Mark Suster has been using WP Engine for a while.  When he came to Austin today and dropped by the Capital Factory / WP Engine offices we got an awesome photo of him proudly holding up his fine new WP Engine t-shirt.  Mark’s blog, Both Sides of the Table, one of the best blogs I read religiously about Venture Capital.  He writes it as a serial entrepreneur, turned VC, and shares his perspective on startups and startup funding.  If you haven’t yet, check it out.

While he was in the office, Mark was also kind enough to give some direct feedback on a new business model incubating in the office.  That says a lot about his style and the sort of hands-on care that he gives the companies that he chooses to work with.  Down to earth and practical.  Exactly the sorts of qualities that you want to have in your VC.

Thanks for stopping by WP Engine today, Mark.  Let us know how that T-shirt fits.  Maybe send us a picture!

I hope this helps.

Austin W. Gunter

My January blog post, “Coming Clean” made one of my favorite blogs this afternoon, The Good Men Project. After writing a blog post for them about work, the editor of the site, Lisa, asked me if she could repost “Coming Clean” for her readers.  I was really excited about it.  The original blog post got amazing response from people who related to my story about having Rheumatoid Arthritis.  But I knew that if the Good Men Project ran the post, then the lessons I’ve learned from my own experience would have reach more men who have experienced the same sort of pain in their own lives.  I wanted to share what I’ve been through with those readers.

Here is the version of Coming Clean I wrote for the Good Men Project.

I’m pumped about sharing the story with that audience, and nervous about the response I may get.

Good Men has been one of my favorite blogs for over a year.  It’s one place that asks real questions about manhood in the 21st century.  Our Western cultural narratives about work, about love, about relationships, and about gender and sexuality are being updated almost as quickly as we upgrade phones, as quickly as millennials change jobs.  All that change means we need a place to ask hard questions about identity, and get honest answers.  To feel safe exploring those vulnerable avenues of masculinity that we couldn’t explore in the past.  What it means to be a man, to do work that makes the world better (work that matters), and what it means to love and to be loved have changed, and I’m glad that Good Men exists for us to write about what those changes have meant for me.  I’m glad to be able to read about what those changes have meant for others.  We’re learning about ourselves together.

I’m glad to be able to share some of my story with their readers.  If it makes a difference, then that’s a really good thing.

If you’re here because you read my post on the Good Men Project, thank you.  I’m hoping that I’ll get to hear your story as well.  If you’ve gone through something similar, would you post something in the comments on the Good Men Project and share your story as well?  That would mean a lot to me.

I hope this helps.

Austin W. Gunter.

For more pictures and to learn more, visit wpengine.com/5k

Thus began the search for a sports car.

I’ve never been the sort of person that drives a truck.  I tell people that I drive a big Chevy Silverado, and the universal reaction is, always “really?”  My granddad gave me the truck in 2007, shortly before he passed away, so it has sentimental value to me.  He and I would drive the truck around to work bees when I was a kid.  I’d go stay with my grandparents for a couple of weeks and work bees with him every day.  At the end of the week, my parents would come get me and he’d write me a check for my work.

I remember being pumped about the money I’d made, and happy to spend a week working with him in the truck.  He was about to sell the truck when my mom told him that I had always wanted it, so he gave it to me.  It was his last gift to me, and I’ve loved driving it since then.

This week, I’ve started looking at cars.  I’m going to buy one.  I made a list of cars that are fast and would be in my price range, and narrowed it down to a handful.  I’ve done a bit of test driving, and been disappointed with most of the cars on the list  As much as I’ve wanted to talk trash about the Mazda Miata, after driving it, I have to say it’s an incredibly fun car to drive around.  This is echoed when the car makes several Top 10 Sports Car of all time lists.

My buddy Trafton asked me today, “Isn’t this a car you want to save for when you’re older?”

My answer was absolutely not.  I’m 25, and I want to get in my car and have that same feeling every single day.

Over the weekend, I went out to a lot that specializes in sports cars and drove the Honda S2000, and a Volkswagon Rabbit GDI.  The s2000 is really similar to the Miata in terms of size, but the engine is like twice as big.  Or at least it seems that way.  It was downright scary to drive it.  And the GDI felt right all around.  It was really fast, but not blisteringly so.  I love the hatchback body style.  I’ve wanted one of those my entire life.

Buying a car has been a big deal for me.  It’s a huge identity statement to buy a car.  You can choose to buy whatever you want, limited only by your price range.  There are probably 2 dozen cars that I might want to look at, and they all have something that makes them special.  I’ve done a lot of asking around to see what people like in their cars so that I can make a good decision for me.  However, I can’t go with someone else’s opinion about what I want.  I’m the only person who can figure that out.

