Fabian Schonholz’s Blog

Another year has gone by and I have posted 24 photo galleries throughout the year. I decided to compile what I consider my best pictures of 2007. Enjoy.

Click on the image to go to the gallery

Click on the image to go to the gallery

As 2007 comes to a close and 2008 peeks around the corner I want to reflect on the year, events and people close to me:

The first blog post (not page) I wrote in this incantation of my blog was about my kids and my dad. To paraphrase the post, I was asked what got me up and going every day and my answer was my dad and kids; the post went into detail why that is. To this day, my dad and my kids are my heros. Since my dad has been dead since 1997, there is not much that changed since last time I wrote about him; my kids on the other hand are just in the dawn of their lives. They keep on surprising me. They keep on challenging me. They keep on helping me discover who I am every day. They are a source of inspiration - and concern. I can not say enough about my kids. They are, very much, the light in my eyes, the life in my every breath, the sun of my days and the moon of my nights.

My wife … ahhhhhh … my wife. She is the editor of my blog so she gets to read every single post before it gets posted here. No matter how boring the post is, she just sits down, puts pencil to paper and corrects my grammar and suggests changes; in particular when my words are not too clear. This post is no exception. By the time you are reading these words, she has not only already read them and corrected them, but also forgotten them as well.

After she reviewed my first post her comment was: This is great, but what about me. So I wrote a post just for her. It was not as a response to a demand. I truly wrote the post inspired. But it is true, some times I do take her for granted and I fail to not so much recognize her, but to show my appreciation. It is not enough that she knows, and she does know how much I appreciate her. I also must show her. So … Elizabeth, my love … I would be nothing if it was not for your support. And here, in a very public forum I declare my love for you. I LOVE YOU.

As I have gone though the years, one at a time, getting older, many people have come and gone. Some have gone because their lives took them in certain directions and we lost touch. Some have gone because their lives became incompatible with mine. Some have gone because there was nothing left in the friendship. Some, still, have gone because life has turns and twists. Of all my childhood friends Guido Tenenbaum remains. He does not just remain, he is there. A permanent fixture … and I am glad. I have known Guido for 30 years now and in that time, we have shared many adventures. Not too long ago I wrote about my lack of faith; but then I realized that I have faith in Guido. Not blindly and in a religious way, but faith in him. As a person. As a mench.

After 20 months as the CTO of Hoodiny Entertainment Group I moved on to a new job as the CTO for Zumbox. Zumbox as an idea is amazing. What is the most amazing about Zumbox is that it is a simple idea with incredible ramifications. I wish I could discuss it more openly, but I can not, at least not for the time being. Let’s just say that it will revolutionize certain areas of our lives. Hoodiny was a good experience in spite of some of the difference of opinions regarding business strategy and where the company should go I had with the other executives. The folks there are good people. It was nice for a change to work with people that genuinely were looking out for you regardless of the various and deep difference of opinions. It was a big change from Pictage - although I have to admit that some of the folks at Pictage were fantastic, with whom I remain in touch. So .. Demian, Jose, Ariel and the gang at Hoodiny: I know I left at not the best time but it is my best wishes that all goes well.

There are two people I want to recognize as part of this post. On of them is Sue Christensen. She worked for me at Pictage and Hoodiny. She is the best project manager I have ever had the chance to work with. She can keep up with my schizophrenic pace - not an easy feat. She is able to coordinate all projects to stay within my execution parameters, which are normally 3 or 4 times higher output than most other CTO’s. But, as fantastic an employee she is, she is also a great friend. I miss working with her. The second is Mike Polek. He is an incredible system administrator and as a person, a wise man and a great friend. Mike … do not be a stranger, we love you!!

This year I got close to a person local to me. A neighbor so-to-speak. There was a situation that developed and I am afraid it might have driven us a bit apart. It saddens me because he is a great guy, helped me quite a bit and I have a great deal of respect for him. I hope that we can continue our friendship.

One interesting thing that happen was developing this blog. As I posted before this is the second incantation of my posting writing online. The first time around it was a sort of a fiasco and led to some pain. This time around I am not only more careful - from a content point of view - but also more open. I am expanding the topics I post on and I am forcing myself to look at subjects from different perspectives. The rewarding part of writing is the fact that some people read it on a regular basis and email and call me to ask me when the next post will be up. It does drive the pressure up on improving the quality of my writing and subjects I tackle. It is a great experience, however; it is teaching me to be more thorough in the way I present arguments.

Early 2006, as I was looking to leave Pictage, I realized more than ever that you can not do it all on your own. You need people to help you as much as you need to help people. I recognized that my network of people was rather small and limited in the way I contributed to it. As I am maturing and developing my career the old phrase “it is not who you are but who you know” resonates louder with me. I set out to not only increasing my network but improve how I relate to it. I must report that it is a slow process but it is moving ahead and one that I look forward to developing further. Be that as it may, there are a couple of business associates that I rather enjoys, especially when there is some wine that oils our thoughts. Guys, we need to get together more often. Andy has room and plenty of choices for us.

