Today is the 2-year anniversary of Future Delivery. I want to take this time to thank my team members, family, friends, girlfriend, and all of my readers for your love and support.  There is no way I could have made my decision with a calm and confident heart without your advice and comments.  Because of you, I am now happier and Viralogy has a greater chance of succeeding.

When I walked into the office last Monday, I was set on leaving SEOP and once again solely focusing on Viralogy.  My thinking can best be described with this quote from Ocean’s Eleven:

Cause the house always wins. Play long enough, you never change the stakes. The house takes you. Unless, when that perfect hand comes along, you bet and you bet big, then you take the house.

I feel that this is the case with the corporate life.  If you just cruise your whole life in the corporate world and never change the stakes, you’ll ultimately live a safe, secure, and average life.

I believe that every person gets that one big chance.  Most people are too scared to take it or don’t recognize it when it spits on their shoes.  Viralogy is going very strong, and I felt that this was the perfect hand.  My team and I had just been dealt the Viralogy card, and I thought this was my time to bet big and take the house.

So I approached the CEO and told him that I had decided to leave his company…

There were many reasons why I decided to tell the CEO I was leaving:

1. Loyalty to my Viralogy team
2. Dislike of working for another person’s dream
3. Fear of Viralogy taking a huge blow because of me leaving
4. Betraying the startup life and all of my readers

The CEO carefully evaluated each one of my objections.  After his analysis, he broke down each one of my objections and demonstrated why joining SocialMediaMarketing.com would not only be the best entrepreneurial move, but ultimately the best move for Viralogy as well.

1. Loyalty to my Viralogy Team

My team and I have been battling for two years.  I felt that if I left them now, I would be turning my back on all of them.  This was something that I could never live with because I would rather go down in flames with my team than abandon them when we’re so close to potential success.

Realizing my loyalty to my team, the CEO offered me the following:

• Retention of my official title as “Co-Founder of Viralogy”
• Ability to work nights and weekends on Viralogy (this is great because I don’t have to go behind the company’s back in order to do my startup work)
• Salary raise so that I can now invest money into Viralogy every month
• Marketing and business development assistance when the time is right

What more could I ask for?  The CEO offered his company resources to help Viralogy drive traffic and generate revenue when the time is right.  Furthermore, I would no longer be a revenue burdon to Viralogy; instead, I would now be able to invest money into the company which will allow us to get to the next level.

2. Dislike of working for another person’s dream

Because of my entrepreneurial heart, I’m not satisfied unless I’m working on my own company.  I just don’t feel the drive to work overtime for a company that does not belong to me.

The CEO understands the entrepreneurial mindset being an entrepreneur himself, and offered me a significant amount of equity in SocialMediaMarketing.com.  I would no longer be working for a company; rather, I would be working on my company.

3. Fear of Viralogy taking a huge blow

I made a mistake and I must apologize to my team.  I made the mistake of assuming that the personal brand I built is crucial to the success of Viralogy.  Though I feel I have done a great job at branding Viralogy online and driving traffic to it, I am ultimately just a small piece of the puzzle.  I have built the systems and divisions of Viralogy Marketing to a point where it can now be run and fully pushed by our Marketing Director - Joseph Yi.

Joseph has my full confidence and I truly believe he has the abilities to be a better marketer than me.  Because Joseph is taking the reigns of Viralogy Marketing and I’m playing a supporting and investor role, I feel that Viralogy has a much greater chance of succeeding.

4. Betraying the Startup Life and all of my readers

I have been blogging for almost a year and a half now.  I have constantly preached the entreprenerial life and tried to be the example of someone who sacrifices everything for the benefit of the company.  I want to be a prime example of someone who came from nothing and then built a successful company.  I thought that if I could make it, then you would all know that you can make it as well.

But I feel part of what I’m here to teach is about smart business decisions.  When I told the CEO that I was leaving the company to fully join Viralogy once again, he looked to me and said:

Jun, you think you’re making the tough decision right now but you are really making the easy choice.  It’s easy for you to go back to what you know and what you’re used to.  You’ve been working there for 2 years, and it’s hard to leave that.  You have to make the smart business move; you have to make the entrepreneurial choice.  A great entrepreneur is not measured by the success of his startups; instead, a great entrepreneur is measured by his ability to make the smart decision.   You have a golden opportunity here.  What would a great entrepreneur do?

What would a great entrepreneur do?

That’s what I hope to teach each and every one of you.  The decision was extremely hard to make, but I have ultimately chosen to take the position at SocialMediaMarketing.com.  I believe that it was not only the best personal move, but also the best entrepreneurial move.

I am still building a startup; I am still an entrepreneur.  My blog will reflect the startup life and I will do everything in my power to help you become a young successful entrepreneur.

Thank you all for being here for me, and I promise to be there for you.

The door bell rang.

“Strange, why would the mailman ring my doorbell?”

He handed me a letter that I had to sign for.  Instantly, I knew the contents of the letter.  My Mom became just another victim of the economic recession…

—

At times I feel like I’m cheating. I see peers like Monica O’Brien who talk about how Gen Y shouldn’t be living at home with their parents.  After all, I’m a grown man - but the problem is that running an internet startup produces very little cash flow.  Sure we make enough to survive, but everything we do make gets put back into the company so that we can get to our next milestone.

When I look at myself in the mirror, I see an incomplete man.  I should be the provider; I should be able to lavish my girlfriend with gifts.  Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love my startup and the people that I work with.  What gets to me is when I see peers that are working a full-time job to support themselves and working extra hard at night to further their startup company.  That’s hustle.  That’s dedication.  That’s heart.

—

… My parents are divorced; we cannot rely on the financial support of a father.

“Don’t worry Mom. I’ll take care of everything.”

As the eldest, I am now responsible for taking care of the family.  I spent the next week looking for a position in social media.

I dreaded the thought of going back to the cubicle - I hate being told what to do.  I hate working for a man (or woman) who I cannot learn from or look up to.  That’s why I left my corporate job in the first place.  I’m an entrepreneur at heart; how in the world would I survive going back to the corporate world and having to pay my dues?

Sometimes you just have to suck it up and do what’s best for your loved ones.

—

“My third interview in just 1 week.  Man I hope this guy is more impressive than the other two.”

I walked in expecting the worst, and walked out with an offer I just couldn’t refuse:  He offered me the position of President (or equivalent) of SocialMediaMarketing.com.  To be honest, this is every internet entrepreneurs dream.  I would be paid to build a company from scratch and have resources available to me that only a large firm could afford.  Though the position was amazing, the salary was way under what I’m worth.  I had to take some serious time to think about my situation, this opportunity, and the future of Viralogy.

This is seriously one of those decisions that will impact me for the rest of my life.  Do I stay full-time at Viralogy and hope that we can make revenue in time to pay the mortage?  Or do I take this amazing opportunity, step away from Viralogy, and devote my time and effort to SocialMediaMarketing.com?

One look at my Mom and brother and I knew what I had to do…

—

It’s been two weeks since I accepted the offer, you know what?  I love my job!

I honestly can’t begin to describe how “un-corporate” my position is.  I set the hours that I want, I hire the people that I want for my team, I set the direction for the site, I build the pricing matrix and our service offerings, and I truly have the responsibilities and authority of a leader.  Most importantly, the CEO who hired me is someone that I can truly look up to.

