31
No, I’ll tell you the answer
Beware of advice that tries to change who you are. True wisdom guides you to a better version of yourself.
Jason Cohen (A Smart Bear)
In 2022 I started writing some longer articles as well as new blog posts. Because I wanted a new format, with more fine-tuning, special control over image processing, and a print-specific PDF, I created a new website: https://longform.asmartbear.com/ Please join me there!
- Popular posts
- 49
- Total points
- 7,522
- HN comments
- 2,370
- Rank
- #123 personal
Visit blog.asmartbear.com → RSS feedOn Hacker News Dec 2008 – Dec 2017
Tech Industry & Business 38Startups 27Career & Management 15Life, Learning & Writing 7Tools & Productivity 3Society, Policy & Culture 3
32
Don't become an expert
Tired of being told you need "10,000 hours" before you can call yourself an "expert," and maybe become a "success?" Maybe you don't.
33
“She doesn’t deserve to be alive”
What is success? When do you reach it? Is life different? Are you happy? And if it's not the shining golden star that it ought to be, is it still worth it?
34
Employed with a side of startup
Starting a side gig during your 9-to-5: Avoid legal issues and maximize success.
35
Your idea sucks, now go do it anyway
Your idea probably sucks, and it doesn't matter because your business will probably turn out to be something completely different.
36
Which is better: Many customers at low price-point or few at high price?
If two companies have the same revenue, one from a few large customers and the other from many little customers, which is better? Which would you rather build?
37
Brittleness comes from “One Thing”
Brittleness is when the company fails because just one component breaks. Learn some strategies for fixing Brittle Points.
38
The right way to position against competition
Most startup founders either claim there is no competition (because they're soooo unique) or define themselves as a combination of the best traits of their competitors. Neither is a good strategy; here's what to do instead.
39
Not disruptive, and proud of it
I remember "disruptive" when it was called a "paradigm shift." You should be worrying more about making something people want to buy, and less about disrupting everything.
40
Build your own Startup Death Clock
Here's a simple, powerful trick for focussing your mind on one of the most important things about your startup: The date that you run out of money.
41
Starting a business isn't as crazy and risky as they say
If you're thinking about starting a new venture right now, you need to understand the risks, but you need the real risks. The truth (as always) lies between baseless off-hand remarks about how "95% of businesses fail" (false!) and those startup blogs that show only the rosy side of things.
42
How to determine if your A/B test is statistically significant
A/B testing tools often lie about whether something is "statistically significant." Here's an extremely simple, mathematically sound formula to compute it for yourself.
43
How to pick a company name
Every founder struggles to find a great name for her company; I sure did! In some ways it's important to pick a good name, but in my experience a lot of it isn't as important as some people would have you believe.
44
Too small to fail: How startups can grow in recessions
These two little startups are exploding in sales, even in recession. Here's how they're doing it, and how you can too.
45
How a startup should leverage a personal assistant
People are shocked when they hear I've been able to pull off the use of virtual assistants in startups, and excited at the thought that they might be able to do the same. The conversation almost always turns to questions about where to find virtual assistants and how a startup can use one.
46
Starting a business isn't as crazy and risky as they say
If you're thinking about starting a new venture right now, you need to understand the risks, but you need the real risks. The truth (as always) lies between baseless off-hand remarks about how "95% of businesses fail" (false!) and those startup blogs that show only the rosy side of things.
47
Underbelly: What haughty startup bloggers don't tell you
Can you imagine we confident bloggers fretting, wringing hands, wondering how we're going to make payroll, second-guessing our choices, wondering if maybe we should have added some feature, or frightened that a price-change could completely destroy the revenue stream? Well that's it. I'm coming out of the closet. It's…
48
Sacrifice your health for your startup
Maximizing your chance for success means sacrificing health and family. This sounds controversial, but it's not just me.
49
Find what's blocking sales with under a day of work
Uncover sales blockers in 24 hours with these 11 strategies.