To Succeed as an Employee in a Startup Company...

I'm nearing two years at this little startup company, and we've changed a number of times since I got here. I'm on my fourth organizational structure and third boss. In the last org shake up my boss and I headed the same direction and I'm actually the only person from his old reports that still report to him. Funny enough, I'm actually the only person in my group, my box of the org chart. We're hiring!

We've had a few people leave recently, two nearing 10 years total experience in their 30s and two in their younger 20s, like 23-24. When you break down each person's reasons for leaving they all make sense. Yet, in such a small and young company there is a big sense of loss with each departure. So I've been thinking about why they left and what we might have done differently to either keep them longer, or give them a better picture of the work they were going to do here. And I had a realization...

In a big established company people who are professionally successful are good at going through the existing processes and producing work in accordance with those norms, and people who are comfortable navigating the bureaucracy of a large complicated organization. In a really small company, like less than 20 people, maybe up to 35 people, the ones who are successful get things done. Pure and simple they just produce results. However, to thrive in a startup as it grows you can't just be a person that gets things done, or a person that follow the processes. This has taken me a long time to articulate... Success for a person in a startup comes from being able to just get things done, and then articulate and communicate the process you used to get things done, so that it can be replicated and scaled up. 

Realizing that was a game changer for me in the last few days. Of course as the company grows the quality expectations grow too so processes necessarily get more complicated with more checks to poor work. We had a person leave a few months ago who was good at getting things done, but she was pretty terrible about articulating all of the things she did or communicating those things to people. She had previously worked at a startup where there were three engineers for the whole five years she was there, so all of the engineers knew everything about the product. At our company the product is too complex for any one person to know all of the details. However, the flip side of that is that we don't have the formal processes that a 50 year old company has, so on boarding new people can be a little chaotic and I think we struggle to articulate the expectations. For example, a person with 10 years at established companies might be exasperated at the pace of product change and in particular at the lack of rigor that sometimes happens when we make a change to our product. On the other hand the new graduate has no frame of reference for what it's like to work at a company with established processes so she is free to change things that would never be permitted for such an inexperienced person at a larger company.

Honestly, my company has had a lot of failures when it comes to articulating (which is something you can do in your own head) and communicating how we do things. In particular, we bring people in, we don't give them all the information about how someone else used to do that job, and we expect them to do the job even as we double in size and the requirements from that position change. When I read entrepreneurs writing about how hard it is to build a company, I get it now. Let me put that another way, people crave a process. That's a good article linked there by the way. So I haven't actually been promoted in two years, so take my advice with a grain of salt. However, I have quantified, clarified, and attempted to communicate the processes that I work most closely with and as a result people often default to my processes for things that really might be better suited to a different process. While this may not have resulted in my being promoted, it definitely has affected my peers who seem to enjoy this small amount of structure that we have to document our work. 

Taking the next leap, I've been thinking quite a bit more this summer about a company I'd like to start. The core technology isn't ready yet, but it could be in the next year or two. So all of the hurdles that I am going through with my current company are excellent examples of what to do and what not to do. I think that I've learned enough that I could seriously cut a year of development time from company founding to product launch, maybe even in only four years. Of course, I'm waiting for a certain technology item to be somewhat proven before I launch, and right now it is clearly not proven, so I'm still learning.

"It's not my job."

First, I hate when people say, "it's not my job". It's a failure of the organization to take ownership.

I've gotten to that point because at my former company design engineers doubled as responsible engineers (a new concept for me), and we would get blamed for a lot of problems. I had a boss that once said about the production line that had thrown up a lot of problems that day, "their job is to build things, we can't take the work out of work."

So I've come to the idea that if it is not your job, it must be mine.

That's one of the fun things for me about being at a startup, especially as we work on these one off facility projects instead of the higher volume products, we don't have a clearly defined structure for who will kit the facility assemblies, so it must be me, I mean, I did design it.

Nervous (about Scarcity)

Coming from a company where basically no one is ever fired, to a place where two out of 50 employees were fired in a single week, I'm nervous. I'm nervous I'm next. I'm nervous that it's a sign the company has hard times ahead. I'm nervous that despite my perceived ability to execute, I'm not as good as I think I am. I'm nervous that applies to everyone in our company.

It's interesting coming to a startup from a large corporate job. Everything you read about, it's all based in some truth. We may try to tell ourselves at times that it's different, that we are mature for our age or our size, but we still have a lot to figure out. It's a strange feeling.

I'm probably going to talk about money more in the future than I have in the past. The reason being I've benefited from a high paying job, a long bull market, and a decent savings rate, that my horizons have been expanded, and I view the world differently than I did nine years ago.

It's easy for us to have a scarcity mindset. There are only so many jobs available for a person like me. I can only save so much money. If I mess this opportunity up there will never be another one. However, there is more abundance in the world, especially at this point in human history. There was a tension around the office this past week, because people don't know what is next. We like to make our own decisions and being fired or getting laid off is not a decision people usually make for themselves.

A few weeks ago, the totality of the issues facing us hit me, and I had a little bit of a meltdown. It's going to be hard to get where we want by when we want. Since that meltdown we've recalibrated and can probably achieve our new schedule. I had the thought that we might not make it, which despite being a startup was kind of new for me, and I would have worked hard and have nothing to show for it. But then, I considered when I am in life, financially especially, and I think I would take six months to get a membership at Mr. Money Mustache headquarters to do a little work on couple side projects that could each use at least 50 hours of dedicated time, I would go finish the 14ers, and probably the centennial 13ers (100 highest peaks in CO), and then I would reach out across my network and see what job opportunities are out there.

