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Anthony Castoro — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 05:20:21 +0000

Tonight we stand on the cusp. Thursday morning Heatwave Buy levitra jelly without prescription, finally announces one of the (several) projects we've been undertaking over the last year-and-half and I'm not quite sure how I feel about it. While I've been dying to talk about some of the amazing things we are doing, at the same time, there's a certain quiet comfort in staying below radar. Until you actually declare your intent, it feels like everything is possible. That all ends tonight. The course will be set tomorrow. So, I thought perhaps I should do the rare thing and actually talk about some of the things that have lead up to this moment. Rather than rambling, I think I'll structure it like one of those silly quizzes you always see your friends taking on social networking sites when they should be working...

Top 5 things I was wrong about starting up a company:

1) It was way harder than I thought it would be. Now, levitra jelly overnight delivery, Levitra jelly for order, this isn't my first startup, but it is the first one where everything was at stake. I left a job that I enjoyed and moved my family of six (wife, buying generic levitra jelly, Levitra jelly bangkok, 3 kids and father-in-law) back from England to the great state of Texas. Even so, it was much harder than I thought it would be. Now, find levitra jelly, Cheapest levitra jelly, I don't mean hard as in "takes lots of effort," I mean it as in "trying of one's character." I don't have any problem putting in the late nights. Hell, levitra jelly drug, Pharmacy levitra jelly, I generally spend Sunday waiting for Monday morning to come around. But there've been some pretty tough times. Partners you can't control... an economy behaving like a punch drunk prize fighter trying to lift himself off the mat in the 12th round.., buy levitra jelly us. Order levitra jelly overnight delivery, downsizing. I've had to part ways with some of my best friends as a result of starting this company. Everyone involved knew that could happen, but when it does...hoo boy. That's probably been the hardest part. Letting go and trusting others has been perhaps the second most difficult, levitra jelly online sales. Levitra jelly from canada, 2) Not all venture capitalists are "evil!" Yes, this may come across to some as a bit of ass kissing, cost of levitra jelly, Buy levitra jelly from india, but it's not. I've met with dozens of VC's over the last year, and before we were funded I certainly met some I was wary of, levitra jelly malaysia, Order levitra jelly without prescription, but I have to tell you that our VC has been extremely supportive. Tough? Yes. Involved. Absolutely. But evil? Nope. They want Heatwave to win almost as much as I do. That's a whole lot desire. My experience with Syncom has been both uplifting and humbling. They're not afraid to tell it like it is, but they usually do it in a way that leaves me emboldened. I look forward to exceeding their expectations. I wish more entrepreneurs could find a partner as committed as ours, buy levitra jelly without prescription.

3) Hiring in Austin will be a breeze! Yeah, buy discount levitra jelly online, Levitra jelly no online prescription, not as breezy as I had hoped. First, the quality of life at the major studios in Austin has really improved, cheap levitra jelly no prescription, Levitra jelly online pharmacy, and there are more Studios (welcome back, EA) than when we made the decision to come, find cheap levitra jelly online, Buy levitra jelly pills, so there's more competition. Second, because we had some specific needs beyond just "online, order levitra jelly from canada, Buy cheapest levitra jelly on line, " we had to hire quite a few folks from out of state. Austin is still a great hiring market, but competition and specialization conspired to make it harder than I thought it would be. Luckily, order discount levitra jelly online, Levitra jelly in us, people like to COME to Austin :).

4) Capacity of work. I'll admit it. We tried to do too much with too few resources. As a result, low price levitra jelly, Levitra jelly vendors, the results were mixed six months post funding. Great team, great work product, lowest price levitra jelly, Levitra jelly cheap, but not enough focused progress to meet our original expectations. As a result, we had to do a course correction that was a little painful. Now the focus is back and if you're reading this you should be seeing that labor beginning to bear fruit in the national press. As they say, order levitra jelly in us, Buy discount levitra jelly, "No battle plan survives first shot fired." The key is to amend that plan as the battle develops and to have the leadership and training to execute new instructions.

5) I thought I would miss the corporate environment. I really don't. Yes, levitra jelly for sale, Purchase levitra jelly no rx, there was something comforting about the EA machine backing my project's plans, but I guess after two and half years of being independent I've realized that I prefer the independence over security. There's something bracing about being somewhat exposed. It keeps you alert and hungry. I like it, levitra jelly free sample. Cheap levitra jelly online, Top 5 things I was right about starting up a company:

1) I can do it. Damned straight.

