Outsource Brad

I started a new blog a few weeks ago. It still needs work (as usual), but its a way of hedging my entrepreneur bet a little bit.

Outsource Brad

I don't have the time to keep it "alive" right now. But I figured I'd get it up and out there earlier so it will be indexed by web crawlers (and on my way to building my SEO). The plan is to dedicate a few hours to it every week once I graduate.

It's an interesting proposition. I've never written a "professional blog" for "work". And as many of you know, it does take real dedication to keep writing and writing. The majority of blogs out there become "stale" after the first few posts.

not reflection of my opinion

i just find the expression hilarious

Neon Trees - Habits

this is all we need in the future

1. Smartphone

2. Tablet

3. Cloud Computing

Interesting Online Business Models of 2010

1. Woot - This online retailer takes the unique approach of only selling a single product each day. Around each daily product is a dedicated conversation stream, live commentary and a detailed description. By focusing on a single product, not only do they add a layer of conversation and description to the product, but they also give their users the perception that each daily deal is special and only available for a limited time. This focus allows them to add urgency to their site and convert browsers to buyers quickly. While you may not be able to convert your entire business to just selling one product at a time, this model may be the next evolution of the long-standing "deal of the day" model that many businesses have used at one time or another in the past.

2. Groupon - How much would you lower your standard prices if I could guarantee you 100 customers? Or how about 1,000? The premise behind Groupon is to offer customers "collective buying power" - which essentially means that you can offer a great deal and it will only kick in if a set number of consumers take you up on it. Go on the site and you will see deals sorted by region and many of them have been redeemed by thousands of people. What Groupon shows you is that sometimes you CAN actually count on volume to compensate for lowering your prices. The nicest thing about the site is that instead of trying to recreate this model on your own site, you can add a special offer for your business to Groupon.

3. Hotwire - By now most people are familiar with the new auction based pricing model that Priceline introduced into the travel industry. Letting consumers set the price for what they are willing to pay was a revolution in the travel industry at the time when Priceline was introduced. Hotwire used the slightly adapted model of offering exact prices, but not letting you know the details of what you booked until after you pay. If you have your own eretail site, this model can be a good way to get rid of excess inventory in a different and more fun way.

4. Blippy - If you don't live your life in social media, the idea behind Blippy will likely confuse you. It is a social site that lets people automatically share the latest things they have purchased (and how much they paid for them) by linking the site to a single credit card. This level of transparency and sharing may seem crazy to many people, but the site represents a social experiment that points to an interesting opportunity for businesses whose customers may be used to sharing every small detail of their lives. It may be an outlier in this list of business models as they admittedly don’t have a revenue model for the site as yet – but the shift in what people are willing to share online is the real trend worth watching.

5. Dubli - This site offers some of the most creative pricing models you can find online - and models that have not yet been duplicated across many others sites. The first is what they call a "reverse auction" where products have a starting price and you use credits that you purchase on the site to reveal the current price. Each time a member of the site uses a credit to reveal the price, the price goes lower until someone decides to make the purchase. The second model is based on a "unique price auction" which means you need to have the lowest bid that no one else chooses to have in order to win.

- Rohit Bhargava. Author, Influential Marketing

interesting movie trailers

Data Mining Using Google

If you are familiar with Google Spreadsheets, try to create a sheet that lets you enter a query like "My IQ is X", a variable name and the values for that variable. The result should be a graph that shows the number of Google search results for each instance of your query. Use importXML and an XPath expression to find the number of Google search results: "//p[@id='resultStats']/b[3]". Here's an example.

Google

i bought an iPad

if i launched a startup

Incorporation

(1) Entity Choice: Corporation or Corporation
(2) State of Incorporation: Delaware
(3) Authorized Shares in Charter: 10,000,000 Shares
(4) Type of Shares: Common Stock
(5) Par Value of Common: $0.0001
(6) Initial Founders Issuance: 8,000,000 Shares
(7) Founders Equity Split: Depends on the Team, But Quickly and After the Awkward & Difficult Conversations
(8) Vest Founders Shares?: Hell Yes
(9) Vesting Schedule for Founders Shares: 4 years with a One Year Cliff
(10) Consideration for Founders Shares: Cash & IP
(11) Handling of “Lost Founders”: Lock Down the IP (then Wish Them Well)

Raising Capital

(1) Length of NDA: 0 pages
(2) Fees Paid to Pitch my Startup: $0
(3) Investors: Accredited Investors
(4) Structure of First Capital Raise up to $1MM: Convertible Notes

from the startuplawyer.com

Spring break in NYC

Lately, I find myself romanticizing a normal life.

I think its another sign of burning out. Sure, spring break has already started here, but its not much of a break when you've got enough work to fill up the time (and not enough peace to say F it).



I love NYC when its warm. It always reminds me of the time when Chuck, Leo, and I were hanging out at the park in the lower east side on that 2004 Sunday afternoon.

Did I say spring is finally here?!

more lyrics

i've written this song so many times
it never seems to be perfect
i think i finally understand why
there are too many places to be
too many places to see
maybe its just me, its you baby my dear

but only time can tell
if i'll ever finish writing this song
then its a different story
the slow dances are swell
ha! i'll never finish this song
i'll paint you the moments we know
you can tell me what you see
listen to our lifetime dear

maybe thats why it matters to try
I'm not interested in fate
Its a winded race I've tried to say bye
So this is my part so easily in heart

so what do you say now?
so what do you say now?
so what do you say now?

Predictably Irrational - Dan Ariely

I should have read this 3-4 years ago. Maybe I'm just similarly whimsical, but Dan Ariely wrote a book about the stuff that goes on in my head everyday. In fact, friends have told me in the past I am silly for complaining about our norms and being so rational. So here you go, I'm not half crazy after all.



This is a great book for game designers and marketers alike.

the flooring that comes along with the display

Lesson Learned

HBS professor, Clayton Christensen, of the best seller "the innovators dilemma" has been lecturing at Sloan over the past few weeks.

Last night, he imparted with wisdom any of us could learn from. He advised all of us to stick to our beliefs and the promises we make to ourselves. He says discipline is a major factor setting apart those of ultimate success from those who live with emerging difficulties in life.

Its interesting how the most successful people of the world (bill gates, warren buffet, and clayton) hold such strong beliefs over their character and morality. I feel their financial or social success is just a consequence of their principles.

I think Clayton's lesson couldn't be at a better time. I have the tendency to drive myself to the wall when it comes to work. I've decided to mandate a day off each week to non-work related activities on my next startup.

Gorillaz - Plastic Beach

features guests Snoop Dogg, Kano, Mos Def, De La Soul, Gruff Rhys, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, The Fall's Mark E. Smith, Little Dragon, Lou Reed, Bobby Womack, The Clash's Mick Jones, and Paul Simonon. No need to say more.

broken bells

is DJ Danger Mouse in collaboration with the Shins frontman James Mercer. I can't vouch for it yet...but am definitely on it when it releases next week.

the state of the internet