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CEO Mixtape: Shelby.tv CEO Reece Pacheco | tech.li

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:22:44 -0500

CEO Mixtape: Shelby.tv CEO Reece Pacheco | tech.li:

It was tough to decide on these… so much good music out there, but here’s a few good songs to keep you going.

#12experiments update: January

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500

This morning, I woke up at 7AM, despite the fact that I went to bed at 3AM. It reminded me that my goal of waking up at 7AM everyday in January must have stuck… which reminded me it’s time for an update on my #12experiments.

For January, I said I would:

Wake up @ same time everyday. I don’t have an issue with sleeping too late. I hate sleeping too much. I have an issue with not going to bed. So the goal is to wake up by 7AM everyday. I can wake up earlier if I want (especially if I get to bed earlier), but the hope is to avoid the late, late nights.

Blog daily. I’m a sporadic blogger, despite how much I enjoy it, so this is a commitment to be more consistent.

Surprisingly, I was pretty good about waking up everyday at 7AM. I didn’t necessarily go to bed super early every night, and I did sleep past 7 a couple days (much needed recovery sleep after CES, but c’mon… redeye flights, work, C.E.S!), but overall I’m happy with the results ehre.

Blogging daily, on the other hand, was tougher than I thought (again, CES threw a big wrench in things here… also, Tumblr’s “publish on” feature kinda sucks but oh well). Technically, I posted 26/31 days in January, though a few were just pics. My reserve goal was to just post 5 days/week so I was in pretty good shape.

So what happens now? Well… I’m going to keep the 7AM wake up time going as much as I can (not sure it’s a choice anymore!) and I’m going to shoot to blog ~3 days a week because I’ve still got a lot to say. ;)

As for February’s experiment…

No inbound meetings. I admit, this one is a little selfish, but I need the time to focus. I get asked for advice/help/catch-up meetings a lot and while I actually enjoy them (I love people and I want to help everyone), they can be a real time-suck. So if you ask for a meeting in February, just realize when I say “no,” it’s not you, it’s me. :)

Learn By Doing

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:43:00 -0500

[original post here]

Most of my life has been baptism by fire.

I remember my college coach used that term about me as a player at the end of my freshman season, saying I survived their baptism by fire as a rookie starter.

I remember my first internship interview when I had no experience in TV production, but said “I’ll do anything you need” pointed to an unfinished wall and said “I can finish painting that. I’ll learn everything on the fly.”

I remember when I told my parents my plans to drop out of Bucknell and go to Brown… “What if you don’t get in?” and then their reaction after when I told them my plans to backpack around the world and move to Australia. “What are you going to do once you’re there?”

“I’ll figure that out as I go.”

By now, you get the point. The best way to learn is by doing it yourself. That’s why I am so excited to be involved with E[nstitute], which “is a two year apprenticeship program, empowering 15 young adults to learn from and work with the top NYC entrepreneurs.”

There are a million things I wish I had known when we started our first company. Unfortunately, most of it isn’t stuff you can just glean from some blog… you just have to do it, but, we can share that knowledge with future entrepreneurs and push them toJFDI with us before they venture off on their own. And to be fair, we still don’t have all the answers - we’re still learning by doing ourselves - so there is plenty of new territory for an apprentice to explore with us.

To put our own spin on things, Dan and I are really excited to work together with an apprentice who wants to learn from both the CEO and CTO of a tech startup. This will be a demanding position as the apprentice will undoubtedly be pushed in all directions - not to mention the inevitable pranks that Dan and I will pull on each other with their help. ;)

Congrats to Shaila and Kane - the founders of E[nstitute] - on launching an audacious program to attack our very own assumptions of what education can be.

(via Shelby.tv gears up for SXSW with PROJECT G.O.A.T.S.) this...

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:21:47 -0500

(via Shelby.tv gears up for SXSW with PROJECT G.O.A.T.S.)

this stuff is so much fun…

One year ago today you saved a life!

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:41:00 -0500

… at least that’s what your Timehop email will read one year from Saturday.

how?

easy… come donate blood at the NYC Tech Blood Drive that Joe has done a fantastic job of organizing. this time around, we are happy to host at our beloved office a.k.a. Cyberdyne Systems

when/where?

this Saturday between 11am-5pm

110 E 23rd St @ Park :: SE corner :: 10th floor

please do us a favor and sign up here…

http://teamhomefield.com/blooddrive

do it do it do it!

Shelby, and TechStars and SXSW, oh my!

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:37:15 -0500

ok kids… time to blindly RSVP to every SXSWi invite you get! especially this one!

shelbytv:

SXSW Interactive. The infamous weekend where techies the world over collide in a BBQ-sauce-covered shouting match of startup ideas and marketing spend.

