My final blog post after 7 years (#181)
The very first post: https://mrsteinberg.com/when-to-be-minimalist/ At the time I started this blog and am writing this sentence, I am a failure. Not just a failure but an utter...
Mr. James Steinberg
Things I wish I knew when I started. Essays and startup stories by serial entrepreneur James Steinberg.
Latest posts
That year I made a robot company
I first had a beer with Chiu at a German themed bar near the bund in Shanghai I've done all the classes at the biohacker space in Brookly and recognized his company. The second...
What makes a projects go viral (and be funny)?
After trying to go viral (2 million+ views!) for a few years with occasional progress - I have a theory on what makes a trend. What makes something go viral. Things that capture...
Silly Management tips I have seen work
1. End every meeting with a positive quote or story or news 2. Give criticism as soon as possible, ideally while someone is acting the way. The longer you wait the worse 3. You...
5. I accidentally stole 50 million dollars from the french government and I have been trying to give it back
"You fired yourself" my board shouted at me through a Zoom call. I had just made them both 10 million dollars in profit this year as CEO of ZipX. As a gift a 6 months earlier, one...
Buying and Selling 100 Million Face Masks
This is a copy of two articles by the Finance Journalist Kim Iskyan. He interviewed me at the two very unusual points in my life that do not really represent me anymore. Dear...
How to make money when people are dying
Due to a stroke of good timing, I was selling face masks at the start of 2020 in Southeast Asia with a access to a global supply chain through the recent acquisition of my...
Everything you didn’t want to know about Sales Tax
Joe: "We are now waiting for our court date with the state of Florida" Me: "The state of Florida is suing us?" Joe: " No. YOU are suing Florida." Note as of 2021: Florida House...
A single dollar and a sweaty hoody almost cost me millions
My Y Combinator startup had driven me into $90,000 of personal credit card debt. It was my own fault. My two jobs weren't enough to cover the growing interest payments each month....
Bootstrapping to my first acquisition
After having to quit my Y Combinator funded company at right after getting traction and raising a couple million dollars I jumped into making my own company. I had been traveling...
"Say hi to Paul Graham for me"
When I was 20 or so I hacked a Y Combinator company called Tutorspree. I wasn't going out of my way to hack anything and had no malicious intent. Out of boredom, I poked around...
My Second Y Combinator Application that finally got me in
COMPANY Company name: derivatived Company url, if any: http://www.derivatived.com If you have an online demo, what's the url? (Please don't password protect it; just use an...
Geeks, MOPs, and sociopaths in subculture evolution
This is a copy of an article originally posted on https://meaningness.com/geeks-mops-sociopaths Subcultures are dead. I plan to write a full obituary soon. Subcultures were the...
How to not pay your taxes legally, apparently
Business owners have the most flexibility of everyone to not pay their taxes. I personally think these things are questionable but its what I have seen others do over the last few...
I get paid more than Charles Dickens per word to write code
Adjusted for inflation, I was paid more than Charles Dickens was per word. But I didn't write any critically acclaimed stories, I wrote code. This is quite surprising to me as I...
How to know when you are about to be fired
I have been fired enough times to see when it is about to happen. It comes from your manager. The start by asking more and more questions about what you are doing each day. Weekly...
Sunset of an Organization
At a certain point you go from a startup innovating and worried about making more money to corporation maintaining the status quo and worrying about decreasing their expenses....
Side effects of Revolutionary Tech
Did you know the ancient Greeks had what we consider an incredible memory and oral history until reading and writing became common? "I know of examples of this kind of memory...
The Personalities of Industries
When a new industry is created, be very careful about the personalities of the early thought leaders. However they act, both good and bad, will carry on through the culture. Dr....
Simply Change your Network
The further you get in a profession, the more it is about who you know and not what you know. Take someone hard working and talented and put them in a new network of rich people...