We recently downsized to three full-time employees at Uloop, meaning that we all have more work and consequently more responsibilities and more stress. As you would expect, more stress also breeds higher tempers and shorter fuses – myself being no exception.

If you’ve ever worked with me on something that I’m passionate about – as I am with Uloop – you’ll know that I can be a bit brusque. It’s hard not to think strongly about something when it is the controlling force in your life though. I mean, I left the engineering industry, my home state, and a lot of potential income by going the startup route, so it’s pretty obvious why I want to see this thing succeed.

Just because there are fewer people in a startup doesn’t mean that conflicts don’t arise.

The good thing about being in a startup with only three employees is that everyone’s opinion matters. We technically have a CEO, but the roles aren’t that sharply defined. The reality is that all three of us need to be working together – regardless of our titles – in order to keep the train rolling, so when it comes to major company decisions, nobody is truly in charge.

When we have conflicting opinions about the direction the business is heading, the emails we should be sending, or the partnerships we should be pursuing, there isn’t one guy who makes all the decisions. We all make the decisions, and there are plenty of times when we disagree.

The important thing is how you handle those conflicts.

So when a major conflict comes up, what do you do? Do you call a vote? Do you diplomatically propose a give-and-take? Do you refuse to accept any answer besides your own? It depends.

I believe that there are times when the decision is important enough to warrant a line in the sand. A lot of big-company conflict experts would disagree and say that we should always look for the win-win scenario, but when it comes to startups, that’s just bull shit. There are plenty of times when somebody is wrong, and things don’t get done fast when you compromise; they get done fast when someone makes them get done.

For example, one of Uloop’s strengths in the past has been sales and customer acquisition. That’s great! Getting new customers is awesome. It shows that your company is conveying its value proposition and that your pricing point is appropriate.

What’s not awesome is Uloop’s customer service.

So, knowing that we are a company who is very good at acquiring customers, but very bad at keeping them, I stood up in our last team meeting and put my foot down, “We will fail if we continue to pursue customers who we cannot adequately service.” I went on to propose that we take no new business unless we can honestly provide more value than the customer expects of us. Period. No exceptions, and if we keep doing things the way we have been, I’ll just leave because this company is doomed anyway.

Addressing an issue that everyone knew, but no one really wanted to push was a room-silencer.

Throwing down the gauntlet is scary. Make sure you know when it’s worth it.

At that point, our CEO could have fired me out right. No doubt. I’ve only been with the company for a year and he’s been at it since 2007. It would have been justified, and I wouldn’t have been incredibly surprised.

Fortunately, he’s a good boss and he recognizes that passion is the reason I work 60+ hours per week. It’s also the reason that I will get up and say something when I think it’s necessary. After a couple more hours of going back and forth, we all agreed that Uloop needs to take a new direction: one focused on customers and users first. We didn’t compromise; we completely shifted our priorities from making quick bucks to winning lifelong customers. This was a massive shift in our company’s mindset, and it happened because one of our three team members was going to walk out if we didn’t do it.

If you’re going to take a stand for something, make sure that it’s worth it. For me, customer service is worth taking a stand, even if it does piss some of my coworkers off. The mark of a good team isn’t a lack of conflict, it’s the ability to handle these conflicts; it’s listening to even the smallest member of the company; it’s turning passion into value. That’s why I believe Uloop still has a shot, and that’s why I believe in what I do every day.

Here are the rules:

• Your idea must have a viable business model that generates revenue within three months after launch. Google Ads won’t help you build a business, so figure out a better way to make money or you’re out.
• You must be willing to partner with me for equity. It doesn’t have to be a majority share as I won’t be driving the business, you will. I’m just here to help you build and maintain a platform.
• You’re going to have to do the day-to-day work. Whether it’s sales, marketing, or customer service, I’m not offering you my services full-time. I’m just helping you build your site.
• You should be super-passionate, and able to convey it. I’ve been in a few startups and one of the most important things for founders is to have an unquenchable thirst to build a great business. If you can’t convey this and get me excited, I’m not interested.
• No idea is too insane, although it’s best if you understand the idea of creating a minimum viable product first. Even if the end goal is to change the world, it’s best if you show me how you can make a sustainable income as we create the earth-changing idea.