I can finally look my peers in the eye.  I too am now working a full-time job during the day and am devoting what I can on nights and weekends to support the startup that I love and built.  It’s extremely tough, but so rewarding.

—

And just like that, it happened..

“Jun, I got my job back!”

I couldn’t believe it!  My Mom says it was because of all of her praying (she is Buddhist), but I think that’s just the way life works.  It’s so unexpected and wonderful.

And then, an unexpected blow…

“Jun, I need your brand to be focused only on SocialMediaMarketing.com.  I can’t have it be associated with Viralogy.com.  It’s just too much of a conflict of interest.”

It’s completely understandable.  I know if I was the founder of a company (which I am), I would want my employees to be 100% devoted to the company, especially if the person is going to be the face of my company.  And there in lies the dilemma: I am the face of Viralogy and now I must become the face of SocialMediaMarketing.com.

I joined SocialMediaMarketing.com with the promise to my team at Viralogy that I would remain an advisor and that they would always be able to leverage my personal brand for the success of Viralogy.com.  Now I am faced with a tough decision that I must make by the end of the weekend.

—

The Facts:

• Viralogy.com is my baby and I will do anything to see it succeed
• I love my job at SocialMediaMarketing.com and look up to the CEO
• My family no longer needs me to support the household
• My girlfriend and Mom love the fact that I’m now making money
• SocialMediaMarketing.com will position me to speak at major social media events and allow me to further my brand
• Viralogy.com is doing very well and 1st hand research shows that companies will pay for our service

—

I value honesty and loyalty.

In a perfect world, I would be able to brand myself as the President (or equivalent) of SocialMediaMarketing.com and as the Founder of Viralogy.com - similar to what Dan Schawbel does with his company.

What should I do? I ask for your thoughts and opinions because I greatly value you as a reader.  I thank you for joining me on my journey and I hope to bring value to you with each and every one of my posts.

I will make my decision by Sunday evening.  I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Today marks an evolution of Viralogy.  Today we launch Viralogy Experts and Viralogy Themes:

Viralogy Experts

There are so many amazing experts online: Guy, Gary, Seth, Penelope, and Tim.  All of them deserve to be put on a pedestal because they’ve sold successful startups, written best-sellers, and have built personal brands that are the envy of every Gen-Y.  Though their content is amazing, I can’t help but feel a huge disconnect.  Sure, they understand Gen-Y and are very in touch with us, but they aren’t us.

I want to learn from my peers.  I want to learn from those who are in the trenches like me and that are accessible at anytime.  Realizing this pain, I went out and assembled the Viralogy Experts team:

• Adam Baker - Personal Finance
• Cody McKibben - Location Independence
• Derek Halpern - Psychology in Social Media
• Steve Spalding - Business and Strategy
• Stuart Foster - Marketing and PR

Each one of these bloggers have proven to show an expertise in their field.  They are amazing bloggers who are doing great things online, and I’m very proud to have them on the team.  Each week, a new post will be written and published by one of our authors.  Here are the expected post dates:

1. Today - Stuart Foster (Marketing and PR)
2. June 22nd - Cody McKibben (Location Independence)
3. Month of July - to be announced

Why are all of the Experts guys? Good question!  It really just turned out this way.  I reached out to a few target people and only gentlemen accepted the position.  We know that there are so many amazing women bloggers out there who are experts on a topic, and if you’re one of them, please reach out to me so that we can talk about bringing you on board.

How do I become an Expert? Another good question!  Just follow this link to become an Expert.

Viralogy Themes

While reaching out to bloggers, I noticed that many were not using themes that optimized their content, nor did the themes fit their style and personality. We want you to focus on your content, and at the same time, have a theme that completely fits your style and topic.  That’s why Andrew Norcross and I have teamed up to create Viralogy Themes, the best, most customizable themes in the universe!

We currently feature 3 fully-customizable premium wordpress themes.  Each one is widget ready, optimized for search engines, and includes essential features like most-viewed posts, most-commented posts, threaded comments, and a Twitter sync.

You can preview the themes here:

• JunPress
• ChouPress
• PhenPress

If you are a blogger whose blog is hosted on .wordpress.com or .blogspot.com, then we have a special package just for you.  We’ll set you up with a self-hosted wordpress blog, create a custom design of a Viralogy Theme of your choice, and teach you how to drive traffic to your blog.  If interested, shoot me an email at Jun.Loayza [at] Viralogy.com and we’ll set you up with our special package.

We are open to creating more themes, so if you have a theme structure in mind that you would like us to create, email Andrew Norcross (restlesslikeme [at] gmail.com) and if your theme structure is unique, beautiful, and simple, we might consider making a Viralogy Theme just for you.

Patience is the key to everything in life.

People start blogs and quickly stop writing them because they don’t get any comments within the first month of writing.  Pseudo-entrepreneurs face a few bumps in their startup journey and end up quitting at the first sign of trouble.  What I’ve realized is that every startup takes patience to make it successful.

We are now going into the 4th week of launching Viralogy.  In just 3 weeks, we’ve conducted intensive market research, prepared ourselves to launch two new marketing campaigns, and completely redesigned the home page based on peoples feedback. Here is what I have learned in our first 3 weeks of Viralogy’s launch and how you can apply what I have learned into your startup:

When to listen to your audience

Every entrepreneur talks about how you should ALWAYS listen to your market.  If they want a new feature, it must mean that your company must build that feature in order to satisfy the user.  What they don’t tell you is that sometimes, the user is wrong.  The key is to know when to listen to the user and went to politely ignore the user.

The user will always tell you to build new products or features that will satisfy her wants.  This is good, but only if what the users want is 100% in line with your website’s core objectives and goals.  Here is a great example:

One of our users suggested that we stream in peoples blog content onto our site so that he can read and comment on the blogger’s post without having to leave our site.  Though this would be great for us for SEO purposes and to keep users on our site for a longer period of time, we can never implement this feature because it goes against our core objectives with Viralogy.  Our goal is to first and foremost rank people based on social influence, and then shoot people out to that person’s blog if they want to read their content.  In this way, we’re constantly promoting the people on Viralogy.com and we’re not taking any of their readership or comments.

Your company mission is your religion.  Don’t add features that contradict your religion.

Control the creative juices

As an entrepreneur, you will naturally have a bunch of ideas floating around in your head about what your company should do next.  One of the most dangerous aspects of a young startup company is feature creep and impatience.

Be careful when you receive feedback from your users.  When a user suggests you add a new feature, and it’s the feature you’ve been thinking about in your mind the whole time, you’ll instantly believe this is validation to go full-steam ahead on implementing your idea.  Wrong, this is about the worst thing you can do.

Constantly adding new features will DESTROY your startup.  You need patience, testing, and solid analytics to make rational decisions about what feature should be built next and to determine if a current feature is working.  Here is a great example:

Users want to be able to sync their Twitter, StumbleUpon, Digg, LinkedIn, and Facebook accounts right now so that we are able to calculate their entire social media influence.  This is wonderful because it’s exactly the direction that we’re headed in!  However, if our team was not disciplined and patient, it could ultimately be the downfall of the company.  You see, we have VERY important features that we must complete now before incorporating new ones: we need to refine the home page, the claiming process, and our business model.  We CANNOT move on to incorporate a new feature without first making sure that each one of our core features perfectly does what it needs to do.