It's cliche, because I'm a white male engineer, especially now at a startup, but money and job security are things that my relationship with has changed in the past nine years. In 2010 and 2011 I was happy for any job that would have me. I was super excited to have $1,000 in my savings account or pay off a credit card. While those things are still exciting, now I think about paying off the mortgage on my rental house. Who owns rental property? Rich people! Similarly, when recruiters reach out to me through LinkedIn their offers are not bad. Sure in every case they appear to be a step backward in responsibility and pay, and I'm not looking for a new job, I hope that I can be at my current company for years to come. The point is, there is abundance in the world. Maybe I'm coming at that perspective from a place of privilege, but there really is a lot of opportunity in the world.

My High School Friend the Unicorn Founder and CTO!?

I'm taking 2019 off of Facebook. So if I haven't responded to your messages, it's because I haven't logged in at all. If someone wants to post any of these articles on my Facebook wall (if Facebook still has a wall) feel free to quintuple my traffic for the day. Point being, I try to be in the real world more than in the virtual one. In the past I've upset people by things I've written on social media so I try not to do that. Then every time I log onto Facebook specifically I feel like everyone has these awesome lives, with their spouses, with kids, traveling the world, doing cool stuff. And I know I'm probably part of the problem, climbing Mt. Everest, traveling around the world, flying airplanes, working at a cool new start up, etc. That's part of why I try to blog about the stuff that hurts, because I want my blog to be a place of reality.

So while checking my email I had a LinkedIn notification about one of my good high school friends who I haven't talked to in a decade. He and I both went to college in Massachusetts and despite me running a few track meets at his university, I think we only actually ever met up once I think, and I might be confusing that with when I visited him in Massachusetts my senior year of high school. He was the year ahead of me. Anyway, we both went to high school in Sabetha, Kansas and he went to an excellent college in Massachusetts, which I didn't even apply at because I didn't want to be seen copying him, even if I might have helped give him the idea to go there (haha! I don't think I did, but I might have). He was the only person that outscored me in quiz bowl over the course of the season, and had he been a little quicker on the buzzer would have had significantly more points than me, double probably. He could have gone to college anywhere. At the same time he was quite humble, and never put on a show. He was even embarrassed about how well he took one particular standardized test. He ended up getting a B.S. in Computer Science.

The last I had heard from him a few years ago was that he was working at some small tech company doing computer science stuff, and had gotten married, and was still living out in Massachusetts. I was happy for him, it seemed like things had gone his way. So when I clicked on this LinkedIn article from a large respected publisher I was blown away. He is the founder (one of three founders) and CTO at a unicorn! A unicorn is a start up company that has a valuation over $1 billion and is still private, not listed on any stock exchange. Fifteen years ago it was an anomaly, but it's actually somewhat common now... but not common enough I know any unicorn founders!

I watched the Shawshank Redemption last weekend, because I have a broken leg and can't do much else. It's been my favorite movie since high school and still is. There is a part near the end where Red gets a postcard from Texas and laughs thinking of Andy driving down the coast in a convertible with the top down. That is exactly the kind of laugh I had when I learned this about my friend. You see, at the risk of saying too much, his family experienced a trauma during some very formative years in his life. So despite the eight or nine figures of net worth that he now has, I wouldn't trade places with him. I kind of hope he keeps going and doesn't check out to sit on beaches the rest of his life, it would be pretty cool to say one day my high school friend is a billionaire.

To be clear, I have a strict no asking for handouts policy. Great financial wealth often brings out long lost friends and relatives looking for free money. Sure, I would like advice from anyone that financially successful, but knowing him years ago, there is only so much he could tell that I haven't already read somewhere else. I mean, he took a risk on a startup with two friends or coworkers, and it has totally worked out because there is a definite market to be served. I've had the feeling lately that I can't fail at entrepreneuriship. Maybe it's this nine year long bull market. Maybe it's simply the variety of people I know who have been successful at entrepreneurship. Maybe it's just that I've reached a place where I can afford to fail a little.

At the risk of giving his identity away, although everyone from Sabetha I went to high school with will already know who I'm talking about, I want to share a story. He did particularly well on a standardized test his junior or senior year. You need to know that I went to very high performing somewhat rural public high school. We had multiple individual and team state athletic champions. A large percentage (maybe 5%) or so of graduates went to prestigious universities (which is wholly unnecessary, but there is the prestige of being accepted to those colleges). From my graduating class of 68 there are two medical doctors including one who did a residency at the Mayo Clinic, and I think one Ph.D. Multiple classmates had some form of athletic scholarship. It was just a high performing place. Lest anyone from Sabetha read this and feel bad about their life post high school, that's ridiculous! We've all had issues, and I say without a doubt that every single person I went to school with fostered an atmosphere of excellence. There was a woman in my grade who had a baby junior year, and she was partly stigmatized for it. I wasn't particularly friendly with her, but she kept showing up to school and she graduated on time with us. She was thrown a huge challenge and instead of check out and give up, she at least got her high school diploma. Across the spectrum there are stories like that.

