29things

Bootstrap CEO: Thailand Edition

Fri, 16 Apr 2010 11:52:17 -0400

When I came up with the idea and started building SHERPA, I was already in Thailand as a backpacker / freelance designer for a friend who lives here for similar reason to why I’m still here… Like minds, fairly solid internet infrastructure, and cost of living.

SHERPA is not funded, at least in the traditional sense of the word. We are building a very complicated web app on a 2 person team and very minimal funding (somewhere in the 4 digits). But this is possible mainly because in Thailand we have the luxury of a very very low cost of living. To give you an idea… I live in a very decent 2 bedroom house in a beautiful booming town in the mountains of Northern Thailand for THB4000, which is about US$130. My cell phone is less than $10/mo, my home hard-line and my portable 3G wireless internet totals about $50/mo. Food on most days comes to less than $2 per meal, and when I splurge and go all out, it can cost a whopping $7.

For the first 6 months I lived here, I did so on around $600 per month, and I didn’t really need to budget too much. Due to the success of other projects, I have been able to up my monthly income a little bit, so I was able to buy a motorbike to get around, and a new 27 inch iMac, as well as have a little more fun. None of which was completely necessary.

The point is, that if I were to be back in the States, nonetheless in the Valley, I could not have made SHERPA happen. Not unless I came into some money or had enough connections to get my idea across to some VC, or at best get in one of the startup funds. I didn’t have the luxury of money, but i did have the perseverance to make shit happen. If you cannot work in your surroundings, or make your surrounding work for you, then change your surroundings.

Maybe one day in the coming future we will have solid revenue, or a bit of venture funding, and things may be a bit different, but don’t let money get in the way of your idea’s. Not only can living in other Countries around the world make for a good ‘lifestyle design’ case study, but it could be a viable option for up and coming startups.

hellosherpa: The final version of our mascot icon. Created by...

Thu, 15 Apr 2010 15:48:38 -0400

hellosherpa:

The final version of our mascot icon. Created by Soft Facade.

http://hellosherpa.com

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 12:54:02 -0500

http://hellosherpa.com:

I’ll write alot more about the process, building the app, and all the fun stuff I’ve been doing here in Thailand, but for now, you can get a sneak peak and sign up for the beta version if you are interested in using actionable analytics to help your website or blog convert better!

SourceControl: The Truth About Outsourcing

Sat, 02 Jan 2010 03:38:00 -0500

I’m not usually one to toss around affiliate links anywhere but in my sidebar. I’m also not usually one to buy ebook type products without the recommendation of a trusted friend. But SourceControl caught my eye, offered a solution to a question I was debating with myself about, and is damn beautiful and clean, being a UX designer, that’s a good selling point. And after spending the last week soaking in and thoroughly enjoying the authors blog, MuseLife.com, I figured, what the hell. I was pleasantly surprised.

I’ve been thinking alot about jumping on this outsource bandwagon alot lately. I managed to avoid it for the last 2 years since I read 4HWW, and heard all the horror stories. But now I have a need for it, and it’s hard living in such a beautiful place while dealing with so many time-wasting menial tasks. Also I am getting close to launching SHERPA (which I’ll talk more about later) and need some help with transcribing, support desk tasks, ect. so I am not spending 13 hours a day shuffling through a helpdesk requests like a close friend has been doing since his web application launch 3 months ago.

This isn’t really a review, except that I can say that if your looking to outsource anything from web design to calandar management, this ebook is A MUST. SourceControl is the best comprehensive, no bullshit guide to outsourcing and managing your Virtual Assistants, hands down.

I have officially taken the leap onto the outsourcing bandwagon, and I did it with confidence and control. Highly recommended.

Thailand, Lifestyle Design HQ

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 12:04:00 -0500

I originally came to Thailand to work with a friend to design and help build his internet marketing / software / money making course, and I didn’t have plans beyond that. I fell in love with this place, and I fell in love will what could be accomplished in such a place.

The real killer thing about being a ‘lifestyle design’ type in a place like Thailand, is that it offers the ability to live an amazing lifestyle for what most people spend on a car payment back home in the States. Allowing you to have unpressurized time and money to focus and build your ‘muses’ or business. And your not the only one.

