I started off my career as a software developer, my main measurement of output being the product of hours in a text editor. Even as I took on management and leadership roles in the early years, writing code was still a substantial portion of my day. But as Contactually took off, I needed to have […]
Most every founder keeps the exit scenarios and potential windfall tumbling around in the back of their minds during the journey of building and scaling a venture. The volume increases as possibilities (real or not) present themselves – a competitor gets acquired, meeting with a corporate development arm, random neurons firing, etc. I was fortunate […]
Thursday nights are usually my most stressful, as I’m dreading my call the next morning. I was recently talking to a friend of mine, a coach to some of the top professionals in their field. He noted that most of his job is about holding an individual accountable to their own expectations. I’ve long felt […]
We built Contactually initially to solve a relatively simple problem. While it’s, for many, an important aspect of growing their business and career – keeping track of and staying in touch with key relationships is not an easy task. We were fortunate to yield significant results there, measured not only in the user testimonials about […]
Building on The Age of Belonging David Brooks called it out as clearly as I’ve seen it – “the rampant individualism of our current culture is a catastrophe.” A catastrophe is a powerful word – conjuring images of a town in the American heartland, completely shredded in the aftermath of a tornado. Except the damage […]
I’ve recently been experimenting with the Zettelkasten method for organizing information gleaned from reading and other content I consume. I’m still getting the hang of it, but, boiled down to its essence, the general process is: Quickly capture any raw clippings that stand out to you (a quote, passage, etc) in an inbox. Process your […]
“Well, Gentlemen, there’s only two ways I know of to make money: bundling and unbundling…” – Jim Barksdale, Netscape CEO If we were to rewind back a handful of generations, to our grandparents or great grandparents, they could look to single sources – namely religion, career, or geography – to form the container for their […]
Building on my last post, merging our team and culture into another’s has served as a contrasting agent, gifting the ability to understand more intentional culture design. Beyond ownership, one core value I hold near and dear to my heart is transparency. I’ve long held the belief that it’s not just better (on a variety […]
One of the unexpected gifts of selling Contactually has been the opportunity to have an outsiders’ view of the culture we created. While much of our team and what we valued has remained through the acquisition, the acclimation to a new set of cultural tenets and associated rituals has served as a contrasting agent. What […]
[This is a meta post, summing up a plethora of research I’ve been doing to form this thesis. The thinking, therefore, represents larger trends and not any one article I can link to. I plan on publishing as many resources as possible in the near future, as soon as it’s not a 50 page Notion […]
Imagine if you were known for the worst thing you’ve ever done. Normally I have a half-decent idea on how to capture and share an experience. But walking through the prison yard on our way back to the creature comfort-laden world we’re used to, the sole topic was our inability to properly communicate the preceding […]
This past February marked one year post-acquisition, which serves as an important milestone for all involved – legally and culturally. Once the acquisition closed, our minds were set on one singular goal – be a successful acquisition. With the failure rate of M&A being, shockingly, somewhere between 70-90%, we were determined to be in the […]
This is not medical advice. As always, YMMV, consult with a health professional, and take care of yourself. I woke up on January 1st, 2019 with a very different feeling than I had on previous New Years’ Day. While I’m normally a sucker for the “fresh slate” opportunity that a new calendar year often elicits, […]
Since the beginning of my career, I’ve been reliant on paper pads to track my daily to-dos. I quickly settled a pretty consistent process. Using the same 5×8 narrow-ruled notepad, I’d start off each day with a fresh page and list of what I needed to do that day – copying over uncompleted tasks from […]
If I’m asked to provide my input on a topic a number of times, that serves as a signal that it’s probably worth writing about. I’m continually asked by other founders what my experience with ______ accelerator/incubator, and what my opinion on their value in general. In case you aren’t familiar with the space – […]
The best way I learn is by doing the work. To that end, doing a look-back on experience is the best way to capture learnings for future use. I’ve long framed the journey with Contactually as business school – to that end, following the acquisition, the post-mortem on 7.5 years was almost sacred to me. […]
“True friends are not mirrors where we can always see ourselves reflected in a positive light.” – Shannon L. Alder It’s interesting to watch the meteoric rise of social media over the past ~15 years, serve as witness to the negative consequences of society’s intoxication with the current instances, and stand here in 2019 at […]
Founders rely heavily on mentorship from others in getting off the ground, and are best served by talking to others who are or have tried. In our case, we continually encountered predecessors who held bitter views towards the personal/relationship oriented CRM. As most companies had failed, most founders held the personal belief that it will […]
I was a LEGO kid growing up (and am not ashamed to admit that I’m eager for my kids to reach the age where a LEGO room in the house becomes socially acceptable). It was natural for me then, as it is now, to start building with a clear idea of what I wanted the […]
An early-stage venture is rife with problems, and is, almost by definition, in a perpetual state of brokenness. There are team members you’re not wild about, and others who hold so much promise but aren’t performing to their potential. Your app is buggy, and, despite a continued focus on quality, new defects still surface. You […]