With that explanation of my high school out of the way, at a whole school assembly he was recognized for his achievement on that standardized test. We stood, everyone stood, and gave him a standing ovation. I don't remember any of the state athletic champions getting a standing ovation from the entire student body. It was frankly the only standing ovation from the entire student body I remember in four years of high school. He was embarrassed of course. But for the rest of us, there was a feeling that when one succeeds, we all succeed. Our school had a better reputation because of him. We were all more likely to get into good universities because of him. And so it is the same with him becoming a founder and CTO of a unicorn. If he can do it, we can do it. Maybe not exactly the same, I don't particularly like computer programming, and the industry he is in doesn't really excite me. But if he can have career success, then even when I have significant self doubt in my career, I have to remember feelings are not fact, and I am quite successful in my career already.

On the odd chance that this article finds its way to my old friend, because I don't have his phone number any more to congratulate him: Well done sir! I hope that you feel as accomplished as you are.

What or Who is a Growth Hacker?

By the time I find out about most things, it is past the early adopter phase. In an effort to stem the tide of feeling not innovative I learned about growth hacker and downloaded Clinkle Wednesday. First of all, the first Growth Hacker Conference is in May. Yep, the phrase already has a conference. I learned about the term in Seth Godin's very good article about meetings, and an 11 month old blog post from Andrew Chen with comments from a number of prominent people in the start up company industry. The term was "invented" by Sean Ellis in a blog article nearly three years ago!

Trying to describe the term "growth hacker" in words that make more sense to me, it seems that the ideal concept of a growth hacker is: directly engineering functionality.

Functionality might not be the best word, usability or profitability might be better. I suppose it would be product/company dependent. In more than three words, Apple would probably do nearly as well, perhaps better, with only two commercials a year featuring Jony Ive talking about the latest Apple product. Valve probably has people that notice trends in their environments, and focus on that area, or focus on the area people just left. Google figured this out a decade ago when they simplified search to something that was very quick and uncluttered. The other companies could not match the speed, results, and simplicity of Google. More than a decade later Google still rules the world of search because they directly engineered functionality. Facebook might be losing this with the redesign and one-stop-shop complexity progression every few months. The opposite would be the concept of an employee being told to work on something, and working on it. That is not wrong at all! It is simply the perspective that is different. Looking for the problem to solve versus solving the problem that is given. Hopefully the two are the same, but I know that is not always the case. Regardless, directly engineering functionality is a great way to increase value and by repeating increase productivity.

Every day we are getting better. Every day we learn.

Janzen Gear is in Business!

It took two years for the hangboard idea to become a reality, but now it exists! I have something to sell!

Janzen Gear Hangboard 0.1, 0.5 and Two 0.8s

I could say more, and I hopefully will over the next couple days, but for starters head over to Janzen Gear and check out the development blog. After you get a taste of the little bit of the first business that I tried to start, and failed, and I suppose am having some success now, head over to Etsy and buy a Janzen Gear Hangboard 0.8!

Thank you guys for reading! This is probably the first time that I have taken something from concept to product and actually have something to sell. It's exciting. This is releasing the entrepreneur in me! I'll probably shoot for the moon once I actually sell one.

Anyway, take a look, tell your friends, tell me you saw this, and go read some Janzen Gear.

The Facebook IPO is Today

Facebook is going public. That means that you can own part of Facebook. Pretty cool huh? Well, it's not all good. In any start up company venture capital and angel investors (both are groups of rich people) only invest when they feel that the company will go up greatly in value and have an exit strategy. Going public through an IPO means the largest investors in the company are typically selling some of their shares in the company to get more money. In other words, the most informed investors about a particular company are selling their stock.

That is not strictly true for Facebook. When a company has over 500 shareholders they have to release their financials because the SEC mandates it. Facebook passed that threshold and since they will have to publish their financials anyway, they might as well make $18 billion off of it through an IPO.

Finally, as a value investor one of the metrics I look at is Price to Earning Ratio. That is the price that you pay compared to the profits of the company on a yearly basis. P/E below 5 is typically a great value. P/E below 10 is still a bargain. A P/E of about 12 is the 300 year average valuation of the largest companies. Facebook's P/E will be over 100 today. It could go up to 150 or even 200 today. That's not ridiculous, if you feel that Facebook will make ten or twenty times as much money in the coming years than it does now. However, Facebook is already not what it used to be. It is trying to be a one stop entertainment (and recently, shopping) stop. It was cool because it connected people. At the beginning it was even more cool because you had to have a .edu email address. Now anyone can get in, they reduce their privacy policy every eight months or so, they are trying to sell stuff, and they are getting into the games arena. It's just not what it used to be.

That being said, I'm still thinking about buying some. I do hope that Twitter doesn't follow in Facebook's steps. Twitter is cool because it is simple. It is actually my prefered social media at the moment.

2010: My Year in Review

January started with me as confident as ever about my career and my running going as well as it ever had gone. I moved out to Colorado to live with some college friends and I have to say that was an amazing three months. I met so many people. I had so many beautiful runs through the mountains. I enjoyed life. I even officially started Janzen Gear in February. However, my running took a hit as I adjusted to the altitude.

However, March came and went and I fell apart. After three months of unemployment I was totally out of money and without any interviews in that whole time, I was depressed. I was so stressed out that things were not going the way I had planned that I gave myself back pain. That was a huge life lesson about the things in my life that I value, and what is really important to me. I am guessing that it will never happen again because I have a better understanding of my own mentality.

Because of the whole money thing I packed up and went to Minnesota and worked for my uncle for six weeks in the family greenhouse. It was tough physical labor. Not what I ever expected my first job out of college would be.