Here is the rule you should follow: Project timelines and goals should run two weeks.  During those two weeks, you religiously work on the goal that has been set, and do not stray away from the goal by adding new features or by working on other projects.  Once the two weeks are done, you intensely test every aspect of the goal you just finished.  After a week of testing, you should know whether the project was a success, or if there are some things that you need to refine and change.

It will take patience and discipline to build a successful startup.

Conduct market research throughout your startup and NOT just at the beginning

I can’t stress enough just how important market research and validation is.  Here is an example of the research we conducted for a core Viralogy feature:

We believed that given the opportunity, bloggers would pay to be on the front page of Digg.  We were therefore building a bidding system that would allow our users to bid money to be on the front page of Viralogy.com as a featured blog.  Though it seemed like a great idea, we needed to validate it.

I surveyed 75 of my closest blogging friends and made sure to ask non-leading questions.  This is key:

• Would you pay $100 to be on the front page of Digg (leading question)
• Would you pay to be on the front page of Digg?  If so, how much money would you pay? (non-leading question)

After collecting the data, we have decided to move away from the bidding system as a business model and move toward a Freemium business model focused on companies.  I am now in the process of collecting data from companies to verify that they will pay for our services.

Validate your business model before you build it.

Market your product before you have launched it

This is probably one of the most effective things we have done with Viralogy so far (I might be a little bias because this is my are of expertise).  We started to heavily market Viralogy on March 16th and the site officially launched on May 18th.  This means that we were heavily building our brand and traffic 2 months before the product was launched!  Here is how I did it:

Step 1: What is the core brand and mission of the company? -   The goal of Viralogy.com is to promote bloggers and rank bloggers based on their social media influence.

Step 2: How will you accomplish your core brand and mission through marketing? - We decided to video interview bloggers (promote bloggers) and write ranking posts (rank bloggers) on the Viralogy blog.

Step 3: Execute intensely on the plan - We decided to set very high goals: 3 video interviews and 2 ranking posts  a week. Be setting very high expectations, we forced ourselves to go above and beyond for our marketing efforts.

The result: Bloggers knew about Viralogy before the site launched, we had just under 1000 uniques per day before the site launched, and we had a lot of people online link back to our site and Tweet out about us.

Stick to your company brand and mission, and then intensely execute on your marketing plans.

Create systems to stay consistent while consistently launching new marketing campaigns

We have built a great marketing campaign with the Viralogy blog.  We are consistently pushing out new content every week day, and more and more people are starting to notice the brand.  Is this enough?  Should we just sit back in cruise control and keep doing what we’re doing?

This is why startups fail. They get comfortable and think that just because their campaign has worked this week, that it will continue to exponentially bring in new users.

Remember this quote because it will be the most important quote you will ever read for marketing:

“Build systems to stay consistent while consistently launching new marketing campaigns”

We have built the following systems with the Viralogy Blog:

• Jun Loayza sets up interviews with bloggers throughout the week
• Jason Lam edits the video and uploads them to Viddler
• Jun Loayza summarizes, edits, and posts on the Viralogy Blog every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
• Yu-kai Chou writes a VS post every Tuesday
• Joseph Yi writes a social ranking post every Thursday
• Dan Miranda evangelizes every post as it is published

This is the strict discipline that we adhere to every week. What kind of systems are you building for your startup?

Because we have built systems, I am free to create new marketing campaigns.  I plan on launching two new campaigns in the following 2 weeks: Viralogy Themes and Viralogy Experts.  Remember, before you implement a new campaign, you must build a system for the previous one so that it can continue to run smoothly without your supervision.

—

Use these tips to build a strong company and have a successful launch.  If you have any questions, please ask me in the comments section and I will answer you immediately.  My goal is to not only build a successful startup of my own, but to help you build a successful startup as well.

Keep living the startup life!

“Entrepreneurs are supposed to fail.  The true measure of success is how many times you’re willing to pick yourself up and keep on trying.”

Yes, I know that.  My team and I have the battle wounds and scars from our previous failures.  I think it’s great when entrepreneurs and bloggers talk about how you’re suppose to fail.  “No successful person has succeeded without failing” seems to be the constant echo I hear throughout the blogosphere.

But there’s something they don’t tell you in startup school - There is a limit to how many times you can fail.

Forget about financial stability; the greatest pressure and hardship for an entrepreneur is emotional stability.  Every time you fail, every time you make a mistake, and every week that goes by without generating revenue takes a toll on an entrepreneur’s emotional health.

What it feels like to see your company fail

In August of 2008, the Future Delivery team launched FD Career, the real life role playing game.  In just 2 weeks, we had 1,300 members on our site and we thought we had strong momentum.  But then slowly the signups began to diminish, potential clients decided not to sign with us, and new features took a back seat to generating revenue.  Slowly but steadily, doubt began to creep into our heads and we began to feel like FD Career was not the product we set out to build from the very beginning.

Doubt and impatience are an entrepreneur’s worst enemies.

User signups began to slow and features took longer and longer to debut.  One crack lead to another crack until suddenly the frame broke and our startup began to come crashing down.

It didn’t matter that we were all good friends and had spent an entire summer working together, when the startup is failing, you begin to resent your team members and blame them for the company’s misfortune.  “If only they had listened to me and my ideas, we would be in a better spot right now!”

I don’t care how unselfish or how great of a leader you are.  The pressure will get to you and you will have moments of weakness.

In the end, FD Career was put aside.  Our development and marketing team left, leaving only the original founders to fend for ourselves.

Building the company back up

It took us 5 months to build Future Delivery back up to a point where we can launch a product.  A common theme in today’s startup community is to bootstrap your company on your own.  We all seem to love the scrappy entrepreneur who funds his own company without the need of outside investment.

We did that here at FD.  It took us 5 months, but we were able to survive long enough to the point where we could launch Viralogy.  But was the process fun and enjoyable?  Was I living passionately like everyone tells us to do?

No, I was far from loving my life.

It’s worse than the 9-5 cubicle.  At least in the cubicle, you are told exactly what to do, and are given a steady paycheck for your work.  When you’re a young entrepreneur trying to bootstrap your company, it’s pretty much the blind leading the blind.  We created a social media consulting company, a drop shipping company, an email list company, and a video tutorial company.

We worked much longer hours than the 9-5 and we made less money too.  And even when we did make a lot of money, all of it went toward the company so we never really enjoyed the money we made.

It’s not glamorous; it’s not for everyone.  I have had nightmares plenty of nights where I’d wake up in a cold sweat because I dreamed we had lost all of our clients and had to dissolve Future Delivery.

But there is light at the end of the tunnel.

If you push hard enough, if you have the endless desire to succeed, then maybe, just maybe you’ll have another chance at launching your company.

A second chance to make it big

How many times can a team fail until they turn on each other?  That’s a valid question that everyone has on their mind, but no one has answered yet.  I’ll tell you right now that the FD team must succeed with Viralogy.  I love every single one of my brothers, but I can’t fail anymore.  It’s not just the financial pressures that I have, but more importantly, it’s the emotional strain.

