Author: stemkoski

  • What is the biggest mistake that startups make?

    What is the biggest mistake that startups make?

    I was asked today my opinion on what the biggest mistake startups make is. I work in online advertising and meet with a large number of new startups. The most common problem I have observed is a lack of solid business plan and/or revenue model. Often theses startups will come in and ramble on about […]

  • What job should I get if I want to become an entrepreneur?

    What job should I get if I want to become an entrepreneur?

    Often, people in college are very frothy and anxious to get started on their career. Recently, I answered a question for a person that was curious what type of job they should try to get if their long-term goal was to become an entrepreneur. This is a difficult question because an entrepreneur can mean very […]

  • Should you still include a “HOME” button in your website navigation?

    Should you still include a “HOME” button in your website navigation?

    We have been collecting usage data on the home button from about 750 websites we manage across North America in an effort to try to determine if it is necessary or not. While each website is different and much of the data is statistically insignificant, we have started to operate based on a few general […]

  • Tips on how to write a RFP for a website or mobile application

    Tips on how to write a RFP for a website or mobile application

    As a developer of websites and mobile applications, there is no single format that I have found that works perfect, however, I do prefer receiving as much detail as possible in RFPs or scope of work documents. Often, we encounter documents written by people that make assumptions and those assumptions can have massive time/cost impact […]

  • I don’t have time is not an excuse. Do it now.

    I don’t have time is not an excuse. Do it now.

    Life is short, don’t wait for it to happen around you. I constantly encounter people who tell me they “don’t have the time”. Sometimes it’s colleagues who don’t have time to look for a better job or start a business. Often it is my students who can’t find the time to study or put in […]

  • Why would I want to use Facebook Ads instead of another ad platform?

    Why would I want to use Facebook Ads instead of another ad platform?

    I recently answered a question online for someone looking for an explanation of why Facebook ads are so popular. I thought the best way to explain this is with a small example. Below I have included my response to this person: Facebook Ads are incredibly powerful for a variety of reasons. The most powerful feature […]

  • Some practical advice on how to get new users for your web based start-up

    Some practical advice on how to get new users for your web based start-up

    Launching a new web platform is always a challenge. Generating the initial momentum to get a marketplace up and running can be very difficult. I was recently part of a successful website re-launch so I will outline what worked in this particular case, although, admittedly it may not be the best strategy in all cases. […]

  • A single mom sets a new standard for what a real “man” is

    A single mom sets a new standard for what a real “man” is

    This isn’t something I wrote. Once you read it, that will be fairly obvious since I am neither single, or a mom. This post was actually written by Tiffany, a girl that I went to school with. She has such great take on life and motherhood that I have republished it here to make it […]

  • The Stupid Simple jQuery Accordion Menu: V.3

    The Stupid Simple jQuery Accordion Menu: V.3

    Overview: The original Stupid Simple jQuery Accordion menu was developed in 2010 with the goal of creating a ridiculously simple accordion menu. There were many other menus available online including a great one in the jQuery UI library. What I found is that many of these were overly complicated and difficult to style, especially for […]