#steve-patterson

#steve-patterson

Denton's first rule: "Make it different, but relevant." The more unusual your swag is, the more likely people will remember it, want it, and share it online.

Curiosity is key for young engineers. Asking a lot of questions is a great way to build relationships within a company, according to James Everingham.

You just have to immerse yourself in it. You should just constantly be building. That's what's going to give you the best chance of having the relevant skill set that is needed to make a difference in technology.

Reid Hoffman doesn't do much in half measures. He cofounded LinkedIn, of course, and helped bankroll companies including Meta and Airbnb in their startup days. He has also fashioned himself, via books, podcasts, and other public appearances, as something of a public intellectual-a pro-capitalist philosopher who still insists that tech can be a force for good. Most recently, Hoffman has emerged as one of Silicon Valley's most prominent defenders of artificial intelligence.

My journey as a bootstrapped founder has been pretty unique, and I love to share my insights and lessons learned with others who may be traveling along a similar path. But there's another dimension, too. I want to be embedded in the communities that I think Jotform should reach. If you know me, and my product feels familiar, you're more likely to think of us the next time you need an online form builder.

In an era obsessed with shortcuts, overnight success, and polished social media profiles, adversity is often treated as something to avoid. Something unfortunate. Something that signals failure. That assumption is completely wrong. Adversity is not a flaw in the entrepreneurial journey; it is, in fact, the training ground, the pressure that sharpens one's judgment, accelerates their adaptability and forges the kind of resilience no accelerator, MBA or funding round can manufacture.

Silicon Valley is having an anti-college moment due to sky-high education fees, AI lowering the barrier to entry for skills like coding, and the shifting political and social landscape. But three young founders who dropped out of college told Business Insider that they weren't motivated by expenses or politics, but by timing. Each spotted an opportunity in the market that they couldn't resist, leading them to quit college and go all in on entrepreneurship.

A colleague and I launched a new company after our previous employer closed. We divided responsibilities so she handled manufacturing and distribution while I managed digital content and marketing. My side of the business grew steadily. But within six months, her operational area began to falter. I began to step in to keep physical projects moving, and key infrastructure on her side wasn't maintained. Despite having access to shared digital project management tools, she frequently framed it as a communication problem.