tag:blog.derrickko.com,2014:/feedDerrick Ko2017-02-27T11:26:04-08:00Derrick Kohttp://blog.derrickko.comhello@derrickko.comSvbtle.comtag:blog.derrickko.com,2014:Post/solving-for-the-last-mile-of-transportation2017-02-27T11:26:04-08:002017-02-27T11:26:04-08:00Solving for the Last Mile of Transportation<p><strong>Cities should be built for people, not cars.</strong></p>
<p><a href="https://svbtleusercontent.com/r6zwemhqib1jpw.jpg"><img src="https://svbtleusercontent.com/r6zwemhqib1jpw_small.jpg" alt="city-people-street-sun (1).jpg"></a></p>
<p>Ridesharing was the last major shift in transportation, and I was fortunate to have been a part of it.</p>
<p>The perspectives I gained at Lyft really struck me — even after I left, I never stopped thinking about how to improve transportation in cities. There just <em>had</em> to be an aspect of transportation not covered by the ridesharing giants.</p>
<p>So 2016, I dove back into the world of transport with a startup called <a href="https://spin.pm">Spin</a>. We started the company with two simple goals in mind:</p>
<ol>
<li>Provide efficient and accessible last mile transportation</li>
<li>Evolve cities around people</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="the-last-mile-transportation-problem_2">The Last Mile Transportation Problem <a class="head_anchor" href="#the-last-mile-transportation-problem_2">#</a>
</h2>
<p>In San Francisco, getting to the Financial District from the Caltrain station during commute hours is a 30 minute trip for just a mile of travel. It didn’t matter whether I rode a car, public transport, or walked.</p>
<p>San Francisco isn’t unique in this respect. First and last mile problems — the challenge of moving people between transportation hubs and their final destinations — have plagued urban planners for decades.</p>
<p>Transit systems haven’t kept up with the pace of urbanization. A typical American is comfortable walking up to a <a href="http://humantransit.org/2011/04/basics-walking-distance-to-transit.html">quarter mile</a> for public transit, which results in too many people relying on vehicle-based modes of transportation for that last mile.</p>
<p>Traffic congestion is already at an all time <a href="http://inrix.com/blog/2017/02/congestion-is-growing-so-how-do-we-tackle-it/">high</a>. People around the world are spending days in vehicles. The detrimental effects of traffic in last mile transportation is just one of the many factors that contribute to congestion’s <strong>$186 billion</strong> in annual <a href="http://inrix.com/press-releases/americans-will-waste-2-8-trillion-on-traffic-by-2030-if-gridlock-persists/">economic impact</a>.</p>
<p><strong>We want to step-change last mile transportation</strong>, and we have started building the foundation for this. <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2017/01/25/spin-wants-to-bring-dock-less-bike-sharing-to-the-us/">Station-less bikeshare</a> increases our personal mobility in a highly affordable manner. To us, the last mile extends beyond just commuting. It’s walking to lunch. Stopping by a friend’s place. Making that quick milk-and-eggs run. It’s about how we move around in our daily lives</p>
<h2 id="the-nextsteps_2">The Next Steps <a class="head_anchor" href="#the-nextsteps_2">#</a>
</h2><blockquote>
<p>“We constantly sacrifice all kinds of amenities for automobiles. I think we can wear down their number by sacrificing the roadbed to some of our other needs instead. It’s a switch in values.”</p>
<p><em>Jane Jacobs, author of The Death and Life of Great American Cities</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>As cities become more dense, the supply of street space simply can’t keep up with the demands of a growing population. Cities can no longer depend on cars as an efficient mode of transport.</p>
<p>Urban planners have been working around the limitation of street space by reimagining how people should move around. New York City has built over 1,000 miles in bike lanes and will transform over <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/02/nyregion/what-new-york-can-learn-from-barcelonas-superblocks.html">27 acres</a> of streets into plazas, as part of the <a href="http://www1.nyc.gov/html/onenyc/">OneNYC</a> plan. Barcelona has implemented “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/nov/30/cycling-revolution-bikes-outnumber-cars-first-time-copenhagen-denmark">superblocks</a>” by closing off streets for use as community and pedestrian areas. Copenhagen is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/nov/30/cycling-revolution-bikes-outnumber-cars-first-time-copenhagen-denmark">planning</a> to make its downtown core car-free within a decade. In short, cities are prioritizing people over cars.</p>
