:Michael Anuzis

I love being an Entrepreneur in 2011… As some of you may know, I’ve been working on an entrepreneurial startup for the last 1.5 years on the side from my day job (which I also love, by the way!)

A year ago, my partner and I planned on launching a quick/dirty version of our site in “two weeks” to test the concept. We had no idea that after we actually sunk our teeth into it and decided to develop it right it’d take us closer to 1.5 yrs… In this post, I want to share some lessons learned along the way, some things I love about the business, and some things I love about being an entrepreneur in 2011.

- I love that we’ve taken the time to hire a solid development team. We recently interviewed 10+ development companies via e-mail, interviewed the best three via Skype, decided to hire all three for a test project for two weeks, and planned to keep the one with the best balance of communication, code quality, progress made, professionalism, etc. — compared to our first two developers who were hired with practically no interview, this last due diligence definitely paid off.
- I love that we hired a Quality Assurance (QA) professional who helps identify bugs, documents them, tracks their resolutions, and verifies they were fixed. My partner and I used to do this ourselves with our first developer: we’d spend hours documenting all the bugs and we’d receive a list back from our developer marking everything as “FIXED”. We’d go to verify and see that 33% were fixed, 33% were re-developed incorrectly, and 33% were marked fixed but left completely the same… this was extremely draining and hurt our momentum significantly… having a QA professional help with this has been a complete lifesaver.
- I love that my partner and I can manage the development effectively in 30-60 minutes/day in the evenings, with 2-3 hour deep-dives on the weekend.
- I love that our team is global and efficient. We have 6 people in 4 time zones. (me in Japan, my partner in the states, our QA professional in Shanghai, two developers and a project manager in SE Asia)
- I love that our PM has a great attitude, is available almost 24/7, speaks fine English, is professional, but still throws in winks and smiley faces in the daily reports. I also love that he works free, and is complimentary with the development team.
- I love that our QA professional absolutely crushes things. She is freaking amazing at finding bugs and documenting them with screenshots, steps to reproduce, expected behavior, actual behavior, etc.; when we first hired her for a 2-3 hour test to see what she could do, she found and documented 8-9 bugs, one of which was a critical security vulnerability that could have put us out of business had we launched without catching it.
- I love that the developer who won our hiring contest fair and square is based out of SE Asia. The per-capita income of their country was under $2,000 in 2009… we paid our developers more than twice that last month alone. I love globalization, and the thought that these intelligent folks acquired the skills necessary to compete in the global market place and leapfrog the local economy…
- I love that we’re paying our QA professional and developers fairly… it’s stellar to be working with true professionals from around the globe for such reasonable, win-win rates.
- I love we adopted Redmine to manage our project, track all our bugs, feature requests, development roadmap, etc… we used to use various spreadsheets/etc for this stuff, but Redmine is actually designed for the purpose… I also love that Redmine is free.
- I love that we use SVN for version control (also free). There are obviously tons of benefits to using version control, but believe it or not we were using FTP a couple months ago and whenever we wanted to move code from development into production we’d have to mirror all the files at once and it’d take an hour. Now we can move only the updated files and it takes just a few minutes.
- I love that we won our first customer a few months ago, and did so in a theoretically profitable way (I won’t elaborate!)
- I love that although our website wasn’t completely ready for launch at the time, we were able to service the customer effectively, and are now working to further automate things.
- I love the fact Gmail and Skype enable free webcam chatting with my partner in the states, and staff in other countries.
- I love that oDesk.com tracks our team’s Work Diary and takes screenshots of their screen a few times per hour so we can verify that an hour billed is actually an hour worked.
- I love that my employer was open to my starting an unrelated side business, and that when I went to HR to ask about it they were willing to approve it in writing (that says something great about the times we live in).
- I love that my partner and I were able to start everything without seeking venture capital funding. Yes, we’ve had to make major investments, but it has been do-able.
- I love that free & open source development frameworks like CakePHP, Kohana, CodeIgniter, etc. are available to help us retroactively improve the quality/stability of our code and implement MVC for a reasonable development expense.
- I love that building a company like this is equally as fun and even more satisfying than playing video games.
- I love that sites like TechCrunch.com, VentureBeat.com, Techonomy.com, TED.com, Quora.com, etc., have an absolute explosion of exciting business innovation available on a daily basis that serves as an endless source of inspiration.
- I love that in addition to my current business, I have 5+ other ideas I’d love to turn into businesses some day that are likely to be ridiculously more lucrative and exciting (although significantly more challenging to execute).
- I love that the pace of innovation is accelerating to an almost unfathomable rate.
- Although at this point we are still far from making back the money we initially invested, I am confident and hopeful that over time we will, and then I’ll probably love that too.

Well, that’s more than 20 things I love about being an entrepreneur in 2011. Times are good indeed.

