Derek Scruggs's Comments

Colorado Startups : CloudSh - a command line web UI

Sat, 27 Dec 2008 02:05:56 +0000

Check out Yubnub.org -- I use it dozens of times every day.

VC Adventure : meeting overload

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 13:51:55 +0000

On the email thing, you might benefit from watching Merlin Mann's Inbox Zero talk: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=973149761... Also, if you haven't already, read David Allen's Getting Things Done over the holidays. It not only gives you good tools for managing time, but also explains the psychology of productivity-killing behaviors (procrastination, overcomitting, meetings running long etc.) In fact, just typing this inspired me to read it again! :)

VC Adventure : i am a patriot

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 16:05:58 +0000

Given that he taught at free-market-fountainhead University of Chicago and socializes with many of its most famous conservatives, I suspect he will treat conservatives with respect. Obama's most blistering criticims never mention "conservatism." Rather, they focus on Bush, whom many conservatives have disowned. And in interviews he has never demonized Bush. Rather, he says he believes Bush generally acts in good will and based on firmly held beliefs. He just argues that those beliefs are incorrect. He does NOT say that he represents "real Americans." He says he will represent all Americans. A friend of mine was a student of Obama's at U of C. One of his classmates was Gonzales' former chief of staff (Ted Ullyot). My friend reports that Obama was very fair-minded in the classroom and equally challenging to liberal points of view as to conservatives. And my friend is actually a fan of McCain, though he's voting for Obama.

Bill Flagg : Startup Valuations

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 12:44:14 +0000

Lateef, that may be true for once-in-a-lifetime opportunities like YouTube, but the vast majority of businesses don't fit that criteria, particularly B2B. You may not get the billion dollar exit in three years, but that's true of most VC businesses anyway, let alone non-VC companies.

Feld Thoughts : Build Trust By Staying Steady In Rocky Times

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 10:27:30 +0000

Yes but the Fed's money is fiat currency, not taxpayer money. $700 billion is easily the single largest peacetime government expenditure in history. Though if it works, we'll likely get some of that back as with the Resolution Trust Corp in the late 80s and 90s.

Feld Thoughts : Build Trust By Staying Steady In Rocky Times

Thu, 9 Oct 2008 08:02:48 +0000

I think the election has a small role at best. $700 billion is a jaw-dropping amount of money, and Bush likely wouldn't do it if he could avoid it what with the political consequences. Also, it's not every day that Goldman Sachs elects to become a bank holding company.

Feld Thoughts : It's The Economy, Stupid

Tue, 7 Oct 2008 16:44:28 +0000

This election is about to get fugly.

Feld Thoughts : Focus on Things Under Your Control

Wed, 1 Oct 2008 08:59:11 +0000

I've been really puzzled about what to think about all this bailout talk. I don't lose sleep at night about it, but I do wonder if it's going to affect our business. On the day the first bailout collapsed, I closed on a refinance of our house without any hiccups, and September was a record revenue month for us. Dunno if those are trailing or leading indicators, but we haven't made any fundamental changes to our operations beyond reminding ourselves not to let expenses get out of whack with revenue,

Bill Flagg : Unfair Advantage

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 11:13:41 +0000

Well, in our case the nearest analog is the various account levels. We have products that range from $19 per month to $159 per month, as well as customized plans that cost even more. On the one hand, $159 would seem most profitable, but those customers tend to need more support (unlike other account levels, they also get phone support). That said, the force multiplier there is not necessarily more sales leads, but better automated support. But I'll generally take more sales leads any day. ;)

Bill Flagg : Unfair Advantage

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 10:04:48 +0000

Moneyball is terrific. I thought the most insightful part was where, after losing Jason Giambi, instead of thinking "how are we going to replace our slugger" he instead thought "what combination of players do I need to produce the same number of runs in aggregate?" Also, the way he treats closers as essentially bait. Bean thinks a closer is just an above average reliever who is paid out of proportion to the market, so he grooms a closer knowing that he'll be gone in 2-3 years, with better OBP in return.

