How Shopify Grew From a Snowboard Shop to a $10B Commerce Ecosystem
Gimme a break, I like founder stories. I even liked the move The Founder, even though that Kroc guy seemed like a jerk. Now I want a Coke and a McMuffin.
Sorry. This is a link to a story about Shopify and stuff. – Calvin
The War To Sell You A Mattress Is An Internet Nightmare
Apparently the most read mattress reviewers are making $2M+ per year. Several have been sued by mattress manufacturer's who didn't like their reviews. Follow the story of Sleepopolis as David-and-Goliath style they take on the kingpin, Casper. -Brian
I have an idea for an app, now what?
I get asked this often, and I don't ever feel as though I have a very good answer. This is not a "see look at all this stuff you have to do, now don't you feel dumb for having an idea" kind of post; I've seen plenty of those and they're unnecessary. This is actually a very helpful list of things you can do to validate your idea and some next steps to take once you're ready. – Calvin
Robinhood - Free Stock Trading
Has anyone tried this? I really want to play with it but I don't understand how stocks work. Also, this app is pretty.
Related: if anyone has a killer article about how to get started with stock trading or how it works (like stocks for dummies but not a whole book) I'd love to read that. Send it my way.
Shoutout to Brian F. for the link. This is a fascinating look at Facebook. Despite how you use Facebook or your opinion of the platform, remember: Facebook is an advertising company. It is run by a genius, it's built in a very smart way, and they've developed an insanely impressive product. And at some point in the recent past it was a fun place to be. But is it a product? Not so much. This article asserts that now, you, Facebook user, you are the product.
Facebook, in fact, is the biggest surveillance-based enterprise in the history of mankind. It knows far, far more about you than the most intrusive government has ever known about its citizens.
Yikes. As my friend Kerry would say, stay nervous folks.
Look Beyond Existing Customers When Building Your Product
This article covers two of my favorite services that we use to help run our products. I spend part of every single weekday in Intercom and Stripe, so I notice when they make incremental changes or improvements. Using them every day also means I notice when they make the big changes, and it's been really interesting to me to try to guess where they're taking the product next.
A Huge Collection of Startup Pitch Decks
This is exactly what the title says it is. Tech startups raise piles and piles of money, but usually you just hear about the number. Here's how they convinced the investors to invest.
Why the Next Generation of SaaS Will Look Like Facebook
It's all about usage. If you're not driving usage then you're dying. I hadn't thought about how ubiquitous Facebook had become:
Facebook has integrated into other products so thoroughly that it’s become normal for us to see and interface with Facebook in other products. In some cases, it’s hard to even sign up for a product if you don’t already have a Facebook account.
Sheesh.
Why Amazon Bought Whole Foods for $13.7 Billion
You've probably heard about Amazon's big purchase already, but a casual observation at the end made me nervous. The author says she hopes that Amazon makes Whole Foods cheaper; if Amazon starts aggressively driving down costs to destroy competition like it usually does, it could become even more unlikely that small-time farmers can earn a living. As if I wasn't already feeling guilty enough buying stuff from Amazon... Also, thanks to my Mom for the link.
Why Every Business Should Start with a Spreadsheet
You already know how to use spreadsheets (I hope). It's tempting to find a tool (a SaaS product) that will make everything easy, but if you start with a spreadsheet you'll be forced to iron out the kinks in your process first. Once you've got a process that works for your business, THEN it's time to search for software that improves the efficiency of your process.