In mid May I headed back west to teach rock climbing at Boy Scout camp again. It was my fourth summer at a Boy Scout camp. I had a fantastic summer. I climbed harder than I ever have before. I ran like crazy until I got a stress reaction. My friends and I had a great time. Again, it's humbling to have a master's degree in engineering and be teaching 13 year olds how to belay for a relatively small paycheck. I also attempted the Grand Teton for the first time and I led two pitches up the Casual Route on the Diamond before it rained and snowed us off. Regardless, this summer was about the relationships I have with my friends, and it was an unequivocal success. I have the best friends in the world!

I followed up the summer with a month long road trip through Utah, California, Washington and Montana and a few other states. In the psychological aspect of life I was able to spend time with two of my American friends who shared the summer of 2009 experience with me in Pakistan. In many ways it was the final chapter in my mental recovery from that experience. I also spent two days trying to climb the Nose on El Capitan solo and a day trying the Regular Northwest Face on Halfdome. The inspiration for the road trip was to do something "big" my climbing just did not pan out, I had a great time, learned a bunch, but I ended up scared and tired. So at the suggestion of my friends, on two days notice I ran the Wonderland Trail, and accomplished something "big".

Once again out of money I had the choice between staying in Colorado and making snow (physical labor) for a few months or going home in the hopes of a job offer and more Internet access to apply for more jobs. I went home, also because my grandma had a stroke this summer and my family is very important to me. I only have one family.

The last three and a half months of the year were, by my standards, uneventful. I gradually began running more miles in hopes of some good races from the 5k to the marathon in 2011. I had an interview at GE and they ended up going with someone more qualified.

By the numbers:

• I estimate from reading my own blog, that I applied to approximately 378 jobs in 2010. 
• I ran 3379.6 miles total including five 4+ hour runs and nine 100+ mile weeks. That is an average of 9.25 miles per day, every day all year. Only one personal record racing this year, 1:36 at 15 miles.
• I slept in 12 states and traveled in 22 states. 
• 11 painting started and 10 paintings finished, a record for me.

2010 was, for me, about valuing the intangible things in my life like relationships, health, freedom, and life itself more than I did when I was younger. The lessons I have learned about saving for a rainy day, starting a company, stress, communication, and other still unknown things are not all clear to me yet. I think that the lessons of 2010 will impact me for the rest of my life. I feel that events of the past year will teach me new things for years to come as I continue to mature and better understand what really happened in many situations.

Thank you all for the comments and the caring in person, on the blog, in letters, on Facebook, and in your prayers. This blog has been a great way to express myself and I plan to keep at it for years to come.

Thank you,

Isaiah Janzen

The Unemployment Chronicles: Week 13

In the world of income searching: First and foremost I took a big step. I blind carbon copy emailed a whole lot of people telling them about Janzen Gear, and asking for money. Well, it's more than just the money. I asked for other things and had a lot of responses from people in web development or networking to other possible opportunities. This was a big step for me because I do not like to ask for help. I realized that in one email I might have asked more people for help than I have ever asked in my life. It was humbling. The verdict is not in about how "successful" it was yet but things look good. If you want to invest in Janzen Gear email me.

I applied for eight different jobs, none in Colorado. It's not that I have to stay here. I just like it so much I don't want to have to vacation here I would like to weekend here. Also, I have never lived in the northwest and I wouldn't mind trying that. However, I also like the sunlight and Seattle doesn't have the greatest reputation for lots of sunny days like Denver.

I went to a Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce cocktail hour at the Bradford Washburn Mountaineering Museum. I was invited by one of the members who started his own company and was formerly one of the head people at Quest Communications. I talked to some people and was in a little bit of awe. Jefferson County is kind of a big deal. The members of the Chamber of Commerce are not little people like me. As I looked around the room I saw two things in all of the people: people who get it done, and people who are afraid of the future. Sure they acted confident, but I kept seeing stray glances of fear. Someone would look at someone else, as if he or she had something to say to that person, but not go talk to that person.

My documentary is down to 82 minutes. I have a few more places where I can edit it down. What is the big deal with length? People getting bored is the biggest concern. Then to get aired on PBS it has to be less than 56:40 for a one hour run time. To be considered a feature length film at the Vancouver Film Festival it has to be 60+ minutes, mid length 20-60 minutes and short 20 or less. To get into the Banff it seems like either feature length at 70+ minutes or short at 15- minutes. So I think I might end up leaving it at 70+ minutes but then make a short/preview of like 10 minutes or less (YouTube max length) and perhaps submit that to film festivals. The reason I have a hard time making it shorter is that I was behind the camera the whole time. It all matters to me. Also, there is no repeating of actual frames. I have two helicopter evacuations, but that's because I was around for four of them.

In my world of pure fun: I ran 71 miles had one workout and one race. Every Tuesday I've been running this 6k route as a fartlek either one minute hard one minute easy or two minutes hard two minutes easy. This week I was 19 seconds faster than last week and that week was 17 seconds faster than the week before. So I'm getting faster every week which is nice. I ran a 10k race in Denver on Saturday. My time was 38:14, because more than 37 minutes of that was on ice and snow. I just could not go faster. That is the slowest 10k I have ever raced by about three minutes. The half marathon I ran in November was much hillier and I ran faster than that twice in a row. It's no problem because I just wanted to get in a long anaerobic tempo and I did.