I look forward to reading your submissions, and if you want to ask me any questions, email me: klh@shakeup.us

But plenty of women own and operate businesses, right?

The problem isn’t that there aren’t any entrepreneurs who are women. In fact, 47.1% of privately owned businesses are at least half-owned by women. While fewer women own businesses than men, that’s not a terribly huge gap. The real disconnect comes in high-growth, technology based industries like those in Silicon Valley where a mere 3% of tech firms were started by women.

That number is incredible, so think about it for a minute. In a place where hundreds – maybe thousands – of technology startups sprout each year, only 3% are founded by women. How is that even possible?

Let’s look at some other areas of business and culture where women have more influence than they do in Silicon Valley:

• School Principals – 50% Women
• Sales Professionals – 26% Women
• US Military – 20% Women
• Engineering Graduates - 20% Women
• Congress – 17% Women
• Fortune 500 CEO’s – 3.6% Women

So why the founders gap?

I don’t think there’s a simple answer to this disparity, but I do think it’s a problem worth addressing. Sheryl Sandberg’s recent book, Lean In, is one example of how complex the issue of women in the workplace really is. She expresses her opinion that women need to “lean in” and force themselves onto the same playing field as men. While there is certainly some truth to that mentality, she’s been openly criticized by many women who say that Sandberg’s movement isn’t relatable enough to the average woman.

Personally, I don’t think the uber-feminist argument gives women enough credit, and tries to overly victimize their gender, but there is a little truth to their side too. Clearly, women don’t have as many relatable role models in the tech startup industry as men do, and with almost 90% of venture capitalists being men, you have to wonder how much that plays into this equation.

More importantly, what’s the solution?

Clearly, fewer women are starting careers in high-tech industries than men, so addressing that gap would be the first step. There will never be as many women founding technology startups when they make up less than a quarter of the industry.

Similarly, men need to understand the differences between women in leadership roles and men in similar positions. Just because men tend to be able to compartmentalize their work and relationships doesn’t mean that they’re inherently any better at building a business.

What do you think? Is the lack of women in high growth tech startups a problem? What can we do to fix it? Let me hear your opinion in the comments below.

And nobody gave a shit.

Let’s be honest, the internet giant is now just a boring, stuffy, old curmudgeon in the world of the web, and they proved it doubly with their latest memo to employees today that forbade them from telecommuting.

None of this should really be news if you’ve paid any attention to them over the past…oh five years or so. Even their desperate attempt to bring in Google’s Marissa Meyer as CEO in order to attract some press hasn’t exactly turned out to be magical. The point here is that you can paint a Kia any color you want, but if it’s still got a puttering little four-cylinder engine and the cheapest components that Korea can buy, it’s still a damned Kia.

Maybe Yahoo!’s okay with being Kia? There’s nothing wrong with being the funny little guy in the corner who tries to reinvent himself every three to five years, but it’s nothing like being a Ferrari, Lamborghini, or even Honda.

So, what is your business going to be? Do you want to be a cheap copy-cat of the big guys, or do you want to build a valuable brand? Do you want to get giggled at by the experts or lead the charge in innovation?

Here’s Robert’s reply:

I’ve interviewed thousands of CEOs and some things that stand out to me:

1. Good at hiring AND firing. Whenever you find a really great CEO you find someone who has a knack for hiring. That means selling other people on your dream or your business. Especially when it doesn’t seem all that important or seems very risky. I used to work for a CEO who was awesome at hiring, but couldn’t fire anyone. Doomed the business. Many of the best CEOs get others to follow no matter what.
2. Builds a culture, not just a company. The best CEOs, like Tony Hsieh at Zappos, build a culture that gives everyone a mission. They stand out in a sea of boring companies.
3. Listens and acts. Many CEOs want to tell you what they are doing, but the best ones listen to feedback, and, even, do something with that feedback. My favorites even give credit back. Mike McCue, CEO of Flipboard, tells audiences that I was responsible for a couple of key features.
4. Is resilient. AirBnB took 1,000 days for its business to start working. Imagine if they gave up on day 999? The best CEOs find a way to dig in and keep going even when it seems everything is going against them.
5. Has vision. Let’s be honest. There are a lot of nice CEOs but if you don’t have the ability to build a product that matters to people, then no one will remember your name. Can you see a way to make billions with wearable computers? I guarantee some can and they are the CEOs who will bring me interesting new products.
6. Stays focused. A friend who worked for Steve Jobs told me that what really made him different is that Jobs wouldn’t let teams move off their tasks until they really finished them.
7. Speaks clearly. A great CEO is clear, crisp, concise. Quotable. So many people just aren’t good at telling a story in a way that’s easy to remember. The best are awesome at this. Since it’s the CEO’s job to tell the company’s story, it’s extremely important that this person be able to clearly tell a story about the company and the product.
8. Is a customer advocate. The best CEOs understand deeply what customers want and when they are making anti-customer choices.
9. Good at convincing other people. CEOs have to deal with conflicting interest groups. Customers often want something investors don’t. So, a good CEO is really great at convincing other people to get on board, even at changing people’s opinions.

