Second-time entrepreneurs

Here in Los Angeles we have our share of high technology companies, but we have nothing compared to the hot-bed of entrepreneurship up north, the San Francisco Bay Area. But we have enough of it and we have seen our share of hot startups come, and more often than not, go.

So I've watched with interest as Odeo, a company started by one of the people who wrote the blogging software I'm using, Blogger, has gone through various stages that are predictable for those who are doing their second ventures after a successful first one.

In a post on the Odeo site, Mr Williams says of Odeo: "We work hard, but keep sane hours (not a sleep-under-your-desk startup), use agile development processes (though we could use a little more), have an office with a view in San Francisco (right next to South Park), tend to prefer Macs (but it's okay if you don't), and are going to change what's in people's ears (and between them)."

This description is filled with hallmarks of the second-time entrepreneur. The first time around he was successful, but success came at a price, he had to submit to the terms of the world, which are harsh. Round the clock days, seven day weeks, no time off, and that's not all. No money. Layoffs. Unhappy users. No revenue (Blogger was a dotcom boom company, without the rich financing). But in the end Williams made millions. Now he's going to have success, again -- he know so much more (really of course he does) but this time he's going to win on his terms. "Sane hours" isn't all they'll do better this time, the office furniture is probably pretty nice, and the location is convenient, and the computers are modern, and the business trips luxurious. Dinners are at nice restaurants.

Everyone is working hard, but are they really? And can you win in business, on your own terms?

Experience says no. To win you have to submit to the lunacy of the crazy world we live in. If you won't push the pedal to the floor, you can bet your competitors will. And while you may be motivated even with cushy surroundings and shorter days, the people you hire will take it as a signal that they can relax too. No one will work harder than the boss. That's one of the unfortunate rules of all organization. So if you're on your hard-earned less-stress route to success, the people you hired are acting like cashed-out second-time entrepreneurs too! They can't avoid it, it's just human nature. Of course they'll be disappointed to find out that when you stop funding the project they'll go back to being poor schnooks, and if you didn't blow all your cash (some people do) you'll still be rich.

Yours truly,

Mr Gutman

What men want from women?

Halley Suitt says men have a long list of requirements for dating women, including but not limited to:

Nice clothes.

Nice body.

Good credit rating.

Good job.

Smells good.

Etc etc.

What a list!

I looked at Mrs Gutman to see which of the things she has. The only thing she has is that she smells good. But that's not very hard to find in a woman. Most women smell good.

Now if you ask me, Mr Gutman, what's most important, it isn't even on Halley Suitt's list.

A woman must be kind, sweet and nice to be with. Someone who cares for her man, nurtures him, gives him a little confidence and a little loving when he needs some support. Most important he needs to be listened to when he has something to say, and left alone when, as John Gray explains, he needs to go into his cave.

A man who is supported is a happy man. It isn't the size and shape of her butt that matters as much as the depth and accessibility of her heart, and her respect for the male need of privacy, and above all else, to be a trusted source of strength and protection.

Dating terminology

Once again a post on Halley Suitt's blog provides an opportunity for insightful social comment by Mr. Gutman.

First, we refer the reader to the Oscar-winning movie, When Harry Met Sally. In a dialog between college-aged Harry and college-aged Sally:

Harry Burns: You realize of course that we could never be friends.

Sally Albright: Why not?

Harry Burns: What I'm saying is - and this is not a come-on in any way, shape or form - is that men and women can't be friends because the sex part always gets in the way.

Sally Albright: That's not true. I have a number of men friends and there is no sex involved.

Harry Burns: No you don't.

Sally Albright: Yes I do.

Harry Burns: No you don't.

Sally Albright: Yes I do.

Harry Burns: You only think you do.

Sally Albright: You say I'm having sex with these men without my knowledge?

Harry Burns: No, what I'm saying is they all want to have sex with you.

Sally Albright: They do not.

Harry Burns: Do too.

Sally Albright: They do not.

Harry Burns: Do too.

Sally Albright: How do you know?

Harry Burns: Because no man can be friends with a woman that he finds attractive. He always wants to have sex with her.

Sally Albright: So, you're saying that a man can be friends with a woman he finds unattractive?

Harry Burns: No. You pretty much want to nail 'em too.

Now Ms. Suitt quotes someone saying something similar to what Harry Burns is saying:

"When a girl says she's dating a guy that means they're having sex. When she says a guy can get a date that means he can get laid. When a guy is having sex with a girl he'll say he's having sex with the girl. When he says he's dating her that means he wants to have sex but hasn't gotten any yet."

If you think about it, it's fairly obvious that the person she is quoting is a man.

Yours truly,

Mr. Gutman

Halley Suitt's politically incorrect post

Let me offer an alternate explanation to the comments that appeared on her blog.

Halley is a middle-aged single mom, who lives in an affluent suburb but isn't very well off financially herself. She saw some of the local moms with their kids, driving nice cars, and had a grass-is-greener feeling that so many of us have.

So she looked for something she has that they don't have to try to bolster her self-esteem which was sagging. Instead of calling up a girlfriend and boasting about her butt, and how much better she is in bed than those old bitches at the supermarket, which would have been much safer, she remembered that she wanted to be more frank with her readers, so she quickly posted something and included a some politically incorrect things. She probably wishes now she had edited them out, but she didn't.

What is she guilty of? Being human and sharing too much of her thinking to be safe. Maybe her friends will forgive her, they probably will, but also maybe next time she decides to blast someone just because they showed a little vulnerability, maybe she'll think twice before she pulls the trigger, so maybe there's a silver lining to this cloud.

Yours truly,

Mr. Gutman