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[joannagans1-blog]

Gasing It In The Average Lane

Here’s the thing about building something extraordinary: you can’t gas it in the average lane.  You can get great numbers by doing this. You can impress people. You can make money. You can be safe. It’s tempting. 

All the pressure is to get in the average lane. You can do something that people understand. People like what they understand. People see you making money. People see you moving in a path they understand. It feels good. You can see where you’re going. You can gas it in the average lane and really make some money, and you can try to go faster than others, much faster... But You’re Still In The Average Lane. 

The best you can do is gas it. But you’ll never create anything new. Revolutionary. Different. “Disruptive”.  The street goes only one way, and we know where it leads and how it works. 

You have to be willing to tell people in the Average Lane - in your industry - hey... I know you guys do it this way.  I know this is how it works.  I know your systems are setup like this, and you like it for these reasons...   but I have a Better Idea... can you just Try It?? 

Or - you can just completely veer out of the Average Lane and into unknown rocky roads completely on your own where there are no answers, no path, no understanding of how things should work or why. You’ll probably get a few flats. Go hungry a few times. Feel lost. Be lost. But it’s either that or try to gas it in the average lane. 

You’ll either make an entirely new path and hope people follow, or ask people in the average lane to try your new lane, or ride the average lane, 

But never try to trick yourself into thinking that gasing it in the average lane will ever get you anywhere revolutionary, extraordinary, or anything other than average. 

[shitpeoplesaytowomendirectors]

There is a sex fantasy that holds over Hollywood. There are even some men in this game for the sexual perks – and this is serious, I’m dead serious – and if they’re screwing around all the time, and they want to be on a set where they are the king and they can f*ck anything out there, they’re not gonna want women around who are like their mother or their sister or their principal. So they are not going to hire women in any important positions. They are going to hire cute women that are their prey and conquests. Even if it’s just for eye candy, they don’t want someone watching who might say something to their wife or their boss. And that is the truth.

Martha Coolidge, former president of the Directors Guild of America

SOURCE: http://deadline.com/2015/05/directors-guild-aclu-investigation-female-directors-martha-coolidge-1201430374/

(via shitpeoplesaytowomendirectors)

[joannagans1-blog]

Why Cops Would Make Bad Tech Startup Founders

I was watching Silence of the Lambs. When Clarice realized she’s standing in front of Buffalo Bill in that house alone, she hesitated to shoot and then he had time to run away inside the house that he knows inside out. It really bothered me.  

Startups, or at least tech startups, are all about speed. They are about, or supposedly about anyway, innovation and creating something new.  Something that’s never been done before. When you do that - there are no answers. There is no path. There are no rules.  You make the rules. But you better move fast. 

Clarice should have shot. Any good tech startup person would’ve.

Her odds of shooting him in the leg were WORST CASE: shoot an innocent civilian in the leg.  BEST CASE: shoot a serial murderer in the leg and have a much, much higher probability of herself and the victim (an innocent civilian) living. 

That’s 2 innocent civilians living > 1 small possibility of a civilian who Probably is a serial killer being hurt in the leg. 

I’m no math whiz, and certainly not a wordsmith... but you get the Probability here.  

Cops are trained to follow very specific protocols and rules...and for good reason.  I’m glad there is structure and they don’t shoot fast and crazy.

But Startups have to shoot fast and crazy. They just do. Because the probabilities of success otherwise are just not in their favor...  exactly similar to Clarice being alone in the home of Buffalo Bill alone. 

[joannagans1-blog]

Motivational Speakers and Starbucks Sugar High

Sometimes everyone needs a pick me up. Everyone. But what I think I’ve learned is that strength comes from the inside, not the outside.  It comes from within, rarely does it Truly come from the outside. If it comes from the outside it’s fleeting. Superficial. Momentary. Temporary. 

I started watching a motivational speaker online and kind of wanted to throwup. It’s so fucking cheesy. Even if they have in fact found certain Secrets To The Universe that you haven’t found yet, you may know things they don’t.  It’s like Steve Jobs said - “Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you, and you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use.”

The majority of people are followers. They want to be Given answers. They want to be Given motivation. They want to be Given inspiration, praise, but above all.... answers.  

