Reflecting on “Stuff”
As I make the move to the Bay Area, dealing with my “stuff” is a big thing. Going from a 4,000 square foot house to a 10′ by 12′ room in a friend’s apartment has been an adjustment both physically and mentally. But more interestingly, its lead me to reflect on all the stuff I have and what it really means to me. This Paul Graham essay on Stuff from 2007 also resonates with me.
The Story of My Stuff
In 2004 I purged everything I owned except for what would fit into the Land Rover I bought, and moved to downtown Seattle. That felt great, and being free of stuff also kept my mind free of clutter as I embarked on the beginning of my career. While I was making $9 as an hour, I had no money for buying anything except for the occasional professional clothing item or meal out with a friend. If I was spending money, it was on experiences.
By 2006 I was making good money, and dating the man who would become my husband. I had moved into a penthouse studio apartment and wanted to impress him (duh) with my taste, as well as enjoy the freedom of not having to conform to the tastes of a roommate. Ikea furniture, books I had been storing at my parent’s house, kitchen utensils, clothes, SHOES… the “stuff” began to accumulate, and soon the studio was feeling pretty cramped.
We got married in the summer of 2007 and moved into his bachelor pad, which had even less personal space than my studio. The cheap Ikea furniture had to go and once again my personal style was subordinated to someone else’s idea of “home” – which at the time was uber-sparse and uber-expensive (and uber-masculine) urban chic. I got rid of my car too, which was wonderful at first but later felt stifling, in favor of his Audi. In all, from a materialistic point of view my entire lifestyle was upgraded when our possessions became shared. All I really brought my ever-growing book collection, and enormous collection of designer shoes and fabulous clothes. For two newlyweds, this was a lot of stuff to manage.
So what did we do? We bought a bigger container for our stuff, in the form of a 4,000 square foot house in the suburbs. What started out as curiousity about what was on the market turning into me finding our dream house. We moved in on Halloween 2007, a mere 3 months after getting married. Our stuff began to expand again… we left all the furniture at the Seattle condo (we were renting it out) and took on a bunch of furniture from my parent’s house that they had been saving for us, as well as piano, 8 person dining room table, and new couches, bar stools, etc. AHHH! We were in stuff acquisition mode, shopping every weekend for stuff to make our not-so-little nest feel like a home.
And then the economy tanked.
I wish I could say that we’d been frugal with our acquisitions, but with Kevin’s job at Microsoft and my investments flying high we weren’t too concerned. I was working for a startup, making a startup income, but we were still a two income household without anyone depending on us. My walk in closet was stocked with fabulous outfits, I wore labels, and we threw dinner parties almost every week. While the market crashed we were in Las Vegas, treating my little sister to a memorable 21st birthday. Looking back, that was probably one of the best ways we spent money that year.
Traveling Sets Me Free of My Stuff
On Friday, I flew from SFO to Seattle with my most important “stuff”: my black Kate Spade purse, MacBook pro, iPhone, engagement ring and necklace my husband gave me for Valentine’s Day this year, my passport and some cash. I could have flown anywhere in the world and started my life from that moment in time with the items in that bag. That’s a pretty empowering thought, and lead me to think that the lack of “stuff” might be part of why people find travel so liberating – it certainly is for me.
What I’ve Learned: Buy Experiences, Not Things
Enabling great experiences and memories, shared with people I enjoy, is the most important leisure activity in my life. My rule of thumb now is that my “stuff” needs to enhance or enable experiences in some way, or it isn’t valid. Additionally, the more expensive the item (both in terms of money and amount of trouble I go to keeping it) it better generate lasting and repeat value.
Another important thing I’ve learned is that owning expensive things is great, but only if you use them. Each time you use them, its a part of the experience of owning something. If you know me, you know that I have a thing for expensive leather purses and shoes, and that’s because when I use/wear them the luxury and stylishness of the items creates an experience for me personally. I love that. It’s the same for things like owning silver and china, or crystal. Use it or give it to someone who will.
10 Things I Need to Travel the World
- Internet (Sprint mifi)
- iPhone & charger (Apple)
- MacBook pro & charger (Apple)
- jeans & a t-shirt
- expensive & indestructible purse (Kate Spade)
- expensive & durable/comfortable shoes (Tory Burch)
- all-in-one makeup kit (Lancome, buy it at the airport)
- passport
- cash (or access to cash via ATM card)
- my wonderful husband Kevin
We Launched – Check out Twilio SMS
I love when I can finally talk about something secret that I’ve been working on. Yesterday we launched Twilio SMS, a new API that makes it ridiculously simple (or as someone on Twitter said, “stupidly simple”) to send/receive text messages from Twilio numbers.
