Flint for Dreams » Entrepreneurship

I'm Feeling Lucky: The Confessions of Google Employee Number 59 by Douglas Edwards

Paul — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 12:51:37 +0000

I'm Feeling Lucky: The Confessions of Google Employee Number 59 by Douglas Edwards presents an insight into how google was run as a startup that differs from the monumental "Greatest Hits" Books that represent most of the other google books I have read. The book is still very inspiring and intimate. Facing a mid-life crises, it is great to watch how Doug turns from being a big company guy to a start-up guy, then leaving Google when it became a big company, though he had millions of dollars from stock options to help with a new journey.

Douglas is an English major and his writing is excellent. This is a great book. To get a feel for the content read this interview with him on Amazon.com.

Built to Sell as a Career Path Should be Taught in Schools

Paul — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 17:29:14 +0000

You look at a huge corporation and you see a way they could do something better. You spend 1 month to 2 years working to create that solution and then sell it to them, or the corporation that pays the most, for a pretty large sum of money.

This is the build to sell model of business, but why isn't it taught in schools as a career path? Instead, it often feels like everyone is just conditioned to get a job and join the work force. I think the world would be more productive with the build to sell model that can create efficiencies in the corporate world, and more wealth for employees/business people.

In The Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives by Steven Levy

Paul — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 20:21:12 +0000

In the Plex by Steven Levy is a great look at the evolution of Google and everything it does to operate and try to retain a start-up culture. The book is entertaining and inspirational. A good read.

Corporate Structures, Taxes, LLCs, and Manifesting Your Dreams

Paul — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 00:10:41 +0000

I recently went through a big personal mental battle. It has been one of the most soul searching weeks of recent years and what amazes me is that it has all to do with corporate structure.

At first I chose to be an S-Corp

This gave me a boost of confidence, I was a real company, I was two entities, I could exist legally in different states, I could fly like an eagle, I was a real president...then I realized the tax implications, I had to pay myself, give myself a salary and pay the monthly (and/or quarterly) withholding to the government. All the old tax forms from employment in the U.S. were back, W2s, W4s and so on. This tax structure can be good if you are making major cash because after you pay yourself a reasonable salary the rest of your revenue and profit goes to you as dividend distributions which can save you on employment taxes....around a 10% savings. Even sole proprietors have to pay self employment taxes. But with S-corps and corporations there is also all the licensing. I had to balance out these feelings of the bureaucracy with the feelings of being a real real company. All the documents, having to give myself payroll, give myself retirement benefits, and so on made me feel like I could easily take on employees, offices would be next, and then, oh boy, the big time. The truth is though that you have to really hire an accountant, a lawyer, or some kind of tax accountant lawyer (CFOs I think they are called). In the end, you have to deal with the chains of bureaucracy. Welcome to the corporate life.

Running to an LLC and back to being a Sole (Soul?) Proprietorship

Needless to say, after a week of trying to figure out tax and legal issues I decided to go back to my carefree days as a sole proprietor. There the accounting is much simpler, you get income and it is yours, not another entities. The taxes are straight forward. You are free to explore and go drink coconut water on Koh Chang beach whenever you want. However, so to is gone the feeling of being able to easily get employees and an office and so on.

The Compromise and the Long View

In the end, go with a corporate only when you are planning on getting funding, or employees, or a CFO. When you have the vision (and cash) to really expand, and when you are willing to make the commitment to an office, or offices and have a stable presence in one place or many. Otherwise, stay care free and dream. Give yourself the flexibility to grow a young company, till you are ready.

How I Made $2 Million as a Stock Operator & Created a Hedge Fund by Timothy Sykes

Paul — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 09:43:35 +0000

How I Made $2 Million as a Stock Operator & Created a Hedge Fund by Timothy Sykes is an honest story of a talented stock trader who tried to expand his operation by starting a hedge fund. Most people are not sure what a Hedge Fund is, and the main reason is that Hedge Funds are subject to a lot of regulation which prevents discussion of Hedge Funds to anyone but the very wealthy.

As Tim points out, this violates freedom of speech and also stifled his ability to find investors and raise capital as a start-up hedge fund. Tim's story details trades he made, including how he turned ~10K into ~2 million. It is interesting to hear stories where he made or lost 100K on several trades. This story details what would happen if you ever really did make a killing on a series of great trades, and the result is at once surprising and realistic!

This is a recommended book for anyone who is interested in trading or in getting a more honest perspective on the finance industry. As someone who is also in a burgeoning start-up I enjoyed hearing the challenges Tim went through with networking, raising funds, being in a big city, dealing with the loneliness of operating without a team, and also getting lost in the joy of growing an independent project.

Visit Tim's website for more information about him. It seems he has started several websites that help to keep track of different trader's performance, and also provides detailed information to traders.

Cognitive Surplus by Clay Shirky

Paul — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 00:40:35 +0000

Cognitive Surplus by Clay Shirky is a look at how media is changing from a more passive for of consumption to one of interaction. It also gives examples of how media is now being used to spark social movements and create things of real value. Take for example Wikipedia and political groups on Facebook.