NOTE: I have intentionally not revealed what our business is, and don’t plan to. Please don’t bother asking, and if you somehow find out, please don’t share it broadly. We’re trying to keep a low profile while we scale up since we don’t have the investment resources to scale as fast as other companies might. My intention for writing this post was to share my positive outlook on entrepreneurship in 2011, share a few lessons learned, and perhaps inspire others to try something similar. Thanks, and good luck!

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Haven’t blogged for months, but I update twitter.com/anuzis daily in case any stalkers need more frequent updates. In the mean time, here’s a few snippets:

1) Started a 2nd side business which put www.learnfromaninja.com on the backburner. The new business is secret for now. It’s more lucrative but less philanthropic. Social impact neutral. Once it’s up and rolling strong I’ll be able to focus more on LFaN without worrying about over-commercializing the lessons.

2) My 401k dropped 55% with the economic downtown and I couldn’t care less. How’s that for Buddhist non-attachment? That said, I’m investing more than ever now. FYI – Warren Buffet just moved 100% into U.S. stocks. Combine this with Obama’s win & the timing seems right for alternative energy.

3) Helping as a judge for Project 10 to the 100. What a great time to be alive!

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I’ve been blogging for over a year about designing a gadget that tracks the unified environmental efforts of millions of people and allows everyone to celebrate their contribution. A few weeks ago it looks like Google released a gadget called ‘Energy Saver‘ that does just that.

It doesn’t allow people to track their contributions in as many ways as I’d like to see, but it does provide a beautiful/simple way for people to make a difference with hardly effort at all by “Enabling and optimizing your computer’s power management settings to help save the world energy.”

If I wasn’t already working on a different startup, I’d love to take this idea to the next level with my domain greenolution.com. Previous posts of mine detailing that business model & vision:

- The Greenolution Pitch
- Three Design Opportunities for a Brighter Future
- Anyone Join Me for $25 Million
- Count Down Your Carbon

If you combined CDYD and Google’s Energy Saver gadget and threw in a global goal, a gadget easier for people to paste on social networking sites than the Google Gadget, and some greentech product recommendations on the most cost-effective technologies currently available, you’d have my idea for greenolution.com.

Aside from possible ad revenue, you could add an e-commerce portion of the site to sell the greentech conveniently to consumers/businesses, or at least collect affiliate earnings.

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I’ve made several mistakes on 4 entrepreneurial startups over the years. In this podcast, I rattle off as many lessons learned as possible within 30 minutes. There might not be exactly 50 mistakes, but I manage to squeeze in a good number.

In order to be a successful entrepreneur, you probably have to make at least 350 mistakes, learn from them, and keep persevering. I hope this podcast will save you thousands of dollars you may have lost through similar mistakes, so you can skip to more advanced [and enjoyable] mistakes & the learning opportunities associated.

For those of you interested in learning more details on the network security startup I bootstrapped in this podcast, I refer you to this older podcast focused on that startup that I released back in March – How to be an IT Consultant – Part IV

 50 Common Entrepreneurial Mistakes [33:07m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Ann Arbor is replacing every street light in the city with LEDs, and reducing their energy usage 55% in the process. The project will cost $650,000 and achieve a return on investment in 4.2 years. The city already implemented LEDs on Washington St between 4th & 5th street and its citizens to submitted feedback via the web. With 98% approval, the city is moving forward.

LEDs: easier on the eyes than fluorescent bulbs and significantly more energy efficient as well. A fellow Googler recently replaced the lighting in her house with LEDs, and her entire upstairs runs on a total of 11 watts. She could leave a light on 24/7 for a year at a cost of about $4. I’m thinking of making the switch…

If you’re living in a city that hasn’t yet made the switch, I tagged this post as ‘business’ and ‘opportunities’ on your behalf. It’s a no-brainer once you’re informed. Good luck!

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Sorry for the delay in posting – work has been quite busy. To make it up to you I’m giving out four $25 Kiva gift certificates to the first four people to claim them in a comment on this post. It’s basically $25 you can do what you want with, but I hope you will lend them out at least once before you choose to withdraw the money for yourself.

For those of you unfamiliar with Kiva, it’s a way to invest in an entrepreneur in a developing country. There’s a 97% likelihood they’ll pay you back, which is really great. When the entrepreneur pays you back, you can withdraw your money or re-lend it to another entrepreneur – whatever you want! Here’s a quick clip on Kiva for those interested:

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I try not to write about boring personal stuff in this blog, but a colleague and I made front page of the Detroit News Business section yesterday for our work on Google Apps for Education.

[Read the Full Article Here]

To make this post more worth your time, I should tell you that if you know any small/mid business owners, they’ll love you if tell them about the Google Apps Standard Edition. In short, it’ll give them a custom-branded e-mail solution with free anti-spam and anti-virus while saving them thousands per year. No joke.

In closing, I’m not allowed to speak on behalf of Google so this post is purely informative and of my own opinion.

Update: Just came across a great 1min57sec Google Apps ‘Quick Tour’ for those interested:

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The new TED talks are out – get ‘em while they’re hot!