Here is the screencast we made to go with it – which I am very proud of 
Tweets for the Past Week
- just worked the first few productive morning hours (personal favorite) now off to Bacar with Kat for brunch #
- @shuba_s Ustream audio should be all better now, let us know if you are still having problems #willitlaunch in reply to shuba_s #
- Ustream audio is working now, check out the live stream of Women 2.0 #willitlaunch event: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/women-2-0 #
- Having some technical difficulties on the @women2 livestream – #willitlaunch (will it broadcast?) #
- @SylviaRolle there have been rumors of expanding Women 2.0 to Seattle – email me Danielle@women2.org in reply to SylviaRolle #
- "early hires with the wrong philosophy can damage your company for years to come, even after they leave" says @dweekly at #willitlaunch #
- "understand who you are hiring… Make sure you are goin to have work for them before you spend the money" says @Poornima #willitlaunch #
- Watching @dweekly and @Poornima speak at the Women 2.0 "Will It Launch" event. Livestream: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/women-2-0 #women20 #
- missing the Mashable party – editing a video instead… but this is my favorite thing to do in the whole world so that's fine #
- @ColinAC it was great to see you too, it's been awhile! – see you tonight I'll hook you up with the Twilio shirt you liked too in reply to ColinAC #
- @kevinmarks who needs an excuse?! (actually my 10' x 12' of a room couldn't hold another thing) in reply to kevinmarks #
- best thing about my new 13" MacBook pro? it fits easily into my favorite purse of all time, black Kate Spade bucket drawstring satchel #
- @jcroft that's a relief, i should have read more carefully. matters b/c that is one business model for Foursquare (of many) in reply to jcroft #
- what does Apple's ban on LBS advertising in iPhone Apps mean for Foursquare, Gowalla, Whrrl, Loopt etc? http://bit.ly/bTe6Bb #
- @dougknowles76 got it working now, thanks so much for your help! in reply to dougknowles76 #
- @dougknowles76 thanks – that link took me to the general page… searching around for the update. thanks again! in reply to dougknowles76 #
- @redheron wow Hulu Desktop rocks, thanks in reply to redheron #
- @secretsushi not first, but first time i've really looked for good tools. Suggestions for contact management? in reply to secretsushi #
- @kevinmarks awesome snagged both of those in reply to kevinmarks #
- just got my new Mac for work and I'm installing all the apps I love – any suggestions for new desktop apps I should check out? #
- @dacort haha not sure how useful that would be, for $250 you'd think maybe Twitter integration would be thrown in in reply to dacort #
- wow can't I just get a business card scanner that WORKS – bought CardScan for Mac today, serial number and scanner serial both in use? #
- @getvocal hmmm it seems like services like Google App Engine make scaling your web server trivially easy, I know Twilio customers love that in reply to getvocal #
- Heading out for greasy burgers with @markcondon @mistermorrill and @minddog #Twilio at Lucky Penny #
- Definitely more chic than geek tonight, I represented us geeky gals and shot some video of @davemcclure dancing #chicmeetsgeek #
- new MacBook Pro 13" with 4GB of RAM – can't wait to unbox tonight #
- @janeforshort you rock, thanks! in reply to janeforshort #
- watch as @davemcclure gets the entire audience to yell F*CK and KILL at #twiistup http://bit.ly/9lYTDS #
- reminder that expensive production isn't the essence of an ad, its the story http://bit.ly/9ocqOS #
- watching Something's Gotta Give at home, gotta love the classics and they're great to work to when you've watched them 50+ times before #
- what is the best salon in San Francisco – I need to get mine cut before this weekend #
- @jsoncorwin how about the fact that I'm not checked in at Mighty and those dorks are? LOL! in reply to jsoncorwin #
- @minddog @MarkCondon cheaters! #
- San Francisco decided to have summer today – wow! #
- @ChrisPirillo as in, a waste? in reply to ChrisPirillo #
- OH: Canadia is cheap…. oh Canadia #
- @ChrisSaad what time does it start? in reply to ChrisSaad #
- @ChrisSaad don't think I'm going to make it out to the Lost get together as planned, hope you guys have fun! #
- have I mentioned that the Dropbox home page before signing in is a thing of beauty. Just press play. I love it. #
- haha in case you didn't know it was Tuesday, they just tested the emergency alert system – that is still the creepiest thing #
- learning gmail keyboard shortcuts #
- RT @jeffiel: RT @twilio: Amazon CTO Werner Vogels on Amazon’s Web Services, Startups & Innovation http://bit.ly/cbSPFV Werner loves Twilio! #
