Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on Seattle 2.0, and imported to GeekWire as part of our acquisition of Seattle 2.0 and its archival content. For more background, see this post.
By Jennifer Cabala
Bob Walsh has written the book on building a web startup, really. In fact he’s published several. He also blogs at 47Hats.com, and does the weekly Startup Success Podcast. He used all of that information to create a massive set of online guides, expert resources and a big private community of online entrepreneurs at StartUpToDo.com. Bob is flying up from Northern California to share his expertise at the Deploy technology conference on June 24th. Using his extensive research on successful startups and his own personal experience, Bob will talk about techniques that will not only keep you motivated in the tough times but will help you build a better product and company.
As a thanks to Seattle startups for hosting him he is offering year-long scholarships to StartupToDo.com to select Deploy registrants. We will be drawing three names each day all this week. Plus, only 4 more days to get early bird pricing.
Bob wanted to share why he is coming to Seattle in this guest post:
A small, quiet flame.
How many ITpeople do you know who’ve talked about founding a startup, but never getpast the talking stage? While doing a software startup is nowmagnitudes easier and cheaper than it was 10 years ago, it’s anythingbut easy. You are going to put yourself on the line, start somethingthat could easily fail, let go of the familiar and comfortable, stand upand say look at what I’ve built – and none of that is easy.
Butyou wouldn’t be reading this unless there was a small quiet flameinside you won’t settle for the way things are; a part of you that atleast has to try to make something new, something different, somethingbetter. I and the other speakers you hear from and talk to at Deploy2010 want to give that flame fuel and oxygen because that’s what wevalue: a world where there are more – a hell of a lot more – successfulstartups.
Here’s the backstory. Five years ago,after 20+ years of writing custom corporate software, I finally gave into that small quiet voice that said I needed to write software that atleast in some tiny way improved things, not just brought in money. So Icreated a microISV and an app – and realized very quickly I knew zipabout creating a startup other than the easy part, writing software. So Iwrote a book that did more good than my first commercial app ever did,and found I wanted to spend my time with other developers who wanted,needed, to create something new, no matter how hard that journey turnsout to be.
Four books, two podcast shows, andmore startup friends and boneheaded mistakes than I can count later,I’ve launched StartupToDo.comto better scratch some of the itches bootstrapping startups have.Guides I and others write help you do some of the many things aroundcoding faster and better. Site Reviews by a community of startups whowant you to succeed and want to learn how to effectively explain theirsoftware. A point system so you can compare what you’re getting donethis week to last, and to what your friends in StartupToDo.com did.And soon access to people who can help your startup even more.
Talkis easy – or at least it should be if you’re going to take up 30minutes of other people’s time. So let me put some of my money wheresome of my words are and offer three people who decide to sign up eachday this week for Deploy 2010 a free year’s subscription at StartupToDo.com. Seeyou at the conference.
Bob Walsh
Sonoma,CA.