And the truth is there are no answers.  

Everyone’s path is different. So answers are always different, and always will be different because things change and people change. 

But nobody ever wants to hear that. People want answers.

Am pretty sure millions of dollars of answers on how to lose weight already have been sold in the last 24 hours, and will again sell millions of dollars in answers tomorrow.  

The point is, true answers, strength, inspiration and motivation can and should all be found inside. Motivational speakers are great, but mainly for a fleeting moment, no different than a Starbucks sugar high.  

[joannagans1-blog]

The Gentrification of Tech

Once upon a time, tech world was small.  It was mainly geeks who spent the majority of their time in basements playing wow or learning code, hardware, and more solo and in clannish groups. Then, tech started affecting everything we do.. aka “software is eating the world.”  You know why this phrase exists? Because software IS eating the world. There is not 1 single industry that is not being affected by technology - or should be affected aka “disrupted” by technology, whether real estate, or restaurants, or fashion, etc.  

In the gentrification of neighborhoods, the artists make things cool.  They find cheap places to live, operate and be influenced by each other.  They turn real shithole neighborhoods into something “cool” and kind of amazing. 

Once it’s “cool”, and “something people want”, corporates and MBA types take over. 

Artists create cool. 

Business people buy and/or sell cool.  

About a year ago or so TechCrunch wrote an article called “here come the pretty people” referring not literally to appearance, but to the MBA types that wear ironed pants and sensible heels. The business types and everyday people were invading because there is now $$$’s and opportunity everywhere, EXACTLY like the neighborhood that’s now visibly cool.

PROBLEM with the gentrification of tech: It’s a turn-off to real artists. And just like the gentrification of neighborhoods, the artists move Out and On. They find somewhere cheap and above all - Inspiring.  Being surrounded by MBA’s talking about $$$ is not inspiring. 

To me, many of the “accelerators” now are simply a sign of the gentrification of tech.  Many are formed by some entrepreneurs who made money themselves then raised money from others to make money from this new thing happening. Some are formed by corporations, looking to “buy” something amazing early at a cheap deal. 

Some are legit, the originals and now largest ones (YC, Techstars, 500). But even those in my opinion I see growing big and “Systemizing” things.. are not far-off from Franchise models no different than McDonalds, and it’s a dangerous line of turn-off to artists. 

Anybody can build a website or app now with a nice tidy business model of how to monetize, form the perfect “template” team that investors just love, do some growth-hacking claiming “pirate”, user-testing claiming “hustler”, and then push some vanity metrics claiming “huge opportunity” from the get-go. ANYBODY. 

But not anybody can actually (true to YC’s motto) “Build something people want”.  (I’m not endorsing YC. I am simply agreeing with their motto in this particular case.)

The game is no longer building something great, the game is now how to get into programs to prove your “worth”, and get into them by giving them what they want to win at their “system” - Exactly like applying to schools. (Those same schools that everyone wants you to get into but then dropout of but that’s a different story..)

Building something people want = innovation. Creation. Amazing product. 

Not perfectly linear or logical thinking, and NOT perfect plans on paper. 

Artists build things because they are driven, they are inspired, because you can’t stop them. 

They don’t build what you want. They build what they want. 

And everyone is so caught up in a $$$ frenzy now that they are judging superficial factors even in the earliest of stages. You can see it from Accelerators attempting to systemize things to and grow no different than McDonalds or Panera Bread. Any “Unicorns” that come out of franchise operations operating on scale are simply the result of sheer statistical odds, not some magical midas touch.

I honestly feel the gentrification of Tech is upon us all. And personally, I feel turned off and like it’s time to move. 

[joannagans1-blog]

Infallible Destiny

Gene Kelly wanted to be a baseball player. Andy Warhol wanted to be a model so badly... and later in life a filmmaker. None of the above worked out. I just watched an interview with Chris D’elia and he was a writer and actor, and nothing was really taking off so he started doing standup once a week just because. It’s 6 years later he’s one of the biggest comedians of today and getting roles on tv - as an actor, but stemmed from a comedian - which again, he only started doing 6 years ago. 

