[peteforde]

"The Perfect Store" is a book about the early days of eBay. The primary takeaway for me was how they deliberately went to swap meets, flea markets and garage sales all over America — especially the rural flyover states — and talked to people. They identified the key influencers and flew many of them to California to be given VIP treatment. Those folks returned to their communities as true believers and encouraged their flock to get on the train. 15 years later that investment paid off more than any of them could have hoped.

That said, I suspect that there are many founders who would be open to taking the show on the road. It's incredibly daunting to know what that looks like, or where to start. I feel like it's not laziness, just unknowable to people used to tech communities and test suites.

To that end, my friend Ted and I think we've figured out how to help these founders take the leap and get in front of real people. Those people might be clients, developers or community leaders.

If you're interested in what we're doing, let me know. I'm happy to answer any questions you have, here.

And if you need help with hard problems, you should definitely call Ted: http://usistwo.com/

[cpursley]

"I suspect that there are many founders who would be open to taking the show on the road."

I think this should be taken literally by many startups with national scope. Get the hell out of California, buy a used RV, stick the team in it and travel city to city while you build the startup. It's cheaper and you'll be able to meet more customers.

[peteforde]

Well, yes: exactly.

I guess you could say that my current "startup" is helping founders do exactly this. Specifically, the exact part that happens right after you concede that it's a potentially great idea and right before you have any idea how to make it happen.

Where to go, who to talk to, and why.

You can follow the origin of the idea starting here: http://reedwordsinamerica.squarespace.com/blog/2012/12/17/th...

[forsaken]

Thanks for this comment. It led me to read the entire website that you linked. On a page I found a link to The Man Who Planted Trees.

I was walking across the country recently on the Pacific Crest Trail, and I had to come off the trail because of an injury. I have been looking around listlessly at the world, and trying to figure out what to do.

This video has struck me in an interesting way. It shows someone who is true of heart can find happiness in profound ways. It has also helped me re-imagine art, as the man painted the landscape and changed the feeling of a region.

It is a beautiful example of the change a single person can make.

Earlier today, I was tempted to tweet "What would a present day John Muir look like?" -- Interestingly I found an answer by another avenue.

[peteforde]

I keep a short list of videos about inspiring creatives. I might be mis-reading your comment, but I will share them, anyhow:

Painting Coconuts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQxOKtCWEGE

The Knife Maker: https://vimeo.com/31455885

The Inverted Bike Shop: https://vimeo.com/36258512

Pins and Needles: https://vimeo.com/57247225

The New Wave of Barber Shops: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gpm54WIyZk

[yread]

Cool videos, I also like this one http://vimeo.com/50351080 It's amazing when people devote their time to produce quality

EDIT: Here is a piece about the guy http://www.walkaboutchef.com.au/home/9-walkaboutchef/50.html

[forsaken]

I think you read it correctly. The opening song in the Painting Coconuts video is one of my favorites currently. This bodes well :)

Thanks for more inspiring videos. The man who plants trees was amazingly apropos because of my recent departure from a promised life in the woods. However, inspiration is always valuable.

[jfoster]

It's almost like going from writing code all day to running a political campaign, isn't it?

[peteforde]

I'd say it's much more like going from jamming on weekends with your friends to writing and recording an album, then taking it out on tour. You have to line up radio promotion, online fan community building, potentially a video or three, magazine interviews, contests, backline... you can't just do one thing and expect everything else to fall into place.

Every band is a complex business that has to get really good at managing multiple moving parts while entertaining people with great songs.