Over the past week, there has been lots of news about the uncertain future of BlackBerry, the impact of it shedding jobs and speculation about the impact to the community and the tech future of Waterloo Region. I couldn’t help but reflect back on why I returned to this area. Nearly two years ago, as I sat […]
Category: Startup
Lessons learned from Startup Life and Crossfit
So I have been horrible at keeping up my blog lately. This is my vain attempt to get back into the swing of things now that my life is getting close to a new normal. I moved back to Waterloo 2 months ago to help achieve some work/life/health balance. My workout life has been a […]
Why You Shouldn’t Build A Business On An API Call
I am constantly amazed by the number of startups that build applications and take a huge business risk by building their company on an API call. Countless apps, particularly social apps, have popped up through the last 24 months that have taken data from other systems and re-displayed it in their systems. While there is […]
An impassioned plea to other Start-up founders to use automated tests
As our team gets closer to launching our latest start-up, I wish to pass on a piece of advice that has been a tough lesson for me to learn. Working on the business side of the shop, I have fought against automated tests for a while. That all changed recently. My epiphany came after dealing with a few […]
A 5km run that turned into a 40km run – a story about a startup
So as everyone has probably heard already, I recently lead the charge to launch a new startup called Printchomp. I started this back in April and needless to say it has been a whirlwind. I have had my share of highs and lows building something from nothing and it was nothing like I have ever […]
5 Things a start-up founder should think about 30 days from launch
30 days out from launch I was reflecting on the top things I need to do to help make my company as successful as possible. Here were the top 5 things 1. MVP, MVP, MVP – This isn’t the time to get fancy with all the bells and whistles. You can always build them later. […]
Technical folks not respecting marketing makes me a Sad Panda
Lately, I have had the opportunity to sit across the table for a coffee or a beer with a lot of technically talented people. Some of them I have actively recruit into Printchomp, because I recognize their skillset and ability and what they bring to the table. I have however seen some irritating trends. So […]
Why getting coverage won't fix your crappy start-up
Warning! This doesn’t apply to everyone who has tried to pitch me a story, but enough for me to write this blog post. Please don’t jump all over my head thinking that I am referring to you. When I started off as a part-time rogue blogger, I found it easy to write on things I […]
Top 5 tips for Recruiting a Technical Co-founder
For the last 2 months, I have had my head down building the first start-up in which I was one of the founders. While I spent time coming up with the idea, figuring out how to make money with it, and deciding what it would do, I knew that I needed technical expertise. I started […]
Joseph Puopolo Leaving StickerYou
After nearly 18 months of sticker awesomeness, I have mutually decided with StickerYou to part from the company. Over the past year we have accomplished so many things, whether it is getting picked up by Groupon or Living Social and having our retail product featured in Toys R’ Us and other major retailers. Over the […]