As Chris Dixon rounds out his interview with Hashable founder, Michael Yavonditte, SXSW serves as a springboard to discuss the power of thinking small, when thinking about launching. Yavonditte relates Hashable’s experience at SXSW and puts it in perspective.
Speaking to the topic, Dixon says, “I have come to kind of believe in the lean startup thing, where you just kind of iterate and you iterate” continuing with, “people put way too much weight in … launching.” Yavonditte offers similar insights, and notes that building a lean startup does not equate to thinking small. The two also have a meeting of the minds when it comes to the power of the press. It is an amplifier for both the good and the bad.
Check out the full discussion in the video above.
In the final segment, Yavonditte answers Dixon’s “rapid fire” questions. Yavonditte tells Dixon why startups fail and dishes the best piece of advice he has been given. “Hire great people and pay them whatever you have to pay them” he says.
Watch Part 1 and Part II of this interview, or prior Founder Stories interviews here.
Michael Yavonditte is a veteran of new media and technology. Prior to being named chief executive officer of Quigo Technologies in 2002, Mr. Yavonditte served as vice president of sales for USA Networks Electronic Commerce Solutions Group in New York. In that position, he was responsible for negotiating complex ‘outsourced’ e-commerce alliances with leading U.S. retailers. His group managed the e-commerce operations for CBS Sportsline, Nascar.com and the National Hockey League. In 2000, Mr. Yavonditte joined AltaVista, where he quickly...
Hashable is the best way to save and remember where and when you meet people. You can send virtual business cards to kick off relationships - quickly and paper-free. With Hashable’s iPhone or Android app, you can combine all of your relationships to create a unified address book. Plus, make private notes about your contacts and set follow-up reminders to keep your relationships current. As you use the app, you will be able to view a scrollable history of...
Chris Dixon is a Partner at and co-founder of Founder Collective. He is also a contributing writer for TechCrunch. He previously was the CEO and Co-founder of SiteAdvisor, which was acquired by McAfee, and Hunch, which was acquired by eBay. In addition to his work with Founder’s Collective, Chris is a personal investor in early-stage technology companies, including Skype, TrialPay, DocVerse, Invite Media, Gerson Lehrman Group, ScanScout, OMGPOP, BillShrink, Oddcast, Panjiva, Knewton, and a handful of other startups that...
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