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Matt Mullenweg

02 Feb 2007 on Learning

he’s the founder of Automattic. He has coded Akismet to handle spams. He’s only 23!!!!!!!!! and i love the way he runs his company.. no hierarchy, no boss… it’s a company to watch out in the Future! Check out his personal website.

And here are his 12 rules:

  1. You have to be the most passionate person involved.
  1. Get off the computer - the act of writing things down on paper frees the mind, allows for the juices to really flow.
  1. Obsess about the details, down to the space between two letters.
  1. Do your own support. You have to be able to feel the pain of your users. Document everything. Make it as easy as possible for your users to contact you.
  1. Blog every step of the way. Keep all of your users in the loop at all times - they will love you. Communicate with them and put them in the driver’s seat.
  1. Have a great tagline. If you can’t describe what you are doing in less than 5 words, edit it, shave it down.
  1. Frame everything you’re talking about in a context for your users. What are you going to do for them?
  1. Get out of version 1.0 as fast as possible. Most people make their successes on something different from where they started. Be flexible. User feedback is the most valuable asset. Don’t let yourself be too led by your first users. Listen to the silent majority. Keep the majority in mind.
  1. Track yourself.
  1. Know what to do if you are successful.
  1. Start strong, end strong. People don’t often remember what was in the middle.
  1. Be a pain killer, not a vitamin.