It’s hard to read the blogs of people like Paul Graham, or simply take a peek at the popular links on del.icio.us without getting the urge to scratch that entrepreneurial itch. I have an ongoing list of hundreds of ideas for startups from the past several years gradually growing in a file on my desktop. One day, I think. One day, I’ll take this baby to IPO… Poof!
All too quickly, the bubble of inspiration bursts as I come to grips with the fact that I’m in no position to become an entrepreneur. I have a mortgage to pay and mouths to feed. I simply don’t have the time, money, or energy to chase a fleeting dream which may never come true. Then, a few weeks ago, I stumbled upon the website of Cambrian House, and it crossed my mind that I may be able to have my cake and eat it too.
Cambrian House is applying software development concepts from open source projects to a capitalist business model with surprising cohesion. They are another one of THOSE companies which looks to its community to outperform the dominant players in its field. However, unlike YouTube and Flickr, Michael Sikorsky, Cambrian House CEO, wants everyone who contributes ideas, code, or creative work to share the wealth, based on a merit system.
Michael is no spring chicken when it comes to running a software company. Prior to starting Cambrian House, Mr. Sikorsky, served as vice-president of ThoughtWorks, Inc, after its acquisition of Servidium, an enterprise-class software development firm he founded in 1999. He also stays active in the open-source community as a contributor in Apache Jarkarta projects. As if that’s not enough, Michael is the chairman of BrightSpot Consulting and is a guest lecturer at the University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business.
I spoke with Michael, to find out more about whether there’s any “fine print” I should know about. During this fascinating interview, I was able to update my required reading list, learn about some absurd marketing stunts that actually work, and grok how The Flintstones relate to software development. We hope you enjoy listening to Juxtaview’s first-ever podcast as much as we enjoyed hosting it!
I was not about to transcribe it, but here are some links mentioned in the podcast:
- Dr. Dre
- Old Crow Medicine Show
- Agile Software Development
- Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki
- The Wisdom of Crowds by James Surowiecki
- The New Market Wizards: Conversations with America’s Top Traders by Jack D. Schwager
- The World is Flat by Thomas Freidman
- Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini
- The Business Experiment
- Marissa Mayer, Vice President of Google
- Royalty Points
- Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
- The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire: Harnessing the Infinite Power of Coincidence by Deepak Chopra
- How to get Rich by Felix Dennis
- 1000 Google Pizzas Video
- YouTube
