Joe Wheeler

Motivation

Fri, 29 May 2009 23:04:58 -0400

Understanding what motivates people to progress is my tip of the day for all of you trying to prove your business to the world. Like my boy Andy Swan told me, finding people that align with your interests are the key in moving your idea/passion/business forward. The only way to grow is to make sure more and more people know about your bad ass product/service/company and want to help you grow it. Find the right people in your niche that can help you get there and go for it. Bring them on board quickly and don’t look back.

21 tips for startups from @dharmesh

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 23:02:43 -0400

21 tips for startups from @dharmesh

"Just because something is simple to build doesn’t mean it won’t be a good venture capital investment"

Mon, 06 Apr 2009 22:40:08 -0400

“Just because something is simple to build doesn’t mean it won’t be a good venture capital investment”

- Fred Wilson
(via entrepreneurwisdom)

Everything is Negotiable

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 13:51:41 -0400

navsmusings:

“I love (and live) this one, and have ever since I was a child. My father took unique pleasure in every opportunity to prove to me that everything in life is negotiable. He is an expert salesman and marketer who would show me, half for amusement and half for educational purposes, that you could outsell any seller. The hardest part is initiating a negotiation where there is no appearance of one. The best tool of negotiation is recognizing that everyone wants to feel as if they have achieved something of equivalent value in the transaction. Often, your greatest wellspring of value is intangible, like goodwill, loyalty, reputation or catering to the very ephemeral trappings of ambition I detailed in an earlier post. When you approach everything as if it were negotiable, you see each exchange as an opportunity to do something a little better, a little faster, a little more affordable, and hopefully, a little more valuable for everyone involved.” - gbattle:

More awesome gbattle-izdom.

Get going

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 22:37:22 -0500

Haven’t posted in a while, been extremely busy with the new product launches at TALLULAH cosmetics. But, while working so hard, it hit me that I really need to tell people as much as I can that they really should be doing something they like. I tell this to Amy quite often, and have started to tell her 23 yr old sister that life is way too short to do stuff that you don’t like. We all have choices, no one is forcing you to do whatever it is that you don’t like. So like the title says, get going on whatever it is that makes you happy. Nothing else matters really.

"When people go into a meeting they have two goals: eat some doughnuts, and say something that will..."

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 20:13:17 -0500

“When people go into a meeting they have two goals: eat some doughnuts, and say something that will make them seem important. When you remove the chairs, suddenly everyone has to eat standing up and it’s a little harder to wait your turn to say something important. No meeting will last longer than 10 minutes, no matter what the topic is. Profitability will be restored, my friend.”

- James Altucher (via betaworks)

Twitter Revenue Idea

Sun, 15 Feb 2009 21:29:59 -0500

This is actually a comment that I posted on this TechCrunch article

It’s interesting I’ve been thinking and talking to friends about this concept over the past few days and started a decent conversation on Twitter today about it. Twitter’s value is the data that it is collecting from an exponentially growing number of diverse users each day. The data is the reason that Twitter raised an additional $35 million from an extremely intelligent and sucessful group of investors.

My original Tweet today was “I still think a viable business model for Twitter would be to charge me access to a non-production replicated database to write SQL against”

I have to disagree somewhat with John Borthwick though because I think partnering with Google would only expose Googles interpretation of the Twitter datastream, through Google’s algorithms and potentially reduce Twitter’s competitive advantage over Google in this category.

I say sell the data at a premium to companies who have figured out that the only way to understand our generation is to participate with us in the conversation.

The data in it’s purest form (directly from Twitter) is what I beleive will eventually lead to larger businesses wanting to license non-production, but replicated Twitter database instances for them to write their own custom queries against. No matter what UI you put on top of any data source, it still isn’t as powerful as being able to write SQL directly against a database. No APIs, Firehoses, whatever….just a datasource and a team of analytics guru’s finding trends by writing SQL.

As I pointed out to someone who replied to me today on Twitter “agree APIs are nice (free) but bigger companies have full analytics/reporting teams and money, want to sit on all of the data”. I know this because I’ve spent many years working with this contries largest provider of real estate data. Big companies want the data and they will pay big money for it. I think Twitter and it’s investors know this.

I think Twitter’s challenge is doing enough homework to show these bigger companies that the data that they have is valuable and will gain them access to our generation of consumers. Why? Because not all companies GET IT yet. They have to convince big companies that the data that they want is not only in their possesion but that it’s growing at unbeleivalbe rates. The second biggest challenge I think they have is how to handle the growth if unfiltered access to the data tips.

