Author: ariel

How I lost 30 lbs in 7 months – despite, and because of, the pandemic

2020 has been a year like no other, a roller coaster. I dealt with the stress probably like most of you – in March and April I pretty much stopped working out, was stress eating, and drinking more alcohol than I wanted. It really was such a crazy period, frustrating because of how much was… Continue reading How I lost 30 lbs in 7 months – despite, and because of, the pandemic

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Categorized as Health

How Technology Will Change Entry-Level Higher Education

This guest post originally appeared in Wired For years, “invest in education” has been a mantra consistently repeated to students and parents worldwide. It is now a phrase that VCs and entrepreneurs know, as technological solutions to some of education’s greatest challenges are gaining attention. As anyone in higher education is aware, the industry faces… Continue reading How Technology Will Change Entry-Level Higher Education

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Categorized as Education

Academia 101: Talk about careers and the big picture before the nitty gritty

This is a guest post I wrote on Quartz – original appeared a week ago and is available here:  »> Almost every university student takes 101 classes. Usually, they’re viewed as ways to build foundational skills or complete requirements, rather than gateways to exposing students to interesting career possibilities. The 101 course should be a… Continue reading Academia 101: Talk about careers and the big picture before the nitty gritty

The Simplicity Paradox: Simple > Complex > Simplicity

The Simplicity Paradox: Simple > Complex > Simplicity “When you start looking at a problem and it seems really simple, you don’t really understand the complexity of the problem. Then you get into the problem, and you see that it’s really complicated, and you come up with all these convoluted solutions. That’s sort of the… Continue reading The Simplicity Paradox: Simple > Complex > Simplicity

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Categorized as Essay

The Right Solution to the “E-Book Problem”: Putting Students First

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a guest post on Forbes.com about the future of e-textbooks. Here is the post in its entirety, and you can view it on Forbes here.  »> Textbook publishers are trying to stay relevant in this increasingly open and digital world–but at what cost? Tom Malek’s recent guest post… Continue reading The Right Solution to the “E-Book Problem”: Putting Students First

The Consumerization of Education

You don’t have to search far to see the many frustrations with the efficacy or cost of our current educational system. While there are many possible reasons for this, I’d like to focus on particular dynamics of education. Traditional education products and services are ‘sold’ to key decision makers who then force the decision onto end-users.… Continue reading The Consumerization of Education

Returning to blogging – with an education focus

It’s been about a full year since I last blogged.  That year has been incredible from a personal and professional standpoint. I’ve gotten engaged, started a new company working with a great team and a great group of investors, and even recently gotten a puppy. This startup, Boundless Learning, was the primary reason for not blogging during that time.… Continue reading Returning to blogging – with an education focus

Strengths and Weaknesses are Two Sides of the Same Coin

Strengths and Weaknesses: Two Sides of the Same Coin We often think about strengths and weaknesses in a vacuum, as if they were completely unrelated to each other. We think about building up strengths and eliminating weaknesses.  That’s a bit disingenuous and logically impossible because you end up stuck in the middle, with no real… Continue reading Strengths and Weaknesses are Two Sides of the Same Coin

The Secret Power of Confidence

The Secret Power of Confidence and How to Build It Confidence is one of the most important traits in life. It is imperative for everything from dating and relationships, to startups and business. Most of the conventional wisdom around confidence and self-esteem is trying to find a short cut. But the reality is that you… Continue reading The Secret Power of Confidence

Fuck Moderation: Balance through Extremes

Fuck Moderation – Balance through Extremes This was originally written as a guest post on BostInnovation.  There is a general conventional wisdom that everything in moderation is good.  As with a lot of conventional wisdom, that’s bullshit.  Everything in moderation leads to a dull, boring, shapeless, unidentifiable mass.  Moderation leads to complacency. Instead of moderation, pursue excellence. The Importance of… Continue reading Fuck Moderation: Balance through Extremes

The Lower Right Quadrant

The Lower Right Quadrant A few months ago I got together in the old YouCastr offices with a big whiteboard, a few pizzas, a few packs of beer, and some entrepreneurial product folks to chat about various concepts (or schemes) and think about web trends in general.  One of the concepts that emerged, admittedly following… Continue reading The Lower Right Quadrant

Opportunities in The Mobile Internet

I wrote previously about the four phases of the Internet, and how we’re approaching the Mobile (+ Location) Internet.  As a follow up to that post, I wanted to explore some specific areas and opportunities with this new paradigm. Solving “Local” Many companies have tried to solve local, applying technological solutions to the problems facing local… Continue reading Opportunities in The Mobile Internet

The Four Internet Ages

The Four Internet Ages Now that I’m between startups, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what I want to work on next.  I like thinking in frameworks, which makes it easier to evaluate new opportunities and create my own theses around where technology and business is heading.  My previous analysis on the Product vs… Continue reading The Four Internet Ages

Online Groups Suck – Email wins, with limits

I have written before about how email is still the killer app.  There are lots of new dedicated applications to serve specific needs, but often I find myself reverting back to the trusty email.  But one area that I have a love-hate relationship with is the massive email thread. Email threads have their limitations This annoyance… Continue reading Online Groups Suck – Email wins, with limits

YouCastr – A Post-Mortem

Introduction: Why I’m writing this There are many post-mortems from failed startups out there, mainly because there are a lot of failed startups, and the people that start them tend to be very introspective and public about their successes and failures. I’m no different.  This post-mortem will serve to get things off my chest, organize my thoughts,… Continue reading YouCastr – A Post-Mortem