What Happened When We Killed Timekeeping and Attendance

September 1, 2015 by 9 Comments
timepiece

One of the great perks of being an entrepreneur is having complete control over time. From the time we founded STORM, Pao and I have always worked with a completely flexible schedule. Actual sms messages: Dude, coffee shop muna ako this morning. or Had a late night, will work from home today or Won't be in the office this afternoon We never had to be worried that the other person is slacking off. We'll even tell one another if we need a break to slack off. This is because we trust one another. In the end, I know Pao cares about the firm and will work his tail off for its objectives. I know that goes both ways. This never became a rule for our employees though. We followed a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Life in a Startup, Startup Ideas, TOOLS AND RESOURCES Tagged With: , , ,

The LEGO Theory of Job Fulfillment

August 27, 2015 by Leave a Comment
lego

  Who doesn't love Lego? When I was a kid, Lego was my ultimate, favorite toy. After I would unbox a set, I would first try to build it as designed. But this wasn't the fun part yet! This is sort of the boring requirement. After some time, these new pieces would gradually fall into my BIG PAIL of Lego blocks. Playtime commenced when I would pour the pieces on the floor - one big mess. Then, I would just...create. Cars, knights on steeds, robots with several points of articulation, you name it, I built it. Fun! Decades after, Lego is bigger than ever. People buy the stuff in droves (even if it hurts the pocket) - fuelled especially by licensing everything cool. (Marvel … [Read more...]

Filed Under: TAKE THAT LEAP!, Your Value Proposition

What Is Your Fearlessness Quotient?

December 4, 2014 by 1 Comment
jump

At work, when we talk about hiring (which we talk about A LOT nowadays), I usually tell my co-managers that I am very interested in hiring "entrepreneurial-minded" people. Then I'd get often asked: What does that mean? That's a question I've been mulling about for ages. What exactly is it? How do you evaluate if someone has it? How do you know if someone has the potential to have it? There are so many theories on what entrepreneurship is. Here's one of mine. I think, when you distill it, when you boil entrepreneurship down to its basest levels, entrepreneurship is all about fearlessness. Entrepreneurs just conquer fear. Innovation, a word long synonymous with … [Read more...]

Filed Under: GETTING STARTED, Small Steps, STARTUP ADVICE, TAKE THAT LEAP! Tagged With:

Big Picture? No, Look at the BIGGER Picture

November 28, 2014 by 3 Comments
big picture

These past few months have been crazy in STORM. We started the 2014 with about 16 employees. We're ending the year with around 50 employees and 60 more job openings. After 5-6 years hovering at around 10-15 employees, we're now scaling at an unprecedented level. It's been all sorts of crazy, but its been fun. It's a riveting challenge to see just how far we can push this. This sudden shift in scale started when we realized two years ago that, "Hey, we can be more than a niche player in the industry - we could help EVERYONE out with flexible benefits." We widened the aperture. Stepping Back for a Wider View Every once in awhile I would talk to an entrepreneur about ideas or … [Read more...]

Filed Under: STARTUP ADVICE, Startup Ideas, TAKE THAT LEAP! Tagged With: , ,

5 Reasons Why You Should Quit Your Job Now and Work for a Startup (With Traction)

August 12, 2014 by Leave a Comment
racecar1

So, you want to put up a startup. You want to take the leap. But it's sooooo hard to let go of the cushy job you've spent numerous years cultivating... You worry about the sudden disruption of that bi-monthly cashflow you're now so accustomed to and built your life around. So what now? Here's a solution - work for a startup. But don't just work for ANY startup - work for a startup with traction. What's traction? I like Naval Ravikant's (Angelist founder) efficient definition of traction: "Quantitative evidence of market demand." A startup has traction when it has increasing numbers - revenue, users, profitability, engagement, traffic, etc... These are evident signs … [Read more...]