I hate that I can’t pay for every dinner; I despise that I can’t buy my mom a new TV for the living room.  Someone just ran over my brother’s bike, and I don’t have the money to buy him a new one.  It’s not the money; it’s that emotionally, I don’t feel like I’m living up to my responsibilities.

The startup life is tough, real tough

Is it just me?  Am I the only entrepreneur who is honest and open about the hardships that we have to go through?  How many entrepreneurs are out there blogging trying to teach you how to run your company, trying to give you advice about how to build a successful startup?

Too many.

I’m here to tell you that’s it’s ok to feel scared and it’s ok to feel down.  I am there with you.

When you’re tired, your eyes are strained from staring at your laptop, and you just don’t think you have another ounce of work left in you, I’m right there with you pushing you forward.  When you have run out of money and you have to move back with your parents so that you can afford to keep your startup alive, I’m right there with you pushing you forward.

We seek something more than financial freedom

What my team and I seek is not a lifestyle design.  We are not seeking to live comfortably and be able to do all the things we want to do in life.  We are whole-heartedly committed to one goal: to see Viralogy succeed.  Forget about living passionately and doing what you live; sometimes, you have to do what you hate in order to succeed in a startup.

I am 23 years old and this is the second major product that I am launching with my company.  I have no previous successes, but what I do have is a team that is fully devoted to the success of the company.  You’ve known me before the product launch, and now you know me during the launch.  My blog will document my feelings and emotions throughout this roller coaster ride and I will do my best to teach you everything I learn along the way.

Hopefully by the end of this journey, you will have witnessed me become a successful entrepreneur.

I take a deep breath and try to swallow the fact that I’m sitting here with a red pencil and a bunch of excel print outs that I must quality check.  For those of you who don’t know, “quality check” means that I must go through all the formulas that excel has created and make sure that they’re all correct.  And I have to do this by hand! My co-worker comes in and says that we’re all going to happy hour later tonight.  Great, another couple of hours spent drinking and eating my life away so that I can hopefully get a 15% pay-raise once promotion season comes.

I’m standing in line.  In a way, we’re all standing in line.  I mindlessly follow the person in front of me and go to wherever this path takes me.  As long as I keep up with the person in front of me and don’t slow down the people behind me, I can stay on my path without a problem.  A mundane existence requires little brain power.

A Roller Coaster Beckons

Like a tower in the sky, the startup life elevates over me, beckoning me to come and ride it.  Few people in line seem to notice it; those who do turn away in fear and remain in line.  I can see those riding the Startup Life going through vigorous ups and downs.  Those who are weak fall off, only to get back in the line.

Fear and uncertainty grip my heart. What happens if I step out of the line?  Will I be able to keep my place and come back where I left?  The choice is now or never.  Waiting any longer in line could potentially brainwash me to the point where I’m comfortable with  my meager existence.  Slowly, I take a step off the line.

I wait.  No one seems to notice.  I feel free, liberated, and adventure awaits me.

The First Plunge is Always the Hardest One

Slowly I make my way to the entrance of the startup life.  I spend the first few weeks looking for like-minded people who want to ride the startup life with me. 2 people join me, Yu-kai and Jason, and we step into our cart.

My heart starts beating faster and faster as the bars close down on our legs and we commit ourselves to the startup life.  I look over to Yu-kai and his bar is closed tightly around his legs; Jason’s is not.  His is loose, and I feel that already he is going to bring this ride to a stop.

Click… click… click… we go up the startup life.  The beginning of this ride is steep.  We can’t seem to get up to the peak with the single cart that we’re riding.  Slowly, we slide back to the bottom to see if we can add carts to our starup life and build a stronger team that will enable us to get to the peak of our ride.  We recruit 4 other carts: 1 cart of 5 developers and 3 carts full of marketing interns.  Delighted and full of energy, we hop back onto the startup life, ready to reach that peak.

Click… click… click… we go up the startup life.  As we reach each milestone, we pick up energy and move up faster and faster.  I take a look back to see our team.  2 developers have already fallen off and 1 marketing-intern cart lost its grip and plummeted to oblivion.  No worries though, the former team members are safe.  They easily rejoin the line as if nothing had happened.  I take a look to my left and Jason is now gripping his safety bar with all his might.  Mine and Yu-kai’s bar is holding us fastly to our cart.  I wonder if Jason will survive the imminent plunge that is coming up.

I see it.  FD Career is about to be completed and we’re about to launch  The peak of the coaster is only a few feet away.  Hold on guys, we can do this; if we survive this plunge, we’ll come out victorious and successful.  Closer and closer the peak is coming.  Inexperienced, I grab onto my bar as well, close my eyes, and scream…

A Traumatic Loss

… silence…

It was my first launch.  I throw up on myself because I had never experienced such a vigorous yet exciting trauma to my body and mind. I look behind me - there is only one cart left behind us.  In it our 2 developers (Steph and JJ) and 1 marketing intern (Joe).  I look to my left - Jason has fallen off.  His bar was never fastened tightly; there was no way he could have survived the plunge.  Yu-kai is the only one who is still full of energy and wearing a smile on his big panda face.

Is the ride over?  Did we make it?  Have we succeeded?

We all look ahead only to see that this was only the beginning.  The Startup Life doesn’t have just one big drop.  I look ahead and I don’t see an end to this ride.  The next big plunge is far away and concealed in mist so that I have no idea how big the drop is or if it will be the last one.

Looking ahead at the uncertainty and turmoil, Steph steps off the ride.  We hug and embrace him for joining us this far, but his place right now is in line with everyone else.  The trauma of the first launch was a lot for him to handle, and understandably so.  I threw up on myself for goodness sake! We are now 4: Yu-kai, JJ, Joe, and myself.  Two carts, four people.  Do we even have the strength to make it up the next launch by ourselves?

Stronger and More Resilient Than Ever

Something has changed.  No longer is our cart a dainty little virgin.  Our wheels have become more solid, our safety bars have become thicker, and our cart has gained in size and even added a little engine to keep the momentum going.  Not only is our cart stronger and more stable now after the first plunge, but we now see a lot of other carts riding parallel to ours.  I see the faces of other entrepreneurs who survived their first plunge and how they’re trucking along just as strong as we are.  It’s a truly encouraging site and it only fuels my drive to keep pushing harder and harder.

Here it comes again.  The launch of death.  This time, the ride up to the peak seems a little shorter.

Click… click… click… We go up towards the peak and I can feel that 2 carts fueled by 4 people are more than enough to get us to the peak.  Milestone after milestone, we compel the cart to move upwards and release an Alpha of Viralogy.  We’re still not at the peak yet, but we are sure gaining momentum and getting to the peak fast.

To my dismay, JJ’s bar has become unlatched!  No… you’re our only developer left.  If you leave, how will we ever make it to the peak and launch?

It was JJ’s time.  His heart is still with us but his body must now go back to the line.  We hug and embrace, and watch as he goes back to the line, joining Steph and Jason.

And then there were three.

The Second Plunge Awaits Us

Our cart now inches closer and closer to the launch of Viralogy.  Though our momentum has slowed and the speed that we’re approaching the peak is now the pace of a snail, our cart is still fueled by the desire that burns within our hearts.  Joe detaches his cart to lose some weight and hops in next to Yu-kai and I.  The three amigos; the three muskateers.  There’s just something magical about the number 3.