I want to close the post with a few words about my mom. I do not mention her too often and certainly, I do not write about her. My mom was dealt a tough hand with my dad getting sick and dying. At the time that we had all grown up and were out of the house and on our way to building our own futures, they were supposed to start their enjoying each other without “interruptions” time. It did not happen for my mom. I am very sorry that they both did not get to realize some of their dreams. My mom is a special lady. And even though I do not call her as often as I should I love her very much and want her to know that I think about her a lot, every day.

As the year comes to a close my only resolutions are related to continuing to be the best person I can, for my family, as an example to my kids and my friends, for my community and for all the people that I interact in business and outside of business.

Have a fantastic end of 2007 and may 2008 bring all that you want.

Happy New Year.

Click on the image to go to the Gallery

Click on the image to go to the gallery

Click on the image to take you to the gallery

“Technological progress is like an axe in the hands of a pathological criminal.”

Sometimes I wonder …

Sidney and Elizabeth decided to go to see a play today. Jared and I decided to go to the Zoo. I took my camera. We had a really good time!!

Click on the image to go to the gallery

Wednesday I was delighted to attend an event at my kids school, Edison Elementary. Jared was being given a certificate for making Honor Roll. Friday, unfortunately I could not attend, Sidney was given the “Character Award for Trustworthiness”. And before, she was also given the “Student of The Month Award”. My kids are just amazing.

Last year Jared was all year long in the Honor Roll. It was a goal he set for himself and I am proud he achieved it. He did need some help from Elizabeth, and a little arguing on my part with the school, but he did it. This year, so far, the help has substantially decreased - at the end of the day kids do not like to do homework, what can I say - and I have not had to argue with the school on how Jared should be graded. He set the goal and he achieved it again. I am double proud.

Sidney is not such a different story, however, she takes different paths. Last year she had a little trouble focusing and completing her work. But her reading went from good to EXCELLENT. She devours book after book after book. This year, not only she is getting student awards, but her teacher can’t sing enough praises to her and recommended her for the gifted program. And her devouring of books continues.

Both kids brought all A’s except for one B on the first quarter of the school year.

As proud as their academic achievements make me feel, and as focused as I am on those achievements (without exerting too much pressure on the kids), that is only a small portion of the story. And each kids has a different story, that intertwines with each other. And … to be fair, both kids have their share of issues to deal with. But, who does not have issues. Granted, some more … some less.

Elizabeth and I are often criticized for how lenient we are with TV watching and video game playing times. We often explain that it is not an issue for our kids. For example, the kids really like watching TV, but after a little while they get bored with it, turn the TV off and start playing with each other, acting out what they just watched. An alternative to roll playing is retiring to their rooms to read, or in the case of Sidney, do an art project - she is really good.

Until recently, Sidney was not into video games. However, during the year she started to display a level of interest, so for Hanukkah we decided to get her a Nintendo DS just like Jared - we chose a pink one for her. She instantly loved it. Since then, video game playing has increased a little. Even though they spend a little more time on video games than TV, the pattern is the same. As some point they get tired and roll play or go read or go do art.

The only time the pattern changes is the first week of summer. The kids use that week to completely and totally decompress from the school year. The first couple of days is TV all day. They are glued to the screen; from waking up to going to sleep. They hardly move. They do not want to get up or go anywhere. They only leave the TV to go to the bathroom. You really have to see them, they are totally spent from the  school year and it shows in their faces.  To some extent it is even funny. Two kid zombies NOT walking around the house. You can hardly carry on a conversation with them. By day three it changes. They become more active, are more willing to leave the house and are a little more chatty, lively and start to get in some form of trouble by arguing with each other. Day four is almost back to normal and day five cabin fever hits and they are ready to tear the world apart again. Second week of summer is when we start sending them to camps.

We take our family summer holiday on the third or fourth week of the summer. This year we had to find a new place to go in Bahia De Los Angeles because Camp Gecko had changed how it operated. We went to Villa Bahia, a nice hotel-like place. I consider it hotel-like because the place is unrestricted unlike hotels, but you can get some of the common hotel services. In any case, we loved it. Compared to Camp Gecko, the place is luxury and Elizabeth was delighted. I missed roughing it and drinking with Doc, but Roger and Gene were incredible hosts and I got to drink with Joe and his family and also Roger.

Roger is a retired university professor. One night we invited Roger over for dinner and we talked about our backgrounds. When Jared realized Roger was a professor, albeit retired, he said: “teach me something”. Roger was taken a little aback. He thought for a few seconds and started to discuss the universe, celestial mechanics, the planets and physics. I know how intelligent Jared is and how easily he incorporates ideas, specially abstract ideas, but I was a little upset with Roger. I took it as though he was trying to show my kid up. Yes, I sold Jared a little short. To my surprise, Jared answered back with some astonishing comments and questions. I did not fit in my own body!!

Roger was not trying to show Jared up; he was trying to measure Jared up and adjust what and how he could “teach” Jared “something”. He decided to start high and then lower as needed. He was just as surprised as I was, but never skipped a beat. Sidney never really said a word; she just sat there taking it all in with a smile.