I toured the Colorado School of Mines Metallurgy department. They have fantastic facilities! I've been considering a Ph. D. for a long time and seeing their facilities motivates me even more to go for it. I still have not decided if becoming a doctor is what I want. It is a hard decision. On the one hand you get more respect, you learn more about research, and you publish papers; but on the other hand people treat you differently because you are a doctor, the actual opportunities that you have are very narrow to do something in the same field as your doctorate, and it would take me three or four years. 2014 is a long way away. I am not sure what I am doing tomorrow let alone the next four years. Like I said when I commit to something it's 100% so I'm taking my time to commit to PhD school. Also, long term what I want as a career is not a degree offered by any university. I want to go to Mars. Since I'm the only person at the moment, or at least the only person I have ever met, that has that goal I feel like I'm writing the book for how to do it.

Who knows? I mean if I die today I have already done so many things that it would be okay. I am past the point of "he died so young". I just do not want to waste my time. There is so much I want to do, yet all of it seems so far away sometimes.

An Entrepreneur is:

I've realized that I've been using the word entrepreneur often recently and it isn't something they really teach in any school I've been in so I will tell people what it means. I'm going to try and describe different qualities of an entrepreneur. First the definition from the Apple Inc. Dictionary application 2.0.3 on my computer:

entrepreneur |ˌäntrəprəˈnoŏr; -ˈnər|nouna person who organizes and operates a business or businesses, taking on greater than normal financial risks in order to do so.• a promoter in the entertainment industry.

ORIGIN early 19th cent. (denoting the director of a musical institution):from French, from entreprendre ‘undertake’ (see enterprise ).

To be honest, that is a very lacking definition. Here are some of my thoughts on the subject:

• Scrappy. An entrepreneur will do what it take to survive. He or she will do unpleasant things to stay afloat. For example: "Call who? You've got to be kidding. I can't do that!"
• Desperate. Whatever it takes to make the sale will be considered.
• Terrified. This is one that separates those who do and those who do not. To make it as an entrepreneur you have to wake up terrified about what you have to do, then do it anyway. Many people delay their life because they are afraid. I am working on this one...
• Committed. There is no half effort in starting a venture like a company. It's all or nothing.
• Passionate. Who else would work around the clock on some project just to get paid in sweat equity (ownership in a company based on work put in instead of money invested) and intellectual property?
• Stingy. Somehow money just seems to always disappear...
• Brave. Facing fears on a daily basis changes the nature of risk. What might once have seemed like a huge risk is now even less scary than driving in Boston.
• Helpless. While many entrepreneurs start with the intention of doing everything on their own most quickly learn they can't do everything. In fact many find that there aren't too many things that they do well.
• Curious. Of the successful start up companies that I know of most of the owners thought 'why can't I/we do it better?' There is a certain interest to attempting something with an uncertain end.
• Resourceful. An entrepreneur doesn't have to be a true renaissance man but he or she does have to get things done that are outside of his or her formal training.
• Energetic. I think this word fits better than optimistic or hopeful. The idea is that an entrepreneur is excited to go to work and be there all day long.

That's what I can think of. I thought about innovative for a while but I think that an entrepreneur honestly does not have be terribly innovative. I think that often times it involves applying a proven method to a different location or market such as franchising.

If you have any additional thoughts post them blow.

Successful Innovative Companies: Volume 15

The Successful Innovative Company of the Week is: Clif Bar!

What they do right: They make stuff you can digest. On my first backpacking trip in 2001 I was 15 and we ate all sorts of unpalatable stuff. Energy bars that tasted like beef jerky meets fudge. The point is that from that experience I have learned that nutrition is an important part of multi-hour and multi-day activity. Clif Bar has shown that they know how important taste and nutrition are.

For the uninitiated, Clif Bars have a story on the back. I have learned through experience that a story while you eat is better than no story. This is especially true when entertaining teenagers. Anyway the story, and corresponding book, tell the tale of how Clif Bar came about. Basically this endurance nut was out on a 175 mile bike ride with a friend and bonked and could not force himself to eat anything because of the terrible taste of energy food back then. So he worked on

making his own tasty food in his mom's kitchen and eventually named it after his dad. At some point he founded a company and expanded the product line.

Now they have a fantastic line of products. In fact when I went to Pakistan I took five of their products with me: Clif Bars, Builder Bars, Mojo Bars, Shot Bloks (these are amazing!), and a few gel Shots. The thing about their products is that they all taste good. The Builder Bars are protein bars that are really big and filling. The Mojo Bars are like pressed trail mix and provide a different taste and texture than traditional energy bars. Their energy gel, Shots, are nice because they have this thing called a Litter Leash. It allows you to tear the top off and the little piece of plastic stays attached to the rest of the package. I like this energy gel package design best of all although the tastes of their gels are not my favorite. You can see the Litter Leash on the right side below.

Shot Bloks get their own paragraphs because they are so awesome! They are like very firm pudding. Six come in a package with 200 calories. They are convenient because you can open the package and eat one or a few with your gloves on and put the package half open back in your pocket. With energy gel you have to commit to eating the whole thing or get this sticky mess all over everything. With energy bars you have to chew, when it's cold you have to chew a lot, and it sometimes feels like you am wasting as much energy trying to eat it as you are getting. So like 33 calorie Shot Bloks are a fantastic alternative to eating on the go. They require very little chewing, aren't messy, and come in small doses. Additionally the extra salt flavors are very nice when you are sweating a lot.

Clif Bar is committed to using as much natural and organic food in their products as possible. I do not know if this has anything to do with why their food tastes good but it might. Personally I think that some of the world's farming practices are unsustainable or in fact unhealthy and using organic food is a good alternative to those practices.