My big complaint in life is that Tech world never ever takes me seriously. Ever. No matter how hard I try. I remember in my freshman year of college I tried out for Pitt Theater. I did a dramatic scene and cried in front of the judges. I thought I did ok. The next day I got a call, and was offered a job for $6.50 an hour to be part of the Campus Fewls - the Pitt Improv group that did skits in the hallways and elevators to help promote and essentially sell tickets to Pitt Theater. I was so hurt. I did the job for a little and liked it, but quit to take my sorority more seriously. I was trying So Hard to be serious in that audition. And thus it began. Years later, I still try and fight it.

And alas, I question - maybe the world does have some infallible sort of fate that is non-optional. 

I’m agnostic. I believe in making your own fate. 

But. 

Just like a startup, maybe sometimes when you try so hard to go one way where it’s just not quite working...  maybe it’s time to pivot - and accept what people see in you (or your startup) that you just don’t see or Refuse to see. 

Maybe your infallible destiny is real and is findable by just letting go and accepting yourself for what the world sees you as rather than how you see yourself. 

Maybe the comedian who wants to be a serious actor will never be. Maybe the real estate agent who wants to be a gourmet chef will never be. It hurts. It sucks. Maybe that’s all they want. 

But maybe it’s not in the cards, and what’s in the cards the world can see, as if the world is the Psychic. 

In conclusion, maybe, just maybe, using the cards you do have instead of wanting other cards is exactly how you can win a hand. 

[joannagans1-blog]

What happens when babies aren’t cute?

I feel broken.  I’ll be working in a coffee shop on my computer and a woman with a baby will always seem to sit right across from me. They always want to sit by me. I don’t know why. There will be like 20 open seats and boom - baby right by me - never fails. Maybe I look safer than others. And I’m a girl. I’m Supposed to think How Cute!! And look at it. And want to like play with it. But I don’t. Ever. I don’t event think they’re that cute. I’m just happy I don’t have one. I don’t even want to coodle it or play with it. Older kids are way more fun to me.

Instead I love my computer. It’s my friend. I turn to it when I’m mad, when I’m sad, when I’m happy, pretty much any time except when I’m hungry. It’s messed up. And I always thought when I’m older it’ll just kick in - like a biological clock that goes Boom! and starts ticking. 

But it still hasn’t started ticking! I’m like a broken female. I just don’t think babies are cute. I don’t want one. People can keep em. I’m happy with my friend that’s metal with an operating system for a soul. :x 

[joannagans1-blog]

Startups, Branding, & Identity Crisis

In City Slickers with Billy Crystal his character learns the secret of life from Curly the very serious cowboy.  And it’s true - comedy/fictional movie or startups/business or life!

The Secret to Life: that 1 Thing. 

1 Thing. 

Curly: "You stick to that, and everything else don’t mean shit.” -But what’s the 1 thing? C: -”That’s what you have to figure out.” 

It’s true with Life, and it’s true with Branding - and it’s true with Startups! 

Everyone says it in different ways, but it’s always the same point. 80/20 rule or 95% rule (Someone way smarter than I’ll ever be told me that advice - just focus on the 5%, ignore the 95% bs)

Sometimes you can’t figure it out right away either - just like when you were a teenager figuring yourself out... or like a startup. And startups - newsflash - that’s probably a good thing, because once you are Known for that 1 thing - you are “Branded” - you cannot go back. 

BRANDING: once you are known by people for something, you are known. People remember. People talk about it. It’s not you pitching them. It’s other people tell other people what they think it is, all the time. And that is what runs your business. The brand is bigger than you will ever be. It is it’s own living entity, and you have to understand that. 

Tinder went apeshit on twitter over Vanity Fair’s article about them being “a hookup app”.  Memo to Tinder: “you are a hookup app” -Sincerely, World.  Vanity Fair is only saying what the rest of the world already thinks!!! It’s the same for other apps too, you don’t see Grinder or others crying. Tinder is in an identity crisis, trying So Hard to be something they are not - something “bigger”, or to “make the world a better place” exactly like this mashup from Silicon Valley on HBO:  vimeo.com/98720197 The harder they try, the funnier it is. 

UNBRANDING: cannot be done. You have to ReBrand. Hollywood nightclubs are a perfect example. When they first open they are Hot, but once they are Not they are Shot. They shut down, paint the walls again, and open again with a new name. Learn from them. You cannot undo that 1 thing.

