Elliott Hauser

My willingness to fail gives me the ability to succeed. — Vinod Khosla  Chris, Dave and Lizzy of The Startup Factory have each been an integral part of my startup and of many that call the Triangle home.  As you’ve probably heard, they’re shutting the fund down after several good years. And so I wanted to take the time to write about all that they’ve accomplished and reflect upon the lessons we can continue to learn from the way they’ve run the fund and served as the cornerstone of our now vibrant community.  There will be plenty of time for the post-mortem later, but questions always...

North Carolina recently passed the controversial HB2 in a special session with little time for debate or discussion. Amongst other things, the bill imposes a statewide “non-discrimination” policy that does not protect citizens from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. At Trinket, our mission is to bring Code to Every Classroom, and we think this bill runs directly counter to our mission.    While there are plenty of other ways of examining this bill’s negative effects, and others are doing that good work, as CEO of Trinket I want to call attention to the harmful impact...

This piece was originally published on Medium. How do we disentangle the things that look or feel successful from those that actually make us successful?  I read a book several years ago called The Millionaire Next Door that’s been very influential on my financial outlook. Lately it’s been encouraging me to redefine, as best I can, exactly when I feel like I’m being successful professionally. Let me explain.  One of the Millionaire Next Door’s main insights is that the very things that make you feel wealthy, like buying expensive things, actually make you poorer. Whereas the behaviors that make millionaires, like living...

This piece was originally published on Medium. The caption with the photo above stated “Tempus fugit”, which in Latin means “Time flies.” Paul Graham is one of my favorite writers. I believe I’ve read every one of the essays he’s published on his website, some many times. In every one of them, there is a simple, well-stated nugget that has helped me understand startups better or, moreso in his recent work, think about what matters most in life.  His most recent essay “Life is Short” makes the case stated in the title and concludes with a set of aphorisms: “Relentlessly prune bullshit, don’t...