When I was starting my second company, Sparkbuy, I was fortunate to meet a host of terrific technologists while shopping for a CTO. One of them was a brilliant guy named Adam Doppelt, one of the three co-founders of Urbanspoon. Adam told me that Urbanspoon never had a traditional CEO. They hadn’t raised money and … Continue reading “Playing the CEO Card”
Author: Dan Shapiro
Dan is the CEO of Robot Turtles, a board game that teaches children programming. He previously worked at Google, which acquired his company, Sparkbuy. Before that, he was the co-founder and former CEO of Ontela (now Photobucket), a Seattle-based mobile software company. Prior to founding Ontela, Dan managed development of the RealArcade service at RealNetworks, enabling thousands of end-users to play classic games such as Monopoly, Scrabble, and Rollercoaster Tycoon on their desktops. He arrived at RealNetworks by way of Wildseed, where he managed software development for the Identity Cellular Phone, from the modem to the Linux platform to the user interface.
Dan started his career at Microsoft, where he was responsible for Windows XP user interface components, the critically acclaimed Windows PowerToys, Windows 2000 Storage Management, and consumer storage in Windows 98. He received a B.S. in Engineering from Harvey Mudd College. Dan loves unusual cuisines and blogs about his woodworking foibles at www.nothingseveredyet.com.
Vesting Is a Hack
Vesting in general (and founder vesting in particular) is an oft-misunderstood tool that has a tendency to really screw up young companies. There are some deep misconceptions at work here that often cause founders all sorts of grief. Most of it comes from the simple fact that stock grants are, at their heart, a crude … Continue reading “Vesting Is a Hack”
Don’t Ask for Introductions to Investors
Raising money is hard, and there’s no way to screw it up faster than going around asking, “Hey, could you introduce me to some investors?” It’s sort of like when, on the second day of school, a goofy freshman asked me if I could introduce him to any girls. Reason 1: Not every investor is … Continue reading “Don’t Ask for Introductions to Investors”
Open Letter to Mike Arrington: Please Stop Investing in Startups
Hi Mike, I’m one of your customers. We don’t really know each other. We’ve chatted at a few events, you’ve covered some of my antics, but I’m mostly just a guy who reads TechCrunch a lot. I find it’s a pretty good place to see what’s important in the industry. And you and your team … Continue reading “Open Letter to Mike Arrington: Please Stop Investing in Startups”
What You Probably Don’t Know About Non Disclosure Agreements
There is no love like a first time entrepreneur’s love with nondisclosure agreements. They are a romantic dream: secret pacts bonding two economic entities together as one, if only for the transaction. Promises of futures together and sweet nothings exchanged. Now let’s talk reality. First… NDAs don’t stop leaks. Theoretically, a nondisclosure agreement commits the … Continue reading “What You Probably Don’t Know About Non Disclosure Agreements”
Intel and the Three Ds of the App Store Business
Where are app stores going next? For the past few years, the app store model has spread through the wireless ecosystem like wildfire. There have been a few big winners and lots of…well, losers is probably too strong, but let’s say there are a lot of app stores that have yet to reach critical mass. … Continue reading “Intel and the Three Ds of the App Store Business”
Your Company Culture Is a Meaningless Platitude
In this envelope, I have your Company Culture. “We work hard, but value work/life balance. We’re a team culture and we believe in individual empowerment. We give back to the community, and have strong ethics. We hire only the best people, support diversity, and promote growth and leadership in our employee ranks. And more than … Continue reading “Your Company Culture Is a Meaningless Platitude”
Mobile Trends: The Cell Phone Body Count
You may not realize it, but your mobile phone is a cold-blooded killer. Its assault began with little fanfare—the first victim, the phone booth, wasn’t particularly well-loved, and nobody was expecting a complete extermination. Yet here we stand in a world where Clark Kent couldn’t find a place to pull on his Supersuit if the … Continue reading “Mobile Trends: The Cell Phone Body Count”