Neil Gershenfeld – an MIT professor introduces revolutionary low-cost invention in far corners of the Earth.

Saul Griffith – teaches that the universe is a computer. Covers self-replicating products down to the nano level, & a ’smart’ rope that can sense when it’s in danger of breaking.

Charles Leadbeater – leverages ideas from The Innovator’s Dilemma, and discusses ways of multiplying humanity’s creative ability by empowering consumers to be innovators.

Thank you, TED.

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One week after starting at Google – I share the thought process I went through deciding to join in the context of my long term career strategy. I don’t plan on releasing any more work-related podcasts in the future as I am not authorized to speak on behalf of Google. Additionally, as much of my work is confidential there is no way to discuss it anyway. My hope for this podcast is that listeners interested in professional development learn something from this experience that may benefit them in the future. If you’re curious why someone might take a job as an employee that pays less than half as much as they could make in their own company, maybe this can shed some light on that for you.

 Career Thoughts and Aspirations [28:19m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Three entrepreneurial ideas have been churning in my head for a while now. Rather than hide them for some competitive advantage, I’d like to share them with you and possibly tackle them together. If sharing these ideas leads to direct competition, so be it. As my ideas are all triple bottom line business models at least the competition will move us forward.

Before reading the rest of this post, you’ll benefit greatly from watching William McDonough speak on the concept of design. As one example, McDonough puts you in the shoes of Thomas Jefferson charged with the task of designing the Bill of Rights. Feel ready to take on that one yourself? For better or for worse, we’re faced with similarly massive design problems today, and the solutions are far from clear. Together, however, I am optimistic we can design a better future.

My entrepreneurial opportunities follow. I estimate the solution to any of these challenges, taken to market properly, would be worth millions (if not billions) today.

Idea 1: Climate Crisis, Sustainability and Green Technology

The fact that we face consumption rates far beyond sustainability is no longer controversial within the scientific community. We need a massive change and we need it now.

Many people take the political route to elicit change. Frankly, I have no faith that government alone can move fast enough to save us. What’s the alternative? Empower individuals.

In the next few years several green technologies will emerge that will save you money to use while saving the environment. One problem will be adopting them fast enough. It takes time for information to spread, and we can’t implement solutions we don’t know exist.

Background out of the way, here’s my idea: Create a website aimed at serving the the simplest, most effective means for maximizing sustainability at any given time. At the top corner of the site, put a panel that tracks how much money all the site’s visitors have saved in real time (think Traineo) by allowing users to report product usage & calculating their savings from the database.

Use that panel to set community-driven goals. Imagine a value of “$27,014,210.XY saved by our members!” XY is flying upwards. Right below that it reads “Goal: $38 million saved by the end of 2008!”

This site would gather some interest. People would be excited to check back and see the progress made. Teens would help their grandparents install new things to report it on the site & together the world would be motivated by measurable progress towards sustainability.

I’m actually already working on this very project. It’s at greenolution.com – as of this time of writing the site is only a placeholder until I finish the back-end. Competitors & collaborators welcome – my wish is just to see such a site in existence sooner than later. Let’s go!

Idea 2: Our current models for educational content suck.

I’ve already talked about this extensively so I won’t go into detail here. Take McDonough’s approach to design and combine it with a better model for educational content and you’ve got the potential to make millions. Whether you’re interested in designing the first prototype for a particular subject, or laying out a site where others contribute their expertise through a superior content framework, a solution here will be huge.

Idea 3: Establish ratings for educational content.

The internet presents an opportunity to advance education like never before. Companies like Microsoft and Google are building massive databases of educational content. At the same time, innovative organizations like Connexions are striving to create a global repository of educational curriculum by enabling anyone to contribute. With these sites offering increasingly massive amounts of educational information, we have no shortage of options to choose from. Given the choice between the hundreds of Geometry lessons available, the question we naturally must ask is which shall we use? Certainly one of these lessons is better designed and easier to understand than the others, the data we are missing tells us which.

Lessons designed by a better teacher likely outperform those of an inferior teacher. Lessons that leverage objectively superior learning methods from cognitive psychology likely outperform material that doesn’t. Lessons that are interactive and fun likely outperform those that are dry and passive. Yet the back of our textbooks don’t provide any bar graphs or otherwise persuasive evidence of their refined effectiveness over alternatives.

Information on the effectiveness of educational content is measurable, yet we lack a framework through which to interpret it. The design problem: create that framework.

As people’s awareness of objectively superior educational curriculum grows, so too will the monetary incentive, pace, and vigor in which cognitive psychology is studied. The increased emphasis on cognitive psychology will lead to further enhanced educational content, and an accelerating upward spiral for human education will emerge.

For my final thesis prior to graduating I reviewed current research in the learning sciences to identify the objective metrics for learning people are using. Several confounds emerge when you dig deeper into this problem, but in the end there is reason to believe we could create an effective solution. I won’t paste my whole assessment here; but if you’re interested let me know & I’d be happy to share the findings. Let’s make it happen!

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