What about costs? Like I said on Twitter today, “Twitter should probably start at $100k/month to find the companies who were really serious about partnering with them IMO”

I beleive that the unpaid “product” ambassadors on Twitter are far better than the ranks of big corporate marketing and community departments. Eventually big companies will get it and join in. When that happens, Twitter will get to pay some investors.

Real Economic Stimulus

Sat, 14 Feb 2009 16:31:28 -0500

Mark Cuban - owner of the Dallas Mavericks, venture capitalist, serial entrepreneur and now angel investor has gone out on a limb and introduced a concept he calls “open source funding”. I REALLY love the idea. He wants to see all pitches that meet 13 basic criteria that he has drafted under one condition: you have to publicly post your business plan on his blog or put it up on slideshare or Google docs and link to it from a comment on his blog. Either way, Mark wants the “world” to see peoples business plans and he clearly points out that if HE isn’t interested in it, someone else who is reading might be.

When I first saw Mark’s post a few days ago there were already over 600 comments. Today the comments have climbed to over 1200. If you skim the comments; all are not pitches, some are critisims of Mark for 1) not being interested in seeing deals where revenue is from ads and 2) asking people to post business plans or ideas publicly instead of sending them in email.

I respect Mark for sticking to these two criteria because I agree that revenue from ads is a very tough business to actually make work without extremely viral, original and frequent content. Secondly, you can tell that Mark thinks ideas are free without execution; a point I’ve written about a few times and totally agree with. Most people worry about somebody stealing their idea, but I say who cares, it doesn’t matter. If you really are passionate about something then you need to execute on the idea instead of telling Mark Cuban that “I’ve been thinking about doing X for a couple of years”. I can tell you this…the probability of Mark Cuban or any other angel guy trading you cash for equity on a deal that you have been executing is much greater than them giving you cash for equity on “an idea”.

- Entrepreneur Rant - Wannabe entrepreneurs (WEs); please understand that you have no skin in the game until you actually do something…execute on your idea, and then you can get someones attention if you need help. Without any execution WEs have 0 leverage with angels, VCs, Mark Cuban, your rich uncle or whoever is assuming all of the risk in your deal. No one owes you anything. By executing on your idea you will start to learn so much about what is right and wrong with your idea. You will get valuable feedback from your users/customers. If you still need cash to grow, take your questions and challenges to an angel guy then and watch their interests perk. That’s almost guarunteed to get you a meeting (at least an email) as long as your deal is in their sweet spot. I realize angels and VCs go in on deals that are at the paper and spreadsheets phase, but my rant is to help entrepreneurs increase their chances of closing a round by bringing angels and VCs real problems instead of theory and ideas. You gain leverage (value) as an entrepreneur by trying to prove your business idea, not by wishing someone with cash would take a chance on you. - End Entrepreneur Rant-

I’ve said this all before, and got off topic in the rant, but my point is that we absolutely need more Mark Cubans during this economic shit storm. Two posts that you should go read right now along the same topic are Fred Wilson’s post on When Greed is Good and Howard Lindzon’s rumor post on Twitter filing for an IPO. Both are solid reads beyond these two posts. Fred and Howard know what they are talking about and have the portfolios to prove it. It’s nice to have guys like them be so transparent with their business; it helps me in running mine, and I’m sure others feel the same way.

"So don’t follow the money. Follow the excitement. The people inventing the future are doing so just..."

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 09:52:27 -0500

“So don’t follow the money. Follow the excitement. The people inventing the future are doing so just because it’s fun.”

- Tim O’Reilly - Where Real Innovation Happens - Forbes.com (via bijan)

White House from Pennsylvania Ave - recent Washington DC trip

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:29:09 -0500

White House from Pennsylvania Ave - recent Washington DC trip

Washington Monument - Washington DC trip

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:26:35 -0500

Washington Monument - Washington DC trip

Washington Monument & reflecting pool from Lincoln’s...

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:24:34 -0500

Washington Monument & reflecting pool from Lincoln’s seat - Washington DC

Lincoln Memorial - during my recent trip to Washington DC

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:20:40 -0500

Lincoln Memorial - during my recent trip to Washington DC

White House during my recent DC trip

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 15:53:38 -0500

White House during my recent DC trip

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac choose not to evict renters

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 13:57:33 -0500

I posted this as a comment to this article in the Wall Street Journal today.

Evictions on owner/occupants who have overextended their financial lives and are now in dire straits is much different than evicting renters who are current with their rent and have not violated a mortgage agreement. The real issue is that taxpayers remain in the dark on these decisions by the GSEs (Fannie and Freddie) and ultimately come to some false conclusions. I think the GSEs should publicly justify their decisions to avoid a deeper dive in taxpayer economic confidence.