Filed Under: GETTING STARTED, Life in a Startup, STARTUP ADVICE, TAKE THAT LEAP! Tagged With: , , ,

Thursdays Unplugged Postscript (July 31 Edition)

August 8, 2014 by Leave a Comment
TUWEEK2

  See that bottle of Pepsi in the picture? I started this Thursdays Unplugged session by accidentally dropping the closed bottle, and then proceeding to absent-mindedly open it. The result was an explosion of cola and pride, mostly on my shirt (which, incredibly, looks the same in the picture). It was all uphill from there though! With the third participant calling that he couldn't make it the last minute, this became a 3-person session. Of course, I loved the result, as Jode, Gerome, and I not only got into the technicalities of the their startup ideas, but more importantly, we got to talk about their journey, and the softer parts of the startup life. The thing I love … [Read more...]

Filed Under: ANNOUNCEMENTS, Event Postscripts, Life in a Startup, STARTUP ADVICE, TAKE THAT LEAP! Tagged With: ,

Risk Now or Forever Hold Your Peace

August 4, 2014 by 7 Comments
risknow

The older we get, the more permanent our decisions become. In high school, the biggest decision we made was probably what school to take (a lot of people I know didn't have a choice in this matter as well), or perhaps what course to take. We could then easily shift courses. A lot of people I know even shifted schools. We also choose who to hang out with. This can change easily as well. Then one day, we graduate from college. Then we have to face the next big decision in our lives - what job to take. Not quite happy with our first job, perhaps we transfer to another firm. It isn't as easy as changing courses, but this decision is still flexible enough that for a lot of us, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: STARTUP ADVICE, TAKE THAT LEAP! Tagged With: , ,

JGL Thursdays Unplugged v1 – So What Happened?

July 28, 2014 by Leave a Comment
photo (1)

Last week, we held our very first Thursdays Unplugged in the STORM office in Ortigas. I was with John, Gelo, and Ethel. We were supposed to be 5 people but the last participant couldn't make it at the last minute. In retrospect, it was better suited for 4 people - more on this later. So what happened?  I had no idea what was going to happen, so it was a bit awkward to start - it seemed too intimate at first. Then I laid the rules - 15 minutes per person, with an ideal 5-minute pitch, and then everyone can supply ideas and advice. And just like that, we started. It was pretty cool. Everyone had a very different idea, with each at different stages of the startup process. One was … [Read more...]

Filed Under: ANNOUNCEMENTS, Event Postscripts, STARTUP ADVICE, TAKE THAT LEAP! Tagged With: , ,

Soft vs. Hard Entrepreneurship and What to Prioritize

July 20, 2014 by 2 Comments
HARD vs SOFT

You can divide all the elements of entrepreneurship into two distinct categories: hard and soft. Here's what the HARD column can be populated with: Valuation Product-market fit Lean Startup Methodology A-B Testing Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C.... Pivot Runway Dilution MVP Growth Hacking Strategies Here's what the SOFT column can be populated with: Passion Founder Dynamics Culture Maturity The entrepreneurial spirit Mentors Perseverance Following the heart Following the dream Motivation Taking a leap of faith Now, ask ANY successful entrepreneur what the reasons are for her success. Do you think most responses will fall within the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Life in a Startup, STARTUP ADVICE Tagged With: ,

Introducing Thursdays Unplugged – And Why I’m Limiting It to 4 People

July 17, 2014 by 4 Comments
photo (2)

While I like organizing events like Startups Unplugged or Open Coffee, where I really get my kick is when I go on one-on-one coffee-talks. In the bigger events or in some of the speaking events I've done, I may be able to impart knowledge and help out, but obviously, the learning cannot be customized to the individual. Sure, after the event there can be informal networking and getting to know people, but I don't really get to KNOW people that much. This is why I like doing one-on-one coffee-talks. More than just the startup idea, I get to know the entrepreneur's story. I get to know his motivations. I get to read body language. I don't just shoot from the hip and comment on just the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: ANNOUNCEMENTS, GETTING STARTED, STARTUP ADVICE, TAKE THAT LEAP!, TOOLS AND RESOURCES Tagged With: , ,
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