I just got back from a five mile run along San Diego’s waterfront. The sun was out, the skies clear, and The Chemical Brothers blasted at perfect volume through my iPod. Yet, for whatever reason, I struggled. Every step was difficult, and every mile challenging. A few times, I felt like stopping and taking a […]
This morning, I stepped on the scale only to see that I’ve quickly added 10 pounds over the past few months. I can immediately tell because my clothes are a little more snug and my lower back starts to ache. Not acceptable. The Goal In six weeks, August 31, I want to drop from 198 […]
My buddy, Nadav Wilf, just got back from an incredible trip to Neckar Island with Richard Branson. I was offered to go, but there wasn't a guarantee that Mr. B was going to be there, so I took a pass. (I have another blog post brewing about my own issue of saying 'no' to too […]
In our latest Mastermind meeting, rockstar motivator John Assaraf stated that he was dedicated to spending more of his time on things that he loves vs. things that are tolerable or downright a drag. I made a visual representation that I think is applicable to everyone's life. Spend more time doing things you love. This […]
This picture says it all!
Just got back from Greece, where we visited Santorini and Mykonos. I'll post a few pics later, but in the interim, here is a PDF of some "must do" things in Mykonos taken from a Mykonos local paper entitled 'Sand' that I found while there. Enjoy! Download Must do things in Mykonos
I’d like to give a Happy Birthday shout out to the most respectable, honest, and decent man I know. My grandfather turns 88 years young today. He still goes hunting once a week, raises a garden, mows the lawn, and washes dishes for Grandma. He always has a kind word to say. You are a […]
Doubt is one of those feeling that can be debilitating or serve a purpose when used correctly. Here’s an article on the subject I wrote for Fast Company. ** This article written by me was originally published in Fast Company magazine in April 2014 ** Doubt–at one point or another, every entrepreneur has experienced the […]
Ahhh, San Diego. I’ve been a resident for over 15 years now and, hands down, the place rocks – both on the quality-of-life spectrum and the boundless opportunity. Recently, Inc. magazined ranked San Diego as top city for innovation. The city ranked #1 for patents in telecommunications and patents in golf (yes, we work hard […]
I caught this picture this evening as the sun cut through the clouds over the San Diego bay. The contrast between the overhanging clouds and the light was powerful for me. It reminded me that, in life, we have a choice of what to focus on. We can choose to focus on the dark […]
I closed my eyes like she asked me to, and held out my hands. She came over, kissed my cheek, and placed something at my fingertips. I felt thick, velvety paper, rolled up like a scroll. I opened my eyes to see a hand-made valentines card, complete with a ribbon and adorned with heart-felt thoughts […]
Each week at TakeLessons.com, I ask my employees a question. This activity gives us time together as a group and helps us all get to know each other better. We always ask questions that are structured around developing community within the company. Last week, I asked “What’s the best advice you’ve ever heard?” Here were some […]
I was talking to a friend last night who was introducing me to a friend of his. Here’s how he described him: “Mike is an incredible human being. I want to be around him because he tries to add value to every interaction and to every person he can. I always feel better when I […]
When the fear of “things staying the same” exceeds the fear of “failure,” that’s when the magical stuff happens.
This month is an incredibly busy month for the team at TakeLessons. You can feel the added focus and pressure to get out a major software release on time. Here’s a note I sent to my peeps today. I thought it might encourage you to raise your game as well… Can you feel it? This […]
A friend of mine asked me to watch a presentation that he needed to give to 50-60 people on a business topic and give him some feedback. While he did good, I had a couple nuggets I’ve learned along the way that I was able to share with him. Here’s the write up of my […]
UCSD students – come hear a few stories and get some advice on building your own company. Hosted by Brant Cooper. Yours truly will also be participating. The mission of the UC San Diego Entrepreneur Challenge is to foster community involvement and technological innovation by bringing multi-disciplinary teams of engineers, scientists, and business-minded students together with […]
Marc Bailey: Earlier this month, Forbes magazine ranked San Diego #1 as the best place in the nation to start a small business this year. The publication surveyed 50 big cities and surveyed small businesses. Among the criteria used, those in high growth areas, those with Facebook pages, those with websites, and those that accepted […]
If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the past couple years, it’s how critical it is to get the right team in place. The right team is more costly, takes longer to attract, but it pays for itself in spades by a quicker velocity and overall growth. As we shift into a faster growth mode […]
I’m happy to announce TakeLessons.com latest round of venture funding today. This round increases the total amount raised to $20mm and will allow us to accelerate our expansion into more categories outside of music, including tutoring, performing arts, and languages. We’ve even started to see new matches in categories such as welding, crocheting, robotics, and […]
Thinking of starting a tech or internet company here in San Diego? When you start a company, there are a TON of things to consider: How will you raise capital? Who will form your team? How will you develop your product to fit market needs? What will your user interface look like? This list goes […]
In February 2014 Christy Wang, a student at MIT Sloan School of Management, interviewed Steven Cox, CEO and Founder of TakeLessons.com for her Entrepreneurship class. Here is the transcript of the interview. See Entrepreneur Startup Questons: Part 1 4. What makes a good startup business partner? Where can you find them? There’s a line that […]
This data was provided to me by Randy Smith, CPA, of CFO Innovations San Diego Companies receiving venture funding in Q4 2013. Thanks Randy! 21 deals were completed locally in Q4 of 2013, down from 23 in Q3 of 2013. Average deal size decreased from $8.9 million in Q3 2013 to $6.9 million in Q4 […]
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