The reality is that increased evictions will result in increased bailout of the GSEs from the government which hits all of us (taxpayers) who have chosen to live below are means. We end up paying more (bailout money) when people are evicted; regardless if it is owner/occupied or renters.

The reason is that evictions result in empty homes that typically have been neglected by the occupants because they are in foreclosure and have no money to pay their mortgage, so they aren’t going to take care of the property either. An empty home that has been neglected and must be rehabbed cost the GSEs much more money (our bailout money) than a “performing” home that the occupant is living in and is maintaining. Empty homes might not be a huge issue in a good economy because private investors are typically there to buy these properties; however, the private money has dried up and homes are sitting empty for long periods of time, so the GSEs losses continue to rise as the house doesn’t get sold on the private market.

In this economic dip we will continue to see the GSEs come up with new policies engineered to keep homes occupied; be it owners or renters because it saves them (and us) money in the end. I do however agree with most of you here that it is unfair that our taxes go up to support bailout efforts while those that made bad financial decisions seem to be getting a free ride from us. I don’t believe any US citizen wants the Gov messing around with capitalism, but they would also agree that “letting them all fail” would lead to a much more grim economy that we are seeing today.

"In a great economy, money hides problems and opportunities."

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 20:19:41 -0500

“In a great economy, money hides problems and opportunities.”

- Nivi of Venture Hacks

"So why am I optimistic about investing in 2009? Because entrepreneurship is an addiction, it isn’t a..."

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 20:08:40 -0500

“So why am I optimistic about investing in 2009? Because entrepreneurship is an addiction, it isn’t a choice. Great entrepreneurs aren’t driven to create companies because it is easy, or because capital is plentiful, or because the public markets are swallowing anything the venture community will throw at them. Great entrepreneurs start companies because they can’t help themselves. They see a problem or a solution or white space or an opportunity and they have to do something about it.”

- David Hornik “Innovation Doesn’t Take a Vacation in an Economic Downturn”

Transparency with mortgage originations and refinance

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 14:58:00 -0500

I follow Dan Green of The Mortgage Reports because he adds transparency to the world of mortgage. It’s an interest of mine because I’ve spent the past 5 years providing software to some of the same mortgage servicers that he sells his mortgages to (I’m assuming here, but pretty sure). The big difference is that the software we provide is to manage the overwhelming large default mortgage accounts that the servicers are facing in this economic dip. Dan’s focus is new performing loans.

The focus of my post is to call attention to a post over on Dan’s blog that exposes some truths about published rates. Those of us who have gone through the mortgage process understand that a mortgage is not just a matter of “locking in” a rate, but also having the cash to close the deal. These extra fees and costs associated with a mortgage can often times break a deal up.

It’s a mixed bag of charges that involve all parties such as the mortgage broker, the mortgage company, the closing attorney, inspectors, surveyors, title companies, etc. One of those variables that Dan points out are Points. Points are percentages of the mortgage to be paid in cash to buy down the rate to a specific value. Dan can probably define Points much better than I can, but my point about Points is that they can break deals up for people trying to refinance or buy a home.

As a mortgage consumer I think I can speak for most and say that during the house buying or refinancing process paying extra Points, charges, fees, etc is the absolute last thing that we want to hear to get the deal done. Yes, rates are down, but as Dan makes clear, Points are up.

This is for two reasons I think: 1) Mortgage servicers are completely overwhelmed with the surge of refi’s so in order to catch up, they increase price (points) in hopes to reduce the number of people wanting to refi. 2) Mortgage servicers have higher losses than they have ever experienced before because of foreclosures (the industry I’m in), so to help cover some loss they are trying to make cash through origination and refi points.

Its a give and take, but the more transparent mortgage companies and mortgage brokers can be with borrowers the more deals they will do. Consumers are becoming more and more educated each day and less patient when things aren’t so clear. My advice to the consumer is to ask as many questions as possible about what the total cost to close the deal will be. My advice to the mortgage broker and mortgage servicer is to be as transparent with information as early in the deal as possible. Realize that the internet has exposed your business just like many others and be a leader in sharing how your business works with the world.

Whether the consumer has lots of cash or limited funds, the common question will always be “what will it cost me”. Be proactive in helping me as a consumer understand my costs, what can be negotiated and how you can help me. You will win big in the end because if I trust you, I will be a life customer.

Best of luck in your mortgage journey

"Success is going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm"

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 08:55:43 -0500

“Success is going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm”

- Winston Churchill

reblogged from a comment on AVC

Making Something From Nothing

(via fred-wilson)

More exciting app store news

Thu, 01 Jan 2009 20:03:06 -0500

More exciting app store news:

willw:

This is frightening. The creator of iFart has posted all his sales figures, and on xmas he made $27,000.