Category: People

Google’s nemesis: meet the British couple who took on a giant, won… and cost it £2.1 billion | WIRED UK

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Google’s nemesis: meet the British couple who took on a giant, won… and cost it £2.1 billion | WIRED UK:

But the British couple didn’t celebrate. That’s not their way. “If you embark on something like this you can’t really be a victory or despair personality, because you’d burn out,” says Shivaun, 49. “We insist on it being dispassionate.” Their company was destroyed, their lives bent out of shape – but the pair insist the campaign’s been worth it. “It would have been wrong to back out,” says Adam, 51. “So we just did the right thing.”

Wouldn’t it be cool if giant tech companies like Google would just do the right thing instead of basically being evil but using a slogan of Do No Evil…

Big tech is scary at times.

Singapore Sees Economy Losing Momentum as Export Boom Eases

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Singapore Sees Economy Losing Momentum as Export Boom Eases

It is going to be interesting to watch Singapore make another shift – since I don’t think the export boom will keep going.

Singapore is trying to shift into a tech economy while relying on their transit hub to carry the load.

Being in the tech industry I have things I could complain about but in general I think Singapore is doing the right thing.

But this is going to be a painful transition.

For example – Singapore is doing an amazing job around the longevity of its people :: http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/100-years-of-singapore-through-centenarians-eyes-unlocking-secrets-to-longevity , but that is also going to cost the country – hence the taxes going up soon.

I am all in on Singapore – I trust this place to handle the changing world economies better that most places.

Let’s see how it goes.

Last blog standing, “last guy dancing”: How Jason Kottke is thinking about kottke.org at 20 » Nieman Journalism Lab

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I have blogged for years but like many things in my life I have never kept at it, used the same domain and focused.

I envy folks who kept with it and even were able to make it a business – I still dream of that.

I used to use my own hosting account and run WordPress but with my latest I moved to WordPress hosting which has been cheap, easy and secure for the most part.

I don’t get why any serious blogger would not use their own domain – the whole medium thing is silly to me.

Obviously with the rise of social media people tend to do so much short format stuff that actual writing or long form blogging is dwindling.

Sad.

I will do my best to stick with it.

Last blog standing, “last guy dancing”: How Jason Kottke is thinking about kottke.org at 20 » Nieman Journalism Lab

Risk / Reward

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I love reading The Prof – his latest newsletter about being an employee versus becoming and entrepreneur is so good.

The world is so focused on “startup theatre” that we sometimes pretend that the only way is the startup way.

Yesterday we spent some time with the CEO of http://www.racer.com.sg/, will write more on this later, and it was amazing to hear about a good old fashioned engineering/production company. The tales of how he pulled it off prior to VC in Singapore and the current startup mania are a good lesson for all of us today.

You can’t just wake up and pull off being a founder – you have to really want it and in some sense you have to be the person that can’t do anything else. Such as being an employee for example.

The skills and attributes necessary to be an entrepreneur are celebrated in the media every day — vision, risk taking, grit. But few mention the skills needed to be a good employee. I possess almost none of them. People assume, because I’m an entrepreneur, I have extraordinary talents too big for a company. The truth, about 90+% of entrepreneurs, is we start companies, not because we’re so skilled, but because we don’t have the skills to be an effective employee. On a risk-adjusted basis, being an employee for a good/great firm is more rewarding than being an entrepreneur. Again, something not discussed in a media obsessed with “innovators.”

I also think that starting off as an employee on your way to crafting your own thing is a healthy exercise since you need to learn how to manage employees and have empathy for their situation.

The whole newsletter is worth a read :: http://info.l2inc.com/webmail/151121/104996388/7a0a33819a491918de32bf47da7bc199e8b95ac3e60ee053e4e332cd22074607

Board files to dissolve Singapore blockchain startup Otonomos amid lawsuits, public spat

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I missed this one :: https://medium.com/@Otonomos/update-dymon-asia-ventures-and-fenbushi-capital-let-singapore-company-collapse-by-denying-salary-dc4f41ea1843

Wondering where this will end …

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Biggest drama in the Singapore startup scene for sure.

One thing I find fascinating is how crypto just isn’t prepared for the business world. How one person, right or wrong, can commandeer a crypto account is crazy to me. If one had a proper business banking account this wouldn’t happen as easily.

What’s also amazing is how ultimately the company and the employees suffer the most in these situations.

Board files to dissolve Singapore blockchain startup Otonomos amid lawsuits, public spat