🔥
Deals closing soon!
2 deals closing in  
21h 16m 56s
 left to invest in
Logo of Robert Rodriguez's Brass Knuckle Films
Robert Rodriguez's Brass Knuckle Films
Logo of Pelican Air Services
Pelican Air Services
View closing soon
 
Republic Republic Republic
  • Log in
Oops! We couldn’t find any results...
Can’t find a deal? Try advanced search.
Is something missing? Add your suggestion here.
Primary market Live deals Secondary market Buy and sell Republic Note Own a piece of Republic's upside Investor Network Membership Receive exclusive discounts and benefits
Republic Venture Opportunities for accredited investors
Republic Capital Multi-stage venture firm Republic Digital Crypto hedge fund
Wallet Manage your digital assets Mobile app Available on iOS or Android Learning center Explore investor resources FAQ Get your questions answered
Capital fundraising Raise on Republic Tokenized assets Design, launch, manage tokenized assets Sharedrops Gift equity as a reward
Advisory Access veteran web3 advisors Infrastructure Stake your digital assets Tokenization Deploy your assets on-chain Asset management Explore digital asset funds
Republic Capital In-house Venture Capital fund Broker dealer Regulated capital services
Log in Sign up

Republic Republic Republic
Oops! We couldn’t find any results...
Can’t find a deal? Try advanced search.
Is something missing? Add your suggestion here.
  • US
  • Log in
  • Sign up
All investors
Primary market Live deals Secondary market Buy and sell Republic Note Own a piece of Republic's upside Investor Network Membership Receive exclusive discounts and benefits
Accredited only
Republic Venture Opportunities for accredited investors
Institutional
Republic Capital Multi-stage venture firm Republic Digital Crypto hedge fund
More
Wallet Manage your digital assets Mobile app Available on iOS or Android Learning center Explore investor resources FAQ Get your questions answered
Spotlight deal
Hamilton Lane Private Infrastructure Fund
Hamilton Lane Private Infrastructure Fund
Get unique access to the full spectrum of private markets with Hamilton Lane
Growth capital solutions
Capital fundraising Raise on Republic Tokenized assets Design, launch, manage tokenized assets
Sharedrops Gift equity as a reward
Web3 services
Advisory Access veteran web3 advisors Infrastructure Stake your digital assets Tokenization Deploy your assets on-chain Asset management Explore digital asset funds
Institutional services
Republic Capital In-house Venture Capital fund
Broker dealer Regulated capital services
Journal

Superheroes

· December 19, 2018

Taylor Jacobson, Focusmate

The art of getting it done

Superpower: Getting it done
From: Newton, MA
Lives in: East Harlem, NY
Loves: Running and reading
Hates: Raw vegetables
Spirit animal: Wolf
  • Liked
    Like
    2
  • Profile picture of Taylor Jacobson
    Logo of Focusmate
    Following
    Follow11
  • Logo of Focusmate
    View

One thing you’ve worked on lately?

Being OK with vulnerability. It’s one of the things I’ve probably learned the most from being a founder, strangely enough.


OK, how’s this—tell me about the darkest time in your life.

Throughout my life, you could say that I’ve been a serial overachiever. I went to Duke, worked in management consulting, and then was one of the first employees at an exciting education startup.

But at one point, I started working remotely, and suddenly, everything went south. I found myself in this never-ending cycle of procrastination, just filling my time with busy work and avoiding hard tasks. It was really bad. I almost got fired.

At the time, I just couldn’t comprehend how I had even gotten to that point. I was completely lost. This isn’t who I was, I'd think. This isn’t who I’ve been. How did this even happen?

Figuring out the answers to those questions was both humbling and illuminating.

Maybe I wasn’t as strong as I always thought I was.

Part of the answer came from realizing just how supported I’d been most of my life. That I’d been put in this environment that set me up to succeed—whether that was being surrounded by my family and friends or being in a hyper-accountable workplace like management consulting.

When I moved to India and worked from home, I was left completely to my own devices, and everything fell apart. That formula and structure for success vanished.

And so figuring out how to recreate that environment for myself independently—an environment that set me up to be the best possible me—and understanding the effort and struggle that that process requires is how I ended up where I am now.

That journey is fundamental to how we think about Focusmate.

What’s your secret sauce?

