Every so often I get drawn into the debate about startup employees and how much they should work. Should you hire workaholics? Is it expected that startup employees work 100+ hours per week? Should they be online all the time, constantly available and ready to go? It depends. And it’s up to you. If you […]
Archives for August 2010
Startup Funding Doesn’t Always Create the Right Type of Acceleration
In a recent conversation with a friend (and fellow entrepreneur) we were discussing a couple of his bootstrapped initiatives. He’s struggling with the pace at which things are going, partially because he has to “pay the bills” through consulting. That time away from his startup and startup projects is hugely distracting. I know the feeling, […]
9 Ways to Successfully Edit Job Postings
Job postings suck. We all know it. It’s been said many, many times. And it doesn’t seem like complaining about it is helping. I’m experimenting on NextMontreal with a job board hack, but I’ve also been thinking about practical advice I can provide on how to improve job postings. Instead of getting people to completely […]
Hacking the Job Board
I’m not a huge fan of job boards. Their efficacy as a source of talent has deteriorated over the years and most of them have been unable to innovate quickly enough to maintain their value. Niche job boards have emerged as stronger players because they focus on particular areas of interest and can drive a […]
Introducing NextMontreal – A Tech News Hub for Montreal
On April 6, 2010 I wrote a blog post about resurrecting a Montreal tech news site. And today, it’s launched. Please visit NextMontreal >> Along with the NextMontreal team (and in particular, Patrick Tanguay!) we’ve been working a ton to get the site ready. I’m very pleased with what we’ve accomplished in such a short […]
Scratching Your Own Itch May be Detrimental to Your Startup’s Health
A lot of startups come into existence when the founders work to solve their own problems. They “scratch their own itch” and (hopefully!) find that lots of other people are itchy too. But there are significant risks as well. These days a lot of startups are launched quickly with a couple of technical co-founders. That […]
What’s Most Important to YOU as a Candidate?
When looking for work (whether actively or just nosing around), what’s most important to you when looking into the company? I’m interested in your priorities about the specific job as well, but just as interested in your priorities around the company. What would you like to ask an interviewer given the chance? What would you […]
Product-Market Fit or Market-Product Fit?
When starting out a project we know how important it is to get out of the building, talk to prospects and figure out whether our idea holds any merit. That’s the basis of Customer Development. And the goal is to get to Product-Market Fit, where the product is validated and built for a specific market, […]
The Art of Marketing in Montreal
The Art of Marketing is a conference being held in Montreal on September 30th. They’ve got a star-studded lineup, including: Seth Godin on Leadership & Creativity Jeffrey Gitomer on Customer Loyalty & Sales Avinash Kaushik on Brand Measurement & Analytics Mitch Joel on Digital Marketing & Social Media Max Lenderman on Experiential Marketing Andy Nulman […]
Rounded Corners, Wasted Time and Technical Burden
I’ll admit it. I love rounded corners. They’ve gone out of style somewhat, but I still love ’em. When we were building Standout Jobs, we made the decision to have rounded corners on all the widgets that appeared on a career site. Actually, I probably made the decision. I certainly pushed hard for it. Rounded […]