Welcome to my personal blog.
I'm an entrepreneur, technology executive, angel investor, public speaker, product designer and software developer. I enjoy creating new products and services and building high growth companies. I like to spend my time in Sydney, San Francisco and Tokyo and i'm the Founder at BuzzNumbers.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
How to create a great elevator pitch?
- What we are doing? -
- Why its unique, interesting or valuable?
- Why you should care...
I really wish i had recorded my early elevator pitches for BuzzNumbers. As i indulge in recollection of past events, my first investor pitch took 10 minutes to complete. Rushing forward to today, i've pitched thousands of times over to associates, clients, investors etc. It now feels so natural to give an elevator pitch in less than 60 seconds that i had kind of forgotten that i even had to try to hone the perfect "elevator pitch".
I've recently been working with StartMate and internal teams at BuzzNumbers for new products we are bringing to market this year and the concept of elevator pitch has come up a few times this week and spurred me to think about this again.
As a serial entrepreneur and angel investor who has seen thousands of pitches, i have formed an opinion on what makes a good pitch that works for me on both sides of the table and i wanted to share my experience.
The key things i think you need to cover in your pitch is
- What problem do you solve?
- What traction/milestones you have that achieved to prove you are solving this problem
- What you want from the person you are speaking to? (Your "ask")
So with renewed focus, i though perhaps to deliver my Elevator pitch as see it today for BuzzNumbers...
Version 1
So i cut it down to something shorter
Version 2
In thinking how i could to get this down, i recalled giving a pitch when i bumped into an old colleague while crossing a pedestrian crossing in the street who asked "what are you doing now?". My crosswalk pitch?
Version 3
So what are your thoughts?
What is your elevator pitch?
What do you do? Why is it unique? Why do i care?
Leave a comment!
- What we are doing? -
- Why its unique, interesting or valuable?
- Why you should care...
I really wish i had recorded my early elevator pitches for BuzzNumbers. As i indulge in recollection of past events, my first investor pitch took 10 minutes to complete. Rushing forward to today, i've pitched thousands of times over to associates, clients, investors etc. It now feels so natural to give an elevator pitch in less than 60 seconds that i had kind of forgotten that i even had to try to hone the perfect "elevator pitch".
I've recently been working with StartMate and internal teams at BuzzNumbers for new products we are bringing to market this year and the concept of elevator pitch has come up a few times this week and spurred me to think about this again.
As a serial entrepreneur and angel investor who has seen thousands of pitches, i have formed an opinion on what makes a good pitch that works for me on both sides of the table and i wanted to share my experience.
The key things i think you need to cover in your pitch is
- What problem do you solve?
- What traction/milestones you have that achieved to prove you are solving this problem
- What you want from the person you are speaking to? (Your "ask")
So with renewed focus, i though perhaps to deliver my Elevator pitch as see it today for BuzzNumbers...
Version 1
BuzzNumbers helps businesses track, measure and understand what people are saying online and on social media about their company, people, products and competitors.
Our world-class social media analytics platform has best in breed and patent pending realtime monitoring of News, Blogs, Forums, Social Media sites like Twitter and Facebook as well as Video, Classifieds like Craigslist and Ebay and even BitTorrent networks.
Our company was founded in 2009 and is now trusted and used daily by over 150 global fortune 500 companies including Microsoft, AMP, BHP, Astra-Zeneca, EarthHour and multiple Government Agencies and our company is growing exponentially at over XX% per month.
It would be great to get your contact details if that is ok. Do you have a business card so i can send you some information to see if this is of interest?After reflecting on this <1min pitch, which i use frequently, i realised it is objectively perhaps longer than what is necessary to cement interest and get the business card.
So i cut it down to something shorter
Version 2
BuzzNumbers helps companies track what people are saying about them online.
Our customers use this information to get market research and consumer insights in near real-time, something that was never possible before our patent pending Software as a Service was created.
We founded the company in 2009, and have since grown exponentially and acquired more than 150 enterprise customers including Microsoft, AMP, BHP, Astra-Zeneca and many many more across all industry sectors.
I'd love to tell you more - do you have a business card i can send you some information about our company?While now under 35 seconds, surely i could do better!
In thinking how i could to get this down, i recalled giving a pitch when i bumped into an old colleague while crossing a pedestrian crossing in the street who asked "what are you doing now?". My crosswalk pitch?
Version 3
I'm at BuzzNumbers. We help companies understand the voice of the consumer on the web. We are growing crazy fast in both enterprise customers and revenue.
It would be great if you could recommend any potential customers, partners or investors that you think would be interested? Do you have a business card i could send a link to our web demo?Ok, so im now happy with this badass 15 seconds pitch. This pitch is a taster of what we do and why it is cool, and an "ask" to get their contact details without being too pushy.
So what are your thoughts?
What is your elevator pitch?
