Disqus - Latest Comments for micah

Re: An inside look at Create33, the new ‘founder center’ from Madrona designed to spark Seattle entrepreneurship

Micah Baldwin — Mon, 30 Jul 2018 15:00:07 -0000

Hi @Barry Mill @Anna Jerald @Steve Ardire Thank you for your perspective. There are a lot of things we will learn over time as we do this, and learning from folks is the best way. Let me know if you have the time or inclination to get together and expound on your thoughts. I can be reached at micah@madrona.com or 415-290-9910.

Looking forward to connecting!

(And man, I havent used Disqus in a long time!)

Re: My Twitter Feed Is Full Of Politics

Micah Baldwin — Tue, 26 Jul 2016 16:41:42 -0000

I could have written this a month before. I feel that everything balances, but then I watched trump's speech and something clicked in my brain. This is bad. I'm scared. I had to speak out and do something to make sure he isn't elected. Perhaps, like many things, I over did it; I've never been political before. But the voices matter this time. I am listening and engaging and learning. And while, it's hard because I don't like politics; it is important. So I apologize for the noise I create, but I hope it spurs just enough thought in just enough people to make a difference.

Re: How To Raise A $150 Million VC Fund

Micah Baldwin — Wed, 28 Jan 2015 12:23:04 -0000

Pride swells in my chest, as I realize that the one thing you forgot to mention, but is clear in your words, was that through out all the success, David Cohen and the rest of the Techstars team continue to put the founder and friendship first ... and win.

Re: Answer the Damn Question

Micah Baldwin — Thu, 28 Aug 2014 20:13:07 -0000

The trick is actually understanding the question so you can answer it with data. "Have you ever lost a customer due to the difficulty of onboarding?" should be follow up "Why do you ask? Did you find difficulty in the onboarding process? To date, we lost about XX% of users at the 4th step. We are looking to eliminate it." Most people dont ask the answer they want the answer to, they ask around it.

Re: An Apology and An Update — Coined | Backer's Club

Micah Baldwin — Sat, 23 Aug 2014 20:20:43 -0000

Glad you guys reevaluated and adjusted your strategy, especially becuAse so many of us early backers spent social capital to promote coin.

Excited for it to final show up!

Re: Career Thank You’s: Home Depot Careers, The Great Giveback

Micah Baldwin — Fri, 01 Nov 2013 11:38:59 -0000

The part that you didn't know is that about 2 minutes into our conversation, I knew that you was special. I didn't want to talk to Walter at that point, because I didn't want you to think we were hiring you to fill space rather than to rock. I think my exact words to Walter were "We'd be idiots not to hire her." (clearly I should have also used your name.)

Rarely have I been that right. You defined the position and were the standard we held all others against. Plus it was fun to tell Perry you were better at his job than him ... :)

Re: The Benefit of Mentor Whiplash

Micah Baldwin — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 21:13:41 -0000

I believe deeply in efficiency. Why go to 5 mentors to get 7 answers, when I can give you all seven in one shot?

* "Your idea doesn't scale, have you thought about leveraging twitter's API to pull Facebook data?"
* "Have you thought about the international market? You know mobile in China is exploding."
* "Customer Acquisition is your achilles heel. I suggest creating a viral loop of 1 by using long tail terms on Facebook to get twitter handles you can DM."
* "Your messaging reminds me of this company from 2001. I would be careful that people would remember it, perhaps use a Swahili word or a logo with a swoosh?"
* "The most important thing in getting investment is leading with market size. What is your market size?"
* "The most important thing in getting investment is to ignore your market size. It's team all the way!"
* "Wait. What were we talking about again? I got a SnapChat. Have you thought of making your product ephemeral? It's hot right now."

A strong founder is able to dig through the mountainous pile of crap that mentors/advisors/investors dump on their heads to find the one diamond that truly shines. That strength usually comes from having a clear vision as to what you want to create, and sticking with it.

