Category Archives: Tech Startup Learnings

I wrote a post over at Oh Hey World about the premise that “you never know who might care where you are”. If you think about it, at the very core of Twitter is the premise “You never know who might care what you are doing.” Twitter started with the idea of building a webservice to send text messages to friends. All sorts of great ideas, jokes, business opportunities, activities, and conversations have taken place inside of text messages for years – only seen by two people (until more recently, when group texts became common). The thinking was that many of those conversations could benefit from additional eyes and publicity. And, as we see from Twitter’s … Continue reading →

We’ve built a lot of product at Oh Hey World over the past few months — every now and then, taking a step back from the daily grind is needed to gain new perspective on the opportunities we’re chasing. What did I do? I watched the whole entire PandoDaily interview with John Doerr. I also watched the recent Bill Gates segment on 60 Minutes (which Doerr mentioned in his interview). I sat and stared out the window in deep thought. And I drank…water, not alcohol. If you’re wondering if what they say is true — that very very few startups capture lightning in a bottle & explode onto the scene — I’ll have to say yes. … Continue reading →

Last night I went to bed at 12. I lay awake until 1:30 thinking about Oh Hey World. I woke up at 6:30 am — thinking about Oh Hey World. Yes, running a startup is stressful. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. Related, every entrepreneur on the planet should read Mark Szuster’s post about Entrepreneurshit - it’ll give you a good gut check if you think entrepreneurship is all fun and games.

Building a successful tech startup doesn’t just happen. It’s a shitload of work — and if you don’t know what you’re doing, you’re likely to fail miserably. Which leads me to the importance of great mentors. Of course, there is no better way to learn than from someone that’s done it before. I truthfully couldn’t have asked for a better first job out of college. I was fortunate to learn from some amazing individuals at Zillow — Spencer Rascoff. Rich Barton. Amy Bohutinsky. David Gibbons. Liam Lavery. All individuals with proven track records and a wealth of experience to share. So, my advice for those that want to embark on the entrepreneurial adventure of your own … Continue reading →

If you’re a business person currently working at a tech startup and knows you are going to start your own company in the future — the biggest piece of advice I can offer is to make sure to build some really strong relationships with developers — as the developer network you build now is your starting point for recruiting talent when you go off on your own later. Even if you don’t find a co-founder in that group, they are your best source of developer leads and can offer a wealth of technical feedback and advice down the line. Had I realized this early on during my time at Zillow, I would have put a … Continue reading →