What do you do? Why is it unique? Why do i care?
Leave a comment!
Posted by Nick HaC @ 12:08 AM
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Posted by Nick HaC @ 12:15 AM
Saturday, January 7, 2012
I can tell by the way the trees beat, after
so many dull days, on my worried windowpanes
that a storm is coming,
and I hear the far-off fields say things
I can't bear without a friend,
I can't love without a sister
The storm, the shifter of shapes, drives on
across the woods and across time,
and the world looks as if it had no age:
the landscape like a line in the psalm book,
is seriousness and weight and eternity.
What we choose to fight is so tiny!
What fights us is so great!
If only we would let ourselves be dominated
as things do by some immense storm,
we would become strong too, and not need names.
When we win it's with small things,
and the triumph itself makes us small.
What is extraordinary and eternal
does not want to be bent by us.
I mean the Angel who appeared
to the wrestlers of the Old Testament:
when the wrestler's sinews
grew long like metal strings,
he felt them under his fingers
like chords of deep music.
Whoever was beaten by this Angel
(who often simply declined the fight)
went away proud and strengthened
and great from that harsh hand,
that kneaded him as if to change his shape.
Winning does not tempt that man.
This is how he grows: by being defeated, decisively,
by constantly greater beings.
so many dull days, on my worried windowpanes
that a storm is coming,
and I hear the far-off fields say things
I can't bear without a friend,
I can't love without a sister
The storm, the shifter of shapes, drives on
across the woods and across time,
and the world looks as if it had no age:
the landscape like a line in the psalm book,
is seriousness and weight and eternity.
What we choose to fight is so tiny!
What fights us is so great!
If only we would let ourselves be dominated
as things do by some immense storm,
we would become strong too, and not need names.
When we win it's with small things,
and the triumph itself makes us small.
What is extraordinary and eternal
does not want to be bent by us.
I mean the Angel who appeared
to the wrestlers of the Old Testament:
when the wrestler's sinews
grew long like metal strings,
he felt them under his fingers
like chords of deep music.
Whoever was beaten by this Angel
(who often simply declined the fight)
went away proud and strengthened
and great from that harsh hand,
that kneaded him as if to change his shape.
Winning does not tempt that man.
This is how he grows: by being defeated, decisively,
by constantly greater beings.
Posted by Nick Holmes a Court @ 10:16 PM
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Today Dennis Ritchie died...
While likely wont get nearly much press, as Wired Magazine put it - Dennis Ritchie was The Shoulders Steve Jobs Stood On
When i was just a young kid, my dad gave me a book "The C Programming Language" by Kernighan and Ritchie - it was this book that first taught me about If/Else, Loops, Switchs, Functions and all the first ways i had ever seen logic described in language. It confused me, it delighted me, it made me want to know more and gave me a thirst for programming.
Thanks Dennis - a generation of programmers thanks you...
While likely wont get nearly much press, as Wired Magazine put it - Dennis Ritchie was The Shoulders Steve Jobs Stood On
When i was just a young kid, my dad gave me a book "The C Programming Language" by Kernighan and Ritchie - it was this book that first taught me about If/Else, Loops, Switchs, Functions and all the first ways i had ever seen logic described in language. It confused me, it delighted me, it made me want to know more and gave me a thirst for programming.
Thanks Dennis - a generation of programmers thanks you...
Posted by Nick HaC @ 12:24 AM
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
I presented last night at Sydney Alt.NET event on Lessons Learned migrating from SQL Server (RDBMS) to MongoDB (NOSQL)
Here is my deck, which was well received.
Here is my deck, which was well received.
Posted by Nick HaC @ 6:57 PM
Monday, September 26, 2011
“Ah, you miserable creatures! You who think that you are so great! You who judge humanity to be so small! You who wish to reform everything! Why don't you reform yourselves? That task would be sufficient enough.”
― Frédéric Bastiat
― Frédéric Bastiat
Posted by Nick Holmes a Court @ 3:37 PM
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Posted by Nick HaC @ 8:28 PM
Monday, June 20, 2011
Sunday, June 12, 2011
I've been reading some material tonight that argues that stress is actually good for you from a biological perspective and this is called Hormesis. From reading this, i think we can quickly argue that this applies to psychology and that we can in fact improve our capacity to better manage our lives through actively encouraging and engaging in high stress scenarios.
What is Hormesis?
- A universal biological principal whereby a stress that is harmful at high doses promotes defense and repair processes at low doses
Examples of Hormesis in action
- Allergen immunotherapy
- Cold showers as an anti-depressant
- Lifting weights to grow muscles
- Exposure therapy for phobias/anxiety
- Boot camp for delinquent kids
Why this matters?
Exposing yourself deliberately to high exposure stress scenarios, improves your ability to handle and respond to stress, conflict and personal challenges that happen on a day to day basis.
