I agree and empathize with this completely. There's a lot of pressure to be online 24/7, always cranking, always building, always increasing 'productivity.'

But part of business (and the advantage for so many successful companies) is creative thinking and the ability to see an opportunity that others don't. Stepping back and 'turning off' is critical to the creative thinking process: it's the 'incubation' stage that leads to 'illumination' or the Aha-moment: http://blogs.hbr.org/schwartz/2011/11/how-to-think-creativel...

So next time you feel like a slacker for having a beer with friends, know that you might actually be on the verge of a breakthrough.

This is plan B if the affiliate marketing thing doesn't work out.

Full roster of YC S12 batch here as well: http://refer.ly/aYtt

(quick fix: Authy was YC W12)

Thanks for the correction. +1

That's a valid point. We've owned refer.ly for 3 years and began pursuing the .com domain as soon as we decided to turn it into a business.

Also, our product is (currently implemented as) a link shortener so the .ly domain choice has served us well.

Thanks for the feedback!

LOVE it. Today has been awesome--we're excited to see what post-Demo Day life has in store.

And nice work with your recommendations--any tips for newbies?

tips: Be genuine. only refer stuff that is really great and you would put your reputation behind (because you are).

Also, one cool and easy hack, is to make a collection of office things that you know your office manager orders regularly (coffee filters, pens, post-its etc). He or she can refer back to the collection easily (good for them) and you get the rewards (good for you).

...brilliant. I love the hack.

Do you mind if we use this advice in future blog posts/tweets?

not at all. Last time I checked, hacks weren't patented :)

mth Sense, 9GAG, and Delight.io have been added. There of course are a lot more, but as batchmates ourselves, we're waiting for them to launch on stage rather than blow their big moment.

You have a really stellar list--let's collaborate and update each throughout the day. Should be exciting...

82 it seems, eh. Shucks I can't be in Cali right now. Maybe next time I'll send my double ;) http://www.doublerobotics.com/

Noticed that too! But the ladies will be well represented on the Demo Day stage today.

We double checked with the Dept. of Insurance in Alabama. Long story short: If the agency were rewarding brand advocates for actual sales of insurance policies, that's a no go. But, as long as the agency is paying a reward to the brand advocate for lead contact information only, then it is under the category of marketing and in the clear.

Thanks for bringing it up. This is helpful info for the future.