West Coast Tech Meets East Coast Hustle

Airfare Savings Checklist

• Purchase airfare on Tuesdays or Wednesdays between 9am to 5pm
• Travel on Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Saturdays
• Buy Airfare at least 14 days in advance (buy a month or two in advance for cheapest seats)

Summarized from the WSJ piece Whatever You Do, Don’t Buy an Airline Ticket On …

BIG IDEA

“Just as a child who falls while learning to ride a bike is not told “You get a D,” but is encouraged to keep trying, he said, online classes, where students can work at their own pace, can help students keep practicing until they master the content.

MOOCs, Large Courses Open to All, Topple Campus Walls - NYTimes.com

Where to spend your money so it actually makes you happy

Recent research suggest there there are four ways money can actually make people happier:

1. If you’re so poor as to not be able to afford food and shelter, an increase in income that can provide such basics has been shown to increase reported well-being
2. If you truly worry about finances, the removal of concern over things like hospital bills and mortgage payments can lessen stress to such an extent that it increase reported happiness-provided that getting and keeping of your newfound wealth doesn’t create new stresses
3. If you give to charity, research suggest that you’re more likely to report a high level of happiness then less generous types
4. People who spend money on experiences-vacations, scuba lessons, concerts-report higher levels of happiness than people who just buy things.

Excerpt from: Why Smart People Make Big Money Mistakes by Gary Belsky and Thomas Gilovich

Startups and Girlfriends

A younger me used to believe that girlfriends + startup = fail.

We’ve all heard the classic silicon valley story of a few entrepreneurs shacked up in an apartment coding all night, living off taco bell. The story ends with the question: how do you compete against that?

So I spent a large potion of my adult life (18-23) without a girlfriend, thinking it would hold me back and distract me from my goals. Then I met Dana and everything changed. 

She made me a stronger person, a wiser thinker, a happier man, a complete person. She’s unbeliveably supportive and loves the things about me that others might find a massive no-no i.e. insane drive, crazy work ethic, have trouble turning off, want everything, obsessed with winning.

I can now look back and say I’ve performed stronger with Dana in my life than without. Hands down, no questions, the past two years have been the best two years of my life both professionally and personally; I got engaged, Flowtown acquired.

There’s just something unexplainable about having someone you love, that you know will always be there, that helps motivate you to risk more and push harder because if times get tough you know you’ll always have that special person in your life, that’s ready to get in the trenches with you and fight.

What I’m trying to say is I’ve learned that the right partner makes you unstoppable. Not just in your startup, but in life. 

So get out of the building and go find yours.