Back to City Slickers and that 1 thing. For Curly, it was being a cowboy. For Billy Crystal, it was his kids. Not sure what that 1 thing is? Think if you are on your deathbed, literally only 1 minute to go - what are you thinking about? 

It’s not that for Billy Crystal’s character his wife or golfing or whatever Wasn’t important, or part of his life.... it’s that his kids are just simply #1. 

It’s not that for a startup or business other things don’t help or aren’t important...  it’s that they all have 1 core thing that brings people in the first place. McDonalds: fast and cheap. It doesn’t actually matter if their mcnuggets or mcwhatever is good. KFC: fried chicken. doesn’t really matter if their biscuits are good too. That stuff is secondary. If you don’t have that Primary thing - nothing else matters. 

For startups it’s great because if you don’t have it yet (it’s hard!) you can change things. But if you have it already, you better understand what it is because now you can’t change it. 

I’m writing this stuff as if I know what I’m doing and have this stuff down, but truth is I’m having issues myself because it’s So Much Harder than it sounds, “branding” or “that 1 thing”. I know some people have already branded what I’ve built, and I’m not sure I agree. I want to do this - I’m in transition, but I feel like some people already have decided and I can’t fight them. Once the gavel falls, that’s it. It’s truly not easy - just like life! 

On life’s 1 thing: Some people don’t know what their 1 thing in life is even at 40 - that’s why Billy Crystal went on that western trip. Even in life, sometimes people need to “rebrand” and start new. 

Your brand is everything, and if you’re blind to what it is that everyone else sees, you’re at a disadvantage. 

[joannagans1-blog]

Why Mentors Won’t Help Your Startup

Accelerators tout them as a value-add, and Startups act like they are so great.

Mentors. So valuable right?

If you’re doing something truly innovative, or let me rephrase that, Trying to do something innovative, that means that nobody has ever done that before. 

If you want feedback on just being successful at startups, or dealing with a legal issues, or partner issues, etc etc, you can find someone to talk to at any startup event who has been there/done that. Or better yet, you can read a book or watch videos online. There is nothing you can’t just find on your own. 

Nobody has Your Exact Answers anyway. 

And what they did to get them to where they are now will not necessary work now either. Times change and things change.

If the Wright Brothers had listened to “mentors” with experience in trying to fly, they would have told him well it’s impossible this is how I failed and why, and so they did this instead. So advice would have been helpful how? They didn’t even actually do it themselves! Or they would try to hip-check their way in, and possibly slow things down or mess things up. You know how the Wright brothers figured out the answers? Tried and re-tweaked and tried again over and over. 

Stories of how others did things is great for inspiration. 

Advice is always nice - whether you take it or leave it. 

Conversations are great. 

But at the end of the day, in my opinion, the concept of Mentors to me is in reality something that sounds better than it actually is. 

Mentors can give bad advice just as easily as they could give good advice. 

Sometimes, all you need is to realize that Nobody has the answers, not even you, but you are on your way to finding them - “mentors” or Not.  

[joannagans1-blog]

What Is versus Reality

The problem for everyone who bets against me is that they don’t realize that I already have everything I need in front of me. If you really really thought to yourself, what’s holding me back from my goals honestly? Sometimes you realize it may only be Time. I told some media program I applied for why they are wrong - because well, they were. See, I could care less because their 50k isn't going to make a difference at all to me at this point except for Time. 

I can do it faster, or I can do it slower.  So can many people! Just like shopping, we get caught up and Think we NEED this or that.... we really don’t. Turns out you will not actually die if you don’t get those new shoes. 

Here’s what I learned from my bitch side of the table:  

Pitches only give you something that sounds good. It doesn’t give reality at all. 

But that’s the game. Watch:

1.  My startup is a progressive catalyst to a social revolution in media, and to prove it we are growing hand over fist each month. 

Reality:  It’s something that can show growth numbers from traffic that really is forced (via seo or growth hacks) and mainly fake or overseas, nothing that will actually convert to sales or loyal following. But the charts are hockey stick!