A helpful insight that I picked up during my time as an executive coach is the idea of self-efficacy. It’s essentially a person’s belief in their ability to achieve their goals.

And the process for developing that can start as simply as acknowledging yourself when you do something. I think sometimes we underestimate those lingering voices in our head. When start to consistently self-affirm, you start to change that narrative in your head—and eventually, your identity.

Suddenly, you’re standing a bit taller. You’re more confident tackling life’s challenges. You’re following through more consistently.

That spills out into the rest of your life.

Who is someone that’s changed your life?

My friend Dave. I remember trying out for the baseball team in middle school. At one point, we were instructed to run around the bases at speed. My time tied for last. I couldn’t believe it.

I came in thinking I was a bit of an athlete, and I left realizing I was just this chubby 12-year old. You’re in seventh grade. You’re trying to talk to girls. It was a soul-shattering experience.

So later, I hit up Dave and I’m like, hey, let’s join the cross country team. Dave’s the kind of guy who’s down for anything. I don’t think I would have shown up for that first meet and greet had it not been for Dave being there with me.

Eventually, I was able to run an entire cross country loop. I was by no means fast or anything, but I also was no longer the slow, chubby kid at baseball tryouts. I lost a bunch of weight, gained confidence, and throughout high school, Dave and I were running buddies.

As it turns out, we’d end up doing a whole bunch of cool stuff together over the ensuing years. Actually, he’s in New York and we still run together. So that failed baseball tryout ended up being this formative experience. It served as a foundation for things like getting into Duke, locking down a job as a management consultant, and today, building my own business.

And it all started with having a friend like Dave holding me accountable.

Dave is on the left

What’s your kryptonite?

I know that it’s a necessary evil for so many people and I respect that, but if I’m being honest, I think commuting is just a sad waste of human potential—speaking as someone who has been there and done that.

You wake up, feeling energetic, ready to take on the world. Then you get on a crowded subway or bus or you’re stuck in traffic.

And if you were in Mumbai like I was when I was working for Teach for India, you’re also dealing with 100+ degree weather. You end up wasting all this time, but worse, it kills your mental wellbeing.

I think many of us are better off working remotely so we can channel that time and energy elsewhere.

If I’m being honest, I think commuting is just a sad waste of human potential

You posit the question—how do we get people to do “hard” things? What makes things “hard” to do?

Vagueness is very intimidating. Things that are “hard” to do are usually complex tasks that are a bit more ambiguous. They require a mesh of potentially divergent skills. They require intense effort and focus.

Because of that we develop the idea that we’re bad at hard things, so we avoid them even more.

What was the last “hard” thing you did?

I just wrote an open letter to the Focusmate community. Hard, because of how closely intertwined the personal and the professional are with something like that, and also in terms of how much I care, how much I want to do right by the people using our product.

OK, be honest. Did you use Focusmate to make that happen?

Haha, I use Focusmate every day! Looking back, my family and my friends, my community and my workplace—all of that has been pivotal to my success. It’s also the thing that’s missing when you’re working remotely or working on your own thing.

For me, Focusmate is like having  your own personal tribe of coworkers where you’re invested in each others’ success.

Because community—particularly one invested in one another’s success and grounded in accountability—is such an important part of any person’s life. But it’s also one of the things that’s—by definition—hardest to recreate on your own.


What’s your ultimate life hack?

We’re creatures of habit, but we’re also creatures of habitat. We’re tribal animals and we adopt the norms of the people we spend the most time with.

So I truly believe that hacking your physical and social environment is the ultimate life hack.

There’s all this research being done in the field of epigenetics—which is essentially the study of gene expression versus actual changes in genetic code.

What they’re finding is that certain genetic traits are only unlocked under certain environmental or behavioral situations. In other words, we can literally change our genes by changing our environment.

Given that, what’s your personal workspace like?

I always make sure that I have great light in a quiet environment. Beyond that, I need fast internet and a big screen or two. I’ve got one of those $600 ergonomic chairs, which I found for $130 on Craigslist, but I also have a rocking chair so I can take a nap or read.

And I’ve always got a big water cup on my desk so I can stay hydrated without getting up as much. One of my sneaky tricks is that I keep a couple coasters on my desk—which is glass so the coasters aren’t actually necessary. They remind me when the cups aren’t there.