What they could improve: the taste of their energy gels. To be honest I have a hard time eating all the flavors I have tried because they are rather bitter. Perhaps that is the caffeine talking because all of the flavors of theirs I have tried contain caffeine. So my argument is somewhat premature I admit but I have had a hard time downing their gels.

Another desire I have is that these companies would make it easier for people like me to get discounted products. I spent over $150 on energy food before I went to Pakistan. Half of it I brought back but still that was a major expense for me. I also go through lots of energy food with running and climbing. I know I am not one of the top 20 athletes in this country in my sport much less the world but it would really nice to at least get like a 25% discount on orders of $50 or more. Some kind of discount would be nice. I usually buy my energy food in bulk like 6, 12 or 24 packs and at about a dollar per bar/gel and two dollars for Shot Bloks the costs add up. I do not mean to whine and I know that when I net some engineering jobs $20 will seem like nothing but at the moment and for the last year it has kind of been an issue.

Pre-start-up work

Before a company starts there are things that usually happen. They do not have to happen for every industry and I am focusing on the production of goods for the outdoor industry and selling them to consumers. For those that have started businesses or read about this sort of thing please comment below when I miss something.

A hopefully complete list in no particular order:

• A business plan: usually a document but it could just be in your head that provides insight into how the business will be run, who the customers are, How many customers there are, how you will get the customers, the money that is needed before a profit is made, the employees and management team, the predicted growth, and more or less where you want to be in five years.
• A customer(s): someone willing to hand you money for something you are doing.
• An employee(s): who is actually going to do the work. I count a small business of only a few people all as employees. The reason is that, I think, customers and investors are the ones that determine how good of a job you are doing. So they are in essence your boss.
• Money: unless there is basically no barrier to entry (like blogging) there needs to be some input of money to jump start the process. People need to eat and they can't do that working for free. Products need to be made but someone has to pay for the material and production.
• An idea: you have to have something that people will pay for be it an idea, service or product. You have to provide something for them to consume.
• You have to be enthusiastic and committed: I can not think of even one business where you start making money on day one. Perhaps in the first month for ebusinesses. Probably the day you go "live" or open your doors but chances are you are working on it full time before that point. This is more like investing and gambling than working at a job. You don't get paid just for showing up.

Additionally there are things that you should consider before starting:

• A lawyer: if you are starting with founders having a personal lawyer in addition to the company lawyer can help insure that you are not forced out overnight as has actually happened to inventors before.
• An accountant: because money will be flying in all different directions you might like to know where it is all going because there is a good chance that someone's money disappears and you will get the blame.
• Money: if you can live without a salary for several years more power to your start-up!
• A vacation: when is the next time you are going to get to go somewhere?
• Insurance: there is a better chance you will get sued as a business owner than an employee of the man.
• A place to live: just incase you can't afford rent for awhile it's nice to have friends with couches or parents or a van.
• Found with a woman: there are many grants and loans available to women in small businesses. There are also incentives for minorities and people with disabilities.
• Do work for the government: there are hundreds of grants through the government for science and technology in addition to contracts for all sorts of work.
• Consider location: what resources could help your business grow? Business incubators, state tax incentives, target market, potential employees, cost of living, and shipping costs all vary by location.
• Have fun: if you're getting into the business to make millions of dollars you're in it for the wrong reasons. If you are starting this business to make the world a better place, well, I can't really think of a better reason to start a company.

Please add your thoughts below. I'm sure I missed something.

Successful Innovative Companies: Volume 8

The Successful Innovative Company of the week is: Patagonia.

What they do right: They care about more than just profits. The founder Yvon Chiounard, the same guy that founded Black Diamond, had this environmental idea that he would try to make performance clothing with the least damage to the environment. That means he uses recycled materials, nontoxic dyes, organic cotton, safe labor environments in third world countries, and actively recycles old Patagonia products among other eco-friendly initiatives.

Patagonia promotes The Cleanest Line of products as a world leading brand in putting the environment before profits. They also helped to start the 1% For the Planet charity. Patagonia is surely one of the leaders in environmental production and does well informin their customers about their initiatives.

They also make some great clothing! I bought a R1 Hoody last year for $95 marked down from $135. At the time I thought I was crazy. It fit well and had nice features like thumb loops, a hood, an offset zipper and chin mask, a chest pocket and it was warm. I thought it would be a nice addition to my stuff to take to Pakistan. I wore it for two days while ice climbing and hiking in February. Oh my it was good! It breathed so well that if I wore it alone I could run or hike hard when the temperature was well below zero and the sweat would quickly vent off of me. It really provides no protection from the wind but that is no problem for most situations. As soon as I would stop hiking and stand there, as long as there was no wind, it would quickly heat up so there was no need to throw on another layer. To adjust the ventilation I could take my hands out of the thumb holes and slide the sleeves up my arms or I could take the hood off and zip the zipper down until my bare chest, head and neck were venting to 15 degree New Hampshire. I wore the R1 Hoody every time I went above camp one on Broad Peak this summer. I wore it on Longs Peak in August. I wore it running the Presidential traverse in September. If there is one shirt I will use when the temperature will be below 40 it is the R1 Hoody. I even bought a second one for $85 in March when I saw it on sale. I was so paranoid that they would quit selling them that I have it still with the tag on in my room just waiting for me to break the one I currently use.

But Patagonia, also known as Patagucci, does not only sell amazing hooded shirts. They cover the entire mountaineering range of clothing as well as city dweller clothing of sweaters and pants made of cotton and cashmiere.

Finally they have created a website called The Tin Shed. It is a collection of stories told with videos, pictures and words of the Patagonia environmental effort as well as their sponsored athletes.