<p><strong>We want to accelerate this people-centric evolution of cities.</strong></p>
<p>I’m a firm believer that cities should be built for people, not cars. Cities should be driven by pedestrians, biking, and public transport, with private cars as a second class citizen.</p>
<p>And we get there by providing a great last mile alternative to cars. The quicker cities wean themselves off cars, the sooner people will <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/nov/30/cycling-revolution-bikes-outnumber-cars-first-time-copenhagen-denmark">enjoy</a> a cleaner environment, a stronger local economy, and a higher quality of life.</p>
<hr>
<p>Station-less bikeshare is just version 1 of Spin. I imagine a future where people simply move around cities through public transit and fleets of autonomous cars — all connected by Spin’s personal mobility vehicles, for that last mile.</p>
tag:blog.derrickko.com,2014:Post/fandom2014-04-22T00:33:20-07:002014-04-22T00:33:20-07:00Fandom<p><em>I wrote this shortly after Sir Alex announced his retirement a year ago, but I never did hit publish. In light of <a href="http://www.manutd.com/en/News-And-Features/Football-News/2014/Apr/club-statement-on-david-moyes.aspx">today’s news about David Moyes</a>, this piece feels especially apt.</em></p>
<p>Just like that Sir Alex Ferguson has retired. And a million voices did cry out in terror. 659 million fans to be exact.</p>
<p>Football fandom is a weird beast. I grew up 6800 miles from Manchester. Why should I even care what goes on there?</p>
<p>Humans are complex social creatures. The random bonding with strangers for 90 minutes. The shared emotions that come with winning and losing. The sense of purpose that comes with weekly matches. We are, by evolution, tribal and competitive by nature. Club support feeds those instincts.</p>
<p>So how does one decide which club to support? Apart from the obvious reasons like geographic location or family tradition, I dare say it’s because we find aspects of the club that we resonate with. We see ourselves in a club’s character, its values, and the way the team plays.</p>
<p>And when things are going well, fans don’t want change. </p>
<p>What I believe scares United fans the most is that they finally have to grow up to 21st century football. It is a world where long term planning typically takes a backseat in pursuit of success. Fans watched managerial musical chairs played season after season, only to take heart that all is stable back home. Not any more.</p>
<p>Club owners and managers often preach that no man is above the club. But when that man has been there for 26 years, we don’t bother drawing the line. As far as the world remembers, Sir Alex is Manchester United. Never, in the history of sport, has there been or will there be another figure like Sir Alex. And now, fans have to face the reality and decide what truly makes Manchester United.</p>
tag:blog.derrickko.com,2014:Post/the-state-of-photo-apps2014-04-17T16:23:21-07:002014-04-17T16:23:21-07:00The State of Photo Apps<p>Ever since mobile phones have become our de facto camera, the cost of taking a photo has plummeted. We are now taking more photos of the world around us than ever before. </p>
<p>Photos have become such a crucial piece in the consumer app space that companies are <a href="http://pando.com/2014/02/19/follow-the-photos-the-real-reason-facebook-just-paid-almost-10-of-its-market-cap-for-whatsapp/">basing entire strategies around them</a>. And thus far, our love of nostalgia and our need for validation have been the guiding motivations behind the current state of photo apps.</p>
<p><strong>Nostalgia</strong></p>
<p>Nostalgia drives us to keep our old photos – whether in a shoebox or the cloud. We know that as our memories become more distant, we will value the photos of them even more. And with our <a href="http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/Human_hoarding_behavior">hoarding instincts</a>, not only do we want to keep all our photos, we want a reliable place to do so.</p>