This is both a chemical, biological and psychological theory that has a reasonable degree of proof and projected applicability across our personal, interpersonal and business interactions.
There is an identified neurotransmitter in the brain BDNF which is understood to foster the brain's ability to adapt and learn. This theory states that exposing the brain to high levels of stress and exposure across many dimensions ultimately improves the brains ability to manage lower levels of stress by re-enforcing and strengthening existing neural pathways.
This seems reasonably obvious upon reflection, but if we can use this theory as a call to action for us to deliberately expose ourselves to big stress and big challenges and then use our emotional intelligence to realise that when we do this we are just bringing up our baseline, we can actually use previously unwanted stress to actually better ourselves.
How to use unwanted stress to actually improve yourself?
Push yourself deliberately into scenarios that you are significantly uncomfortable with (and actively try to engage your emotional intelligence to not worry about it) with the knowledge that this improves your ability to better manage everyday situations and ultimately make yourself better equipped to operate in your world.
You might just find that your unwanted stress, actually ends up making you a more balanced and less stressed person!
Thanks to http://gettingstronger.org/hormesis/ for inspiration and data on this...
Labels: business, hacker, health, ideas, nerds, thoughts
Posted by Nick HaC @ 2:27 AM
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Edwina reminded me of a youtube documentary that we watched some time ago. Basically it explains where money comes from. When you withdraw 20 bucks, where does the value behind that actually come from and what hold it as worthy?
Labels: business, economy, interestingness, liberty
Posted by Nick HaC @ 12:07 AM
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
So ive been a long term customer of TPG for Home, Business etc...
Here is a photo of my uptime for the last 10 minutes.
This has been my internet connection for the last few weeks, experiencing drop outs for 30 seconds to 2 minutes at a time about 10 times an hour. Call for support "have you restarted your modem"...
Here is a photo of my uptime for the last 10 minutes.
This has been my internet connection for the last few weeks, experiencing drop outs for 30 seconds to 2 minutes at a time about 10 times an hour. Call for support "have you restarted your modem"...
Posted by Nick HaC @ 10:25 PM
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Recently ive decided to learn NodeJS, so a few weeks back i wrote a hello world application. Ive been using Microsoft .NET commercially for around 10 years and although we do use a fair amount of open source technology at BuzzNumbers, i dont write that much code these days so i wanted to get my hands dirty.
I had been looking for a real world application to build in NodeJS and over the last week a requirement emerged for an service that enables me to input a company name in a IMG SRC and get back the company logo.
This gives me flexability so i can just hotlink a company logo anytime when ever im blogging or as part of a client reporting application and the company logo will embed nicely
For Example
src=" http://companylogogenerator.nickhac.com?q=qantas"
or src=" http://companylogogenerator.nickhac.com?q=westpac"
Here is the code http://pastebin.com/iY2gwUDM
I had been looking for a real world application to build in NodeJS and over the last week a requirement emerged for an service that enables me to input a company name in a IMG SRC and get back the company logo.
This gives me flexability so i can just hotlink a company logo anytime when ever im blogging or as part of a client reporting application and the company logo will embed nicely
For Example
src=" http://companylogogenerator.nickhac.com?q=qantas"
or src=" http://companylogogenerator.nickhac.com?q=westpac"
To achieve this i had to use overcome a number of technical challenges...
- Extract parameters from querystring to get the company name
- Build up a URL based on the URL and Company Name
- Download HTML from an Image Search Webpage
- Parse the HTML and extract URL's of Images
- Redirect the Web Request to serve up the image from the 3rd party suite
- Keep the Web Server Always Online and handle errors (using forever)
Posted by Nick HaC @ 10:26 PM
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
My dad gave me some advice a long time ago, and it has really altered the way i think about almost every public speaker i hear and almost every conversation i have.
When i was growing up, if i was sitting at the dinner table and had just told the family what happened that day, he would say "you have to give me a dollar for every time you just said umm"
Now, adjusted for income earning power and inflation, today it should be $100, and in my opinion this should apply to "Umm", "Ahh", "you know"
Its always more poignant to leave a white space rather than feel you need to fill the air with noise. Listen to almost all political and key business leaders, they almost never use these words, and often use big clear white spaces in their spoken word.
Now at this point i have to apologise to you if you are reading this, as this information has fundamentally ruined my ability to listen to others who use the words "Umm", "Ahh", "you know"
Sorry... but i hope this makes your speech a little more poignant
Labels: success
Posted by Nick Holmes a Court @ 9:44 PM
Saturday, April 23, 2011
As a leader in your company or as a specialist with years of experience in your field you are often called upon to help others address their challenges on a regular basis.
From some recent learnings i've had there are 5 different ways that advice is given or received, and i have found this useful to reflect upon as often as specialists we focus on solving others problems rather than enabling them to solve their own problems.
