- 3 min
Hire for Hunger
Everyone has that smart and talented friend who can achieve absolutely nothing. It’s the friend who was born with all the right traits...
- 2 min
Endure or Quit? That is the Question
Tim Leatherman – the creator of the Leatherman multitool – endured for 7 long years before making his first $175 sale of a single...
- 2 min
Shaping Past Memories
On Seinfeld, whenever George Costanza managed to pull a funny joke he would leave the room immediately. George knew that people would...
- 5 min
The Bizarre World of Startup Ideas
Stuff that most people get mostly wrong about startup ideas, brought to you in a bizarre Q&A format. What’s the #1 thing people get wrong...
- 3 min
A Final Note from UrbanLeap
Below is the note my co-founder Arik and I sent to our employees, investors, advisors, mentors, and customers the day we shut down our...
- 1 min
Nothing Else Matters
Some things become the most important thing only when missing. If you don't build it then nothing else matters. If it has no value then...
- 3 min
When Customers Don’t Get It
When one of the best violinists in the world wears dirty clothes and plays in a DC subway station nobody stops to listen. In the fancy...
- 2 min
Work-Life Imbalance
John Coltrane was the greatest saxophone player of all time. His friends recount him practicing the sax for 12 hours a day. His wife...
- 3 min
Missing the Forest for the Code
As a company evolves its engineers tend to devolve into code monkeys. A code monkey is not an actual monkey, it’s an engineer who sees...
- 2 min
The Shawarma Method
Dan Ariely changed the way I think by making behavior economics accessible to all. One day, I found Dan’s email online, crafted a...
- 2 min
Killer Startup Instincts
A stranger comes out of nowhere and physically attacks your child. What do you do? Here’s what you don’t do: you don’t ponder the...
- 5 min
What Blogging Taught Me About Building Products
Startups are cool. Blogs? not so much. But blogs capture the essence of startups: create something that people want, find them, attract...
- 5 min
Respect the System to Change the System
Some startups do 100x times better than yours, yet their idea, execution, and people are remarkably average. Why is that? A big part of...
- 3 min
Promoting Fast and Slow
Some flowers require a perfectly comfortable environment to thrive, others will only grow strong in harsh environments. Employees are...
- 4 min
Build the Scary Stuff First
Fear is a reaction. Courage is a decision. – Winston Churchill Every great product leader I have worked with is fearless. Whether it’s a...
- 2 min
Back to Basics
Every so often your startup will grab you by the throat and drag you into a tough, complex, or plainly weird corner. When that happens I...
- 4 min
Inside Facebook’s War Room
No one can guarantee success in war, but only deserve it. – Winston Churchill It’s a Monday during spring 2016. My team at Facebook walks...
- 2 min
Unleash Your Gratitude
What impact does a genuine demonstration of appreciation have on another person? I learned the answer when one of the best people I ever...
- 2 min
Feel-Good Traps
How do the following statements make you feel? “This feature adds value.” “We are constantly improving.” “I am learning new things.” “Our...
- 3 min
Raise Your Head Before You’re Dead
“We waste years because we cannot waste hours.” – Shane Parrish Every founder of every startup that ever got anywhere is first and...
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