What they could improve: Personally I think they send too many emails. I seem to get two or three emails a week sometimes twice a day announcing new sales or new items or the new surfing catalog. While it is nice that they are so proactive about telling people what they are doing they are trying to hard and I have archived several of their emails just from reading the subject.

They are also a very expensive company. None of their clothing comes cheap. This is the price of their hard work making The Cleanest Line yet for a poor 23 year old like myself it is prohibitive. That is not a bad marketing strategy, in fact they are doing quite well, but unless you can afford it it is too expensive.

Making it your own

I have been spending a lot of time recently writing things that have predefined templates. My thesis, which isn't so bad after all, my business plan, which is so bare it is kind of funny, a website, and of course my ebook. People often suggest that you need to make something representative of yourself. However, they don't tell you what that means. I'm going to try to answer that, at least for my life.

First off take my business plan. I am an engineer. It's what I do and I'm not half bad at it. Unfortunately, it's called a business plan and I am more than half bad at business. I want to describe the company and how it will survive but many of the things I want to say are from my personal experience. There are no formulas, I am aware of, that say why it is a good idea to go to ice climbing festivals to sell more ice axes.

The solution: write what I think needs to be in my business plan. Write it so that someone who doesn't know me can understand it. Which is to say that in the business plan I am saying that I am the one and only employee with experience engineering, mountaineering, and running and not so much with business, law, marketing and stuff. If someone wants to invest they should know my strengths and weaknesses.

Second take my thesis. Describe what I can stand behind. Everything else is left out. It turns out my summary is less than a page, as of now. A year and a half of long days in front of my computer screen analyzing finite element results in bright orange, yellow, green, and blue. Scrolling through thousands and thousands of lines of code to find that one misspelled word or comma or wrong number and I have less than a page to say.

The solution: besides an awesome literature review and background that describes most of what I learned in the last year and a half I can say a few things my simulations demonstrated. That is the key, being able to say something. I have been to a number of masters and doctorate thesis' presentations and I have learned when it comes to basic sciences advances happen slowly. A person can work on a project for years and at the end have a 25 minute presentation describing the difference between two sample groups. It is not that a doctorate degree or masters degree means any less now that I know what it takes to get one. In fact I respect the degrees that much more. Many of the most powerful discoveries in science can be described in ten minutes once you understand all of the background.

Finally, take my fun, like running, climbing, going to Pakistan... I am Isaiah Janzen not someone else. I can not live my life trying to achieve physical feats that other people accomplished.

The solution: I have my own unique set of goals. Some of them are probably the same as other people but the combination of all of them, I would assume, is unique. Top athletes try to innovate their sports by taking it to a new level. I just want to say 'this is what I did, it was fun, and my life is better because of it'.

So go out and make it your own. It doesn't have to be different, but it will be.

The Dark Horse

I'm talking about the guy nobody knows. The guy pounding away and straining to be the best. The guy who sweats passion. The guy who doesn't sleep because he found something and can't sleep until he absorbs it all. I'm talking about the guy that people think is a little unrealistic. The guy with nothing to lose so he doesn't quit.

I'm talking about Adam Young who created Owl City at 2 AM in his parents basement. I'm talking about Yanni when he played crazy stuff at after parties in Minnesota. I'm talking about Gary Erikson creating Cliff Bar from his parents house. I'm talking about Billy Mills PRing by 50 seconds in the finals of the 10k at the 64 olympics to take gold in a crazy sprint finish. I'm talking about Steve Wozniak building computers with high school kids in a garage.

Dark horses, you rock!

Teaching Myself Business

I took the plunge yesterday. I asked Gina Betti (Associate Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at WPI) to help me write a business plan. When I thought I would be devoting all of my waking hours to the research for finishing my thesis I was mistaken. Honestly, it shows that I still overestimate my ability to focus on one thing and one thing alone. Which is bad because it means that it sometimes takes me longer to do things than a more focused person. It also shows that I must be doing more than one thing. I can not stick to only one thing. Which is good because it means I'll keep running and climbing mountains for a long time and it gives me a broad range of experience so I know what a mountain runner wants in a pair of pants as well as an ice climber, and I know how one pair might work for both of them.

One piece of wisdom I was imparted this summer went something like: "People want modular stuff. One ice tool that can do it all. Everything from 35 degree snow to vertical ice. That's the future." That's probably a terrible misquote but that's the message that I understood. The only way that I am going to be able to create something that does everything is by doing everything myself.

So much to learn. So much to do. So much time spent waiting. So much time with no perceived progress. Eventually, some day, far down the road... so much accomplished.

Where to live and start my company?

My Abaqus simulations have been running for 17 hours and should finish soon. That gives me free time to discuss places I want to live and start my company. Yes, I have decided to start a company even though I have no investors now. I'm just going to do it. What am I going to sell? Well, I'll start with ice axes and carabiners, then add climbing harnesses, gloves, pants, and running shorts. After that I'll make whatever I need. Those are all products where I've looked at what's available and thought I could make a product that would appeal to people more. Anyway the towns:

I like to run, a lot. I want to take a serious shot at making the olympic marathon trials for 2012 and 2016 and realistically there are two towns that have the coaches, athletes and support to make that a possibility for me sooner rather than later: Eugene, OR and Boulder, CO.

