In a recent episode of Unthinkable, Jay Acunzo and Andrew Davis have a conversation about the show’s evolution. Jay mentions that he has an “aspirational anchor” – that he wants to become the Anthony Bourdain of the business content world. During the call, they discuss how they could make the next episode more Anthony Bourdain-like.…
The Blog
My Key Focus Areas for 2017
I recently heard a Paul Levesque quote about the differences between dreams and goals. “A dream is something you fantasize about that will probably never happen. A goal is something you set a plan for, work toward, and achieve”. With that being said, there are a few parts of my life I want to improve upon this…
Tiptoeing my way into the world of sales
I mentioned cold emailing yesterday, but I never discussed the why. In the past year, I decided to focus on business opportunities selling software to businesses. After some exploring, I found something in the area of outbound sales that I thought I could compete in. I decided to build an application that helps to guess…
Sending Cold Emails is Scary
I originally didn’t want to write this because I don’t have any solutions or advice. I’m still not sure of the solution or the forces at work, I just know how I currently feel. Today, after work, my todo list consisted of two things – sending two cold emails. I was able to send one,…
Second Degree Brunches – A Better Way of Networking
How I met Stephen Messer It was the Summer of 2010 and I was on cloud 9 after presenting at the very first Techcrunch Disrupt Hackathon in New York City. As I was leaving the podium and going back to my seat, a man ran down the aisle and introduced himself to me. He said…
It’s Better If Your MVP Looks Like Crap
The worst something looks, the better the feedback people will give. Don’t spend time polishing the design of your minimum viable product. It could hurt the quality of feedback you get. This was my main takeaway when I read a quote from Chris Thoen, managing director of Global Open Innovation at Procter & Gamble. At the…
Taking My Talents To Fort Point
I recently made a decision – I’m taking my talents to Fort Point to join the CoachUp team! Four years ago, I worked on a web application with Jordan Fliegel, Arian Radmand, and Gabe Durazo. This web application was CoachUp.com. After I left the company, Jordan, Arian, and Gabe imposed their will on the startup…
Two Weird Characters You’ll See in Ruby Methods
If you’re new to ruby, you’ll occasionally come across ampersands (&) and asterisks (*) in methods. I was confused by this at first. I learned what they mean after a little digging. In the examples I use below ——> means “returns” – as in, whatever is typed in front of ——> will return what is typed to…
Path To Becoming a Better Programmer
I’ve had a craftsman awakening over the last few weeks. After reading So Good They Can’t Ignore You, Quitter, Deep Work, and Extreme Ownership, I realized the only way I’m going to accomplish my goals is by focusing on my craft and that getting better is my responsibility and no one else’s. Here’s my current…
100 Friggen’ Dollars – The Story of My First Company
It was 104 degrees fahrenheit and I was sprawled in the back of a minivan. I was sweating profusely as the windows made it even hotter in this colossal vehicle. I pulled out a french fry from under the seat. It must have been there for over a year. I felt gross, and hot, and…