<p>Companies have realized this. It’s no coincidence that in a span of two weeks, we have seen a renewed emphasis on mobile photo storage. Dropbox launched <a href="http://carousel.com">Carousel</a> and acquired <a href="https://blog.loom.com/loom-is-joining-dropbox-2/">Loom</a>, Eyefi is now <a href="http://thenextweb.com/creativity/2014/04/17/eyefi-launches-cloud-service-integrated-wi-fi-mobi-camera-card">cloud-backed</a>, and both <a href="http://www.iclarified.com/39911/amazon-completely-redesigns-its-cloud-drive-photos-app-for-ios">Amazon</a> and <a href="http://blog.flickr.net/en/2014/04/17/introducing-flickr-3-0-for-iphone-and-android/">Flickr</a> have revamped their photo apps.</p>
<p><strong>Validation</strong></p>
<p>Our desire to preserve our memories is paralleled by our excitement to share them, ever since the days of cave drawings. </p>
<p>By sharing, we implicitly seek validation. We expect a reaction in return. It’s this sharing-validation symbiosis that led to the explosion of photo sharing apps. Sharing is now easier and more creative than ever before. And each time we get a response to our photos – likes, hearts, or even a simple “awesome!!” – we get that little addictive hit of adrenaline.</p>
<p>Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and messaging apps ultimately play to our desire of validation. They continually optimize our ability to showcase as many of our photos to as wide an audience as possible.</p>
<p><strong>What’s Next</strong></p>
<p>The recent incarnations of photo apps have focused on how we produce photos, and how <em>others</em> consume our photos. There has been little development on how we consume <em>our own</em> photos meaningfully. </p>
<p><a href="https://svbtleusercontent.com/sflerheugp2z2w.png"><img src="https://svbtleusercontent.com/sflerheugp2z2w_small.png" alt="comparison2.png"></a></p>
<p>We still consume our photos in a very time-linear fashion, whether it’s through our camera roll or new apps like Carousel. This becomes ineffective as we amass tens of thousands of photos spanning decades of our lives.</p>
<p>Our relationship with our photos needs to improve, and the next wave of photo apps will focus on meaningfully developing this bond.</p>
<p>The sense of warmth, the sounds, and the conversations evoked by looking at the right photos at the right time is a powerful hook. Using the ever increasing amount of both personal and meta data available, these apps will tap deeper into our sense of nostalgia and become an indispensable part of our lives.</p>
<p>The mobile photo space is far from “done”. It has yet to fulfill its potential, and I’m personally excited about its future.</p>
<p><em>Catch me on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/derrickko">over here</a>.</em></p>
tag:blog.derrickko.com,2014:Post/opportunities2014-01-06T09:09:52-08:002014-01-06T09:09:52-08:00Opportunities<p>Every opportunity has its costs. On hindsight, we celebrate the great ones and try not to regret the missed ones. How then, should we approach opportunities that come our way?</p>
<p>To me, it’s about understanding how we want to mold ourselves, and using that to influence our decisions accordingly.</p>
<p>Two years ago, I had a cushy consulting job at Pivotal Labs Singapore when I was given the opportunity to join a file sharing company called “Kicksend”. I’d have to uproot and join these two guys – whom I had just met – across the world.</p>
<p>Two years on, revenue is <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2013/10/28/yc-alum-kicksend-inks-mobile-photo-printing-deal-with-walmart/">jumping monthly</a>. The team is growing; from the three of us in an acupuncturist office to a well rounded company with a new <a href="https://twitter.com/derrickko/status/416393432781713408">Singapore engineering office</a>. And we’re on a roadmap I’m personally excited about.</p>
<p>Along the way, I’ve rejected my share of worthless recruiter emails and worthy opportunities. Further scaling Kicksend at this stage puts me in excellent stead when I do inevitably start a company of my own once again.</p>
<p>Opportunities are transient. Whenever one comes along – no matter how small or large – give it some thought. Will it make you happier? Does it help you grow as person? Will you be working towards your dream?</p>
<p>In the end, pick the opportunity that lets you best optimize yourself.</p>
<p><em>Catch me on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/derrickko">over here</a>.</em></p>
tag:blog.derrickko.com,2014:Post/perfection2013-07-26T10:20:00-07:002013-07-26T10:20:00-07:00Perfection<p>Meet Mr Kwee. </p>
<p><a href="https://svbtleusercontent.com/bxhcejlcfemwtq.jpg"><img src="https://svbtleusercontent.com/bxhcejlcfemwtq_small.jpg" alt="mr_kwee.jpg"></a><br>
