Out of all of the cities I've been to, San Francisco is probably top on my list. There's so much about this city that I enjoy. It seems like on every corner there is an awesome restaurant, cafe, shop, or park. I don't think I've ever had a bad meal out there. A few of my favorites from this past trip were: Tartine Bakery (which I wrote about here), the Grove, Greenburger's, and Taqueria Can Cun.
I love passionate people, and SF is filled with them. Almost everyone you bump into in SF is either starting a company or working on a side project. It's fun to be around so many other entrepreneurs, startups, and people who just love what they do. While I was out there, I was lucky enough to get a tour of both the Square and Twitter offices. I'm a big fan of both companies and what they're doing with their products/services.
Square
We've been using Square at our recent events in Philly and Brooklyn and love it. Square is the easiest way to accept credit cards using a mobile device. Simply setup an account, download the app, and plug the card reader into the headphone jack of your smartphone and you're ready to go.
Not only is the whole experience well-designed and thought out, but the technology just works. I really appreciate the vision of Jack Dorsey and the Square team and their attention to detail on every aspect of the product. More companies and apps need to take some pointers from Square.
Twitter has also been huge in the growth of Ugmonk. Not only has it been a great way of keeping people updated with the latest releases and what I'm working on, but it's also been an amazing networking tool. I've connected with so many awesome people through Twitter, many of which I've been able to meet in person in the various places I've traveled to.
While most of the general public still doesn't quite understand the point of Twitter and why anyone would use it, it's played a big part in building the Ugmonk community and where I am today. I love being able to instantly connect with customers, fans, or anyone that's discovered the brand.
Here are some other random photos from my trip:
