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Don’t miss out! Check out the previous chapters here:

–Chapter One
–Chapter Two

CHAPTER THREE: Appear Super Responsive All The Time

In This Chapter:

• Write stock templates for frequent scenarios
• Tips to master the art of deflection
• Create an auto-responder to deploy for specific filters

Have you ever had one of those days where you wish there were two of you? You could finally unglue your fingers from your iPhone and maybe grab lunch with a friend? Or, go on a long run without feeling like things are falling through the cracks?

Well, what if I told you that we have the technology? We can clone you!

You get to be “fun clone”. The other clone—The other clone is “robot clone”.

While you’re out having fun, robot clone is going to do all of...

“Remember, teamwork begins by building trust. And the only way to do that is to overcome our need for invulnerability.” — Patrick Lencioni

One of the most under-appreciated and underrated attributions to a quickly growing company is this: business infrastructure.

For most entrepreneurs just entering the space, for any many naive executives, business infrastructure comes secondary before everything else.

Sure, your team is important. Your customers and users are critical. Your branding is key to having that lasting impression you want everyone to have.

I don’t want us ever to miscommunicate and state those aren’t important.

However, the real secret sauce to running a successful company comes down to the partnerships and trust you have, not ...

“Micro-aggressions are the biggest barrier. They add up until people feel completely hopeless about ever being included.”

– Michelle Glauser, Founder and CEO of Techtonica

Under the big tent of Startups Live, it’s easy to forget that not everyone feels equally welcome at the startup table. Issues of diversity and inclusion – gender inequality being a big one – are real and pervasive.

But, if the movement to address such issues is going to gain traction and unleash widespread transformation, there is no better space for it to happen than here. Today, our featured guest and the movement’s conductor is Michelle Glauser, the Founder + CEO of Techtonica.

“Do you want to tell us a little bit more about yourself before we get started?” invited mo...

Entrepreneurial success isn’t an achievement — it’s a process. No matter how big you make it, there’s always a new challenge over the next hill.

The best entrepreneurs welcome this never-ending cycle of improvement. Even heavy hitters like Bill Gates and Elon Musk continue to seek out new opportunities. To a layperson, these two have obviously done enough, but in their minds, they can still do much more. That ceaseless drive separates the truly successful from the also-rans.

Continuing to Climb

As a home-schooled child, I loved my free time. I would do math problems in my head and think about my schoolwork while I was playing so that when the time came to test, I would be prepared and not have to study longer.

I graduated from high school e...

Why we love it

Let’s pause – just for a moment – to bask in the revolution that is Creation Crate. For too long, postal delivery box services have been the reserve of fancy fruit and vegetables, small batch wine and beer, and other edible nonsense that we don’t really need. Seriously, how many types of quinoa and kale do you actually want, people? And why must it be delivered, in cardboard and twine, to your houses? Is it to inspire jealousy in your neighbors? Disgusting. Now, thanks to Creation Crate, artisanal products’ tyrannical domination of postal delivery boxes is over.

Creation Crate is a simple enough concept. Aimed at a target audience aged 12 and over (yes, even adults can get in on the action), Creation Crate works on a subscri...

Social media is an area where many .orgs come up short. In fact, it’s common for a lot of businesses to stumble with social media outreach. A new organization might have a handle on its social media campaigns, but as its audience grows, social media transforms into something that requires more time and attention.

Organizations often make the mistake of assigning social media to a volunteer or staff member already burdened with other tasks, and they don’t take the time to make posts geared toward the right audience..

Another common mistake is to split the duties across multiple volunteers. This can be effective, but only if you have a very precise and defined workflow, and a team with strong internal communication.

Finding the people with t...

Kim Malone Scott pulls from her years of experience with such notable companies as Apple, Google, Twitter and Dropbox to enlighten us with her unique take on successful management of a team.

If you have the time, check out the video below to hear her great anecdotes firsthand. But if you can’t watch it now, read our summary to learn how to deliver great feedback that will help your employees grow and improve.

It can be tempting to think there’s a proven formula for giving feedback, but Kim asserts that no such formula exists. However she’s of the mind that there are two absolutes.

First, authenticity is paramount. The popular “feedback sandwich” often backfires because you’re actually focused on the negative, so the feedback recipient can ...

As one of the partners of a Ruby on Rails software development agency, I speak with dozens of non-technical startup founders every week who are in various stages of building their first web or mobile application. The range of technical acumen, willingness to learn, and time and resources varies widely among the group.

As a firm, we’re not just competing with other NYC-based agencies for their business, but also offshore devshops, freelancers, and in some cases, the prospective client who may want to execute internally.

At the end of the day, a non-technical founder who has decided that they must build something has two options: pay someone else, or partner with people. Below are the pros and cons.

Paying Someone Else

Obviously, every situat...

You’re a startup founder. An idea machine. But it doesn’t matter how many ideas you have; those are a dime a dozen. What matters more is how you’re going to turn ideas into reality. So there’s a fork in the road: Pursue your side project (e.g. your passion), or keep your full-time job?

Delaying your side project could save time and money. Then again, going through with it could add color to your life and massive value to your company.

Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be an either/or scenario. You can make room for passion projects without ditching your post. Almost all the companies I’m running today started as side projects.

A few years ago, I was working as a hedge fund manager and a CTO of a Hollywood church. I was doing a little side con...

Imagine sitting in a room where every person across from you is dealing with the same crazy startup shit that you are.

Everyone is worried about making not only payroll but their mortgage payment. Everyone is wondering how to deal with annoying investors. Everyone feels like a total fraud, not just you. And most importantly — everyone is willing to talk about it — honestly.

Welcome to Founder Therapy.

There's a growing trend among Founders to begin talking openly and honestly about the issues we face, beyond online rants and in private spaces where we can get back to being real people.

I've been hosting these sessions for over 20 years all around the country, mostly in my home, and have sat with over 1,000 Founders in that time. What I'...