Author Archives: Mike Evans

The difference between a startup and a hobby is paying customers

Waaaaaay back in 2010, I wrote a read “The Lean Startup” by Eric Ries. Roundabout the same time, there was a Southpark episode about underwear gnomes stealing everyone’s drawers for profit. The gist of it is: Phase 1: Steal Underpants Phase 3: Profit. Yeah, but what’s Phase 2? Welp, in the spirit of those twoContinue reading “The difference between a startup and a hobby is paying customers”

Day 24: The Crossing & What’s Next?

On November 23rd, we left Madeira for our longest stretch of the trip: across the Atlantic towards the Americas. Our fully documented journal as we went across the Atlantic can be found on our final post at svpommesfrites.com. There are a lot of details about our crossing, from concern of food shortages to wind peaksContinue reading “Day 24: The Crossing & What’s Next?”

Day 14: Nazaré, Madeira and the Spinnaker Saga

Overnight sail started on the 11th from Porto to Nazaré. Huge winds 25-35 knots. We tried flying the spinnaker, but the wind was too much and we made a mistake causing the sail to wrap around the forestays on the boat. Two hours of struggle resulted in the sail in tatters and totally destroyed. Very demoralizing.Continue reading “Day 14: Nazaré, Madeira and the Spinnaker Saga”

Day 7: Launch from France and Docking in Porto, Portugal

The day has finally arrived! Steve, Beck, and the rest of the crew aboard the Pommes Frites saw their goodbyes to Sainte Marine, France, where we spent 3 days prepping the new Pogo 50. We push off for the open water of the Atlantic and their first port in Portugal. For a few of theContinue reading “Day 7: Launch from France and Docking in Porto, Portugal”

Day 0: Arriving in France and a Few Days of Practice

As the crew arrived in France after 24-hours of travel time, we were both tired and excited. Along the trip, it was fun to hear from the crew about how they were feeling. When we arrived at the Pommes Frites, Brian and I shared our thoughts about the marina, the new Pommes Frites, and theContinue reading “Day 0: Arriving in France and a Few Days of Practice”

Death and Despair in America

I just finished the most boring book that has ever changed my life. Bear with me here: In their 2020 book, “Deaths of Despair and The Future of Capitalism”, Professors Anne Case and Angus Deaton explore the decrease in life expectancy in the U.S. More specifically, in white people without a college degree. And notContinue reading “Death and Despair in America”

What’s in an IPO? My experiences through GrubHub’s offering from start to finish

GrubHub had it’s Initial Public Offering on April 4, 2014.  In many important ways, this was the start line for a new phase of the company.  For me personally, it was the finish line after eleven years of hard work. Now, ten months later, I’m far enough from the events that I’m able to speak about them.  This thenContinue reading “What’s in an IPO? My experiences through GrubHub’s offering from start to finish”

Our cities are running out of Tradespeople

Skilled electricians, carpenters, painters, all-arounders – people who are knowledgeable, handy, and can fix our homes. They’re dying. Literally. This frog got boiled slowly, but the fact is, it’s cooked now.  Taken individually, each of the drivers behind the dwindling numbers of skilled workers make sense.  As the years have slipped by the sum ofContinue reading “Our cities are running out of Tradespeople”