It’s probably just like any other big decision.  Let’s say that I only had two options, instead of four or five.  I could ask for 10 people’s advice, and there would be opinions on both sides, with no general consensus.  That just means that 1) there is no right answer, therefore, 2) whatever I choose is the right answer.  As long as I take the time I need, whatever I choose is the right thing for me.

Isn’t that liberating?  If there is no consensus about our big decisions, the only “right” choice is the one we make.  Crazy.

Still feels like a ton of pressure.  But at least I don’t have to ask myself, “what if I buy the wrong car?” anymore.  Instead I have to ask, “how will I know I’ve bought the car that I wanted?”

I’ll let you know what I go with.

Hope this helps.

Austin W. Gunter

The premise for this video is completely scandalous.  These guys are claiming to take money from Nike to film a movie about making life count.  Instead of filming something with a narrative or a “point” they take the money and spend it on plane tickets to fly around the world in 10 days, making the point that there is so much of this world available to us, sometimes making it count just means taking a risk and doing what makes you smile.

Now they’ve already hit 900,000 views on youtube, and a guarantee the video is going viral.  We’ll see 20 million views by the end of April.  So not only did they accomplish the marketing that Nike asked them for, but they also made a great point: it’s ok to thumb your nose at the establishment sometimes.  Look at what you can accomplish when you do.  This video, instead of being an anti-testament, really ends up being a testament to Western culture hitting the “restart” button about our values and what’s important.  When I saw all the amazing landmarks they feature in the film, I got the sense that Big Ben, the Pyramids, The Eiffel Tower were all built by folks who were breaking rules as they went.  Even if the only rule they were breaking was “gravity” by building something that reached up to heaven.  Nothing similar had ever been done before, and that’s why we still love those structures.  They represent a singular accomplishment.

What’s cool that the youtube video also represents a singular accomplishment.  A publishing platform like YouTube, and WordPress even, gives everyone the tools to exercise that creative spirit and share the style of their art with the world.  I say “style” because we’re sharing a personal style when we create something.  My blog is different from yours would be.  The right company for me to work at is different from the right company for you to work at.  That’s part of why we love such an earnest personal expression.  Unique expressions defy the gravity of conforming.

When I look around I see people actively questioning the value of a college education, and looking for ways to disrupt what it means to learn.  I see the rise of “startup” companies as something to be emulated.  I think that the latter is a result of a collective desire to see things change, and we want to celebrate men and women willing to take a risk and change things.  In the process they create opportunities.  That’s why we’re fed up with the government.  They never change anything, they only create more rules to lock things down, the exact opposite of what I think people are actually celebrating startups for.

We’re looking for rascals and rebels to entertain us and by their actions give us implicit permission to do something crazy.  We forget how to not do this.  I think we’re trained to not do it as children as well.  But when we see this sort of freedom and risk, the part of us that still loves doing crazy childish stuff starts singing inside us.  That’s when a video like this goes viral.  That’s when the human spirit goes viral too.

Hope this helps.

Austin W. Gunter

I spent the week with Laura. She was in Austin for her spring break as a Teach for America teacher in Louisiana. Would you believe she tries to ruin every picture we take together?

Just got home. Back to Far West Boulevard. Kinda feels like full circle from last October. It's a great feeling to arrive here tonight.

2012/03/09 12:12 am via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@austingunter

Austin Gunter

I drove home from the ATX Startup Crawl lastnight, and since I moved 10 days ago, driving home meant driving to Far West Boulevard.  As I pulled onto the exit I saw the office building that I walked out of in October.  It was the small consulting company that had to cut staff when they lost a few contracts mid year.  Since I moved into my new place, every time I drive home, I pass the building.  Instead of feeling bad seeing the windows I used to look out of, I feel a bit of gratitude every time.  Tonight, I felt an incredible sense of closure, and coming full circle.

I accepted a job as the Brand Evangelist and Community Manager for WP Engine yesterday morning.  I’d been working as a contract copywriter there for about 2 months, and I found a way to come on full time.  I’m pumped.  I spent the rest of the day finishing some docs, and then working the WP Engine booth at the Startup Crawl.

Yesterday an awesome day, and I don’t want to get carried away in reflection.  But driving by the office building I realized that I was driving home in more ways than one.  I was driving home Professionally and Personally.  I’ve landed at a startup company I love.  I love it as much for the people as the product, and it’s awesome to look around at the people I work with and feel like I’m joining something important — feel proud that I’ll get to call them colleagues.

There’s a lot of work to do, and I’ll spend the next little while getting up to speed, learning the company culture, and working support tickets. I won’t know more about how I fit into the company until months from now.  And it’s a startup company, so my job description will involve lots of things.  All those things make me happy.  And I wanted to give myself a moment to look back at the last several months and be grateful.  For the time I’ve had, for the things that I’ve learned, and for the people that have supported me with time and advice.

It’s been good, and it will continue to get better.  Thanks for sharing this part of the ride with me.

Ok, now back to work.

I hope this helps.

Austin W. Gunter