• This Wednesday
• About to sell out!  700 people have their tickets!
• Going to be a ton of fun.

Don’t have a ticket yet?  Jump on your wagon and get one.

Related Posts

• Ignite Boulder 6 Thoughts (5)
• Ignite Boulder 6 (0)
• My Thoughts on Ignite Boulder (3)
• Ignite Boulder Tonight (2)
• Posting Economy Ignite Talk (0)

What was interesting was the announcers.  Each one of the hall of fame athletes and coaches went off script to single out a specific coach, by name, that didn’t believe in him.

Here they were all wearing Super Bowl Rings, wildly successful and on national TV.

And they wanted to let you know that one guy that didn’t believe in them.  They were passionate about it.  “This guy said I could never play in the NFL *points to Super Bowl Champion Ring* yeah, I remember that.”

There is a level of intellectual honesty you have to have with startups.  People are going to say no to you a lot.  It isn’t your job to push through every rejection, it is your job to know which ones to be bummed about.

Today I Pick was rejected by the Open Angel Forum.  I really like what they are doing and would have loved to present, but I’m not 100% sure on raising money right now, which is what the forum is really for.  If you are not 100% sure you are raising money, you really are 0%.  They saw this.  Smart.  If I got in I would be taking a spot away from someone with a lead investor.  Part of me wants to be a pit bull about these things, part of me understands why.  I’m excited to watch the OAF grow, would love to help develop a program for those that don’t get in.

The SXSW Accelerator, of which I was critical of last year, sent a rejection to Pick today.  I’m pretty bummed about this, partially in the way it was done (100% form letter, no feedback, and I was charged to submit), but in what I think Pick is bringing is perfect for the SXSW crowd.   I really want to support this event (startups need more celebration at SXSW) and was trying to be the better change.  Still planning on launching at SXSW.

There is that chip on the shoulder that someone gets.  Bottled up rage.  I felt this way at Mile 25 of the NYC Marathon, and the last mile of the Half Ironman.  You could have hit me with a truck and I would have crawled to the finish line.

One of my heroes is the CU Cross Country program (coaches and athletes).  Long time coach Mark Wetmore has a great attitude about not talking about what you are going to do, but showing them the soles of your feet.  There is a quite humble pride in that.

It is time to prove some people wrong.

Random Posts

• Goals For Twenty Ten, Review of 2009 (11)
• What happens when work and sex collide (0)
• My 2008 Colorado Voter Notes (12)
• What a Week (0)
• Simple Permalink Trick (12)

For instance I can’t make a call while driving to Denver on AT&T without it being dropped. Seven times is the fewest I can do. AT&T is horrible, and no amount of brainwashing commercials can make them suck less. What can make them suck less is their stock price going down (or customers flat leaving) because of customer dissatisfaction.

What happens when Apple, kings of marketing products, get brought down by brandjacking and pop culture?

iPad

Photo by Danny Newman

Saturday Night Live announced the iPad as “apple released a thing that does stuff that their other things already do.”

As cool as we think this product is going to be, there is a underlying sense that if you use it, you will be lame.

We can call this the Segway Problem.  You can’t look cool and use a Segway, or a Zune for that matter (sorry).

This comes to an underlying theme of this blog, don’t be lame.  How does a product become lame?  By not listening to customers, abusing their power, being overpriced, being closed to innovation or repeating past mistakes.

Call that the Apple 2010 mantra.  The iPad didn’t listen to their customers, is abusing their power (flash anyone?), overpriced (not by much, but every app added they will get a 30% cut of), a closed operating system and sticking with AT&T (holy fail of all fails).

With the iPad Apple has started the process of being unbeatable brand leader to lame.

I see smaller groups being highly effective at brandjacking companies.  Danny’s example above is a very small example.

Remember the Chevy ad campaign from a few years ago that the community went a little wild with brandjacking?  The site is down, but SFWeekly caught a great clip:

When you think of Chevy and “I still live with my parents” you are far less likely to buy a Chevy.

With high unemployment and brands marketing to wealth and status, it really is inevitable.

Example here with the new iPhone 3GS, go to hell.

Will it cause change though?

Random Posts

• Automattic Acquires Intense Debate (0)
• Lunch On Me / betahouse Boston (3)
• Links From This Week (2)
• Roundup (1)
• My SXSW Panel Picker (0)

and couldn’t help think that small brands are going to be doing this in a few years. Why?