Am I mocking it? Yes.

Will I be there shouting just as loudly? Yup. ;)

But I won’t be alone! Instead, I’ll be hanging with 1000 of my closest friends as TechStars teams from NYC, BOS, SEA and even the original gangsters of Boulder throw down for a party that will make sure you start the weekend right. RSVP below to hang out with the likes of these geeks.

Remember @garyvee’s popup party last year? So fun the camera got drunk… See you in Texas! -Reece

simultaneously proud and...

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:10:48 -0500

simultaneously proud and embarrassed…

thelaurenproject:

My work here is done.

Join the team building the future of video on iOS

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:31:54 -0500

I wrote this. I mean it.

I know you’re out there future-Shelby-iOS-developer. I know you’re listening. You’ve been looking for this opportunity and here it is, right in front of you… all it takes is one single email to get started…

shelbytv:

We. Love. iOS.

iOS has changed the way we will compute for generations to come and enabled developers to build apps that made us fall in love with our iPhones, our iPads, and soon… our iTV’s.

Believe the hype. Apple will build an amazing TV experience, we have a good idea of what it looks like and we want Shelby to be the best social video experience out there. F that… we want Shelby to be the best app. Period.

So far, we built an iOS app that is insanely easy to use, elegantly designed and has some features that are first of their kind. Now we are looking for the iOS developer who will take Shelby iOS to new heights of function and form, while delighting users with serendipitous video discovery.

Why?

Because we love video. It is an amazing medium—that is so powerful and yet so nascent online—and we believe that 1) video deserves its own home and 2) that home should be built socially.

Who are you?

You are—first and foremost—a great person. You are also an iOS developer who believes in building simple, beautiful products. You can code with the best and have great taste for design. You are curious about the world. You are not one to just do what you are told. You are not one for being managed. You are one for video.

Who are we?

We are not a team full of “rockstars” or “ninjas” or “wizards.” We are not high on ourselves. We are just a team of passionate people who love building great products. We love to learn and we have a ton of fun while we do it. We may dabble in ping pong. We may play music from time to time. One of us may wear jorts. Most importantly, we love video. More on us here.

What will you do with us?

Revolutionize the way people discover and enjoy video

Work with great people on a lean, agile engineering team

Be challenged to build the best stuff you have ever created

Kick a dent in the universe

We are super excited about building Shelby—as a product, company and brand—and we are fortunate to have the support of some of the best investors in the game. We offer healthcare, we work on the best equipment, we hang our hats in our own office at 23rd and Park in NYC, and we believe in G.S.D., so our PTO policy is more of a policy than a practice…

If you are interested, we would love to meet you. Please get in touch. Email hiring+ios@shelby.tv and please include links to any apps you built.

My dad just sent me this video made by all the students in my...

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:17:00 -0500

My dad just sent me this video made by all the students in my middle school in my hometown. It’s a seven minute, single-take, lip-dub of “Lean On Me” featuring all the students, teachers, and a full tour of the school, and it’s meant to be an anti-bullying campaign.

I particularly love this because one of the leaders of the project was one of my 6th grade teachers, Mr. Switzer - hands down one of the best teachers I’ve ever had. If you watch the Fox Boston coverage, Mr. Switzer talks about how important it was that the students had ownership of the project… something that we really believe in here at Shelby.tv and something I learned from him at an early age.

But there’s more! The project was part of “No Guff Week” which was started by my high school lacrosse coach, Greg Gilbert. “No Guff Week” started 12 years ago and is just a reminder to cut the crap and be positive. So awesome.

So many things to love about this video. Super proud of Falmouth. :)

Foundation 01 with Jack Dorsey

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 13:14:55 -0500

Yesterday morning I woke up, grabbed my iPad and caught up on some videos on Shelby, in particular this Kevin Rose ”Foundation” interview of Jack Dorsey.

Sure, the video is more than two years old, but that doesn’t mean Jack isn’t still really inspiring to startup guys like me. [Further, I love the long tail of video. Mark Cuban argues that online views are not the equivalent of TV views (he’s probably right), but I think that long tail of video discovery is a beautiful thing for new audiences].

In the interview, I was struck by two things that Jack said that really hit home with a few of my core beliefs…

1. Jack says we will start to see ‘more real-time filters.’ Again, this was two years ago, so we’ve already seen tons of services pop up around this, but I think this trend will continue and the definition of a ‘real-time filter’ will evolve as some will be features of larger services (Summify was just bought by Twitter for example) while others may stand alone (ahem… Shelby.tv… for example).

