My Long Hiatus - Machu Picchu

I seem to be taking off large chunks of time from writing this blog. I always said I wouldn't do that, but some days it's hard to write.

Quite a bit has been going on these last few weeks, including a two week trip to Peru. I have to say, Machu Picchu was well worth the effort. It's truly an amazing spectacle.

For full disclosure, I've been struggling with what to do about Vyoo for the past month. I received a credit card statement last month in which I could barely make the interest payment. It was then that it hit me. I'm dead broke (really beyond broke). I have no income. I have no expectation of any real income, and if I raise money, it's months away.

It was depressing to say the least. And while I vowed not to let money dictate the fate of Vyoo, it certainly has played a role in how I'm deciding to progress with the company. We've recently finished the product and rewrote our algorithm... again. I've started pushing more invites out and I'm planning on doing a full launch in the next week. Concurrent with this launch, I've started looking for work to begin to pay the bills.

I'm still incredibly passionate about what I'm doing, but it comes with several caveats. I think it's time to begin progressing my career professionally, meaning moving to a more structure company with financial support. It's time to start paying my bills and my debt down, because I'm not getting any younger. And it's time to generate some cash so I can invest it into the company.

Anyway, I've always vowed to be open and honest about what we're doing, so I didn't want to sugar coat anything. It's been a rough month - one of the reasons I've slacked on posting anything here. But what I've learned more than anything else is that I'm an entrepreneur. And while I may get a "real" job, it's with the intention of getting back to the startup world somewhere down the road.

What a Great Story - "Telkom ADSL speed beaten by pigeon"

I had to share this. Here's an example of a company that is probably resting on its laurels. From Business Day (here):


"Homing pigeon Winston has made history by beating a Telkom ADSL line in delivering 4GB of data from Howick to Hillcrest, outside Durban in far less time than it takes to download the data using the state-run Telkom’s data network.

It took Winston 2 hours 6 minutes and 57 seconds, whereas the ADSL download was still under 5 % downloaded by the time the bird landed.

Winston took off from Howick after 10:00 this morning and travelled 80 kilometers, or 70 as the bird flies, to ensure the data arrived at it’s destination quickly.

Financial services company The Unlimited decided to test Telkom’s ADSL speed against World War I technology - the ancient technology won.

While the ADSL line was actually given a head start of almost half an hour, Winston still beat the service by 95%.

There has been no comment by Telkom."

We're Switching Teams - WSGR

Two years ago I met with WSGR to discuss legal representation for our startup. I met with one of their parnters, Mark Rienstra, who I got along with really well. After much deliberation, we decided that their deferred payment terms were too high. So we went with Fenwick & West at the time. Unfortunately our partner at Fenwick left for Reed Smith and we got lost in the shuffle. As we approach funding now - I want all of our ducks in a row - and they're not quite there yet. We determined we needed more support and therefore re-engaged several law firms to discuss working together. I reconnected with Mark and sat down for a meeting.

Their terms for the deal were more fair this time around and since we had a relationship already, it made working together much easier. So a few weeks ago, we signed a deal.

GeckoGo

Yesterday afternoon I met with travel startup GeckoGo. They're part of the Facebook Fund startup class and are developing a travel content provisioning system. They've been around for a couple of years and have some pretty good traction in terms of users and even content. They were founded for some of the same reasons that urged me to start Vyoo. Discontent with existing offerings.

Looking at what's out there, it's a shame that there's so much money pouring into the travel space and some large incumbents, but nobody up to this point has captured enough of the market or even created a viable, one stop shop.

Looking at GeckoGo's offering, they are trying to put something like this together. Even such things as finding the right time of year to hit a destination haven't been done well, until now.

Ugggh.... Dell, What Are You Doing to Me? Dell Sucks!

Two weeks ago I had an experience with Dell that made me think twice about their crappy customer service. I've been a Dell customer for fifteen years. They sold me my second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth computers (my first was custom built). I know them well. Their customer service used to be top notch - award winning. Until about 5 years ago. They shipped most of it offshore. And they obviously began cutting costs, including the implementation of VOIP, making it difficult to try to work with the technician on the phone. And they began to treat you like the village idiot. A typical comment, "Sir, have you tried powering off for five minutes?" Are you kidding?

Unfortunately, there was a constant need to talk to tech support, because their products became suckier and suckier.

Anyway. Two weeks ago, my computer broke. I mean, broke! The screen just went black. I could boot into safe mode but that was it. I spoke to customer support. My computer (which was already a replacement for another broken Dell computer that heated up to unfathomable levels) was out of warranty. But the nice tech asked if I'd like to extend the warranty and then get it repaired. Was this a joke? I honest to god thought it was. So for a hundred and something bucks I bought the extended warranty. While they probably made money on the transaction, I undoubtedly saved myself from buying another computer. So they came out to fix my computer, on site. They replaced my LCD, my hard drive, and my video card. I felt like I had an almost new computer. Everything worked like a charm. For two weeks. Then the same problem happened again. This time they fixed it on the phone by fixing a driver issue. But the problem started again the next day. Now I need to send my laptop back to Dell...which will take 8 days, at least. Fortunately I have my roommates computer...but WTF?! I mean...how am I supposed to work on my business like this?

And now I'm wondering if the computer will ever be fixed? I mean, they replaced most of the guts of it already. And message boards are filled with customers experiencing the same issue.

So take at least 2 days (on each end) out of getting anything done when this happens - because not only do I have to try to fix the computer, but I have to setup all of my software again. What a damn hassle! The way I look at it, Dell owes me about 8 days + 8 (for sending it back) days of compensation. Or how about at least a computer that works?

