I just came across http://emmetlabs.com and don't know what to make of it. It seems kinda useful, and yet whacky and off the wall. Have people here known of it?

I had not heard much about it until you mentioned it here, but the founder Janice Fraser wrote up her experiences about Emmet Labs, which had funding from some of the best angels in Silicon Valley.

7 things I did right with Emmet Labs:

1) I aimed high.

2) I had a clear product vision.

3) I worked my network.

4) I accepted help.

5) I didn't let anything stop me.

6) I turned down a bad term sheet.

7) I turned down good money for the right reason.

Sadly, she had some absolutely heartbreaking moments and the company's timing didn't quite work out:

Janice also has a great slide deck she uploaded in spring 2011 that talks about lean user experience she learned from The Failure of Emmet Labs.

At 106 Miles we believe the best way to learn is to do. And Janice definitely learned with Emmet Labs.

Awesome.

Weirdly coincidental.

Janice was one of our speakers at Hackers & Founders Co-op last session, and she told the story of why Emmet labs failed. Heartbreaking and amazing. I have a world of respect for Janice, and I love the premise of Emmet. I wish it would have taken off.

For what it's worth, the lean startup design studio that she's working building at Luxr is amazing from everything that I've heard. I know two startups in it now, and they've said really good things about it.

Those Luxr events sell out so quickly, it's a testament to the need startups have to get great User Experience training.

Have you met Janice yet? If not, would you like to?

I have not yet met her, and would love to sometime. Feel free to send an email intro, Jonathan. Thank you!

Hi all. I'm janice. Happy to share with you whatever you want to know from my emmet labs experience. (If anyone wants to pick up the project and run with it...let's talk!)

Hi Janice! Tristan's still raving about LUXr :)