- Ustream raised $75M congrats to Brad Hunstable and thank you for supporting us at @seattle20 cc: @bmw @calbucci http://bit.ly/dnB5Bi #
- "Crush It" is a new version of "Do What You Love and the Money Will Follow". My Dad has all the best business books #thanksDad #
- @niallsmart i'm thinking through how we fail and what it means to "fail fast" – I agree it is better to start-up IF you get more data in reply to niallsmart #
- @brett @ChrisSaad any details on Lost get together tmrw night? #
- @sechrest SF in reply to sechrest #
- @arianna blog post coming soon in reply to arianna #
- It's better to fail conceptually than actually #leanstartup #
- Having a great talk with @mistermorrill about what people mean when they say "fail faster" #leanstartup #
- Know of good Drupal designer for @mistermorrill? Something like the Foodspotting website in terms of look and feel #
- @blakespierson great meeting you too, I'm working on getting the video online and will let you know once it is live #twiistup in reply to blakespierson #
- Constraint Marketing: Just Do… Something (Small) http://www.constraintmarketing.com/2010/02/02/just-do-something-small/ #
- @kylemroche haha thanks, it was a lot of fun in reply to kylemroche #
- @themaria it was a blast, see you soon! Good luck in your panel in reply to themaria #
- cooking and cleaning with @MisterMorrill and Kat, I think our house is pretty much returned to normal from all the traveling and parties #
- @kristiewells @chrisheuer nice seeing you guys briefly last night – hope things are going well on the Social Media Week planning, see u soon #
- first real weekend in awhile – blasting Serenity to the whole neighborhood w/ @tinahui @gregarious @themaria @ChrisSaad @brett and others #
- RT @davemcclure observation: the 00's were all about Internet advertising, but the 10's are gonna be all about *Money*, G. #OneMillionBox #
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Tweets for the Past Week
- @ChrisSaad awesome meeting you through @gregarious #
- @TinaHui great seeing you throughtout the gregarious bday celebrations, let's hang out sometime #
- @egoistpaul oh it was just gibberish from the Korean keyboard on my iPhone – didn't mean anything in reply to egoistpaul #
- You know you've created a successful product when… People shout it's name as hey take shots of Soju cc: @twitter (video coming soon) #
- RT @thekenyeung: Wow…@gregarious's party is going off. Just don't say the "T" word or you take a shot. #
- ㅎ쇼ㅓㅗ야ㅑㅗㄴ ㅠ오아ㅐ유아 ㅜ ㅡㅡ ㄴㄴㅁ
Epic food cc: @gregarious @themaria http://twitpic.com/10mwlw # - heading out with @MisterMorrill to a birthday celebration for @gregarious should be good times #
- Writing first 10 posts for ConstraintMarketing.com – the juices are flowing, I'll be at a hundred pages in no time! #
- watching/listening to my roommate playing Katamari Damasi – the quintessential Japanese video game #
- @StartupDigest soon as Virgin America turns on the wifi i will in reply to StartupDigest #
- @StartupDigest nice recap, you touched on most of the highlights. I got video of the geodelic preso and @davemcclure dancing… in reply to StartupDigest #
- Captain of our Virgin America flight came out to meet us and answer questions, how cool is that? http://twitpic.com/10cs6q #
- any San Francisco photographers out there interested in making some quick cash tonight? Please ping me #
- quick breakfast, errands, and then I'm on a plane back to San Francisco to put the final touches on tonight's party at Twilio HQ #
- @euwyn yep email Danielle@Twilio.cim for details in reply to euwyn #
- back at my hotel after spending 14 hours straight at #twiistup, brewing a pot of coffee and getting down to business until I pass out #
- @fritcher I agree, that was definitely the trend #twiistup in reply to fritcher #
- Doing pretty well in casino royal – $4250 #twiistup where is the POKER game??? #
- We are all playing courtesy of the Twiistup ATM #twiistupATM http://twitpic.com/109h6x #
- @mollierosev so awesome to meet someone else who does what I do! Let's stay in touch #
- @clintschaff well said in reply to clintschaff #
- Peter Gruber is talking about how powerful video is, and asks whether technology is moving us closer to telepresence #twiistup #
- "its converting attention to intention, that's the call to action… what's the intention of the attention?" Peter Gruber #twiistup #
- @MosheYudkowsky people aren't sitting right next to each other, so can't read each others' screens in reply to MosheYudkowsky #
- @thekenyeung hey are you here? #roffles #twiistup in reply to thekenyeung #
- @LeTwistedMentat haha "assymetrical" – no pun intended? in reply to LeTwistedMentat #
