Zvi Band

Category: Entrepreneurship

  • Rejecting Giving Up

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    Do one thing every day that scares you. Eleanor Roosevelt Every day, I think about quitting. Some days more than others. And every day, statistically you should probably quit. And I have quit a bunch of times. I know that, as I continue this journey, my biggest competitor is the risk-averse human psyche, always wanting…

  • Staying Motivated

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    The question is not how far. The question is, do you possess the constitution, the depth of faith, to go as far as is needed? – Boondock Saints As I think about the primary success factors in the first year of Contactually, and how it differs from previous ventures I’ve undertaken, been a part of,…

  • My luck surface area

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    I was given the chance to speak at TechCocktail about relationships last week, along with Rohit and Scott. It was a great night talking about how relationships are so crucial for an entrepreneur. I stumbled across a few mentions of “luck surface area”, and it instantly resonated with me. Go read it now. As I…

  • State of the DC Tech Scene

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    It’s been a little over a year since we held the first DC Tech Meetup, and a little over a year and a half since we launched ProudlyMadeInDC, which can be considered a catalyst for the Meetup. One can confidently say that everything has been up and to the right with all aspects of the…

  • Happy 1 Year Anniversary Contactually (the idea, that is)

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    On May 15th, 2011 was the day I first wrote down in Evernote (where I collect all my product ideas) an idea for a Proactive CRM The failure in CRMs is that YOU have to actively decide to put a contact into the system. Lame. Google Apps hook-in It monitors your email, then when you…

  • Why I’m So Incredibly Excited About Crowdfunding

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    We’re mere hours away from the new JOBS act being signed into law. While it’s an all-around awesome bill for entrepreneurs, the fact that it will legalize crowdfunding in startups by non-accredited investors will revolutionize the way startups are built. Take where we are at this moment with Contactually. We have thousands of users. A…

  • 2011 was…

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    the year I got a dog. the year I asked Alex to marry me. the first year I went to SXSW. the first time I visited Europe. the year I hired my first employee. the year that the DC startup community blew up. the year I got involved in community building. the year I spent…

  • ProudlyMadeInDC Turns One

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    One year ago today, we launched ProudlyMadeInDC. I sent out this message to our mailing list In the wee hours of the morning, on December 2nd, 2010, the two of us started throwing together a simple WordPress site, after a dinner discussion with other entrepreneurs about improving the scene in DC. We posted a list…

  • Cycles

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    I had an idea. (repeat 1,000,000x) I had an idea. I wrote it down. (repeat 86x – based on Evernote usage since August ’09) I had an idea. I wrote it down. I talked to a lot of people about it. (repeat ~30x) I had an idea. I wrote it down. I did a basic…

  • Burning the Boats

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    It’s legend* that Cortez, upon reaching Vera Cruz, burned his ships so there was no way for him and his crew to retreat. It was all-or-nothing from then on out. My last post (back in July, #blogfail) was about the challenges we faced consulting while building our startup (then called Enforcery, now renamed to Contactually).…