noosphere

startup #2 is now d.i.t.w.  i’m okay with it, now that i understand why.

they were never mine to begin with, always some iteration of another’s desire. when the other disappears, much of the motive force leaks away as well.

which is well and good now that i’m gainfully employed as a “librarian” at a fantastically ethical company which crafts gear for human-powered adventure. in this moment, i’m happy to be there.

a bit of room to breathe, headspace to sift through the ashes…  

i see that there is only one thing i care enough about such that i will pursue it alone until the end of time: understanding the universe, the marvelous space in which we exist, because the only way out (for all of us) is up.

this is my art, the heart of my creativity.  not books, not jobs.

the detour’s been valuable, no doubt. my “academic career” is now my startup. [quotes because much of what must be done no longer requires me to be affiliated with a university. recent advances in tech have seen to that. + my collection of math books, i.e. those i’ve chosen rather than those chosen for me by a professor, is nearly complete.] at the end of this iteration, there will be technology, i.e. clear deliverables.

it’s going to be the most interesting slide deck anyone’s seen in awhile. !!*^_^*!!b

Figured out why I’ve been having such a hard time concentrating on coding.  No business plan!

Yeah, I guess I’m just that kinda gal.  No plan, no action.  (At least for the more serious things in life.  Spontaneity I reserve for fun.)

No business plan b/c it’s a new startup for me.  New startup b/c it comes with a co-founder (who came up with the excellent idea on which we are building).  So, my babies (yes, they’ve multiplied) are in cryogenic freeze for now.

I got so caught up in my c.f.’s excitement and hence his push to build the product a.s.a.p. that I lost touch with my own workflow/processes.  Oops!~

bought my plane ticket, I leave NYC at the end of month.

I deleted my earlier posts about the NYC startup community because they were a bit cynical and negative, i.e. not really me.  The community here is actually quite wonderful.

A community is defined not by the few who garner the attention of big press but by the many, often unsung, who are kind, helpful, and well-meaning.  I thank them all from the bottom of my heart and wish them the best.  I hope to be back soon.

pd done minus two slides — competitors & milestones.  executive summary & hacking the mb next. considering strategic partnerships with companies in similar fields.  prob a good idea.

a little bummed that no one’s signed up for MouseGR yet.  oh well.

I set-up my first NYTMI + Mouse event today.  So happy!  I hope the turn-out turns out. =)

Next, a warp bubble to the completion of my pitchdeck, it’s looking much better these days, both content and design.

Also, I’ve the data to start hacking the MB and other related entities.  All in all, should be a very productive weekend!

+ Great meetings to look forward to next week, the Mouse event as well.  I feel like I am mere centimeters away from finding a CTO.

On my way to the NYTM afterparty at the Black Door, I met two women from Memphis who were in town for a Bumble & Bumble class.  After we chatted a bit about their time in the city, I told them about my startup.  Why not?  Talking to tech folks about it is great for getting technical feedback, but these women were the real deal, i.e. the people for whom I am building my site.

And they loved it!  They loved it so much that I regretted it wasn’t built yet so they could make use of it (M. especially because she was in the quandry that my little company is set to help solve).

Their feedback, more than anything any fellow entrepreneur, angel, or VC could or might say, convinced me to make a huge pivot (which is as it should be:  without my customers, my business is nil).

Last night I tweeted my concern about potential pressure to abandon the AI portion of my site.  Now, after speaking with A. & M., I am going to backburner it myself and push for a late spring/early summer launch.

And when I do, I’m going to contact every B&B salon in Memphis to find these women and let them know we are online.

The extra plus of all this:  while my product is inherently viral, as salon professionals, A. & M. have a secondary network which is probably larger than their primary one: their customers.

Onward & upward!~

I sent a few more emails to friends today, longshots (one in the midst of his compsci PhD at Yale & the other out in Seattle) but it never hurts to ask.  They may have friends in the area who are looking for just such an opportunity.

Also checked my sister’s friend’s linkedin today.  He’s just the sort of person I’m looking for, but my sis warns me that he is very, very busy.  Who knows, perhaps I’ll catch him between start-ups or winding down out of one.

I’ll keep on keepin’ on. =)

And truthfully, once I get the storyboards done, I’m going to start coding it (and am excited by the challenge tho’ challenge it will be).  I still need a co-founder; it’s tough working alone.  But there is no reason for me not to start putting the product together myself until I find one.

mikehudack:

“It certainly doesn’t hurt to have code jedis at the helm of your starship, but engineering for consumer Internet startups need only be competent. The real challenge is finding designers and product managers who can build an awesome product experience, and marketers who can figure out effective, scalable, integrated distribution strategies (whether organic or paid, whether technical or creative).”

— The Value of Design to Startups - BusinessWeek (via secondverse) (via tedr) (via evangotlib)

Certainly something to consider.  I don’t have to build my own ML algorithms.  Lots of good open source stuff out there that I’ve actually deployed quite successfully for an academic project.  I like coding, just never thought of myself as good at it.  Maybe it’s time to change my mind =)