Seattle Startup Life

Jason Calacanis created a storm in the blog world when he wrote his entry on “How to save money running a startup.” The dialogue and banter has been documented endlessly here (techcrunch v.1), here (Techcrunch v2), here (37 Signals), here, and here. But since I’ve never actually run a startup, I really don’t know what it’s like to manage multiple employees, millions of dollars and demanding investors. However, I DO know what it’s like to be in the pressure cooker of the startup world, having worked in three separate ones spanning over 6 years. And as a worker, here are some criteria of wisdom I live by in the startup environment:

From Jason Calacanis (Mahalo)

• Buy second monitors for everyone, they will save at least 30 minutes a day, which is 100 hours a year… which is at least $2,000 a year…. which is $6,000 over three years. A second monitor cost $300-500 depending on which one you get. That means you’re getting 10-20x return on your investment… and you’ve got a happy team member.
• Buy everyone lunch four days a week and establish a no-meetings policy…
• Buy cheap tables and expensive chairs. Tables are a complete rip off.
• Get an expensive, automatic espresso machine at the office….
• Stock the fridge with sodas—same drill as above.
• Allow folks to work off hours. Commuting sucks and is a waste of time for everyone…

From Michael Arrington (TechCrunch)

• …The most important part of hiring correctly is to not hire the wrong people. The second most important part of hiring correctly is to hire the right people…
• Startups cannot waste money…

From Stilgherrian (37 Signals customer of 37 Signals)

• Fund people’s passions

From Me, myself and I

• Allow people to be leaders. The time you check into the office, nor the time you leave, nor the time your last e-mail was sent makes you a great leader. Startups thrive on being able to hire, produce, and value good mentors. Without them, a startup might as well not have started up.
• Oh, and working from home is huge.