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Clarity

Andrew Watson

Atlanta, GA

Call me to talk about building and scaling your business and the technology that runs it. I've built a number of platforms that get heavy traffic and make heavy money as a result. I've also had a lot of practice in Agile software development techniques and continuous delivery models.

$1.67/min

23

23 Calls

15

15 Reviews

32 minutes
Avg. call

Leadership Software Engineering Agile Software Development PHP Information Security Enterprise Software MySQL REST Amazon Web Services (AWS) System Architecture

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I've been developing PHP applications since 2000. I just played a big part in launching the new DisneyWorld.com which is 250k lines of PHP using Zend Framework.

http://php.net/

Systems Architecture

I have been building complex systems for over a decade and I'm well versed in patterns that lead to reliable, high performance systems. I've worked on everything from the operations control system at the largest shipping terminal in the Western Hemisphere to DisneyWorld.com.

I played a part in the design and construction of OpenVBX. I also have built a number of custom plugins to integrate services like FourSquare into call flows and build VoiceCloud VCX and VCT on top of OpenVBX.

http://openvbx.org

I have developed numerous applications that integrate with the Foursquare API to do everything from looking up trains schedules to routing phone calls to your desk/home/cell number automatically.

http://foursquare.com/

Answers 13
Reviews 15

Answers

Andrew Watson answered

Since being away from the technology, what are some of the best practices of today? Backend, front end. php, asp, off the shelf dev tools?

To get started building modern applications after some time away from the scene I'd start with the lessons at http://teamtreehouse.com/ and http://railsforzombies.org/ because they're both excellent introductions to Ruby on Rails, Coffeescript and other very excellent ways to create rich experience for your customers.

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Backend Development

Web Applications

front-end development

Andrew Watson answered

When does a start-up need to bring in very experienced people?

It's never too early to bring in experienced people. At an early stage company you're operating with limited resources and you can't afford to waste time making other people's mistakes again.

Bring in experienced people as soon as possible. If you think you can't afford them, try to find people that will share their expertise with you for free.

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Entrepreneurship

Business Strategy

Startups

Andrew Watson answered

What are some early symptoms of conflict between people working on a team together?

I've been a leader/manager of small teams at companies of various size over the past decade.

The early symptoms of conflict I've seen can seem innocent at first. Things like people not eating lunch together anymore, forming cliques, not participating in group activities, showing up late for work or not showing up at all.

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Team Building

Team Leadership

Team Management

Andrew Watson answered

How to incentivise future distribution partners to sign non-binding Letters of Intent for a physical product not yet manufactured, 3-5 y. life cycle?

I'd avoid the cold email. The best way to get inside big companies like distributors is to "social engineer" a connection to someone there. Find a 2nd or 3rd degree connection on LinkedIn. Hang out at a restaurant near their HQ and look for people with the right badge on. Ask your potential angel for help connecting you. If they can't, they might not be the right investor for your company at this stage. Their investment should get you more than money, it should come with connections, advice and mentoring.

Basically, there's no easy way to do this and every situation is different but it's going to take a lot more than a cold email or phone call.

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Lean startup

Customer Development

Start-ups

Andrew Watson answered

How do I deploy a Play Framework Scala app on AWS?

Here is an article about setting up AWS EC2 to run Play and Mongo: http://stevenwilliamalexander.wordpress.com/2012/06/10/amazon-ec2-mongo-play-scala-instance-setup-gu/ and there are also guides for binding to Amazon Simple DB and Dynamo in Scala as well that might be much easier setup than using MySQL.

I've used a lot of AWS services for building composite services and I'm available for a call if you get stuck or need any advice on best practices.

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Scala

MySQL

Amazon Web Services

Andrew Watson answered

What roles should the CEO and CTO have in a VC meeting?

The most important thing in my opinion is that you both be able to quickly and confidently answer whatever question they throw at you without having to look at the other person for answers, confirmation.

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Fundraising

Venture Capital

Andrew Watson answered

My business has grown steadily since starting 3 yrs ago w/ revenues climbing every quarter, but we seem to still be squeaking by financially. Advice?