Extra credit if you are:

• Nice. Yeah, Steve Jobs wasn’t always nice. But he was an exception in many ways. People remember assholes and try to avoid them. That’s not something that’s easy to work around.
• A builder. Yeah, you can be a CEO if you aren’t a builder, but you are swimming up stream. It’s one reason I haven’t run my own business. The CEOs that seem to work the best are ones who COULD write some code, or build a new design using a 3D printer.
• Integrity. The best CEOs are survivors and it’s really hard to survive if you have dirt in your closet or treat people differently behind closed doors than you do in public.

It’s amazing to me to think about how different my business classes and experiences would have been had I gone to college in 1990. They would have taught me about cold calling, print advertising, and telemarketing instead of blogging, social media, and email marketing. Social networks in their current form didn’t really evolve until the mid 2000′s, and businesses even then weren’t really sure how to use them.

My generation is the first that has had some form of social networking profile for practically their whole lives. Whether it be the AIM screen name we got in 5th grade or the LiveJournal account we kept in Jr. High, we don’t know what the world would be like without social media, and I think that gives us a unique perspective on how to effectively use it.

Somebody recently asked me what tip I would give to businesses trying to build their brand on social media. The first thing that came to my mind – because it bugs me so much when businesses don’t do it – is to be human.

How can a business be “human” online?

The way that individuals use Facebook is so drastically different than how businesses use it that it should be easy to see a problem. Social networks have effectively brought people who are far apart in distance closer together by allowing them to communicate more effectively. Why then, do so many businesses treat it like it’s their chance for a world-wide commercial?

The truth is that business communication on social media should much more closely mirror personal communication on social media. You shouldn’t think of Facebook or Twitter as an outreach tool so much as a tool to get closer to and listen to your customers. By doing that and highlighting your satisfied customers who talk about you, you’re being human, and your efforts will be infinitely more effective in the long run.

What do you think? How can businesses be human and still retain a professional image on social media?

As an agnostic in this environment, it has always amazed me how corrupt allegedly “Christian” business leaders can be. Now, I don’t want to generalize here. Plenty of Christian business leaders are great people, just like plenty of atheist business leaders are great people. The point remains: how can someone who claims to follow Jesus’ seminal words, “do to others as you would have them do to you,” screw his employees, customers, and partners over in the name of making a few extra bucks?

Example 1: Enron

One of the most infamous scandals in the past decade involved two highly visible Christian business members: Ken Lay and Jeffery Skilling. Both were praised by their families and friends for their moral devotion to The Word, and both were convicted of dozens of counts of fraud and insider trading. While we can argue all day about the legitimacy of their religious claims, it’s sickening to me that a church would even hold their funerals in good conscience.

Example 2: Papa John’s

When John Schnatter, Papa John’s CEO, announced that due to President Obama’s new healthcare policy, he would cut employees to just below full-time in order to avoid paying their health insurance, he earned a spot on the worst “Christian” leaders list. Schnatter attends Southeast Christian Church (which not surprisingly, leans strongly to the right), and received a lot of flack when observers noticed that he made over $2.5 million annually for the last few years. I suddenly don’t feel so sorry for the guy who now has to pay a few extra cents to his employees who don’t have health insurance, and I doubt Jesus would have either.

