Running a Startup? You”re standing on the shoulders of giants.

Categories essays, startups
I was having a conversation with my father the other day about the opportunities that advances in science and technology have created for the future-minded and tech-savvy in my generation. He''s a physicist by calling, so it shouldn''t have been a surprise, given the context, when he quoted the founder of classical physics, Sir Isaac Newton: If I have seen further it is only by standing on the Read the article >>

Navigate the developer/businessperson language-barrier

Categories technology
One of the most challenging, and conversely, rewarding areas of software development is managing the relationship between you and your business partners. As a developer, you speak the language of systems. You walk in the specific and precise languages of database, of code, of specifications. Your primary currencies are exact specifications and knowledge. Your job is to translate requirements into Read the article >>

An Email Bill of Rights for WebServices Users

Categories startups, technology
The are a few email faux paux''s I see which regularly find their way into my inbox. Chief among them is the block of fine print below: Please do not reply to this email. Replies to this email will not be responded to or read. To contact us, jump through hoop x, y, or z. Let me get this straight: You expect me to read your email, but you will not read mine if I reply? Morever, you expect me to hunt Read the article >>

Music and Coding

Categories art, essays, music
I love coding.  I love music and coding. My ideal day in the office is one with a long to-do list and a clear calendar. One of my favorite ways to block out background noise is to put on a set of headphones and fire up iTunes, Spotify, Pandora, or Grooveshark. I''ve long wondered why the two activities fit so well together. The music I''m listening to can impact my energy level, level of focus, Read the article >>

PHP Performance Hack – Throttling During Load Issues

Categories engineering
I''ve had some performance issues lately with the server buckling under the pressure of a high peak user load . Other times, I''ve had issues with process intensive tasks that kept recursively spawning more instances of themelves. Creating performance intensive scripts require a good amount of design & architecture forethought, and sometimes you can''t always foresee the ways things could go Read the article >>

Recommended Tool: RescueTime Time Management Software

Categories protips, technology, tools
I love tools that help me be more productive or more self aware (especially where Time Management is concerned). What it is. (from Rescuetime.com): Personal time management software. Get the focus you need to get things done! Features. (also from Rescuetime.com): - Automagical app & site tracking (with no data entry!) - Beautiful time & attention reports for managers only - goals, alerts, Read the article >>

Follow your vision. Follow your analytics

Categories technology
Jeff Widman, an old friend from Techstars ''08 writes about his analytics vision: If you heavily rely on analytics, you might miss breakthroughs because you‚Äôre so stuck on gradually evolving‚Ķ how do you balance learning from feedback loops and simply taking a leap with your gut? My 2 cents: If you''re tracking the right metrics, and view those analytics as the validation part of Read the article >>

Be a digital boyscout: What my laptop backpack looks like

Categories protips, startups, technology
One of the biggest distinctions between my previous corporate job and my role in a startup has been the lack of support and gear immediately available to me in the later. To compensate, I must be carry a hefty laptop backpack with lots of goodies. I carry around a good deal of gear with me in my travel bag. Here''s my gear list: Macbook Pro   DVI & VGA Adapters (for presentations)     Extra Read the article >>

Build for Scalability, but beware of Premature Optimization

Categories technology
-- This post is part of a series of ongoing tips on lessons learned & experiences I''ve had as the lead developer of the online dating startup, at Ignighter.com. Though these tips are focused primary at consumer startups, they ring true elsewhere too. For a full list of these tips, see 10 things I''d wish I''d known as a lead developer at Techstars. -- I spend a lot of time worrying about Read the article >>

Eliminate Inefficiency with Automation

Categories technology
-- This post is part of a series of ongoing tips on lessons learned & experiences I''ve had as the lead developer of the online dating startup, at Ignighter.com. Though these tips are focused primary at consumer startups, they ring true elsewhere too. For a full list of these tips, see 10 things I''d wish I''d known as a lead developer at Techstars. -- I spend a lot of time building and reading Read the article >>