Source: <a href="http://www.hungrygowhere.com/dining-guide/hawker/oldest-char-kway-teow-in-singapore-*aid-86963900/">HGW</a></p>
<p>He arguably fries one of the best plates of <em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Char_kway_teow">char kway teow</a></em>, an intricate noodle dish constructed from the most basic of ingredients. For the past 40 years, Mr Kwee has been frying the same plate of noodles, every day.</p>
<p>Mr Kwee is a hawker in Singapore. Hawkers serve food out of stalls that are barely large enough to fit two people, in what can be <a href="http://www.seriouseats.com/2011/09/guide-to-singapore-hawker-center-street-food-where-to-eat.html">best described</a> as an outdoor food court. The very best earn over $10,000 a month. And there’s a good number of them who have been at it since the 1960s. </p>
<p>40 years on, Mr Kwee still starts the day to <a href="http://ieatishootipost.sg/2010/06/hai-kee-char-kway-teow-famous-one-from.html">long lines</a> of customers. Even though ingredients have changed, generations have grown, and taste buds have evolved. </p>
<p>Every portion of <em>char kway teow</em> that Mr Kwee fries is delicately balanced to be as perfect as it can be, for only that moment in time. The next one will be different – perhaps with a slight improvement only noticeable to him. You don’t achieve such sustained success without adapting and iterating. And he knows that. </p>
<p>One becomes an expert after <a href="http://blog.derrickko.com/10000">10,000</a> hours of practice. But what happens after 10,000 <em>days</em>? </p>
<p>There will come a point at which a job becomes a lifestyle. Hawkers like Mr Kwee don’t do it for the money. They don’t do it because it’s easy. They do it because they take pride in their craft, and seek to serve the perfect plate to their customers every single time.</p>
<p>Perfection is a moving target. Be relentless in pursuing it.</p>
tag:blog.derrickko.com,2014:Post/startup-employees-understand-your-offer2013-02-14T03:58:00-08:002013-02-14T03:58:00-08:00Startup Employees: Understand Your Offer<p>So you’ve been looking for startups to join as an early employee. You’ve an offer letter in your inbox. You like the numbers. You call to accept.</p>
<p><strong>Stop.</strong> I’ve seen too many people – for better or for worse – rush to accept an offer without much consideration. Don’t make that mistake. While most startups have great founders who are honest, have the right motivations, and properly value what you bring to the table, there are always the ones you want to avoid. But startups always paint a rosy picture, so how would you ever find out?</p>
<p>One key indication is that offer you have in hand. As an <a href="http://blog.derrickko.com/great-startup-engineers">early employee</a>, you <em>should</em> understand the larger picture surrounding the offer, before you make your decision.</p>
<h1 id="the-basics_1">The Basics <a class="head_anchor" href="#the-basics_1">#</a>
</h1>
<p><strong>Salary</strong></p>
<p>The amount of cash you get per month. Nothing exciting here.</p>
<p><strong>Options</strong></p>
<p>Options aren’t stocks. They give you the <em>option</em> to purchase stocks at a price determined by the board called the <em>strike price</em>. This is usually low, or below market.</p>
<p>So let’s say you have a bunch of options with 1 cent strike price, and the current share price on the market (or secondary market) is $1.01. When you exercise an option, you pay the company 1 cent to buy the stock, which you then sell for a profit of $1.</p>
<p><strong>Vesting schedule</strong></p>
<p>Your options have to vest. A vested option is an option that you own, and one that the company can’t take back. This protects the company from employees running away with all the allocated options if he leaves pre-maturely, whatever the reason may be.</p>
<p>Your options vest according to a schedule, typically over 4 years, with a 1 year cliff. This means that 25% of your options won’t vest till you’re there for a year. And after your 1 year anniversary, you’ll vest on a (typically) monthly basis.</p>
<h1 id="between-the-lines_1">Between the lines <a class="head_anchor" href="#between-the-lines_1">#</a>
</h1>
<p>There’s more to consider beyond your offer letter. Judging an offer based on a raw numbers is meaningless. You need context.</p>
<p>How much of the company are carved out for employees? How much of the company are you really getting? What do investors really think of the company?</p>
