Do you think that other startups would be interested in this type of in-house counsel-as-a-service?

This would give teams the benefit of having single source that knows all your issues and goals, but could also negotiate effective rates with specialists.

Self Affirmation Hack: make a short affirmation one of the passwords you have to type in often. The practice of writing and remembering it helps solidify the affirmation and provide context for whatever you are logging in to do.

Ha! Wow, I was going to write exactly the same thing! :)

I recently did something like this for the unlock password of my laptop--I type that one fairly often, but if the passphrase isn't super secure (after all, how many bits of entropy in an affirmation? ;-) ) it doesn't matter that much since it's the physical security of the laptop that's most important anyway (I've been considering removing the whole password-to-unlock part, I did not because I like the background I picked for the login screen--now I have a better reason not to).

Currently it's a mantra from a meditation exercise that I particularly liked, but that was just the first thing that came to mind when I realized "hey, I type this multiple times each day, so why not have it be something uplifting, cool, self-affirming or just nice?". But I think I'll change it to something more targeted according to the pointers given in that article as soon as I come up with something good.

--VC-type or incubator funding (there are only a few) for agricultural startups --Social sites promoting education in agriculture--countries like Chile hold agriculture up as a profession on par with medicine and law --Full chain product based startups (see POM Wonderful) that manage genetic improvements through breeding, growing, sales and distribution of a novel food product.

I've been on that site a few times looking for grafting tools for a permaculture hobby project. Does your wife's family have any mechanized grafting (for bench grafting) or expanded product line? Nice Magento work, by the way!

Wow, it’s a small world! I've tried to convince them to make bench grafters, but unfortunately they feel the market is too small and won’t pay for their R&D costs. They are more interested in making tools where they can get an order of 1 million pieces, to sell at Wallmart.

I work in the tree fruit and small fruit industry. I'd like to carry this conversation further--would you send me your email--mine's in my profile.

That's the most viable solo model--a hacker with the inclination to hustle.

As hackers we like to think that, but aren't there also successes by hustlers willing to hack?

You can arguably get by or contract out any of these three roles, but your startup will have a weak leg.

Related HN Post: http://spencerfry.com/startup-vs-company

Try imminst.org forums for the latest on brain hacking--they're the go-to experts on this kind of stuff. Tim Ferriss (4hww) seems to pick up many of his brain hacks there too.

Brilliant! +1 for Discussels.

I've done two. Won one. I'm not a programmer, so I won't speak to that part. I created an account just to share this.

1. Arrive with a pitch. Figure something out that will keep you excited for an entire weekend. Transmit that excitement in your pitch. The excitement beats a good idea.

2. Ruthlessly recruit. Find your talent before the pitches start and win them over. Nearly everyone has some pet project they'd rather work on, so you may need to listen to theirs' first and let them dismiss it as a crazy idea. Tell them you think it is genius and try to relate it to a part of your project. This wins recruits.

3. Cull. Fire the non-essential team members by taking them over to another group and introducing them to the group. Then run. This may seem cruel, but it will save you from bloat and slowness.

3. Refocus every 90 minutes. If you have a small, smart team, the duties will shake out quickly. But pull everyone back together for 5 minutes every 90 to give updates and to refocus. This is a modified pomodoro and will keep everyone from going down rabbit trails or checking out of the project. You have to lead.

4. Brag. For the final pitch, share your failures and successes brazenly. Show off your team's skills and openly address gaps in skill or knowledge. You will be approached afterwards if someone loves your enthusiasm but sees where they could fill in a gap. Show your product, holes and all. It gets you honest feedback faster and will carry you through to full execution if you listen. Good luck.