Seattle Startup Life

I probably won’t make it to this one, but I’ll be sure to make it to the one hosted by Ontela.

When: March 14, 2008
Time: 11:30am - 1pm
Where: Parker Technical

605 Fifth Avenue South
Suite 850
Seattle, WA 98104

 

More info here

• Blist gets bigger
• Redfin’s 2nd Red Carpet is around the corner. When you go, tell ‘em Savan sent you and you’ll get a free beer. And remind Bryan Selner and Matt Goyer to change those pin icons on the map so they don’t cover up other pins!
• Wetpaint goes social (though aren’t they social by nature?)
• Expect cool things from Dave Naffziger and his Brand Verity.
• The WTIA has a networking event on March 13th
• Todd Humphrey from CleverSet will be speaking at a NWEN event March 14th
• And finally, how comes Jobster’s blog sucks so bad? The last update was December 21st 2007? Really? With all of that money, you’d think someone can put up a picture of a cat with some witty captions. Maybe someone can send an email to Jessica Scheibach and ask?

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.

My biggest fear in life is failing. It’s what keeps me going.

It’s been almost 2 months since I’ve left my post at crazy job Redfin and moved into my new digs at Conenza. The transition was an emotional and somewhat painful one; I felt like Zach graduating graduating from Bayside High. I was one of the early guys at Redfin and knew the company inside and out. I made it through 3 rounds of funding, 5 different offices (4 in Pioneer Square), an overhaul of multiple teams, several crazy real estate seasons and an endless amount of product/engineering challenges. The place was home.

So, many ask, why leave? Well, as with everything in life, all good things come to an end. It wasn’t an easy decision, but I felt that I contributed all I could to Redfin and needed a new challenge. I initially wanted to start another company, cashing in on the ideas I had stored in the back of my head for years. But the mortgage payments and bills put an end to that idea pretty quickly. The next best thing for me was to join a fledgling startup. During my two weeks of interviewing, I talked to so many smart people, it was scary. John Sangiovanni and his crew at Zumobi, Kevin Merritt and Matt Johnson running the uber-tight ship at Blist, Dan and Mike serving monster aces in mobile imaging business at Ontella, and so many more. In the end, I decided to take the job at Conenza. All in all, one of the hardest decisions of my life. And in the end, it wasn’t about the technology or the space or even the position, but what really felt right. It doesn’t hurt that the Conenza office is right across the street from Redfin’s as well.

Which leads me to the point behind my newly minted blog: I will probably never leave Pioneer Square. There are too many brains that bring me back here.