5 months later

Well, we are still trying to take on the world, but in the process of doing so, we have completely neglected our fledgling blog. This is Mina, by the way -- Arry's partner, the one she bought her scooter from on that fateful day several years ago. Just like any other business start-up, in the past five months, we've had ups and downs and soul searches and panic attacks and moments of inspiration, and we've decided to commit to writing regularly on the blog, if for no other reason than to keep the two of us motivated. Actually, we have decided that I would post regularly on the blog since Arry has enough on her plate screening programmers and writing spec sheets and skyping in the middle of the night with offshore contractors all the while working at her day job (this is not because I am shirking my duties as a partner but because she, besides being bubblier, cuter and generally better-natured than I am, has more technical expertise than I do). So, ever the committed partner, here I am writing in my first blog ever while having a glass of wine and waiting for my green chile stew to cook (tasty, I hope!).

In the past months, we've had a few mishaps that have led to the delay of our launch (mainly the hiring (and then letting go) of two developers who turned out to be a little less proficient than we had thought (a big lesson in human resources for the two of us)). But outweighing these mishaps by far were the wonderful interactions that we've had with so many people in the process. It is really amazing how much time and thought people that you barely know are willing to give you. Here are some of the people we've met and talked to about our business since the last post (in no particular order):

-Michelle Engvall, my former wedding planner who made our wedding so much fun that I want to have one every year: Our business is a wedding-related one (to expand into other markets in time), so we went to Michelle to get her thoughts on our idea (she loved it, we were glad to hear).
-Melissa, the tall, funny proprietor of Belltown Bride, where I got my Amsale wedding dress with 70 rhinestones down the back for 1/2 the retail price.
-Darrin Massena, a friend who is also the founder of the popular and heralded piknik.com. This site seems to be getting an award or a mention in media every other week. The site is the best -- I work on all my photos on it before posting it any where public (especially to take the devil red out of my hubby's light eyes).
-Andy Liu, of BuddyTV. Smart, genuine guy -- one of the smartest people my husband says he has ever met, and he does not say this often! He has created the number one site in a space that is extremely crowded; we want to do what he did.
-Andy Kleitsch, founder of theweddingchannel.com (sold to The Knot) who has now founded Billing Revolution. Andy told us that the "gateway drug" for brides is wedding dresses.
-Phil Yuen, founder of a few start-ups, most recently textpayme, which was sold to that giant online retailer located in Seattle. He is a friend of Arry's from Cornell (so many Cornell alums in Seattle -- why is that?) and has given us much needed technical advice.
-Greg Gottesman, from Madrona Ventures. He is one of the friendliest VCs I have ever met. It meant a lot that he liked our idea (although yes, he had MANY pointed questions).
-Paul Anderson. He is a fascinating guy who specializes in teaching people how to network. Yes, networking isn't just about going to cocktail parties, there is a real science behind it and Paul can tell you about all about it. I was introduced to Paul by someone else I knew from my day job, and it turned out that Paul had attended a talk I gave a few months prior. Small world!
-Dan and Lara McComb, founders of Biznik. I was introduced to him by Paul because we were looking for developers. Paul thought that Dan would know some good ones. It turns out that not only did Dan know of a developer, he and Lara (his wife and business partner) were full of good feedback on our business (a lot was critical). Also, Dan is making a film, and he interviewed me for it! AND I am now collaborating on a survey of Biznik members to find out more about their experiences in starting their own businesses.

I am leaving out many, but green chile stew calls. So spicy!