This Business and Moment...

Interview on the phone with F5 networks in Seattle tomorrow, but had a demo request from a Uni at the exact same time. Annoying. Uni can't budge, so will see if F5 can.

Had a demo request from Columbia Uni, which is sweet. They'd be a great one to have on the books.
 
I totally want to fire people tonight. Our interns finish up Monday and have to test and push their last commits, but there is an error on the platform, which requires a nginx config change, stopping them doing it. The person responsible for doing this is a founder, and had a long week, so might not get to it until Sunday...
Like ****. I'm so close to losing my utter **** right now. Which **** paid for these interns? Oh, me. Who works 80-100hr weeks for the last 6 months? Me. He's got one ****ing job right now, he can do it.

And one of the interns is ****. Awful. I want to punch him in the throat. Hard.


I was going to go to bed but I'm tempted to open wine. I need wine.
 
Positive news that we have this VP of Sales ready to join us. More good news, we spoke to Michael Horn, a heavyweight education guy and forbes columnist and he really loves what we do. We are just going through the solution review committee with arizona state university and signing contracts (it'll be our first sale, and fantastic one!)
We just need to get them to pay us so we can pay the VP!! Then close Columbia university and UVU which should help too.

To add more stress to my life I'm also now looking for a cofounder for uSpeek a design/ product that me and my son have been starting. Looking for someone with an electrical engineering background, with connectivity experience in wifi/ bluetooth.

My day job has been properly busy at the moment too, which is really annoying when trying to do my own things :p
 
We've just had an RFP approved for North Carolina University, which has over 19 campuses and 225k students, where they pre approve software to use across the lot.
Looks like I've got to go to North Carolina on 18th April. Which means it's the weekend my wife was supposed to be away with friends.
I'm going to get such abuse for this... the weekend I arrive back I go skiing with the guys too.

I'm going to get killed.
 
Needing to raise some funds for emotuit to pay for our VP of sales, which is becoming a bit more pressing now. I am in conversations about ~$50k angel money, which would help.
We have about $18k we'll bring in on a contract we're about to sign, which will also help, then hopefully we can drive some bigger sales and I can get on with the rest of business.

In the meantime I've launched uSpeek with my son and an electrical engineer we recruited online. Sort of p2p comms device for when skiing/ cycling.

Also, 8Percent Apparel is being setup with a couple of mates. Cycling gear; tops, bib shorts, socks, etc. at decent prices.

Got the Mrs hashing out some market research on her subscription baking box idea uBake box, see what price point, interest and market there is around the idea.
 
Something better work soon as I've just heard there is another restructuring due to happen and I fear my time is up (last contractor left on the team!)

I hope not, it would mean I need to go out and get another bloody contract, which is somewhat annoying.
 
****, that's a tough one. I can't help, from reading that, that it sounds like you're letting your personal relationship cloud your judgement on his work. By that I mean, if you hadn't known him this long, would he still even be there?
You know people have potential, but the effort of trying to get them to that level, when all efforts so far have not worked out, is all at your businesses cost at the moment.

I'd have to start issuing performance warnings officially, but from the sounds of his personality, that would not be beneficial to anyone.

Really tough one, but you really have to look out for your business at the end of the day and with so few employees, the cost to your business is felt even more and you can't afford to be carrying someone who isn't contributing and growing the business.
 
Happens everywhere. Where I'm contracting is the most retarded place. It's all political and about what you do for the right people, not doing the best job. Stupid place.

Other news, we've had our place accepted to sponsor InstructureCon conference in July. We get a booth and everything. Which is nice. Shame I have to find the $7.5k fee for it now! :/ oof.

I'm hammering cold call/ sales attempts this week. Need some traction in K-12.
 
I've been asked to speak at a conference in London in June called the Future of Education, which is nice. Great free PR. I like.

The talk is: Student Centric Data - It's All About Context -

"In a world where we collect more data than ever before, and technology evolving more and more everyday, we still use the amount of time a student has taken on something to try to understand their learning. The blanket approach to data in education using data with little context leaves us no wiser when it comes to understanding students' individual learning needs.
With more and more courseware being available, or taken online, more importance is put on the analytics we use to measure student interaction with that content."
Click to expand...
 
This contract is seriously doing my nut in now. I damn well can't stand the place. Yet I'm going to milk it for as long as possible.

We're finalising stages for a sale with a university still with my company/ product and I'm confirmed sponsor at 2 US conferences in the summer. We've just signed on a new advisor who's big in the education space, which is great too. It all takes so damn long though.
We haven't finished an integration we need out like, yesterday and then there are a couple of new features which we need to push through as well.
I need more staff... and sales. Ugh.
 
Ugh. My "manager" (loose term, he's a jackass) here at the contract I'm at, appears to be plotting to get me fired.
They have to cull someone from the team (currently 5 people in Cambs, 2 people Basel) and it's currently someone from Cambs (who is really bad, too) up for the chop, but he's trying to throw me under the bus as he just doesn't like me.
Stupid thing is half the org we support is here in basel, so it would leave 1 person here and 5 in the US, which is just stupid.

More annoyed about the fact he's all nice to my face but some 2 faced in reality. Someone's getting glitter in the post.

I ****ing hate the job anyway, but the sales cycles on my own business are just long, so it's taking time to bring in money, so I just need to string this out a bit. I always do a great job though, I've recently put together and taught a whole training program, for example, so he can't have a problem with my work.

/rant
 
In London at the moment, did a talk at the future of education summit last night, pitching at a contest tomorrow night, back home Thursday.

Been a mad dash to get conference exhibition stand stuff and "swag" done for 8th July, which is pressing like mad. Also sorting out bank account for the US, as I need to deposit money in the business account and we're changing banks. Such a frantic month/s.

Not slowing down mind.
 
US account setup, just need to get the card to me, which is currently on it's way to our virtual office in Redwood City.

Having corporate badges and bottle openers sent to conference in US, and exhibition stand is being printed and should be with me before next friday. Ugh. That was a mission.
 
Well that's a bitch! Sorry dude. Not what you want to hear when you're away.

I'm sat in Keystone in a conference hall now. Waiting for kick off in 2.5hrs for partners/ sponsors of this conference. The last one went so well, for some reason I'm anxious about this one. Probably for the fact it's costing us so much I want to make the most out of it. Meh. I'll nail it like I normally do, of course. I'm just rambling here
 
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