2. Jack mentions ‘recognizing fortunate situations.’ For anyone who’s read this blog for a while, you know I love to remind people that “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity”, so Jack’s statement rings true with me. There is tremendous opportunity opening up around us everyday. It’s your job to put yourself in a position to take advantage of that. As I tell my team, we are really fortunate in terms of our timing for Shelby.tv and I couldn’t be happier about that.

If you’ve got 30 minutes today, watch the interview. And if you don’t have the time, just mark it to ‘watch later’ on Shelby. ;)

8 tips for a kickass Saturday at work

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 23:37:00 -0500

I’m just going to come out and say it - I love working on the weekend. Maybe it’s because I was trained for it growing up in the restaurant business (weekends = $). Maybe it’s because my high school had Saturday classes or because weekends meant game-day in college. Or maybe it’s just because weekends generally mean no meetings, no phone calls, no interruptions. Yeah… that might have something to do with it…

But not everyone’s wired like me and it’s sometimes hard to motivate to work on a Saturday, so here are some pro tips for having a productive day at work on the weekend.

1. REST

Get sleep on Friday night. For me, that means 8 hours. I function fine on 6, but 8 really has me rested and ready to charge hard. Doesn’t hurt to take it easy on the booze Friday night, too.

2. REFLECT

Take some time to get inspired with some reading, reflection etc to get your brain warmed up and ready to go. It’s just good for you. I started today with an interview of Jack Dorsey.

3. FUEL UP

Get a good healthy meal in you so you won’t get hungry easily later. Bring dinner/next meal with you. Get a giant jug of water so you don’t have to get up for a drink.

4. CAFFEINATE

I know everyone has their struggles with caffeine. I generally stay away from it, but if you don’t consume it daily, it is a great way to supercharge when you want to crank.

5. CHANGE YOUR SEAT

I love our office and my usual standing desk, but today I opted to sit in the engineering room (thanks Henry). If you don’t have that option, then hit a coffee shop or something. The change of setting is fun and pulls you away from the crap at your desk that can distract.

6. IGNORE

Your phone. IM. Etc. Duh.

7. EXERCISE

Get some. Sometimes I get this done in the morning, though I prefer later in the day as a way to get me up and out of my seat and get the blood flowing for a second wind.

8. TIMING IS EVERYTHING

Answering email on weekends is awesome because almost no one responds right away and usually by Monday the email doesn’t need a response. I also like to do big whiteboarding exercises on the weekend when no one can interrupt and influence.

—

None of this is rocket science and none of these will fix a job that you hate, but most of us startup people love what we do already, so this stuff should be fun, exciting, challenging, hawtsome anyway. And despite my lack of a degree in rocket science, I think these tips will probably work any day of the week (except maybe changing your seat… I dunno if Henry would like me stealing his seat during the week).

Yours in productivity,

reece

“Some day you will die and Somehow something’s going...

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 09:01:36 -0500

“Some day you will die and

Somehow something’s going to steal your carbon”

- Parting of the sensory by Modest Mouse

I’ve always loved Modest Mouse’s lyrics.

I heard this track on my walk to the office today and had to share it. Pretty simple reminder that life is temporary.

Go get it.

NYC Tech Blood Drive - Round 3

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 23:15:47 -0500

For anyone who’s still wondering if we here at Shelby.tv actually bleed video, or if Myles is really a cyborg, you can get your answer on February 11 when we host the next NYC Tech Blood Drive.

Besides THE CHANCE TO SAVE A LIFE, we’ll be hanging out watching Shelby, talking tech, and maybe even playing a little ping pong once our blood pressure comes back.

So sign up. Seriously. Takes two seconds. Saves a life. Do it.

joeyevoli:

This time around will be the Valentines Day edition of the NYC Tech Blood Drive. It’s being held on Feb 11, from 11am - 5pm at the ShelbyTV offices, located at 110 E. 23rd Street, 10th floor.

For those have you who don’t know, the blood drive is something I’ve been organizing since Sept 2011, and it’s something I hope to make permanent in the NYC Tech community. I’ve written a blog post on why I started it, and why I think everyone should come out and donate.

It’s really been one of the best things I’ve done over the past few months. It’s great to see all the people who show up and donate. It’s a mix of people I’ve known for a while, and people I’m just meeting for the first time.

It’s a fun day, and once the day is done, it’s a great feeling to give back in whatever way we can. It’s yet another reason why I love the NYC Tech scene, and I hope to be a part of it for a long time.

Sign up for the next drive here.