One thing you might consider is sitting down with a CPA or financial advisor for an hour or two. They might have the experience to go over your books and quickly spot issues that are holding you back. If you can't find someone like that willing to help you then consider reaching out to a professor of finance/accounting at a local college for help. You may even become part of a case study for their students!

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Business Growth

Andrew Watson answered

Is it possible to start a business with competitors that are mainly outsourced overseas?

If you are only competing on cost, you'll lose every time. Find some other value proposition to compete on like incredible features, fanatical support or something your competitors simply can't do with their outsourced teams.

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Start-ups

Andrew Watson answered

How to become a better introvert CEO?

Like Dan said, put yourself out there. Being an introvert doesn't mean you can't be outgoing in public settings. It just means that your preference - where you recharge your batteries - is when you're alone or in very small groups.

Just be aware of the need to strike a balance between your desire for quiet and your need to push yourself out of that comfort zone.

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CEO

Public Speaking

Startups

Andrew Watson answered

The schools are dispatching school buses to pick up students in AM and drop off in PM. Some students will be absent in AM, in PM parents not home?

who is the consumer of this information, the parents, the school system or the bus drivers? Keep in mind that schools won't adopt technology if a large percentage of their families won't be able to use it (i.e. smart phone apps) so maybe sms alerts would have greatest reach.

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System Architecture

Mobile applications

Lean Startups

Andrew Watson answered

In what situations should a SAAS company offer phone support? In what situations should it only be email support?

In my opinion, phone support is frequently requested but hardly ever needed. I worked at Twilio and as part of my role as a Developer Evangelist I responded to help desk tickets part of the week. We didn't do any phone support and we were able to help people effectively.

The key is to be very detailed, thorough and courteous in all your correspondence and also to ask for clarification if you don't understand their questions. You should also have a library of online resources like documentation, frequently asked questions and forums that you can refer people to so they can easily find answers for themselves once you point them in the right direction.

One caveat to all that though: I worked at another company that provided phone support but it was something you had to schedule and pay for in advance. At first, I thought it was crazy but our phone support people were busy all day helping customers. It wasn't a lot and it didn't even cover our costs but it prevented your phone from ringing off the hook and people calling to ask really stupid questions.

Hope that helps! Also, if you're looking for technical advice on setting up phone support options I'd be glad to help you... over the phone! :)

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Customer Support

Technical Support

Help Desk Support

Reviews

He knows his stuff!

Eduardo Polo Source: Clarity

Got good info in short time.

David Greenbaum Source: Clarity

Andrew - I have not heard from you and need to get the OpenVBX record call item fixed asap. Let me know if you can get that one thing done today. Thanks!

Bryan Taylor Source: Clarity

Currently at the inception stage of my project and Andrew gave direct and sensible direction for my first few steps based on his experience. I recommend Andrew and will followup with him as my project progresses.

Timothy Douglas Thorpe Source: Clarity

Excellent call. Would definitely set up another call in the future.

Saqib Dareshani Source: Clarity

Andrew is extremely knowledgable about security. Great call.

Mike Flynn Source: Clarity

Andrew did an excellent job outlining a plan to ensure security of my website and applications and recommendations on service providers who can help. Highly recommended!

John Plessas Source: Clarity

Found Andrew to be extremely knowledgeable and personable. I really enjoyed my chat with him and would love to connect again. Thank you Andrew!

Shawn Mayzes Source: Clarity

Andrew had great insight on a wide variety of topics and went over and beyond where I thought he would. thanks

aaron Cox Source: Clarity

Very clear and comprehensive advice on setting up and scaling web / database servers/ architecture. Andrew was able to field all my questions. Thanks for the help - will be in contact if I run into more issues later.

Angel Donovan Source: Clarity

Andrew was very knowledgeable, helpful and experienced. He helped me resolve my issue and answered my questions. Thanks Andrew

Craig Carman Source: Clarity

Member since May 2012