California Here I Come!

I can't wait to get out of this New York weather for a little bit. Don't get me wrong, I love my city but I could really do without 30 degree days and 20 degree nights for a little while. I know it's not 80 degrees and sunny in the Bay Area right now either, but I'm just in the mood for a change in atmosphere.

The sun's a little brighter, the streets are a little calmer and the smell of the Pacific just puts me in the right frame of mind.

Last year was my first trip to San Fran for the holidays and I'm thinking of making it a tradition. I feel like my year just starts off on the right note.

Who knows, maybe one day I'll make the move out there. My Dad was born and raised in San Mateo - he moved out here when he met my mother. Now I've met a woman whose family is from - believe it or not - San Mateo! So I guess I'd just be coming full circle if a ditched the East Coast and moved (back) out West.

I'm also pretty psyched because I get to meet some friends who I've only had the opportunity to communicate with over the phone.

So I'm leaving Sunday - farewell New York City (take care of her while I'm gone people!).

TickerHound.com has Launched...Finally!

So we finally did it, we got TickerHound outta the dog house and back on the street!

For those who don't know, this is the project I've been working on for the better part of this year and I can't even begin to describe how happy, relieved and stressed I am (yes, all at the same time).

Happy - that the site is finally out there and getting used by investors for the first time.

Relieved - that it actually got launched on time (we set a pre-Christmas deadline and we beat it by a week!).

Stressed - we had our initial burst of traffic yesterday (not even a lot compared to other sites) and the site started to lock-up. We've got some code optimization to do! But not to worry, we have such talented people over here that I know this will get taken care of sooner than later.

Now my goal is to spread the word about what we're doing and get as much feedback as possible from our members. I really want to include them every step of the way in our planning and product development process.

That's the beautiful thing about doing business on the web - there's never been a time in history where businesses could rely on REAL TIME customer feedback to augment their product development process and strategy. Before the web we had focus groups -- people would come in, use a product in a controlled environment and answer a questionaire. This took time, money and you never got a very clear picture of how a product was used in a more "natural" setting. Don't get me wrong, focus groups are a useful tool and they have their place in a product development process (even a digital one). But, when I can use an automated tool to tell me exactly which links, features, and text are the most appealing to my visitors then I feel that I'm operating with information that will help me make the best possible decisions.

And forget bringing people into a room to answer questions - we have polls, blogs and forums where we can get information from customers right away. Not only d we get great information but our members now have a vested interest in the success of this product because they helped build it! Think about how powerful that is.

That's really what this is all about - building a service that will solve a problem for real people. If we keep listening to our members, giving them what they want and solving problems for them then I'm sure we'll do just fine in this market.

So definitely give TickerHound a look - I'd love any and all feedback.

And check out the official launch post on TickerHound Blog's by clicking here.

Look mom, TickerHound's on TV!

I finally got the clips from my Fox appearance two weeks ago (thanks CriticalMention.com). It's a bit weird seeing yourself on TV. I feel like I talk funny, look funny, move funny, etc...and just for the record, that isn't an invitation to agree and start cracking jokes on my blog ;)


It was definitely a fun experience and I'm looking forward to doing it again - in fact, I'll be on Monday December, 10th. So for all of those early risers out there, check out Fox Business on Monday between 5 - 7 AM and you'll see my ugly mug up there.

My real hope is to turn Fox onto the idea of using content from TickerHound (once we open the site up in a couple of weeks) so I can feature members and their contributions to the community. Hopefully they'll be into the idea.

I mean, Fox Business is part of News Corp. and all, but it's essentially a start-up media company focused on finance here in New York. TickerHound is a start-up media company focused on finance here in New York. That sounds like a match made in heaven to me :)