Four World Cup strategies every founder should steal
Counter-attacks, pressing, set pieces, and squad depth. The teams still alive this week are running a free strategy class for founders.
Brian Breslin — Essays
Building startups, communities, and tech products since 1996.
Latest posts
Rebooting the blog, 2026 edition
Two decades on WordPress, most of them neglected. Here's what the 2026 reboot is for.
The Predictions Scorecard (2006–2015)
Nine years of public tech predictions, re-graded with a decade of hindsight: 90 calls, 61.1% lifetime score.
2011 Predictions Recap
Myspace sold at a loss, Lion cost $29, Groupon binged. Another year of guesses, graded.
Four months of the 4Hour Body (slow carb diet)
Four months in: 21 pounds down, triglycerides from 400 to 140, and a faster mile to boot.
How to fix Coconut Grove (and Miami)
Free parking, live music, and embracing the nut in coconut. A resident's fix-it list from 2011.
On building a community
Five years of Refresh Miami, the void it filled, and the case for what it should become next.
Simple slow carb dieting tips #4hb
Six pantry-level tricks for sticking with slow carb: green tea by the pitcher, jerky in the cupboard, beans in tupperware.
1 Month on 4 Hour Body Slow Carb Diet
Thirty days of slow carb after a lousy cholesterol report. The science, the skepticism, and the early results.
How AI changes product development
Copilots everywhere, prompts as interfaces, and why this hype cycle is nothing like crypto. Notes from early 2023.
Are we wasting talent in tech?
Too many smart people solving superficial problems while the real ones sit unsolved. A 2011 gripe that aged fine.
Looking forward to 2023
The first predictions post in eight years, drafted in January and already feeling outdated by the February publish date.
How to win a startup weekend
The secret weapon isn't code, it's PowerPoint. Straight from a four-time hackathon judge.
2011 Predictions
Ten bets for 2011, from Facebook at 650 million users to Apple practically giving away Lion.
Coronaconomy Trends: How coronavirus changes how we live
Written weeks into lockdown: bets on exurbs, second offices, and homes redesigned for quarantine. Some aged surprisingly well.
2010 Predictions Recap
The full 2010 scorecard: 75 percent accuracy, which in Vegas terms means beating the house.
Grand Challenges Facing Miami
World-changing problems feel unsolvable at planet scale. Start by inventorying Miami's version of them instead.
The $1,000 Miami Hustle Startup Challenge
Two MBAs offering $1,000 in loans and three months of advice to one idea-stage Miami founder. Repayment expected.
Leveling Up, An MBA Retrospective
Two years, one Kellogg EMBA, survived relatively unscathed. What it actually taught, and whether it was worth it.
How to win an elevator pitch contest.
Notes from the judges' table: tell a story, ditch the note cards, and dress like it matters.
Does being self-aware make you a better entrepreneur?
Most of us think we know our strengths. Drucker says otherwise, and the market tends to agree.
The brilliance of Apple's Watch pricing strategy
A $17,000 ceiling meant nobody would ever compare it to a $249 Samsung. That was the whole point.
What startups can learn from the world cup
Know your position, study game tape, finish your chances. Startup lessons from South Africa 2010.
Everything you've read on pricing is wrong
Cost-based pricing guarantees you compete on cost forever. The case for pricing freelance work on value instead.
Are startups too focused on the exit?
Play the odds. You probably won't get acquired, so build a business that doesn't need you to be.
The Point Of Refresh
Why Refresh Miami exists, from the guy who registered the domain in 2005 with zero expectations.
2015 Tech industry predictions
Twitter fires its CEO, the taxis wake up, and everything gets Uber-ized. The 2015 bets, placed at a claimed 60% lifetime record.
10 Predictions for 2010
Ten calls for 2010, including Facebook hitting 500 million by Q3. That one landed to the month.
2014 Predictions Recap
Self-graded report card on the 2014 bets: nailed the Amazon TV stick, whiffed spectacularly on bitcoin at $2,500.
2009 Predictions Wrapup
Report card time. Twitter on TV earned the A+; micropayments limped away with a C.
Miami is America's future, not its retirement home
A friend suggested pitching Miami as a recharge spot for burnt-out Valley types. This is the rebuttal.
The Media's Role In The South Florida Tech Community
Old media had the reach, tech had the stories. A 2009 plea for the two to actually talk.
Leveling Up: Why I decided to get an MBA
Four years of deliberating, then a Kellogg EMBA four miles from the apartment. The reasoning, laid out in public.
The role of communities in South Florida's tech future
In defense of the meetup explosion. More groups meant a healthier scene, not a diluted one.
How to fix the sales & dev team disconnect
The dev team pitches A-B-C, the customer wants C-D-E. Fix it by making both teams run fake sales calls.
How I lost $250,000 but learned so much more
The $250,000 was imagined revenue from a weekend Heartbleed repair business. The $600 spent was real, and so were the lessons.
Silicon Beach: Tech in South FL: Support from Investors
Miami has plenty of Bentleys and very little venture capital. On closing that gap with hustle.
Local Startups: Roam! scooter rentals
First up in the local startup interview series: Vespas, beach cruisers, and a South Beach company that rents real fun.
Why your minimum viable product (MVP) should be disposable.
Build version one expecting to throw it away. An MVP is a learning laboratory, not the foundation of the real thing.
The Future of Tech in South Florida: Individuals / Entrepreneurs
No budget required for this part. Bring a friend, blog what you know, put up a flyer.
The Future of Tech in South Florida: Local Businesses
Sponsor a meetup, share your wifi, refer some work. The unglamorous ways local companies build a scene.
The Future of Tech in South Florida: The Government's Role
What City Hall could do for Miami tech, priced against a stadium and a tunnel.
Milestone driven product development
Webvan built the warehouses before it understood its customers. Set milestones on what you learn, not on the business plan calendar.
Is foreign cash a boon for international startups?
Apple, Google, and Microsoft were sitting on offshore billions they refused to repatriate. A 2014 thought experiment on who benefits.
Simple business research hack
When Google fails you, call a research librarian a few time zones west. The original search engines still pick up.
Rebooting entrepreneurship
After years of community building, a public return to founding: one month, one startup, every step documented.
2014 Internet Industry Predictions
Ten wagers from New Year's Eve 2013, including an Amazon streaming stick that happened and a transparent Apple TV that did not.
My Miami Wish list
After eight years in the trenches, a wish list for Miami: more accelerators, more hometown pride, fewer excuses.
Did the internet kill this small town?
Yeehaw Junction sold discount Disney tickets to nervous drivers for decades. Then the tickets moved online.
Startup Lessons: Social media monitoring
A 2007 social media tool built on "we have this problem, surely others do too." The autopsy, with a checklist.