Startup Whisperer Blog
IRS Deadline For Section 409A Compliance is Tomorrow
I have written about the exciting topic of 409A compliance before on the Seattle 2.0 site. Our company has just gone thru a series of additional work to ensure that all of our compensation-based agreements (like stock agreements, executive compensation agreements, etc) within the company are section 409A compliant. Here is an interesting brief from…
I Am Entering The Twitter Dojo….Help!
I just did a post on Seattle 2.0 entitled, Twitter Baptism. I would appreciate any input on the article. I need to be better schooled in the ways of the Twitter. WidgetBucks' own online PR wonk, Dean Jutilla read this post and sent me some suggestions. He uses Tweetbeep to get alerts to mentions of…
The Era Of Simpler Gadgets?
Damon Darlin of the New York Times wrote an interesting article entitled, The Year of the Simpler Gadget. The article highlights such gadgets as the Flip Camcorder, Wii, Apple iPhone, and others. I strongly believe that we are on a path to build more simplification into our lives. My previous post was about simple applications. …
I Am Still Beautiful
I just did a post on Seattle 2.0, entitled "Don't Hate Me Because I’m Beautiful." In the blog post, I refer to the classic 80's Pantene commercial featuring Kelly LeBrock as inspiration to list out my favorite audaciously beautiful online applications. Here are several more that I personally couldn't live with out that are just…
Flat Is NOT The New Up (My First Post For AlwaysOn)
I have started to contribute to the blog, AlwaysOn. Here is my first post, titled "Flat Is NOT the new up." Check it out and let me know what you think.
All I Want For Christmas Is A Batman Mask
My friends and family know that I am obsessed with Batman. So, if you are wondering what you could get me this year, Wired has a great article on all of these cool and rare Sci-Fi props that are for sale. The Batman Begins cowl starts at a mere $20,000.
Scrooge Should Read This Post
Check out this post that I just did on Seattle 2.0 called, Even Scrooge Knows How to Party.
Great Startup Advice Slides
This is one of the best, most condensed set of startup advices slides that I have ever seen. Kudos for referencing quotes as diverse as Buddha and Steve Jobs.
Startups Are Marathons
This is a post that I did last week on the Seattle 2.0 blog. I just finished my third half marathon this past weekend. As I was huffing and puffing along the course, I realized that there are a lot of similarities and parallels in running a business, especially when it comes to startups. To…
Intellectual Property Tips From An Expert
I recently had a conversation with Doug Grady, a partner at Black Lowe & Graham – a Seattle based intellectual property boutique. In full disclosure, Mpire uses this firm for advisement in IP matters (and I highly recommend them to Startup WhispererTM readers). One of Doug’s specialties is designing intellectual property protection strategies for…
Is Your TAM Too Small? Part Deux
I did a post on Seattle 2.0 called, "Is Your TAM Too Small? 3 Tips for Defining Your Market Size ." I had a lot of direct emails to me about this topic. A lot of the emails were questions about a specific TAM question, especially related to where to get sources of really good…
Draper’s Annual CEO Conference: Are You The RiskMaster?
I attended Draper Fisher Jurvetson's annual CEO Conference on Tuesday in Half Moon Bay. We (Mpire) have only recently become part of the Draper family in June. I must say that the event was awesome. A 170 person plus conference full of Draper portfolio CEOs in the room with obviously a more pragmatic focus on…