My Junto

The diary of one man's efforts to change careers, change his life, and change the world. I can't do it alone. So join my Junto! var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-1665142-4']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })();

[rfawal]

I'd like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn

Hi, I'd like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn. - Richard Confirm that you know Richard: https://www.linkedin.com/e/v2?e=2th9u7-iaglf0bf-1f&a=preRegInvite&tracking=eml-guest-invite-cta&ek=invite_guest&sharedKey=oDew9xq2&invitationID=6011805836190457857 You received an invitation to connect. LinkedIn will use your email address to make suggestions to our members in features like People You May Know. Unsubscribe here: https://www.linkedin.com/e/v2?e=2th9u7-iaglf0bf-1f&t=lun&midToken=AQFmrFVhGEd36Q&ek=invite_guest&loid=AQF79nYo4provgAAAU245puQ87R5KdHZaEEYBVtoApp9MvOEi0ybFJWomO4GW9V_knvm1a8VLchM-ZA&eid=2th9u7-iaglf0bf-1f Learn why we included this at the following link: https://www.linkedin.com/e/v2?e=2th9u7-iaglf0bf-1f&a=customerServiceUrl&ek=invite_guest&articleId=4788 © 2015, LinkedIn Corporation. 2029 Stierlin Ct. Mountain View, CA 94043, USA

[rfawal]

I work from home, and I kinda like it okay. Sort of.

Not long ago Nivi at VentureHacks posted this story about officing at Kicklabs in San Francisco. I read the post and thought it was interesting, and something to consider far later in the life cycle of WatchParty or CandidAide. Yesterday he reposted the story on Facebook, with the comment "working from home is overrated".

It got me thinking. I've been working from home for 6 months now...am I better off or worse off than working in an office or collaborative space?

Basically, I don't really need other space. From the standpoint of technology and functionality, my home office has pretty much everything I need. (Okay, I need a new chair and a fax machine, but I'm just too cheap and lazy to get them - it's not a function of the location.) I don't notice that there are more or less distractions at home than in an office, although the distractions are different (e.g. family instead of coworkers).

In some ways I find that I'm more efficient working from home because I can work on a schedule that fits my mental state rather than the schedule that business expects. In other words, I can tackle creative tasks when I feel creative, and cerebral tasks when I feel cerebral, and physical tasks (e.g. yard work) when I feel physical. With the exception of an occasional deadline, I am generally working on whatever task I'm best equipped to accomplish at that moment. When the muse leaves me, I simply turn to another task that feels right at the moment.

 My home office.

In many ways, however, I'm working in too closed of a system. My office is in the basement, so I go hours without seeing sunlight. There is no one here to bounce ideas off of, so my poor wife and daughter have to listen to me rattle on for a couple of hours as soon as they get home. I'm sure I sound like a madman after six hours alone talking to the dog.

The most significant difference, however, is the complete collapse of routine. Being able to work to the best capacity of my mental state makes me more efficient, but it also makes me manic. Some days I start working at 6am. Other days I don't even start thinking until 9am. I might spend a full ten hours on a single project one day, and the next never focus on anything longer than 15 minutes. I bathe every day, but not at the same time every day.

Ultimately the decision to get office space will be a financial one. But I think I'm ready to have a routine again. I guess working from home really is overrated.

[rfawal]

This is a post I did on the WatchParty blog, explaining how someone (me) who isn't a TV fanatic could possibly start a company to create true social TV.

Spoiler Alert: I'm building it so I can use it.

[rfawal]

Michael Arrington of TechChrunch is worried about turning 40, because he thinks older people are too cynical to be disruptive. I think that's his problem. I'm 42 and I'm going to change the world. Thank heaven I don't act his age.

[rfawal]

Now this is an awesome business idea. I know dozens of peeps who would love it.

[rfawal]

Suffering fools...poorly.

