I'm a lot like you.

Review: Tonx Coffee

Tue, 29 May 2012 20:03:26 -0400

Review: Tonx Coffee:

marco:

People always ask me how they can make great coffee. I’ve never had a good universal answer until now.

Thank you Mr. Arment :)

"German solar power plants produced a world record 22 gigawatts of electricity per hour - equal to 20..."

Sat, 26 May 2012 16:55:37 -0400

“

German solar power plants produced a world record 22 gigawatts of electricity per hour - equal to 20 nuclear power stations at full capacity - through the midday hours on Friday and Saturday, the head of a renewable energy think tank said.

The German government decided to abandon nuclear power after the Fukushima nuclear disaster last year, closing eight plants immediately and shutting down the remaining nine by 2022.

They will be replaced by renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and bio-mass.

”

- Germany sets new solar-power record, equal to 20 nuclear plants at full capacity

Impressive, not only technologically but also politically. I wish we had the ability to act similarly here in the US.

An illustrated children’s map of the area where I live,...

Wed, 23 May 2012 14:02:55 -0400

An illustrated children’s map of the area where I live, created circa 1934.

BRYCE DOT VC: Suffering As a Competitive Advantage

Mon, 21 May 2012 20:57:29 -0400

BRYCE DOT VC: Suffering As a Competitive Advantage:

brycedotvc:

Athletes are frequently exposed to unpleasant sensory experiences during their daily physical efforts, and high physical and psychological resistances must be overcome during competitions or very exhausting activities. However, athletes are forced to develop efficient pain-coping skills because of their systematic exposure to brief periods of intense pain. Therefore, pain coping is an integral part of athletic training, and coping skills are important features in the development of athletic character.

Despite the media’s glamorous portrails of celebrity founders, I think the ability to suffer through and tolerate pain after others give up, may be the single most important attribute in all of startupland.

In other words: grit.

"Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you..."

Tue, 15 May 2012 23:01:27 -0400

“Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”

- John Wesley

huffingtonpost: “Three ex-baristas — including one who happens...

Mon, 14 May 2012 20:22:09 -0400

huffingtonpost:

“Three ex-baristas — including one who happens to be a co-founder of the “Etsy for foodies” site, Foodzie — are the visionaries behind the L.A.-based Tonx. Its goal, in the words of the website, is to deliver “awesome beans every other week” to your doorstep. Tonx works like a no-nonsense mail-order tasting club. Just sign up to get a 12-ounce bag of beans delivered every two weeks. You’ll be billed every month for $38, shipping included, and are guaranteed a rotating cast of fresh coffees, roasted to ship.”

Food Republic: Coffee Power Rankings

I’ll take it. :)

"Santa Monica was initially the choice because that’s where the executives live. It makes little..."

Fri, 11 May 2012 04:03:05 -0400

“

Santa Monica was initially the choice because that’s where the executives live. It makes little sense from any other perspective. Housing is not cheaper, it’s extremely difficult to get to if you don’t live nearby, and it’s not easy to recruit people to the area because of long commutes and no access to the train. Recruiting for companies in Santa Monica now is very much like recruiting for companies in Silicon Valley in the late 90’s - it’s a frenzy of recruiters, deal makers, engineers, and startups all grappling over the same limited resources in a confined area.

IdeaLab, OpenX, and many others do fine outside of the Santa Monica ecosystem.

”

- (2) Why do most Los Angeles technology companies choose Santa Monica over Pasadena for their office location? - Quora

First part says it all, and explains why I reject the “Silicon Beach” label. Second part is certainly working well for us here at Silverlake HQ.

Information Arbitrage: Board member vs. mentor dynamics

Tue, 08 May 2012 16:58:16 -0400

Information Arbitrage: Board member vs. mentor dynamics:

I couldn’t agree more.

informationarbitrage:

…it is critical for CEOs to cultivate a rich set of mentors and advisers to whom they can turn for hard questions and candid insights in a private manner. Building and running a company, especially a start-up, is incredibly difficult and stressful, and it is critical that the person bearing the brunt of expectations have a release valve. It’s just that this release valve sometimes can’t be a member of the Board.

Another good post on this topic comes from Marc Randolph, Netflix cofounder:

The relationship is singular. As CEO, you may have many Advisors, but it would be very unusual for you to have more than a single Mentor. In exchange, I make a serious commitment to you and your company: both in the amount of time I spend with you each week as well as the length of time I’ll stay engaged.

I’ll be proactive and kick your ass whenever I see it needs kicking. (The Advisor will kick your ass too, but usually only when you ask him to).

