Archive for 2015

Delegate wisely. Delegate often. Follow-up frequently. Take back what isn’t working. The only time the person you delegate too has let you down is when *YOU* don’t follow-up.

I am working on installing a new staircase in my home. Contractors’ protective knee pads are not known to be a migratory species and yet here they are, appearing at random locations around the condo. It couldn’t have anything to do with cats, could it? What is the ground speed velocity of an un-laden feline?

There is no such thing as “bad marketing.”

Do not sell me your dream. Do not sell me your vision. Sell me on your traction. No traction? You’re just a dreamer.

To paraphrase Tywin Lannister: “Any man who must say ‘I have a sense of humour. I am a funny man’ is no true funny man.”

Get paid for what you are doing or get paid for what you have done. The former path gives someone else control over your life and the latter path gives you control over your life.

Cold emails with non-definite, non-bounded, open ended questions are fodder for the trash can. There’s a lot of cold emails coming in to everyone’s email inbox every day. There is a small sliver of emails that are worth your attention, that can elicit a response; positive or negative. But the majority of the emails, and…

I am always amazed by a person’s capacity to be dis-satisfied with the job you did cleaning the pan but yet they were more than willing to let it fester with stagnant water on the side of the sink for 10 weeks. This is both an allegory and a recent event.

If the length of your LinkedIn profile is longer than the dress you are wearing in your profile picture, I can say with some certainty that you are doing LinkedIn wrong.

One day you will be surprised by the number of people who have opinions about your money and what you do with it.

The problem with cooking gourmet food and working towards your Bakery certifications is that when you are making cake batter and your wife asks “Can I lick the spatula and beaters?” you present her with a plate for the spatula to sit on that has been artfully decorated with drizzled chocolate Ganache and a sprig…

I slammed the lid of a laptop shut on an engineer in my class one time because after the third time of asking him to turn off the typing sound effects in his IM program, he still hadn’t done it. Especially annoying as we were recording the entire class. For twenty minutes you hear nothing…

If you are doing it right, there are only two pieces of information you will need to give your investors. And only two pieces of information they will care to know. The longer they wait: The less they’ll own and the more expensive it will be.

UA (User Acquisition) on mobile is broken. The people that need UA broke it. The market provided a broken solution to those demands. There are far better ways to maximize your spend than utilizing UA networks. But of course, UA networks are the easy option for people who are lousy at marketing, acquisition and retention,…

I hate walking around downtown San Francisco in the evening. You’re walking along minding your own business when some disheveled guy walks up and rattles a cardboard coffee mug full of coins at you. “Yeah, yeah you just got your series C, Sean, thanks for letting me know you’ve got more funding than me.”

I learned long ago that bosses who attempt to instill fear are not my boss for very long. Only if you let yourself live in fear can you be made to be fearful. Best commitment I ever made to myself: Don’t work with assholes

Hiring for attitude is hard. Most people who hire are lazy. It is why you see so many ads that are crazy stuffed with the latest buzzwords and a laundry list of skills.

Many years ago… “You seem to be suffering from Male Irritability Syndrome” said the MBA with a minor in Psych. who had just interrupted me at my desk for the 17th time in the last two hours. “No, I am suffering from someone who won’t STFU about her Facebook friends.” I replied, having grown tired…

Between developing a new website and cooking a lot of bread in preparation for one of my baking exams I have managed to gain almost 10 pounds. Growth. Hacker. Hah! It’s a pun!