HOW NOT BE BORING

For us, venture capitalist Fred Wilson’s blog AVC is a regular source of inspiration, provocation and knowledge. It’s rare he hands the pen to anyone else, but yesterday a guest post was smashed out by the cold metal claws of Grimlock (aka Fake Grimlock). Appropriately, the topic was “Minimal Viable Personality,” the concept that all products should have a consistent and well-developed voice (even if that voice is all caps and stunted grammar).

Below is an excerpt that inspired this Unbucket post:

HOW NOT BE BORING

HAVE PERSONALITY EASY. ANSWER THREE QUESTIONS:

1. HOW YOU CHANGE CUSTOMER’S LIFE?
2. WHAT YOU STAND FOR?
3. WHO OR WHAT YOU HATE?

NOW HAVE MISSION, VALUES, ENEMY. THAT ENOUGH FOR MINIMUM VIABLE PERSONALITY.

After reading this, we pictured ourselves on a Grimlock daytime talk show dedicated to startups. It’s called GRIMLOCK EATS STARTUPS HAS BEER and airs weekly on the Food Network. There is a segment called “How Not Be Boring” where these three questions are posed to a startup founder. If the startup founder isn’t mercilessly eaten by Grimlock by the time question three is answered, the startup likely has an interesting personality, or Grimlock is just really, really drunk.

Our answers would go something like this:

1. We make relationships stronger and lives more fulfilled.
2. Living a meaningful life with those you care about.
3. Technology that distracts us from living active lives.

Here’s to hoping we don’t get eaten alive.