It is meaningful and gives back.  Art and music for the community.  Pay studio bands or freelancers to write or wrap around their fans.

I certainly think it has a future.  It would be damn cool.

Random Posts

• Why I Hate Live Video (User Generated) (5)
• I’m At BlogHer (0)
• A week of Firsts (3)
• Go Broncos (2)
• Startup Weekend Opens Up (4)

My friend Eric told be about crossfit a few years ago, and I thought, that sounds like a workout cult of ultra fit crazies.  The workouts looked tough in an ‘no shit humans can’t do that’ type of way.

Last month my friend Tara tweeted at Nicole Gibson of CrossFit Roots here in Boulder that she was really sore.  Like woke up in the night sore.  I thought that sounded pretty terrible.

Wait, Tara is doing crossfit?  Tara, the ‘Napa Valley of Beer‘ Ignite speaker is doing these insane workouts?

Yep.  I want in.

So I talked to her on twitter for a bit, and Nicole reached out to me for a one on one session.  After the workout, which lasted six minutes, I had to sit for an hour to recover.  Just two months after finishing the NYC Marathon I was flat on my back after a six minute workout.  I signed up for the Foundations Course, an intro focusing on form and making you not a weakling.

Today I finish the first month.  What a ride it has been.  Crossfit is a cross between Olympic weightlifting, gymnastics, full body movement in short explosive challenges designed by the middle school gym coach that yelled at the fat kid for not climbing the rope.  It is a community workout of 6 -12 people all completing a ‘challenge’ of the day.  Our last workout we did as many loops of 5 pullups, 10 pushups and 15 ‘air squats’ (think of doing a squat with your tailbone going almost all the way to the ground) in 12 minutes.  I did 8.  So in 12 minutes, I did 40 pullups, 80 pushups and 120 squats.  The pullups are assisted by bands and the squats are assisted by tears.

I’m loving the workouts.  Tough, not too tough.  A challenge.  Full body workouts.  Good camaraderie around everyone there.  It helps that Nicole is an absolute badass (inside and out).

Last night Tara and her wonderful husband Adam invited me over for a Paleo dinner.  Paleo is the style of eating that most of the crossfit cult members eat.  Pretty simple diet: fruit, veggies and meat.  No grains, dairy, sugar or happiness.  Actually, I’m pretty happy on it, very happy with the results.  So I came over for dinner.  Adam is an amazing chef, I wasn’t expecting the amazing food on the table.  Being a single dude cooking all the time for Paleo I do a lot of simple meals, like ground beef, onions, green peppers and garlic, or omelets.  Simple foods.

Adam however, went overboard with awesome.

The reason we are eating like this is both for health and because there is a challenge at they gym.

6 weeks, eat perfect Paleo style.  No sugar, carbs (or very few) and lot and lots of real food. Everything I buy at the store can spoil.  Real food.   Winner (person that has changed the most) takes a pot of about $500.   We are one week in.

I like challenges.  I kick ass at them.  The 1/2 Ironman and NYC Marathon were just challenges, I can do this one too.  We started on the 17th, and on my weigh in today, the 29th, I’m down 10 pounds.

The combination of CrossFit and Paleo is amazing (I feel super strong and healthy), thanks to Tara and Nicole.  I take the final foundations course today and then *gulp* time to workout with the crazies.

Random Posts

• New Media Leaders (17)
• The BlogHer Posts (0)
• Good people, good projects (0)
• Bar Camp Boulder (0)
• Winning their hearts and minds alright… (0)

Well, that is what CSIA has been saying for a few weeks.  What is this tax?

They don’t say.

Well, it is a tax on software sold online, and they have been going around to tech events and meetups spreading fear about thousands of job losses and massive taxes.

All this never naming what the tax will actually be.

That makes me feel, well, a bit, well, lied to. When a party purposefully withholds data, I feel like there is something more to the story.

So I actually read the bill that CSIA never links to, because, well, linking to the bill will show how much of a non issue this might just be.  You should just be scared and contact them so they have more people in their membership emails (or so it feels, at the Boulder New Tech Meetup they asked people to not contact their representatives, but email them, and they will pass it on).

The HB 10-1192 bill is here (.pdf).

It says that the current tax on packaged software can be extended to software sold online from a Colorado business to a Colorado resident (please correct me if I am wrong).  11 states currently have laws like this (via CSIA).

