Building human centered design into our core means truly understanding what our startups really need. Rather than spend a bunch of money (like old incubators), we’re prototyping our way to innovative solutions. While a simple desk may seem trivial, think about how much time an entrepreneur spends working at a desk, which actually may be unhealthy (excluding meetings, I estimate roughly 8 hrs/day, 48hrs/wk, 192hrs/month)!
We challenge you ASAP before Oct 1. to design the smallest, flexible & productive (comfortable enough) workstation <$400 for startup: 1) makers 2) managers. Send me a note twitter.com/enriqueallenif you’re interested in making a prototype and I’ll happily compensate the best designers!
Tips:
-Spec out your costs in a basic Google spreadsheet with links to parts
-Prove you can build ~30 of these work stations quickly
Thanks to the following people (and more) for sharing feedback along the way:
Women 2.0 Labs sat down and did a series of interviews with women entrepreneurs and technology leaders. Two of our founders, Alexa Andrzejewski and Rashmi Sinha, were in the hot seat and gave some great insight into starting a company, picking your business partners, and advice for others who are considering becoming an entrepreneur.
Some held hands as they jumped. Others went alone. Some later remarked that those who had fallen had made one brave final decision to take control of how they would perish.
For better or worse, I’ve distanced myself from all things 9/11 related but I randomly saw an intense clip of people jumping from the towers today and I began to sob unexpectedly (trust me this is not a normal occurrence, I can count on less than two hands the times I’ve cried post baby years). I imagined these people saying farewell, hugging, and accepting each other before taking an ultimate act of freedom.
During this rare emotional outbreak I couldn’t help but visualize one of the many planes I see from our top floor in Mountain View crashing into the building. It made me think about who I’m working with and the community we’re making in our space. Could I hold these people’s hands and jump?
Well, the answer is yes. I pray that the mentors, investors, and other supporters we bring together will truly empathize with the leaps our entrepreneurs are taking. They’re putting their lives on the line and daring to work on problems in the face of death’s failure.
Fred Wilson wrote a touching post today, highlighting a quote from someone in the AVC community: “Even in the midst of Apocalypse, things will get better.” Oftentimes hard to believe during hard times, but things do and will get better.
Remembering those who lost their lives and loved ones 9 years ago, September 11 2001.
Mark your calendars for Friday October 8! Our first event, Warm Gun, will take place in San Francisco at the Mission Bay Conference Center. Whether you’re a UX designer by trade or you’re a startup founder that wants to learn how good design = more conversions, we hope to see you there.
We’ll share more details as the event gets closer. Here’s a preview of some of our talks:
Pretty vs. $hitty: Design that Converts!
Engineers are from Mars, Designers are from Venus: How to Communicate & Work Together in Harmony
Form, Meet Function: Matching business goals with user behavior
Mobile First! 3 Reasons You Should Design For Mobile Before Web
10 Things Startups Should Know About Design
10 Things Designers Should Know About Startups
5 Things to Do Before You Start Coding
Kill the Dinosaur – Sign-Up Forms Must Die!
Team Building & Organization: How to Hire the Right Mix of Engineers & Designers…& Keep Them Happy
The Psychology of Design: How Design Thinking Applies to Your Bottom Line
Jeff Veen, Jason Putorti, Mark Skaggs, Kate Aronowitz, Irene Au, Michael Dearing, and Larry Cornett and many other talented design experts will be speaking at Warm Gun and looking forward to meeting you. We’re also jazzed to have Geoffrey Miller, evolutionary psychologist & author of “Spent: Sex, Evolution, and Consumer Behavior”, delivering the keynote to kick off the day.
Visit warmgun.com to learn more and sign up. Tickets are still available. Hope to see you there!
In the meantime, sing along to the event’s namesake…
