At precisely 9:00 pm on Saturday, January 5th, 2008 my plane touched down in New York City marking the start of my NYC adventure.
Yesterday was a mixed day of emotions. There were emotional highs about the adventure that lays ahead. There were also trying lows. I wrote this a short moment after waving goodbye at the airport and disappearing out of view of loved ones.
I explored the city today, it was really my first time discovering it. It was a day marked with firsts.
My first day waking up in my new city. First time seeing the Empire State Building. First run in Central Park. First time feeling the wave of miss that occurs when you’re far away from friends and family.
Here’s a photo of my building.
Overwhelming thought of the day: this is going to be an emotionally intense year (and one hell of a city to live in).
I’m not a soothsayer I just play one on this blog. In the days (let’s be realistic) weeks ahead I’m going to share some thoughts on what we’ll see in 2008. Here’s what’s coming:
1) What my mom can teach us about technology adoption.
2) Zach Morris and the most important social graph.
3) How everyone in the world came to embrace their inner exhibitionist.
4) Obama, Hilary, Giuliani: How the web makes things that actually matter, matter.
5) Why the best way to succeed in 2008 is to stop doing what made you a success.
Let me know by show of hands which one you want to read first.
Alex and I went running in Denver (the altitude destroyed us) and I really liked the addition that’s been built on the Denver Art Museum.
It looked very similar to the extension that’s being built on the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto.
Turns out that both were designed by Daniel Libeskind. Cool. Hopefully the extension on the ROM settles into the skyline over time to be as uniquely beautiful as the Denver Museum.
That’s how Me.dium co-founder Robert Reich described Boulder. And if you think about this for a moment you’ll realize that this is an advantageous position to hold. My Canadian Idol Theory holds up (More on this in a later post. Really). The city is big enough to provide meaningful support, yet not so big that tech start-ups become meaningless in the news.
I spent three days in Boulder (/Denver) last week and my impression of the emerging tech scene in that city continues to strengthen. Today, while thinking about my time there during a run it became official, I’ve become a fanboy of Boulder. What’s happening there is special and I hope that hasn’t been lost on those who are immersed in it.
There was such a feeling of community.
A warm dinner the first night with Brad, Ryan, Jason, and Chris (note: warmth may have resulted from Sake + altitude :)) helped set the tone for our time in Boulder. I enjoyed meeting familiar names like David from Colorado Start-ups and Tara from Lijit (who provided a tonne of helpful advice… and jokes! What is the deal with the extra dot in del.icio.us?)
The guys from Me.dium - Kimbal Musk, Robert Reich, and David Mandell - were helpful beyond belief and played wonderful hosts, inviting us to present at Boulder’s New Technology Meetup during a few minutes of downtime before heading to The Kitchen, Kimbal’s restuarant, for an incredible meal (I highly recommend the garlic fries).
It was fun to meet Josh from Intense Debate (more on this soon) and I’m looking forward to growing a friendship with him - it’s already started by swapping stories about moving thousands of miles to join a start-up and chase a dream. Stan must have drawn the shortest straw, having to eat dinner beside me two nights in a row. I really enjoyed chatting with Kevin, a mobile rock-star (Tiny Twitter!), while discussing the finer points of a start-up playoffs website (may have been the wine + altitude :)). And best of luck to Ari as he works towards Filtrboxes launch!
I was impressed with how the connections and relationships were woven together, everyone supporting one another in a way that transcended a working relationship and approached friendship. That’s a powerful community builder and something that happens from being the number one of the second tier. Hopefully I’ll be in Boulder again, I’m looking forward to meeting everyone again and seeing just how well the various companies are doing. Thanks everyone for making our trip so warm.
