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BRYCE DOT VC: Everyone Fails

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jayparkinsonmd:

brycedotvc:

Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes has struggled with his ambitious solo start-up, the social network for activism Jumo, ever since its bumpy launch. Waning traffic and disinterested users were making it obvious that the site wasnot going to catch on, despite multiple redesigns; a tough pill to swallow for the wunderkind whose second act after Facebook, online strategy at the Obama presidential campaign, was another huge success story.

I recently spoke with a friend who said you should dedicate at least 4 to 5 years of your life to each idea/business you start. If at the end of that time period, it’s not working, move on. Considering we all work about 40 years of our lives, that means we’ve got about 8 to 10 ideas/businesses we can start in our lifetime. That’s extremely humbling. Eight to ten is such a small number.

I don’t talk about it much, but I failed pretty big. Hello Health was my baby. I went for it. I stood in front of the world and said this is going to revolutionize healthcare. It’s going to restore the good old-fashioned doctor-patient relationship, create a new business model for healthcare, and give doctors a new reason for doing what they do.  It seemed the whole world rallied around me and this idea, no matter how naive I was. We opened up two practices in NYC and three amazing doctors helped us start the dream.  It worked for a while. I’m not going to go into the details of what happened, but it can best be summed up with this:

A technological solution to a political problem will fail almost every time. 

The first Hello Health office was a block and a half from my home. Every time I walked by that place, I was smitten, full of such pride and excitement. Now it’s “Williamsburg Day Spa.” Every time I walk by that, I feel deflated. But Hello Health is still going strong. It’s not a failure, just a change. My co-founder and his team are pushing ahead navigating some political land mines and changing strategy. We’ll see what happens. And, of course, I wish them all the best.

But I personally failed. I wanted Hello Health to be everything I dreamed it could be. That won’t happen, not in the way I envisioned it. That’s personally deflating and almost embarrassing.

I don’t have Chris’ track record. Although I count him as an acquaintance since he’s been at a few of my backyard BBQs, I admire him for his fortitude. When the world first heard about me, I surely wasn’t Chris Hughes. I was a young house call doctor fresh out of residency at Hopkins who started an interesting new practice. I was essentially a nobody. 

But I’m a doctor, an entrepreneur, and a mission in an industry that’s probably the hardest to create a meaningful and scalable business. I’ve dedicated my life to making the world a healthier place. And, of course, in doing so, making a living for myself. I failed once, but there’s no way in hell I’m giving up. Grant and I have been taking our time to develop our next big idea. And we’re just about to get started. I’m even more excited about this business, since it’s much more refined, much more doable, and has all the wisdom and experience we’ve gained in playing around in healthcare for the past 10 years. So cheers to round two!

He says he failed; I say it was just the first step. Insanely proud of my friend Jay Parkinson for what he’s done, what he’s doing and what he will do next.

BRYCE DOT VC: Everyone Fails

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Sleep All Summer: Aubs’ July 2011 Mix

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July2011
Oh wow. It’s August. How did THAT happen? (Rhetorical.) Anyway, since this is so late, no time for niceties. (Ok, just one: You look lovely today.) Feeling better, now, aren’t we?

Ok, ok, fine. Some notes.

July was a random month. I traveled a ton, and this mix was actually 90% complete by the beginning of the month. Had a hard time finding the last few songs, though, and here we are on August somethingorother and I’m just now publishing it. Oopsie.

So there are a few pop songs on here…sorry ‘bout that, but you KNOW you love that Katy Perry song. Or at least you did in early July before it was overplayed. Party Rock Anthem is on there as it was our unofficial song of my friends Dave & Brit’s wedding. I’ve been boppin’ to Sydney by Brett Dennen since my roommate Kristen queued it up on our Sonos (OMFG I love Sonos). Sleep All Summer was on a mix last year, but it was the cover; this mix I’ve added the live version from the original singers, Crooked Finger. The lyrics get me every time. Added an older Frightened Rabbit track that I am somehow going to convice Scott to sing when we see ‘em next week at The Greek in LA. And finally, The Moody Blues song is one of my all-time favorites and I put it on there for a reason, but I’m not telling y’all why. Some secrets are better to keep.

With that, here’s “Sleep All Summer”, my July 2011 Mix. Thanks for your patience, and enjoy.

1. Sydney (I’ll Come Running) – Brett Dennen
2. Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F) – Katy Perry
3. Helena Beat – Foster the People
4. Party Rock Anthem – LMFAO
5. Back Down South – Kings of Leon
6. Just Tonight – The Pretty Reckless
7. The King and all of his Men – Wolf Gang
8. Post Physical – Pictureplane
9. You Know What I Mean – Cults
10. Coming Down – Dum Dum Girls
11. Behave! – Frightened Rabbit
12. Sorrow – The National
13. Sleep All Summer (live) – Crooked Fingers
14. You Must Be Out of Your Mind – The Magnetic Fields
15. Nothing But Our Love – Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.
16. Dirt – WU LYF
17. I Know You’re Out There Somewhere – Moody Blues 

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Sleep all Summer: Aubs’ July 2011 Mix

by

July2011
Oh wow. It's August. How did THAT happen? (Rhetorical.) Anyway, since this is so late, no time for niceties. (Ok, just one: You look lovely today.) Feeling better, now, aren't we?

Ok, ok, fine. Some notes.

July was a random month. I traveled a ton, and this mix was actually 90% complete by the beginning of the month. Had a hard time finding the last few songs, though, and here we are on August somethingorother and I'm just now publishing it. Oopsie.

So there are a few pop songs on here…sorry 'bout that, but you KNOW you love that Katy Perry song. Or at least you did in early July before it was overplayed. Party Rock Anthem is on there as it was our unofficial song of my friends Dave & Brit's wedding. I've been boppin' to Sydney by Brett Dennen since my roommate Kristen queued it up on our Sonos (OMFG I love Sonos). Sleep All Summer was on a mix last year, but it was the cover; this mix I've added the live version from the original singers, Crooked Finger. The lyrics get me every time. Added an older Frightened Rabbit track that I am somehow going to convice Scott to sing when we see 'em next week at The Greek in LA. And finally, The Moody Blues song is one of my all-time favorites and I put it on there for a reason, but I'm not telling y'all why. Some secrets are better to keep.

With that, here's "Sleep All Summer", my July 2011 Mix. Thanks for your patience, and enjoy.

1. Sydney (I'll Come Running) – Brett Dennen
2. Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F) – Katy Perry
3. Helena Beat – Foster the People
4. Party Rock Anthem – LMFAO
5. Back Down South – Kings of Leon
6. Just Tonight – The Pretty Reckless
7. The King and all of his Men – Wolf Gang
8. Post Physical – Pictureplane
9. You Know What I Mean – Cults
10. Coming Down – Dum Dum Girls
11. Behave! – Frightened Rabbit
12. Sorrow – The National
13. Sleep All Summer (live) – Crooked Fingers
14. You Must Be Out of Your Mind – The Magnetic Fields
15. Nothing But Our Love – Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.
16. Dirt – WU LYF
17. I Know You're Out There Somewhere – Moody Blues