Sit inside a coffee shop in Bangkok, Pai, or Chiang Mai, and you will most likely meet someone who has escaped their 9-5 with the new updated audiobook of 4-Hour Workweek in their iPod and working on their muse, or some sort of young entrepreneur working on their ebook, online course, or blog. This is a great place to network with like-minded people.

I’m sure you know some of them… Cody Mckibben, Dwight Turner, Justin Dupre, and in a few days, Sean Ogle.

smartercities: Cities should be fun — a little design...

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:28:07 -0400

smartercities:

Cities should be fun — a little design innovation goes a long way to change behavior

"Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace."

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 05:30:03 -0400

“Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace.”

- The Buddha

And I'm Back...

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:15:00 -0400

Ahhhh. It’s been so long. I’ve been on a whirlwind of a ride for the last year that had me in Costa Rica, Panama, and now Thailand. Talking about keeping it super simple - I’ve been living out of a backpack. Now I’ll settle down for a bit here in Pai, Thailand while I work on some really cool projects.

My first of these projects, I began work on while in Costa Rica, and is none other than a super-simple web based ‘To-Do’ app that piggybacks off of Twitter. I will talk more about that soon though.

Looking forward to being back.

Neuro-Interpretation, Twitter, and Tumblr.

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 14:29:34 -0400

Neuro-Interpretation (is that even a real word?) of blocks of information are a huge factor in the success of sites like Twitter & Tumblr and a perfect model of how ‘simple’ works better.

Huh? It’s not as complicated as it sounds. What it really comes down to, is our brains ability to be engaged easier through small chunks of information. If you visit another blog that uses large paragraphs, small type, inside of a large content area, you should understand. It is incredibly hard to be engaged because our brains are always trying to find an easy out.

By breaking blog posts, emails, letters, ect. into smaller paragraphs and limited relevent information, our brains are more willing to work through the data because your tricking it into believing that you have less to interpret. In short, our brains are lazy.

Think about it? If your brain will allow you to…

I used to have about $30K in recording studio equipment which...

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 19:32:00 -0400

I used to have about $30K in recording studio equipment which I’ve managed to unload over the last 6 years after I closed my studio. With today’s technology, I can do everything I could do then for less than a $2K investment and without all the bulk.

Learning to Manage a Short Attention Span

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 19:43:09 -0400

I have always had a super short attention span, in life and in business. I have always looked at it as my major downfall. My mind is constantly turning, coming up with new idea’s, always seemingly better than the previous. I have been known to spend weeks and even months of tireless nights hacking away at building, designing, and eventually destroying or giving up to move on to the ‘next big idea’. I get bored. I live somewhere for a year and have to move to another city, state, or even country. I walk through life realizing how precious and short it can be and am scared to miss out on the world around me. I have many friends who envy this about me, but they don’t realize how crippling it can be.

Then I realized that it’s not crippling, or a downfall, or even a bad habit. I came across Jim Coudal’s theory on short attention spans. I’ve listened to people like Steve Jobs and other great entrepreneurs talk about it. Short attention spans drive creativity. I am in no means putting myself in the same category as Coudal and Jobs, but they have helped me realize that I can harness it, take control, and make it work in my favor.

Over the past year or so, I have been slowly taking control of my finances, health, career, and life with little steps in the right direction and re-designing myself to become the best ME I can possibly be. That originally what this whole blog is about. I will be doing a series of posts about ‘re-designing yourself’. I hope you can take out of it all that I did along the way.

Mint.com - Investment Tools

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 17:27:53 -0400

Mint.com - Investment Tools:

I know I talk about thee guys alot, LOL. I promise I don’t work for them, though I wouldn’t mind it. Today, Mint has launched ‘investment tracking’ - I effing love these guys. The coolest financial management tool ever. period. and free!

It's Been a While...

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 19:03:47 -0400

Productivity put to the test. I’ve had alot of really cool things I have been working on lately and have been focused very heavily on my finance management, hence the lack of regular posts. Like I metioned before, I only task about 3-5 major projects a day and sadly 29things hasn’t fell in those tasks. I’m on track to wrap up 3 major side projects this week, and have a whole slew of 29things posts to catch up on so stay tuned!

"GOOD things come to those who wait; GREAT things come to those who get off their ass and do..."

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 12:05:32 -0400

“GOOD things come to those who wait; GREAT things come to those who get off their ass and do something about it.”