The 5 ways of giving advice
The role of a CEO or leader within a high-growth company should ultimately progress from Consulting to Coach, for example, how many business cards from 1 man companies have "CEO" written on them do nothing else but consulting, contrast that to the CEO of a fortune 500 company who would almost never engage in any kind of consulting, training, mentoring or facilitating but actual purely as a coach to their key executives.
So consider your role within your company or in your engagement with others. How can you progress from beyond being a pure consultant to one that empowers others and creates a multiple of value?
From some recent learnings i've had there are 5 different ways that advice is given or received, and i have found this useful to reflect upon as often as specialists we focus on solving others problems rather than enabling them to solve their own problems.
The 5 ways of giving advice
1, ConsultingIt's important to realise what kind of advice you are giving the people who ask for your time and input. Providing consulting advice is useful in scenarios of high-risk where a solution is needed now, but really doesn't scale as your company grows.
Giving specific advice and describing actions to solve problems
2. Training
Transference of skills, you impart knowledge of a specific process to enable them - "teach a man to fish"
3. Mentoring
Being available as a wealth of knowledge and experience and sharing past experiences and their outcomes
4. Facilitating
Amongst a group of people, managing the flow of engagement to create an outcome while having no personal agenda
5. Coaching
Creating awareness of the actual current position, thereby enabling people to explore and make choices to create real action and be empowered to solve their own problems
The role of a CEO or leader within a high-growth company should ultimately progress from Consulting to Coach, for example, how many business cards from 1 man companies have "CEO" written on them do nothing else but consulting, contrast that to the CEO of a fortune 500 company who would almost never engage in any kind of consulting, training, mentoring or facilitating but actual purely as a coach to their key executives.
So consider your role within your company or in your engagement with others. How can you progress from beyond being a pure consultant to one that empowers others and creates a multiple of value?
Labels: business, entrepreneurship, leadership
Posted by Nick HaC @ 9:51 AM
Friday, April 22, 2011
Was at a new bar in Sydney last night for company drinks, i saw this quote, and for some reason it resonated with me...
I like the use of the word "discuss"
"If writing on toilet walls is done neither for critical acclaim or monetary gain, is it not therefore the purest form of art? Discuss"
I like the use of the word "discuss"
"If writing on toilet walls is done neither for critical acclaim or monetary gain, is it not therefore the purest form of art? Discuss"
Posted by Nick HaC @ 10:36 PM
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
I had been listening to alot of talk 2nd hand about lean startups etc, but i watched this great presentation by Eric Ries (who i didnt realise was CTO and Founder of IMVU).
He addresses some great questions
- Why Agile or Scum development methodology only really solves half the problem for startups
- When to pivot?
- What to include in your MVP? What to leave out?
- How to speed up your innovation / product / market feedback cycle?
He addresses some great questions
- Why Agile or Scum development methodology only really solves half the problem for startups
- When to pivot?
- What to include in your MVP? What to leave out?
- How to speed up your innovation / product / market feedback cycle?
Posted by Nick HaC @ 10:10 AM
Posted by Nick HaC @ 9:50 AM
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Been in SF this week meeting partners, VC's, advisors and some great aussie entrepeneurs
- Bardia Housman who sold BusinessCatalyst/GoodBarry to Adobe
- Cameron Yulli - Founder and CEO of AdGent
- Mick Johnstone from Ycombinator who is now at FaceBook
- Elias Bizannes from Vast.com (founder of Silicon Beach)
- Marty Wells - serial entrepeneur
- Ozan Onay - Co-Founder of TopGuest
- Chris Saad - VP Product at Echo
I also had the great privilege of checking out some of the keynotes from Web 2.0 SF 2011
Ive been a long time fan of Kevin Kelly (Editor of Wired Magazine) and he gave a great presentation on the next big trends in the web. He is a little slow to start, but if you care about entrepreneurship, definitely recommend watching it through...
Posted by Nick HaC @ 1:29 PM
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Im writing this blog post from 36,218ft high in the air moving at 448mph on a flight from LAX to SFO on Virgin America. Ive been waiting probably a decade for this moment, and yes, it is as good as i hoped it would be :)
Labels: internet
Posted by Nick HaC @ 6:45 AM
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
To be GOVERNED is to be watched, inspected, spied upon, directed, law-driven, numbered, regulated, enrolled, indoctrinated, preached at, controlled, checked, estimated, valued, censured, commanded, by creatures who have neither the right nor the wisdom nor the virtue to do so.
To be GOVERNED is to be at every operation, at every transaction noted, registered, counted, taxed, stamped, measured, numbered, assessed, licensed, authorized, admonished, prevented, forbidden, reformed, corrected, punished.
