All Ask Jason #236

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On This Week in Startups, we brought back--by popular demand--the All Ask Jason episode! Four fans of the show called in to get Jason and Tyler's advice on their most pressing career and business problems--from how to monetize, to which project to pursue.

0:00-2:15 Welcome everyone, today we have an All Ask Jason episode!
2:15-3:00 Don’t forget that the LAUNCH Festival is March 7 and 8 in San Francisco! For more information, go to conference.launch.is.
3:00-7:30 Thank you to GoToMeeting for their support. Everyone thank @GoToMeeting.
7:30-9:00 We talk to our first caller, Flaviu Simihaian, who has a question about finding a co-founder for his project Eval.me.
9:00-9:30 Jason: You have to decide if this is a proof-of-concept business or if you want to go up against the leaders.
9:30-11:30 Tyler: What was your core motivation for founding this product?
11:30-15:00 Jason: You need to leave North Carolina. I would also make a list of the things in your life that you’re most passionate about.
15:00-15:30 Jason: Go on a long hike and make yourself a list.
15:30-18:00 Flaviu: Is joining another team a better way to go if I can find something I’m passionate about?
18:00-19:00 Tyler tells about an experience in which someone told him he couldn’t run a clothing company solo and he was motivated to prove them wrong.
19:00-20:45 The next question is from Marcus Shappi of Ninja Blocks who has a concern about making all of his software open source.
20:45-25:00 Jason: If these investors don’t understand the value of open source, that’s a bit of a tell that they’re probably dumb.
25:00-27:45 Thank you to Sourcebits for their sponsorship! Everyone thank @Sourcebits.
27:45-32:00 The next question comes from Rodrigo Fuentes, who is having a problem deciding which revenue model to pursue for his startup CallTrackingFox.com.
32:00-35:30 Tyler: When you show a visual, that has a big impact, so make sure it’s good.
35:30-37:00 Our next caller is Javaughn Langlois, who is trying to decide between learning from his mentor and starting up on his own (SeedMyDream.com).
37:00-38:30 Insight from Tyler: It’s like digging a ditch in Mexico.
38:30-43:30 Your passion project has to be the one that you work on most of the time.
43:30-45:00 People who didn’t grow up with money tend to undervalue their services.
45:00-47:30 Jason: When I was growing up, we didn’t spend $25k on every vacation we took, combined, for 18 years.
47:30-48:45 Javaughn: I’m having trouble getting people who already know me to buy in to my company. What should I do?
48:45-51:45 People move to major cities because there’s more opportunity.
51:45-54:15 Thank you to Sourcebits and GoToMeeting for making this episode possible.
54:15-56:00 Jason tells a story about going to see The Artist in San Francisco and seeing lots of openly gay couples.
56:00-58:15 Jason: I’m haunted by the things in life that I’m able to do that others are not or have to live in fear of doing.
58:15-59:00 Jason: Let’s all remember that we’re incredibly lucky to be able to participate in this program. If anyone listening has any inclination to do something positive, go out and do it. We’ll see you all next time.

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Keep up with the latest from our sister company, LAUNCH:

• LAUNCH Hits $489K: A Slot at AngelPad and $100K Investment (If You Move to Vegas)
• The Two Most Important Startups in the World
• 10 International Startup Scholarships
• DOUBLE Boom! LAUNCH Hits $369k in Prizes Thanks to MailChimp's $100k!
• Boom! LAUNCH Hits $269k in Prizes Thanks to Charles River Ventures

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GoToMeeting: @gotomeeting
Sourcebits: @sourcebits

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