We are days off our public launch of the Barkles Beta. Once we launch, we will send our subscribers an email and everyone will be able to start enjoying side by side debates online! If you want to be notified and haven’t signed up to our list, now is your chance: http://barkles.com.
We will keep you updated in these exciting times,
- Diesel Laws and Jay Whiting
Getting a startup off the ground is challenging. There will be people who come in and out of your life trying to help, some of them stay and some of them go. Finding the one that sees the same vision as you do is a process that shouldn’t be taken lightly.
I have added 10 Tips To Find A Great Co-Founder at the bottom of this post. Enjoy!
So when Jay came on board a few months back to help out with our JQuery we were excited. He was able to accomplish tasks rather quickly, with very efficient code and his understanding of our requests was brilliant.
When an opening arrived in Barkles, Jay stepped up. He was able to work quickly and efficiently on converting Barkles from Wordpress into Ruby on Rails. Since then Jay and I have worked around the clock designing the new Barkles which we aim to have launched by the end of this year.
Over time, Jays passion for Barkles has grown just as fierce as my own - and with a strong skill-set, understanding to go with it I knew I had to do something to recognise that.
Based on this, I offered Jay the position of Co-Founder for Barkles and he gladly accepted.
Although things will still appear as normal on the surface, I will now have another dedicated individual to bounce off and learn from. In the rapid pace startup world it’s very easy to get side-tracked on new ideas, offers and trends and with a second person officially at the helm, Barkles will be on point and more focused than ever.
Thanks Jay!
- Diesel Laws
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Passion. If they don’t have it just as bad as you, don’t bother.
Bigger Picture. It’s great if they like the idea but better if they like the 5 year plan.
Opinionated yet Understanding. If they have their own opinions and aren’t afraid of a healthy debate then get them on board.
Complimentary Skills. They need to have the skills to back up the passion. I also recommend finding someone with an opposite skill-set (e.g. Designer - Developer).
Dreams and Grounding. It’s great if someone dreams big but make sure they have the grounding to know what to do to make that happen.
Open Communication. This is vital - Make sure the communication flows fluid both ways. If you can’t talk at least once a day you’re doing it wrong.
Fun and Maturity. Make sure you find someone who enjoys a good laugh but doesn’t get too stupid. Allow your team to laugh often and enjoy their time spent building the product.
Honesty. Need I say more.
Able to Learn and Teach. Your Co-founder needs to be able to teach and take the high road when needed. They also need to be able to learn from anyone at any moment (from customers to CEO).
Human. If you don’t enjoy spending time with your Co-Founder outside of work, find someone else. If they aren’t likable, able to adapt or make new friends you might find yourself in a lot of trouble down the road.
Opinions are everywhere. They’ve been written on walls, sent around the classroom, spoken face to face and shared online. They continue to be one of the greatest ways to set yourself apart as an individual.
Many times an opinion is given to start a debate. It could be about something light or rolling into a heavy back and forth discussion. Hearing someone’s opinion on a topic is actually a great way to really get know them.
But the tools at hand to support these debates are lacking (or contain too many) major functions needed to carry them well. The simplicity of seeing who is on what side of the debate, who said what and agreeing or disagreeing with the responses is often ignored due to banner ads, leader-boards, points and outdated designs.
We really felt there needed to be a modern place where simple debates could flourish - with a focus on clean and simple design, minimal distractions and straightforward debates.
So that is why we created Barkles. Before the end of this year we will open the doors to a fresh kind of discussion - simple, side by side debates. We look forward to having you test it out.
Are you on the Beta list?
Barkles is closer than ever before. We are working daily on getting it off the ground so people can start having better debates online.
I’ve said to many of you that we will be launching in under 2 months. If everything keeps going the way it is, there’s a good chance we will be able to launch before December.
We’ve focused heavily on creating a fun and enjoyable web app-like feel to the Barkles environment. In the first Beta it still felt like a heavily advanced blog - now it feels closer to the modern experience you would have on a phone (albeit a bit bigger!).
The biggest challenge we are currently facing is learning while building. Ruby on Rails is a great platform for what we want to do and it has sped up our development time incredibly. Yet, there have also been a few slow moments as we work on designing everything from scratch and also learning how Ruby functions with images, Javascript and all the other bells and whistles. But overall, it has been a brilliant experience and a perfect base for our needs.
We have been lucky enough to attract the attention of a marketing woman (Hi Shelli) who has come on board (casual at first, increasing over time) to help us get the most out of the Barkles brand. We’re excited to have someone else on board that loves Barkles just as much as we do - that’s the way to build a great team!
For now, that’s all I can say. We will have a big reveal of the interface soon and let you dive right in and Dogfight with everyone!
Thanks for your patience and excitement,
- Diesel Laws
