Over the past year I have been horrible about blogging. In fact after writing 50+ articles in a year, I went to virtually nil. What happened? It was all going so well. Well, life happened. Between building a business, helping my wife start her business, having a new baby, moving to a new home, traveling, trying to stay in shape etc. etc. I haven’t been on the ball. This is no excuse, because others seem to do it, but something I need to fix. I recently completed some personal projects and now am going to make some time for more blogging. Not necessarily for other people, but for myself. I found it to be a wonderfully cathartic exercise that I miss out on. Here are some updates that I will be sharing News on Printchomp – There is so much goodness going on that I need to do a better job sharing how awesome our team is and how much we are growing. Lots of news on this coming soon! Community News – Last year, I wrote my then last blog article on Why I moved back to the Waterloo Region. I have been kindly asked by Kara Swisher to contribute to her new kick-ass blog Re/code. You can expect for me to do a killer update on all the goodness going on with startups near me and the entire scene Startup lessons learned – Over the past 2 years with Printchomp and interacting with other startups, I have learned so much. After having a series of dinners with friends and colleagues namely ones with Scott Oldford and Alkarim Nasser, I realized that if I don’t share these lessons, I think I am missing out on the opportunity to crystallize them in my head and more importantly share them with others. I had an amazing trip to San Francisco a couple months ago and was so neglectful not to share all the cool people I got to meet with. Nope I won’t review your product – I am still getting regular requests to review new products. Unless it is something I stumble upon myself and is absolutely amazing I probably won’t write about it. I won’t do fake sponsored blogs either, unless what you are shilling is absolutely amazing and you’ll give me one (or have a truck full of cash show up). Trends – Being head down in my startup I am seeing a lot of cool technology trends, more importantly potholes and things to avoid. I’m going to try to share this stuff because there are some amazing things going on. Video Studio – I’m happy to...
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A year has passed, and our little girl has just turned one. Last year at this time, we were patiently waiting for our little girl to arrive and didn’t realize how much our lives were about to change. Much like the rest of the year, Anna’s birthday was celebrated with family and friends. The amount of love, care, support that we have received has been tremendous and so unconditional. This, I think, is due in part to Anna’s infectious personality. She truly comes into a room and charms everyone with her eyes, her smile and her personality. This year has not been without its share of ups and downs. The highs of watching Anna taking her first steps have also been counterbalanced with the stress of her surgery and everything that followed. The reality is that we have entered into an amazing roller coaster, with the highest highs and the lowest lows. Parenthood is an amazing journey and it has only just begun. Our family will change and continue to grow, and we know that this unforgettable year will be followed by many more . I think my wife Laura said it best when she said: One year ago today, I was in the hospital about to give birth. Anna joined us at 12:37 am on January 9. I can’t believe my baby is one! What a year it’s been – joy and frustration, laughter and tears. I wouldn’t change a minute of it! We love you...
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In and out, in and out, I quietly sit, watching my daughter breathe while she is sleeping truly a miracle. Anna lays between Laura and me peacefully sleeping on the eve of her surgery. I can’t help but feeling such a huge range of emotions. Over the past 10 months I have built such a tight bond with my little girl, my first concern is providing for her, protecting her and keeping her safe. Since Laura has to go to work early in the morning, she feeds her in the morning and then leaves my little daughter next to me to let us both a little extra sleep. Sometimes I wake up before her and I watch her wake up and it is one of my favorite moments in the day. For such a little person, she has so much personality and has brought so much happiness into my life and into the life of our entire family. Since becoming a father it is amazing how a switch flips inside you, and your world turns upside down. You grow a parental 6th sense for your child, learn their little idiosyncrasies and what makes them an individual. As sappy as it sounds songs, I find myself getting really moved songs that choke me up inside. I mean I love Guns N’ Roses, but when I hear sweet child of mine I well up inside. The song The Suburbs by The Arcade Fire really touches me especially this lyric: So can you understand? Why I want a daughter while I’m still young I wanna hold her hand And show her some beauty Before this damage is done It touches me especially because I want to show my daughter beauty and protect her. It has been 19 months since I found out I was going to be a father and 10 months of actually getting to hold my little girl in my arms. I find I am getting to re-experience everything through my child’s eyes. On a trip to the zoo, I get so much joy watching her eyes light up. As we get closer to Christmas, I look forward to seeing Anna get excited as she gets to experience it for the first time. I write this blog tonight because I can’t sleep. I haven’t been able to sleep much lately. Tomorrow will be a tough day, but we will get through it. Anna is a tough little girl. While she woos everyone with her cuteness and personality, I know she is a fighter like her parents and will be fine. This year I have felt the full range of emotions...
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I became a father over 5 months ago, and it has definitely been a game changer in my life. I have also been involved in several start-up companies both before and during my foray into fatherhood. However, since I became a father, I found there were some very interesting similarities to working in a start-up. 1. Noticing the smallest patterns Whether it is managing your product or your baby, it is all about spotting the small patterns. What is causing them to respond, what do they like, what don’t they like? It could be the slightest difference in what you do or how you do it but it can have an impact. Discovering those patterns is key in helping to scale your business or keep your baby happy. If you are able to discover what makes your baby happy, you can replicate it, and use that knowledge in other situations. Feedback is key to the entire operation. Granted, a baby’s cry is significantly more ambiguous than a clear pattern in business, but over time you start to learn what they need. Now, I wish that my baby was as easy to understand as my customers, but again it requires a combination of intuition and testing in order to figure out the best way to approach things. Start-ups, like fatherhood, require constant and regular iteration. If your baby is not responding favourably you can’t keep doing the same wrong thing for a day, a week or a month. Start-ups are no different, from the standpoint that you can’t afford to sit on bad strategy or tactics long. In learning to live life with the baby, you need to see how the situation evolves and continually iterate while noticing patterns in the chaos. 2. Serve multiple constituents I find you need to serve multiple constituents when you become a father. Think about it this way – your baby is your client, your wife is your co-workers and your parents are your investors. Your baby is everything, and you need to be responsive and serve their needs. Respond in a timely fashion and keep them happy. With a baby, your pay-off is a smile that warms your heart. The correlate pay-off in business is word-of-mouth referrals from your clients. Your wife/partner is in many ways your co-worker or staff. You are both working together towards a common purpose, but sometimes get worn down by the constant demands of the baby (or client!). In this case, it is important to look for opportunities to alleviate stress and do little things to show that you care even in the face of adversity. Sometimes a...
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