Disqus - Latest Comments for kareem

Re: A Robust Photo Workflow

kareem — Tue, 21 Apr 2015 12:36:38 -0000

Ah. So you use Google for photos and Dropbox for videos?

Re: A Robust Photo Workflow

kareem — Tue, 21 Apr 2015 12:01:15 -0000

Gotcha. Do (Can) you use Google Drive for archival purposes?

Re: A Robust Photo Workflow

kareem — Mon, 20 Apr 2015 23:37:44 -0000

Hi Dave,

Great post. This is a pain I've felt too. Did you figure out how to handle videos yet?

Re: Combatant Gentleman Giveaway | Famous Outfits

kareem — Mon, 29 Sep 2014 11:11:01 -0000

Cool idea for a giveaway.

1. CHARCOAL SLIM FIT HERRINGBONE SUIT
2. BLUE AND BLACK GINGHAM WIDE SPREAD COLLAR
3. TEXTURED PINK SLIM TIE
4. COBALT BLUE CREW NECK COTTON-CASHMERE SWEATER

Re: Building an Awesome Indie Game Community. The Scary Parts.

kareem — Wed, 06 Nov 2013 00:47:25 -0000

Yep, this is pretty much the awesomest thing I've seen in a long while. Only regret is that I wasn't invited to the party!

Re: How to use a Reddit-clone to boost company culture

kareem — Fri, 03 May 2013 17:51:59 -0000

Thanks for sharing, Ryan. Curious why you guys didn't use straight up forums / message boards instead?

Re: Why CrossFit is the Workout of Choice for Entrepreneurs

kareem — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 14:59:14 -0000

Love it, Dan. I think there's one other key reason why people seem to love CrossFit: it's rare that as adults we're faced with difficult, but achievable goals on a regular basis (see Heather's comment above about getting her Toes To Bar).

Whether it's hitting a beautiful power clean, getting a muscle up, handstand push up, kipping pull up, 200 LB deadlift, etc, the extent to which you can push yourself and keep seeing success is basically unlimited.

You end up doing things you never thought you could, which is insanely addictive.

Aside, that's why I started www.SocialWOD.com - I love the gym owners and athletes who go in every day and try and be better than they were yesterday. Plus a growing market + 10x better solution = win ;)

Kareem

Re: Lessons Learned After Year One As a Startup Founder

kareem — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 14:38:52 -0000

Great read. Took a staycation last week and realized how little time I actually spend thinking instead of doing. Now "Thinking Time" is a weekly appt in my calendar. Good stuff.

Re: Asana is to 2012 what Microsoft was to 1982

kareem — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 16:53:04 -0000

Interesting. I lost my Things database week (always back up, kids) and tried out Asana for the third time as a task manager.

As much as I wanted to, I just couldn't get into it - I'd much prefer a specialized tool for the job instead of a general-purpose tool that doesn't do task management as well as I want it to.

Re: Early stage companies don’t need money, they need customers

kareem — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 20:44:53 -0000

I think remuneration is a canard. The real issue is interesting, impactful businesses. Other than RIM, what $100M or more tech businesses have come out of Canada.

In other words, if you're a talented engineer today, want to work with other talented engineers on something interesting, where are you going to go?

If a behemoth? Google or Facebook.

If a company that's found PM/Fit? Dropbox, AirBNB, or 100s of others.
If a pre-PM fit company? Pick any from the 100s of interesting NY, LA, and SF-based companies.

Re: http://abangupjob.tumblr.com/post/10780153186

kareem — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 20:56:27 -0000

Crap. Amit is the man. Thanks for letting me know!

Re: Validating Your Startup Without Writing Code

kareem — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 17:29:20 -0000

After building several products before selling, there's nothing more satisfying than having verbal commitments for $$ before a single line of code is written.

Me and my co-founder have talked to 10 people in a key customer segment so far, starting with general hypotheses about their problems and potential solutions. We hear their problems first, learn about where they go to solve them (key for distribution), and then describe the potential solutions. We've honed in one one problem/solution, along with a better understanding of the key benefits, pricing, and how to reach the purchasing audience.