Re: Regroup Successful

Micah Baldwin — Mon, 01 Jul 2013 09:35:48 -0000

I hope that "Be Happier" becomes a theme for more than just Q3. :)

When I was working through understanding my bipolar early on, my doctor was explaining to me the importance of sleep.

He explained that the human mind wants to go to sleep around 10pm, and if you stayed up much later, then the brain would assume that you wanted to just stay up, so it would rev back up and convince you that it was hungry. Given the brain only likes to eat carbs and sugar, you would get hungry but crave a late night ice cream cone instead of an apple.

He continued to explain that the brain naturally wanted to wake up around 6am. And if you went to sleep at 10am, the body and brain would slow down until its lowest point at 4am, and then slowly speed up until 6am, when you should naturally wake. This pattern also leads to most people who die in their sleep to die around 4am.

I find it interesting that you choice 10pm to go to sleep, as it is the most natural point to do so.

As for your Q3 goal, define what happier means to you. It could be a feeling or it also could be an action. For me, its spending time uninterrupted with my dogs. This is why travel doesn't make me happy nor do early days full of meetings. By having a clear understanding of what happy is, you can know if you are more of it.

Re: VC Asshat Move #1

Micah Baldwin — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 19:06:11 -0000

As a startup, you can also use this to your advantage. Attend the meeting with the associate/partner and drag out all the questions and learning they have around the space. Understand that if they are asking certain questions, then other VCs will ask similar questions. Try out a new pitch. Doesn't matter, they aren't going to fund you. Ask them a ton of questions about the other company (if you know what it is), let them crow about it. Learn what matters to them and what scares the other company.

Thank them for their time. Smile, and walk out.

Re: teendrama :: hello my name is dennis.

Micah Baldwin — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 13:04:53 -0000

I read this as USTMNT and thought "cool, Dennis totally looks like Michelangelo"

Re: Nathaniel Whittemore - To Jody, Blackbirds, And Never Having To Go It Alone

Micah Baldwin — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 13:23:11 -0000

you are amazing.

Re: Let love guide you

Micah Baldwin — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 14:38:57 -0000

In the words on my grandmother, who understood love better than any human alive: "BOOM! Shakalaka."

Re: Made by few

Micah Baldwin — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 22:23:00 -0000

I know what you are stoked about *cough, cough* // points at dude not wearing a banana suit.

Re: Something Ventured: The Founding of the Venture Capital Industry

Micah Baldwin — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 01:05:02 -0000

Growing up in San Jose, with my mom working (and getting laid off multiple times) at various startups, and my dad at Stanford, I the doc I saw was less about the birth of VC and more about the growth of my home region. It's amazing. Now my mom works at Stanford for one of the institutes, and Pitch and others sit on the board of the institute, its great getting her perspective on these giants and how in love with entrepreneurs they continue to be. Inspiring.

Re: Bijan Sabet • Christmas morning

Micah Baldwin — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 16:39:25 -0000

was it planned to have the wrapping paper match their pajamas? So awesome.

Re: Suburban Sweetheart: "Jersey Voices" & A Potential Brush With Fame in a Suburban Starbucks

Micah Baldwin — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 11:56:46 -0000

Just so you know that I still read your blog -- you work "in" a Starbucks, not "at" unless you a making extra money. :)

Re: a16z

Micah Baldwin — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 01:06:07 -0000

Given my (albeit few) positive interactions with you and a16z there couldn't be a better match. Couple that with founders' excitement, the ecosystem, and SV are going to be well-served by your move. Congrats Chris!

Re: Fun Friday: Favorite Airline

Micah Baldwin — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 18:01:45 -0000

One thing I like about the Virgin lighting is the science that went into it. http://www.quora.com/Virgin...

Re: Kenai – RIP

Micah Baldwin — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 13:17:35 -0000

I am so sorry to hear of his passing. I am glad that I was able to meet him and his energy and personality will be a welcome memory.