2. My startup has manually been doing what people from both sides want, while trying to simultaneously build software and tools into 1 cohesive marketplace structure that can grow easily on scale once that one kernel is proven. 

Reality? What? I stopped paying attention after like the 4th word. 

A salesperson knows what investors want. They want numbers, and something to bite into and Urgency.. FOMO - just like ANY SINGLE SALE OF ANYTHING IN THE WORLD.

A good salesperson can sell an old shoe for $70.  A bad salesperson can’t sell you a new shoe for $7. 

The reality of the shoe doesn’t actually matter for short term thinking.

What astonishes me in technology is that it’s comprised of analytical nerds/geeks - who Theoretically use their brains more than their eyes and are able to see past the superficial. 

However, the lesson learned is that even tech Geeks are human. They fall into the same trap as anyone else. And that’s why young startups have to play the game and learn how to Say It better than actually build it. 

Saying it often is in reality far more important that what you have, are, or can Actually build. 

I thought that was a rule for stupid people, for suckers, for non “techies” - analytical geeks that use their brains over their feelings. 

But maybe I’m wrong. 

[joannagans1-blog]

Starwhores and Underdogs

I was thinking about the whole Slack ($1B valuation) story and the story behind it; the previous story full of heartache. See one was what he wanted (it didn’t work out and slack was only built as tools to communicate with each other about the thing they were actually building). The other (slack) was what happened by accident, and then kept happening, and happening... by listening like a sponge, and growing like a sponge. 

There’s logic and then there’s reality. Reality’s a shitshow sometimes. It doesn’t always make sense. You fall in love with the wrong person that you were so Sure was the right person. You’re just safely taking your dog for a walk when another stray dog comes out of nowhere for your dog’s neck and all the sudden it’s armageddon in suburbia. 

We as humans try SO HARD to apply to logic to everything in life - and force logic into our reality - when in fact, reality has bigger ideas involving all these other variables that you don’t even know about. 

There’s a quote that I love by Henry Ford “If I listened to what people wanted, they’d tell me they want faster horses.”  

I learned something fascinating. PR Reps and people in general are DYING for Interviews. They are far more concerned with interviews than they are with publishing news. And I think to myself, wtf J - what are you doing you silly bastard? Focus only on interviews!! 

Imagine we just all interviewed each other. Let’s cut the very hard to reach middle man. Everyone has someone they admire or are intrigued or inspired by. It could be the local homeless guy who has an amazing story behind him. Or your favorite local band. Or a celebrity from TV that you would die to interview. 

The State of Current Media:  

Every Media outlet currently is run by Ads. Being run by Ads - their entire business model is run on chasing Views.  Because of that - they chase Big Stories and Big Names only.   

The Results: 

A. Only big names and big stories are covered 

B. Negative news dominates since fear and gossip drive more interest that human interest stories and positive news

C. It becomes a game of Click-Bait and cheap tricks - anything to get you to click. Because the clicks are what pay the bills. 

If I did what people wanted - I’d chase big names and big stories also and cheap clicks/views. The problem is, I’ve never been good at listening. 

Scenester.tv karma line is: Don’t Be A Starwhore. 

Don’t cover only big names/stories/movies. Cover what’s Cool, not what’s Big. 

This seems like pure Naivety in Media. That’s idealism. You can’t Actually do that.

But imagine that a Media outlet is run by SAAS effectively and not Ads at all. Then, they don’t have to chase cheap clicks. Then, they can only focus on their loyal SAAS customers. Sure it’s been tried, but it still seems like a far off dream and easier said than done thus far.

I LOVE covering and seeing coverage of interesting underdogs. Up and comers. People who are not “Big”... YET. 

People who are genuinely passionate, still new and learning, doing things still for genuine love rather than having to succumb to agents/managers/studio/investors demands (since people are relying on their brand for paychecks so it’s no longer even about them really...)  

I would prefer to cover Only underdogs. But people Want Celebrities/Big Names. 

It gives everyone else comfort and happiness and I watch their eyes sparkle when they see that we’ve interviewed big names too. So I have to keep them in there. I have to be a little bit of a Starwhore, because that’s what people want. 

But sometimes I dream about not being a Starwhore at all as a media outlet, and actually creating a Movement around interviewing each other and boosting the people we think are cool and our friends, rather than all flocking to the same shit starry eyed and leaving all the little guys in the dust. 

