Startups are consistently urged to blog, to the point that the advice starts sounding like a Portlandia sketch, but saying “Put a blog on it!” isn’t as simple as it sounds. Producing a great startup blog requires a lot of hard work and time, so it shouldn’t be something you take on just to check […]

I just got back from a Latin American adventure. On our first night in Panama, my colleague and I went out to a nice dinner and ended up seated next to a diplomat. When asked, I told him what I do for a living, and he said, “Well, how entrepreneurial of you!” My body tensed. I […]

So you’ve heard that your business would benefit from having a social presence online, but you just don’t know where to begin. Or perhaps you’ve set up your networks, but you’re not sure if you’re doing it ‘right.’ Sometimes the thought of managing social media for your brand can seem daunting and overwhelming. Don’t worry. […]

It seems like everyone today is on Kickstarter. The funding platform is reported to have more than 56,000 projects and more than 5.6 million backers on the site. So if you’re thinking of creating a campaign on Kickstarter, you’ll be entering a crowded territory. So how do you set yourself apart?  Kickstarter suggests that a […]

Self Sustaining Business Model Creating a self-sustaining business – it seems too good to be true, right? Not quite. As a founder of a nonprofit sustainability initiative called the Business Leaders in Action for Sustainability Today! (BLAST!), I’ve found some pretty intriguing ways for entrepreneurs and seasoned professionals alike to create businesses that reduce, reuse, and […]

How do you hack offline as rapidly and as effectively as you hack online? Web startups can iterate a product and get it back on the market in a matter of seconds. But as product companies, we’re faced with manufacturing lead times that create a much longer development cycle. Luckily, Ministry of Supply’s co-founders also […]

Are geeks innately cranky? Many have pontificated on the cultural difference between technical and non-technical folks but where does it come from? Could it come from the overly specific word choices, which pass for sarcasm in the scientific community? Could it come from social conventions such as the ritualized kvetch of like-minded professionals? Here are […]

When was the last time your inbox was empty? Sometimes I feel as if I spend the entire day just answering emails, without ever finding the time to get to more important projects and tasks. When it comes to email, there’s an inherent pressure and urgency to the task. It’s easy to feel as if […]