The Startup Swami

Congrat's and Happy B-day!

2012-01-19T19:06:52.410-08:00

Congrat's and Happy B-day!

This is a great article indeed. I think that's...

2012-01-12T21:48:12.188-08:00

This is a great article indeed. I think that's the only solution all of us can think of whenever we feel bad or exhausted. I'm glad I saw your blog. Thanks!

Its just about being ready to sell something in de...

2012-01-09T00:46:21.043-08:00

Its just about being ready to sell something in demand when the situation arises. Whether you are selling umbrellas, coats, hats, etc. It is important to recognize every opportunity to make some money.

promotional umbrellas

Private insurance is much more prominent in Austra...

2011-11-25T01:25:52.571-08:00

Private insurance is much more prominent in Australia, but the costs are easy to handle because of laws favorable to health care.

You really make it seem so easy with your presenta...

2011-10-26T13:30:13.893-07:00

You really make it seem so easy with your presentation but I find this matter to be really something that I think I would never understand. It seems too complicated and extremely broad for me. I am looking forward for your next post, I will try to get the hang of it!

Matt, I've been following Punchbowl for some t...

2011-10-17T10:35:28.707-07:00

Matt, I've been following Punchbowl for some time and am interested in profiling the company for Softletter and a new book I'm writing. Tried to contact your PR department but not sure if I got through.

Can be reached at 860.663.0552 or rickchapman@softletter.com.

Don't hear from you, will assume no interest.

Rick Chapman
www.softletter.com
www.saasuniversity.com

Great post. It is what the traditional greeting c...

2011-10-04T11:26:15.139-07:00

Great post. It is what the traditional greeting card and stationery industries don't want to hear, but it is the future.

As for what we're disrupting, my company A Fresh Bunch is disrupting the way design gets bought for licensed use on products...or apps...or digital greeting cards. The old trade show model is broken and we know there's a better way.

It's definitely unusual but I don't see an...

2011-10-04T02:11:12.795-07:00

It's definitely unusual but I don't see any problem with that. The thing is, you should always maintain the health of your employees and what you should do is give them health benefits.

health insurance plans

Matt, I salute you! Great post. It really is ...

2011-09-19T12:41:02.116-07:00

Matt,

I salute you!

Great post. It really is a reason to celebrate.

I'm a huge believer in this and just had exact...

2011-09-10T04:34:24.438-07:00

I'm a huge believer in this and just had exactly this experience. Unplugged for 9 days, other than three phone calls, and sat on a beach in Maine and looked for horseshoe crabs with my kids etc. Came back to work with incredible clarity. And lots of other benefits. But it's the clarity that I think people don't realize. The fact that the vacation is actually GOOD for your productivity at work. Not just good. ESSENTIAL.

Thanks for the great post!

Dave McLaughlin
CEO / Founder, Vsnap

@Anonymous At the end of the day, benefits are par...

2011-08-31T19:01:15.742-07:00

@Anonymous At the end of the day, benefits are part of compensation. We are very upfront about our benefits policy with prospective employees so they can easily factor this into their decision.

However, that's not really the point. We're hiring *individuals* -- not their families. We never claim that this is "truly beneficial financially" for most people with families. Instead we cover 100% of the individual and provide low-cost ways for them to cover their families.

I've actually done a comparison of our plan with my wife's plan (she works at a major hospital in Boston and they have a standard benefits plan). While our plan is indeed more expensive for our family, the cost differential is negligible.

I understand the idea, but is the purpose to impro...

2011-08-30T22:25:45.032-07:00

I understand the idea, but is the purpose to improve your recruiting?

So you can say "we pay 100% health care", when in reality you pay probably less than most other employers?

When employees are looking for jobs, they're essentially shopping. You're making the process of price comparison between employers more complex - to your advantage.

Most people probably say "wow 100% everyone else is doing 75%!", when in reality they could be spending $5k/mo. to cover their family with you, whereas they'd pay $1k/mo. elsewhere.

That's my thought - I don't get how this is truly beneficial financially for most people with families. To me it seems like a scam.

My favorite story from that book was the auditor (...

2011-07-11T08:47:24.127-07:00

My favorite story from that book was the auditor (was it Po himself, or a story? I forget) whose job was to sit in front of a spreadsheet all day, make sure that column A plus column B equals column C. And if it does, make a checkmark in column D. All day long.

So, he started up a greeting card business. From the office. Using office supplies. And, 5 minutes before the end of the workday each day, he'd go down column D and go "check check check check check check..."

Years ago when I read that I was all "OMG! What if one of those checks was wrong!?" But in the years since, I've told that story repeatedly as an example of "Go for it, what's the worst that could happen?"

As a follower of your blog, I am always very exci...

2011-07-06T06:39:46.711-07:00

As a follower of your blog, I am always very excited to read the commentary when a new one appears. This one is no exception, albeit very different than others - showing the 'softer' side in you Matt Douglas!

Congrats on your anniversary and having a soulmate such as Jessica.

you dont have a big office

2011-07-06T05:02:59.199-07:00

you dont have a big office

Love the idea - do you use a specific benefits com...

2011-06-26T11:44:31.626-07:00

Love the idea - do you use a specific benefits company to co-ordinate this for you?

There are some pricing models that are a combinati...

2011-06-13T12:28:45.016-07:00

There are some pricing models that are a combination. We, for example, offer discounts for buying large quantities of items. Buying 10 packages of one item might result in a 15% discount and 25 packages in a 25% discount. The hot dog stand might offer a lower price to a regular customer who buys hot dogs for his whole office every Friday.

April fools. Blah blah blah

2011-04-02T12:35:54.576-07:00

April fools. Blah blah blah

So, this explains why I didn't see Blake sit d...

2011-04-01T09:43:45.058-07:00

So, this explains why I didn't see Blake sit down last weekend...

To the extent Google's search function is mono...

2011-03-29T05:58:23.418-07:00

To the extent Google's search function is monopolistic, it makes economic sense to impose regulations (that is, if you believe monopolies are economically detrimental).

I question your criteria for qualifying for support from Google. What does venture backing and 1M+ users have to do with it? Does that mean a new, organically funded startup with only a few users should be excluded? Doesn't this just make it more likely they'll never be able to compete?

I know that I'm late to the party but I'm ...

2011-03-28T10:35:41.111-07:00

I know that I'm late to the party but I'm really glad that this is out there!!!! I look forward to catching up to where you are to date and asking several questions.

Thanks again,
-A

Swami, Can you expand on what you mean by "wh...

2011-03-28T09:17:30.484-07:00

Swami,
Can you expand on what you mean by "what's the big win?" I am not sure I examples are warranted. Are you talking about a tipping point? More wisdom please.

Boy, this is an old post, but am I glad I read it....

2011-03-27T18:17:28.857-07:00

Boy, this is an old post, but am I glad I read it. The nay-sayers are everywhere. Thanks for this post.

'the customer is always right' was coined ...

2011-03-01T04:27:28.167-08:00

'the customer is always right' was coined at a time when communication wasn't what it is. and ALL advertising was word of mouth. In order to insure good relations, it was important to treat the customer as though he was always right. That is not all together wrong.

I agree. I wanted to say something more substantia...

2011-02-07T17:07:08.909-08:00

I agree.
I wanted to say something more substantial, but that sums it up. Listen to the concerns of all stakeholders and listen to all your creative resources. When the arguments start to repeat decide and move on it. Trust your gut. Always re-evaluate.
In the army the biggest divider between competence and incompetence in regards to leadership was decisiveness over correctness.