I like to rock climb, ice climb, ski, and just get out in the mountains. There are several towns around the country where you can get your fill of mountains and socialize (learn from) some of the best climbers in the world: North Conway, NH, Jackson Hole, WY, Boulder, CO, Seattle, WA, Salt Lake City, UT, and maybe Berkley, CA (I don't know enough about California to know which town would be best for mountaineers).

As you can see Boulder shows up on both lists. I've been there a dozen or so times and I love it. They have committed runners (I said hi to Jenny Barringer on a long run once) and they have hardcore climbers (just go into Neptune Mountaineering). Additionally, Boulder is close to Denver and all of the amenities that go with big cities yet it is not very big. Some mountain towns are a little isolated. I also do some road biking and a number of professional cyclists live there.

No town is perfect. Boulder is not a cheap place to live. Apparently it can get competitive there because everyone is a competitive athlete and wants to stand out. Constant competition is not always a good thing. However, I found in the short time that I have spent there that most people are pretty positive toward others in their chosen sport.

Changing subjects, this is my 100th blog post. Where will I be at 200? What about 1000?

I'm going to Broad Peak and Pakistan

Monday I leave for Pakistan. A little over a week later I will arrive at Broad Peak base camp. Sometime in the middle of July I will most likely have the chance to summit the mountain at 26,401 feet. Then I have a return flight back on July 31st and I arrive in the states August 1st. In between now and then I will be terrified, scared, happy, excited, nervous, elated, tired, hungry, and extremes of just about every emotion I've ever experienced. I know that many people are worried or excited for me or both. In this, my final long post until August, I'm going to address a few things people might be wondering about:

Why am I doing this? - In high school I learned that I liked hiking and backpacking and climbing mountains. When I tell people I like climbing mountains the question that often comes up is: Would you like to climb Mt. Everest? Well, I read the books and decided that yes I would like to at least attempt Mt. Everest. In order to actually get things done I find that it is better to set a deadline and have intermediate goals. I've done the winter climbs, the technical climbs, the winter technical climbs, the descents in the dark and rain, the heavy backpacks, the falls, the bleeding, the alpine starts, and I've learned so much about every form of climbing there is. The next step is an expedition. Now I could go on a 3-4 week expedition to Alaska or South America and I would get a lot of experience. However, I had planned on graduating this May and having one last big fling before I start working for the man. So if I'm going to take one vacation it might as well be two months rather than one month. As it happens the climbing season in Nepal/India/China is either premonsoon March-May or post monsoon August-October. In Pakistan the climbing season is June-August which fits in with a academic schedule better. Additionally, after seeing enough pictures of mountains it becomes evident that Pakistan is host to the steepest, most hardcore mountains in the world. If I am going to spend two months of my life learning how to get to and walk above 26,000 feet then this is the place and now is as good of a time as any. 

On a deeper level why do I climb in general? - Read this article about risk taking in climbing. Willi Unsoeld, first ascent west ridge everest, once said "it has to be real enough to kill you." It's hard to describe. I am a very safe climber but many of the most memorable moments I've ever had climbing are the ones when I am totally in the moment looking at the line between safe and unsafe or when my safety system is so basic that I try not to think of how few things are keeping me safe or when I'm hungry tired and it's getting dark out. It's a thrill ride but it's real. It's also very slow I mean a few hundred feet an hour is pretty typical so there is a lot of time to think about the turnaround time and traffic jams. For the most part nothing happens suddenly so it is relaxing in a prolonged stress sort of way instead of instant heart attack way. Also the view from the middle of a 600 foot tall cliff or on top of a tall mountain is pretty sweet.

Do I have a death wish? - No, read the stuff above. There is no fear or deadly drama in my life sitting at a desk. I could spend all of my time trying to live longer or I could spend my time living. 

On an unrelated note, what am I doing with my life when I get back from Pakistan? - Finishing my degree at WPI. As for the mountaineering company, if I find one investor I will start it. On a side note I am taking prototype one and two of the ice axe to Pakistan. 

How can you follow me and hear about my adventures? - Check back to my blog, which my sister will be updating, and also to the Field Touring Alpine Blog for this particular expedition. When I get back I plan to produce about a 90 minute documentary about my first expedition. I will most likely show it at a WPI Outing Club meeting in the fall. 

How can you support me? - Pray for me. If you are not Christian  you could become Christian. If the first two options are not enough for you I will accept cash and checks in any amount to help pay for my adventures and my student loans. Send donations to:

WPI Box 1678

Worcester, MA 01609 

I will even wear your logo and use your stuff if you give me money. 

Finally, friends and family, I love so many of you and you guys have been awesome. Just be ready when I come back more hardcore, confident, and experienced. I've been shaking up this world for years now but the real shaking begins in 2009. There will be changes because I will change things.

Results of Climbing Company Name Poll

61% Janzen Gear, 33% Fitzroy Mountaineering, 5% Gorges Gear. 

Really? I mean naming a company after myself makes me nervous. The name has to be catchy and simple yet be associated with awesomeness. The personal name things has worked well in the auto, financial, and law business but never really caught on in the technology or outdoor industries. Of course in those latter two the names of animals, plants, and places has caught on.

Well, this gives me something to think about. 

We have a Carabiner!

No pictures because I just finished putting the gate on it and I'll probably try for a patent but it's sitting here in front of me. The first ever (to my knowledge) keylock or notchless wire gate! Seeing as how it's made of out plastic I would guess the strength rating is about .1 kN (22.5 lbs) maybe even .05 kN. Also the geometry doesn't match up perfectly so the CAD file will need to be cleaned up and modified. 

The point is: carabiner manufacturers beware! I'm going to rock your world.