by Ian Gordon on January 22, 2010
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In this episode of Startup Daddy I talk about my new company, Memory Deck. I hope that by talking about the process I’m going through as I start this new company, you will see that you can do it too.
While my partner and I have been researching and planning this for months, when it came time to create the company and form the LLC, we got the whole process done in a week. Yes, I filled out the application at LegalZoom, and seven days later we had a company with a business checking account, and we were on our way.
I’m not smarter than you. You can do this.
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by Ian Gordon on January 20, 2010
I wrote a post for Dad-O-Matic about talking to our 6 year old about the earthquake in Haiti, and all of the horrific images she catches on TV now and then. It’s never easy to talk to your kids about death and tragedy but it’s important. It’s not the usual business fair, but you can read it here.
by Ian Gordon on January 14, 2010
I’m taking a mulligan for 2009. In golf, a mulligan is when you hit the ball poorly, into the woods or a lake, or five feet in front of you, and you want a do over. I know a lot about mulligans. I was inspired by CC Chapman, who had a bad week, and called a mulligan. If you haven’t heard CC Chapman’s podcast Managing the Gray, you should really check it out. Anyway, I thought this was a fantastic idea. I want to take it a few steps farther though, and call a mulligan for all of 2009.
Like a lot of people, 2009 was a particularly hard year for me. Now A LOT of people had it far worse than I did, and don’t worry, I’m not going to go off on a poor me, this is why my year sucked rant. Let’s just say it was hard, I didn’t enjoy it, and move on. It’s that last part I want to emphasize. The “move on” part.
What makes a do over even better than another turn, is that the do over gives you a chance to erase the bad stuff. I’m lucky in that I’m usually not one to wallow. When I see or feel something I don’t like, I have this pathological need to change it. So for the most part, 2009 sucked. I’m taking a mulligan. You won’t hear me talking about how awesome 2010 is going to be, or how I’m going to make this the best year ever!
A mulligan doesn’t make your next shot great, it just gives you a chance to. No promises of future success, or delusions of finally reaching the top of the hill and it’s all down hill from here. Let’s be real. Let’s just say that I’m going to leave yesterday where it belongs and focus on today and tomorrow. I’m making a plan, and taking specific steps to change things for the better. If you’ve had a hard time lately, why not join me? It’s easy. Just tee it up again and let ‘er rip.
by Ian Gordon on January 12, 2010
Google made a huge announcement today. Essentially, because of an attempt by the Chinese Government to hack the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists, Google has made a decision that will likely lead to their leaving China.
In 2006, in order to make the deal in China, Google agreed to censor some search results. They announced today that they are no longer willing to continue censoring results.
This is a big deal because it is not often that Corporations the size of Google, with access to the market of markets that China is, decide to give it up because it’s the right thing to do.
In a time when reports about huge American corporations so often make us cringe in embarrassment, Google has given us a reason to be proud of one.
Here is the link to the Google Blog post with the Announcement about China.