For Thanksgiving we went back to Villa Bahia for the week. As I normally do there I went fishing, caught fish and cleaned the catch back at camp. There was a lady with her kids that asked if I could clean the fish in such a way that their internal organs would be as intact as possible in order to dissect them and show her kids. Doctor Joe was asked to perform the dissections and “educate” the kids. He was only too happy to do it. Sidney was first row and center. We had been discussing what to do for her birthday. She had initially wanted a party with her friends, but after the dissection, she decided that she wanted Dr. Grandpa to dissect a cow’s brain or heart. Forget about a party. Unfortunately, due to health codes, brains or hearts are not sold to the public with all the veins, arteries and parts. Sidney was VERY disappointed. We ended up going to Disneyland and had a great time; but she would have rather had her Dr. Grandpa deliver an anatomy lesson to her for her birthday.

My kids are indeed just amazing!!

What makes a startup successful?

Getting to profitability and keeping it there.

At least that is my opinion. But why is it so important to get to profitability?

It gives you choices.

Basically, you can decide what to do and how to do it without having to worry about survivability. And if you have a Board of Directors, it lends credibility to your “choices” along the way, allowing more independence in how the company is lead. And if you are in the process of selling the company, then you are in control of the price and not the buyers (it is not a bail out M&A).

Many start-up companies do not worry about being profitable in their nascent stages, especially during times of economic abundance. They disguise the lack of concern for being in the black as “the time that we should invest in the future”, the “time for growth”. Actually, it is hard to disagree with that. Yes, you want to “grow” the company and you want to “invest” in the future but there should be a balance.  When a company is started, there is no revenue and none can be expected. The revenue needs to be grown. Indeed, in its first 12 months a company will not, most likely, be profitable or even have revenues, however, the drive should be there. The tendency should be created and in place from day one; in this way, the culture of the company will drive profitability and, in a way, make it more achievable.

Let’s not confuse revenue with profitability. Because revenues may be collected, it does not necessarily mean that you are driving to profitability. It is the first stage to it, and it does slow your burn rate giving you more time, but, in this deceptive thinking, you miss the point all together and you feel a renewed need to expand. This will drive your burn rate back up, offsetting even worse your revenues and making profitability that much more unattainable. Then, in order to sustain the company and its growth, new funding is sought, further diluting everybody that invested in the company. It makes the effort unworthy and a waste.

In one of my first blogs entries, “Purist, Opportunity and Growth”, I discussed different ways to build technology for a company. My prefered method is “growth”, since, in my opinion, generates the least amount of friction, thus resistance, the least amount of waste and it protects and safeguards the company assets. Yes, indeed, there is investment going on but not wasted. And growth is a result of answering two questions: (1) What does the company needs in the form of a strong foundation, and (2) What do the Marketing and Business Development groups need in order to make the company’s product strong in the targeted market. All else is a result of answering these two questions.

The last two questions, however basic to building a company, do not completely  answer the question of “time to market”. That answer is found in fast execution. But fast execution can not be done on the backs of your employees and by forced marching them. It can not be done by setting wrong expectation for your clients and partners. It can not be done by promising some date that is 100% driven by a sales need fiction. It is understood that in order to build a company to success we all have to work hard and there will be long days; even long weeks. It goes with the territory. But that effort can not be wasted by continuous desperate moves.

Fast execution is achieved by carefully reducing the scope of the projects to its basic elements and focusing on them. Then, by using and exercising these elements, you will discover what the next steps are. What you were lacking in your original planning, what elements need to be added, what needs to be changed. With these elements (additions and changes included) in place the business begins to develop and will further your vision and your understanding of what is needed next. At the end, the sooner you plant a flag and claim a territory, the sooner it will be yours.

This is what my “new” boss calls “smart speed”. I, on the other hand, call it “lack of desperation” and “focused execution”. Smart speed should not end after the initial product introduction. It should continue since it maximizes productivity and minimizes cost (not just in terms of funding). I normally equate this to baby steps and one step at a time. Before you know it, you are running and not much is left behind and progress is made at giants’ speed.

Once you get going on a project, a great many deal of ideas begin to surface and  are brought forward. Not all of these ideas are good, not all of them bad. They are just ideas. In some cases, these ideas become distractions. In other words, some ideas are brilliant, or deceptively brilliant, that derail the focus from “fast execution”. It is only natural, people have a hard time staying focused. It does not mean, however, that you do not think of new ideas and those ideas not shared. Ideas need to be managed so they can be maximized. And you maximize them  by sharing them with a small group of people with the understanding that they are “just” ideas that need to be challenged in the context of fast execution.

How long after starting should a company be profitable? As soon as it can. As stated above, a company is not successful unless it stays profitable. Staying profitable can take years and that is OK. Not ideal, but OK. What I mean by this is that as long as there is a balance and there is growth a company is not wasting resources, which is 50% of the battle. The other 50% is being self sufficient, to the extent that the company can chug along without further external investments. Once this is achieved, then an external investment is strategic and can be use to expand and extend the reach of the company. As such point the company is in a position to break through the rut and become a success.

The March To Profitability is hard, and if “smart” then is not forced and leads to success.