Disqus - Latest Comments for nbauman

Re: Legalization of Marijuana in Colorado

Nik Bauman — Wed, 08 Jan 2014 11:59:13 -0000

I highly recommend a book published last year by one of your local Ivy League neuroscience professors who not only lived a life heavily impacted by drug criminalization but also has made it his life's work to thoroughly investigate the cognitive and behavioral impacts drugs have on humans.

There are certainly a lot of us that feel the pros outweigh the cons - but many of us still don't have a full grasp of just how bad the cons really are.

http://www.amazon.com/High-...

Re: The Heretic - Humble Pie

Nik Bauman — Tue, 26 Nov 2013 00:45:07 -0000

Had no idea about the new gig! Nice approach.

Re: Coffee Beans

Nik Bauman — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 23:01:57 -0000

We're lucky to have you :)

Re: http://www.callmejeffrey.com/blog/text/13449452

Nik Bauman — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:36:42 -0000

I agree. I think it would be pretty rare for anyone to actually quit being an entrepreneur.

I practically tried when I was soul searching about what I should do after Foodzie; couldn't do it. Even if I hadn't started something again *right* away, I was going to be in a holding pattern until I found where to best apply my brain in an entrepreneurial fashion.It actually shocked me. I never imagined myself as an entrepreneur before Foodzie, so it was a surprise when my life absent of Foodzie was still so focused on creating rather than simply reverting back to simply a software engineer.

Perhaps it's addicting... but really I think it's empowering. Once you have that "power", ignoring it is next to impossible.

Re: 2011 in Empty Coffee Bags

Nik Bauman — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 12:22:54 -0000

Glad we snuck a couple in there. :)

I look forward to seeing 2012.

Re: What’s More Evil? VCs or Startups?

Nik Bauman — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 03:58:28 -0000

tl;dr: I'd wager the issue is less about evil, and more about perpetuating a harmful myth from an all-too-comfy position.

Arrington can encourage us to work ourselves to the bone without encountering the reality that those of us in the thick of it face daily. And saying that everything has to be put-your-life-on-hold-difficult is perpetuating a lie. Yes, things are hard - but there are lots of ways you can make it easier on yourself. Having smart supporting cofounders and investors is one way to do that. Bootstrapping so you have most of the leverage + growing your company the way that you want to grow is another way to do that. "Success" for a company through the eyes of a VC is awfully binary compared to what most people would view success when building a business.

Furthermore I think many people in this discussion are viewing this spat through the eyes of startup employees, who have even less of a chance of a big positive outcome than the founders (and certainly the VCs).

If I were to take any issue with JWZ's post it's that I think the blame doesn't belong on VCs at large. Arrington deserves blame for perpetuating this BS, sure, but it's the VCs job to push the company to success. It's the management's job to turn that pressure into positive leadership with a healthy culture, healthy working conditions, and reasonable expectations for their employees. The fact that the VCs benefit more monetarily is just inconvenient for Arrington.

Employees are often sold the dream and the glory of the startup in an effort to get them to provide more hours. In my opinion, the more founders that think that the "glory" of a startup is tied to long work hours for a big payoff down the road, the fewer healthy companies we will have. The glory of working yourself to death for a big payout is success bias marketing bullshit. Play the numbers - build for stability, longevity and happiness for everyone involved. The smart VCs will find you and invest in you for it.

Re: Next Chapter - Southland

Nik Bauman — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 17:57:59 -0000

As long as you don't mind Rainbow :)

Re: Next Chapter - Southland

Nik Bauman — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 16:51:43 -0000

Thanks Andrew! That means a lot to me :)

Re: Next Chapter - Southland

Nik Bauman — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 15:49:59 -0000

Thanks Judd!

Re: Turning 45

Nik Bauman — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 14:34:54 -0000

I really like that you talk through your balance methodology publicly. You've always been a great work-life balance role model in the start-up world. Your example helped me define my work-life balance with my family and Foodzie from the beginning.

It's hard getting into this game to know what's acceptable and what's not. Often I looked outside of my own relationships to define "normal" as I was getting into the start-up world. Seeing your introspective needs analysis (and some of my own personal failures) really got me to understand that defining my work-life balance by anything other than myself and my most important relationship was a mistake. Often, there is no normal in this industry :-)

Happy birthday Brad!

