I am a baseball fan and this year, my San Francisco Giant’s team is supposed to be pretty bad. But when spring training comes around, anything is possible. The fans look for the possibilities and scenarios that may take the team to the playoffs.

Well, if the pitching staff performs at or above expectation and we get a above average year from one of the veterans and a breakout season from one of the young rookies, then…

This sort of optimism and, frankly, wishful thinking is both at the heart of the seedround of startup life as well as spring training. Once the season starts, however, the grind of reality take over. But I do love the feeling of spring training and a startup’s seedround.

UPDATE: Found out today that the Giants have Las Vegas 100-1 odds of winning the World Series.  Still optimistic tho!

Photo by StuffEyeSee

This is an installment of the ongoing “Fatherpreneurship Series”, which is defined here.

When my son was about 2 years old, I repeated an experiment that my grad-school economics teacher told me about. I offered my 2 year old some candy. Then I gave him a choice. If he chose not to have candy that day, I would give him two candies the next day. He went with getting the candy right away. I upped the offer: three candies. This went on to about 6 candies when he started to think about it seriously. I quickly cut off the experiment then (Mom would have killed me) and we had a nice candy break.

As a father, a real scenario of choice is the act of disciplining a child and suffering short-term grief and trauma with the hope that this is a good long-term life lesson. This can be a very grueling experience and the easy path (giving the kid what they want) is sooooo tempting.

Business is the same way; startups especially so. The pressure to move quickly and keep moving “up and to the right” is very strong. Getting momentum and KEEPING momentum feels paramount above everything. So when a decision to take a short-term hit for a long-term gain comes up, the decision is always harder than it should be. What looks so sensible on paper feels so counterintuitive to an entrepreneur.

But take that deep breath and be like a responsible dad: live with the temporary trauma and headache of a sobbing, pouting, screaming kid so you can have a well-balanced child in the long run.

So what’s the chart? That’s our monthly unique visitors: one of the key currencies for consumer Internet startups. The pressure to grow “uniques” is very strong. Recently at Boxxet, we decided to make some big changes to our site (improved algorithms, new page link styles, moving out certain types of content) to make it stronger and healthier for the long term. But there would be a big short-term hit.

One of the benefits of being experienced entrepreneurs was that we knew we had to do it. So we took a deep breath and took the hit. And so far, we are seeing the gains. Whew.

Late last summer, my then five-year-old son, my wife and I decided to put up a “lemonade stand” for fun.  Actually, we decided to sell these terrific ice cream cookie sandwiches that we make at home.  Vanilla ice cream sandwiched with two homemade oatmeal cookies, mmmmmmmmm.  MMMMMM….  Sorry, I was distracted there for a moment.

We had a great time.  We made some upfront decisions on philosophy, product, pricing, positioning and go-to-market strategy, but as in any “startup,” it did not go as expected.   Here are some highlights and lessons:

Clear Corporate Goals and Philosophy:

I figured the lemonade stand will help my son learn about cost of goods, the potential monetary profit of work, salesmanship, and responsibility.  I also wanted to do it because (1) I never did it as a kid and (2) I wanted him to get a taste of the entrepreneurship (see my line of work at my startup, Boxxet).

Maximizing profit was not our philosophy that day.  We wanted to learn, have fun and share our great product.

A Unique and High-Quality Product:

I’ve bought lemonade, hot cocoa, cookies and smoothies from kids all over.  I am a sucker for the stand and will stop every time to buy.  But I don’t often buy truly great product from a lemonade stand.  Yes, that is not the point (and why I always stop at stand), but I felt there was room for improvement.

The week before, we had made ice cream cookie sandwiches as a family for a party.  We had fun making, eating and sharing these desserts.  They were fun to make, easy to handle, delicious to eat and were a hit at the party.

It became clear to us that the ice cream cookie sandwich would be a unique and desirable lemonade stand product.

