Understanding your employee's perspective can go a long way towards increasing productivity and happiness.

Most weeks, I work 100-plus hours on TheMuse.com. There are definitions of 'work-life balance' that would say I have none.

So many of my rookie mistakes could have been avoided by first-hand exposure to other, more experienced technology entrepreneurs.

My first company failed completely. And it failed at about ten months old. I had about 12 months of savings, so when it failed I was thinking: 'Do I go back to work?' And at that point I believed so deeply in what I was doing that I couldn't imagine anything else other than trying to make this business work.

When you start a new company, you have to do it all. Yes, all of it.

Understanding your employee's perspective can go a long way towards increasing productivity and happiness.

The best cover letters I've read are from people who have a passion for my company, and can make that passion come to life on a page. The letters that make me say, 'Yes! This person really gets it.' Because, at the end of the day, I want to hire people who already get it. Most hiring managers do.