We had a nice ribbon cutting this week at Dwolla and during the event I received a question that surprised me a little bit. While I'll get the exact words wrong, the gist of it was: Doesn't it bother you that Apple talks about 50 jobs and they get $200 million in incentives. But you… Continue reading Incentive Inequality
Out of sight & out of mind. The no-coast startup.
When talking to local entrepreneurs, my feedback is always different than talking to people who live on the coasts. The coasts, for reference are really US West & US East. More and more the coast type feedback could also apply to those in Boulder. I'm going to start saying no-coast instead of the midwest because… Continue reading Out of sight & out of mind. The no-coast startup.
The One Page Term Sheet
Raising capital is harder than it should be in emerging startup communities largely in part to a lack of established processes and shared terms. Everything is new and that's not really a good thing when it comes to term sheets and deal terms. I've suggested the idea multiple times that communities could have a community… Continue reading The One Page Term Sheet
Great Lawyering
It's hard to be a great lawyer. It's often thought generically that engineers manage code and lawyers manage words. The complexity of words is quite difficult to grasp especially when testing ones work is subject to interpretation and emotions. Great lawyers and great engineers appear to share some traits, they speak and act with specificity.… Continue reading Great Lawyering
Why do well educated young people leave Iowa?
In a Technology Association of Iowa board meeting many weeks ago, the topic of talent emerged. I always think this is an interesting topic. The specific discussion led to, "why do students leave Iowa who study here?" The outcome of the TAI board meeting was to come up with something to present that covered: How… Continue reading Why do well educated young people leave Iowa?
Inclusion & Influence
The Dwolla team just finish a meaningful design update. There are some influences under the hood I know that won't get covered in other ways and it inspired me to write about them. The pride flag I work at a place that strives to not only walk the walk but not hide from our position… Continue reading Inclusion & Influence
Building leadership teams
I’ve been fortunate to work with and learn from some talented leaders. Dwolla is hiring a VP of Sales which got me into a long conversation about this topic with Jenna Hogan, who runs talent at Dwolla. We were talking about some shared positive traits in leaders and I thought it would make for an… Continue reading Building leadership teams
Thoughts on automation
Like most people who will read this I spend a lot of time with startups. Something startups tend to agonize over is what to do vs. what not to do. They also further analyze those decisions by considering what will scale versus what won't. Multiple times a week I hear “that won’t scale, we shouldn’t do/be… Continue reading Thoughts on automation
The relationship between Ames and Des Moines
Ames and Des Moines have developed a symbiotic relationship. I think a lot of entrepreneurs feel it's a odd relationship but aren't sure why. For reasons unbeknownst to us the technology communities haven't historically collaborated well but that's changing. I was thinking recently about why the connection between the two cities feels so important and… Continue reading The relationship between Ames and Des Moines
Where to invest the time?
There's this great saying about giving first, giving often and giving with no expectation of getting anything in return. Brad and the Techstars teams have done a tremendous job of evangelizing this around the world. While I agree with all of this I've struggled a lot with how to have confidence that I'm giving to… Continue reading Where to invest the time?