Product Pricing:

This was a discussion between my wife and I about this.  These types of sandwiches would go for $2-$3 at a store or restaurant.  I felt that the lemonade stand needed to keep a $1 threshold for someone to the stop the car and help the kid.  Also, I felt that we need to leave value on the table by giving more to the customer.  We looked back to our Corporate Philosophy and went with $1.

Of course, it was the five-year-old who nailed it when he said, “if they have money, it costs one dollar; if they don’t have money, it’s free.”

Go-to-Market Strategy and knowing when to change it

Our first plan was to market via cute kid and kid-created signage along a high-traffic road in the heat of the afternoon.  We abandoned the strategy after about 10 minutes.  In the end, I believed we would have sold our inventory, but hanging on the side of a busy road was not that pleasant and it wasn’t fun to watch 30 cars pass by without stopping (people are intent on getting from A to B when they drive).

Then we went to the local park where people were hanging.  While we thought we could sell stuff there, we did not want to “sell” to or bother people who are relaxing.  Once again, we turned to our corporate philosophy and we moved on.

So we did what my son wanted to do in the first place.  Sell in front of our house.  It was lower traffic but much more highly targeted: neighbors who were more motivated (guilted?) to buy.   Turned out to be a great move.  We hung out, brought out music, chairs and drinks, had neighbors hang with us and caught up with people who were walking and driving by.  We had access to corporate HQ for freezer needs and potty breaks.  There were a great deal of intangible value. 

Building The Right Team

We knew we had the back-office and operations all handled (mom and dad).  Once the people saw the product and price, they were willing customers. But we knew we had a hole on the sales side.  My son is a great closer but not a good opener.  He’ll engage in a great conversation once warmed up and the customer will want to buy.  But he’s not the “jump up and down and holler at the top of his lungs” type (pretty useful for a lemonade stand).  So this leads me to..

When to Hire Your VP of Sales

At one point, our ten-year-old neighbor came over to see what was going on.  He volunteered to help.  We quickly agreed as we just gotten to our final selling spot after unsuccessful attempts elsewere.  He hopped on his bike and started tracking down cars and bringing them to the stand.  We had our “opener,” some would call him a “hunter.” He insisted on helping for free but we made him take a commission (need to have a “Win Win”).

Relying on Friends and Family:

In a startup, you often rely in friends and family to help get the company started: financing, the first few sales, moral support.  No different here.  Our neighbors really put fuel in our tank.  One came over and bought seven (for his extended family who was having dinner later but had no dessert planned).  In fact, it turned out that two party goers would buy about half of our inventory.

The Sweet Feeling of Momentum

Startups are a struggle, but there is nothing like the feeling of momentum.  And we had it as people stopped, bought, and enjoyed.  We sold about 22 of these things.  After a few discounts, commissions to the ten-year old and paying $5 back to mom/dad for COGs, our son netted about $10.   My wife and I had a great time, we hung out with neighbors and I think our son learned something.

And, of course, we saved a few ice cream cookie sandwiches left over for us to eat for dessert that night.  We enjoyed our day and our treat, and that turned out to be a great exit strategy.  

There are stories that need to be told because they are great stories.  The Blackberry orphans story is one of them.  This is the Wall Street Journal article that depicts kids whose parents are so addicted to their Blackberry and email that the kids are essentially orphaned.  Great story: innocent kids, parents who just can’t help themselves, technology run amok.

Well, I am a Blackberry Dad (actually, I use a Treo, but let’s stick with the Blackberry theme).  And I confess to doing some of those things mentioned in the article.  I sneak many peeks on my Blackberry, sometimes at inappropriate times.  I like to stay in touch and not fall behind.

But technology has made me a better dad.   Here is what I know: I am a hard worker and very focused on work.  My dad was this way; I am this way.  Earlier in my career, it made for tough going with friends and girlfriends.

But the Blackberry and its tech cousins have made it possible for me to work when and where I want.  I work hard, but I am able to work the hours I want to work in the location where I want to work.

