Author: kjdyck

alarm:clock: “While it would be impossible to support with data, we believe we have experiencing a reversal of this trend and are now seeing more and more successful startups run by geeks without suit supervision. Each week, as we document the startup landscape from search to enterprise software, it seem we come across more companies that are run by geeks.”

BusinessWeek online via Anita Campbell:

“Micropolitan” centers, as some call them, which lie somewhere between a city and a rural town, now trumpet their mix of beautiful settings, affordable housing, and attractive lifestyles. With communication technology blurring geographic borders, entrepreneurs in search of the proverbial good life are building companies where they want to live, as much as where they think they should work.

Donald Norman: “How important is usability? Answer, very important, but it alone is not enough.”

Donald Norman: “If it is so critical to understand the particular users of a product, then what happens when a product is designed to be used by almost anyone in the world? There are many designs that do work well for everyone. This is paradoxical, and it is this very paradox that led me to re-examine common dogma.”

Bob Parsons: “By quantifying the worst possible scenario and accepting it, you give yourself permission to fail. I’ve discovered that this simple thought process allows me to operate without the constraints imposed by the fear of failure.”

Paul Allen the Lesser:

Too many entrepreneurs try to do it alone.

But it’s easy to work together with a group of entrepreneurs that helps everyone succeed. That is what YEO and other organizations like it are all about. There are many examples of this in history.

In 1727 Benjamin Franklin and 12 friends formed a group which he called Junto, where they discussed the topics of the day for their mutual improvement. For decades these individuals helped each other succeed and make contributions to society.

Greg Gianforte: “Raising VC money determines your exit strategy. You will either sell the business or take it public. What if you end up with a very profitable, modest sized business that you want to just run? That is no longer an option once you raise VC money.”

Jakob Skjerning’s notes from a talk by Jason Fried of 37signals: “You’re small, act like it, don’t pretend. Let the big guys be confusing.”

Francesco Marciuliano: “Sure, it’s nice to know what you want to do for the rest of your life but where’s the joy when it’s a career that initially promises little outside of the opportunity to repeatedly defend your choice to anyone who footed your college tuition?”

Brian Mastenbrook: “It’s come to my attention that it’s hard to find good tutorials for Lisp programming using Google. I think it’s time to rectify that situation by letting Google know about the good tutorials for Lisp, especially the good tutorials about Common Lisp, that are available. Won’t you help me?”