A few things I’ve learned in my 8 months so far of building a startup for iPhone:
1. Iteration cycles take forever.
1.5. HockeyApp and TestFlight will not replace the quick iteration cycles many are used to on the web. You’ll never be able to reliably test how new users react to new pushes.
2. Every app is a theatrical performance. Users are wowed by a well polished, usable, creatively designed app.
3. Users still like familiar though. BALANCE.
4. Talking to users is huge.
I use Facebook. I hate about 90% of what I see on Facebook. Same with Instagram. Neither of these services make me happy.
Your lunch doesn’t matter to me. A thousand pics of yourself don’t matter. Your life’s trivial drama generally makes me close Facebook’s tab. Quotes from you’re favorite song? Why? This is 90% of Facebook and Instagram.
I post all of the above things I hate, too. I try to eat healthy, but sometimes I can’t resist a little sugar.
Passion is often mistaken as something people are born with. Completely wrong. My lovely sister didn’t spawn out of the womb as a masterful painter. She gradually became that way. Society often tells us the other way.
Passion is that sweet spot between too easy and overwhelming. Had I told my 2 year ago self that I’d be building a mobile startup, I’d be horrified. My 5 year older self would probably laugh at how easy he could handle it.
I began building Memorandom in a fairly unhappy state (at least less happy than I’d like). At the time, I believed through assumption that achieving big goals meant putting up with lower levels of happiness. I was so focused on the end result that very little else seemed worth my time.
I’ve learned a lot in the months since Memorandom grew from an idea to a product days away from shipping. I’m very productive while avoiding the 24/7 work mentality, my relationships have improved, and being happy has made me more valuable to the team.
I disagree that to getting shit done in a startup requires unrelenting dedication to my work. Not because I don’t think getting lots of shit done is a good thing, but at how ineffective I’ve personally found working without pause.
I’ve been fortunate enough to experiment with different workflows through my work with Memorandom. I naturally gravitated towards putting every minute of my day into programming.
Initially, the 24/7 workday always seems effective, but poor results always result. As time goes on, pure focus becomes much more difficult to achieve, creativity begins to wane, relationships begin to falter, we ignore other things like diet important in our lives.
“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” – Chinese Proverb
I often try to push myself hard in attempt to hurdle over experience barriers. Programming isn’t something I’ve done for as long as I wish yet I try hard to compete with the likes of Silicon Valley kids who’ve been shitting beautiful code since they were hatchlings.
Initially, I rejected the 10,000 hour rule, or at least I assumed I could cram it into a few short years.
I made a drastic life change requiring urgent self-starting. I still look to refine my process, but I’ve learned a lot about starting new things. I thought they would be worth sharing.
History Education was my focus freshman year of college. My pursuit stemmed from understanding those who came before us. Behavior from the past would deliver insight to the present — something I thought valuable.
Teaching kids always seemed like a good idea when I was a kid. By sophomore year, my passion began to fade.
I have good reason not to allow comments here.
GamerAdvice.com, a multiplayer video game blog , was my first dive into selling my abilities. I had almost nothing but pure willpower.
I lacked any sizable knowledge on any of the prerequisite skills of:
I still look at the mistakes I made from that site — trying to expand my team with free work instead of keeping the quality of posts to a high level, indulging too much in vanity metrics, trying to please everyone, and, perhaps worst of all, allowing comments on my site.