Mint.com FTW! Simple Money Management.

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 16:24:00 -0400

I’ve been on the lookout for the simplest, best money management web app I could find. I have tried them all, I promise you, and Mint takes the cake. I actually tried Mint for a bit after TC50 last year, and while I admired the beautiful design and simplicity, it still had a little work to go. Like most people and our to-do lists, we need to find something that works for us, makes it simple, and we need to commit. The same goes with managing our finances, and Mint has the tools to make it productive, useful, and fun. I’m sold! Actually, one of the best selling points is that it’s free. I will be posting some cool uses and hacks for Mint soon.

[BTW] The customer service is remarkable. I posted a comment on twitter about a problem accessing my account, and within minutes, the support team contacted me to help me with the issue.

Books Be Gone. Shed the Dust Collectors.

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 00:24:27 -0400

While based on a set of loose rules, I may have [around] 29 things, but in reality it is much more due to the fact that I consider my rather huge collection of books 1 thing. If I have ever had an interest in a particular subject, I have book or 10 of which I used to educate myself with. I love learn, and have probably bought well over 1000 [non-fiction] books in my short 27 years. I have constantly shed said books throughout my life, but manage to always have at least 100 at any given time. I have been an early, eager, and welcoming adopter of technology for 99% of things, but I have a bazaar intimate connection with the physical book that I could never have with an e-book, but I think I am starting to get over that, slowly however. But in all honesty, after I have read those books, all they do is collect dust and take up space. In a strange desire to rid myself of my final dangling collection of ‘things’, I have been listing all my books for sale on Amazon, save the ones that I know will be better off going to the local reseller and about 10 books that I have a sentimental attachment too and hope to pass on to the next generation.

Surprisingly, many have already sold and has added a small but nice chunk of income to my bank account. Are you still holding on to that final ‘thing’ or collection just collecting dust and taking up space? An old samurai proverb says “One shall make his decisions within the space of 7 breaths, It is a matter of being determined and having the spirit to break through to the other side”. Take your first breath, make a decision, and act.

"One shall make his decisions within the space of 7 breaths, It is a matter of being determined and..."

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 00:14:39 -0400

“One shall make his decisions within the space of 7 breaths, It is a matter of being determined and having the spirit to break through to the other side.”

- The Hagakuri [code of the samurai]

Gadgets: Fitbit Debuted at TC50.

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 13:20:31 -0400

This has to be one of the coolest devices I’ve ever seen and judging by the talk from TC50, I’m not the only on who sees the value in it. Fitbit is a small wearable device that tracks your fitness and sleep habits. Using an acceloremeter similar to the one in the Nintendo Wii, it can accurately give you data on steps, miles walked, calories burned, the intensity of your exercise, how well, and how long you slept. When you get within 50 feet of the provided base-station, it automatically uploads all the data to your dashboard on Fitbits website.

Twitter’s Even Williams made a point on his blog that I really agree with: “I’m a firm believer that giving people data on their behavior will change their behavior”. And that pretty much describes the whole point behind Fitbit. Studies show that we often overestimate our exercise, and underestimate the calories we take in and how sedentary we are. Imagine if you look at your dashboard and see that you did nothing most of the day, taken in 3000 calories and only burned 300. How will that effect your daily fitness decisions?

This in $99 well spent. Preoders are being taken now at Fitbit.com and are expected to start shipping around the end of December / beginning of January.

"The mantra of your domestic landscape should be: Peace, Tranquility, Fluidity, and inspiration."

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 01:12:36 -0400

“The mantra of your domestic landscape should be: Peace, Tranquility, Fluidity, and inspiration.”

- Karim Rashid [world famous designer]

Simple Finance Management for Kids: Shryk.com

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 16:34:00 -0400

I’m a huge fan of simple finance management web apps like Mint and Wesabe, but being a huge supporter of teaching children and teens about finance, those apps are totally geared to adults. Yesterday, Shryk.com debuted at TC50 as a platform focused on the age 5-24 crowd. Shryk describes itself as being focused on building financial literacy for the younger demographic to inspire a generation with entrepreneurial spirit and aid transition into adulthood. They also have an online 2.0 banking platform called iThryv with a cartoon-like interface for kids and cool tools for teens including a ‘savings score’ to promote good financial habits.