Published in Austin Startups·PinnedThe Entrepreneur’s Essentials: ContentsNote: On Mother’s Day 2022 to honor my mom, Brenda, and also my wife, Debra, and after 13 months of work alongside David Judson (a true partner), I came out with the second, expanded edition of this book in print on Amazon Prime. Like the first edition, it is also…Startup2 min read
Jun 14It’s Critical to Leverage Your Data during a DownturnIn the now iconic line of the 2015 movie The Martian, marooned astronaut Mark Watney (played by Matt Damon) gave us a new verb to sum up his only possible exit from his Red Planet dilemma: “I’m going to have to science the sh*t out of this.” For many businesses…Data Science12 min read
Feb 26Dawn in the Anthropocene, an Allegory on The Evolution of DataThe quantum speed with which data is insinuating itself into every facet of life is challenging to comprehend. But doing so is imperative to our future, which is why we must be crystal clear about the past. By Brett A. Hurt Not long ago, I had the chance to share…Data16 min read
Jan 19, 2021Three big reasons you should have faith in a Biden+Harris administrationIt’s finally the day before Inauguration. I originally wrote this post on Lucky7, my main blog, on Nov. 14 after it was very clear that the Election had been called. I’ve refreshed it below given what has happened since, with Stop the Steal and the attack on our nation’s Capitol. …Biden5 min read
Jan 17, 2021Four big learnings on health (Part Four: Exercise and X3)I was debating whether to title this post “The Ultimate Pandemic Workout”, “Maximum Efficiency with Maximum Results”, or something else, but stuck with the thematic of my four-part series on health. In the first three Parts, I covered: 1. Nutrition (and my vegan power breakfast smoothie recipe) 2. The Cooper Clinic 3. OsteoStrong…Injury11 min read
Jan 9, 2021Five phases of leadership during the pandemicLast week was a very busy one for me for writing and reflecting. To write is to learn. I finished my five-part series on leadership during the pandemic in Austin’s definitive cultural magazine, Urbānitūs. I owe a debt of gratitude to the Editor and Co-founder, David Judson, who really brought…Leadership2 min read
Dec 29, 2020An open letter to tech CEOs and leaders on the importance of diversityDear fellow tech CEOs and leaders, I’m writing to you on this beautiful Sunday in Austin because 2020 has truly been an eye-opening year for me as a long-time tech entrepreneur and CEO. I’ve been founding tech companies and movements since I was 24-years old, and I’ve never thought more…Leadership15 min read
Dec 8, 2020Good or bad parenting?Our son has spent 1.8% of his life hours to date playing Terraria (probably 15% of his life overall on gaming and programming). How do I know 1.8%? Because he calculated it and told me. The 15% overall is a pretty educated guess by me. And he also just got…Parenting2 min read
Nov 28, 2020A note of gratitude for Tony HsiehI woke up early this morning and the first news I read was of Tony Hsieh’s passing last night. It hit me hard — he was only 46-years old. Tony was the long-time CEO of Zappos, only recently retiring in August. Although I cannot say Tony was a close friend…Bazaarvoice4 min read
Published in Austin Startups·Apr 21, 2020Netflix vs. Blockbuster and bad profits (reflections from my Bazaarvoice days)In honor of Netflix’s big beat today in the very unfortunate age of COVID-19, I decided to revisit my four-part Bazaarblog series while I was CEO of Bazaarvoice (from our inception in 2005 to our IPO in 2012). The name of the last part? “Netflix vs. …Netflix12 min read