2) You can't change people Buy levitra jelly without prescription, . I really believe that people only really change when something dramatic happens in their life. And by change, I mean fundamentally transition from one state to another over a short time. This comes up a lot in the hiring process. If you hear someone make the comment "well maybe they can grow into that" or "maybe we can help them change" you're probably wrong. Don't hire that person if the perceived need for change is important. I usually followed this advice, but not always and when I didn't, I paid for it 100% of the time. See my earlier post about being "in a rut vs. in the groove."

3) Hard work does pay off. Success really is about setting the right goals and just working towards them as intellegently and aggressively as possible, levitra jelly non prescription. Buy levitra jelly internet, 4) "Presence" is extremely important. My partner, Donn, buy cheap levitra jelly internet, Levitra jelly india, is based out of Philly, but the studio is in Austin. His consistent travel to Austin and constant use of telepresence makes all the difference for him and for us. When he goes longer than 3 weeks outside of Austin, it's noticeable. Same for me. Anyone following my facebook page knows how much I travelled in the spring. Being away from Central Studio for several weeks at a time was very challenging. It was nice being missed, but it wasn't nice having to be missed. Luckily those business trips were worth it.

5) I am doing things I never thought I would. When I made the personal decision to start Heatwave, I realized I was going to have the opportunity to do things I had never even considered before. When my father mentions how amazed he is by some of the things I'm doing, it really comes home. Not that he never thought I could do these things, but that who would have thought it? Thursday, July 30th will be one of those things. And it's only the beginning.

I'm sure I'll be wrong about some things over the next two-and-a-half years, but hopefully my batting average will keep going up :).

One last thing...neither right nor wrong because I wasn't sure what the outcome would be: I'm grateful that Heatwave has strengthed my marriage rather than weakened it. My wife has been wonderfully supportive and active and even though we work hard and see our children less than I'd like, I was working hard and not seeing my family enough when I wasn't working for myself. Ultimately, this is really for them as much as it is for me.

Thanks, Kim.

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Anthony Castoro — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 06:29:29 +0000

Buy ultram without prescription, I find the two phrases “In the Groove” and “In a Rut” to be particularly interesting because they reflect the dual nature of the human trait “habit.” Although they both have the connotation of being in a furrow or track that creates a path of least resistance, one is a positive condition and the other is not. Buy ultram no prescription required, I’m too lazy to do the research right now, but I assume that these two phrases have very different origins. The concept of being “stuck in a rut” is pretty obvious. Anyone who has driven down a dirt road (or a muddy one) knows that once your wheels get into the tracks laid by those before you, ultram australia, Find ultram no prescription required, it can be difficult (and bumpy!) to get out. Sometimes the easiest thing to do is to stay in those tracks. Of course, it’s easy to get stuck in one that is too deep.

I also think it's safe to speculate that being “In the Groove” is related to that sense of focus one gets while working and listening to music (sometimes referred to as “flow”), ultram free delivery, Ultram online sale, the groove referring to the grooves in a vinyl LP.

Anyway, ultram buy online, Get ultram, they both point to the tendency for people to get into repetitious cycles, whether considered positive or negative. This function of repetition is one of the basic forces of life, cheap ultram from canada, Certified ultram, it’s how we learn to do most physical skills, such as walking, cheap ultram, Canadian pharmacy ultram, or throwing a ball. We make new neural pathways and then reinforce them until they become “grooves” or “ruts” from our brains to our bodies. Habits offer a similar experience. If you get used to doing the same thing, the same way, ultram from india, Cheap ultram tablets, at the same time, eventually you form a groove or a rut that can be described as a habit. Again, ultram no prescription, Ultram cheap price, habits can be considered good or bad.

The thing about grooves and ruts is, online pharmacy ultram, Purchase ultram, to get OUT of one usually takes a jarring experience. I frequently consider aspects of my life as a path in a rut or groove (depending on whether I’m happy with that aspect). This is a metaphor I’ve created for myself that helps me deal with creating CHANGE. Sometimes you just need to throw a tree across the path, so you’re forced to dig out of a rut and lay down new tracks. I’ve witnessed this kind of change happen to people out of their control many times, buy ultram on line, Cheap ultram from usa, whether it be a brush with death or some other significant negative affect, but the problem is, ultram no rx required, Ultram pharmacy online, most people know they need to get out of a rut long before they’re forced to. Recognizing this fact has been a powerful tool for me. It enables me to be pre-emptive and to take action to get out of a rut.

