Alex Crompton - writing about life, hobbies, and tech.
I once lived in Berlin. I was 19, and alchemically thin. I earned essentially no money, getting fired from dead end jobs and doing nude photoshoots for local 'artists, subsisting on partying and 10 cent Brötchen. I shared a single bed top and tail, read Russian literature, and played Shogun. It was amazing. But, after a while, I noticed something. I would often meet people twice my age, still…
Startup advice doesn't work The strangest thing about startup advice is that either it doesn't seem to work, or people don't read it. If it worked and people read it, good startups would be more and more common. But they're not. I haven't run the numbers, but no investor I've ever met has told me that startups succeed more often now than before. Most things aren't like startups, and it'd be…
Some people have a knack for languages. They say annoying things like "Portuguese is just Spanish with an accent", or "we speak French to the kids". Fuck those people.
An 80/20 Blueprint guide to being happy, healthy, and hench, from a middle aged dad.
Your knight for my pawn, and you have to take it. Things are about to get worse, sunshine. This is my game now. You have been out-calculated. I don't want the piece, I want your soul. My attack hurts like a school disco and I'm going to sac sac mate until... wait. What? 10 seconds left. But, I'm winning, right? I must be like +5 right now. Just play any move. But how do you have 10 minutes on your…
The truth is, my openings still suck. As, I’m sure, do yours. But it’s not our fault. It is, I concluded conveniently, our repertoires’ fault. They are not built for humans, because they are not practical. Here’s how to fix things.
Once I’d officially failed, my friend, colleague, and investor Alice asked me, ‘are you happy you did it?’. A hard question. I failed last year. Closed down the startup I started. An adulting, unarguable, and public failure. I let people down - my investors and team members were mostly friends. Thinking about it now I feel ashamed and a bit sick. This isn’t a complaint. I’ve had plenty of good…
Intuitively, a good startup idea offers users more of something. If your product does more than a product users already love, won't they love your product?
A concrete and scientific approach to learn chess quickly as an adult.
Why weirdos, not entrepreneurs, will change the world.
Today is my last day at Entrepreneur First (EF). Late last year I decided to leave, and it was a big decision. I joined about six years ago, and six years is about the longest I’ve done anything. Here’s what happened.
Not all Bad tech companies are successful, but almost all successful tech companies are Bad. This is not an accident. It’s an inevitability.
The most common question founders ask at the start is “how much money should I raise?”. And even good founders get the answer wrong. The answer beings with your Minimum Viable Raise.
And in my cucumber water, I find the secret of Silicon Valley… So what the hell? Why is the Valley still the best place to start a startup?
Valley startups still win head to head. But, founders, don’t be afraid. You can do things they can’t.
Have you ever wondered what humans taste like? Here’s why gross ideas change the world.
Technology can end inequality by making it less valuable to be rich.
The unfair truth about raising investment and beating your competitors. Why being bold matters over being good.
Or, why the best cofounder for you isn’t your friend. Conventional advice about finding a cofounder is wrong. Here’s what to do about it.
Perspective for insecure founders, and how to be like Elon musk.