Survive your startup or project before you figure out how to grow it. That's the part some creators, entrepreneurs, or project initiators don't give enough attention to.

The zero2three stage occurs from the inception of your idea until it's three years old. It is the fragile, messy, soul-shaking early phase of starting a business, where more things fall apart than come together and where the most significant threat isn't competition. Fatigue, isolation, self-doubt, and sometimes delusion take over.

Long before coaching became a profession, mothers quietly practiced its principles. They didn’t call it “active listening;” they listened to everything. They didn’t speak of “empowerment;” they knew when to step back so we could move forward. They didn’t set SMART goals; they made sure we finished what we started. Mother figures in our lives make great coaches. Whether biological, adoptive, chosen, or spiritual, they’ve been coaching us long before we had a word for it.

I enjoy behavioral economics and its applications. The works of Dan Ariely, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Steven D. Levitt, Malcolm Gladwell, and Herb Simon have been excellent places for me to start. One of my interests is social currency. I'd like to share some thoughts about social investment and its proposed currency.