Zvi Band

Author: Zvi

  • Why Structo Failed

    Why Structo Failed

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    Zvi
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    In 2010, I started working on a startup called Struc.to. It’s dead now, not even worth the hosting costs or domain registration. All that’s physically left is ~300 stickers I never distributed, a standing banner I haven’t gotten around to throwing out, and a dog bowl my wife had made for me (or Astro) as…

  • Selling my Turntables

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    Zvi
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    I wanted to be a DJ. In college, I had put together a little bit of money from internships to buy a basic CD setup. I was terrible. I sold my equipment. When freelancing, I was making enough money to buy a proper rig – Technics SL1200MK2s, Rane mixer, Scratch Live, coffin case, etc. I…

  • Giving Back

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    Zvi
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    When comparing friends’ respective industries, one point of pride for the early stage tech community is the strong focus on giving back and helping those one, two, three billion rungs below you up the venture ladder. I would not be where I am today without the advisors and mentors I’ve connected with – whether I’m…

  • Approaches to Competition

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    Zvi
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    As is common knowledge, competition is an inevitability. There are people with similar ideas as you. There are solutions your desired userbase is already using for the problem at hand. As you grow and start making waves, you’ll be attacked from above, below, and sideways. When first learning about a competitor, I used to think…

  • Never Stop Pushing

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    Zvi
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    We’ve hit some big milestones at Contactually recently. We passed a big internal revenue related milestone, something that, at the outset, seemed like an unattainable goal. We raised over $1 million for our seed round. And our team can’t be fed by a couple of pizzas anymore, and we’re actively hiring. In that time, I’ve…

  • Getting into 500.

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    Zvi
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    Everything has to start somewhere. Contactually would not exist without 500 Startups. Rewind back to September 2011. I was running a pretty successful dev shop. Jeff was working for me. Tony had a full time job, and was about accept a position at a later stage startup. Jeff and I had been building the prototype…

  • Around the world

    Around the world

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    Zvi
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    This is a visualization of where Contactually users are, based on location information we can find. Truly around the world.

  • Running Silent #dctech

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    Zvi
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    I’ve been putting all of my time into Contactually. I’m hesitant to state that we’re “killing it” “crushing it” or “doing really well” as, while we are certainly trending upwards on everything that matters, every day is an intense battle amidst a sea of rejection. Due to that, I’ve scaled back my involvement and presence…

  • Thailand, Part 5: Tokyo and the trip home

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    Zvi
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    This is one of a series of posts about our honeymoon to Thailand in December 2012, which consisted of Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pai, Phuket, and a long layover in Tokyo. Scroll down to the bottom to see pictures, and click on any of them to see an enlarged version. This was tapped out on my iPad, so forgive any typos…

  • Thailand, Part 4: Phuket

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    by

    Zvi
    in ,

    This is one of a series of posts about our honeymoon to Thailand in December 2012, which consisted of Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pai, Phuket, and a long layover in Tokyo. Scroll down to the bottom to see pictures, and click on any of them to see an enlarged version. This was tapped out on my iPad, so forgive any typos…