<p>The more data points you get, the more informed your decision becomes.</p>
<p><strong>The option pool</strong></p>
<p>Startups typically have an option pool – a percentage of the company stock that’s reserved for employee stock option plans. Your issued options are taken from this pool. Since this is a fixed pool, the amount you are issued typically depends on your role and the time at which you joined the company.</p>
<p><strong>What percentage of the company, <em>fully diluted</em>, do your options represent?</strong></p>
<p>Companies don’t represent options as a percentage of the company in offer letters because there’s no guarantee that they can maintain this percentage when dilution occurs (through funding rounds, for example). </p>
<p>That said, it’s good to know about the percentage of the company your options represent. Make sure that it’s based on the fully-diluted amount, which accounts for all stocks – exercised or not – that have ever been issued. This is a much better representation of your stake in the company. </p>
<p>There is <em>no reason</em> why the founders wouldn’t give you this percentage, so be sure to ask.</p>
<p><strong>Liquidation preference</strong></p>
<p>Investors typically get preferred shares, which means that in a liquidity event, there are certain “preferences” attached to it. In some cases, you may see a “1x” preference, which means that in an event of a sale, the investors would get the invested amount back. Similarly, a “2x” preference guarantees them a 2x return on their investment, no matter how low the acquisition amount. In some cases, an unusually high liquidation preference could be viewed as a red flag.</p>
<p><strong>Investors and the Board</strong></p>
<p>It’s good to know if the company has taken smart money or dumb money. Smart money is from investors who can offer strategic help to the company. Dumb money is from investors who offer little help beyond pure financing. Understand the rationale behind the founders’ choice of investors.</p>
<p>The same goes for the board of directors. The board is in charge of the high level decisions of the company. Directors are appointed by the shareholders, and in a startup, it’ll typically consist of the founder and the investors. If there are investors on the board, understand what they bring to the table.</p>
<hr>
<p>I firmly believe that joining a startup shouldn’t be about the money. And when there’s a great fit between you and the company, these numbers will matter less – due to the larger motivations at play, and the openness and respect that is reflected in the offer.</p>
<p>It’s always our personal responsibility to consider our financial prospects, and weed out the bad eggs. While I’m hardly qualified to give legal or financial advice, I hope this gives you a quick primer of what to consider before accepting an offer at a startup. You should also check out other <a href="http://www.payne.org/index.php/Startup_Equity_For_Employees">great resources</a> out there, including the very informative <a href="http://books.piaw.net/guide/index.html">“Engineer’s Guide to Silicon Valley”</a> (hat tip to <a href="http://www.quora.com/Kah-Seng-Tay">Kah Seng</a>).</p>
<p>When evaluating an opportunity at a startup, especially the early stage ones, there aren’t many data points available. So find out as much as you can. Talk to people. Understand your offer. Learn about the backgrounds of company and the founders. All this will go a long way in helping you make the right decision.</p>
<p><em>Catch me on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/derrickko">over here</a>.</em></p>
tag:blog.derrickko.com,2014:Post/designers-and-engineers-can-play-nice2013-01-14T11:00:00-08:002013-01-14T11:00:00-08:00Yes, Designers and Engineers Can Play Nice<p>With the rise of “design centric teams”, there has been a lot of talk about the differences between designers and engineers. Sadly, they seldom are about anything constructive. But hey, aren’t twists and conflicts just more entertaining to read?</p>
<p>The reality is far from a Mars vs Venus situation, as <a href="http://pandodaily.com/2013/01/03/engineers-are-from-mars-designers-are-from-venus/">described by some</a>. I have worked with many design teams – more notably IDEO, and <a href="http://kicksend.com">more recently</a>, one of the top designers in the Valley. I know what it takes to foster a close, productive relationship between engineering and design. And I know that it boils down to process and empathy.</p>
