How to Raise a Unicorn

The first step to product-market fit

It was 2006. We pushed our product to production for the world to see, and world returned with: crickets. So we did the next sensible growth hack — we emailed our friends and family and then asked to them to email their friends and family.

When Life Gets Hard. The Real Shit.

How to guide your company through tragedies.

Why China pays for access and Silicon Valley does not

The top lie startups sell you

Startups say a lot of things to get you through the door. We have the best kombucha, benefits, product, talent, culture, people, etc…. But I think the top lie they sell is this:

We are a true meritocracy.

Uber + Didi = DuDu?!

What the UberChina + Didi Deal can show us about doing business in China.

Scaling past “Get Shit Done”

Get Shit Done is the mantra that litters every organization when it starts. We want people who have a can-do…

Top 5 myths about scaling

We started in 2006 with just 4 people. We steadily grew to about 30 people and stayed there through 2009. In 2010 we grew to 80 people. By the time we ended 2011, we had 450 employees and opened up three offices and we had made over $100 million in revenue. It was safe to say we…

How To Conduct an Interview (for the Noob)

I remember when I had to make my first hire and conduct an interview for the first time. Our product was growing like crazy and I was at a limit on what I could do quickly to service our users. I was late into the night doing something I was terrible at —…