Example 3: Donald Trump

This renowned Presbyterian has made a horse’s ass of himself by going on TV to host his own reality show, playing up a dead-end run at the presidency, and according to his own account “screwing” Muammar Qaddafi. If there’s a worst example of humility out there, then I don’t know it. As Jesus himself said, “Whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all.” For some reason, I can’t see this American tycoon becoming a slave to anyone.

“Love him or hate him, Trump is a man who is certain about what he wants and sets out to get it, no holds barred. Women find his power almost as much of a turn-on as his money.” – Donald Trump

While not every Christian is this bad, I would encourage the real followers of Christ’s teachings to distance themselves from these obviously false prophets. Having known dozens of honest, benevolent, and truly good business people over the years, I can tell you that claiming a religious leaning is – for most of these hypocrites – just another stab at gaining profits. As always, look to logic and action for a true judgement of a man’s virtue, but I will say that “Christians” are more likely to sell you something on the false brotherhood of religion than those of us who don’t believe in fairy tales.

The common myth states that by making more money, one can become happier. By making more money, one won’t worry about physical health. By making more money, one will be able to buy the things he wants. By making more money, one’s fears will simply melt away.

That’s Bull Shit, and Even Though We Know It, We Ignore It.

Modern society tells us that money = happiness. “I’d be happy if I were as rich as Paris Hilton,” or “I’d be happy if I had Anthony Bourdain’s job,” or “I’d be happy if I were as successful as Warren Buffet,” are some of the most common excuses I hear from those who sulk to their job every day, casually looking for an excuse to get out. I’ve got news though; none of those pursuits will make you happy alone.

Anyone who’s done 10 minutes of research on what makes people truly happy, will find that money doesn’t make a bit of difference. Once your basic needs are met, any excess income goes towards a shallow desire to accumulate more stuff. This is the first step in a never-ending treadmill of mediocrity. Great people didn’t achieve greatness purely because they sought a higher salary; they pursued something that they loved to do.

In other words, even if you had more stuff than every other person in the world, you still might not be happy, and let’s be honest, how unrealistic is it that you will become the wealthiest person in the world?

Pursue What You Love; Pursue Happiness

People across the world inadvertently live lives full of happiness without ever thinking about the kinds of material wealth that we have in America. Look at the happiest countries in the world, and you’ll see that the people are making a solid living, but they also don’t attribute their satisfaction to a need for more wealth. In fact, the richest in most of those countries give much of their money up in taxes to help others in their community. The truth is that people with the time to balance the work they have to do with the things they want to do are the happiest now, and will remain that way forever.

So, if you’re an aspiring entrepreneur or just a random bloke on the street, my message is the same. Pursue a field or way of life that allows you to meet your minimum basic needs for survival while doing something that you are truly passionate about. Going for the highest paying job in the best market with the best training will keep you on the treadmill of “what’s next?” but making your life revolve around your passion will allow you a chance to really thrive.

We have a serious problem here in America. We can’t face up to our own problems. While this statement could reflect our personal lives, political shortcomings, or any number of issues, today I’m referring to the loss of the American community.

The typical city scenario

Let me offer up a fictional story of a “typical” American city with historical evidence buried in thousands of cities across the country:

1. The introduction of an unfamiliar group to a middle or upper-class neighborhood

The “problem” shows up when a new group of people begins to migrate into a previously settled neighborhood. Sometimes, this move is facilitated by necessity (as in the case of many African Americans who moved into urban centers as farming declined in the 1950′s and 1960′s in the US), immigration from another country (as in the case of Hispanics in Texas, Florida, and now throughout the United States), or government intervention (as in the case of the shameful case of our country’s handling of the American Indians during the 1800′s).

2. Disparity or differences become clear

The neighborhood’s current residents may accept it at first. A few of the especially intolerant ones will immediately move out to greener pastures  but generally speaking, it will take a while for the differences to be fully perceived. Slowly, the immigrating group won’t be just that one family, but instead it will become a considerable part of the population. Often times, this new group has different values, traditions, or family norms than the existing group. As these two groups collide, tensions will rise, and conversations about the “problem” will become more public. The issues are exacerbated by obvious income disparity, religious differences, and over-hyped criminal activity by the new group.

