Read this

I’ve been planning to put together a list… Pema’s suggested reading for tech entrepreneurs. 37Signal’s brilliant Getting Real will be in there, as well as Adam Morgan’s fantastic book about branding, Eating the Big Fish. I’m reading another one that will make the list, Founder at Work by Jessica Livingston.

Founders at Work is a collection of interviews with the founders of some of the highest profile and most successful tech startups of the last 10 years. There is Steve Wozniak of Apple, Max Levchin of PayPal, Mike Lazardis of RIM, Blake Ross of Firefox and 28 more.

Not surprisingly, the interviews make for pretty compelling reading. Livingston gets the founders talking honestly about the highs and lows of getting their companies off the ground. In totality, the book offers some great advice and paints a wonderful picture of what life is like inside a startup shooting toward mega success. Great inspiration.

Back to Algonquin Park

Tomorrow morning Rosalynn, Duncan, Deiss and I are all heading into Algonquin park for the first time this summer, and I can’t wait.

Algonquin is an absolute gem in my opinion. Having it so close makes living in Toronto twice as enjoyable. For anyone who lives in Toronto and hasn’t made the trip north yet – Go For It!!

Blogging will (obviously) not be happening in the next few days, but if I can get cell coverage I’ll try to send some photos to flickr.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Wikis explained in plain english

Next time you’re trying to explain what a wiki is, or if you need a little clarification yourself, hit play on this handy little video.

Thanks for the link Bryce.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dnL00TdmLY]

Built to test

The first book I recommend to anyone building a startup is Getting Real by the guys at 37 Signals.

Getting Real preaches the idea of rapid development: Building only what is absolutely necessary as quickly and cheaply as possible and then getting it in peoples hands.

Every once in a while I need a reminder of these principals, so I was happy this morning to get a mail from my friend Andrew with a link to a post from Trizoko. Here are the highlights:

Scenario: “Dude, we need to build a rockin’ beta-ready product first. Then, we’ll test it. Yay!”

The problem with waiting until your product reaches that beta stage?
Your financial risks increase exponentially in:
* Resources.
* Time.
* Morale.
* Lost opportunities.
* Cash, cash, cash.

Now, let’s say you build your beta-ready product 9 months later.
What if the market reacts negatively to that product?

The pessimistic side would tell you to give up.
The optimistic side would tell you: “Wait, that just means we have to refine the product to their needs more!”

You’re choosing the right path with that last answer. But when you do, it hits you:

“We wasted 9 months in lost resources, time, morale, lost opportunities, and cash — when we could’ve received the same frickin’ feedback 8 months earlier!”

Instead, do this:
Build something quickly that’s test-ready.
Then start testing the sucka.
Measure the results: Are they promising?
* If not, dump it — you just saved lots of resources for better innovations.
* If results however looking promising, juice up more investments into it.

Do that in a continuous cycle, and you’ll build one ridiculously awesome innovation machine.

Well, I wouldn’t use it.

When I joined my first advertising agency at the tender at of 18 I was given some great advice that has guided me through many situations in my career. It came from a seasoned copywriter named Carl. He said the definition of a professional in the advertising business is someone who can reach beyond the kinds of people they are familiar with and create ads that appeal to people that they would never normally come into contact with in their daily lives.

Carl said that when he first started out he wrote great ads for young men and lousy ads aimed at anyone else. The day he realized he’d become a good copywriter was the day he wrote a great ad aimed at teenage girls in the morning and a great one for dentures in the afternoon.

I think this is a fundamental insight into business. Just like creating ads, you become good at creating products when you can create something compelling for people who aren’t like you. I spent 4 years working as an Account Planner in London and this was something I needed to remind myself of every day. I had to stretch myself to get inside the heads of different types of people and understand how they see the world and why they make certain decisions. It’s a great exercise.

The other implication applies to when you are assessing the merits of something.

When I explain our business, GigPark, to people the first reaction I usually get is either:

1. Cool, I’d use that. I think you’ve got a great business there. Or sometimes…
2. Hmmm, I’m not sure I’d use that. I don’t think you have a business.

This is a completely natural reaction for most people. What surprises me though is how many people who’s job it is to asses the merits of a business react this way. Surely, these people would be better served by assessing which groups a product might be targeted at, understanding what motivates them and deducing how they might react. Will a person planning their wedding use the product, or a couple who have recently moved into a new neighborhood?

Having said that it is always the job of the person presenting an idea to make the audience do as little work as possible. If I’m explaining a concept and someone can’t easily understand who the product would appeal to and why, then that is my fault, not theirs. I’ll keep practicing!

Speed up your Apple Mail

I found a nice little trick for speeding up your Apple Mail application today via the 37signals blog. It worked great for me.

Note of caution: If you’ve never opened the Terminal on your Mac before this is probably worth avoiding.