I see it now.  Launch is nothing but a short month away.  Will our safety bars hold the three of us safely in our cart?  How big is the plunge?  I’m not sure about what’s in store for us ahead of the mist, but what I do know is that this time I will NOT grip the safety bar and close my eyes like a scared little girl.  My arms will go up to the sky and my eyes will be wide open.  I will be ready to grab onto Joe or Yu-kai’s hand if they happen to slip off of the cart because there is no way that I will let them plummet to their spiritual deaths.

I can do this.  We can do this.  No matter how many plunges await us, our cart will only get stronger and stronger and the team will only become more experienced.

1 cart.  3 people.

Will we survive the launch?  There’s no doubt in my mind that we will 

I will not teach you how to work 4 hours in a week.  If you want to build a self-automated business that frees you up from work and allows you to live a lifestyle-design kind of life, then this is not the post for you.  Though I have made each work day 6 hours more effective, I still work my 70+ hours a week.

Why do I do it?

Because I’m building an internet empire here.  My team and I want to make Viralogy the next Facebook or LinkedIn.  In an internet company, we constantly have to evolve our product to beat out the competition and we need to consistently market out our site so that we exponentially grow in users.

Yu-kai and I live by a simple principle:  Once you learn how to work the 4 hour work week, take those principles and work 70 hours a week. We make sure that the 70 hours we put in a week are highly effective and are consistently pushing the company forward.

The following are concrete and actionable tips about how I took my 70 hour work week, reduced them to 20 hours, and then bumped up my work time to a full 70 hours of pure effectiveness.  You will be able to utilize these tips immediately and see an increase in your work effectiveness instantly.

Optimize your work life and you will have a much better chance of making your startup company succeed!

And yes, I do make time for friends and family throughout my week

The simple fixes

1. Use stealth or invisible mode for Gchat, Aim, and Skype

Though I used Gchat sporadically throughout my day, I knew that it was cutting into my work-time effectiveness.  Every time you receive a chat, you can’t help but engage in a 5-10 minute conversation with the other person.  I decided to document the time I spent on Gchat and this is what I found out:

Project: Write a blog post

• On days that I had Gchat open, it took me on average 2.9 hours to completely write a blog post and publish it
• On days that I was invisible on Gchat, it took me on average 2.4 hours to completely write a blog post and publish it

I was 17% more effective in writing a blog post when my Gchat was on invisible mode.  This means that if I work 11 hours in a day, I could potentially shave off 1.87 hours if I removed Gchat from my work time.

Time Saved: 1.8 hours

2. Turn off your Tweet Deck, Twhirl, or Seesmic Desktop

Twitter is my crack.  I can spend a ridiculous amount of time on Twitter just reading what everyone is Tweeting and linking out to every link that they recommend.  This is dangerous for the startup entrepreneur, so I documented my effectiveness when I had Tweet Deck turned on compared to when I had it turned off.  Here are my results:

Project: Edit video for Awesome Revolution

• On days that I had Tweet Deck turned on, it took me on average 4.0 hours to completely edit and publish a video
• On days that I had Tweet Deck turned off, it took me on average 3.6 hours to completely edit and publish a video

(Times include exporting and ripping which can take a ridiculously long amount of time)

I was 10% more effective with my time when I had Tweet Deck turned off compared to when I had it turned on.  In an 11 hour work day, this means I can potentially shave off 1.1 hours of ineffective time.

Time Saved: 1.1 hours

Effectiveness versus Efficiency

3. Clump emails into batches

I used to LOVE having Gmail open 24/7.  Nothing made me feel more effective than to answer every single email that came in immediately.  At the end of every night, I would have a completely clean inbox that would allow me to sleep quite soundly and satisfied.  However, how truly effective was I by answering every email that came in immediately?

I decided to test how long it took me to answer a days worth of emails when answering immediately, compared to batching emails and answering them only 3 times a day.  This is what I found out:

Project: Answer a days worth of emails

• On days that I answered and composed each email immediately, it took me on average 2.2 hours to clear out my inbox and send all necessary emails
• On days that I answered and composed emails on 3 set times in a day (11am, 3pm, and 12am), it took me on average 1.4 hours to clear out my inbox and send all necessary emails

I was 36% more effective with my time when I sent emails out in batches instead of immediately as they came in.  This means that I now spend .8 less hours a day on emails.

Time Saved: .8 hours

4. Focus all your attention on 1 task and don’t move on until you finish

I naturally do this on my own.  In contrast, people like Yu-kai Chou naturally switch from one task to another freely like some form of ADD.  I decided to measure if I actually was more effective by focusing on one project at a time and how much more effective I actually was.  Here are my results:

Project: Build relationship with bloggers

• On days that I contacted bloggers while working on other projects, it took me on average 1.3 hours to contact everyone on my target list
• On days that I contacted bloggers while focusing solely on that 1 project, it took me on average 1.1 hours to contact everyone on my target list

I was 15% more effective with my time when I focused on a project compared to sporadically working on several projects at a time.  In an 11 hour work day, this means I could potentially become 1.7 hours more effective with my work time.

So how can you discipline yourself to just focus on 1 task?  Instead of writing a completely new post to answer this question, read Leo’s advice here at Zen Habits about How NOT to Multitask.

Time Saved: 1.7 hours

Prepare yourself the night before

5. Create a Must-Do-or-Die List

Every night before I go to sleep, I create a Must-Do-or-Die List.  No, I’m not talking about any regular To-Do List; I’m talking about a list of 5 core objectives that you must accomplish the next day.  Only focus on what is necessary and what will truly push your company forward.

I compared my effectiveness between days I wrote a Must-Do-or-Die List to days I didn’t write the list. These are my results:

• On days that I did not have a Must-Do-or-Die List, I spent an average of .6 hours figuring out what’s important and what I need to do next
• On days that I had my Must-Do-or-Die List, I spent no excess time figuring out what were the truly important things I needed to get done that day

I noticed that on days I didn’t have my list, I would spend a good .6 hours each day thinking about what I should do next.  This is what killed my effectiveness and added wasted work time.

Time Saved: .6 hours

6. Create a do NOT do list

I carry the same do NOT do list around with me everyday. The simple list reads like this:

• Do NOT go on Gchat…
• Do NOT go on Facebook…
• Do NOT turn on the television…
• Do NOT turn on Tweet Deck…
• … until your Must-Do-or-Die List is done 

Whenever I get the urge to turn on these applications, I take out my List and think about what is truly important in my life.  I love building relationships online and talking to my friends; however, building a successful startup company is my main priority.  Plus, I can always log on to all of these applications once my List is complete.

Time Saved: Prevents me from engaging in habits that inhibit effectiveness

Expert mode

7. Cut sleep to 6 hours a day

You do NOT need 8 hours of sleep per night!  If you are to become maximally effective in your startup career, you need to train your body to only sleep 6 hours a night.  I’ve tried to cut it to 5 hours before, but the result was an afternoon nap and I would end up binge sleeping on certain days.

