Archives for December 2016

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Originally Posted: https://www.quora.com/How-on-earth-do-I-remove-the-virus-SpeeditUP

Originally Posted On: 2015-02-16

From the entrepreneurs that I meet, the most common “want” is “an on-demand pipeline to deal flow .”

Actually, I honestly can’t think of anything else they actually “want.”

They have plenty of “needs” – stated and unstated – though.

Originally Posted: https://www.quora.com/What-do-entrepreneurs-i-e-startup-founders-want-in-order-to-become-successful

Originally Posted On: 2015-09-27

Yes. Yes. GOD yes.

I’ve always been a happy child. I had that going for me. When I was a kid, I always had a smile on my face. Although, most people didn’t see it because they wouldn’t spend the time looking at me in the first place, what with the terrible hair, the awful clothes and glasses, wretched teeth and awkward gait.

Here, you can see me on the left:

It wasn “t that people mocked me mercilessly or anything – although I did have some of that, it wasn’t really any more than any of the other children.

No, it was worse.

I was *ignored.*

I became invisible.

People paid absolutely no attention to me physically. AT ALL.

I would be in study groups, and no one would make eye contact – they’d talk to me like I was a disembodied voice. I’d have conversations with people and they’d be sort of surprised I was actually there.

This wasn’t just my peers – it was my teachers, my parents, my family, almost everyone.

The only ones who didn’t treat me this way were my closest friends growing up, who were a fairly solid core crew throughout.

It was actually so bad though that we would often talk about how broken we were – what was wrong with us that no one even bothered to notice us?

We could do anything we wanted and no one cared.

Why didn “t they care?

---

We started getting more reckless.

One of my friends started smoking. (Her parents didn “t notice.) It eventually turned to drugs. The heavy kind. We had to leave her for her new friends.

Another started stealing stuff. She never got caught, no matter what she had. She started getting more and more obvious (so we all thought) and still not so much as a glance from the parents. Huh.

Another of my friends turned to sex – she started getting her first pregnancy scares by the time she was 14. I know way too much about the different ways someone can force herself to have a miscarriage if the condom breaks – because how on earth can a 14 year old possibly get birth control? You can “t.

For my part, I avoided drugs and alcohol, but became a daredevil. No experience was too much for me. I would climb on rotted train bridges, go through abandoned buildings, walk through dark alleys alone at night, date dangerous guys (the more dangerous the better) – major attention grab.

And for all 4 of us, we still had the common thread that no one noticed. Not once. Not anything. No one saw any of it, except each other, and we were only feeding each other “s pain.

---

And then I got a modem, and found IRC and BBS “s. I didn’t need a body there, and it felt more comfortable somehow. I spent as many hours as I could spare living in the computer.

I found other people like me – people who hadn “t been seen before. They were all smart and friendly and funny and supportive and they were overall awesome. We could talk and talk and talk for hours about everything and nothing.

And when we would meet in person at local diners or other events, we would make eye contact. For the first time in many of our lives, we found people who could *see* us, and how beautiful we each were.

There was no destruction necessary.

---

From then on, I lived a hybrid life. I ditched the glasses, got better hair, fixed the teeth and (mostly) walk better too.

I have a smile that people tell me is beautiful, because they see me.

And that’s what it feels like to go from ugly to beautiful in one lifetime.

Originally Posted: https://www.quora.com/Have-you-been-considered-both-ugly-and-beautiful-at-different-times-in-your-life-How-has-the-way-people-treat-you-changed

Originally Posted On: 2016-06-18

People often get busy, especially recruiters.

For something like this, I’d send an immediate thank you, and my follow-up rule is 3 days after your expected response time, and another 10 days later if still no response before giving up.

Originally Posted: https://www.quora.com/After-my-interview-the-Human-Resources-recruiter-said-he-would-get-back-to-me-by-the-end-of-the-week-It-is-now-Friday-What-should-I-do

Originally Posted On: 2015-12-26

If you are worried visiting her “in secret”, then I “d ask yourself about your motivations.

If the husband is aware of you visiting, then I wouldn “t worry about it.

Originally Posted: https://www.quora.com/My-female-friends-husband-is-away-Is-it-ok-to-visit-her-and-keep-her-company-while-hes-not-there

Originally Posted On: 2016-07-18

Absolutely, if you do it in a polite, respectful and non-creepy way.

(If your intention is to flirt with the flight attendant, the same caveats still apply.)

