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mdhayes

274 karma · joined August 28, 2011

Cofounder of addjam.com
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mdhayes··on Spray-foam insulation makes homes unable to be mortgaged
From the article:

> Executive found that condensation could cause 25% of roof timber to decay within five years if spray foam is applied directly to roof tiles, or certain underlays. The general risks increase the further north the property is, because of colder climates.

Most houses in the UK will have a timber frame, condensation will cause the wood to rot.

mdhayes··on Ask HN: Tips for Efficiently Managing Full-Time Job, PhD, Side Hustles, Gym?
Start saying 'No'.
mdhayes··on Show HN: Unknown Pleasures, a tiny web experiment with WebGL
Love it. Reminds me of the Wilderness Downtown 'music experience' from Arcade Fire in 2010 - http://www.thewildernessdowntown.com
mdhayes··on Scottish Tech Map
More than welcome. We're in the recently restored Fairfield Shipyard Offices on Govan Road so not been open for too long. We also do a monthly meetup for local startups in The Raven on the first Monday of each month.
mdhayes··on Scottish Tech Map
Really cool list. I'm founder of RookieOven - https://rookieoven.com - a coworking space for tech startups in Glasgow based in a Victorian shipyard.

If anyone is ever in Glasgow and looking to meet the local community feel free to pay us a visit.

mdhayes··on With React Native it’s not all sugar and spice
Yeah I'm going to give vscode a shot.
mdhayes··on Ask HN: What else besides writing code or managing people?
Geez. In what world is that a sensible response?
mdhayes··on Startup Investor Rankings
Mattermark is something of little relevance to me but how good is the data? They recently produced a list of the fastest growing startups in my local community and the results were pretty odd. Companies with huge measurable growth beaten by, literally, new starts just a few months old with no revenue and few customers.

Granted I don't know what yard stick they used to come up with the list but to me on the ground in the community the list seemed way off and widely ridiculed.

mdhayes··on TechBritain unveils a revamped interactive map of the UK startup scene
Well done to the team. Being based in Scotland I really appreciated the work Shaun and Doug have put in to connect the community here with other tech communities across the country. Also add to that the great job they are doing in the Manchester community.

All the best to them with this new version of Tech Britain.

mdhayes··on Want to help startups? Just give them money
Also for folk using the search term 'Ni'.
mdhayes··on Show HN: What would you do if Apple Rejects The Google Maps App?
Actually I've found Apple maps to be pretty good so I could see myself sticking with them.

Yes not as many features as Google Maps but adequate and with some nice features of their own. My nearest city, Glasgow, has recently been added as a 3D flyover city which I feel is better than Street View for getting an idea of an area/place.

For me the directions work and I've found the search decent.

mdhayes··on Summer Internships at FreeAgent – Class of 2013
Great to see Scottish startups providing internships for students. Essential to stop the flood of talent heading to the financial sector and/or out of the country.
mdhayes··on Startup School Speakers
Fantastic lineup. Anyone know if there's going to be a live stream?
mdhayes··on Show HN: Uptilt - multiplayer card game we built during Rails Rumble 2012
Saw Pusher mention this on Twitter earlier and had a play about with it. Good fun and impressive it was done as part of Rails Rumble - very polished.
mdhayes··on Ask HN - Where do you look for jobs?
Also agree on side projects. In my opinion both show eagerness and give people the opportunity to get to know you/your work so it lessens the risk of hiring.
mdhayes··on Ask HN - Where do you look for jobs?
Offline - local meetups and user groups
mdhayes··on The Emails That Got My Unsexy Start-Up Covered By TechCrunch
Find this type of post so useful to other startups, thanks for sharing James.
mdhayes··on Google for Entrepreneurs
PostPod from Startup Weekend Glasgow are still going - http://www.postpod.co.uk/
mdhayes··on It’s all about the product, not the technology
A definition of product I like is one where the product is more than the 'product'. By this I mean the product includes added value stuff, like sales experience, after sales and peripheral items (for example does the car come with mats).

Focusing on just the physical 'product' and not taking into account everything that fits into the above definition will leave customers with a poor overall experience.

mdhayes··on Ask HN: Is Ayrton Senna a good role model for entrepreneurs?
Being a bit of an F1 nut I don't see why not however I used the example of Juan Manuel Fangio - http://www.rookieoven.com/2011/08/17/why-be-a-startup-founde...

Also earlier this year was at an event in Edinburgh where Sir Jackie Stewart spoke to a bunch of founders, he was excellent. Write up of that here - http://www.rookieoven.com/2012/05/17/eie12-keynote-speaker-s...

[Apologies for the shameless plugs]

mdhayes··on Benefits of basing your startup in Scotland
Would have to disagree with you about the divide. To a lot of people (such as yourself) it's a non-issue however the majority are averse to travelling across the country (people in both cities). I can understand cost being a factor with it costing >£25 peak time to travel across the central belt.

The number of people from the capital who have attended RookieOven meetup at least once over the past year is appalling. I get the feeling it's the same for TechMeetup, Refresh, Popup Hack and more.

mdhayes··on Ask HN: Favorite music player for OSX?
Spotify
mdhayes··on Ask HN: (Update) What Karma Unlock New Features
500 to down vote is what I read too, fairly recently as well. However can't remember what post I read it in.
mdhayes··on Use Advertisements Strategically in Your WordPress Website Design
I really hope this is meant to be an ironic submission.
mdhayes··on Ask HN: Should we hire a designer or try ourselves?
"Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works." so yeah as dennisvdvliet pointed out design is very important to your product.
mdhayes··on Ask HN: how many co-founders should I opt for?
In my eyes the point of a Startup Weekend is to learn, network and experiment. If you create something that lasts then great.

The reason for the change in size is time. At Startup Weekend you have 54 hours. 2/3 person team means everyone still owns a reasonable amount of the company and should give a good mix of skills.

mdhayes··on Ask HN: how many co-founders should I opt for?
I organised Startup Weekend Glasgow. At a Startup Weekend whilst the teams reflect a typical startup in skill set there are usually more bodies in the teams.

Most teams at Startup Weekend Glasgow were 5+ people where as in my experience a typical startup is made up of 2/3 founders.

mdhayes··on Ask HN: API-only startups?
Pusher?
mdhayes··on Bay Area startup seeking Co-Founder (traction + paying customers)
Teamly has been a great help to me of late. Great opportunity here.
mdhayes··on Digital Garage acquires EdgeCase
Congrats EdgeCase!