turoczy

Additional coverage: http://www.oregonlive.com/small-business/index.ssf/2012/03/p...

Thanks roadhead! Sometimes we forget to highlight the fringe benefits ;)

The feeling is entirely mutual <3

Thank you so much for your insights, your guidance, and your candor. It was great working with you as a founder. I can't wait to have you involved in PIE as a mentor.

His description of why he did it:

To those who might wish to "torrent" this video: look, I don't really get the whole "torrent" thing. I don't know enough about it to judge either way. But I'd just like you to consider this: I made this video extremely easy to use against well-informed advice. I was told that it would be easier to torrent the way I made it, but I chose to do it this way anyway, because I want it to be easy for people to watch and enjoy this video in any way they want without "corporate" restrictions.

Please bear in mind that I am not a company or a corporation. I'm just some guy. I paid for the production and posting of this video with my own money. I would like to be able to post more material to the fans in this way, which makes it cheaper for the buyer and more pleasant for me. So, please help me keep this being a good idea. I can't stop you from torrenting; all I can do is politely ask you to pay your five little dollars, enjoy the video, and let other people find it in the same way.

Sincerely, Louis C.K.

His "please don't torrent" request alone, is worth the $5:

To those who might wish to "torrent" this video: look, I don't really get the whole "torrent" thing. I don't know enough about it to judge either way. But I'd just like you to consider this: I made this video extremely easy to use against well-informed advice. I was told that it would be easier to torrent the way I made it, but I chose to do it this way anyway, because I want it to be easy for people to watch and enjoy this video in any way they want without "corporate" restrictions.

Please bear in mind that I am not a company or a corporation. I'm just some guy. I paid for the production and posting of this video with my own money. I would like to be able to post more material to the fans in this way, which makes it cheaper for the buyer and more pleasant for me. So, please help me keep this being a good idea. I can't stop you from torrenting; all I can do is politely ask you to pay your five little dollars, enjoy the video, and let other people find it in the same way.

Sincerely, Louis C.K.

Omaha, NE, and the surrounding area

There's a thread over on reddit tracking Portland sightings now.

http://www.reddit.com/r/Portland/comments/j58hl/anyone_else_...

I've also heard from someone in Spokane.

Thank very much for the kind words and votes of confidence. We're really excited to have Google joining Coca-Cola and Target as sponsors/mentors for us.

And I would be remiss not to highlight Renny Gleeson's leadership and vision in making this all happen. I'm just the operations guy who takes credit for his hard work ;)

Another cogent reminder about over promising and under delivering

Started a new thread for this question http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2642425

That raises a really interesting point: what constitutes a "startup"? Does it have to be product based?

Thanks for the push. I'll work on writing that up.

Awesome. Thanks so much for sharing this. We handle a lot of hackathons in our space and we have our own ad hoc process. But your documenting your process definitely filled in some gaps for us.

Second that emotion on the exercise. And diet is equally important. While the Red Bull, pizza, and caffeine swilling stereotype is prevalent, a well-thought out and balanced diet can make your coding more productive. You'll be creating fewer bugs, thinking more clearly, and feeling more positive about your progress if your (exercised) body has the fuel it needs, too. And reducing the number of stimulants you're ingesting will help with that whole sleeping thing too.

Ron Wyden is one of the few politicians who understands the Web and one of the few folks in Oregon who has understood the potential of Web startups for more than a decade. I'm always proud to send this guy back to Washington. And I'll keep doing it as long as he stands up to bills like this.

From the site: "The TinyFund is designed to provide monetary assistance of up to $500,000 per title to game developers creating any type of game played on iPhone, iPad or Android including paid and free titles. TinyCo will offer marketing, development and business assistance as needed."

The thing I never get is this… If the idea is so amazing, then you should be able to find funding to hire incredible developers to build it. If it's not that amazing, but you're convinced you're creative, then use that creativity to find the developers you need.

"Idea guy seeking developer" usually means "I think I have a get rich quick scheme."

I took that title as the question that everyone asks. It's unfortunate, but it's true. "I'm just an idea guy; do you know any developers?" is the platitude of the startup scene, tech or otherwise.

I didn't mean to imply that you had to have the culture baked on day 1. But by the time you've moved beyond cofounders and are making hires, you better be well on your way to having it defined. Or you're doomed to wallow in misfits and repairing poor hires instead of moving rapidly.

And I totally agree that the founders drive and define the culture. It's their responsibility to establish it, manage it, and change it, if need be.

Agree people are always talking about it. But they're rarely doing a decent job of defining the culture, adhering to it, and hiring to it.

Cultural fit--and company culture in general--is something I rarely see mentioned. And yet, it's critical to a startup's potential for success. No matter how you define that culture, it needs to be defined. And your founders and employees need to share a similar commitment to that culture. Really glad to see it highlighted here as one of the five.

Yeah. Honestly, I've always seen the YC program as a much needed filter for the VC community rather than a competitor/disruptor. But it's always nice to hear from the founder that that's the case ;)

I have to admit… Part of the reason I shared this was because the headline was trying to cram all the groan-inducing puns in there that it could.

P.S. That goes for any of you ;)

Sounds good. Please let me know when you're in town. And let's make that happen.

It's a really solid post. And it's dead on about the pluses and minuses of Portland. Well done.

Portland, Oregon

There are a whole bunch of startups--including COLOURlovers (YC W10)--looking for dev talent and more:

http://siliconflorist.com/jobs/index.php/page/1

In my experience, the most successful startup advisor relationships are the ones that are very deliberately and explicitly pursued. It may take a while to find the right person, but once you do, making sure you're both clear on the advisor/advisee relationship is paramount.

Just noticed that the MIT release containing this same information is on the front page and trending. I'd encourage you to vote for that one instead of this one. ;)