This generally goes for any person to whom you wish to pay a compliment, in any situation.

Here’s something that has worked for my friends and myself that might help:

Since we hear the same things all the time while walking around (Hey beautiful!/Day-AMN girl!/your <blank> is the most lovely one I’ve ever seen), while flattering, (and as long as they’re not overly creepy, still eliciting a smile) we tend to tune those out.

What gets our attention (and interest) are the unusual compliments, like:

“I love the way you cut your hair/did your nails/applied your eye makeup/etc – can I take a picture for Pinterest?”

“I saw the way you interacted with that person/child/couple/family – and I just wanted to say your kindness is truly heartwarming.”

Originally Posted: https://www.quora.com/Can-I-say-a-flight-attendant-on-flight-that-she-looks-beautiful

Originally Posted On: 2015-11-28

That’s a tough choice between H.G. Wells and Galileo.

I think H.G. Wells wins, because Time Machine (duh.)

With someone as awesome as that as a CTO, I know our team could build ANYTHING.

Originally Posted: https://www.quora.com/Who-would-be-your-dream-CTO-and-why

Originally Posted On: 2015-12-10

If I knew without a doubt that no matter what I was going to do I would be successful at, I would build this:

It is the “Guardian of Forever” from Star Trek. It is a nexus into the multiverse – it allows you to access any and every point in time and space in any dimension, simultaneously.

The vast amounts of data we could learn just by observation – the innovation that would come out of it – it’s enough to make my heart flutter just thinking about it.

It would be like having a supercomputer that knows the answer to every question that has ever been asked and will be asked (and even the ones that didn’t have a chance to be asked), and every possible outcome to every single scenario from the beginning to the end of time.

Yeah, so, that’s what I’d do.

(What’s even cooler is the possibility/probability that somewhere/when this already does/can/will exist, since multiverse.)

“It’s not magic, it’s science.”

Originally Posted: https://www.quora.com/If-you-knew-that-anything-you-did-in-life-you-would-be-successful-at-it-what-would-you-chose-to-do

Originally Posted On: 2016-04-04

For a time, my father’s bank dabbled a market that is quite similar to Rent-a-Center, and he explained to me how these operations work.

A buyer comes in and wants an item that they can’t afford to pay for up front. They sign a lease agreement to cover the cost of the item (say, a $1200 TV), with no money down.

The lease agreement breaks down like this:

$29.99 a week for 104 weeks

Total of All Payments: $3,118.96

Their “Rent-to-own Charge” is $1,688.27.

So, they’ve effectively paid for the cost of the retail value of the thing after 1 year (and the cost to the company, has been covered by the 6th month), so in this particular instance, if the customer defaults on their lease at any time between the 6th and 12th month, they aren’t losing any money on the deal – but they still get to go after them with immediately, raised interest rates, late fees AND they can seize the asset. Specialized debt collection agencies exist to recover defaulted assets. For my father’s bank, they retrieved defaulted mobile homes (which were apparently hard to track down, because, well, mobile.) But find them they did, because if you couldn’t pay your loan payment, you generally couldn’t afford the gas to move a mobile home very far.

That said, the majority of people don’t default, but are instead utilizing these systems to build their credit. But when you do, that’s when the “repo man cometh.”

Originally Posted: https://www.quora.com/How-do-rent-to-own-companies-like-Aarons-and-Rent-a-Center-get-their-merchandise-back-if-a-customer-stops-making-payments

Originally Posted On: 2015-12-27

Not all Company Visions are private and need to be leaked. In fact, I think the age of transparency has allowed some wonderful examples to be made public.

See:
Coca Cola: Mission, Vision & Values
Toyota: Global Vision
Kellogg: Our Vision & Purpose
Wells Fargo: Our Vision
Dow Chemical: Mission & Vision
Raytheon: Raytheon’s Vision, Strategy, Goals and Values

Here’s a great article from Richard Branson on how to define your company vision.

Whatever your vision is for your company, remember to keep it clear and full of purpose, and you are on the way.

As an example, for my company, we find our vision so important, we have it right on our home page:

We unleash the potential of entrepreneurial ecosystems to transcend awesome.

Remember – once you have the vision for your company, defining your values is the next piece.

Bring Your Values to Life and Get the Culture You Want

Originally Posted: https://www.quora.com/Which-are-great-examples-of-company-visions-that-are-public-or-leaked

Originally Posted On: 2015-02-08