Joe and I worked late last night and were gearing up for an early start today (Sunday)…I got an earlier start than I had hoped. My 2 1/2 year daughter Ava woke my wife (Kristen) and I up around 2:30 this morning and I just couldn’t get back to sleep. Finally, at 4:00 I decided there was no use and I jumped into the shower and got ready to start the day.

On my way out the door, I grabbed a bowl of cereal and decided to spend a few minutes reading blogs, Feld, ColoradoStarups, TechStars Community and a few others. Before long I had spent almost an hour just reading stuff. I learned a ton this morning, Paul Berberian’s post about his first flight with just instruments was chilling in light of the family of 4 that left Steamboat in a small plane on Friday morning and is now presumed lost somewhere in the mountains between Steamboat and Fort Collins. It got me thinking about the early part of TechStars and the encouragement we were given to start blogging and to read blogs, something that I just have not been able to find the time to do this summer, maybe this morning will be the start of something new.

This also got me thinking about some of the other things I have learned this summer.
If you don’t have kids, you’ve probably never read the book “If you give a mouse a cookie…” its all about the adventures of with a mouse (that probably has ADD) and how one thing leads to another, taking a boy and the little mouse down a bunch of different paths. The theme of the book is that the mouse does “a” which reminds him of “b” and while doing “b” he thinks about “c” and so on…
Earlier this summer, when Joe and I just couldn’t get on the same page regarding how and when we’d add certain features to our product, I told him “Joe, the way my brain looks at this stuff is like when you give a mouse a cookie”. Since Joe has two great boys back in Boston, he knows the book and while it didn’t solve all of our differences in perspective, it gave us a framework to work off of. Maybe one day I’ll write a follow up book “If you give an entrepreneur a seed round…”
So back to the idea of what I learned this summer (and maybe some stuff I had just plane forgotten) and what it reminds me of….

1. Keep a camera with you all the time.
   I have always thought it’s pretty cool that Andrew Hyde spends a good amount viewing TechStars through a lens. I finally left to head into App-X World HQ in Broomfield around 5:30 this morning, an 8 minute drive from my house that includes one of the most amazing views of the Continental Divide around. As I approached the curve with the view, the sun was starting to rise, the clouds had cleared to expose the August snows and the moon was just starting to retire. Simply amazing…I ran to the office as quickly as a I could to grab a camera so I could go back and take a few shots.
2. Life in the burbs aint all bad.
   Kristen and I live in Broomfield, with our 2 daughters (Sophie - 10, Ava 2.5) and our son Reese (8). This summer has reminded me how incredible Boulder is — except for the fact that you guys in Boulder didn’t get the view of the Continental Divide that I got this morning, and every morning that I drive in, again, simply amazing.
3. Take small bites and chew them up.
   This is something I have learned but not yet mastered. At the beginning of TechStars we were asked what do you suck at? Mine was over committing and as a result not getting things done. I made some strides this summer on this but I’ve got a long ways to go.
4. Look at things through kids eyes.
   This past Friday I finally fulfilled a promise to my two older kids, Sophie and Reese, that I would bring them into the bunker so they could be TechStars for a day. They were floating on air from the moment they got there and haven’t come down yet. They thought it was the coolest thing ever and the chance to do a lip dub put it over the top. My daughter Sophie is 10 and she is incredibly curious and she asked me to tell her about each company…so I did, in simple words that she and her brother could understand based on their experiences. It was incredible.
   Thinking about each company now makes me realize I learned something from every team this summer…(are you getting a sense of how exhausting a quick design session can be for Joe?)
5. Its (not all) about the benjamins.
   We spend a ton of time and energy talking about funding, and valuations and exits and returns but you know, I think money far from the top of anyone’s list of priorities, including the VC’s we’ve worked with!
6. Doing business with friends is a great idea.
   It seems to be a widely held belief that doing business with friends is a slippery slope. While there are a bunch of things to be aware of and some dynamics that have to change, I’d much rather spend as much time and energy as it takes to build a business with someone I like and respect outside of business. Joe and I were friends for 8 years before we starting working together and despite a few heated discussions over the summer, I think we’re leaving with a better company and a better friendship.
   As I look at all of the other teams I get the sense that there is a true bond outside of just building a company and I think that’s awesome.
7. Loosen up and have fun.
   No explanation required
8. Turns out I really like coffee and I really really like beer
   A couple of weeks ago I decided I’d try to cut back on caffeine and beer/wine as we head into Investor Day so I could be detoxed and feeling good. I am not a huge drinker but I do throw down more than my share of java. It was great to do that for the week or two it lasted and I really did feel better
   It turns out though that there are few things better than sipping a cold beer with friends on a rooftop in Boulder listening to great music (thanks Seth and Josh!). And when you wake up the next morning and you need a little kick, a cup of strong black coffee does it like nothing else.
   That’s all I am going to write for now, jotting these things down reminds me of a bunch of others. Its 7:30 am now, Joe got into the office about 45 minutes ago and if I don’t get back to work one of the things I’ll have to say I learned is: If you piss off your partner 3 days before Investor Day…..