Entrepreneur Office Hours - Issue #12
An early Christmas present, a conversation with the co-founder of Google Analytics, and a defense of Ebenezer Scrooge
As you know, I usually publish Entrepreneur Office Hours on Fridays. As you also know, this Friday is Christmas. So I’m sending this a day early in order to avoid having it land in your inbox when you’re surely not going to look at it. Not that any of you are being productive the day of Christmas Eve, either.
Still, for the three of you who happen to be checking your email the day of Christmas Eve, here’s some good content to keep you entertained, including a fascinating interview with Scott Crosby, co-founder of Urchin Software Corporation, the company that would eventually become Google Analytics. It’s been my most downloaded Web Masters episode yet… I think you’ll enjoy it.
If you’ve got questions/thoughts/comments/feedback, reply to this email. You can also find me on Twitter or LinkedIn. And, if you know anyone else checking emails today, share what you’ve read here. After all, ‘tis the season of giving.
-Aaron
In Defense of Ebenezer Scrooge: Why Entrepreneurs and Business People Hate Christmas
With Christmas almost here, I took a moment to defend one of the most (wrongly?) maligned literary characters of the holiday season. Clearly Charles Dickens doesn't appreciate the challenges entrepreneurs face!
Scott Crosby - The English Major Who Helped Google Conquer 70% of the Web
Google Analytics has been such an important and well-integrated part of the Google suite of services for so long that most people assume it was developed inside Google. But that’s not the case. According to Scott Crosby, co-founder of Urchin Software Corporation -- the company that would eventually become Google Analytics -- Google's web stats tracking software actually began as a way for a small San Diego web development company to monitor customer bandwidth. Its founders would have never guessed it'd eventually be used on 70% of the Web.
Listen to the full story on the newest episode of Web Masters:
…or just search “Web Masters” wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.
The Surprising Way Your Professional Network Might Be Making It Harder to Fundraise
Common startup wisdom says it’s always better to ask for an intro than to cold email a potential investor. But common wisdom might be wrong. I crunched the numbers, and you’ll be surprised by the results.
BONUS ARTICLE!
Rather than a Q&A this week, I wanted to share this bonus article I wrote that’s gone viral over the past few days. It’s a spinoff piece from my interview with Scott Crosby where we discuss the importance of choose (or not choosing) a great name for your startup. I think you’ll enjoy it…
The Founder of Google Analytics Taught Me How to Choose the Perfect Name for a Startup
Back next week with more Q&As. If you’ve got startup questions of your own, reply to this email with whatever you want to know, and I’ll do my best to answer!