I'm learning to code. Again.

I used to love programming in high school and it was that love that lead me to get involved online, teach myself web designing & some intermediate PHP and eventually develop the product that became WooThemes.

And then I stopped coding to focus on running a business. Which made loads of sense at the time of course. Heck, the business started to grow at an alarming rate, there were new challenges everywhere and the team we were hiring had more time to refine their coding skills. So mine became obsolete and I justified not coding by saying / believing that my time was more profitable spent elsewhere. Big mistake.

The Future

I haven't quite bought into the "coding is the new writing" mantra with some enthusiasts even suggesting that everyone should learn to code at school. But there is merit in that argument.

The Internet is at an all-time high at the moment. More people worldwide have access to it and are spending more time, doing various different things, on the internet every day. This won't slow down in the next couple of years.

But the internet isn't the be-all & end-all either… At the moment, every one and their mother is looking for a reputable web developer of a technical cofounder and the supply is short. So it's a good thing that people are learning to code, because we need those skills in the short-term. In the long-term, we'll eventually have an over-supply of web developers.

This should however not deter you from learning to code today.

Everything will have an user interface

We've already seen the way in which user interfaces are penetrating our daily lives. Smartphones & tablets are the best example of this at present. In the future, I can totally see my (supposedly) simple toaster having an interface of sorts. Everything will eventually have some kind of user interface.

And user interfaces need to be programmed.

Beyond writing (a blog post for another day), the skill to code is probably one of the most relevant & sustainable skills that you can teach yourself. You don't need to be the best coder either; you just need to hold your own with some code.

There are multiple, easy ways to learn code in your spare time, at your own pace & convenience. Choose a language, choose a learning vehicle and get coding.

I've previously written about equal (50-50) partnerships in startups and this is something that I hold close to my heart. I have however developed a slightly different view on equal partnerships...

I recently read Jason Cohen's post on sacrificing your health for your startup and thereafter I read his wife's response. I could've potentially had quite a few, valuable take-aways from those two posts, but the thought that kept lingering in my mind was: I probably wouldn't have gotten very far in my professional career if it wasn't for my wife. Let me explain...

My priorities have changed. With a 2-month-old baby in the house, I've had my routines ripped to shreds and my previous priorities questioned. My life has changed, for the good.

During the last 2 months, I've continued to work and have been working on some of the most exciting stuff that I've ever been part of. I haven't been as productive as before and I've had no work routine. But I've generally managed to get things done, with the to do lists ticking over on a regular - albeit slower - basis. There is however no way that I would've been able to do this without my wife. 

See: my wife is amazing. This isn't me playing to gender stereotypes either. She's taken charge of our baby, sacrificed her own job (Jeanne has her own, boutique legal firm) and on top of that, she's managed to "indulge" me during my more difficult times on this startup rollercoaster. When I've been irrational or impulsive, Jeanne has had the time / patience / wisdom to slow me down and knock some (proper) sense into me. She's also been there to celebrate my victories along the way. And most of all, she just "gets" me and understands the awesomeness & challenges that are linked to being an entrepreneur.

She's done all of this whilst in the background there is an actual needy baby that has required so much more of her time & energy.

I don't think the nitty-gritty is important and it's even less important for me to figure out how Jeanne (and other women / wives) do this. All I know is that without Jeanne, I'd mostly be Adii Flopstar. Somewhere within our marriage & relationship, we've found a very unique blend of a partnership. If I had to formalize that on a shareholders agreement of sorts, it would probably look very similar to an equal partnership as we mostly know it.

At the very least, 50% of my success can be contributed to my wife's super-human ability to support, encourage, listen, understand, challenge and coach all at the same time. And then she probably deserves an extra couple percent for being a mom and the CEO of RockstarHQ on top of that.

(If I had to pick another title for this post, it could've been "An Ode to my wife".)

As we'd all expect: having a new baby changes your life. I guess that bit was expected for me and I kinda settled into my own comfort zone of perceptions during Jeanne's pregnancy last year. What I didn't expect is how this would completely change me.

I'm typing this with Adii Jr strapped to me chest in his sling; "we" (it took me a little while and 2 cups of coffee longer) have been up since 5:30 in what has now become our default morning routine.