<p><strong>Keep design ahead</strong></p>
<p>Design should always operate ahead of engineering. Have a head start of at most two weeks. Any longer, and you risk having something that is outdated by reality by the time engineering starts. Interaction and visual design should be iterated and completed before writing a single line of code. This prevents frequent back-and-forth during development, which ends up being inefficient, and draining. In other words, churn.</p>
<p><strong>Prioritize together</strong></p>
<p>I can’t stress it enough. Prioritization of features adds structure to your releases, reduces friction, and avoids overwhelming the team.</p>
<p>Plan your sprints with both engineering and design present. Give both sides a chance to be heard when deciding the priority of upcoming feature work. There’s a lot less friction when the team understands the tradeoffs at play. </p>
<p>Once things are prioritized, <em>stick to it</em>. Emergencies aside, quick features, favors, or ad-hoc nice-to-haves throw off momentum. </p>
<p><strong>Build a culture of empathy</strong></p>
<p>A product team works best when engineers and designers not only show empathy towards their customer, but each other. This has to be driven by the culture of your team. </p>
<blockquote class="short">
<p>Being design-driven means treating design as a partner (and a leader) in the product creation process.</p>
<p>-<a href="http://blog.capwatkins.com/building-a-designdriven-culture">Cap Watkins</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p>The same goes for engineering. Try to involve both sides in product conceptualization when practically possible. <a href="https://twitter.com/kowitz">Braden Kowitz</a> describes it as a <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/kowitz/building-a-design-team">design-product-engineering “triforce”</a>. </p>
<p>Design optimizes for best possible experience for the user. And that includes even the most <a href="http://shkspr.mobi/blog/2013/01/are-designers-crazy/">subtle</a> changes that make a product feel “just right”. Engineering makes that a reality by ensuring that experience is flawless under all scenarios. Sometimes, that means having to make tough decisions of implementation tradeoffs. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I believe the worlds of designers and developers are not so dissimilar as people think. Both cultures immerse themselves in technical professions, sometimes carrying a certain amount of elitism, but always with a passion for craft, self-betterment, and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.</p>
<p>-<a href="http://blog.wells.ee/hack-design">Wells Riley</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p>We should learn to appreciate each other’s role. Start with chats over lunch. Have team-wide tech/design talks. Subscribe to <a href="http://hackdesign.org">Hack Design</a>. Take lessons at <a href="http://teamtreehouse.com/">Treehouse</a>. It pays off.</p>
<hr>
<p>At the end of the day, engineering and design work together towards the same goal – shipping a great product. We don’t push against the other. We push each other forward. That’s when the magic happens.</p>
<p><em>Catch me on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/derrickko">over here</a>.</em></p>
tag:blog.derrickko.com,2014:Post/100002012-11-09T10:42:00-08:002012-11-09T10:42:00-08:0010,000<p>Ever notice that job listings always call for 5 years of experience? There is a reason for that, and it is arbitrary.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The critical difference between expert musicians differing in the level of attained solo performance concerned the amounts of time they had spent in solitary practice during their music development, which totaled around <em>10,000 hours</em> by age 20 for the best experts.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Dr. Anders Ericsson first presented this concept in a <a href="http://www.psy.fsu.edu/faculty/ericsson/ericsson.exp.perf.html">research paper</a>, which was later popularized by Malcolm Gladwell’s book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Outliers-Story-Success-Malcolm-Gladwell/dp/0316017922">Outliers</a>.</p>
<p>In short, one becomes an “expert” after training for 10,000 hours. Or 5 years.</p>
<p>However, everyone eventually reaches 5 years of professional development. Does that make everyone an expert by default? While 10,000 hours worth of experience does give one a good level of familiarity with the subject, I wouldn’t give out the title of “expert” that easily.</p>