The most effective way that I have found to cut your sleeping hours is to FORCE yourself to wake up early.  I do the following to force myself to wake up early:

• I schedule early morning meetings.  I schedule meetings at 8am or 9am so that I have to wake up or I look like a fool because I missed a meeting
• I only set 1 alarm and disable snooze.  If you only set 1 alarm, then you know you won’t have a backup alarm to wake you up after your snooze.  You either wake up with the first alarm, or end up wasting the entire morning.

Doing these two simple things has allowed me to sleep 6 hours every day of the week.  For more effective tips, read Steve Pavlina’s tips on How to Become an Early Riser.

Time Saved: Doesn’t save time but gives you more time to enjoy your life!

Total Time Saved Per Day: 6 Hours!

—

One of the biggest challenges we face in the startup life is ourselves.  Those who are undisciplined and unfocused will be beat by those who do have self-control and can focus on what’s truly important.  Use these tips and create a more effective work life!

I see way too many cry babies out there.  Sure the job market is tough, but you’re not putting in the hard work you need to in order to bounce back and be considered for a job.

Oh, what’s that you say?  You’re not qualified for the position?

Bullshit!

That’s right, I said it.  Job “Requirements” don’t mean squat.  They’re just there to weed out the weak and let the strong stand out. This is how I punched requirements in the face and got an interview for a position I was under qualified for.

Requirements for the position

Lets first examine why I was highly under qualified for the position:

• Minimum of 4-5 years experience in product management, brand marketing, digital marketing, and/or new media.
  • I’m barely two years out of college and only fit the “new media” portion of this bullet point
• Demonstrated savvy with new technology and ability to communicate new media initiatives to a broad audience and speak technically to developers and third parties
  • Yup, I definitely fit this bullet point 
• Highly motivated, strategic, independent, ambitious, strong multi-tasker
  • Woohoo, I fit this bullet point as well!
• Knowledgeable of digital music sites, tools and content providers
  • Hrmmmm… don’t really fit this one.  Don’t know a thing about the music business

So two out of four ain’t bad right?…

Wrong!  There are a ton of people right now who are desperately looking for jobs.  I knew that my competition was going to be stiff, and if I wanted to have a chance at showing my skills off, I needed to clinch that 1st round interview.

Step 1: Thorough research and outreach on LinkedIn

I went to LinkedIn and searched “Walt Disney Music” in the top right search bar.  I took the top ten results and Googled their names in order to get their contact info.

If I can’t find someone’s contact info, I’ll take an educated guess.  For example, if I want to meet Kelly Preston from Walt Disney Music but can’t find her info, I’ll take a look at the contact that I have for Michael.Thompson@Disney.com, copy the format, and send Kelly.Preston@Disney.com an email hoping that it’s the right address.  This has worked numerous times in the past.

Here’s an email I sent to someone from Walt Disney Music:

Hi Mickey,

My name is Jun Loayza and I am very interested in working for the Walt Disney Company. I recently applied to the Senior, Social Media position at Walt Disney Music and noticed that you currently work there.

I would like to schedule a time when we can chat on the phone about your experiences at Walt Disney Music and how I can best prepare myself to work there.

I am very confident that I can bring unique value to your company and add to the amazing company culture.

I am available Friday afternoon, Saturday all day, and Monday all day to chat on the phone. My number is 714-657-9332.

Thank you very much and I look forward to connecting.

All the best,

Jun Loayza

I sent about 10 emails to people I found through LinkedIn.  Here is the one email that I got back:

Hi Jun;

I am actually new to Walt Disney music myself…I started in October and I am based in the Townville, Neverland office calling on Walmart.

You would probably be better served making contact with someone in our Los Angeles, CA office (I am assuming the position you applied for is the one based in Los Angeles).

I suggest the following: Donald Duck, Lead Human Resources for Walt Disney Music. His number is 1-888-888-8888, and email is Donald.Duck@Disney.com. Donald is a Superman, and he can hook you up with tons of info and insight. Let him know I gave you his contact info.

I wish you the best, Jun. Please stay in touch and keep me posted on your progress.

Cheers!

Perfect!  I got a name, a contact, and best of all, I have a referral!!!

Step 2: Strategically leverage the referral you have

Now that I have the exact person to contact with a powerful referral, I need to create a strategic email that will land me the 1st round interview.  Here is the email I sent:

Hi Donald,

My name is Jun Loayza and I was referred by Mickey to speak with you about my interest in working for Walt Disney Music.  I feel that my abilities and experience make me the perfect candidate for your Senior, Social Media position at Walt Disney Music.

My experiences make me qualified for this position because I have been able to develop my social media and brand management abilities as the Founder of Future Delivery.  I have a passion for new media technologies and learning how to use it to market a company. I know that Walt Disney Music would be the perfect place where I could implement my passions and watch them grow as well.  I am particularly interested in Disney because I have a close relationship with Daisy Duck, who is the Director of Recruiting at Disney Media.  I had the opportunity to see the company culture and I fell in love with the people and atmosphere of the company.

I can contribute to your firm with my strong creative and analytical skills.  As the founder and Chief Marketing Officer of Future Delivery, I have built and marketed several online companies: www.fdcareer.com, www.viralogy.com, and www.futuredelivery.tv.  I am proficient in building relationships with people in the blogosphere and have been able to successfully market my own blog, www.junloayza.com, using tools such as Twitter, StumbleUpon, and Facebook. I have analyzed and documented all site analytics to increase traffic and improve retention.  More importantly, I have been able to successfully manage advertisements on our sites and maintain relationships with company sponsors.

I believe that I have the qualities that make a successful Social Media Manager: I enjoy working in teams and excel in working with people, I am very detailed oriented and have excelled in promoting companies using online social media tools, and I am an excellent multi-tasker.

I would enjoy speaking to you further about the possibility of a position at Walt Disney Music. Thank you very much for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

1st Paragraph: I clearly state that I was referred by Mickey and what position I am apyling for

2nd Paragraph: I explain exactly why I am qualified for the position

3rd Paragraph: I clearly layout how I can contribute to the company

Last Paragraph: I solidify my want to work for Disney and thank Donald for his consideration

Unfortunately, it turns out that Donald was out of the office:

I am currently out of the office on vacation.  I will be back in the office on Monday, February 9th.
For any urgent need, please contact my Manager, Minnie, at Minnie@disney.com.

Thank you and have a stellar day!

This step is completely up to you.  Some people might consider not doing this step, but I had the balls to do it and as you will see, it lead to a positive outcome.  Donald is out of the office and he clearly refers me to speak with Minnie if it is something urgent.  Well, “urgent” if very subjective, and I feel the job hunt is very urgent indeed.  So I send Minnie this email:

Hi Minnie,

My name is Jun Loayza and I contacted Donald to get in touch with him about a position at Walt Disney Music.  He is currently on vacation and left me a message to contact you about this opportunity.

The position I am interested in is the Senior, New Media position at the Walt Disney Music in Los Angeles.  It would be great to set up a time to chat on the phone this weekend about your experiences with the company so that I can be better prepared for an interview and so that you can find out more about me.

I am available:

• Saturday: 10am - 5pm
• Sunday: 10am - 5pm

My number is 714-657-9332.

Thank you very much for your time and I look forward to getting in touch with you.

All the best,

Yes, I know, very ballsy.  But if you’re going to interview for a company, I believe you have to go ALL out.  If you don’t give it your all and leave everything on the court, you may regret it afterwards.