To get commitments we wireframed two screens and a screenshot of an email that the customer would receive, along with a "version 1.0" price. We also had wireframes of two more screens in our back pocket for "version 2.0", along with a price 3x the version1 price.

We've got one eager commitment so far and a bunch of meetings with potential customers who've told us they've got the problem we're solving and have yet to see the wireframes.

Can't recommend this lean-esque process enough.

Thanks for writing about this, Dan.

Re: How To Get Your US Visa – A Canadian Founder’s Story

kareem — Fri, 20 May 2011 21:42:55 -0000

Good story. There needs to be more of this kind of info out there.

Couple other tips:

1. The H1 cap has changed in the past depending on the US's perceived need for H1 workers. IIRC there's a cap on applications for a given year, so if you're going to apply be prepared well in advance of the April 1 application date.

2. You can transfer H1s from one company to another. When you do, you're not subject to the October start date or the H1 cap.

3. TN visas don't have a category for "software engineer", but they do for computer systems analyst. I'm not sure of the exact figure, but you're not supposed to be coding for more than X% of the time spent at your job if you're on a CSA TN (5-15% IIRC).

4. TNs now have a 3 year option. Technically they're renewable for as long as the company has a need for the position. In reality the DHS tends to look at you funny if you renew your app too many times.

Re: A very personal interview of @AndrewWarner, Founder of Mixergy

kareem — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 12:16:40 -0000

thanks!

Re: A very personal interview of @AndrewWarner, Founder of Mixergy

kareem — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 21:49:23 -0000

any way we can get an mp3 of the interview?

Re: The Neuroscience of Buddhism – Practical Tips via Insightful Framework

kareem — Mon, 24 May 2010 23:12:32 -0000

Thank for this, Zachary. I'm in the middle of "The Inner Game of Tennis", which talks about how to achieve peak performance in sport (or really, any endeavor) and uses Tennis as the example. Following up on the Buddhist idea of "feeling tones"...

One of the first steps in getting into a flow state is to reduce your ego's ability to impact your performance. The best way to do this is to practice non-judgement of the things you do: you don't hit bad shots or good shots, you just hit shots. This lets your unconscious - which knows how to play without being berated by your ego for hitting "bad" shots - do its thing.

And perhaps unintuitively, you avoid praising yourself for good shots. Why? Because you'll then try and avoid hitting bad shots so you can keep feeling good about yourself. Wanting to feel good keeps you in your head and out of the moment, where your unconscious mind / body functions best and where it's possible to achieve peak performance. Fascinating stuff.

Re: “No.”

kareem — Wed, 19 May 2010 02:06:34 -0000

Good post, Jerry.

I like Seth's response, but I struggle with it - it's disingenuous. A more precise response would be:

"I wish I could, but I won't."

"Can't" implies your path is fixed and you have no control over it. But we all choose how to spend our time, so "won't" is the better word to use.

Can't is more polite than won't, though, which is why I struggle :)

Re: Loneliness and the CEO

kareem — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 16:38:44 -0000

Thanks Jerry. I agree that there's strength in vulnerability. One needs to be confident in one's self to be ok with being vulnerable. Leaders who have this quality are much more inspiring than those who have heaps of impenetrable armor. I connect with and want to be led by humans, not robots :)

That said, I find idea of exploring where the line is fascinating. How much do you share as a leader? Do you share strategically (some might say manipulatively?) Or should you be who you are, and let the chips fall where they may?

Re: Loneliness and the CEO

kareem — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 03:05:00 -0000

Another wonderful post, Jerry - I appreciate you for sharing your wisdom and stories.

Can you elaborate on what Carroll means by "opening"? I read it as being vulnerable and connecting on a human level with those she's trying to inspire...

If that's the case, there's a tension to manage between being open and being able to make difficult decisions. I don't buy the "infallible CEO" (read: closed, tough-guy decision maker) model of leadership that's so often written about in the media. But there is a line between being closed and being open that many successful leaders I've encountered don't cross - they connect and inspire without giving so much of themselves that they lose their mystique (and thus influence).