Maybe. Maybe. Maybe.

[joannagans1-blog]

Slow Doesn’t Mean Stupid

Everyone wants to be an overnight success. Because people sell it to us - and we see therefore we believe. Particularly in the field of Technology - everyone wants to move Fast and Big. “Fail Fast and Fail Often” is the term. 

Here’s my beef with that. Quality takes time in most cases - across cultures and history. It is nearly impossible to hit it on the head the first time out, or overnight. It takes learning curve and failing and redoing.. we know that... and yet then we see anomalies like Snapchat - the prototype beloved story of 2 stereotypical brogrammer Stanford dropouts who pumped out Snapchat, it blew up and now they are valued as billionaires in their 20′s. Or Slack which is handed a check for 60 Years of Runway a couple of months after starting. That is our “standard” in tech.  And “standard” becomes the “norm” - in our culture and in our heads. 

So Tech culture messes with our heads. It tells us that faster is better. 

Slow is bad. 

Bigger and Faster!!! 

The problem is - you need that kernel of magic otherwise known as Product Market Fit before going Bigger and Faster, otherwise it’s like a hamster running in a wheel. You can exert all you want, but where are you Really going? Or are you just wasting resources? 

Imagine you had no resources to waste. 

You are a mouse with a disease that allows it to only run for 2 minutes max. You cannot win by keeping the wheel moving by using only your own energy.

You’d instead have to plan - how can you get it off the hinge and make it roll on it’s own? 

You’d have to sit there quietly and slowly and test, retest, test, retest, replan...  and it wouldn’t happen overnight. But all the other mice around you are moving Fast. They are running. They are going big or going home!! 

They are Getting Somewhere. 

Or are they? 

Maybe it’s possible that Slow doesn’t mean Stupid.

Maybe, just maybe, it’s possible that even in technology, faster isn’t always better...

But maybe I’m wrong. Go big or go home right? 

[joannagans1-blog]

Betting on Salieri’s not Mozart’s

If you’ve never seen the movie “Amadeus” this post may not make sense. 

I notice across the board applications for “accelerators” and things that invest in early stage entrepreneurs - that many of the worst ones have the strictest rules. The best one has the most liberal application of all. They still judge hard on a team of 2+ regardless of single founders like Jeff Bezos/Pierre Omidyar/Elizabeth Holmes etc, they aren’t That open minded, but overall - the Questions themselves to judge by are the most liberal of any.  There is a correlation in my opinion between how good accelerators are and how liberal they are in judging. 

People who want to bet on Salieri’s ask early stage tech entrepreneurs a million strict questions and feel good putting money on those safe and solid answers. Ironically - those million questions cannot realistically be answered early stage and are essentially bullshit, but answers make us feel better - reality or not. 

People who want to bet on Mozart’s don't ask early stage tech entrepreneurs a million questions around things like “how will you make money” because realistically - it’s probably going to change anyway. It’s good to have a plan. But let’s stop kidding ourselves, early stage things inevitably change anyway.

Most importantly, they are missing the 1 absolute Guaranteed thing that Any early stage Single Founder or Team will FAIL with if they don’t have - which is: if people don't want it. 

If nobody likes (Loves) your “product”, it doesn’t matter in my opinion how you will make money or go to market because nobody wants it to start with.

You’ll never win. At best you’ll push sales with growth hacks and salespeople - but it’ll never be above average, and you’ll always be in fighting mode in the middle - never above average, and certainly not a “unicorn”. After all, Extraordinary = NOT ordinary!

People Have To Love Your Product. 

If they just like it, you’ll be a Salieri. Everyone liked him. He did everything by the rules and dedicated his life to music. He was a safe bet. If you paid Solieri to do a symphony, he would make you feel comfortable, safe, pleasant and will guaranteed deliver you something good. 

If people are obsessed with it even if it doesn’t make sense, you’ll be a Mozart. Mozart did nothing right, he dedicated half of his life to partying not music, told off the emperor and more. If you paid Mozart to do a symphony, he would do his best but he wouldn’t necessarily give you exactly what you’ll expect (like when he gave the Emperor the Marriage of Figaro which was against the law set by the Emperor)  

It’s safer to give your money to Salieri, hands down. He’ll give you what you want. He’ll deliver on time, and with a smile. You will have a Good Symphony. But that’s all you’ll have. 

