apr2010/sb20100421_531161.htm

Vast collection of coffee shops for startups (Quora)

http://www.quora.com/What-is-the-best-startup-hangout-coffeeshop-in-Boulder-CO

Boulder company’s showcase a love affair with the town (Tendril)

http://www.tendrilinc.com/about/living-in-boulder/

Why you should start a company in Boulder (Fast Company)

http://www.fastcompany.com/article/why-you-should-start-company-boulder

TechStars Get Some Love on CNBC (CNBC video)

http://www.coloradodaily.com/business/ci_17256101#axzz1TLgwzsiU

So, is it truth or fiction? We’ll find out next week when we drive to Boulder for a look-see.

Happy hunting, everyone!

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When I go on a string of customer development visits, I always have some key questions in mind. I'm always looking for patterns in the answers. I'm always looking for surprises Inevitably it'll start seeing patterns emerge... usually after just 3-5 interviews the major outlines appear. 

Recently I was out speaking with partners at patent law firms. One of the things I wanted to learn about was the compensation structures of the firms.

Organizationally, patent law firms tend toward pyramids with lowly associates cranking away (at least in part) to enrich the partners. Shocking, I know.

What surprised me is that I found no agreement at all on who should get paid what portion of the billings. Literally everyone I spoke with had a different answer. Weird.

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So much for the past year. ;-) Here's the quick update: I'm working full-time on FastJackson (group-oriented task management -- still in private beta -- ask for an invite) and also contributing to Kixia Patents (free patent advice for startups).

Somehow I got out of the habit of posting tidbits here. I'll do better. Hope you're all doing well. More soon.

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An earlier post of mine includes a cautionary note about self-delusion.

Here's another morsel on the topic:

In reality, we often base our opinions on our beliefs, which can have an uneasy relationship with facts. And rather than facts driving beliefs, our beliefs can dictate the facts we chose to accept. They can cause us to twist facts so they fit better with our preconceived notions. Worst of all, they can lead us to uncritically accept bad information just because it reinforces our beliefs. This reinforcement makes us more confident we’re right, and even less likely to listen to any new information. 

(Source: How Facts Backfire, Boston Globe, July 11, 2010)

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You cannot ignore self-delusion. The problem with experts is that they do not know what they do not know. Lack of knowledge and delusion about the quality of your knowledge come together -- the same process that makes you know less also makes you satisfied with your knowledge.

(Source: The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, p. 147)

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