Re: The Money Inside Your Daily Fix

Nik Bauman — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 17:04:36 -0000

When posting it, can we put up the more appropriate values or give some data that allows me to walk away knowing inaccuracies were?

Re: US Economic Risks (Sept 2010): Impact on Investors & Entrepreneurs

Nik Bauman — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 09:22:55 -0000

Agreed. Fear is no good (and what many VCs and entrepreneurs can get caught up in), but I don't hear any fear. Just pragmatic strategic thinking. Kudos. I wish more macro-trend economic articles took this sort of approach.

Re: North Carolina Epoch, Coda

Nik Bauman — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 23:35:25 -0000

Thanks Kim! It's been great getting to know you a little bit. We'll have to chill out at Brigg's and Beth's cabin some time! :)

Re: Don’t Take the Little Things in Life for Granted

Nik Bauman — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 15:10:51 -0000

Just awesome. Your love comes through well in this post. :)

Re: Arguing Against Tasting Notes

Nik Bauman — Mon, 17 May 2010 10:13:43 -0000

I'd love that. You could make a it a select club and then use the community tasting notes on the full roll-out of the product.

Re: Arguing Against Tasting Notes

Nik Bauman — Mon, 17 May 2010 10:01:06 -0000

I agree. I have no problem with tasting notes. I think education is their greatest utility, and I'm hoping they will eventually lead to consumers being able to decipher more meaningful, less specific, and less heavy handed information about the coffee to help them make their buying decision.

I think coffee and wine are in very different phases in terms of customer education - but my long term goal would be to advertise the cause of a certain flavor profile - such as: Chardonnay that is oaked or unoaked; champagne fermented on the lees or in the cuvée. These things communicate likely characteristics of a certain product but in a way that leaves plenty of room for unadulterated interpretation.

So, in line with what Chris said - I think tasting notes bridge the gap for consumers to be able to understand:
* Altitude
* Region
* Varietal
* Process
* Roast Profile

Re: Full Transparency From Counter Culture Coffee

Nik Bauman — Tue, 11 May 2010 13:29:06 -0000

Counter Culture did a great job with this document. Right now simply providing the information differentiates them. It'll be interesting to see what other roasters do to communicate this information and how people (or rather, wholesale buyers) start to use the information to purchase.

Re: Twitter Sucks for Coffee Conversations

Nik Bauman — Tue, 11 May 2010 13:01:04 -0000

I just noticed when going to the post on CCC's Direct Trade Report! You're very welcome. I'm thrilled that it worked and hope that you see a bump in comments because of it.

Re: 6 Tips for Building Relationships with Journalists

Nik Bauman — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 22:06:23 -0000

Thanks for the TV mentions! That's fantastic to hear - we actually have gotten sporadic reports of mentions on Fox Business News. Too funny.

I'm actually pretty surprised we haven't met yet either. Our SoCal visits are (at the moment) not too frequent so we definitely should have you stop by the office. Let us know when you're in town! To reach me directly - nik@foodzie.com or @nbauman

Re: 6 Tips for Building Relationships with Journalists

Nik Bauman — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 14:49:58 -0000

Agreed on all points. We have a fairly press friendly business, but we very quickly learned that we could take the relationship farther by asking questions about the journalists needs outside of the current feature.

We ask:
What is your the schedule for food related articles?
We ask about how often are you able to mention us per year?
What kind of food related content is the hardest for you to get?

Those questions (and others) have allowed us to continually be a resource for journalists when it comes to artisan food. And when we are being proactive we also know when and how often to pitch each type of content.

Re: Want to Start a Technology Company in LA?

Nik Bauman — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 20:46:47 -0000

I agree completely.

Re: Want to Start a Technology Company in LA?

Nik Bauman — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:24:11 -0000

Very useful post. I look forward to hearing more about LaunchPad LA.

Re: Want to Start a Technology Company in LA?

Nik Bauman — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:20:39 -0000

Nivi's question is a good one, and if you are an entrepreneur raising money outside it's likely that you need to be prepared to answer this question. This is a sentiment that some Norcal investors will believe in.

Re: http://blog.eventvue.com/post/358341567

Nik Bauman — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 22:40:43 -0000

I like this direction guys!

Re: Testing the new Disqus comment system

Nik Bauman — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 09:55:35 -0000

I like!