by james
on February 17, 2012
in Building Stuff, Entrepreneurship, Lean, Tools
I am using (and highly recommend) a great tool for performing usability testing — UsabilityHub.com. It enables three (3) types of usability tests: Sign up is free and you can even earn test karma by performing test for others. We’re using it extensively at Cospace, GroupCharger, [...]
by james
on January 15, 2012
in Building Stuff, Education, Entrepreneurship, People
If you don’t think things are changing – FAST! – in education take a look at TeamTreehouse, Skillshare, OpenStudy, and a host of other social-infused education startups. We have a couple brewing ourselves at Cospace that you’ll see more of 2012. It makes you wonder what higher education is thinking (or not rethinking) right now: “Many [...]
by james
on January 5, 2012
in Building Stuff, Education, Entrepreneurship, Life, People
This is such a powerful story from Cameron Herold, a lifelong entrepreneur from a family of entrepreneurs. Regardless of what you do for a living (and we’re all different from head to toe), stop trying to fit your round self into that square peg. Figure out what motivates you, what you’re made of, what you [...]
by james
on August 13, 2011
in Building Stuff, People
Been busy all summer @CapitalFactory building our company @GroupCharger Inc and products like @AlumniCharger and (soon) @CampaignCharger. Also, I’ve continued to speak and publish about lean business building @Worksody and @Cospace.
by james
on March 2, 2011
in Building Stuff, Experiences, Tools
In this case, the pebble is learning and the grasshopper is you/me, the entrepreneur. There is nothing more important to an early-stage company/entrepreneur than learning. Learning about the market, learning about the customer, and ultimately, learning about whether you have a problem worth solving. All before you build anything! The key questions are: a) speed [...]
by james
on February 13, 2011
in Building Stuff, People, Tools
My business partner, Kirtus Dixon, and I have launched our own unique approach to startups and building businesses. It’s called Worksody (Worksody.com) and it is focused on solving the #1 problem of entrepreneurs: running out of resources before achieving cash flows, growth and sustainability. Worksody combines the efficiency of lean development professed by Eric Ries, [...]
by james
on December 30, 2010
in Building Stuff, Lean, People, Tools
“Lean on me” is more than a great song, it’s my own realization that lean product development / lean startups / customer development is the only way to build great software and great companies today. Some upfront disclosure:
by james
on March 29, 2010
in Building Stuff, Entrepreneurship, Tools
Starting a company is one of the all-time thrills you can have in your life. Nothing beats following your dream and making it happen. But wait… DON’T get ahead of yourself. You have to have a lot more going for you than just your idea, timing, luck, skills, cash, customers, and on and on. You [...]
by james
on March 23, 2010
in Building Stuff, Entrepreneurship, Tools
What?! What’s a cap table? Well, as the old basketball saying goes, “If you don’t know, you’d better ask somebody.” It’s VERY important to have one of the key assets of your business — the stock of your company — under control from day one. When you are bootstrapping, stock can be a key to [...]
by james
on October 22, 2009
in Building Stuff, Education, Entrepreneurship, Life, People, Tools
Here is my response to the CNN Money article that was sent to me from a business networking group on LinkedIn: Where are the %&@*!# jobs? Small business and entrepreneurship are the best bet. Because we have lost so many jobs for so long and the only sectors with any kind of job volume are [...]