One of the most frustrating things about starting this company has been the cluelessness of people who believe that just because I have a great idea investors should beating down my door. They act stunned that no one has given me millions of dollars yet, and wonder if perhaps I'm not asking the right people, or not asking the right way. They think it's ridiculous that venture capitalists would require us to relocate the company to wherever they are, given how easy technology has made communications. These people don't know anything about starting a company or how startup investment works, and I try to ignore them, but often they look at me as is I'm somehow failing because Google hasn't tried to buy me out yet. And that pisses me off, so I try to explain to them how the real world works. Waste of time, of course. America loves an entrepreneurial success story. Too bad most people have no idea how much blood, sweat and tears it takes to make a Steve Jobs or Bill Gates. Or even how much it takes to just be one guy with a good idea, trying to change the world.

[rfawal]

I need your input.

I'm working on a new high concept pitch, and I'd like to know what you think of it. If you're not sure what a high concept pitch is, replace the words "My company" with "My friend" in the statement below, then tell me whether you'd be comfortable saying it to people you know. Thanks very much! "My company is creating a virtual living room for TV audiences. It's called WatchParty."

[rfawal]

Many friends and family members have asked me about my new company, WatchParty. Well, here's my first post on the WatchParty blog, Did you see that?, explaining why we started WatchParty and what we hope it will do for TV audiences.

[rfawal]

Might have to move...

The WatchParty lawyer told me today that VCs were probably going to want me to move the company and my family to the Bay Area or Austin before they will invest. Oh darn.

[rfawal]

Reality Check

Finally reading Guy Kawasaki's latest book. Kicking myself for waiting this long. Could have avoided a few minor mistakes.

[rfawal]

Focus focus focus.

WatchParty development is coming along nicely, so I'm letting my partners focus on it while I think about our positioning and building users. After all, there's more to this than just having a product. People have to use it.

[rfawal]

Lots of TV!

Having fun studying top TV shows on downmarket networks as we work on the #WatchParty marketing plan. Interesting stuff.

[rfawal]

Why we watch TV.

Another WatchParty pseudo-competitor launched yesterday. Big cable company trying to be a hip startup. Doesn't matter. They don't know what WatchParty knows. TV viewers just like to have fun. See you at the Party.

[rfawal]

WatchParty is going into development! In about 60 days we'll be releasing our beta. Can't believe it, but the idea is actually going to be realized. Sign up for a beta user invitation at http://WatchParty.tv/beta-reg

[rfawal]

Not another one?!

All you ever hear about is the great tech wonders that make it big and the 20-somethings who make millions. Nobody ever hears about the hundreds of companies (like mine) that struggle ever single day with real problems that threaten to shut us down at any moment. I know that Twitter and Facebook had to deal with this, but people never hear about that. You (the general public) just hear about the success stories. You never really understand how they, and we, had to struggle through day-to-day challenges to get anywhere. I'm not bitter about it, it's the nature of entrepreneurship. It's what I do. But damn it's hard. A great idea doesn't mean shit in it capitalism, and that's OK. It's the way it should be. So, when I learn about someone else who is doing the i'm doing I get energized. But damn it's hard. I get distracted from the point - true social TV - and have to focus on what this one or that one does right or wrong. I just want to do right. Every day is another challenge. Love the thrill, hate the stress!

[rfawal]

Controlling Twitter, if I can.

Time to get my Twitter act together. I have 4 useful Twitter accounts, but I'm not using them well. Over the next few days I'm going to try to organize them into a useful information stream. I have my personal account, @rfawal. It's of course the oldest account and is where most of my interaction happens. I need to make it a true personal account, where the focus is family, hobbies, and other things that I love simply because they bring me joy. I have the @CandidAide account for my candidate consulting company, so I'm going to do all my political following there. Then there's @MyJunto, my blog, which is a diary of my experiences as Intry to start a new social media company from the ground up. I'll be following anyone who can give me advice or support there. Finally I have @WatchParty, the account for the previously mentioned startup. It's the company account, and for now will follow Angel and VC investors as well as everyone in the social media space relevant to our market. I'm hoping that this will make me a better informed individual, by organizing my Twitter-fed information stream. I think most people haven't figured out how to control Twitter. I sure haven't, but I'm going to give this a try to see how it works out. I do not have very high hopes.

[rfawal]

Caged animals will make me feel better.

I'm going to go with my daughter and a friend to the Zoo this morning. I really should stay home and work, but I think I need a break. It's quite possible see in all those animals in cages will remind my why I decided to be an entrepreneur.