Hi Lovely Simplerista,

Overwhelm

Being an entrepreneur can be a challenging process. I like to think of it like a rocket booster. If you're headed for a crash with that mountain side, then you'll get there faster as an entrepreneur. There's always more things to attend to than you possibly can. There's always the possibility that things could unravel and start to go wrong.

It's understandable that as entrepreneurs we'd feel pretty overwhelmed. Then we try to slow down or put systems in place or just hold ourselves back a bit, so we don't have to feel overwhelmed. But it doesn't address the deeper issue. And yet, it turns out that it's a perfectly avoidable feeling, if you just know how to deal with it properly.

More about this on the blog.

Competition

Another thing I learned recently was about competition. I remember last year when I discovered a new competitor that I'd never heard of before, and they seemed so formidable, so ahead of the game, so much smarter than me. I felt like I was doomed. I was afraid. I was sad. I felt like the world was out to get me. I wished we didn't have competition.

And yet, competitors are there to support you in your greatness. They're a gift. They're partners.

That, too, I've written more about on the blog.

News from Simplero

We're going to give Simplero's spaces a facelift that makes it look more modern and clean, less shadows, less rounded corners, more flat, and also way better on mobile phones. We've always had a decent experience on iPads, but the small phone screens have not worked well with our navigation. We've figured out how to solve that problem now.

We roll new features out when they're ready, so no promises, but I expect this to happen within the next week. Just wanted to give a heads-up.

Here's a video demonstrating the new design.

Random stuff

I love these new HBO Go commercials. Makes me cringe. Reminds me of going to the cinema with my dad when I was a teenager, and there was a really hot sex scene. So embarrassing. No way to escape!

Speaking of commercials, my friend Martin de Thurah celebrated his birthday this weekend here in New York. Great to see him again. I love his work so much. I particularly like the Hennessy and IKEA commercials. Check them out.

Finally, if you're in the US, help us protect Net Neutrality by signing this petition. Net neutrality is what ensures that small entrepreneurs like you and I get to compete on an even playing field with corporations many orders of magnitude larger. It's about ensuring that internet providers has a responsibility to deliver traffic equally fast and reliably, regardless of where it comes from. Without it, big companies can pay to make sure their packages get through quickly, and others will be slower or more irregular. I can guarantee you that if there hadn't been rules like this in place, a company like Skype would never have been allowed to get off the ground. And I don't know about you, but I really appreciate that we have Skype available, with my team being distributed between Mysore, Copenhagen, and New York.

So please support net neutrality wherever you are.

That is all. I'll catch you again next week.

With love,
-Calvin