It’s been about a year since we started our blog and I’ve been reflecting on the experience lately. While not nearly as prolific as talented friends like Brad Feld or Mark Suster, since we began our blog at Highway 12 Ventures I’ve been lucky to feel inspired to add a couple of posts each week. Based upon the continued increase in our subscriber base and web traffic, it’s been very gratifying that folks find it worthwhile to spend a few minutes of their time reading and commenting on our thoughts on entrepreneurism in the Intermountain West.
I tend to believe that’s because most of our posts are about the human side of business. Because we’re not thematic or vertically focused investors, you’ll rarely see us opining on specific business sectors or emerging technologies. There are experts in every sector and technology who go a foot wide and a mile deep on those topics and we read those blogs just as you should. The value my partners and I strive to provide our portfolio companies is being guides on the journey of building a business, and the stories we’ve shared that reflect that are the ones that seem to resonate most with you, our readers.
Quite simply, we revel in the entrepreneur and are fortunate enough to get to know hundreds of them every year. Collectively, we learn much more from them then they ever could from us and I like to think that our blog is analogous to the elders of a long-ago tribe, passing down oral history from generation to generation.
We also love living in the Rockies and the like-mindedness we share with its entrepreneurs. Unless you live here in the region, it’s hard to explain but there’s no denying that there’s a kinship that’s shared among those that live in the mountain states. Perhaps it’s knowing how we all appreciate the quality of life that we enjoy here and a mutual respect for those that have chosen to accept the challenge of starting a company here when places like the bay area might make more business sense.
Personally, I simply really enjoy writing. Thanks to the prodding of our former EIR Tac Anderson, we started our blog a year ago and it’s been a much richer experience than I had ever hoped for. I guess that’s why it’s been frustrating that I haven’t been moved to write anything new in a couple of weeks. Perhaps it’s been the focus of preparing for our annual meeting (last week) or tying up the myriad loose ends before embarking on my sabbatical in a couple of weeks or a combination of that and more.
Nonetheless, it’s been frustrating to have “blogger’s block” and I’ve prodded my partners to step up their contributions while I’m gone this summer. Blogging for the last year has exercised my pondering muscles and I’m very eager to see what stories emerge as I trade in my laptop for a backpack and a thick unmarked journal to hand-write in this summer.
Hopefully, I’ll return chock full of tales to weave into our business lives. I’m grateful to everyone who has taken an active role in the comment section of our blog and I’m going to miss the interaction with all of you.