If you give your money to Mozart to do a symphony, it may be in a forbidden language, or about a forbidden story, or include forbidden dance (ballet back then).  It may not be anything you even asked for. It may have “too many notes”.  But it’ll be unforgettable, and you’ll have a Great Symphony (not just a good symphony), and the ONLY chance at a Masterpiece - (otherwise known as “a unicorn” in tech). 

Remember this guy? Neither do I.

Note: I am not and will never be an investor. I would never want people pitching me for money all the time - I can’t think of a worse fate. Nonetheless - I think I’m right from my perspective from the outside. 

If they want a “Unicorn” like they all claim, and they all NEED (considering it’s like 1 out of 10 returns all of their fund ++, while the rest don’t), then they need to start betting on Uncomfortable Mozart’s instead of their comfortable circle jerk bro’s or mini-them’s that are doing safe and logical ideas that overall make them good.

Just my unsolicited opinion.

[joannagans1-blog]

7 Biblical Rules of Hackassism:

I never properly learned development or coding, yet day after day I plow ahead like a stupid gorilla. Here are some lessons I personally learned that I think are so true they should be followed like a religion. 

The 7 Biblical Rules of Hackassism:

1. Just because it can be done doesn’t mean it should be done

2. There are no shortcuts in the long run.

3. Technical debt must always be paid back. Sometimes it’ll even jump you out of nowhere just like a mugger in an alley when you are least expecting it!

4. Breathe. Breathe again. Clear calm thinking is more valuable than all of the smarts in the world.

5. Less Is More. Features are like shiny toys. You’re playing with them like a child before you even realize it. Try to have someone nearby to slap your hand and remind you to put it down.

6. Time spent on the wrong thing is like x2 to x5′s the cost.  That’s why the Less is More rule is so important. Because it takes at least 2x time to undo the stupidity.

7. Creative solutions is more important than simply understanding a language. It’s exactly like assuming that you are a good communicator simply because you speak English. Being a good communicator is more important than the actual “language” - no matter what language it is. 

[joannagans1-blog]

Product Market Fit and Trends

There are certain trends that never fade away. 

An example is the Peacoat. The peacoat is a great design. You don’t have to convince people it’s great, people of any sex and style can see that it’s great - in all it’s different forms.  Nobody has to Say “the peacoat is in!! it’s a must-buy this season!!!” for people to buy it.  Because it’s a great design - it draws people in. It doesn’t need to sell to you like fleeting trends like shoulderpads or spikes on shoes. 

There are all of these buzzwords and trends in Tech just like there are in Fashion or any other industry. And we follow them - just like any other industry. 

PMF or “Product Market Fit” to me is the peacoat. I actually don’t hear about it that much.  Far more I hear about “Lean” and “Growth Hacking” and “UX” etc. These other buzzwords - they all have methodologies and “systems’ behind them, therefore they are sellable. They are all ways to get To product market fit. 

True PMF is simple though. It’s like love.  You just know. You cannot Not know in fact. 

Even a small PMF is when you don’t even “have to” growth hack. And people can have a terrible experience and still come back. If it’s PMF, you can’t keep people away. They come no matter what. 

PMF is like Love. It doesn’t make sense. It may very well happen when you least expect it. You can’t stop it. You try so hard to rationalize it, or ignore it, but it’s impossible.  You either go cold turkey and get out of the situation or let it be. 

I know this because I had PMF once. My site was shitty. It was slow. It was buggy. It was terrible. But it gave one thing that people just kept coming back for. I could not keep people away. And because of that I kept going - but I could never keep up.  I was a hamster in a wheel and I couldn’t monetize right and was in a panic. I’d change methods every 2 days trying to user test and do these things I was “supposed” to do. I was fucked. I’m still recovering. But I felt PMF. And that experience of even knowing what it feels like for a second.... that changes my perspective on everything. 

