Introducing Found|READ

Many of us in the reporting business, convince ourselves that we can do a better job than folks we typically write about, a malady that is often experienced during the boom years, at least in Silicon Valley. Like others, I had my visions of grandeur. Talk about being delusional, for the differential between theory and practice is that between Roger Clemens and a 12-year-old pitching in the little league games.

Last nine months have been a lesson in humility, and a harsh realization that starting a company is for those dumb enough to climb a rock face standing perpendicular to terra firma. Confusion, constant second guessing, manic multitasking and perma-smile are new emotions. Caffeine has become my best friend. Sleep and I have broken up.

While growing our little publishing company has been a thrill-a-minute, it has also been an educational process, one that Harvard Business School can’t teach you. I have been scribbling some of my lessons, hoping to someday turn it into a book. How analog for a digital guy – quipped a friend who also was responsible for the title of my first book, Broadbandits. Why don’t you start a blog about it, after all you are good at blogging – he said.

Mulling over this for a few days, it dawned upon me, that the lessons I am learning, thousands have learnt before, and might actually have a wider (and better) perspective on trials and tribulations of being a founder of a business. Not just a tech start-up, just any business. Why isn’t there a resource that captures this tribal wisdom? What if we could
build one – one that can be shared by one-and-all?

While there are some excellent resources such as Reddit-powered YCombinator start-up site, Startupping, Venture Hacks … what I envisioned was a digital salon – where the conversations were started, experiences shared, questions asked and answered – with us writers playing the role of a salon keeper, a.k.a. conversation lubricant.

I harassed quite a few entrepreneurs and asked them if they would like a resource like this, and if they would become active participants in this project. Most, if not all were encouraging, and signed-up for this new effort, that is called, FoundREAD. (A little cheesy play on Foundry, but hey these are days of domain squatters.)

FoundREAD is a shared resource, where anyone can contribute, either through their posts, or experiences or comments. You can choose to contribute freely or anonymously. Just like a GPS system helps us drive through a maze of freeways, the founders and entrepreneurs help their peers navigate the twisted, confusing roads of company building.

So here it is folks, the newest member of GigaOM family. Hope you can visit, and share your stories with us. And sign-up for RSS feed!

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