“TANGIBLE PERSONAL PROPERTY” INCLUDES STANDARDIZED SOFTWARE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ELECTRONIC, TELEPHONIC, OR SIMILAR TRANSFERS OF SUCH SOFTWARE OR SUCH SOFTWARE DOWNLOADED FROM THE INTERNET OR DELIVERED TO THE PURCHASER BY USE OF TANGIBLE STORAGE MEDIA WHERE THE TANGIBLE STORAGE MEDIA  IS NOT PHYSICALLY TRANSFERRED TO THE PURCHASER. THE DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE MAY PROMULGATE RULES FOR APPORTIONING TAX IN THOSE INSTANCES IN WHICH STANDARDIZED SOFTWARE IS TRANSFERRED FOR USE IN MORE THAN ONE STATE.

I’m no lawyer, but I don’t see a single % in the bill.

So it is an unnamed tax % on software that is currently taxed if you buy it in a store.

The sky is falling.  We should all panic and freak out.

CSIA told us to.

It isn’t like all our biggest software companies are incorporated in Delaware anyway. See Cameron’s comment below. I was wrong.

I could be way off, please correct me if I’m wrong.

Some interesting commentary on a different bill HB 10-1193 here, which would tax affiliates making companies like Overstock and Amazon subject to state tax (or them not paying affiliates).  This seems like a much bigger thing to worry about.

Random Posts

• I stand (0)
• Blue (1)
• Where The Fun’s At (15)
• Startup Weekend Update (1)
• Crunch Time TechStars Video (3)

We should make it better.

In Boulder, because of our small town size, we don’t have the usergroups of larger cities.  I think it would rock if we had regular, small gatherings of copywritiers, designers, developers, UX, VC’s, etc.  The copywriters group could be called Lorum Ipslam.  This could be a lot of fun.

So I reach out to you Boulder.  If you want to be a friendly host of a meetup, drinkup, eatup or activityup, please fill out this form.  I will chat with you and add the event to the Boulder Calendar.  You don’t have to do anything more than agree to organize, write a post, be there and be friendly.

This push comes from our ongoing effort to welcome those moving to town.  Boulder is for startups.  Let’s keep it going!

Random Posts

• Another Experiment (0)
• Many ‘die’ ???? (0)
• What Is So Bad About Local? (3)
• You’re Invited… (0)
• CameraBag, iPhone App Worth the $ (3)

There was a fantastic op ed this morning in the NYTimes More (Steve) Jobs, Jobs, Jobs, Jobs.

What the country needs most now is not more government stimulus, but more stimulation. We need to get millions of American kids, not just the geniuses, excited about innovation and entrepreneurship again. We need to make 2010 what Obama should have made 2009: the year of innovation, the year of making our pie bigger, the year of “Start-Up America.”

I would change it should be Startup America, because startup is a word, in my mind at least.

The people I’m around in the startup world could make a damn good run to change the world on $100,000.  The banks couldn’t give a mid level manager a bonus that low.

Reject that mentality.  I wonder if we took an ounce of that money and seeded Matt to start a bank, or perhaps not fund, but enable them to compete against those that have failed, and will continue to fail, if we just keep propping them up.

We would have a better country, that is what.

To all my startup friends: you inspire me.

Random Posts

• Night Light (0)
• Four Years In Boulder (0)
• Startup Weekend in Boulder (2)
• Creative Commons Hours Away (0)
• Spot.us Even More Impressive Than On First Glance (2)

Just sat down with Grant Blakeman, Heather Capri, Rachel Ryle, Dave Amirault and myself to record the annual podcast.

Just press the play button, and stop listening when Dave talks, you will thank me later.

Come on down tomorrow if you are in the area!  Threadless office, downtown Boulder.

Random Posts

• On Partnerships (2)
• Austin is the man (0)
• I’m in it for The Spirit of the Game (1)
• Cultural Differences (2)
• Golden Gate Dirty Thirty Review (8)

TechStars is also doing a Founder Dating (not with the mentioned group yet) the next day in Boulder, February 10th, right before the mighty Ignite Boulder.

This is a great idea.  I’ve offered to help get it off the ground in Boulder and Boston (the formal movement).  Exciting stuff, much needed.

Random Posts

• Best Time Of The Year (2)
• You Are Going To Fail (0)
• Point B (Parkour Movie by Michael Alosi) (2)
• NoGear+Me Challenge (2)
• Naked CSS Day (0)