And not insignificantly, as a Mentor I’m aligned with you – not your investors. If I do receive a stock grant, it’s common not preferred; it vests, accelerates and (ideally) pays out on the same terms as the founders. During fund raising, acquisition talks, or any of the other coming-of-age milestones of a young company, you’ll know for sure that I’m on your side of the table.

Bottom line: my job is to help you be a better CEO, not to watch out for my own interests.

thunderball: Friends

Sat, 03 Mar 2012 00:59:07 -0500

thunderball:

Friends

cbowns: Apple’s newest store in Amsterdam (pictured here) has...

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 14:10:15 -0500

cbowns:

Apple’s newest store in Amsterdam (pictured here) has another one of their now-famous glass staircases. This photo reminded me of a comment my girlfriend made at the Upper West Side store: store designers at Apple sure don’t seem to mind involuntarily showing off their underwear. Or they don’t wear skirts very often.

rickwebb: nevver: Social Media Explained (with...

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 22:39:40 -0500

rickwebb:

nevver:

Social Media Explained (with donuts)

Tumblr: This is a really beautiful photo of a high end donut.

Reddit: There is a conspiracy in the donut industry

4Chan: Donut. Hole. LOL.

Quora: What’s the industry wide standard deviation in donut hole size?

Tonx until February: Free, as in beer.

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:13:54 -0500

Dear Internet Friends,

We started Tonx just a few short months ago and the response has been very encouraging. We do one thing, and do it well - which is ship great coffee to your doorstep when you need it.

Right now we want more people to experience our product, plain and simple.

So we’ve decided (temporarily) to allow people to sign up for a free trial of Tonx. If you sign up before February (and we haven’t totally run out of product) we will send you a half bag of Tonx, for free.

If you know of others who have been wanting to try Tonx, or perhaps someone who doesn’t know about Tonx yet but should - now might be a good time to spread the word!

Sincerely, Nik

shotzombies: Tonx: Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Make...

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:47:17 -0500

shotzombies:

Tonx: Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Make Great Coffee at Home

tumblangeles: Tonight’s sunset in Los Angeles. —CareyGLY I was...

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:17:00 -0500

tumblangeles:

Tonight’s sunset in Los Angeles. —CareyGLY

I was driving into Venice while Tony was watching this from his Echo Park deck. Every other sentence I kept interrupting to remark at how awesome it was.

annamarie: LA in color. Today was gorgeous in between the...

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 23:26:48 -0500

annamarie:

LA in color.

Today was gorgeous in between the rain.

WHAT?!

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 00:42:14 -0500

WHAT?!

one bag at a time: Kenya Karatina AA - Tonx

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 20:05:40 -0500

one bag at a time: Kenya Karatina AA - Tonx:

keatonviolet:

They [Tonx] work hard to back up the claim that they really want you to drink good coffee and it shows. This means You can email them, call them, or send them a letter and they’ll respond. This also means they ship out your coffee within 24 hours of it being roasted and send it priority so it gets to you super fresh. If you haven’t yet left this silly blog to sign up for their awesome subscription, which gets you an awesome bag of coffee every two weeks, I’ll go on. Something that their coffee and business model has taught me is to just chill out. You don’t have to fret about whether you are drinking the coolest current single origin or waste a lot of time dialing that coffee in to your preferred method. I’ve had five coffees from them in the last two months and they’ve all been tasty in all the methods I can think of. Tonx is like rehab. Relax and enjoy the coffee.

This type of feedback creates many smiles in the Tonx HQ.

@nleach: 2011 in Coffee

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 17:56:44 -0500

@nleach: 2011 in Coffee:

nleach:

Coffee of the Year

Looking back over the year, was there a single stand out? You bet!

I’d like to say this was a difficult decision, and while more than a few exceptional coffees hit my cup, none came close to the El Salvador Finca Montery Bambu from Tonx. The Coffee Adventures review of this coffee pretty much sums it up for me:

I enjoyed this coffee more than I can put words together to describe this feeling.

The aroma alone convinced fellow developer Bob Patterson to give coffee a second chance.

Hot damn! Thanks Nicky!

brycedotvc: This presentation from Tom Preston-Werner, founder...

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 11:58:11 -0500

brycedotvc:

This presentation from Tom Preston-Werner, founder of GitHub, is a veritable master class on building teams and company culture.

Have a flip through here or click/tap to see the speaker notes which add much more depth to the slides.

Frankly, almost everything that has come out of Powerset and Github on company building/culture is something that frequently send to others and re-read frequently. They are empowering, smart, and wonderfully opinionated.

shotzombies: 2011 in Empty Coffee Bags Glad Tonx snuck a...

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 12:25:57 -0500

shotzombies:

2011 in Empty Coffee Bags

Glad Tonx snuck a couple in there. Looking forward to seeing 2012 :)