3. The “flight” begins

As the original group of upper or middle class community members see their old neighbors move or die off only to be replaced by the new-comers, they get scared. With the rare exception of a desire for more land or space (which they probably don’t really need), fear is the only real explanation for leaving a previously adequate neighborhood for a new one. The moving out of the old group expands exponentially as old group members fear financial loss, educational deficiencies, or crime. The fears of course would never become reality if no one from the old group bought into them, but as soon as the tide wave begins, it’s very hard to stop.

So why is this a problem?

As income levels between the poor and rich in America continue to diverge, we often hear the debate between those who want more taxes on the rich in order to help the poor get a break, and those who want fewer taxes on the rich in order to spurn job creation and investment. This debate is moot if a significant portion of Americans made a commitment to their community, but that’s just not the case.

Now, you may scream Commie! at me around this point, but I am by no means advocating for forced government intervention into wealth redistribution. I think it’s safe to say that the Communist experiment has pretty much failed. Mandating kindness and mutual dependency is degrading to humanity. Our societies have managed to thrive when they’ve been able to work together towards a common goal. No great achievement was made by a single man or woman in isolation, and no two people are exactly the same in any way, yet our differences are the reasons we continue to expand and grow.

"Imagine no possessions, I wonder if you can...A brotherhood of man" - John Lennon

The solution lies in every individual, especially those with influence

Unfortunately, no one person can fight the tidal wave of the crumbling community and turn the tide alone. But, there is a way to fix this problem, and it doesn’t revolve around higher taxes or cutting government assistance. It just takes our most influential and recognized figures having the balls to take a stand and shift our perceptions.

For example, what would happen if Barack Obama moved the White House to Anacosta? What if Donald Trump built his next tower on the South Side of Chicago? What if Herman Cain moved to South Atlanta? What if David Koch put his philanthropy into practice and built a home in Brownsville?

The move of those highly influential, wealthy, and noteworthy figures could be the turning point in the perception of certain areas. Imagine our best community members moving into our “worst” communities. I know, it’s naive to think it will happen, but it’s a blog post. I can dream, right?

But, what are you doing to help?

I’ve talked about what our world’s top minds could do to change the perception of communities, but they’re not reading this blog. You are.

Even if you’re just a cog in this machine we call society, you do have a certain sphere of influence, whether you like it or not. How are you using it? Are you just looking for a way to get out of your “shitty” apartment, or are you looking for a way to make the place you live in better?  Are you always looking at people around you in disgust, or are you looking at them for their potential? Do you talk about how you can make enough money to live like a king, or do you talk about how you want to help make a pauper into a tradesman?

My final challenge: Start making your community better. Don’t just look for a way out.

It isn’t easy. You’ll be taking the road less traveled. That said, the feeling you get from helping another person succeed is better than that of making yourself succeed. Life isn’t about accumulating the most stuff, it’s about experiences. In the end, we’ll all die and be forgotten, but the impact you have on others while you live will remain as long as humanity does.

Alas, most of them won’t follow through.

Even as I look at their enigmatic faces, I know that 90% of these new idealists won’t ever take the first step in making something happen. Most of them will obtain solid, predictable jobs that give them a certain level of security, and while their idea may be a valid and potentially profitable business model, I – like any entrepreneur – know that starting a business is 99% perspiration and only 1% inspiration.

But, there’s good news!

I tend to get a little grim when I talk about idea-men, and how few of them become real creators. But, I’m going to finish this post with a bit of a positive spin.

Entrepreneurship in the US is up by 60% this year. The most recent recession sent many smart entrepreneurs running to hide, but as the economic climate has improved, future business owners are coming out in droves to take advantage of the change in outlook.  Plenty of industries that once flourished are struggling – housing, advertising, journalism, and manufacturing to name a few – and those of us with ideas for revolutionizing those markets are finally seeing promising signs that our efforts are worthwhile.

Meanwhile, the availability to education and technical talent is rising. Another good sign for American entrepreneurs is greater access to people and ideas that can actually create new things, even if those people are in China, India, Eastern Europe, or Japan.

So go out and embrace the unknown.

My final encouragement to those with ideas is this: Make something happen.

One of the few ways that the United States might regain its place in the world economy is to encourage and reestablish its place as an entrepreneurial mecca. We have intelligent people with incredible access to a huge market of consumers. We are a land of enterprising individuals. We know our strengths. We can make big things happen.

Now it’s just a matter of when. Are you ready to take the plunge?