Nasty Bug in iOS 5.0.1 OTA Update screws up Address Book on the iPhone 4S
I updated my iPhone 4S earlier today (using the OTA method), and I discovered a nasty bug. My iPhone could no longer remember the names of any of my contacts! I opened up the contacts app on my phone and discovered that all of entries were still there but if I got a text or...
It’s Easier to Answer to Your Code Than Your Customers
Over the last few weeks I’ve noticed a disturbing trend in startups that I’ve been covering: menial work. Put another way, procrastination by being focused on things that don’t matter. I’ve identified several ways I’ve seen it manifest in startups. I’ve also discovered why it’s such a common problem for startups. Here are the two...
YC Alum creates TouchBase Calendar and shares App Store Marketing Tips
TouchBase Calendar launched earlier this week to much fanfare. TouchBase Calendar hit the front page of HackerNews, jumped to the 18th spot in productivity on the App Store, and is receiving great reviews. I had the privilege of catching up with the cofounder of TouchBase, Tony Wright (A YC Alumn) to talk about what he’s...
On Steve
When I heard the news that Steve passed away it felt like unfortunate, expected news. The writing was on the wall when Steve resigned on August 24, 2011. Steve simply would not leave Apple unless he had no other option. Sad, but ultimately expected news. What I wasn’t expecting is how much I’ve been personally...
Moment of Clarity – Why Being in the Trough of Sorrows is a Good Thing.
“Will I be able to keep food on the table? Does my startup even have a chance at succeeding? How am I going to increase sales? Does what I’m working on actually matter?” You encounter these sort of questions when you’re in the “Trough of Sorrows” (as Paul Graham so eloquently stated). Being in the...
Meet Investors, Line up Customers, and Help Others – A Guide to Startup Meetups
I had the privilege of sitting down with my friend Sanjay Parekh (from Startup Riot) to discuss how to get the most of startup events. In this interview we talk about how Sanjay went from being an introvert, to a networking machine. Sanjay discusses how he was able to get his first customer (because of...
TSF is looking for guest authors to help out
I’m looking to roll out some new features (better submission process for startups, iterating on our theme, improving site load time, laying down a framework that will allow us to grow more easily in the future, etc…) on TSF and I’m looking for some help from the community. I would love to be able to...
Why You Don’t Need a Startup Genie
Let’s pretend you hit the startup lottery and Paul Graham wants to help you with your startup. Here’s the catch: Paul tells you that he will only do one thing to help startup succeed. For the purpose of this exercise think of Paul as a magical startup genie. What would you have him do? Perhaps...
The Netflix price increase, the “Startup Playbook”, and my own hypocrisy
Last week Netflix announced that they were increasing their prices in September. A very vocal customer base took to the internet to share its displeasure with the news. Some revolting customers even threatened to cancel their subscription unless the price increase was reversed. People were simply furious at Netflix. “It’s ridiculous” I half-heartedly complained to...
Location with brains: LocalMind
LocalMind isn’t just another local check-in app. LocalMind is going to change the way you discover information around you. Trying to figure out if there is a long wait at a restaurant? Use LocalMind. Want to know what beer is on tap at a pub? Use LocalMind. If LocalMind can gain mass market appeal, it...
Leaving a Million Bucks on the Table: Why Flotype Pivoted in Y Combinator
When entrepreneurs talk about pivoting, it’s most often because they’ve failed to see a future for their idea. This wasn’t the case with the Y Combinator backed company, Flotype. Flotype’s original idea was to change the way we shop online. Their MVP was an iPad app that greatly improved the shopping experience. Early user feedback...
The Worst Case Scenario is that No One Cares About Your Startup
“Can a product be built?” is now an irrelevant question for the majority of startups. Services like AWS, EC2, and Rackspace, let you build scalable services that would have been impossible to build a few years ago (unless you raised millions of dollars). Now any decent programer can feasibly build a product that can scale...