It is, under pretext of public utility, and in the name of the general interest, to be place under contribution, drilled, fleeced, exploited, monopolized, extorted from, squeezed, hoaxed, robbed; then, at the slightest resistance, the first word of complaint, to be repressed, fined, vilified, harassed, hunted down, abused, clubbed, disarmed, bound, choked, imprisoned, judged, condemned, shot, deported, sacrificed, sold, betrayed; and to crown all, mocked, ridiculed, derided, outraged, dishonored.
That is government; that is its justice; that is its morality.
General Idea of the Revolution in the Nineteenth Century, translated by John Beverly Robinson (London: Freedom Press, 1923), pp. 293-294."
— Pierre-Joseph Proudhon
To be GOVERNED is to be at every operation, at every transaction noted, registered, counted, taxed, stamped, measured, numbered, assessed, licensed, authorized, admonished, prevented, forbidden, reformed, corrected, punished.
It is, under pretext of public utility, and in the name of the general interest, to be place under contribution, drilled, fleeced, exploited, monopolized, extorted from, squeezed, hoaxed, robbed; then, at the slightest resistance, the first word of complaint, to be repressed, fined, vilified, harassed, hunted down, abused, clubbed, disarmed, bound, choked, imprisoned, judged, condemned, shot, deported, sacrificed, sold, betrayed; and to crown all, mocked, ridiculed, derided, outraged, dishonored.
That is government; that is its justice; that is its morality.
General Idea of the Revolution in the Nineteenth Century, translated by John Beverly Robinson (London: Freedom Press, 1923), pp. 293-294."
— Pierre-Joseph Proudhon
Labels: Philosophy, politics, quotes
Posted by Nick HaC @ 9:54 PM
In the last ten years the internet has effectively destroyed several billion dollar industries, and replaced them with million dollar industries.
What it seems, is that by creating a significantly more efficient model for both production and distribution, the internet doesn't replace existing revenue, it destroys it.
For entrepreneurs and startup businesses, this creates significant opportunity. For large existing companies, this should be reasonably troubling.
What industries are next?
What it seems, is that by creating a significantly more efficient model for both production and distribution, the internet doesn't replace existing revenue, it destroys it.
For entrepreneurs and startup businesses, this creates significant opportunity. For large existing companies, this should be reasonably troubling.
What industries are next?
Labels: business, financial markets
Posted by Nick Holmes a Court @ 8:59 AM
Monday, March 14, 2011
The guys at iPitch interviewed me as part of their coverage on successful tech entrepreneurs.
Labels: business, entrepreneurship, software, startups
Posted by Nick Holmes a Court @ 2:34 PM
Friday, March 11, 2011
There is a pain associated with not having what you want.
There is a pain associated with getting what you want.
Only when the pain of not having what you want outweighs the pain of getting what you want, is it the right time to act.
There is a pain associated with getting what you want.
Only when the pain of not having what you want outweighs the pain of getting what you want, is it the right time to act.
Labels: Philosophy, success
Posted by Nick HaC @ 9:34 PM
A couple of weeks ago i was asked to participate in a video project by the guys at microsoft asking a series of questions about the web, technology and innovation.
http://9by9.tv/index.html
9x9: web thinkers is an innovative snapshot-in-time video project. Documenting the thoughts and opinions of some of Australians web leaders and thinkers. Its innovative design is specifically tailored to accommodate the needs of a diverse viewership from developers to CEOs to the digirati.
http://9by9.tv/index.html
Labels: entrepreneurship, interestingness, technology
Posted by Nick Holmes a Court @ 12:54 PM
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Yesterday i was taking a walk with an old friend of mine and my daughter at balmoral beach. My friend works in finance and olivia is 18 months old. 
A group of tween/teenage girls from the local school stopped us for a survey of some kind and the first question they asked us was "What is your passion in life?". My friend who i consider to be a very economically minded individual quickly responded "Health".
This kind of took me off guard, because in my usual circles this kind of question is promptly responded with answers "leveraging emerging technologies to create transformative impact on people, companies, society and government" or a similar tech/entrepenrially focused answer.
Why this took me off balance is that these tween girls wouldnt even understand this. After 15 seconds consideration my response was "making things people want", (paul grahams words not mine) which for me sums up the product innovation / marketing / startup success focus and life passion that i have had for some time.
(Olivia passion in life is Milk so she doesnt count)
This whole experience reminded me of a blog post by fellow australian entrepeneur Clay Cook that i read a long time ago.
Basically it kind of states that there are multiple aspects of your live you need to focus on, and that success isnt just about financial gain and corporate success.
I really should probably put more focus into the other aspects of this wheel...
Labels: success
Posted by Nick Holmes a Court @ 9:43 AM
Thursday, February 17, 2011
“Most start-ups don't solve a problem big enough for anyone to care about and that is why they fail,” Rose says. “BuzzNumbers does exactly the opposite, which is why it's been so successful.
Very cool...
