That’s MY Clique

If every nigga in your clique is rich, your clique is rugged
Nobody will fall cause everyone will be each others crutches

Yesterday, I shared the basics of Hux with a friend and developer. I was nervous, as I always am when I share the premise behind Hux. It’s my baby. I’m not too afraid of someone stealing it as much as I am about someone thinking it’s a lame idea. It’s a constant feeling among new entrepreneurs and some old. What’s lost when when you hide your idea is that you miss out on the chance to make your idea better. Every person you introduce your idea to is going to have a thought about it, and it’s best to get the feedback now versus when you have deadlines and expectations. It’s cheaper to pivot when you’re in the idea phase than it is when your release is hours away, or when you have millions of dollars from investors already spent. (Those helicopters won’t buy themselves…)

The second part is that by sharing your ideas with other people, especially other entrepreneurs, you help make the community stronger. That’s why most VCs want founders to have a team. It not only shows the ability to sell other people on your idea, it shows greater creative potential. When an idea only has to make it through YOUR checklist to be created there’s a ton of things that will be missed, versus the amount of things that’d be missed if you added just two more people before implementation. The start will be slow, this is normal. As the team filters out ideas they’ll become attuned to the frequency of the project and soon they’ll start humming along. The review process will pick up, but if they’re a good team they’ll keep each other honest. Honesty is a powerful thing for a startup. It’s best if it starts with the higher ups, with the core team, because when the customer is honest, they’re WAY louder. When the tech writers are honest, they’re (usually) not going to be giving you constructive criticism. That is why the core team HAS to be tight and honest.

The last part is that as a team when you’re knocking off competition it builds up the team. Harry, Hermione, and Ron weren’t friends until AFTER they knocked out a mountain troll together (I’m a nerd, sue me). It takes battles and fires to properly forge a sharp team. Once together it takes honesty to keep it together. As you and your team are taking on the world, which is what we’re all doing, you will each gain strengths. Share those strengths and insights with the team, the team then will gain some of those strengths, which will pass on to the project. So, all this to restate what Jay-Z said at the top. When your team is strong, it’s way better than just YOU being strong.

I hope you fools choose to listen…

Wisdom from Bun B

From : http://rap.genius.com/Chamillionaire-i-know-ya-mad-lyrics

Funny when you got nothin, nobody really cares
Like you don’t even exist (huh), it’s like you was never there (fo’ real)
But soon as you get some bread, they lookin at you sideways
Askin ’bout a shortcut and if you got some side plays
Tell ’em “naw, it’s hard work” (what?), they swear you lyin
And then you got to start the case, pleadin and denyin
Man you ain’t got to explain yourself, don’t tell ’em playa, show ’em (show ’em)
Then keep it movin G and act like you don’t even know ’em
That’s what’s up

Bun B kinda said everything I wanted to say in a post today. There are no shortcuts to success. Seriously. You can get some minor gains based on luck, but you won’t WIN solely based on it. You have to grind to put yourself in a position to be lucky. So, that’s all I have today. I’m still kicking on the prototype and hoping to break a milestone tonight.

Baby steps (again)…

I love the first phases of creation. The rush of ideas and the shooting down of the mundane and the glorified acceptance of the eccentric. In the beginning ANYTHING is possible. EVERYTHING is possible, and that feels magical. It fills me with a sense of wonder. It’s my favorite part, sometimes more fun than the actual release. I love that before me the possiblities are laid out and I get to pick and choose the path. I feel like a captain at the beginning of a voyage. The open sea is in front of me and she beckons. Her calls for exploration will test me and my crew. Will push us to places that we only imagined and some places that we never could imagine. It’s hard to not get lost in what’s possible and to focus on what needs to be done. All that to say that’s where I am now with Hux. I’m picking and choosing what needs to be available first. I’m creating a rough sketch of what’s about to be created and I’m excited. The excitement is powerful, almost palpable, almost tangible. Hux at this stage is making me happy and I hope it continues.