Step 3: Never, ever accept a “No.” How to bounce back with an objection

Looks like my emails got Donald’s attention because he sends me this email when he gets back from his vacation:

Hi Jun.  Thank you for your interest in the role.  While you definitely have an impressive background, we are really looking for someone with more of a strong product marketing background mixed with new media but who also has some solid experience working within the music space.  That being said, I would love to hold on to your resume for other opportunities.  Mickey is great so any referral of yours is golden

Thanks much.

Never take “No” for an answer.

While I understand most people would accept this email from Donald and move on, I saw this as a “weeder”email.  Just like requirements for a job position, these types of emails are meant to weed out the weak and allow the strong to demonstrate their value.  Understanding this, I immediately followed up with this email:

Hi Donald,

Thank you very much for getting back to me.

I completely respect your decision and objective opinion about the required skills for the position. After all, you’re the Lead Human Resources and know exactly what you need for the position.  With that said, I would like to request an interview for the position because I strongly feel that my background and skills have prepared me for this exact position.

1. Product Marketing

I have developed and marketed 3 products so far:

• http://FDCareer.com
• http://DropForMe.com
• http://FutureDelivery.tv

In the first 2 weeks of the FD Career launch, we accumulated over 3,000 members.  In 5 days after the Drop For Me launch, we have just over 1,000 members on our email list.  For FDTV, we have over 12,000 monthly hits on our site.

2. Experience in the music space

I will admit that I have not worked in an actual “music space”; however, I feel that the skills I have developed would help me thrive in the music industry.  As you can see from http://LivingtheStartupLife.com and http://FutureDelivery.tv, I thrive in the public eye and am able to communicate clearly in front of the camera or spotlight.  I am very familiar with all the Disney bands (who isn’t) but am not a groupie or fanatic so I can compose myself in a very professional manner when meeting any Disney celebrity.

I have worked with and pitched to many high-level executives.  I have pitched to Prism Ventures here in Venice Beach, Ellie Elber who is the founder of Add Sense, and at the Web 2.0 Conference held in 2008.  I have even pitched to the Media Group team in Los Angeles.

As far as an intimate knowledge of how the music industry works, in terms of deals, agent salaries, and what happens behind the scenes, I feel that I can quickly learn that in less than a week.  I am currently working with Shelly Tiger and Newton John to help promote their music.

I am very eager and enthusiastic about the opportunity of working at Walt Disney Music.  I feel that if I came in for an interview, I would blow you and your staff away with my energy, ability, and skillset.

Thank you very much Donald and I will respect any decision you make.

All the best,

1st Paragraph: Respect the recruiter’s decision and reaffirm that you understand that he knows best about what the company is looking for.  At the same time, I confidently set up my request for an interview.

Main Content: In his email, Donald laid out 2 main objections: my lack of experience with product marketing and my inexperience in the music industry.  I therefore construct two carefully designed paragraphs that explain exactly why I would do well in product marketing and in the music industry.

Concluding Paragraph: Yes I know, another gutsy move.  I write: “I would blow you and your staff away…”  Am I advising you to talk in this exact tone?  In a way, I am. But what I really want you to grasp from this is that you can portray your confidence and enthusiasm for a company through your emails.  If you demonstrate to the company that you have a passion to work there, they will give you the opportunity.

I swung for the fences with my emails and it paid off:

Thanks for the email, Jun. Why don’t I give you a call next week and we can talk more about the role at that time?

Until then, have an amazing weekend.

Best regards,

Are you doing everything you possibly can to succeed?

When I commit to something, I pull out all the stops to succeed.  I give Future Delivery 110% of my energy so that we can build a successful startup company.  When I saw this opportunity at Disney, I felt that the income I made at Disney could have been injected into Future Delivery and positioned us better for success.

If you’re looking for a job, are you doing all the research you possibly can on LinkedIn, and more importantly, are you contacting people who currently work at the company to get referrals, get your questions answered, and build an immediate report?  When you get rejected from a 1st round interview, are you hanging your head in shame or are you fighting back and not taking no for an answer?

I just proved that it is possible.  Requirements don’t mean crap!  They’re just there to weed out the weak and let the strong stand out.

My grandparents were divorced, my parents are divorced, my older brother is divorced… it seems that the Loayza destiny is to get divorced with whom we marry.

For as long as I can remember, my dad has constantly preached that I should not get married. “Be with a lot of women, live with one if she’s special to you, but never get married because love dies son.” he would say to me.

Through Awesome Revolution, I have interviewed at least 4 Millennials that got married at the age of 22.

For a while I just couldn’t understand it.  I love Kim, but there is absolutely no way I would get married to her right now.  How do I even know that she’s the one?  After all, I have been in many previous relationships where I fell out of love with my partner.  How can I be sure that it won’t happen this time?

I searched on the blogosphere and a ton of people have written posts about “how to know if she’s the one.”  All of them gave crappy, sappy advice like “You know she’s the one when the first thing you think of in the morning is her,” or “No one can tell you if she’s the one; you just know.”

Lame I say.

So as an entrepreneur, I sat back and looked at my relationship holistically.  I compared my relationship with Kim now, to all of the other relationships that I’ve ever been with to see if I am going down the path of a breakup, or if Kim might truly be “the one.”  Hey, all my friends seem to be married or getting married; maybe it’s time for a Loayza to find his one true love.

After analyzing my relationship, I realized the following:

I can punch her in the face when she’s annoying

Figuratively speaking guys!  When Kim is being annoying, or if I have a problem with what she’s doing, I have no problems with starting a fight with her.  And I’m not talking about the “where did you leave the remote control!” kind of fights.  Those are lame, ridiculous, and utterly stupid.  I’m talking about the kind of fights that show you care enough to get into an argument with her.

I was previously in a relationship where we absolutely never fought.  It was strange, and at the same time, I thought that I was in the perfect relationship because we never had an argument.  Looking back, I now realize that it wasn’t the perfect relationship; it was more like the perfect fling.  We never got into a fight because we just didn’t care enough about each other for it to matter.

If Kim does something that I feel is wrong, I call her out on it.  If Kim starts bumming it, I’m going to kick her little tush until she gets motivated again.  All couples fight; you just need to fight for the right reasons.

I double take but don’t get hard

Hahaha… the way I phrased this point cracks me up.

For some reason, my DNA is wired in a way where I can’t help checking out other girls, flirting with other girls, and wanting them to like me.  Hmmm… maybe it’s called “being a guy.”

Throughout every relationship I’ve even been in, I’ve always had a “go to girl on the side.”  It wasn’t like I was cheating on my girlfriend; she was just another girl that I liked and that I knew liked me.  At times I got tired of the girl I was with, so I would have fun with this other girl, making me feel more alive.  Yes, I know this makes me sound like an asshole.

But I think this is a key point in knowing if I’ve found “the one.”  I no longer have a girl on the side.  In fact, I constantly meet girls that I am attracted to, but the thing is, I immediately tell them that I have a girlfriend.  Yea, it sounds like a lame accomplishment, but it’s a pretty big deal for me.  I want to make it clear to the girl, and more importantly to myself, that I am completely devoted to Kim Ear.

