“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.”
Albert Einstein got a few things right in his day not the least of which winning the Nobel Peace Prize. His analogy for cycling and life is a favorite of mine. It inspired the rhyming title of this edition and I utter it all the time on the bike.
But this week's theme may have less to do with speed. (though I do love the German saying: geschwindigkeit bringt sicherheit) and rather more about maintaining your momentum while remaining modest.
Tomasz Tunguz recently wrote about modesty, first principles and opportunities for startups. He started by referencing a conversation with a physicist: (not Einstein ; ))
...all the Nobel laureates he had met in his studies have been the most modest of physicists. “They realize how small they are in the world, after discovering something incredibly special and new.”
It is a great thought provoking post promoting first principles & practicing modesty. TL;DR? Set aside what you’ve learned about a problem and your preconceived notions in favor of becoming a student again and learning as if it was the first time.
This is how we discover secrets, the startup kind – the ideas you believe that very few others do. Opportunities to disrupt appear when a fundamental assumption about the world changes.
As always, thank you for reading!
with appreciation,
Jon
❤️ this? Please tweet it, share on LinkedIn or post on FB. Danke!
Cycling
What Vulpine Believes In & How We Can Change Cycling
"Cycling looks unpopular, unsafe and inconvenient. It looks like you have to take a leap into the unknown. That is a tragedy in my eyes. The lost happiness, the worsened health. Yet we know different."
Read this manifesto by Vulpine's founder Nick Hussey about the generally accepted idea that cycling is healthy and fun, but too often seen as unattractive, inconvenient and intimidating to take up. (I spent the weekend on my 8th shoot with Vulpine in Sevilla. Stay tuned for awesome updates soon!)
Never Slow Down with Stefan Schott from 8bar bikes
Berlin-based entrepreneur and fixed-gear cyclist Stefan Schott is at the forefront of urban biking trends. He doesn’t slow down – not with his bike and certainly not with his business.
What is an Alp?
Some Alps are hotter than others. [love Smiths references]
Great post on Cafe du Cycliste's blog about @imagehunters tackling the Australian Alps' 7 Peaks Challenge in, Brumby, Victoria, Australia.
Startups
7 Dutch startups to look out for in 2017
Adyen, Bynder, Booking.com, Catawiki, Travelbird – just to name a few of the many heavyweight Internet companies that were created in the Netherlands. The country’s geography might be flat, but the number of promising Dutch startups seems to be growing to new heights every year.
Solving Mobile Growth & Retention with Andy Carvell, ex Growth at SoundCloud
Brian Balfour recently spoke with Andy as part of a 1 hour interview covering:
- How he brought a web-first product to mobile
- Activity notifications, rich push, and other techniques for driving mobile growth and retention
- Andy’s “Mobile Growth Stack” for 2017
Revue Discover helps you find and subscribe to more awesome personal newsletters
Dutch startup Revue, which I use to send you this very awesome personal newsletter, is launching a new product today to make it easier to discover other awesome personal newsletters.
Sales
7 Reasons Why Your Cold Email Campaign Might Fail
The ways to avoid the most common mistakes when preparing and launching cold email campaign, maximize open and reply rates, and convert more opportunities.
The Ultimate Guide to Winning Sales Conversations
What if you could ask the world’s top 74 B2B sales gurus their most valuable sales conversation technique?
5 Huge Mistakes That Salespeople Make in Cold Emails
Emails should start with a clear, no-nonsense, straightforward message.
Radness
Torino Nice - Bombtrack Bicycle Co. |
I shared my experience doing this ride back in the bottom of issue 57.
Now you get to see it through Joachim Rosenlund's eyes as captured by OSM films.
The “Torino – Nice Rally” is not a race, it is rather food for your soul: an adventure with friends and a memorable experience. 700km on old military cols and scenic historical trade routes leading all the way from the western Italian Alps down to the coast of southern France.
In 2016 Bombtracks' ambassador Joachim Rosenlund took part in the rally and experienced some truly incredible unsupported bikepacking. The backdrop of Europe's highest mountains never cease to take our breath away, but we couldn’t prepare ourselves for quite how spectacular his journey would be.