Respect all. Fear none.

This bracelet is from my local gym in my hometown and was given to me by the owner’s nephew (who was hustling everyone in the place one $2 sale at a time. Love it). 

The phrase itself isn’t that original, but it stuck with me as we (Shelby.tv) are generally in the midst of a competitive space AND this week in particular we are at the Consumer Electronics Showcase alongside thousands of other companies all vying for the world’s attention.

The message - “Respect all. Fear none.” is clear. Common sense even… but often forgotten. Let’s break it down…

Respect all.

This really is common sense, but it’s easy to forget. It usually happens one of a few ways. 

1. The competition is bigger than you and you say “they’re big and slow and can’t innovate and we’re going to f*ck them up.”
2. The competition is smaller than you and you say “ha! yeah right… they’ll never catch us.”
3. The competition is the same size as you and you say “so what if they have feature X… we’ve got a better team anyway…”

Justify it any way you want, all of these ways of thinking are stupid and lazy. When it comes to competition, the best way to approach it is as if you’re losing, regardless of whether you actually are. Treat every competitor with tons of respect and realize that it really is Any Given Sunday out there.

Fear none.

But! When competitor A launches X feature, hires Y engineer or gets Z press hit… all you need to do is see it, understand it, say “GAME ON” and then… GET. BACK. TO. THE GAME. To be clear, I’m not saying to blindly ignore it, and I’m certainly not saying to obsess about it. Just know what it is and then forget about it and build your vision. 

Getting caught up in the tit-for-tat game of competition is a surefire way to build crap and it’s really just not worth your mental bandwidth to think about the bad guys.

So believe in yourself, while being realistic and get back to kicking ass.

Building in a bubble

[originally meant to post yesterday]

I’ve said before that it’s easy to get hopped up drinking your own startup Kool-Aid. You’re sitting around with great people, rapping about an idea and everyone feels the energy and says “yeah YEAH YEAH! Let’s do it!”

When it comes to building a product… that’s a death sentence.

Or is it?

On the one hand, when you build, write, or create in an insulated environment, you’re guaranteed purity of thought. Your thoughts are your own. Your ideas are yours. They are untested in the outside world, but the product is that which you want it to be and only you can screw up your own vision. 

On the other, when you venture out into the world, when you speak with real people, when you (as a techie) observe behavior of “normals,” “n00bs,” and dare I say it - MOST of the people on this planet, you realize their pain points are not your own. Their desires are a far cry from yours. Their needs don’t include your product. 

And that influences you. It makes you rethink what you’re doing. Makes you question your vision.

Yesterday, Chris and I spent hours on a whiteboard at Cyberdyne cranking out ideas for the evolution of Shelby.tv. We walked away very proud of our work. Excited to show the team and already imagining the first lines of code that would make our wireframes reality. 

Today, however, we boarded a flight to ATL en route to Las Vegas for CES. As we look around - away from our office bubble, our tech startup bubble, hell… our NYC bubble - it’s a painful awakening that the average American may as well be from a different planet (or maybe it is we who are the aliens).

Most of the computer users on our flight now are on PC’s. Some are running Windows 2000. I think we even saw an Android tablet. (I kid… sort of). All (Apple) elitism aside, we mentioned picking up PC Mag to check the sentiment in that world… 

We also spent some time drawing wireframes on our iPads. When Chris proudly opened an app that gives you all the basic iOS elements to work with, Dan was quick to suggest that working with pre-defined elements is a guaranteed way to stifle creativity and any hope for doing something original.

It was a telling moment. We, as a team, spend a lot of time thinking through our vision for Shelby.tv. We love user feedback, yet most of it doesn’t make it into the product… and that’s OK. 

Like most things in life, balance is the key. 

Creators must be well-versed in the way the world works. They should travel, speak and study with others in and out of their bubbles. It is constant observation of daily life. But when it comes to building a product, allowing for too much outside influence isn’t necessarily the best path to creating an amazing experience. Creators must not be afraid of throwing away what they know and starting with a blank canvas. 

And those “aliens” I mentioned? Well if you’ve done anything original… anything that’s worth a damn… anything that creates some value… they’ll tell you. 

But they’ll tell you if it sucks, too.

So, study the world, then shut it off and build your vision. Go.  

Built to last

Reluctantly, I just bought a new backpack.

I say reluctantly, because I LOVED my backpack. Sure, it was the perfect size, fit, functionality… but what I really loved was that it was six years old and had literally traveled around the world with me. It’s not the memories I’m in love with - it’s the fact that it was built to last.

In a world of products - particularly tech products - that are obsolete after a year, it is a wonderful thing to have well-crafted goods that go the distance.

This backpack was given to me in 2006 by my buddy Pat, as a present before I traipsed around the globe. It survived 20+ countries, life in LA, Massachusetts, numerous surf/snow journeys, years in NYC featuring sweaty runs over the Williamsburg bridge to TechStars and speedy runs across Manhattan for meetings. 

Burton - awesome job and thanks.

Introducing TouchPlay

shelbytv:

Next week, team Shelby is headed to CES.  I know what you’re thinking, why would a tiny startup head to one of the biggest consumer electronics shows in the world, especially when Apple has already won CES?

