76: The Scotch Budget

Derrick’s been on a startup roller coaster. It’s been one of those weeks for him. So, he’s grateful for Scotch! He just factors it into Level’s budget. Along the same lines, Tuple bought lunch today for its staff. It feels free, but Ben doesn’t think you can write off such expenses, even if you talk about business between bites. Today’s Topics Include: Boring numbers stuff and stress of assembling financials for 2018 taxes Ben’s goal to meditate every day in February to feel centered in the startup world Spotify surfacing new music helps re-energize Derrick’s work day Tuple’s Goals: Focus on stability in February; onboard additional teams and return to feature development in March Don’t assume; ask users what they want and make sure you clearly understand them Derrick shares Level updates on Startups for the Rest of Us podcast Do metrics matter? Derrick’s on an information diet to uncloud his brain No Twitter for Ben before noon because it’s too much of a distraction Performance overhaul and interface update to improve users’ impression of Level Tuple’s recent improvements include proxy server support and a feedback button Ben’s Tuple Onboarding Calls: Fun to show people the product for the first time Links and resources: Art of Product on Twitter Derrick Reimer Website Derrick’s Level Manifesto Derrick Reimer on Twitter Ben Orenstein Website Ben Orenstein on Twitter Level Tuple Waking Up with Sam Harris Headspace Naughty Professor on Spotify Episode 429: Building a Launch List of 5,900 and Grinding Out Customer Development Drip Ruby on Rails