the entrepreneur http://chrishaueter.com experiments in creating value Tue, 31 Jan 2012 07:09:32 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 How Emily Maynard Would Get People To Read Your Blog http://chrishaueter.com/how-emily-maynard-would-get-people-to-read-your-blog/ http://chrishaueter.com/how-emily-maynard-would-get-people-to-read-your-blog/#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 07:07:40 +0000 chris http://chrishaueter.com/?p=305
  • Have Facebook friends.
  • Pick one of the hottest google search trends from here: Google Hot Trends
  • Mention one of the trends in a Facebook profile post linking back to your blog, e.g. ”How Emily Maynard Would Get People To Read Your Blog (http://chrishaueter.com)”. Ideally, the linked page somehow mentions Emily Maynard.
  • Watch the real-time data on your Google Analytics account to see the views roll in.
  • Realize that untargeted views have zero economic value.
  • Go to bed.
    • ]]>     http://chrishaueter.com/how-emily-maynard-would-get-people-to-read-your-blog/feed/ 0     An Ideal Day http://chrishaueter.com/an-ideal-day/ http://chrishaueter.com/an-ideal-day/#comments Thu, 01 Dec 2011 15:24:51 +0000 chris http://chrishaueter.com/?p=284 Here’s news: after consulting with people whose opinions I respect, I’ve 90% decided to take a year off from Columbia after the fall semester.

    Why am I doing this? It’s for my health.

    Results of taking a year off:

    • I’ll spend January 2012 – January 2013 outside of NYC (I’m considering Chantilly, VA and Austin, TX)
    • I’ll come back for the spring 2013 semester to complete my degree
    • I’ll have the freedom to structure my life according to my own desires
    • I’ll be a working entrepreneur for the next year
    I was so excited at the prospect of loving my life again that I made a mind map (right-click and open the image in a new tab to see the full-size version).
    Mind map of an ideal day for Chris Haueter

    I’d love to hear feedback on my ideal day. Did you notice any glaring omissions?

    ]]>     http://chrishaueter.com/an-ideal-day/feed/ 2     Premature Optimization is the Root of All Evil http://chrishaueter.com/premature-optimization-is-the-root-of-all-evil/ http://chrishaueter.com/premature-optimization-is-the-root-of-all-evil/#comments Sun, 23 May 2010 18:27:56 +0000 chris http://chrishaueter.com/?p=218 A few weeks ago I applied for a grant from the Columbia Undergraduate Scholars Program to cover my living expenses as I execute a “practicum in applied entrepreneurship” over the course of the summer. Thankfully, my grant application was accepted.

    When I wrote the grant application, the plan was to work on Celeb.ly, a service that would provide fans the opportunity to participate in live video chats with their favorite celebrities. After receiving the grant, however, this service began to look less and less appealing to me, mainly because I have very little personal interest in chatting with celebrities. Even though it could be a successful company after many hours of hard work, I lack the passion necessary to put in the necessary labor and devotion.

    On Monday, I met with professor Yechiam Yemini (a.k.a YY), a successful entrepreneur at Columbia who has agreed to mentor me this summer as I found the startup. We discussed, among other things, fruitful methods of generating startup ideas. In response to my question of whether I should seek unmet needs in businesses, he advised that I should instead look for potential new uses of recent technology research.

    Since that meeting on Monday, despite numerous opportunities to look for commercializable academic technology research, I have hardly done any such searching. Why? In short, it is too broad of a task. The breadth of the task makes the task seem insurmountable, a procrastination-inducing prospect.

    I have learned a few things about myself over the years, and one of them is that I can allow myself to become paralyzed if I wait for the “perfect” opportunity before starting a job, internship, or other personal endeavor.

    We should forget about small efficiencies, say about 97% of the time: premature optimization is the root of all evil.

    Donald Knuth

    This quote is usually used in the context of constructing computer software, but it also applies in the context of my summer’s activities. Rather than sitting around researching technologies that could be commercialized, I have decided to go with an idea I have considered extensively earlier: buying and selling websites. Although this is less “startup-ey” than other options, I will have the opportunity to create a system that removes me from the most labor-intensive parts of the process, thereby generating value by orchestrating the efforts of others.

    I’ll post again with more details on buying and selling websites. Please share your comments below.

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