A wife, a baby, a mortgage, and a startup.

So yeah, neither of us are graphic artists – that’s for sure.  When we needed to come up with a logo for some business cards from Moo, well, that fell on my shoulders (since I have a legit, real, honest copy of Illustrator – thanks former life in academia).  What we came up with is so not a logo.  It’s kinda just a font, with some color, but it’ll do for now.

So a version of it now lives up there, in the upper right.  That’s us, TempMine.  Neat.  Our biz cards look ok, not great.  Amusingly enough, I apparently messed up the color, so they’re a little darker, and purpleyer.  Whatevers.  There are first, and they’re kinda cool.

TempMine: our first business cards

Take away: Don’t waste too much time or money on your first biz cards.  If you pay more than $25 shipped, you’re wasting cash better used on anything else.  Also, don’t get too into the logo yet.  We’ll have way more time to worry about that later.

starting the startup, Uncategorized business cards, design, logo, marketing

For the last couple of years, I’ve been the lucky recipient of migraines.  They suck, but I’ve learned to better manage them thanks to some fancy (and spendy) prescription drugs and the ability to take a sick day and NOT look at this bloody computer.  Well, I felt a headache coming on last night, but ignored it and went to bed.  When I awoke, there it was, right where I’d left it.   A not so quick drive down to our first investor’s house (Mom & Dad) to drop off our beast and it was full on raging and had turned the corner to a Migraine.

So who do I ask for a sick day?  I’m my boss.  Everything that doesn’t get done by me today, pushes my life, our company,  our future one day into the future.  Who knows what that one day will cost us.  I hope nothing, but the fear of failure in me says it could be everything, so work, work, work.  Thankfully today wasn’t a total loss.  I was able to squeeze in some time, and more importantly make some progress one the meds did their thing.  Usually I’d lounge away the rest of the day, for fear of a relapse, but I didn’t today. My jerky boss made me work.

being the boss migraine, sick day

Yesterday was a whirlwind of trying to get way too much done in way to little time, of trying to not stiff my friends, and coworkers with too many unanswered questions and incomplete tasks, and trying to make sure I didn’t work a 14 hour day.  I think I succeeded on points one and two but failed pretty miserably on number three.

So what does it feel like to wakeup with your job being the startup you had the idea for over a year ago, the startup, that you’re a few months deep into working at night, on weekends and whenever you can steal some time, the startup that has to pay the mortgage and feed the family?   Insanely, unbelievably anxious, that’s what.  Wow, I’ve not been this anxious since my driving test.  The driving test that I hit (and likely killed) a bird on the way to.  And yes, I passed.  And my Dad swears the bird was suicidal …

starting the startup

I joined my first startup at the butt-end of the bubble, was employee #44, earned some great experience, worked with some amazing people, and many who just plain weren’t.  I survived a few rounds of layoffs, but finally was out of work when the company ceased to be an ongoing concern in the Spring of 2003.  Thinking I’d learned all I needed to do this on my own, I jumped into a few more startups as number two or one.  All seemed like “the next big thing”, were interesting, educational, and exciting.  All were failures.  It was okay though as I had a good day job.

That job has been so good that I’ve spent the last year since out son’s birth working only four days a week.   Not working from home on Fridays, but not working on Fridays … three day weekends every weekend.  I spent those Friday’s with the boy – something I’d recommend to anyone and everyone with their first (or nth) little one if they can pull it off.  Sure I love my weekends when all three of us are together, but being one on one all day is totally different and rocks.

Anyway, tomorrow I’ll walk out of that great, stable job for another startup.  This Friday the little one will turn one.   More than a few people have told me that I am crazy.  But if you’ve every had to do something, known it was the right thing for you, just known that this was a problem you have to try to solve, then you understand.

There’s a investment adage that I first heard from Harvey Salkin in his Personal Investment class back in college.  It went something like “the cardinal sin of investing is thinking that this time will be different”.   I can’t tell you how many times this has come to mind over the years, but it has to be in the thousands.  That said, this time, this startup is different.  I now have an amazing nearly one year old relying on me as well as a very forgiving, excited, and supportive wife (seriously, try being married to me, it’s not easy!).   This time is going to be very, very different.

So as we grow TempMine I’m going to blog about the process of starting a startup.  This as much for me as it is for you, dear reader.  This summer, this year, this life is going to go fast.  When I finally get a chance for a break, I look forward to being able to sit back, read this, and see what I missed.

blah CWRU, leaving a job, startup failure