Re: What I learned by eating Oreos

kareem — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:36:08 -0000

stuart, agreed that sending an angry/upset email is a mistake. i've often found it useful to at least write the email i'd want to write in a journal, and then reflect on it for a day before writing the email i should write. usually the reflecting reveals that my ego wrote the first email :) it's a helpful process to be aware of (and try to minimize) the role ego plays in the decisions i make.

Re: Comfortable with Uncertainty

kareem — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 20:57:25 -0000

Great post, Jerry. I recently watched a movie about Crossfit, an intense / ridiculous workout program that I follow. The movie's called "Every Second Counts", and it's about the annual Crossfit games, where they name the world's fittest man.

One of the competitors said something that stuck with me (in Crossfit, business, and life):

"Crossfit helps you be comfortable with being uncomfortable."

One of the biggest unexpected benefits that I've gotten from Crossfit is being able to get through a life or business situation despite being (at times extremely) uncomfortable.

So happy you started a blog, BTW. I heard your interview with my pal Andrew at Mixergy, and am really appreciating your insights here.

Re: The Problem With Google Buzz Is That It Solves Google’s Problem At Your Expense

kareem — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 20:59:19 -0000

nah, not a madman, i totally agree. i checked it out for all of 30 seconds. i don't need another information firehose - i need something that'll help me filter smartly. seems like that's right up google's alley, too...

Re: Why You Need to Love Thy Entrepreneurial Self

kareem — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 14:23:36 -0000

i can empathize. my biggest challenge is not focusing enough on what i want in the long-term, and so i get distracted with short-term projects that won't help me accomplish my LT goals.

one technique that i found super useful is this one, designed to help you focus on the important projects:

http://www.calnewport.com/b...

Re: Startups with Something to Believe In

kareem — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 17:22:45 -0000

Learning. I left FIM to start eduFire and happily took a 55% paycut because I knew that, even if eduFire tanked, I'd have learned a ton more after running my own thing than working at a BigCo.

Also - sell the meaning of working at your company. BigCos are so often focused on quarterly profits that all that really matters is juicing the bottom line. At your company, revenue is important (I hope :), but you're also trying to change the world by doing "x". "x" is the reason people work for your startup and not somewhere where they could be making more money.

Re: The $12 Startup That Was Sold On Twitter For About $100,000 – with Sean Percival

kareem — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 19:25:34 -0000

hey andrew, looks like the lijnk to download the mp is broken...

Disqus - Latest Comments for kareem

Re: A Robust Photo Workflow

Re: A Robust Photo Workflow

Re: A Robust Photo Workflow

Re: Combatant Gentleman Giveaway | Famous Outfits

Re: Building an Awesome Indie Game Community. The Scary Parts.

Re: How to use a Reddit-clone to boost company culture

Re: Why CrossFit is the Workout of Choice for Entrepreneurs

Re: Lessons Learned After Year One As a Startup Founder

Re: Asana is to 2012 what Microsoft was to 1982

Re: Early stage companies don’t need money, they need customers

Re: http://abangupjob.tumblr.com/post/10780153186

Re: Validating Your Startup Without Writing Code

Re: How To Get Your US Visa – A Canadian Founder’s Story

Re: A *very* personal interview of @AndrewWarner, Founder of Mixergy

Re: A *very* personal interview of @AndrewWarner, Founder of Mixergy

Re: The Neuroscience of Buddhism – Practical Tips via Insightful Framework

Re: “No.”

Re: Loneliness and the CEO

Re: Loneliness and the CEO

Re: What I learned by eating Oreos

Re: Comfortable with Uncertainty

Re: The Problem With Google Buzz Is That It Solves Google’s Problem At Your Expense

Re: Why You Need to Love Thy Entrepreneurial Self

Re: Startups with Something to Believe In

Re: The $12 Startup That Was Sold On Twitter For About $100,000 – with Sean Percival

Re: A very personal interview of @AndrewWarner, Founder of Mixergy

Re: A very personal interview of @AndrewWarner, Founder of Mixergy