Blogs

KAYWEB Angels Portfolio People
Thomas Olson, Minute List It


KAYWEB Angels Portfolio People is a section in our Blog that features profile interviews with the people behind our companies! In this interview, we feature Thomas Olson, Chairman of Minute List It.


Tell us your name and where are you from?

Thomas Olson. Forest Lake, Minnesota.


What you had for breakfast this morning?

Frosted Mini Wheats.


What are your favorite television shows and movies?

My current favorite movie is Drive, but I’ve always liked There Will Be Blood.


Any favorite books?

Growing up I liked Where the Red Fern Grows and Jack London novels. 


iPhone or Android or what?

Android.

Facebook or Google+ or Twitter or what??

Google+.


Who are the hottest startups outside the KAYWEB Angels group right now and why?

Google+ apps! I have a lot of faith in Google+ and feel I have some great ideas for apps so I can’t wait for the API to be fully released.


What areas / opportunities are ripe for startups to tackle?

I really like the Feemium business model.  Capitalism is great, but has got out of hand. I can’t wait to watch the Feemium model change every aspect of business.  Creativeness and coding are all it takes to change entire industries... and its becoming faster and easier to implement those changes.


What what was the best lesson you took away from previous startups you have been involved with?

Get things in writing! Get your idea out there. Tell as many people as possible.


Outside of your startup what are you passionate about?

Evolution and the future. Things are looking very bright for humanity.


Who has been or currently is an inspiration to you?

Richard Dawkins has been a huge inspiration in helping me understand the world.

I also day trade in my spare time, so naturally I’m inspired by successful investors...Buffet...Soros.


YOUR STARTUP

You are currently in stealth so don't tell us what you are doing but give us a hint of the problem you are addressing?

Ebay and other ecommerce sites can be miserable to use at times, we will hopefully resolve that.


What led you to this right now instead of anything else?

The ability to see innovation where necessary. 


What is your current biggest challenge?

Exposure.


How can our readers help you get to your next step?

Sign up to our newsletter at www.minutelistit.com (coming soon).


Let's play a prediction game. Let's say we are 12 months from now, and you are about to present to your board. How would you describe your progress?

Phenomenal, better than expected!


Now let’s play the reflection game.  Think about who you were five years ago.  What advice would you give the former you (any topic)?

Spend more time studying technology.