Lunch with the Ex

Trust is probably the most valuable component of any relationship.  In my previous relationships, if I told my girlfriend that I wanted to hang out with my ex, she would flip her wig and start yelling at me, “Am I not enough for you!” I have gone out with some seriously crazy girls before….

You might think I’m lying, but I’m being completely honest when I tell you that Kim is completely fine if I go out to lunch with girls that I used to date.  Of course there are a few conditions:

1. We must split the bill
2. She has to be completely over me
3. We can’t go to a restaurant that Kim and I love to go to together

Trust is the most important part of any relationship, and the ultimate test of your mutual trust is if you trust her to go out with her ex, and if she trusts you to go out with yours.

I’m happy to say that we pass the test with flying colors.

[Notice that I say "lunch," and not "dinner."  Dinner with an ex will ALWAYS be off limits]

I’m proud to show her off

I can’t wait to show Kim off to my friends and family.  It’s such an amazing feeling when you have a girlfriend that you’re proud to be with.

The test for this is simple.  Ask yourself:

• Do you hesitate to introduce your girlfriend to your friends or to your family
• Are you honest when you talk about your girlfriend’s career with others or do you make her career sound more prestigious than it actually is
• Do you talk about your girlfriend when you’re with your friends or family

—

Kim perfectly fits each and every one of the qualifications that are important to me.  I still think I’m too young to get married (I’m 23), but I can honestly, and proudly say that Kim is the one.  I’m not ashamed to say it, nor do I feel like I’m going to miss out on all of the potential girls that I could have.

This post feels right, and it makes me feel happy to put my feelings about her in writing.

Discussion: What qualifications must your significant other pass in order for you to know if he or she is the one?

Though I have been an entrepreneur for less than 2 years, I have seen my fair share of battle scars and wounds that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.  In a way, I wear these scars like a badge of honor, proudly demonstrating them to experienced entrepreneurs as a way to prove that I am worthy of standing next to them.

Yesterday I met two very ambitious undergraduates on their quest to change the professional world.  It made me very happy to speak with them because I saw in them the same kind of passion that runs through my veins; at the same time, I see in them the same kind of naivity that I had when I was their age.

I spent about 45 minutes on the phone with them, listening to their idea, asking questions, and ultimately telling them that I would NOT use their product if they launched with their current concept.  If you’re looking for advice from me, I’m going to give it to you straight because that’s exactly what every young entrepreneur needs to hear.

It then hit me - all the advice and theory in this world does not even come close to comparing to the actual knowledge you receive from first-hand battle scars.  Sure they’ll listen to my advice, but will they actually implement my experience into their business plan and hopefully have a better chance at success?

During my early days as a young entrepreneur, I read tons and tons of literature about how to become a successful entrepreneur. Though helpful, I quickly realized that I could not relate to the Guy Kawasaki’s and the Seth Godin’s of the world.  Sure they’re very successful, but at the same time, they are way out of my league and way out of my age range.  I have learned much more from sitting down with Neil Patel for an hour or chatting with Derek Halpern on Gchat than I have from reading countless articles from Entrepreneur.com.

It’s the personal touch.  It’s the fact that I can directly ask Neil or Ramit questions and get their honest feedback.  It’s the fact that they’re my age, so they know exactly what I’m going through.

Realizing this, I have decided to make a greater impact in the young entrepreneurial world:

I am starting Startup Saturdays, where Yu-kai and I will do a LIVE webcast from 11am - 12pm PST on Saturdays

The topics for Startup Saturday will vary each week, ranging from funding, how to build traffic, how to find teammates, and even how to write a business plan. Any young entrepreneur who wants to join us, ask us questions, and listen in to the topic of the week is encourage to join us.  If you would like to send me questions ahead of time, Yu-kai and I will make sure to answer them during the live video and perhaps center the topic of the week around your question. Send me your questions to questions [at] viralogy.com with the Subject Header as “Startup Saturdays Question.”

Furthermore, I am looking to sit on the Board of Advisors of a couple more early-stage startups.  I am currenlty on the board of one, and feel that I have the time and capability to advice two more early-stage internet startups.  I am looking to use Startup Saturdays as the vehicle to find the right company.

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I will definitely keep writing posts centered around my startup life so that you can all benefit and hopefully become successful young entrepreneurs.  Here are the three tips I gave to my two young friends about the perils of the young entrepreneurial life:

1. You cannot find funding as a 1st time entrepreneur

“Can’t” is such a strong word, but unfortunately in this case, it is proper that I use it.  As a 1st time entrepreneur, I pitched to several investors, each one telling me the same exact thing: “Great idea.  Build the site, gain some traction, generate revenue, and then come back to me so that we can talk about potential funding.” Even incubators like Y Combinator or Tech Stars are very difficult to get into when you have no proven trackrecord.

Yes, I definitely encourage you to apply to Y Combinator and Tech Stars, but DO NOT make this your primary form of funding.  DO NOT depend on this initial seed investment to get your company rolling in the right direction.  Do you know how Andrew Warner funded his company?  He returned all of his J Crew clothing and was able to get enough money to start his company that reached $38 million in revenue.  Did you know that Neil Patel raised over $1 million from friends and family, and lost it all!

We at Future Delivery have focused on funding our startup ourselves, without raising money from investors or friends and family, by doing consulting work.  Though we may not have that huge initial influx of cash like Andrew and Neil had, we are steadily driving towards each milestone every month and slowly accomplishing our goals.  In a year when all you need to focus on is surviving, playing the role of the tortoise may be the best business strategy that we have developed as a team.

2. Launching a site, getting users, and then finding a way to make money is not a legit business model

I have heard this at least 4 times in the past two weeks from young entrepreneurs looking to start an internet company.  We are influenced by amazing companies such as Twitter who have millions and millions of users without generating a single dime yet.  This is an extreme case and DO NOT base your startups business model after it.

Humans survive on blood; startups surive on cashflow.  If you’re not generating revenue with your startup company, then there will come a time when the strain and pressure of your startup are too much for you to handle and your company will die.  The point here is that you need to constantly be thinking about how your company will generate money.  It should be number 1 on your list of priorities. Go ahead and talk about company branding, how to attract more users, and how to leverage the hardcore users, but always remember, without money, none of these plans will ever be able to take effect.

Staying alive trumps everything else.

3. One of your founders needs to be a developer (if you’re an internet or tech company)

We had the right mindset when we first founded Future Delivery.  There were three of us: the CEO, the CMO, and the CTO.  But, there was one flaw - our CTO was part-time.  Never, ever have a part-time founder!

Once our CTO dropped out, we found ourselves an amazing group of developers who were employed by the company.  Looking back, we should have offered the best developer we had the CTO position.  Furthermore, had he taken the offer, we should have given him a bigger stake of equity in our company, allowing us to lower the monthly payments we were giving him and hopefully have him stay on board with our company for much longer.

If you’re building an internet company, one of the founders MUST be a developer.  There is just no way that you’re going to survive paying a salary to a developer or working with part-time developers.

The next question is: “How do I find a good CTO?”

Leverage the contacts you’ve made at your alma mater, use Twitter to try and find out of work developers, and make it widely known that you’re on the search for a CTO.  All you can do is work hard and hopefully you’ll get lucky.

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I look forward to chatting with you on Startup Saturdays!