<p>I believe it’s how you spend those 10,000 hours that marks your level of expertise. A journey of rote learning gives you a very different level of understanding than a journey of critical problem solving. The progression of difficulty, the quality of instruction, the extent to which you push yourself; they all matter.</p>
<p>The process of learning can be hacked too. Dr. Ericsson, in the same paper, even alludes,</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Experts have acquired domain-specific memory skills that allow them to rely on <em>long-term [working] memory</em> to dramatically expand the amount of information that can be kept accessible.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>And <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N-back">research</a> does point out that working memory is trainable. In other words, you can theoretically augment your domain-specific training with exercises like the <a href="http://brainworkshop.sourceforge.net/">dual n-back game</a>, and speed up your development.</p>
<p>This is just another example as to why we can’t generalize everyone’s development. A “5 years of experience” benchmark is just arbitrarious. A “best expert” after 10,000 hours is likely a case of correlation, than causation. Ultimately, it boils down to what you do on the way to 10,000. </p>
<hr>
<p>So what does happen when you reach 10,000 hours?</p>
<p>I remember that around my first 10,000, solving problems and building things became clockwork. Perhaps, to some extent, effortless. But I realized that there was so much more I wanted to learn, which I now could. I wasn’t an “expert” by far. I had just leveled up, in a long hike to the top. And that’s the way it should be. Doors open, and you start the next phase. That’s all.</p>
<p>In the end, 10,000 is all but just a reminder for us to look back, reflect, and chart our way forward.</p>
<p>Here’s to our next 10,000.</p>
<p><em>Catch me on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/derrickko">over here</a>.</em></p>
tag:blog.derrickko.com,2014:Post/microsoft-and-startups2012-10-09T10:22:00-07:002012-10-09T10:22:00-07:00Why should I start my career at Microsoft, rather than a startup?<p><a href="http://microsoftjobsblog.com/blog/dear-jobsblog-why-should-i-start-my-career-at-microsoft-rather-than-a-startup">Kevin</a> at Microsoft writes:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Startups can seem exciting, but when you consider tech jobs, remember the risks. When you picture success at an early-stage company, you may take inspiration from the money you will earn once the company “hits it big.” </p>
<p>On the other hand, choosing Microsoft to launch your career provides nothing but upside.</p>
<p><em>…</em> </p>
<p>Don’t believe the hype. I admit I’m biased, but for tech jobs, Microsoft is your best bet.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Dear Kevin,</p>
<p>While I agree that Microsoft can provide fulfilling careers to many people, that’s just a terrible response. Given Microsoft’s history with startups, I never expected such condescension. (Incidentally, if the hype isn’t worth believing, why bother fueling it with <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/bizspark/">Bizspark</a>?)</p>
<p>Top talent think critically. You need to present a logical argument. You don’t convince people that you’re cool by saying you’re cool.</p>
<p>More importantly, you assume that great engineers are <em>only</em> interested in startups to “hit it big”. How about the chance to directly influence the product, disrupt industries, and <em>ship daily to production</em>? When people consider working at startups, there are a lot more <a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pink_on_motivation.html">motivations</a> at play than just an exit.</p>
<p>Is Microsoft so desperate for talent that you would so willingly dismiss an entire segment of the tech industry and its <a href="http://blog.derrickko.com/great-startup-engineers">brilliant engineers</a> you crave for?</p>
<hr>
<p>Follow up: I’ve spent some time at Microsoft, and have only good things to say about my experience.</p>
<p>My qualm isn’t with the company, but rather, the content, approach and flippant tone of Kevin’s post. Having previously worked there, that’s not something I’d expect from the company, which is disappointing.</p>
<p><em>Catch me on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/derrickko">over here</a>, or follow the discussion on <a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4634062">Hacker News</a>.</em></p>