It all started when we won a booth at CES this past summer as part of a competition here in NYC.  Ever since releasing our iPad app this past October, we’ve been obsessed with making the Shelby experience on tablet as compelling and addictive as our web app. That’s why we didn’t stop at simply integrating standard AirPlay functions. We decided to take advantage of iOS Mirroring functionality (something that many iOS apps treat as an afterthought) and build something even more compelling. Next week at CES, we’ll be showcasing an awesome new experience for our iPad users, something we’re calling TouchPlay. 

To activate TouchPlay, turn on AirPlay with Mirroring in your iPad settings and when you launch the Shelby app, you’ll be greeted with gorgeous full screen video on your TV that has that familiar Shelby look and feel.  We’ve also added a gesture remote, which turns your iPad into a no-look controller so you can kick back and fully enjoy what you’re watching. Check out this quick filmed-at-2AM demo of what it looks like below:

We’re really excited about what’s possible with Apple’s Mirroring technology and where we think more companies will be focusing attention as Apple gets closer to releasing a full-fledged TV experience.  The marriage of the iPad and the TV is creating some amazing opportunities for dual-screen viewing and interaction; this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Can’t wait to get your hands on this new feature? You won’t have to wait long, look for it in the App store soon.  

-Chris

Note: The full functionality of the gesture remote and mirroring mode require iOS 5 on iPad 2 and iPhone 4S.  Other iOS devices (older iPads and iPhones) will still work with regular Shelby Airplay functionality.

Business runs in the family

This morning I called my mom to wish her a happy birthday. She responded by running her latest business idea by me.

While it certainly wasn’t what I expected out of our call, I absolutely love her for it. 

See… this new idea, would be the sixth (6th!) business she and my dad start (and for the record, all have been successful). 

But I’m not talking about web startups or tech companies here. I’m talking about a catering business, two restaurants, a flower shop etc. These businesses get forgotten when we, in the startup world, talk about entrepreneurship, but they are cornerstones of Main Street, America. 

And while my parents’ businesses and my companies are so very different, they are also very similar. When I talk about building trust among my team and managing the ups and downs, my parents completely understand. When I mention the risky choices we have to make, they don’t need to understand the technology to comprehend the weight of our decisions. 

So while I can’t say that this is my secret sauce as a founder, I can say it really helps to have a family who knows what it’s like to be in my shoes and supports my crazy dreams. 

Thanks mom (and dad!) for inspiring me to chase them.

[p.s. my mom will probably kill me for writing this]

Surviving the weather

It is freaking cold outside today. When I woke up, it was 14 degrees, “feels like” 1 degree with the wind chill and really isn’t the way one wants to start their commute.

Yet… I still rode my bike to the office.

For the record, I live a few blocks from a subway line that would drop me off right at our office. Sure, I’m not a fan of the subway during rush hour, but that’s not the only reason I still bike or walk everyday, despite the cold.

The real reason is that I love the challenge. I love that little bit of character it builds. I love that slice of mental toughness that says “I can handle the elements.”

Our ancestors were badass (and/or crazy), crossing oceans to discover new lands without Patagonia, The North Face and LL Bean (let alone GPS, radios or even a freaking map in most cases).

While I know it’s a ridiculous comparison, I still think of that whenever I step into the elements. How I’m lucky to live in a world where facing the elements isn’t a matter of life or death. 

So I’m ok with the cold. I don’t mind the rain. Bring on the wind. Sure it’s frustrating as hell when you’re standing in the rain waiting for the bus, or when you’re chipping the ice off your windshield in the morning, but that’s what makes us hearty (at least those of us in the Northeast or other such regions). It’s what builds character. It’s that little bit of mental toughness that lets you know - “yeah, I can handle the cold.”

And if you can survive that, you’re in a better place to handle anything else life throws at you. Don’t let the cold stop you. Don’t let the snow keep you from living your life. You’re tougher than you think, I swear.

How to tell someone they have toilet paper stuck to their shoe

Yesterday, John Petersen suggested I do a random act of kindness everyday for October (as part of my #12experiments this year). I responded that I generally do that kind of thing daily and it reminded me of this incident… 

I recently went to a dinner with several other founders and a few investors. At some point, I looked down at the floor and noticed the woman sitting next to me had toilet paper stuck to the heel of her shoe.

This, in itself, really isn’t a big deal. We all use the bathroom and whatever social faux pas’ are associated with it are pretty silly. But society has framed this as an OMG-mylifeisover-dreadfully-embarrassing-you’llnevergetadate-moment… 

So here I sat wondering what is the right thing to do? Tell her quietly (and awkwardly)?Leave it alone - save myself the awkwardness - and wait for her to find it later? Let someone else point it out?

So what’s the right way to tell them?

The answer: don’t.

Instead of bringing it up, I waited until she wasn’t paying attention (actually while she was talking to the group), and I stepped on the paper myself, dragging it off of her shoe and kicked it under the table. She didn’t notice a thing and I saved myself the awkward moment. 

Embarrassing moment avoided. Awkward conversation avoided. Random act of kindness… um… enacted. ;)

Keep your eyes out for opportunities to help others. Maybe it’s the colleague who needs a snack because they’ve been in the zone at their desk for hours. Maybe it’s just giving up your seat on the subway. Maybe it’s saving someone from the “toilet paper on their shoe” moment or something else no one will notice, but just do it and make the world a happier place.