Friday, September 24, 2004
A CV for VC
Popped back up to Cambridge on Wednesday for an interview with a research firm there that's looking to do an interesting project in the venture capital space. Got there at 12.30 and spent the next hour and a half with the guys...seemed to get on very well with them.
Then on to Judge - I had booked some time with the folks there to try and finalise the installation of CollaMBA (my web software for MBA group collaboration) and to chat about the contract etc.
Things didn't go as well at the Judge. I had two bugs: one was stopping users from uploading files as attachments to email messages, the other was spewing out weird formatting stuff in the emails themselves. The first bug we fixed - it was just a directory permissioning problem. The second we haven't yet fixed. It turns out the Judge server uses a different email program, which treats emails differently to the one I had been using. Luckily this new email software (Exim) was actially developed at Cambridge! So I checked around and emailed a chap with the problem I was having. It turns out he is the guy who developed the software! Can't get better than that. He gave me a few tips and insights and things should be better now.
After a few hours I went to the Eagle to meet a new Magdalene MBA - one of the new lot I hadn't met before. Very nice chap - as are all the new Magd MBAs. They're gonna get on great. I spent the next few hours introducing him to college life over a few jars and dinner and he seemed very keen on rowing. I really wish I had someone to do this to me when I got started. I really had to learn the hard way and payed the price in some respects, rowing being a good example (I didn't quite know just how fun and important it was and it was too late when I did realise).
Unfortunately we spent too long discussing the finer points of Cambridge; I caught the last train back to Kings Cross which got in at 1am!! Needless to say, there was no way I could get to remote Chorleywood - a cab would have cost me £45. Instead I paid £15 and crashed at my folks place near Central London. The nice thing was, I ran into the ex-Director of the Judge MBA at Cambridge station and we took the train back together. We had a great chat about all things Cambridge, which as you can tell I do not tire of, and he let me in on some insider information which was fun. Nice guy.
I picked up my voicemessages today. Chorleywood is the worst place in London for mobile reception, so I have to go to this one spot in town (outside the doctor's surgery!) that has reception, to pick up messages and make calls twice a day. I had a voicemessage from the firm I interviewed with - I got the project - starting Monday!
Off for Antony's b'day party at Denim tonight. A little weird to see the MBAs in a different environment from Cambridge, but nice-weird. Last Saturday we all got together at the Angelic pub in Islington, which was a lot of fun. The night before, I got together with some old London friends at Itsu, off Fulham road, which has a great bar upstairs. Partied a little too hard I think, but it was the first proper night in London I had had since arriving back. So many more friends to catch up with in Lodnon, it will take a couple of months before I say my 'hello's' to all. And I still have a number of dates to keep in Cambridge, especially dinner at college, which I am relishing! Will be back in Cam next week to introduce Collamba to the new students (and fix the final bug). It will be a pretty anxious time. A lot of people think the idea behind Collamba is great, but I really want to have that verified with real life users.
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Then on to Judge - I had booked some time with the folks there to try and finalise the installation of CollaMBA (my web software for MBA group collaboration) and to chat about the contract etc.
Things didn't go as well at the Judge. I had two bugs: one was stopping users from uploading files as attachments to email messages, the other was spewing out weird formatting stuff in the emails themselves. The first bug we fixed - it was just a directory permissioning problem. The second we haven't yet fixed. It turns out the Judge server uses a different email program, which treats emails differently to the one I had been using. Luckily this new email software (Exim) was actially developed at Cambridge! So I checked around and emailed a chap with the problem I was having. It turns out he is the guy who developed the software! Can't get better than that. He gave me a few tips and insights and things should be better now.
After a few hours I went to the Eagle to meet a new Magdalene MBA - one of the new lot I hadn't met before. Very nice chap - as are all the new Magd MBAs. They're gonna get on great. I spent the next few hours introducing him to college life over a few jars and dinner and he seemed very keen on rowing. I really wish I had someone to do this to me when I got started. I really had to learn the hard way and payed the price in some respects, rowing being a good example (I didn't quite know just how fun and important it was and it was too late when I did realise).
Unfortunately we spent too long discussing the finer points of Cambridge; I caught the last train back to Kings Cross which got in at 1am!! Needless to say, there was no way I could get to remote Chorleywood - a cab would have cost me £45. Instead I paid £15 and crashed at my folks place near Central London. The nice thing was, I ran into the ex-Director of the Judge MBA at Cambridge station and we took the train back together. We had a great chat about all things Cambridge, which as you can tell I do not tire of, and he let me in on some insider information which was fun. Nice guy.
I picked up my voicemessages today. Chorleywood is the worst place in London for mobile reception, so I have to go to this one spot in town (outside the doctor's surgery!) that has reception, to pick up messages and make calls twice a day. I had a voicemessage from the firm I interviewed with - I got the project - starting Monday!
Off for Antony's b'day party at Denim tonight. A little weird to see the MBAs in a different environment from Cambridge, but nice-weird. Last Saturday we all got together at the Angelic pub in Islington, which was a lot of fun. The night before, I got together with some old London friends at Itsu, off Fulham road, which has a great bar upstairs. Partied a little too hard I think, but it was the first proper night in London I had had since arriving back. So many more friends to catch up with in Lodnon, it will take a couple of months before I say my 'hello's' to all. And I still have a number of dates to keep in Cambridge, especially dinner at college, which I am relishing! Will be back in Cam next week to introduce Collamba to the new students (and fix the final bug). It will be a pretty anxious time. A lot of people think the idea behind Collamba is great, but I really want to have that verified with real life users.
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