So as part of my sharing on what i learnt from startup training is to simplify things. Many times in our life, we tend to think a lot of what we want to do, analyze the situation, what others will think and so on. This makes everything complicated. More importantly it makes us second guess ourselves. 

Even when it comes to our ideas, what we want to do, what do we want to achieve, we usually will think all sort of things and add more and more layers in order to cover what we think or what some other people think will be the shortfalls of the system. 

This complicates things. 
Keep it simple. 
Strip it down to the core

Well, I like Johnny Depp. I think he is a great actor, the roles he plays, the way he portrays characters... I just think he is great.

Anyway, my point today is to relax at work and don't be too serious. Try to relax and enjoy yourself at work. :)

I know of a few people who think that I try to be funny while at work... and yes, I do try to be funny. In my experiences, being serious causes everyone else to be serious, making people stressed out and makes others question their actions.

As we should know, our moods are contagious. Whatever mood you are in will affect those around you and so when you are trying to save the world from imminent doom, its time to be serious and focus on that. But when you are not, try to cheer up and relax. What you feel will make your colleagues feel the same way too! 

I remember studying in sociology class years ago, the dominant person (usually me) will influence the people around them. And others will absorb the energy and mood that is emanating from that person. We all will influence and be influenced by those around us and thus cause a change to the social dynamics.  

So, when the world is not ending and no imminent doom in sight, try to relax and get others around you to relax as well. It makes everyone work better as we will not be scared of making a mistake. We will not be wasting time re-reading an email 10x just to be careful. We will not be checking everything over and over again just to be safe.

Just smile, say Hi, make a joke or something. Lighten the mood and I noticed that work gets done faster that way. :)

I just want to share with you guys today on Prezi.com. I have looked at it and tried to learn how to make one but am not really good at it. 

I am a tech guy, though I specialize in hardware and systems. I do notice something common these days which is the newer people who join into the work force lack basic technical skills.I am not talking about skills in specific hardware or software or even programming, but basic skills such as setting up your computer, getting it connected, trouble shooting connections are pretty bad.

Somehow or rather, both sides don't seem to like each other.

MNC's will say startup guys are

1. Hard to control
2. Lack discipline
3. Un-manageable
4. Crazy
5. Slackers

Startup guys also say MNC people are

1. Rigid
2. Looks only at processes
   
3. Numbers driven
4. Looking to corrupt the world
5. Slow to adapt

Maybe I am exaggerating but that is the feeling I get when I was going through the FI course. It was not just local guys but those who were sharing with us from the US as well!

But I really feel that MNC's will benefit from having people with startup training in the organization! Maybe not in all roles but for project based roles or product based roles they will be great!

So why do I say that?

1. Startup guys will slog to get things done. What is sleep when there is passion!
2. Startup guys are resourceful. If they can't do it, they know where to look!
3. Startup guys know how to get things done cheaply. They don;t have huge budgets!
4. Startup guys can do multiple roles. They have to plan, design, program, pitch, financials and clean the room!
5. Startup guys can think out of the box. There is no point to do something which someone else is doing!
6. Startup guys can quickly look for solutions. No point in crying over spillt milk!
7. Startup guys can pitch in 5 minutes. Save time, do more!

I'll talk about why corporate guys are good for startups later on... but these are my thoughts for today. Do let me know if I forgot something!

It's not about the money. Money has clouded our judgement, our motives and our actions. But what do we want is to have a purpose!

As I ponder to share what I learnt from startup training, I realize I see many similarities in it while working in the many companies I did previously. Today I am going to talk about the fundamental thing of any company. Get shit done!

When working in a company, the difference between a good employee and a bad employee is not how much they do, but how they communicate what they did. In startup life, it doesn't matter how well you can tell what you did, but what did you do. Did you get shit done?

A lot of time is wasted in meetings and meetings and even more meetings to tell others what did you do. Sharing of reports, analytic studies, decision making, making sure everyone is happy and heard. It's important but many times, those who make decisions are not those who need the meetings, but those around you are the ones who do. Much time is wasted validating each others decisions to ensure no mistakes are made.

But then, it is good as you will always know what is happening... right? We all don't have time to read emails because we are all caught up in meetings are more meetings. It does helps us come to a decision when we are not sure but so does a phone call.

Anyway, I would like to share with everyone is to focus on getting your work done first. Reduce your meetings and always have a PAL with you during your meetings. If you don't have a PAL, your meetings are useless. Ensure you know what you are spending your time other than getting shit done.

After the FI graduation, while we were having some drinks, I started to think "Will startup courses like FI be relevant to MNC companies?"

Problem is that MNC's don't liek startup guys and well, startup's don't like MNC guys as well. There were so many mentors who said don't hire people from MNC backgrounds but realistically in today's economy, if you don't have a steady income or savings, how are you going to get a company up and running in Malaysia?

So I started thinking, what did I learn in FI and would it be useful if I was still working in an MNC? How will it help? Will it be beneficial at all or would it make me quit my job?

After the FI graduation, a group of us were having a chat on getting stuff done. I have met so many people who have great ideas but most of them are too scared of getting it off the ground and just following through with it.

I do agree that we all must be able to sustain ourselves but I always feel that we burden ourselves with items that the media and marketing companies have ingrained into us... the sports car, the expensive clothes, the watch, the life style. Take that all away and you can do a lot of things!

Anyway, today I want to talk about the tools available to get a MVP, Minimal Viable Product.

So before you begin, you need an idea, then get a domain name for it.

After you have your domain and your free email, you need to start conceptualizing your product, here there are many tools available to you. Some are free but some have nominal prices.

1. Balsamiq.com
   
2. FluidUI.com
3. Weebly.com
4. Squarespace.com
5. Wordpress.com
6. Numerous shopping carts (shopify, Magento, ECWID etc)
7. Google Webmaster and Analytic tools
8. Bizspark.com
9. aytm.com
10. prezi.com
11. piktochart.com

Well, I have been involved in the Founder Institute 2013 Kuala Lumpur chapter and I am glad to say that I have finally graduated! Out of the 31 people who joined, 9 of us made it to the end!


At times I was unsure whether we would make it and if the idea had enough legs to float but I feel that the final idea we have come up with will work and all I need to do now is to build the core team up and it will be able to continue on.


Do keep an eye out as I write about the journey here. I think its much better for me to write it all here instead of the company blog as it is much easier for me to compile everything together!