- just want to say the blogger setup has been awesome at Twiistup – power, internet, round tables near the front = happy Danielle #twiistup #
- @LeTwistedMentat haha what's a "Web 2.0 Twink"? and why does it piss you off? #twiistup in reply to LeTwistedMentat #
- @LeTwistedMentat i think you are missing the point, it isn't about being hot, it's about communicating ideas #twiistup in reply to LeTwistedMentat #
- last talk of the day is with @briansolis and Peter Gruber talking about the importance of storytelling #twiistup #
- @LeTwistedMentat nope, you're wrong #twiistup in reply to LeTwistedMentat #
- @danmartell hey can i join up with you for dinner? #
- love that Y-combinator is now asking people to submit video, agree it is a great way to tell more about a person #twiistup #
- the @geodelic preso was funny and clever, but these popularity contests completely divorced from product viability #twiistup #
- "boy we would pay if a company would just do _________" THAT is a product idea says Paul Graham #twiistup #
- Paul Graham of Y-Combinator says they are up to 172 startups they have invested in #twiistup #
- @CathyBrooks well, that's a bummer – you would think men might be able to learn from this, especially when it comes to how to support us in reply to CathyBrooks #
- @ericries @CathyBrooks oh I honestly didn't notice when they left, I'm just wondering how we really *know* gender has anything to do with it in reply to ericries #
- RT @getmingly: Be sure to vote for Mingly at Twiistup send a text to 99503 with the message "37115" #
- @Mickipedia i agree, this was the good side of the room for sure #twiistup in reply to Mickipedia #
- @CathyBrooks is it possible that the session was just boring, and that it had nothing to do with gender? #twiistup #justsayin #
- make something people want to FUCK or KILL says @davemcclure #twiistup – I got that on video, w00t! #
- posted on @seattle20 – Lean Startup: Two Slides Decks Every Entrepreneur Should See http://bit.ly/aOw4aW #leanstartup #twiistup #
- @hiremesf @blakespierson the revolution will be… video-ized… on my flipcam #twiistup #
- HA! still noticing new things about @davemcclure slides, including some very inappropriate unicorns #twiistup #
- @chrismacho I want to hear about @wefridge but I'm not bored, hope to find you later #twiistup #
- @davemcclure this better be good #
- RT @ getmingly: Take the "work" out of networking! Signup for your Mingly alpha invite at http://bit.ly/aUHrvI #twiistup #
- I could not do what these women do – having kids and doing what I do would be a super-human feat. Like doing 2 startups at once #twiistup #
- @QueenofSpain hey you're here – I'd love to meet you — I'm a friend of @heathermeeker used to watch your Ustream fun #twiistup in reply to QueenofSpain #
- @danolsen haha too funny! hope the interview went well in reply to danolsen #
- time to talk about challenges facing female entrepreneurs – Lisa Stone and Bambi Francisco moderated by @CathyBrooks #twiistup #
- "most features added to most products don't make a difference to customers" #leanstartup #twiistup – SO TRUE! #
- @RippolEffect cool, I will come find you at the next break – I am the redhead wearing a mens suit jacket… if that helps in reply to RippolEffect #
- "let's get started on the process of being embarrassed as soon as possible" – @ericries #leanstartup #twiistup #
- @ericries hearing you say that you've made some of these mistakes is kind of therapeutic for me, thanks #
- are you a startup or a cult? Founders – use your reality distortion field wisely #leanstartup #twiistup #
- OMG this is exactly what my last startup did! #leanstartup #notsolean #twiistup #
- haha @ericries talking about being in "stealth mode" and "IQ theory of entrepreneurship" reminds me of something…. #twiistup #leanstartup #
- entrepreneurship is a form of management, though we usually think of traditional mgmt when we think of a "manager" #leanstartup #twiistup #
- "I am the bearer of bad news… most of you are going to fail" #leanstartup #twiistup -why does every talk to entrepreneurs start with this? #
- ready to learn about lean startup from @ericries here at #twiistup #
- watching @danolsen demo YourVersion – some seriously useful stuff #Twiistup – installing their Firefox plugin now #
- This is odd – the "h" key is not working in Google mail but working everywhere else… anyone else have this problem? #
- @senigri hey great to meet you (totally randomly) on the airport shuttle #
- @Rippol wow this is cool, like the advertising model idea — do you guys have time to chat while we're at #Twiistup ? #
- what do you want to bet the livestream is killing the wifi for the rest of us? #twiistup #
