There is rarely a singular moment that signifies *the* “start.”

It’s a liquid process from thinking to doing.

This past week I was in SF to hang with Kamal and map out Examine.com’s future.

(Fun stuff)

Pretty much every day was the same – wake up, work, quick break to eat, continue working, and then watch some NBA while eating before I passed out.

(One of the best things about West Coast – games are on so early!!)

The one time I left the house to get fresh air was an hour-long fireside chat at Sentry.

Sentry was co-founded by a dude named David Cramer, and it was originally a side project for him. It eventually became a profitable company, and since then they’ve raised over $65,000,000!

I originally met David Cramer in the early 2000s… when I hired him as a 17-year old out of Nebraska to be a coder.

We eventually parted ways on good terms — Cramer had goals that we could not help him achieve — and since then, he has (obviously) gone on to do some impressive things.

I have found few things are as satisfying as watching someone (who you gave their first break) achieve big things. I will forever take 5% of the credit 😎. I’ve always said that opportunity is the most important component of success…

It’s also notable that when we first met, I don’t think either of us could have envisioned where we are right now.

And I’m super curious to see where the next decade takes me.

Simple tip if you send emails:

Get a unique IP and get your SPF, DMARC, etc set up.

IP check for reputation: https://talosintelligence.com/reputation_center/lookup?search=

https://www.mail-tester.com/ is great.

SPF analyzer: https://quickemailverification.com/tools/spf-analyzer

And what we did for DMARC:
—–
You do not have a DMARC record, please add a TXT record to your domain _dmarc.examine.com with the following value:

v=DMARC1; p=none

This was via a combination of user tracking AND user feedback AND user interviews.

We’re always evolving. We’re always trying to get user behaviour information wherever we can.

You should be trying to do the same.

Just look at the kind of comments it delivers:

I have said this before, and I will say it again: if there is anything you should do too much of, it should be “giving credit.”

It is often MUCH appreciated by the person who is given credit, gives a public link to said person, and literally takes nothing away from you.

No (wo)man is an island.