Every time you go to a tech blog, visit TechCrunch or go to Twitter you'll see a barrage of stories about how someone is going to "disrupt" healthcare, or "shakeup" transportation. And then.......NOTHING! In recent years we have started to see more and more information about companies which have made huge promises but have ended… Continue reading Startup Lies Part III – “We’ve Been Mentioned In TechCrunch!!!”
Tag: Startup
Startup Lies Part II – “Work For Us, Because We Give Unlimited Vacation Time! Also, Have Some Free Pizza!”
Startups evoke images of a type of "freedom" you wouldn't otherwise experience in a normal job. There is of course a lot of truth to this. Startups allow you to tackle an overlooked or undervalued problem. It allows you to tackle the problem via unorthodox means. If you are an employee at a startup then… Continue reading Startup Lies Part II – “Work For Us, Because We Give Unlimited Vacation Time! Also, Have Some Free Pizza!”
Startup Lies Part I – “I Need Capital”
The solution to many problems, whether in life or in building a startup seems to be capital. A lack of capital, the thinking goes is the reason you don't have customers, the reason no one has heard of you, the reason you can't build a feature in your software or why you can't even start… Continue reading Startup Lies Part I – “I Need Capital”
Copying Works, Until It Doesn’t
When it comes to a lot of things, going by the status quo and not being too creative is a good thing. If you were about to have an operation and your surgeon said: "I'm feeling creative today", then you have a pretty good reason to feel quite unnerved. Copying others is a great hack… Continue reading Copying Works, Until It Doesn’t
Why Building Software / Apps Is Hard And What To Do About It
There seems to be a fundamental difference between building a physical product vs building a software solution. For example, if you were asked to design a computer mouse, then I am pretty sure that you would come up with a design that is semi-ok. You would probably know roughly how big the device should be… Continue reading Why Building Software / Apps Is Hard And What To Do About It
Disagree To Agree
You can't do it that way. You can't go straight to customers. You can't sell at that price point. You can't employ that person for this role. You can't build software in this way. The list of reasons you can't do something is endless. People have said the above objections (and a thousand others) to… Continue reading Disagree To Agree
Big & Incapable
In theory there is always a larger company / organisation out there, which has more resources, skills and sheer man power to create new and better products and services than a scrappy startup. In theory there is no reason that anyone would ever have to start a new business. In reality, for many reasons such… Continue reading Big & Incapable
Playing At The Edge
Few people realise that most medicinal breakthroughs were the result of complete luck and serendipity. Only about two HIV medications are the result of huge financial investments and research. Everything else, from antibiotics to chemotherapy treatments are a result of luck. After we discovered these drugs, we then figured out the science behind the medications… Continue reading Playing At The Edge
It’s Neither Either Nor Or
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people. It never ceases to amaze me how few people are genuinely intellectually curious about ideas. This becomes painfully obvious when you discuss startup ideas with people. Most people don't like ideas, particularly of the new variety. So they instinctively go through a list of… Continue reading It’s Neither Either Nor Or
“But It Meets Spec”
A few years ago the Ministry of Defence in the UK ordered a new radio system. This system was going to be used by services such as the army, navy and air force. All the specialists met up to debate what was required of the new system. Everyone put their opinions forward in heated debates… Continue reading “But It Meets Spec”
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