Re: Fun Friday: Who To Follow On Twitter

Micah Baldwin — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 11:04:54 -0000

This is awesome.

When I started Follow Friday back in Jan 2009 (!!) It was for this exact type of discourse to occur. Who to follow, and more importantly, why. There are so many undiscovered amazing people in places like Twitter, that with something as simple as a suggestion we can all enjoy and learn from them.

P.S. For those that hate Follow Friday, I understand and apologize for the "growth hackers" that destroyed it, like most marketers do with anything that can help monetization. :)

Re: Q3 Performance That Blew My Mind

Micah Baldwin — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 12:25:55 -0000

Its that an interesting approach. Phil Jackson, the legendary coach of the Chicago Bulls and LA Lakers used to say that the 3rd quarter was the most important. By getting ahead in the third quarter, the fourth quarter becomes less pressure filled.

When I coached lacrosse, we took the same attitude. And, as we build Graphicly, our goal is to not have Q4 be the "saving grace" to hit our annual goals.

Re: A Changing Tablet Market?

Micah Baldwin — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 14:59:37 -0000

Obviously we are skewed in our thinking. (kinda a self promo--but don't know how to bring this up without it) -- at Graphicly, we are working closely with the marketplaces (Apple, Kindle, BN, etc.) and more than 4,000 publishers to distribute their books. There has been a clear adjustment to the energy the non-Apple marketplaces have been putting behind books in the past several months. It can only be tied to a marketed growth in reading usage patterns. Couple that with the explosion in the ebook market (on pace to hit $4B+ in sales this year -- Random House announced that ~23% of their sales were driven by digital), you have a perfect storm.

Completely not-surprising.

Re: Hitting Your Stride

Micah Baldwin — Sun, 30 Sep 2012 12:28:29 -0000

It's one of the reasons I spend so much time mentoring at Techstars, 500startups and advising because it gives me a chance to build that thesis and methodology, and watch folks way more experienced then me make investment decisions. I find myself saying no much more often, and being very clear as to what types of founders and startups I can be helpful with and how I can be helpful. I have been doing this about 4-5 years now, and the value I bring today is 100x of what I brought in previous years.

Re: Another Amazing Fitbit Weight Loss Story

Micah Baldwin — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 14:27:26 -0000

Andy, you are one of my favorite people in the world, and now also an inspiration. 20k steps a day! Dammit. I need to get moving (Im at like ~12-15k and I probably take 1.5-2 steps for one of yours!) Im down ~15 lbs since I started retrofit, and am finding that I like the fitbit more and more.

Next step for you -- treadmill desk! :)

Re: Escaping the Kozmos

Micah Baldwin — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 22:36:21 -0000

it really depends. The big lesson of Kozmo was don't carry inventory. At the time, it was the only way to ensure that we could deliver stuff in under an hour. Everyone you listed above is focused on two actions: either peer to peer marketplaces or work for hire. In each case, those are not really competitors to a giant 7-11 that brings you crap in a short period of time, and given the lack of interest in VCs funding such a capital intense business, I don't see a true Kozmo ever rising again.

Ebay for the mobile and instant gratification generation makes sense, and I think apps like Zaarly, Yardsale, Postmates and Instacart have a chance, but its a tough space as its behavior modification, which is just plain hard (and given the pivots by the above companies to date, its still hard). They may all be too early.

Instant, short-term workforce also makes a ton of sense, but only serves a small portion of the market. It certainly has a dual benefit of being helpful to both the worker and the "workee," but its hard to own the space, which is why Exec is having some success against TaskRabbit, etc. I, who is doing the work, only wants to get paid the most; and I, would is getting the work done, only wants to pay the least for the best quality.

Those two types of businesses don't really compete, even if there is bleed in the services side of peer to peer markets.

And, truthfully, there will never be a company that was like Kozmo, even if someone cracks the nut on instant gratification delivery.