Knowing the audience for your startup is crucial. Great feedback from the wrong audience can take you in the complete wrong direction.
Although I originally targeted Easy Unsubscriber as a productivity tool for tech savvy users, I quickly found that it was much more popular with the older, less tech savvy crowd. Indicator #1 was that over 60% of my visitors use Internet Explorer. Indicator #2 was these are the users who actually call you when you put your phone number on the website.
Originally, I was planning for …

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? …

Many lean startup founders don’t know how to optimize google adwords correctly.
Whenever I start a new project, I put adwords up after I have an MVP ready. My goals are to spend the minimum amount per impression and to keep the price relatively low.
Google uses an algorithm with Adwords that helps maximize its revenues. It want Ads that are clicked on so they can bring in revenue. Because of this, they use an algorithm that forces advertisers to charge more per advertisement to get to a higher …

…at least when you’re working with Adwords.
Today is the first time I’ve worked with adwords in almost a year and they are still sneaky with their bid “recommendations”.  They suggested I bid $1.25 per click. I remember them being sneaky two years ago, so I decided to low ball them with a 20 cent bid. Of course, the “your bid is too low” errors followed on the keywords page. But it didn’t tell me I needed to bid $1.25 to get on the first page of results, …

It wasn’t long ago that I was envious of others working at coworking offices.  I was living in New Jersey traveling to New York City for meetups.  I was jealous of those working at The Hive at 55 or New Work City.  I wanted to be in an office with cool startups and be a part of “the scene”.  After I moved to Boston, I doubled my freelance workload and soon  felt comfortable enough to purchase space at a coworking office in Boston.  Workbar Boston was the new home of …

The following article takes a look at the state of entrepreneur business models and projections and how they can maximize value by taking notice of the level of distrust in the vast majority of American consumers.
Predictable Irrationality
In Dan Ariely’s Book, Predictable Irrationality, he showcases his experiments in Behavioral Economics.  In one such experiment, Ariely creates a booth at a crowded commercial area in Cambridge Massachusetts.  He erects a banner that reads “Free Money.” and gives away free bills for few hours.
What percentage of people do you think stopped by and …

I read The Dip by Seth Godin a few weeks ago.  For those not familiar with The Dip, Godin’s book helps you figure out when it’s time to quit.  In a typical startup, there will be many dips.  I define a dip as anything that makes you question what you’re doing.  Have 1,000 visitors to your website last week and not 1 signup?  That’s a dip.  Send your startup link to a friend with excitement only to receive “advice” that your idea stinks and you should get a full time job? …