Labels: business, entrepreneurship, internet, programming, software, startups, success
Posted by Nick Holmes a Court @ 3:59 PM
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
#1 – Education and intelligence accomplish nothing without action.
#2 – Happiness and success are two different things.
#3 – Everyone runs their own business.
#4 – Having too many choices interferes with decision making.
#5 – All people possess dimensions of success and dimensions of failure.
#6 – Every mistake you make is progress.
#7 – People can be great at doing things they don’t like to do.
#8 – The problems we have with others are typically more about us.
#9 – Emotional decisions are rarely good decisions.
#10 – You will never feel 100% ready when an opportunity arises.
10 Simple Truths Smart People Forget
#2 – Happiness and success are two different things.
#3 – Everyone runs their own business.
#4 – Having too many choices interferes with decision making.
#5 – All people possess dimensions of success and dimensions of failure.
#6 – Every mistake you make is progress.
#7 – People can be great at doing things they don’t like to do.
#8 – The problems we have with others are typically more about us.
#9 – Emotional decisions are rarely good decisions.
#10 – You will never feel 100% ready when an opportunity arises.
10 Simple Truths Smart People Forget
Labels: success
Posted by Nick Holmes a Court @ 9:40 PM
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
"As many critics have pointed, out, terrorism is not an enemy. It is a tactic. Because the United States itself has a long record of supporting terrorists and using terrorist tactics, the slogans of today's war on terrorism merely makes the United States look hypocritical to the rest of the world."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegations_of_state_terrorism_by_the_United_States
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegations_of_state_terrorism_by_the_United_States
Labels: politics
Posted by Nick HaC @ 11:27 PM
Monday, January 10, 2011
A great presentation on how to pitch your startup to a venture capitalist, from Presentation Camp SF (San Francisco, March 2009).
Startup Viagra: How to Pitch a VC
View more presentations from Dave McClure.
Labels: business, entrepreneurship, hacker, startups
Posted by Nick Holmes a Court @ 4:46 PM
Sunday, January 9, 2011
I'm born and raised in Sydney Australia, although i am increasingly looking to spend more time in San Francisco for work.
As a parent in a young family, we have to make a number of significant life purchases in the next few years (house for the kids, family car, laptops for wife and kids) as well as ongoingly purchasing consumer items for everyday life (shoes, clothes, books, food).
I can't get my head around this. My colleagues in the USA make similar incomes to Australian professionals eg Software Engineers and Accountants. So why is Australia so much more expensive?
Based on this it seems that we can have a much higher quality of life in the USA (assuming healthcare is factored into job income). That said we do love the beach/sun lifestyle we have in Sydney.
Wow thanks for all the comments and feedback, some great discussion on reddit with over 70 comments.
This post hit Page 1 on Reddit and #1 on /r/australia.
Clearly this post was not an exhaustive study but it is interesting and i have enjoyed the discussion. Thanks for all your feedback and time.
On a more positive Australian note, ill tell you what is pretty damn well priced for us Sydney Locals... A Sunday afternoon spent swimming and sunbathing on Coogee beach with the family for free!
As a parent in a young family, we have to make a number of significant life purchases in the next few years (house for the kids, family car, laptops for wife and kids) as well as ongoingly purchasing consumer items for everyday life (shoes, clothes, books, food).
I can't get my head around this. My colleagues in the USA make similar incomes to Australian professionals eg Software Engineers and Accountants. So why is Australia so much more expensive?
| Item | America (USD) | Australia (AUD) | Price Multiple |
Coke: Can 330ML  |  $1 |  $2.20 | 2.2X |
Malcolm Gladwell, Tipping Point | $8.24 Barnes & Noble | 2.9x | |
Nike Air Max 90  | $94 FootLocker USA | $189 FootLocker Au | 2X |
Weber BBQ Q120 | $299 BBQSGalore | 2.2x | |
HP Pavillion Laptop  | $549 Staples | $994 OfficeWorks | 1.8X |
Car: BMW 335i | 2.2x | ||
House: 4 Bed  | 2.4X | ||
Total Cost | $1.73M | $4.12M | 2.3X |
When i first moved to San Francisco in 2000, this kind of made sense as the Aussie dollar was 50 cents to the USD, but todays rate is 1 Australian dollar = 0.9954 U.S. dollar.
Can someone please explain this to me?
Why is Australia effectively double the price for consumer goods when income is nearly equal and the exchange rate is near parity?
Surely the cost of manufacturing is near equal, so where is the difference going (government, retailers, importers)?
I look forward to your thoughts?
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Update: 10-Jan-2010-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wow thanks for all the comments and feedback, some great discussion on reddit with over 70 comments.
This post hit Page 1 on Reddit and #1 on /r/australia.
Clearly this post was not an exhaustive study but it is interesting and i have enjoyed the discussion. Thanks for all your feedback and time.