If you told me before Adii Jr's birth that I'd be waking up at 5:30 / 6:00 every morning - without the option to sleep in every now & again - I would've scoffed at you. I've always been an early riser, because I love the first 2 / 3 hours in the morning for productive work, but being my own boss I also had the option of sleeping in if I needed or wanted. 

The thing that has however surprised me is how these couple of hours every morning have become one of the most special parts of my day and if I didn't get that time to spend with Adii Jr, then I feel a little bummed throughout the day. There's just something special about peering down to my chest to see a beautiful baby peacefully sleeping, whilst I catch up on everything that I didn't get to work through the day before.

These are new emotions & experiences to me and what it's made me realize is that my work-life balance has been mostly crap in the last couple of years. It always felt that I needed to run from the one to do, to the next and it even sometimes felt that "time at home", "go out with friends" etc. felt like to do's rather than stuff that I wanted to do.

I'm slowly learning that sometimes it is okay for me to just spend time with Adii Jr: no computer, no iPhone, no TV. I'm learning that slowing down is a good thing and that I don't need to compromise on my ambitions & dreams to be able to do that.

Every now & again, it's okay to just take a moment, spend it with someone special and truly cherish it without having to worry about the next item on the to do list.

Celebrating the birth of my son, obviously hasn't brought enough "newness" to my life lately with a bunch of exciting things happening elsewhere too. Heck, when it rains it pours.

One of my ambitions this year has been to step up my angel investing activities and literally just get a couple of toes into the water; mostly to learn and just expose myself to more startups (preferably in various industries). In addition to this - and acknowledging that my investment budget is still very limited - I decided to find startups where I could offer value as an advisor (something which I'm also publicly advertising here).

On both these fronts, I have some exciting news to share and would like to introduce you to three new startups that I'm involved in... 

Dress Rush

I was first introduced to Dress Rush a couple of weeks ago when I saw their amazingly designed investor pitch deck. From the very first moment I interacted with the brand, business & ideas, I knew that I wanted to be involved. I subsequently reached out to the team and a couple of weeks later (having been made to jump through hoops to get funds transferred internationally), I'm now officially an investor in Dress Rush.

Two things make me specifically proud about this: 1) Jeanne & I made this investment together, as she was just as keen - if not more keen - to get in on this action; and 2) I get to experience a whole different industry and business model.

Having also got married a little more than a year ago myself, I could've most definitely used something similar to Dress Rush. I bet I would've saved a lot of time and even more money.

Buffer

I've been using Buffer for a couple of months now and have actually been an early user since the first time I stumbled onto Joel Gascoigne's, one of the co-founder, blog. Having found Buffer to be incredibly valuable to my own workflow and online activities, I'm honoured to be joining their team as an advisor.

I love the idea behind Buffer and I see them going from strength to strength.

PressTrends

PressTrends is a little closer to home and is already something we're trying out at WooThemes. Considering how big the WordPress ecosystem has become and how many people are buying themes, I believe PressTrends fills a massive gap for developers in giving them crucial data & analytics to fuel proper, data-driven decision-making.

I'm advising the PressTrends team and even though these are early days, they've already laid the platform of a very exciting business. These guys will be adding a very valuable component to the WordPress ecosystem.

And in addition to all of this, I might be working on a little side-project of my own that should see the light in Q1 2012. All I'll say for now is that the project was one of the ideas that remained after Radiiate was closed down earlier this year.

Finally, if you wanted to get in touch with me on any of these fronts, feel free to have a look at my AngelList profile or my startup services.

I've been doing a lot of thinking about my personal ambitions on how so many revolves around being an entrepreneur and being involved in business(es). In my attempts of figuring out why entrepreneurship is such an integral part of who I am, I realized that there's one aspect of being an entrepreneur that greatly appeals to me: the sky is the limit.

I believe that in business (and as an entrepreneur) that everything is possible that we're only driven by our own passion, ideas, hard work & ambition. Stumbling blocks or supposed limitations are only challenges that entrepreneurs need to face (and find creative solutions for) along the way.

This appeals to me, because I'm a naturally ambitious person who doesn't like to be put in a box. I simply love the fact that I'm able to have this never-ending journey from project to project, business to business. The sky is the limit.