We’ve all heard the story:
You’ve got a great idea for the next billion dollar company and maybe even some respectable domain expertise to back it up, but you need a prototype built in order to gain traction and attract investors and you have no idea how to code it yourself.
Your options are:
1)      Find a CTO
2)      Learn to code yourself
3)      Hire developers to build your prototype
Here are the well-known challenges with each:
1) Find a CTO
Welcome to the club. Everyone is looking to find a CTO. The supply is scarce and the …

Written for the AppSumo Lean Startup Challenge. Vote for us HERE!
If launching a startup is like jumping off a cliff and building a plane on the way down, then lean startup principles are the kiddie parachutes you deploy to buy yourself time before you hit the ground. While they’re no guarantee that you’ll land safely, they do minimize your chances of a spectacular crash and burn.
To the uninitiated, the lean startup movement advocates maximizing learning and minimizing cash burn during your search for a sustainable and scalable business model. If …

Jason Evanish is Right.  There’s not enough ass kicking in Boston.
I want to change that.
Jason suggested that we all need to be more critical of one another’s startups.  While I think this is true, we also all need to motivate and help one another as much as possible.  Boston startups need honest criticism.  Boston startups need positive motivation.  And Boston startups need to actively help one another.  This is the type of environment that helps peer groups such as Tech Stars and YCombinator Succeed.  I want to create this type …

The number one reason to be an entrepreneur is to gain independence.  It’s to be able to come to work as you please.  It’s to be able to do a great job in your own eyes and the eyes of your customers.
These guys are doing it right.
Ramit Sethi (Earn1K)- He helps people get out of debt and make money.
Andrew Warner (Mixergy)- He helps people learn the ins & outs of entrepreneurship
Noah Kagan (AppSumo)- He helps people get great deals on software and web apps.
Here’s what these guys have in common:
1.) …

Lean Startups and Customer Development is about eliminating waste.
Mostly this happens when you talk to customers and other shareholders to see if your idea is viable.  The earlier you learn that your idea is not viable, the less time you will waste on the idea.
Eliminating waste is a key tenant in lean startup methodology.  I’ve recently noticed a trend that adds waste to lean startups, and that is The Leap.
The term pivot has taken a life of its own over the past few months, but leap hasn’t been highly publicized, …

We all fall into bad routines from time to time.
I started to feel content recently, and it sucks.  I’m in bed before midnight, awake at 9.  You know, completely slacking.  I’m not doing the things necessary to run a startup.
I’m not sure where these habits came from, but I need to stop them – today.
I was on the treadmill yesterday, and at the point where I usually get winded and stop, I powered through.  I ran an extra mile and a half yesterday and I felt awesome!
What was the difference? …