The best way is to lean how to ask great questions and to physically spend time with your users watching them work. I don't have all the killer questions, but my favourite to help understand product roadmap opportunities is "What do you do 3 minutes before, and after you use our product?". That...
If you're going to offer your services for free then try to take on an internship with a company that specializes in what you do. This way you can add that experience to your resume.
I agree with Dan. It's always better to avoid outside investors. If you MUST get investment, make it count and be prepared to show exactly how you will make money and how the investor will be repaid.
InfoUSA.com has the most thorough and reliable database of consumer information available. You can drill in further by segmenting demographic, psychographic and geographic variables. Always use any purchased lists with caution to make sure you adhere to the Do Not Call list. Further informatio...
I'm a fan of - MySQL - Resque - Ruby/Rails - jQuery - Backbone - Bootstrap - Heroku
Listing syndication is done via an IDX. You can search for this term and find lots of discussion about the matter, much of it controversial. The source of the listings is through the local or regional MLS. This is a highly competitive market with well capitalized models competing for buyer att...
Easy... Contact companies you would want to work for and offer to intern or work for free for a few days/week under someone with that experience. Soak in the info. Help them in other areas. Ask a lot of questions as if you are completely new to the field.
There are very few good sources to find specific groups of sites that accept guest blogs. My advice is to find blogs you like and respect and email them to see if they accept guest blogs. For example, my site at Magolnick.com sees a few thousand visitors per day and I'm always looking for good ma...
Set parameters based on life, not work. For example, commit to never miss a child's event or date lunch/dinner. Leave work at work. Take vacations without your smartphone, iPad and computer (something I struggle with!).
Good to Great (Collins) Getting Naked (Lencioni) Managing Humans (Lopp) One Minute Manager (Blanchard) Crucial Conversations (Patterson)