As I mentioned on the Viget blog, I’ll be speaking at the Tech Cocktail Conference in Chicago on May 29th.  Corey, COO at Squidoo, and I will be telling the story of how Squidoo (a Viget client) went from concept to profitability.  There are a couple things about the way they did it that make them a bit unusual compared to a lot of the start-ups you read about:

1. They didn’t take VC.  Granted, it’s easier to self-fund when you‘re already pretty darn successful, but as a philosophy (don’t raise money unless you have to) it’s still important.
2. They don’t charge for anything.  Chicago is home to our friends at 37signals, makers of Basecamp, and advocates of the revolutionary (and for some odd reason controversial) idea of making good software and then charging for it — couldn’t agree more.  Squidoo’s model is different, though, and they’ve made it work to a similar end without needing to charge users a fee.  In fact, you get paid to use Squidoo.  We’ll talk about how & when we think that model can work.

Frank & Eric have put together a great line-up.  If you’ll be in Chicago at the end of the month, come on by …

Today’s the five year anniversary of my dad’s death, which always gets me thinking a bit too much.  It also gets me digging around what I have that was his, trying to learn some things about him or from him.  This time I dug up his old 1972 cruise book from his Navy days when he was stationed off Sicily.

It’s basically — almost exactly, actually – like a high school year book.

It chronicles the life and times of this group of guys as they spent their days going through the ups and downs of Navy life. 

I’ve looked at it before and always suffer the same disappointment: in a book full of photos, there are almost none of my dad.  That’s because he was part of the cruise book staff, so he took most of the photos (he’s the one on the left).

Today, though, I had another thought.  The book itself was something I could cherish and learn from, because it wasn’t a few photos of Pop, it was his work.  He put his time, creativity, skill, and determination into creating this book and making it engaging, funny, and rewarding.  He was motivated to make sure it turned out well because his name was going to be on it, his peers would be experiencing it, and it would be — in some small way — part of his legacy. 

Pop worked on this book before I was born, at about the same age I was when I helped start Viget.  It’s funny to think of us at the same age, working hard on something to make sure we could be proud of the result.   His project at that time in his life happened to be a cruise book as part of his military service, my project happened to be a company (and the many businesses we’ve worked with).

Pop used to say something like “if you’re going to take the time to do something, you might as well make sure you do it right.”

I don’t know that Pop enjoyed being on that cruise, so far from his young family, but the task at hand was to make a good cruise book, so that’s what he helped do.  Had Pop had the opportunity to start his own company then, I would think that mindset — and his creative approach — would have led him to success.

The lesson I’m taking from my dad this year is to do what you do, and do it well.  No matter what you’re doing — whether it’s decorating a cake, playing with your kids, or starting a business– do it your way, the best way you know how.  It might not lead to anything more than a little dusty book full of memories, but at least it will be a book you can be proud of.

We used to get a cake during Free Lunch Friday every time it was someone’s birthday.  Pretty soon, that became every week, and that was just too much cake.  Now, we just get a cake on the first Friday of each month for everyone in that month. 

Laura has a bit of a cake decorating hobby, and she made one for us today.

I, too, like to decorate cakes, so I plan to top her on this effort — but it will be very tough.  That could be one of my favorite cakes of all time!