Of course, buying ultram online, Ultram without prescription, once you get around the obstacle, it can be pretty easy to just fall back into the rut. Making your own groove certainly isn’t the path of least resistance. So while throwing that tree across the tracks is a great first step, buying generic ultram, Ultram malaysia, you've got to be prepared to commit to cutting a new path for yourself, and that takes planning and careful reinforcement, buy ultram from canada.

For me, a good example of this is my eating habits and my weight. I’ve gained an inordinate amount of weight over the last five years, and while at any given time I could tell you what I’m doing wrong or what I could do to change it, I never threw an obstacle in the way to help force myself out of the rut. This year, I used the winter break as my tree across the tracks, but unbeknownst to me, my Wife Kimberly bought me a cool little gadget called the “BodyBugg.” Now, regardless of the accuracy of this device (seems to work fine so far), the powerful and important part it plays in keeping me in the groove is that it provides really interesting feedback at a reasonable timeframe, and I can ADJUST my behavior based on that input. It tells me how many calories I’m burning (approximately) and I log how many calories I take in. It’s pretty simple subtraction. So every evening I sit down, compare my food log to my calorie burn and I can see if there’s a deficit or not. It’s like a daily little game I play where I try to create the biggest deficit possible. Interesting thing so far is, I don’t feel like I’m on a diet. Even on my worst day, I spent an extra 20 minutes on the Wii Fit at the end of the day and ended up with a 200 calorie deficit. Very cool, buy ultram without prescription. Ultram uk, “So,” you ask, ultram online cheap, Buy ultram generic, “What’s this got to do with Games, Start-ups, buy generic ultram online, Cheap ultram on internet, and all that? I don’t really care about your personal eating habits.” Just this, organizations have habits too, ultram side effects, Ultram bangkok, and they can either get in ruts or get in the groove. Obviously, you want to keep it in the groove. I felt like my organization got into a little bit of a rut at the end of the year. There are lots of new people, drug ultram, Cheapest ultram online, lots of new chemistry, lots of crazy things going on (moving into new space, order ultram without prescription, Generic ultram, evaluating lots of opportunities, etc…). Yet the company was trying to apply some of the same patterns of behavior that worked when we were 1/3 of the size, cheapest generic ultram. Ultram pill, I have to admit, the effort of mobilizing the the new company wore me down a little bit, cheapest ultram, and I found myself really needing the break over the Christmas holiday. During that break, I had time to get a little clarity and to formulate a plan for how to get us back in the groove. I needed to throw a log over the tracks and help us chart a new course. The company is young and the tracks are shallow, but I'm not the kind of person to sit around and watch things happen. So I decided to be pre-emptive and make a significant adjustment to make sure we were in the groove and not in a rut. Don't let me over state this, from a casual perspective, things were fine, but fine isn't good enough. I'm building a world class organization and my standards are very very high.

So…I called a company meeting on the first day back and showed up to work in full Cowboy gear. Black Stetson Hat, Black duster, Black boots, Black Shirt, Jeans and a BIG Ol’ Belt Buckle that says “Cowboy up!” Sorry, no spurs, it's an HR thing.

[caption id="attachment_58" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Anthony in Cowboy Regailia"][/caption]

I can’t get into all the details about what followed, but suffice it to say, I got the team’s attention and I used the theme to drive home a series of positive messages about change (and I dropped the “F-bomb” way more than was probably called for but cowboys are colorful folk don't y'all know?).

In addition, I provided the team with short term goals that they can measure against our annual and quarterly corporate goals. Finally, I matched them up with slogans that are easily memorable and attached to the Cowboy them. Everyone in Texas is a Cowboy, right.

So far, the initial reaction has been great, and with the right amount of repetition and response, I expect we’ll stay “In the Groove” from now on in. Either that, or folks just think I'm crazy so they'll say whatever they think I need to hear to stop shoutin' "Yeehaw!" while hog-tying programmers in the break area.

So, next time you’re looking around at the office and thinking “man, we're in a rut!” make sure and visit your local western wear shop. That should do the trick.