Stop Panhandling your Ideas

Posted on April 5, 2011 by brad

When most people see panhandlers on the side of the road, we condescendingly think “Why don’t they get a job? You’re not going to get anywhere begging for money. Get to work!” Yet, this is what so many people do with their ideas – they put their fate in the hands of passerby’s hoping someone cares enough to give them a chance. It’s the equivalent of standing on an off-ramp holding a cardboard sign that reads “I have good ideas. Please pay me for them.”

via Stop Panhandling your Ideas – The Daily Drip.

I’ve run into a lot of people that tell me they should start a business or move somewhere else or try this or that sport but never do.

You should.

Now.

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Don’t Bet Big. Little Bets Are The Ones That Turn Into Billion-Dollar Ideas

Posted on March 26, 2011 by brad

When I was in business school, one of the most common things I would hear people say was that they wanted to do something new—like start a company or take an unconventional career path—but that they needed “a great idea” first. That always surprised me a bit, especially at an entrepreneurial hub like Stanford, since most successful entrepreneurs don’t begin with brilliant ideas—they discover them.

Ironically, this would include the biggest business idea to come out of Stanford in decades. Google didn’t begin as a brilliant vision, but as a project to improve library searches, followed by a series of small discoveries that unlocked a revolutionary business model.

via Don’t Bet Big. Little Bets Are The Ones That Turn Into Billion-Dollar Ideas.

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Doctor To Athletes: Skip The Compression

Posted on March 25, 2011 by brad

An article related to the Skeleton world.

It’s part of the continuing fad of tight-fitting compression garments… which many athletes wear on the presumption that they improve performance and reduce muscle soreness.

But there’s not much evidence for that. Shots did a quick PubMed scan on sports performance and compression garments, and it looks like the benefits are largely psychological. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with feeling like you can run faster and jump higher, and look cool while you’re doing it. But it shouldn’t send you to the neurologist.

via Doctor To Teen Athletes: Skip Spanx : Shots – Health Blog : NPR.

While I’ve seen studies that say compression improves recovery, the jury still seems to be out on actual game time performance.

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Why AT&T’s deal for T-Mobile must be blocked Brett Arends ROI – MarketWatch

Posted on March 22, 2011 by brad

The absolute bedrock of capitalism is competition.

The whole essence of our free market system lies in consumer choice.

That’s why it’s okay that companies charge what they like, and offer the products and services they like. Ultimately, if the consumer is unhappy, they can take their business elsewhere.

Take away that choice and the consumer is powerless.

Goodbye, free market.

via Why AT&T’s deal for T-Mobile must be blocked Brett Arends ROI – MarketWatch

I think the “free market” and “laissez faire” capitalists too often forget these points.

Capitalism is good for society when it creates competition to improve the products and services we use. It is bad for society when it is used solely to enrich itself.

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Apple iPad 2 review | BGR

Posted on March 18, 2011 by brad

Apple’s iPad was the first post-PC device that people took seriously. Microsoft, Nokia and countless manufacturers have tried to find the right balance between a tablet and a computer for the last 10 years, but the iPad was the first device to get it right and now Apple owns the space.

via bgr.com

Reminds me of how Apple entered and won the MP3 player market. I think we’ll see the tablet market parallel the MP3 player market, not the cell phone market.

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A Newbie’s Guide to Self Publishing: Guest Post by John Locke

Posted on March 13, 2011 by brad

I caught up with John while we were both in the Swiss Alps, at a secret bestselling author chalet where we heat our jacuzzis by burning stacks of hundred dollar bills.

via jakonrath.blogspot.com

While the quote above is in jest, I think the publishing industry is on the verge of seeing itself reinvented by the internet to an even greater extent than what the music industry went through. It sort of has that wild west, mid 90’s internet feeling of chaos and opportunity. Self publishing seems to have the desire to become the revolution in media that the music industry never fully realized.

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Epic Citadel

Posted on September 28, 2010 by brad

Last month during the introduction of the new Apple TV and iPods, Epic Games showed a demonstration of the Unreal Engine 3 running on an iPhone 4 that looked amazing.  At the time I wasn’t able to test it out because I had an iPhone 3G so I kinda forgot about it.  However, last week Kimber and I upgraded to new iPhone 4’s and while looking for apps to put the new phones through their paces with, I remembered it and finally was able to check it out.

It short, I found it to be one of the most amazing things I’ve seen on a phone before.  All the effects and animations are real time. It’s best to download the app and check it out yourself.  Be sure to check out the courtyard with the trees blowing in the wind.

Epic Citadel for iOS

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It’s KimberG’s Birthday!

Posted on September 2, 2010 by brad

Happy birthday KimberG!

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Too Big To Fail

Posted on March 30, 2009 by brad

This phrase has been bothering me for a while when it’s been used in discussions regarding our largest companies needing bail outs.  This article from Robert Creamer articulates better than I ever could many of the feelings I’ve been having.

To most Americans the answer is clear: if a financial institution is too big to fail, it’s just too big.

From Andrew Jackson to Williams Jennings Bryant to Teddy Roosevelt and FDR, the battle over size and power of banks and other financial institutions has been a theme that has run throughout American history. The reason is simple. The larger a financial institution becomes, the greater its power to control the lives and futures of ordinary Americans. Of course, that power is never demonstrated so graphically as in times of financial collapse, when the excesses of unregulated markets and supersized financial empires implode on the entire economy.

Read the rest: Huffington Post

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Just getting started here.

Posted on March 27, 2009 by brad

Well, it’s been a few years since I’ve made any changes to this site and I feel like it’s time to move it forward.  After many adventures(and mis) in entrepreneurship, real estate, private equity, the internet and sport, I finally feel like I am headed in a direction I am happy with.  I don’t intend to write a lot here, but with all the turbulence in the world at large and my little corner of it, the urge to comment has finally over taken my desire to be quite and go about my day.

So, take a look around and stop back again.

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