Shirky feels that this age of tapping into the resource of collective intelligence, social networks, and crowd sourcing is just coming into age, and their true potential has yet to be reached.

This book is a great read for anyone active in media, and gives good advice on the fundamentals of creating online communities.

The Second Coming of Steve Jobs by Alan Deutschman

Paul — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 05:15:06 +0000

The Second Coming of Steve Jobs is a book about Steve's forced departure from Apple, his starting of NeXT computers to "take revenge" on Apple, and also how he happened to buy Pixar, really the entrepreneurial and creative project of other visionaries, but also a company that still benefited from Jobs's deal making, marketing, and financial genius.

The book is thought to take a bit of an over-critical look at Jobs. Emphasizing his claimed short temper, verbal abuse of employees, and at the same time, his stunning leadership. The book leaves you feeling Jobs is a guy who knows what he wants and does what he has to to get there. The book was published in 2000, and it is remarkable that the author found Jobs had revived Apple even then. This is before the total market dominance of the iPOD, and now iPhone, and iPAD. Though iPhone is receiving some pretty good competition from Android.

It was interesting to read this book walking around San Francisco. The city where Jobs staged so many events, and how he conceived to put computers in ever person's hands. He really popularized the personal computer, and with the iPAD his vision is still growing. The book talks about how Jobs views the computer as a tool to accelerate human advancement, and even something that could cure cancer. He really believes in what he is doing in a sense that is greater than selling catchy devices.

Listening to the story one can only wonder what would have happened if Jobs had stayed at Apple. Would he have dominated the industry with his then innovative point and click OS, preventing the rise of Microsoft? Or would he have drove the company into the ground with his uncompromising attention to the detail of absolutely everything? Living in San Francisco I have heard that Jobs is the only executive who has the design team report directly to him, and that every team on Apple has a designer. According to the book Jobs would obsess over the design of internal components in his computer, parts that would not even be seen by common users. Why? Other than that he wanted to create great products, and of course, now he has.

Jobs is a health freak, I was glad to hear, especially as author of HealthAliciousNess.com Jobs is also a good friend of Larry Ellison the CEO and Found of Oracle software, and also, contrary to popular belief, a friend of Bill Gates. It is interesting to think how close all the tech moguls really are, and what an impact their projects have had across the world.

Some Notes on Creating Viral Content

Paul — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 18:21:25 +0000

These notes came from the folks at Momentus Media.

To make viral content...

Understand the viral loop: See -> Click -> Drive to Share -> Share -> See -> Click ...
Tweak your app to optimize the viral loop
Resist the desire to teach/inform and replace it will the desire to make people react
Have lots of calls to action: "Click here" "Show me my score" "Send to a friend" "Join the movement"
Find a unifying attribute, what appeals to everyone?
Make the person sharing look interesting, make the reason they share boost their ego
Amplify current emotions, stay topical: Mother's day, Holidays, Sport events
Feed back statistics and goals: "We want 1 million people to share this, we have 500,000 now"

Hitler's reaction to Google's attack on Spam Farms

Paul — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 23:38:09 +0000

This video is great. I have watched it 7 times today. It says a lot about a side of internet publishing, the current state of the internet, the power of google, and the subtle truths that have big effects for the internet and information at large.

What makes a start-up worth Investment Capital?

Paul — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 23:03:09 +0000

Whether you are an investor, entrepreneur, or both, you probably want to know what makes a start-up worth investing in. What are the key ingredients that will yield a high return on capital while making the world a better place than it was before?

According to venture capital investor Tim Draper it is:

Being a developer, or CEO, with a great team. The ability of an entrepreneur to convince other great people to work with him/her is a sign they are on to something.
Being very innovative. Are you drastically changing in things? And can you show other people are adopting it?
Going with the trend of a market that is already growing rapidly. It doesn't matter how great your team is, or how innovative your new slide rule is. Slide rules are out, and calculators/computers now dominate. If you want capital, or you want to invest, go with the trend.
Be making a lot of money, and be sure that money is well more than your current operating costs.
Entrepreneurs have to be ready to attract a team of people that can do the job better than they can. Invest in a company and people who know how to delegate, and are willing to find people or automate tasks that can do the job in a more productive way.

My own bonus point:

Be sure you even need capital. When I first started as an entrepreneur I thought a lot about funding. Formal funding gives your idea credibility and gives you social status. A lot of people told me directly or indirectly to go for funding, but this was mostly a misconception. Often you can just bootstrap, and more or less have to till you get revenue. You can build some really great businesses, particularly internet businesses, that can scale well without much capital. Venture Capitalist, Noubar Afeyan, stated that he never funds companies with too much cash, as lean companies learn how to be resourceful and successful, without much cash.

If you are an entrepreneur seeking capital, or just curious about venture capital, you can check out Draper, Fisher, Jurvetson.