Feld Thoughts : Lessons From Phelps and Bolt

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 10:34:38 +0000

I can't answer for Bolt, but if you watched the preliminary heats you saw he essentially did the same thing without the celebrating. With 30-40 m left he would look around, see that he had the lead, then take it easy the rest of the way. Maybe he's just so used to dominating the field from the start that he doesn't have to push to the end.

VC Adventure : Leave your ego at the door

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 09:30:48 +0000

Where are you taking classes? I've been thinking of doing this but am stalled at the where to start question.

Bill Flagg : Picking a Profit or Popularity Model

Wed, 2 Jul 2008 11:01:28 +0000

It also turns on what kind of skills you have on board. If you're a fee-for-service company, you better have someone who lives and breathes talking to and acquiring customers (if it's mass-market, that means someone who cares deeply about direct marketing metrics like cost per sale, conversion ratios etc). If you're an ad-based model, you need someone who lives and dies for traffic and distribution. (Traffic cuts across both models, but in the latter case you're likely to optimize for click through rates on ads vs. driving people to signup pages.) Regardless of choice, If you only sort-of care about these things, you better someone who cares deeply about them.

Mendelson's Musings : Gnip is Alive

Wed, 2 Jul 2008 10:21:09 +0000

Saw them demo at New Tech Meetup last night. Pretty cool, but it wasn't entirely clear to me who their customers are. Are they a kind of Akamai for web APIs?

Feld Thoughts : Being First, The Economy Doesn't Matter, and The Origin of TechStars

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 09:38:49 +0000

How many gallons of milk do you buy every week?

Feld Thoughts : The Best J.C. Penney Ad

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 07:58:09 +0000

I read yesterday (and of course now can't find the link) that JC Penney actually denied this. Apparently it was done by a guy at an agency who has worked on the JC Penney, but they never authorized it.

And I just found a tiny bit more info: http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/kids-want-to-fo...

VC Adventure : After the no

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 09:04:25 +0000

People don't follow up for the same reason they suck at email management or updating their company blog. It's just another task they'll get to "someday." Most people suck at most things, so the skill set known as "follow up with the investor who said 'no'" is probably on the same bell curve as "follow up with the customer who said 'maybe next year.'"

Not excusing, just trying to give it some context...

Feld Thoughts : Why Do People Find Email So Difficult To Deal With?

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 07:18:48 +0000

I follow the GTD two-minute rule for inbox processing and find that that handles about 90% of my email. Mailing lists go to a gmail account, which is better at reading threaded stuff. I'm ruthless about deleting. Some things I keep in a couple of reference folders and a waiting for folder (again per GTD), but I've found that most things can be deleted safely. Important stuff has an amazing ability to find you again.

I generally end my day with from 1-5 emails in it. Before I started GTD five years ago I was a mess, but since then email has not been an issue for me.

Feld Thoughts : Why More Stress Is Not Inevitable

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 08:55:44 +0000

You may not have any regrets, but will your kids?

Hey, far be it from me to tell you how to live your life. If it's working for you and the people close to you, more power to you. But don't be surprised to hear that a lot of successful people reject the approach you're taking. Not just in business, but in sports, politics, nonprofits etc.

This quote sounds like it's out of Bizzaro world:
"So that when we get old and crazy we hurt each other more?"

The older I get, the happier I get, and the closer I am to my family. This also seems true with most of my friends. Maybe your experience is different.

Stress and the need to feel like you're working are mental constructs, no more "real" than the worry that terrorists might kill you. Relationships, however, are real and will have a far greater impact on your long-term success and happiness.

Steve Outing : Responses to a pile of critics

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 09:05:01 +0000

Harvard doesn't need me to defend it, but this comment seemed so... weird! "Harvard no longer produces captains of industry"

Does he really not know the names Bill Gates and Jeff Zuckerberg?