tag:blog.derrickko.com,2014:Post/no-the-iphone-isnt-boring2012-09-13T10:19:00-07:002012-09-13T10:19:00-07:00No, the iPhone isn't boring<p>With this morning’s launch, there has been a slew of articles proclaiming <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-19557497">that</a> <a href="http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/09/the-iphone-5-is-boring-and-amazing/">the</a> <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCUQqQIwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10000872396390443696604577647752214727774.html&ei=9U1RUOfYOJDY9ASxiIDIBQ&usg=AFQjCNEoTz5Zu5iQNBckjQJS9VeQ6FIX5Q&cad=rja">iPhone 5 is boring</a>.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Reviewers, quick to call winners and losers in the space, have spent the last few months lamenting that the iPhone doesn’t offer more. Even some hard-core Apple fans questioned whether the iPhone can continue to trail blaze or if it’s becoming a snoozer. One Apple employee recently confided he had been hoping the new device would have more dramatic changes.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In short, a longer phone with an interface that looks the same since 2007, just doesn’t sound like progress.</p>
<p>I can’t help but sense that people are missing the point. Let’s take look.</p>
<ul>
<li><p><em>No NFC.</em> NFC is still at a nascent state of adoption. While it could be Apple’s prerogative as a market leader to push for its adoption, the market may not be ripe for NFC just yet. The mobile payments space is still sorting itself out, and the success of platforms like Square would make NFC redundant.</p></li>
<li><p><em>There are bigger screens.</em> As <a href="http://dcurt.is/3-point-5-inches">Dustin Curtis pointed out a year ago</a>, phones with massive screens actually turn out to be <em>less</em> usable. While they make great selling points, the usability of the device worsens.</p></li>
<li><p><em>iOS is stale.</em> Yes, it doesn’t have the visual embellishments as its competitors. And yes, there are certain aspects that could definitely be improved upon. But iOS still is the most usable mobile interface out there; an interface that gets out of the way and gives us access to what we want, quickly and simply.</p></li>
<li><p><em>It’s just longer.</em> A radical new design doesn’t make something better. Look back at the previous iPhones, each one really is an incremental update. With each new version, Apple iterates on what works, towards the goal of the ideal they set out to create in 2005.</p></li>
</ul>
<p><img src="http://cultofmac.cultofmaccom.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Screen-Shot-2012-07-30-at-10.07.48-AM.jpg" alt='"Purple"'></p>
<p><em>From <a href="http://www.cultofmac.com/181816/apple-reveals-2005-purple-iphone-prototype-to-show-it-didnt-copy-sony/">Cult of Mac</a>.</em></p>
<p>Apple has never been about features for the sake of features. Features do make a phone stand out in the market. People do buy phones based on the longer spec sheet. But after a while, the gloss wears off and we only care about the things that matter to us.</p>
<p>In fact, over the next year, it is the innovation in mobile software that will impact users the most. <a href="http://www.apple.com/ios/whats-new/">Passbook</a> for example, is a disruptive software play that doesn’t involve a bet-the-farm hardware aspect to it.</p>
<p>The Apple and Google developer ecosystems constantly advance what we can do with a mobile phone. What ends up defining a smartphone is more than just hardware. Apple knows this, and they have provided a great piece of hardware for developers to take advantage of.</p>
<p>So the next time you see a new phone, think about what truly excites you about it. Is it the long feature list? Or how well it works and feels when your life?</p>
<p>Apple finely balances what we <em>actually</em> use, with what we <em>think</em> we’ll use. And that’s what the iPhone 5 is, executed to perfection. For now.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>To some, this repetition is now boring. But I think Apple looks at it the opposite way: they’re perfecting their trick. – <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2012/09/13/the-iphone-5-event/">MG Siegler</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p><em>Catch me on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/derrickko">over here</a>.</em></p>