Business
Company culture, hiring, management, and growing a services business.
Reevaluating the Handshake
Looks at the popular notion of giving a proper handshake and examines an experience with an alternative way that conveys sincerity instead of dominance.
Building a Strong Company Culture
Netflix describes their current approach to company culture.
Growing a Small Business, One Person at a Time
A recent discussion at Phoenix OpenCoffee Club Meetup revolved around concerns and tips when growing a small business.
Flatterline: New Beginnings
Leaving my employer to co-found a Phoenix web development company focused on startups
CollabLab: Coworking in North Phoenix
A new coworking space opens in North Phoenix for entrepreneurs of all kinds
Freebootr update
Freebootr hits 23,000 listings across 17 states and gets a Phoenix Business Journal write-up
An Experiment in Remote Pairing
Using iChat video and screen sharing on Mac to pair program from home
Integrum and me
How I left a stable defense job, taught myself Rails, and found a home at Integrum Technologies
Meeting the Users
Spending a day observing users in their environment and discovering needs we never anticipated
A Shady Business
Questioning the secrecy around pay rates and the practices of staffing firms
Business Culture
Why strong company culture matters and what happens when bureaucracy and politics fill the void
Contracting
Starting a new Rails contract and navigating the tension between agile ideals and entrenched processes
Contracting
Finishing my first contract project and discovering Ruby on Rails testing along the way
Vision
How software engineering training shaped my thinking about product vision and company values
Investment
Three months of progress on the startup, and now it's time to seriously pursue venture capital
Attracting Users
Thinking through how to grow a user base when targeting a specific niche market of 30 million people
Absolutes
Why removing words like never, always, and impossible from your vocabulary can change your mindset
Discrimination Based on Appearance
Why workplace discrimination over tattoos, piercings, and hairstyles is wrong
Life outside the Valley
You don't need to be in Silicon Valley to build a successful tech startup
Second Draft of Executive Summary
Lessons learned from refining a startup executive summary using Garage Technology Ventures resources