StartupSecrets

"Everyone in the Valley uses a Mac."

--Stephen Brady, CEO, Found

I was curious why a desktop software maker would launch its first app on the Mac. Despite its vocal supporters, Apple still accounts for only a small percentage of the global computing desktops and laptops.

Stephen Brady, the CEO of the startup Found (see my review, Personal search app Found scans cloud and local data), explained it to me. Mac users are more engaged, he said. They download more stuff. And then there's the Mac App Store, which just takes a lot of the hassle out … Read more

"People like to buy. They just don't like being sold to."

--Phil Libin, CEO, Evernote

Phil Libin likes Apple stores. As a nerd and "a huge Apple fanboy," he told me, he finds a stroll through an Apple store soothing. So much so that when he strolls into one, he'll find himself just looking for something to buy. He often leaves with a new case or accessory for a device in his family's fleet of Apple gear.

Evernote's sales model, he says, is based a little on that feeling. Phil wants … Read more

"Forget about spending money."

--Chance Barnett, CEO, Crowdfunder

So much of a startup CEO's job is raising money, that it stands to reason that the CEO will also spend a lot of time worrying about spending it. Or not spending it.

It can tie you in knots, according the Chance Barnett, the CEO of a crowdfunding portal, Crowdfunder (see Chance on Reporters' Roundtable). But in the early days of a company's existence, what you spend money on, or what deals you make to save it, do not tell the tale. Yes, running out of money … Read more

"Usually, features make things worse."

--Don Porter, CEO of OMGPOP & creator of Draw Something

About a week before Draw Something was acquired by Zynga for $180 million, I spoke with the creator of the game and CEO of the company, Dan Porter. He dropped this little Startup Secret. It's hardly unique. We hear it all the time in different variants: build the "minimum viable product." Or, "Ship early, ship often." And my new favorite: "If you're not embarrassed by your first version, you shipped too late."

Now that Porter'… Read more

"Hiring a compromise is a false economy."

--Jon Reynolds, CEO, SwiftKey

Hiring is a CEO's most important job, especially in the earliest days of a company. Jon Reynolds, founder of SwiftKey, has the story of not doing this the right way and having to pay to to fix the mess it made. It worked out for the best, but he thinks it proves the rule.

As with many startups, in the early days Swiftkey had a good demo but the product wasn't ready to back it up. In December 2009, with Mobile World Congress approaching and … Read more

"Get your free users to build a moat around your business."

--Michael Simon, CEO, LogMeIn

Michael Simon is a sneaky, sneaky man. He's attacking a well-established part of the industry, the remote desktop space. This is a market that Cisco Systems and Citrix have held onto for years, with their paid products, Webex and GoToMeeting.

Along comes Michael's company, LogMeIn, with Join.me, a super-simple, super-free screen-sharing app. Sure, there are paid upgrades (custom URLs for the sharing link, bidirectional sharing, etc.), but the free app is very strong. (Strong enough that I have this request: … Read more

"Listen to the question."

--Jason Calacanis, host, Launch conference

I sat in on one of the demo prep sessions for the recent Launch conference, in which Jason dispensed advice to the CEOs practicing their pitches. After each pitch, of course, come the showy, congressional inquiry-style questions from the onstage judges. Jason's advice for dealing with the questions is basic, but presenters still need to be reminded of it.

"Be in the moment," Jason says. "Listen."

It should be easy. But it isn't, especially when you're onstage in front of a … Read more

"We are fixing the wrong things."

--Ryan Howard, CEO, Practice Fusion

Entrepreneurship is really commitment. Passion. The putting aside of short-term comforts, or even needs, so the Idea can live.

Is there such a thing as too much commitment? The story of Ryan Howard might illustrate just that. I thought so, at first. But by the time I was finished talking to him about his company, Practice Fusion, I was glad he did the dumb things he did to keep his company alive in the dark days of its founding.

Practice Fusion is an electronic medical records service … Read more

"Don't let your experience be your enemy."

--Bill Harris, founder, Personal Capital

Bill Harris is the CEO of Personal Capital, an online money management service. Anyone can get his company's tracking and stats on existing financial accounts for free. But to step up to the company's full financial management services, there's a $100,000 buy-in.

Personal Capital is a freemium play with cajones.

(My original review, if you're interested: Mint for rich people. The new iPad app is coming out today. I tried it. It's very good.)

Bill has been CEO of … Read more