So I wake up late, work hard during the day, grab my 6-year-old son in the late afternoon and we spend a lot of time together.  We have a great time: we play spies, we cook dinner, we go shopping, we design all sorts of stuff, we have a family meal, we do some math and reading.  When he goes to bed, I read him a story and we talk for a few minutes.  We talk about the day and that’s when we talk about the “why’s” (why it is important to treat everyone well; why bullies bully; why being afraid to lose means you may not get the chance to win).

After he is tucked in, I spent an hour or two with my wife and a little relaxing.  Then I work late into the night (don’t ask how late I go) on my next big thing.  Before the Blackberry, I would be putting in my long days at the office, since that is the only place where work can be done.   I would probably run through the door hoping that he was still awake.   It would have been Cat’s in the Cradle for me.

[By the way, I know I am lucky to be able to do this.  Technology has not given everyone this choice.]

And while only time will tell the ending of this story, I am thankful, truly thankful, that technology has allowed me to try to be the kind of dad that I wish to be. 

I am a San Francisco Giants fan and we are now in a seven-game losing streak (6 of those loses against two last-place teams). And over the last seven frustrating games, it was clear by the first third of each game that WE WERE GOING TO LOSE. There’s the foreboding feeling and, even if things start to turn our way, you got the feeling that team was going to find a way to lose. And we did.

Now, businesses can fall into that trap as well. You do something that backfires. Next time, you think twice. Then your colleagues lose confidence. And then, pretty soon, nothing goes right. All bad things are to be expected. The good is nice but won’t last long. It can be a terrible place. See poor Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees.

The good news is that the opposite is true as well. Players and teams and companies can win when they don’t seem to have the talent or resources to do so. Call it faith, the Red Pill, stupidity, luck, or gumption. In this place, losing is not an option, setbacks are merely obstacles for us to exercise our excellent jumping ability and those who snicker at us are, unfortunately for them, a few steps behind.

Bottle up that confidence and let’s give it to my poor Giants.

For entrepeneurs out there, are you a leader or manager?

• Leaders point the way
• Managers decides the route
• Leaders start the fight
• Managers calm the nerves
• Leaders pump others up 
• Managers help others grow
• Leaders say yes
• Managers searches for the yes
• Leaders favors far-sightedness
• Managers favors near-sightedness
• Leaders creates work
• Managers complete work

Organizations need both; precious few of us can do both.  If you can’t do both, look for someone who can be your counterpart.

Many people have asked me what it is like to do a startup again.  It feels pretty different this time around.

The difference it has little to do with the marketplace or timing. (There is an agrument about whether it is a bad or good time to start a company; I will defer that argument to others). From my view, the challenges to a startup are huge no matter when you start; they just happened to be different. With Biz360, it was educating a market and getting people to spend money when no one would. With Boxxet, I expect it to be getting about all the noise that is currently in the industry. 

So I expect challenges and I expect them to be different. Therefore, challenges aside, I was surprised that the level of stress and excitement to be pretty different. Call it experience or whatever, I have not experience the same level of stress that I did in previous businesses.

I expect progress. I expect setbacks. I know when it is time to worry about financials, bank accounts and incorporation. I know that both positive and negative feedback need to be taken in perspective. I expect some days where life will suck. But it is much harder to get me worked up anymore. I guess I’m confident in our ability to make decisions, make progress and understand mistakes.

So it feels different: easier in most ways, less intense in others. I hope it is wisdom and not boredom that is creeping up on me.

I grew up in New York City. My first job out of school was as an urban planner. When my wife and I (and kid) moved from San Francisco to the peninsula further south, my requirement was walking distance to a downtown area. I am a big fan of the urban and town spaces.

While the towns along the San Francisco Peninsula (e.g. Burlingame, San Mateo, San Carlos, Menlo Park, and Palo Alto) are pretty great for shopping, eating and socializing, they are terrible for a growing business.