What are the workspace items you can’t live without?

  • A great chair, like this one from Knoll Generation
  • A laptop stand for my desk (I like mStand by rain design)
  • A big water cup
  • A big second monitor to supplement my laptop
  • A fast laser printer to quickly and painlessly print out a doc that I want to annotate by hand. (I reuse printer paper to write my daily todo list.)
  • A big stack of recycled printer paper. I use this to create a new to-do list every day, and to sketch out ideas when I’m brainstorming. 
  • A clean, spacious desk and good light. The functionality and aesthetic of my workspace help me feel mental clarity and good energy when I sit down.
The functionality and aesthetic of my workspace helps me feel mental clarity and good energy when I sit down.

Is there an idea that needs to be debunked?

Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Especially here in America, we put this idea of rugged individualism on a pedestal—the cool, stoic, loner cowboy in the Wild West. We make resisting help seem glamorous, like you’re a better person if you do things the hard way.

But really, you’re just compromising your own ability to achieve your goals, to reach your potential.

What are some of the books that have shaped the way you think and live life?


Ender’s Game
by Orson Scott Card—Even though the context is a little dark, I love the idea that a kid can be a leader and change the world by being smart and determined. I read this in middle school and again in my 20s and loved it equally both times.



Living with a SEAL
by Jesse Itzler—Itzler, an entrepreneur, invites a Navy SEAL, David Goggins, to live with him and train him for 30 days. Transformation (for Jesse) and hilarity (for the reader) ensues. It’s a powerful testament to the power of our environment and our minds to shape what’s possible.


The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck—The book opens, “Life is difficult.” Peck, a brilliant psychologist, illustrates how much anguish stems from our reluctance to embrace this fact and how everything good in life stems from earnest hard work and commitment to personal growth.


The Moral Animal by Robert Wright—We like to moralize human behavior and preferences, but the truth is that so much of it actually boils down to evolutionary psychology. We are the way we are because certain psychological traits are evolutionarily superior. Elucidating and fun to read.


The War of Art
by Steven Pressfield—A practical and fun guide to overcoming internal blocks and putting your best work out into the world.





Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products
by Nir Eyal—Quintessential reading for product strategy.





What are 5 apps you love and use regularly?

  • Superhuman—I have a lot of email and doing everything with hotkeys saves a ton of time.
  • WorkFlowy—A fast, flexible to-do list app with a filter feature that lets you toggle between useful views quickly.
  • Slack—Keeps our team dialogue flowing without opening email.
  • Google Drive—Fast document creation, sharing, collaboration, and search.
  • WhatsApp (and SMS) for desktop—One less reason to reach for my phone.


What does your phone home screen look like?


The thing you’re looking forward to the most?

One of the challenges of the startup life—especially when you’re on a two-man team like I am while working remotely—is that you have to create a bit of structure for social interactions.

So in January, we’re having a weekend thing with the boys. It’s a bit of a ritual. Last year, we all went to Colorado, which is beautiful.

It’s gonna be good.

Share this story

Taylor’s Focusmate was funded by 335 investors

Logo of Focusmate
View Focusmate

I believe in the vision of the founder and the team he has assembled. Visionary leader, market disrupting concept and immense scalability potential world-wide. Let's do this!

Profile picture of Nathan Cohen
Nathan Cohen
Active investor
over 6 years ago

If procrastination were an Olympic sport I'd have at least 4 gold medals and probably a knighthood by now. Focusmate is the first tool I've used that actually puts my butt in the chair. It just works, and I can see it working for millions of others.

Profile picture of Stuart Hilliard
Stuart Hilliard
Investor
over 6 years ago

This is an awesome idea. With the right execution this product can be a startup unicorn.

