It's like our fourth kid.

Meriden is a city of artisans and inventors. It's a remarkable town.

This is a remarkable event. There's marvelous things here, and people just don't know it.

Previous experience, key skills, and education. They're undoubtedly all important things you consider when filtering through applicants in order to make a new hire. But, what's another major determining factor of whether or not that hopeful interviewee deserves an offer letter? Cultural fit.

When talking to first-time entrepreneurs, I often ask them: 'How do you know that people want your product or service?' As you can expect, the answer is often that they don't yet, but will know once they launch. And they're right. That's why it's critical to launch as quickly as possible so you can get that feedback.

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