This weekend was an absolute whirlwind of “data” points about our idea, the target market, team dynamics, future of the product – we talked about it all. We talked about it all with some of the brightest minds we’ve met to date. Raleigh isn’t necessarily a breeding ground for software startup people; you can imagine our fascination with the warm tech scene that Boulder had to offer. They just get it.

We talked to a lot of teams at techstars for a day. Outside of the event the conversation was all with techstars grads and other people in the area recommended to us by these previous grads – mentors and locals who are heavily involved in the startup process. Their feedback was candid and very much appropriate for our situation and our outlook moving forward.

Our conclusion? We need to pivot.  Whether we pivot some or pivot completely is still up in the air, but the writing on the wall as we saw it this weekend is more than enough evidence for us to do some due diligence to switch gears.  We’ll continue to surround ourselves with people much smarter than us and make the most informed decision before we go back to flying by the seat of our pants.

Big thanks to everyone at Techstars and in Boulder who helped us out – Next Big Sound (David, Alex, Samir, Eric), Micah Baldwin, Ben Brinckerhoff, Tom Higley, Jason Mendelson, Seth Levine, David Cohen, Nicole Glaros (congrats on the baby!), Rob LaFave, and everyone else we met in passing.  You all left a great impression on us and are solid recruiters for keeping Boulder alive and thriving.

Complete graphics overhaul coming up. No more of this blah blah blah boring server side coding to be done.  For the next three weeks we are focusing almost exclusively on making the app and the website look better. Photoshop + XHTML + CSS + jQuery (more commonly known as the Devil) all day every day. It’s interesting, the majority of the work that has to be done for this product will never be actually SEEN by the end user (tough cookies, Scott). On the same design note, we’re possibly taking on a co-founder this summer that will be focusing on design.

I keep thinking about a post by Dave Mcclure about the importance of design in consumer internet start ups. We really do need to put a lot more effort into making addicting user experiences if we want to be successful. I’m becoming more and more of a Dave fanboy as time goes on. I really like his writing style – very flow of conscious.

Final note: TechStars for a day. Holy bleeep.  Nuff said.

On that note, if anyone finds it in their Giri to donate money to help offset the cost of plane tickets, we would gladly put up a huge plug for all 12 of our blog readers to see.

Also, if anyone reading this is also attending TSFAD, send me an email at scott@getsoundaround.com so that we can hook up while in Boulder for coffee.  I’d love to have a packed schedule while we’re there doing as much networking as possible.

See you in March.

We’re still waiting on a lineup of who we are definitely going to visit. I’ll try to post an update when I get it.

Also, i’ll be doing the local tour here as part of a joint venture between NCSU and Southern Capitol Ventures (thanks to Jason Caplain for hosting the trip each semester). We’re set to hit canvas on demand, iContact, and a few more. These are always fun to do. Any time you see a founder’s eyes light up telling you their story, something powerful happens in the surfacing of emotions and harnessing of energy to add even more fuel to my business drive.

One of the most challenging quandrys that university student entrepreneurs face is the realization that they’ve more or less transcended what the university has to offer them. The academic content isn’t necessarily dry or inapplicable to all bottom-line-driven companies, it’s just that they don’t make classes specifically geared toward YOUR startup. If they offered a degree in Sound Around I would be there all day every paying attention and taking notes. The reality, however, is that generalized classes rarely provide knowledge directly applicable to obtaining our minimum viable product.

Here is where things get sticky. You, as an administrator, have a contract to uphold where you are bound by the university to correctly facilitate the pedogogical value in entrepreneurship teaching and mentorship. We are bound by our drive to get our company to a state where it is making both money and meaning in the world.  These two positions OFTEN have maligned objectives and goals.

From a student perspective here is my advice: if these types of students are enrolled in your entrepreneurship class, there is most likely nothing you can do to reign them in back to the class level. They are beyond the point of being driven by grades. As long as their behavior is not totally detrimental to the program just let them do their thing. There are other students that need the mentoring and attention.  Fighting a frivolous battle with driven entrepreneurs will take away significantly from the other 90% of the entrepreneurship students still finding their legs.  Additionally, working WITH students will ultimately help your university and the university system as a whole in its ability to bring talented individuals together to spawn the next google or facebook.

The university should be seen as a leverage point for entrepreneurs, not a hindrance to their overwhelming desire to start something great.

I spent probably 3 hours bouncing around between drawing and screwing around with html trying to do a mock-up for JUST THE LANDING PAGE. All I have to say is holy f*cking sh*t. Being less than proficient at both makes getting anything in the design realm done such a pain. So today I’ve made a pact with myself. I’m really going to jump head first into web design.

I might spend fifty to one hundred hours getting where I want with my web design skills. But in the long run, I’m going to save one thousand hours that are lost due to my #bigfail web design skills.

HTML and CSS aren’t really the problem. It’s photoshop. And learning how to integrate my HTML and CSS with the photoshop. Does anyone that does web design have any tips or tools they use that increase their productivity? Anyone use any great teaching tools that they would recommend? Open to any and all suggestions.

–EDIT–

Lol 50 to 100 hours to get pretty good at web design. Off by an order…or a magnitude? Probably a few of both #sadface.

Tomorrow, everything I will be watching will be on ABC.com, NBC.com, Apple TV, and Hulu.  We’re going from ~300 channels to 4.  Also, we’re picking up Clear wireless internet (4G WiMax, yay for technology). It’s all free with internet. The $120/month bill is going to be $25/month for the same programming. We may miss mythbusters and dog whisperer, but almost everything else is online. Let me repeat…almost everything else is online. Couple that with a supposed AppleTV deal with the major networks and we’re in business for under 1/2 of what we’re paying right now.

A giant is falling due to the rise of technology. Good for hulu and boxee and netflix and everyone else who collectively make up a damn good alternative. As an entrepreneur, it’s nice to see the conventional wisdom beginning to bow to people who saw what a difference they could make, and executed well enough to cause people to make a lifestyle change. That speaks volumes, it really does.

Also, it’s going to force us to find alternatives for our time. We won’t be able to just say “hey, i need to kill some time, what’s on tv”. Admittedly, this may lead to more time playing Nintendo 64, but I would submit that that is a far more social and relationship-building event than sitting idle on the couch watching TV. My hope is that it will force us to talk more, work on the company more, go out to public places to watch sporting events. Watching TV now consists of watching things once through with limited commercials and then going back to our lives. Awesome.

I’m happy.  It may be rough to start out with, but I’m ready to see how we react.  Have you given up anything recently that you’ve had your whole life?  I’d love to hear about it.

I’ll keep it short for tonight. Happy New Year everyone. Hope your New Year’s Resolutions last longer than February. BTW I suggest everyone come up with their own one word for the year. Make it something really near and dear to you, draw it nice and big on a piece of paper, and put it up on your wall.

Thanks @msuster for JFDI. I’ll use it well.

In the meantime, I’m having a hard time concentrating and really doing some solid work while at my parent’s house! Looking back at my “Productivity Advice” post, I can see why I’m not doing so hot. So much stuff around: parents, brothers, TV, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, the dog, the cat, the cat playing with the end of my phone charger, girlfriend stuff. I need me a cave. But where?