Relativity of speed

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 21:13:57 -0500

This morning I decided our ugly office door had been an ugly office door for too long. I told Lauren I wanted to paint it black and get a Shelby sign made for it.

By the time I got out of our board meeting, Lauren had a sweet concept for how to lay-out our logos (ours and our officemates). By the time we finished eating and a quick game of ping pong, Vincent had the logos all done up… oh, and he had a friend with a laser cutter who could make us a stencil. Sweet.

Dan finished his day by hitting Home Depot for some supplies we needed and picked me up some paint. An hour later, my hands are covered in paint, but our door is painted black and ready for some sweet logo action tomorrow.

This story in and of itself, isn’t that interesting… but Lauren’s comment to me as I applied the second coat stood out…

“I’m still amazed at how fast we get shit done. At [my old job], there would’ve been a meeting to decide IF we should paint the doors, and THEN what color and so on…”

Lucky for me, I never worked for a big company. I don’t know anything about setting up planning committees. I’ve never had more than one person to ask permission to do something (and they usually just said, “yeah, don’t even ask next time.”)

So for me, this feels pretty normal. For Lauren, it is light-speed (and she loves it). Point is, speed is relative. And sure, I’m talking about painting a door - a trivial decision - but the speed with which we executed was awesome, that’s how it should be in a startup and that’s how we roll when it comes to decision making in general.

This morning, Dan and I took a trip up to Times Square (yes,...

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 12:03:16 -0500

Sometimes you carry your teammates...

How many times can you find me?

This morning, Dan and I took a trip up to Times Square (yes, above 23rd st… really.) to do a quick video shoot of our Shelby pitch on the set of NASDAQ’s Marketsite.

Obviously, we nailed our pitch ;) but not without a few laughs like the photos above.

Test! How many times can you find me in the panorama?

[Panorama taken with 360 Panorama by Occipital. Awesome app.]

I make a dish called “Plantain Lasagna.” It’s...

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 10:29:46 -0500

par-fried plantains

moar plantains... so many more

beef, beans, corn, spices (lots of 'em)

architecting

window-dressing w/mozzarella

BOOM

get in my belly

I make a dish called “Plantain Lasagna.” It’s pretty tasty if I do say so myself, and last night I finally documented some of the process of building it.

The cool thing about making Plantain Lasagna for others is that it’s usually the only time anyone’s ever had it, so by default, it is “the best Plantain Lasagna you’ve ever had.”

Thanks to my wonderful (read: patient + trusting) guests at dinner last night as well as my fantastic (read: great bartender + pastry chef!) co-hosts Jessica and Brian.

More pics here.

“Welcome to your life/ there’s no turning...

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 08:28:00 -0500

“Welcome to your life/ there’s no turning back… everybody wants to rule the world.”

Seem like appropriate lyrics since it’s TechStars For A Day - in which every entrep is vying for a spot in TechStars, and all of them want to change the world.

I remember being so excited when we went as applicants, but as an alum it is very different. While I love the energy in the room and all the new ideas, I sometimes get tired of being hardcore pitched or pinned into a corner for too long.

So here are some tips for everyone who will be there and entreps who attend events like this in general.

well this was a nice surprise. thanks...

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 23:18:09 -0500

well this was a nice surprise. thanks @nttd!

shelbytv:

thelaurenproject:

whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

!!!

i finally got around to watching this jaw-dropping slow-motion...

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 10:12:37 -0500

i finally got around to watching this jaw-dropping slow-motion footage. chills. “Biggest Teahupoo Ever” [Original 720p video] on http://shel.tv/yjvJnI

Shelby.tv is going dark to protest SOPA

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 08:28:57 -0500

Last week, when Myles asked the team if we planned to blackout Shelby.tv today, I was proud when everyone around the table said “F*** yeah.”

This stuff is really important. Take some time to understand what’s going on and get involved. Call your senator. Write letters. Make noise. Stop SOPA.

shelbytv:

By now, we’ve all heard about SOPA (booooooooo!). Shelby.tv is joining sites such as Wikipedia and Reddit to protest this dangerous bill, and will go dark tomorrow (January 18th) to show just how sad the web would look under SOPA. (And a world without Shelby is a sad, sad world.)

If SOPA passes, the U.S. Department of Justice and copyright holders could seek court orders against websites that host or link to user-uploaded content that potentially infringes on copyrights, and block those sites from search engine results, ad networks, and more. The bill would also make unauthorized copyrighted content streaming (such as video playback) a crime punishable by up to five years in prison.

If you haven’t done so already, contact your representatives and ask them to keep the web open. Don’t wait any longer.

In solidarity,

Team Shelby