Profile picture of Tan Quan Nguyen
Tan Quan Nguyen
Active investor
over 6 years ago

Get notified about new posts

Not a valid email address
Republic

Giving everyone access to early-stage startup investing

For investors
  • Why invest
  • How it works
  • FAQ
  • Risks
  • Privacy policy
  • Accessibility
  • Cookie Preferences
  • Form CRS
For startups
  • Why raise
  • Learn
  • FAQ
  • Instruments
  • Crowd SAFE
  • Tokenized assets
Company
  • About
  • Journal
  • Events
  • Contact
  • We're hiring!
Dollar Refer a startup, get $2,500
Dollar Refer a startup, get $2,500

Invest in the app

Android app iOS app

Invest in the app

Android app iOS app

This site (the "Site") is owned and maintained by OpenDeal Inc., which is not a registered broker-dealer. OpenDeal Inc. does not give investment advice, endorsement, analysis or recommendations with respect to any securities. All securities listed here are being offered by, and all information included on this Site is the responsibility of, the applicable issuer of such securities. The intermediary facilitating the offering will be identified in such offering’s documentation.

All related securities activity is conducted by OpenDeal Broker LLC a registered broker-dealer, Member of FINRA and SiPC, an affiliate of OpenDeal Inc. and OpenDeal Portal LLC, located at 149 5th Avenue, 10th Floor, New York, NY 10010. Please check our background on FINRA’s BrokerCheck.

Certain pages discussing the mechanics and providing educational materials regarding regulation crowdfunding offerings may refer to OpenDeal Broker LLC and OpenDeal Portal LLC collectively as “Republic”, solely for explanatory purposes.

Neither OpenDeal Inc., OpenDeal Portal LLC nor OpenDeal Broker LLC make investment recommendations and no communication, through this Site, or in any other medium, should be construed as a recommendation for any security offered on or off this investment platform. Investment opportunities posted on this Site are private placements of securities that are not publicly traded, involve a high degree of risk, may lose value including the total loss of invested capital, are subject to holding period requirements and are intended for investors who do not need a liquid investment. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Investors must be able to afford the loss of their entire investment. Only qualified investors, who understand the risks of early-stage investment and who meet the Republic's investment criteria may invest. Investors may be restricted to only Accredited Investors or non-U.S. persons, to invest in offerings hosted by OpenDeal Broker. Neither OpenDeal Inc., OpenDeal Portal LLC nor OpenDeal Broker LLC, nor any of their officers, directors, agents and employees make any warranty, express or implied, of any kind whatsoever related to the adequacy, accuracy or completeness of any information on this Site or the use of information on this site. Offers to sell securities can only be made through official offering documents that contain important information about the investment and the issuers, including risks. Investors should carefully read the offering documents. Investors should conduct their own due diligence and are encouraged to consult with their tax, legal and financial advisors.

By accessing the Site and any pages thereof, you agree to be bound by the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Please also see OpenDeal Broker’s Business Continuity Plan and Additional Risk Disclosures. All issuers offering securities under regulation crowdfunding as hosted by OpenDeal Portal LLC are listed on the All Companies Page. The inclusion or exclusion of an issuer on the Platform Page and/or Republic’s Homepage, which includes offerings conducted under regulation crowdfunding as well as other exemptions from registration, is not based upon any endorsement or recommendation by OpenDeal Inc, OpenDeal Portal LLC, or OpenDeal Broker LLC, nor any of their affiliates, officers, directors, agents, and employees. Rather, issuers of securities may, in their sole discretion, opt-out of being listed on the Platform Page and Homepage.

Investors should verify any issuer information they consider important before making an investment.

Investments in private companies are particularly risky and may result in total loss of invested capital. Past performance of a security or a company does not guarantee future results or returns. Only investors who understand the risks of early stage investment and who meet the Republic's investment criteria may invest.

Neither OpenDeal Inc., OpenDeal Portal LLC nor OpenDeal Broker LLC verify information provided by companies on this Site and makes no assurance as to the completeness or accuracy of any such information. Additional information about companies fundraising on the Site can be found by searching the EDGAR database, or the offering documentation located on the Site when the offering does not require an EDGAR filing.

To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, Federal law requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person who opens an account. Therefore, when you use the Services we will ask for your name, address, date of birth, and other information that will allow us to identify you. We may also ask to see your driver's license, passport or other identifying documents.

Republic and its affiliates are not and do not operate or act as a bank. Certain banking services are provided by BankProv, member FDIC / member DIF. FDIC coverage only applies in the event of bank failure. Digital (crypto) assets and investment products are not insured by the FDIC, may lose value, and are not deposits or other obligations of BankProv and are not guaranteed by BankProv. Terms and conditions apply.

Invest in startups using your credit card
You can invest using your credit card

Made in SF/NYC