First-Time Startup Entrepreneurs: Stop Fucking Around. Editor’s note: Paul Stamatiou is Co-founder of Picplum, a Y Combinator-backed photo printing service, where he obsesses over both design and development.
He also co-founded Notifo (YC W10) and Skribit. Follow him on his blog, PaulStamatiou.com, and on Twitter: @Stammy. Reminisce with me for a bit. Do you remember the first time you got an Internet connection? Before your computer was always connected and when going online was a thing you had to plan. When I first visited California for my Yahoo! Every time I drive into San Francisco and see the skyline, it’s a strong reminder that I’m fortunate to be in a time and place where I have wanted to be for so long, with such a vibrant and strong tech community.
This is all started with a tweet of mine. I’m going to teach a course for first-time startup entrepreneurs called stop fucking around and get back to work.— Paul Stamatiou (@Stammy) April 23, 2012. 50 Inspiring Entrepreneur Startup Quotes. 4 Steps to Becoming a Self Starter on Shine. In a perfect world, we'd all wake up early, go on a run, eat a healthy breakfast, and then head into work to tackle our next big project.
As self-starters, we'd be brimming with energy and enthusiasm and wouldn't even consider procrastinating before a deadline. In the real world, however, we don't always live up to our highest ambitions. But just because we don't always do something, doesn't mean we can't ever do it. To help you along the way, we've outlined four steps to help turn you into a self-starter instead of a self-stopper. Stay Ahead of Deadlines. Do your work early, do your work often. Tackle One Piece of the Puzzle at a Time A big project is overwhelming. Don't Call it Work, Call it Banking on the Future Reframe the task at hand so you can focus on the benefits it provides instead of the annoyance it brings. If you want money for a nice place to live, nice clothes, nice things, and good food, you'll probably need to work.
Don't Be Afraid of Failing. The Secret Weapon That Almost Every Business Depends On: Taste. The following is an excerpt from Design Like Apple, Seven Principles for Creating Insanely Great Products, Services, and Experiences (Wiley & Sons) by John Edson.
The life trajectories of two of the most influential men of the high-tech era, Steve Jobs and his longtime rival at Microsoft, Bill Gates, are uncannily similar. Both were born in 1955; both became technology wizards in high school and later were college dropouts. They each founded and built companies whose products and services have changed the way we live and work and interact with computers. But that’s where the similarities end and the design divergence begins. Gates was a master software entrepreneur who through partnerships and licensing deals dominated the personal computer market and gobbled up market share in that domain. A remarkably funny video that went viral in 2006 brought into sharp focus Microsoft’s lack of commitment to design.
Design taste is always tough to define. That also applies to design. 13 Steps For Raising a Fortune in Start-up Funding.