For the record, I love the Thinkpad T60 I'm using.

What's Up?

It's been a while since I've blogged. For good reason. I've been incredibly busy with the business. While I'd like to explain everything I've been doing, I'm not at liberty to discuss it all. We haven't secured funding, but we've been having successful meetings with people.

One the business front, we've experienced out ups and downs with developers, UI people, psychologists, consultants, friends, family, etc. over the past two years.

This taught me two very important lessons or at least confirmed what I already thought I knew:
1) Involve yourself and your company only with people who share your passion. I'm not talking about someone helping you craft a mission statement or coding a few lines of code. I'm talking about people you bring into your inner circle.

While it's nice to just get people working with you (and sometimes that's a necessity early on), it will end up taking up even more of your time if they're not in it for the right reasons. This is a hard thing to realize. What I'm saying is, recognize people's value, passion, and interest - and plan accordingly. Don't make someone a founder just because you think you need someone. Don't bring on a CTO just because you need one.

2) Money talks.

For all of those tasks you need completed that don't require a vested interest in your company - find a way to pay people. I've had to ask for a lot of favors through the past two years. And it sucks, because nobody is on your timeline. I want things done yesterday. Realistically - they won't be done until next month. I imagine if I were paying these people fair market value, that would probably change things. It's a bit of a catch 22.

Allow Me To Explain... Healthcare Reform in the US is Doomed

I had some people comment on my last rant about health care for all in this country. What most people DO NOT understand is that the current policy proposal is much like the system that Massachusetts has been running for years. And, contrary to the opinions from those who feel like giving free medicine to all, it is not working. And it is harming the welfare of doctors, specifically those in specialty fields. And it is creating worse health care.

Read this and then I'll happily debate with you over the current proposal. I'm all for healthcare reform. I really am. But I'm not for agreeing with, "oh yea, let's cover everyone with some extra taxes and cost cutting measures". Why don't we actually solve the problems that exist rather than throw an expensive band aid at it?.


From the ACC:

July 8, 2009

If you don't read another edition of this publication, read this one. Then read it again and get ready to join the ACC's fight for the viability of your practice! CMS late last week proposed mind-boggling cuts to cardiology that could be 30 percent or higher beginning in 2010. Taken together with the payment cuts cardiology already has experienced, this wrongheaded proposal represents a real threat to your practice and to the patients you serve.

Let's break down the horrible numbers. The proposed rule slashes Medicare payments by more than 11 percent for the average cardiology practice as a result of a badly managed practice expense survey. Out of thousands of cardiology practices solicited this survey is based on input from approximately 50. Somehow this small sample size showed that CV practices have experienced a 30 percent reduction in practice costs.

Does that match up to the numbers in your practice? Of course not. This survey has no credibility and CMS chose to disregard the standards it previously put in place to ensure the quality of practice expense data. We believe this is a significant departure from previous policy and may be a violation of the law. It is ironic that the agency that purports to support an evidence-based approach to medicine is making major decisions based on shoddy and incomplete data.

It gets worse! As if the 11 percent were not bad enough, most of the core cardiology services face cuts ranging from 20 to 40 percent. Add in the regularly scheduled SGR cuts of more than 20 percent and practices could see possible payment cuts ranging from 25 to almost 50 percent.

This is not what we meant by putting quality first. The timing couldn't be worse. Just as we're moving forward with real proposals for health care reform that would improve quality, reduce waste, slow spending and improve the viability of CV practices, along comes this CMS hatchet job. Arbitrary price controls do not equal reform and will only lead to greater disparities in health care.

That's the bad news. The good news is that this proposal is subject to revision. Your ACC is fighting this change at all levels through CMS, Congress and the Administration. ACC President Fred Bove, and your elected officers and Washington-based staff are all over this crisis on your behalf.

Working closely with our partner cardiovascular societies we are developing a detailed response to CMS and working the halls of Congress to bring political pressure to bear on the agency. We are reaching out beyond cardiology to engage other specialties like oncology that also face daunting cuts that will inevitably impact patient diagnosis and treatment. On the regulatory side, ACC staff is working closely with the Advocacy Steering Committee and the CV RUC to prepare a substantive analysis and response to this proposed rule. We anticipated this action from CMS and have identified technical expert consultants who can assist us with our analysis and help propose alternatives.

We have been rocked by this proposal and now it's time to roll! Here are four key ways you can get involved:

* The ACC has launched a grassroots campaign to get Congress involved. Go to www.acc.org/can and send a letter to your members of Congress explaining in detail how 20 to 40 percent cuts will impact your ability to practice medicine.
* Take part in a video campaign that can be shared with members of Congress, regulatory officials and the public. Upload a 30-40 second video about the impacts of large-scale cuts on your ability to provide patients with the right care at the right time. Email Molly Nichelson at mnichels@acc.org to have it posted for you on ACC Advocacy's YouTube" site. Don't own a video camera? Submit your story via the ACC's online forum, "The Lewin Report."
* Take part in the ACC's "Cut the Cuts Roadshow" and volunteer to give your own or facilitate an ACC-taped presentation on the implications of the cuts on cardiology to your hospital or practice group. Email qualityfirst@acc.org for more information
* Get involved with your local Chapter's efforts: this could include volunteering your practice to host a "Cardiologist for a Day" event, writing op-eds and more. Go to www.acc.org/chapters for contact information or email qualityfirst@acc.org.