Biz360, where I am founder and chairman, started in downtown Redwood City. That downtown turned to be too quiet (barren) for my tastes so we moved to downtown San Mateo. Everyone at Biz360 loved it. We had all sorts of lunch options, coffee options, shopping options and park options. Our location was feasible for employees from San Francisco to San Jose to the East Bay.  The office we had was pretty poor “B” space and parking was a pain and not free, but when I did a survey of the employees, they were more than willing to make the tradeoffs.

It was pretty clear, however, that when we started to grow beyond 25 people, we would have to move out of San Mateo and into the only place on the SF Peninsula that can handle growing businesses: the office park. That’s just too bad. Besides the obvious spike in lost time and the waste of more traffic (to/from lunch, to/from chores), I think an office park gives a workplace a sad, isolated feeling. I find this to be true of almost all office parks, whether it is the current Biz360 offices, the Googleplex or Yahoo-ville.

Redwood City has an opportunity to solve this problem as it is revitalizing its downtown, which is quite large and has lots of infill areas to create a vibrant social downtown that can support the growing tech business. 

The plan calls for accommodating “small-scale office buildings (5,000 to 10,000 square feet)” and while that helps a company up to about 50 employees, growing to any larger than that gives us the choice of the office park (or tough Bay Area commutes to the cities of San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland).

It’s a shame.

If you are not a native of the San Francisco Bay Area, then you have only read about the incredible startup ecosystem that is Silicon Valley. Much is written about this incredible place.

But for the ultimate support, I’d like to point to family. Dan and I point to parents, sisters, brothers, children. But, mostly, we point out our wives (Kris and Mary). A few nights before we started Boxxet, Kris and Mary sat us down and gave us the basic requirements for starting a company.

• Breakfast: in the form of Starbucks gift cards
• Lunch: in the form of Jamba Juice gift cards
• Dry Erase Pens: for me to write down great ideas!
• Dry Erase Eraser: for Dan to erase at least 75% of my great ideas (ha ha)
• Pajama pants, which would be our new office attire

These are terrific and, of course, mere tokens of their support. Kris and Mary have experienced years of startups with us; they are carrying the family financial burden as we move with this new venture. They understand (after watching us over the many years) what it takes and they have supported us with open arms and deep understanding.

Much love to you both.

Steven Jay Gould and Niles Eldredge spoke of punctuated equilibrium in evolution, where periods of equilibrium are ended by sudden, great and often lasting changes (which then become the new equilibrium).

To make great progress over the long run, I believe that achieving regular bouts of punctuated equilibrium is the best way to go, rather than consistent and steady progress. I supposed it’s possible to do both, but I believe creative teams and companies can make more progress through a series of breakthroughs (big and small).

The first months of a startup can feel that way on a weekly basis. Since there are only two of us, we both have a lot of tasks and we stay pretty concentrated. But there are many issues to deal with and at the rate we move, even a week can feel like a long time. Open issues will sit there and, if we are lucky, we get a chance to discuss, a breakthrough happens and we move it along very quickly. So there are two tricks: one is the right dynamic and the other is time.

Most days, Dan Gartung (co-founder in Boxxet) and I sit 5 feet from each other, and progress is made based on a combination of heads-down work and the delicate balance of conversation/interruption. So it is all about when to talk, how often before it is annoying, what subjects are worth breaking concentration (hey, how did the Carpenters end up on my custom radio station?) and the return signals. Luckily, Dan and I are pretty in tuned with one another and have achieved a good dynamic, but it took a while.

As for time, I learned not to feel pressured to solve great issues and make Herculean progress every day. But if I do not get the moments of punctuated equilibrium, then I try setting aside time to think and talk. I find that mid-afternoons are pretty ripe time to achieve punctuated equilibrium. While I do not know why, I am guessing it is that my mind is starting to lose concentration on the tasks and I am less pressured to complete tasks and more likely to explore an issue.

All I know is when it happens, I get the very satisfying feeling of progress.