If you don’t have even a small PMF - things like growth hacking and a great product really are pointless. And even I forget this, because I read articles that sound good and buy in. I follow tech culture and trends. But.. just look at how UGLY Reddit and Craigslist are - to this day. Design isn’t everything for example, contrary to the current tech trend that “design is Everything”. 

And you’d think that’s what lean startup teaches.... except it doesn’t really. It goes so into teaching a method and structure that the intangible and the reality of PMF easily get lost in translation.

Product Market Fit isn’t going anywhere, whether “buzzed” about or not. And it’s the only buzzword I wish I heard more about. 

[joannagans1-blog]

Startup Events and Cocaine

Just because something feels good doesn’t mean that it’s actually healthy. 

Startup events are good in doses.

Startup events are good whenever you have something to promote. 

Startup events are good whenever you have a goal with it - whether to learn, to socialize, or to promote. 

But Startup events are not good when you do them too much and are fooled into thinking that they are getting you somewhere since they “feel good” and feel like you “are doing something.”

It’s a slippery slope. It feels so fun, so productive, so good.... but what are you actually Accomplishing when all is said and done?  

Is your product getting better? Are you getting more users/customers? etc...  

Building real shit takes time alone. It’s not glamorous. It’s not fun. It’s grueling. It’s isolating. But it’s real.    

Running around doing social events nonstop may feel good.

It may feel like your getting something “Done”.  

It may make you feel like you are really going somewhere now, learning cool stuff and making all of these new connections. 

But really, at the end of the day - it’s only you, your computer and your user. Nobody else and nothing else matters.  -Glitter Fade-

[joannagans1-blog]

The Idea Maze and Failure vs Persistance

At some point in time I remember reading Chris Dixon or someone’s explanation of “The Idea Maze.” Basically the Idea Maze is the entrepreneurs explanation of the reality of the unusual way that they made (found) their way toward “Something”.  

I am going to define “Something” as something that people love and use - and by use I mean not by force. “Something” is something that nearly sells itself. It’s Wanted. It does something for people.  It’s not an idea, or a good business plan. It’s something that you can’t keep people away from. It doesn’t matter if it sounds stupid or not. Often times the most loved things/startups/businesses also sound the stupidest. 

Recently, I also read a fantastic article from Inc by Brent Gleeson that put this new favorite quote “it’s hard to beat the last person standing” quote into validity for me. It’s about how Navy Seals are trained to think. 

It’s not about the smartest. The most talented. The project with the most money. 

What wins overall, is simply pure persistance.  

Here’s another great quote by Calvin Coolidge:

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”

This actually defies Lean Startup methodologies.  It also defies not only tech culture, but mainstream culture.

See everyone wants the Overnight Success story.  And because people want that, media feeds it. I know, I do media.  So then people believe it’s real.  So then they judge others and themselves by that standard. 

Overnight Success or Bust.  WTF - it’s taking you 5 years working on something before you ever raise a dime? (my unresearched remembrance of the story of Adam Miller, CEO of Cornerstone On Demand a billion dollar company in LA. I wrote this fast and didn’t check facts but it is close to the true story)

If you go years blindly plowing ahead without a big bang or a big or foreseeable payoff people in general think - are you kidding, or just stupid? 

Nobody, especially in tech culture, appreciates time. Why would they when we have the college dropout overnight Billionaire success stories to hang onto and idolize? And yet, Ironically, everyone who appreciates Quality simultaneously knows that Good Things Take Time.  

If someone who hasn’t done a big “hit” before is taking a long time on a startup, everyone considers them a floppy probably dead fish. People only are interested in new and shiny. 

If someone who has done a big “hit” before with a good “name” - they get to raise money and do a Big Idea with Big Money and if it doesn’t work - they shut down fast. I’ve seen that happen a lot now too. Nobody seems to stick with things anymore.  They just quick flip and start new.

Tech industry right now is all about quick flip and burn. Maybe because the “fail fast and fail often” adage is in style. The need for speed trumps anything else. And in my opinion what gets lost in that is quality. 

See - anyone can run full speed through an idea maze and then jump out and start again. But not everyone can make it out of the maze.  And maybe what’s needed to actually get to the End of the “Idea Maze” isn’t speed and jumping out as soon as possible and starting again..  but rather trying different corners and routes over and over again. 

Just a thought.