Last Fall while driving to a meeting I was struck with this idea for a service that would help self-employed people and small businesses track automobile mileage in order to get a tax deduction. As I … Read more
Most people think about their career trajectory as being like a bell-curve or that of a cannon ball fired from a cannon. Something like this: For 99% of all successful people, this is completely the wrong … Read more
The real value in creating new businesses is in delivering customer experiences. The ubiquitous nature of the web, devices, and social networks means successful companies in the future will understand this. The question is “what do … Read more
A commenter on another of my posts asked me to explain further why I think “brand is as much a part of the end-to-end experience as the user interface, device, OS, apps, and services.” I took it … Read more
This message is for those of you who are either “Stuck” in a great paying job at BigCo in the Seattle area (Microsoft, Boeing, Amazon, Starbucks, etc…) Living near Seattle & trying to figure out what … Read more
It wasn’t long ago that I couldn’t even spell “Angel Investing”. I knew I wanted to get involved in startups. I wanted to put some of my money to work in a way where I could … Read more
When I was in college I did an internship with a big company (IBM; working on submarine sonar systems) and learned amazing things (including that I didn’t want to work for IBM <g>). I also did … Read more
If you are self-employed or travel for business (not commuting) the IRS will allow you to deduct 55.5 cents a mile. The only trick is you need to track the business miles you drive and be … Read more
I am working on a whacky startup idea (unrelated to any of the startups I’m advising or my yet to be announced ‘real’ startup). It’s highly speculative at this point and while I’m willing to put … Read more
Do you love the idea of startups? Do you want the Seattle Startup scene to thrive? Do you want to invest in early stage startups but don’t know how to get started? I’m committed to helping … Read more
I’ll be doing some serious recruiting soon. I will only hire the best, and attracting the best requires them noticing jobs are available. This got me thinking about “best-practices” for driving recruiting. Watching others lead, and … Read more
I love startups. I love developers. I love Seattle. Given that my own startup will be based in the Seattle area (news on that coming soon!) it is important to me that the Seattle startup scene … Read more
Before you read further, go read this post by David Gewirtz: Why I’ve finally had it with my Linux server and I’m moving back to Windows I guess I’m an idiot too. About 6 months ago … Read more
In talking to and mentoring dozens of startups I’ve noticed that many of them are in similar spaces; working on the same general problem, yet not quite competitors. Almost complimentary. This raised a question for me: … Read more
I love early stage startups. So much so, that I will sometimes invest my own money when the startup is not much more than a few bright people with an idea. This is called angel investing. … Read more
I have updated the look and feel of the Kindel Systems, LLC website and this blog using a crowd source design. And I like how it turned out. Now that I am no longer working for … Read more
If you think the thing you are building is both an “app” and a “platform” you will fail. Oh, and if you think it’s going to be a just a platform, you will fail too. (Update: … Read more
Today I announced that after 21 years I am leaving Microsoft to build a new company. I’m not yet ready to disclose details about the new venture but I can say I will be staying in … Read more
In my post The 5 Ps: Achieving Focus in Any Endeavor, I noted that “90% of the decisions you make don’t matter; real success comes in being able to identify the 10% that do and focus … Read more
Always have a plan. Always. A great, simple, framework for any plan is the 5Ps: Purpose, Principles, Priorities, People, and Plan. This framework applies to software development projects, job searches, building a garden, or a phase … Read more