On a more positive Australian note, ill tell you what is pretty damn well priced for us Sydney Locals... A Sunday afternoon spent swimming and sunbathing on Coogee beach with the family for free!
Labels: economy
Posted by Nick HaC @ 1:25 PM
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
To recognise the success and growth of Australian startups in 2010, and bring awareness to Australian innovation, entrepreneurship and the quickly emerging Australian startup sector, iPitch.com.au held the inaugural iPitch i10 Awards. We’re awarding 10 high potential and innovative startups out of the nearly 450 Australian startups in the iPitch community...
View Top 10 Australian Startups for 2010 - The Winners of the inaugural iPitch i10 Awards
Hint: BuzzNumbers gets a look-in for the awards :P
View Top 10 Australian Startups for 2010 - The Winners of the inaugural iPitch i10 Awards
Hint: BuzzNumbers gets a look-in for the awards :P
Labels: business, entrepreneurship, software, startups
Posted by Nick Holmes a Court @ 11:33 AM
Saturday, January 1, 2011
failure is the default
From biological species to companies to government policies, there appears to be an Iron Law of Failure, which is extremely difficult to break.
From biological species to companies to government policies, there appears to be an Iron Law of Failure, which is extremely difficult to break.
Paul Ormerod, Why Most Things Fail
failure can be intrinsically valuable
failure can be intrinsically valuable
The knowledge that you have emerged wiser and stronger from setbacks means that you are, ever after, secure in your ability to survive. You will never truly know yourself, or the strength of your relationships, until both have been tested by adversity. Such knowledge is a true gift, for all that it is painfully won, and it has been worth more to me than any qualification I ever earned.
J.K. Rowling, Harvard Commencement Speech
we can bond through our failures
we can bond through our failures
But there is an even stronger reason why we can learn from the failures of others, beyond the simple pleasure of knowing that an expert can fail too. It has to do with our ability as human beings to relate better to people in their failures than in their successes, and to learn more in the process.
Richard Farson, Management of the Absurd
and bonding over failure is a good thing
and bonding over failure is a good thing
Over and over again, when people ask how they can achieve the Silicon Valley-type of opportunities in their areas, I tell them, "Celebrate failure."
Tara Hunt, Losercamp
Source: http://failcamp.org/
Labels: success
Posted by Nick Holmes a Court @ 11:30 AM
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Superior, Speed Fly from Marshall Miller on Vimeo.
Labels: snowboarding
Posted by Nick HaC @ 11:23 PM
Friday, December 17, 2010
Labels: Philosophy, success
Posted by Nick HaC @ 10:21 PM
Came across this on the web today...
Source: Winning
You look at people who are extremely successful and I can almost guarantee there is at least something very weird or different about them They have attitudes, habits, ideas and tendencies that are very abnormal. And that makes total sense. Because winning isn’t normal.
"Winning" Remember one thing... winning isn't normal. That doesn't mean there is anything wrong with winning. It just isn't the norm. It is highly unusual.
Every race only has one winner. No matter how many people are entered, only one person or team wins each event. Winning is unusual. So it requires unusual action. In order to win, you must do extraordinary things. You can't just be one of the crowd. The crowd doesn't win. You have to be willing to stand out and act differently.
Your actions need to reflect unusual values and priorities. You have to value success more than others do. You have to want it more! Remember, wanting more is a decision YOU make and act upon. You have to make your values a top priority. You can't train like everyone else. You can't be like everyone else. You have to train more, be willing to be different.
You can't talk like everyone else. You can't think like everyone else. You can't be too willing to join the crowd, to do what is expected, to act in a social manner, to do what's "in". You must be constantly willing to stand out in the crowd and constantly take exceptional action. If you want to win and be part of a winning team, you need to accept the risks and perhaps the loneliness...because winning isn't normal.
Source: Winning
Labels: success
Posted by Nick Holmes a Court @ 3:04 PM
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Contrary to the widespread belief that people are positively motivated by reward incentives, some studies have shown that performance-based extrinsic reward can actually undermine a person's intrinsic motivation to engage in a task. This “undermining effect” has timely practical implications, given the burgeoning of performance-based incentive systems in contemporary society.
It also presents a theoretical challenge for economic and reinforcement learning theories, which tend to assume that monetary incentives monotonically increase motivation.
Neural basis of the undermining effect of monetary reward on intrinsic motivation - Columbia University, New York
It also presents a theoretical challenge for economic and reinforcement learning theories, which tend to assume that monetary incentives monotonically increase motivation.
Neural basis of the undermining effect of monetary reward on intrinsic motivation - Columbia University, New York
Labels: business, culture, science, success
Posted by Nick HaC @ 11:43 AM
Imagine a kitchen -- not your kitchen, but a large commercial one. A kitchen where the business of cooking is conducted.