- Ming.ly, a Twilio customer, is on stage now at #Twiistup – they're helping you build meaningful relationships online cc: @getmingly #
- @jf it WAS awesome! in reply to jf #
- wow just got this crazy pitch on video #twiistup #
- the presenter from Geodelic just got on stage with some kind of musical instrument, this could be good… or bad… #twiistup #
- 405 was surprisingly light (just like Seattle "light") and made it in time to hear @om and Richard Rosenblatt on future of content #twiistup #
- Awake and heading to Twiistup in just a few #
- @heathermeeker thanks for the intros that was really generous, feels like things are off to a good start #
- settled into hotel, breakfast ordered, internet set up, now I can sleep… or… work – thanks for the fun night #twiistup #
- RT @jebbrilliant: RT @sloanb: Apple lifts VoIP over cellular restrictions in new iPhone SDK http://bit.ly/alj2k2 Wow about time #
- @MikeMacLeod congrats! in reply to MikeMacLeod #
- @jolieodell looking fwd to chatting w/ you at Twiistup, hope your hair is as fantastic as it was at rww realtime summit #
- Just had a quick airport dinner and drink, now for my miracle makeover in the bathroom from frump to fab #twiistup #
- @ggdm haha I was just scanned by that thing a few minutes ago but didn't think to ask that in reply to ggdm #
- @michael_ong wonder what conditions those were? I am at SFO right now and it is clear, and not raining in reply to michael_ong #
- @DracoNoir me too in reply to DracoNoir #
- @heathermeeker I will! Getting in at the W around 10, will you be there? in reply to heathermeeker #
- @danmartell rock on! I'll be at the W by 10 #twiistup in reply to danmartell #
- @heathermeeker looking forward to seeing you at Twiistup – are you going to be at the W tonight? #
- heading out to the airport shortly to catch my flight to LA for Twiistup – anyone else on the 8ish Virgin America flight out of SFO? #
- @miscsecurity did a 1/2 barrel of Mirror Pond and 1/2 barrel of Red Hook ESB in reply to miscsecurity #
- @adamloving internet radio station based on your friends participating in Music Monday (and if it already exists I want to know) #chirp #
- woo looking forward to watching Caprica on SyFy channel #
- @awoods good point in reply to awoods #
- Heading to BevMo to buy a keg for a party but I'm not a beer drinker. Suggestions for something a lot of people would enjoy? #
- desperately trying to get room clean and laundry done before @MisterMorrill gets here Friday and discovers I still need a Mom #
- RT @alanweinkrantz: Me thinks the #ElevatorPitch is stupid. Instead of pitching your company, start thinking yourself as a story teller #
- Riding in a car that has Microsoft Sync – and it works!!! So jealous of @markcondon cc: @minddog #
- i guess I'm not going to #gitcc – oh well, I would love to see all you ladies but duty calls – she you at She's Geeky instead #
- headed over to the #GITcc cocktail party at Roe #
- @robertmclaws I absolutely agree and have done that before, but you do spend more time battling and less time building in reply to robertmclaws #
- RT @leonorams Working for a startup allows you to control your own destiny..You don't have to let other people define your own worth #gitcc #
- @zwitscherrob hard to predict the future, but from my experience burnout comes and goes – ride now I'm riding high on excitement in reply to zwitscherrob #
- @cgbeaman you're welcome – I had a lot of fun being a part of the event and trying out both the "shock jock" and "bait and switch" tactics in reply to cgbeaman #
- @adamloving @mulka seriously we can do the hackathon, I've already got my mashup idea (want to hear?) @DustyReagan @dacort @aviel #chirp #
- late to bed and early to rise, makes a startup healthy, wealthy, and wise (heh) #
- @gregavola thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it – that is high praise indeed #wcbos in reply to gregavola #
- @davemcclure good talk, I had looked at the slides but learn best listening to someone tell stories. channels spreadsheet is helpful in reply to davemcclure #
- RT @WordCampBoston: Ignite WordCamp videos, care of @DanielleMorrill, now embeded at http://wordcampboston.com/program/ignite/ #wcbos #iwc #
- Office shenanigans cc: @thuddwhirr @markcondon @minddog http://twitpic.com/zrkaq #
- @mulka yay I'm registered for Chirp too! see you there in reply to mulka #
- @janeforshort its a full day of content for starting/running a business, here's the agenda: http://bit.ly/7XiJI1 – would be great to see you in reply to janeforshort #
- who's going to the Girls in Tech Catalyst Conf tmrw? #
- @ElishaNYC thank you #WCBos #Wordpress #FlipVid in reply to ElishaNYC #
- @JeremyKrantz problem exists between keyboard and chair in reply to JeremyKrantz #