Now imagine that you are a chef, and you've been hired to cook here. You set about your work and much is done, but the kitchen is never cleaned. This is not due to malice or incompetence, but because there is simply never a moment to rest between orders. As one dish is completed, another one comes in. This is, after all, your job: You are here to cook, and the product of your craft keeps customers happy. So long as you are producing meals you are doing your job, and the people you work for are running a successful business. Eventually your kitchen gets too dirty, and it starts to negatively affect the quality of the product in a way that is regulated by law. Your kitchen must either be cleaned to meet certain basic standards or it will be shut down.
This is where you point out that that last part doesn't exist for tech companies.
It's a good idea for us to deal with the byproducts of our work -- to take out the trash, to wipe down the counters. It's something that everyone worth their salt knows they have to do, sure. But -- and this is the key -- it is not something our bosses know they have to account for unless they themselves have seen it build up in the codebase or been told that it exists. There isn't a law anywhere that says "Keep your codebase clean or the Department of Code Reviews inspector will shut your shit down."
Explaining Technical Debt to your Non-Technical Boss
Now imagine that you are a chef, and you've been hired to cook here. You set about your work and much is done, but the kitchen is never cleaned. This is not due to malice or incompetence, but because there is simply never a moment to rest between orders. As one dish is completed, another one comes in. This is, after all, your job: You are here to cook, and the product of your craft keeps customers happy. So long as you are producing meals you are doing your job, and the people you work for are running a successful business. Eventually your kitchen gets too dirty, and it starts to negatively affect the quality of the product in a way that is regulated by law. Your kitchen must either be cleaned to meet certain basic standards or it will be shut down.
This is where you point out that that last part doesn't exist for tech companies.
It's a good idea for us to deal with the byproducts of our work -- to take out the trash, to wipe down the counters. It's something that everyone worth their salt knows they have to do, sure. But -- and this is the key -- it is not something our bosses know they have to account for unless they themselves have seen it build up in the codebase or been told that it exists. There isn't a law anywhere that says "Keep your codebase clean or the Department of Code Reviews inspector will shut your shit down."
Explaining Technical Debt to your Non-Technical Boss
Labels: programming, technology
Posted by Nick Holmes a Court @ 12:26 AM
Software engineering as it’s taught in universities simply doesn’t work. It doesn’t produce software systems of high quality, and it doesn’t produce them for low cost. Sometimes, even when practiced rigorously, it doesn’t produce systems at all.
Video: Software Engineering Doesn't Work
Video: Software Engineering Doesn't Work
Labels: programming
Posted by Nick Holmes a Court @ 12:15 AM
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Labels: culture, education, health, ideas, politics, quotes, success, thoughts
Posted by Nick Holmes a Court @ 11:42 PM
Todd talks at PlusConf about how he started BuySellAds.com and gives you great advice on how to launch your startup while you have a job. Find out how much money he used to start the company, when he decided to leave his full-time job, how he handled challenges and how he began to grow his company – and find out who his biggest enemy was during the first year of his startup. (You may be surprised.) As a bonus, you will also find out what kind of luxurious vehicle he drives and how deciding to stop working from his home and into an office kept him from losing his mind. ;)
The best advice of all in this video: Stop wasting time and get started on your dream.
Source: HackerNews
The best advice of all in this video: Stop wasting time and get started on your dream.
Watch live streaming video from plusconf at livestream.com
Source: HackerNews
Labels: programming, startups, success
Posted by Nick Holmes a Court @ 10:46 AM
Friday, December 10, 2010
Posted by Nick Holmes a Court @ 11:51 AM
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Posted by Nick HaC @ 8:10 PM
Friday, December 3, 2010
So clearly the hot sector right now in B2C is Group Buying.
BuzzNumbers is due to release a full report end next week with analysis of the sector, but i couldn't help but share this preliminary data.
Now the numbers in this arnt finalised and this is just a draft, so don't take the above chart as gospel, but it is interesting
If you are interested in this be sure to follow @BuzzNumbers or drop me a note an i can email you additional research...
BuzzNumbers is due to release a full report end next week with analysis of the sector, but i couldn't help but share this preliminary data.
Now the numbers in this arnt finalised and this is just a draft, so don't take the above chart as gospel, but it is interesting
If you are interested in this be sure to follow @BuzzNumbers or drop me a note an i can email you additional research...
Posted by Nick Holmes a Court @ 12:35 PM
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Jason Fried has a radical theory of working: that the office isn't a good place to do it. At TEDxMidwest he lays out the main problems (call them the M&Ms) and offers three suggestions to make work work.
Posted by Nick Holmes a Court @ 2:15 PM
Just found out today that BuzzNumbers has been voted BizSpark startup of the day and that we have been featured on the homepage of TechMeme.com :)
Posted by Nick Holmes a Court @ 8:27 AM
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