- @JeremyKrantz its up now! http://bit.ly/5qCrLI enjoy in reply to JeremyKrantz #
- @williamsba hey here is the video of your Ignite talk http://bit.ly/8vMH2l #wcbos #
- OH: Safari is the new IE #
- @JeremyKrantz just got on the ground in SF, uploading to slideshare now in reply to JeremyKrantz #
- @tombiro ah yes, that's true — it get it now in reply to tombiro #
- Jane Wells @janeforshort introduces the Wordpress Foundation at Wordcamp Boston VIDEO: http://bit.ly/7fPTEh #wcbos #
- @tombiro not sure i follow you, just flew back to SF from Boston… in reply to tombiro #
- @minddog omw in reply to minddog #
- Wow first time coming home to the Bay Area really feels like *home* maybe because it's raining? #
- @garyvee read your book on flight and saw mention of web QVC idea – happily surprised as I've suggested same to friends #onestartupatatime #
- @minddog I'm on my way, need food? #
- Going to read Crush It by @garyvee on my flight looks thin enough to finish easily – thanks to @wordcampboston for the freebie #
- @JeremyKrantz yeah I haven't been able to get the upload to work on the airport wifi – I'll try one more time in reply to JeremyKrantz #
- @williamsba hey I'm almost done uploading the video of your Ignite talk – i'll send you the link when it is done #wcbos in reply to williamsba #
- @MediaDisconnect that was me, how can I help? #wcbos in reply to MediaDisconnect #
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Launching a New Blog: ConstraintMarketing.com
While I love my DanielleMorrill.com blog, it is pretty much a smattering of random things I am thinking about and pieces of my personal life. And don’t worry, I won’t stop writing here, but I am looking forward to creating a more structured home for all my ideas about how marketing can be done effectively at startups.
Lately, I’ve been following along more closely with Eric Ries, Steve Blank and others who are talking about Lean Startup. I think it is really cool that “lean” has finally made it down from the ivory tower of Six Sigma to the nerf gun wielding floppy haired startup kids. And with the state of the economy, it couldn’t come at a better time.
How I Came To Love Lean
When I was 15, I started working for my Dad’s newly formed financial consulting company (he’s blogging now, woo!). After two failed startups that had attempted to marry technology and the finance/healthcare benefits industry he was ready to strike out on his own, and I served as his tech-support/office-manager/generalist. It was my sophomore year of high school, and the first year I really got to know my road-warrior of a father. As consult, the business was basically a one-man-show so I began to set up processes that would help things like reporting to scale as we took on more customers. The first business book I ever took down from his shelf was The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt and Jeff Cox, and it was the seminal work that brought the concept of lean manufacturing to the average businessman when it was published in 1984.
I was fascinated by the “Theory of Constraints” – the idea that you have to run your business in a way that is appropriate to your constraints. You have a broken machine, materials shortage, broken supply chain, damaged orders? Figure out how to restructure your processes to serve your end goals and take the reality of your situation into consideration.
Why “Constraint Marketing” for Startups?
Marketing in the technology world is more than just brand awareness, it’s a core distribution channel for consumer and enterprise products that are sold on the internet. The new product supply chain isn’t interested in planes, trains, trucks, and boats. Instead it is interested in channels like display advertising, social media, webinars, and ultimately a call-to-action that leads to conversion.
So what if we applied the rules of lean manufacturing and supply chain to startup marketing? What would happen, what can we learn, and would be more effective marketers? I can’t begin to tell you how many times I’ve heard marketers derided for not being cost conscious enough, or efficient enough – and in that way I think I have a lot in common with a plant manager at a factory.
I think my experiences working in logistics (Expeditors International) as well as on-site for highly productive lean manufacturing factory concerns such as a Genie Industries and distributors like Zumiez were some of the most fascinating and formative experiences of my life. In the same way I am marrying the old and the new in telecommunications with Twilio, let me marry the old and new wisdom of product distribution for online products. We’ll see where this goes… I’m looking forward to feedback.
Stay tuned, http://www.constraintmarketing.com will be live soon