Entrepreneurs routinely take lessons from startup blogs that are not necessarily by startup founders but rather writers for big name magazines. It can get a bit redundant, and it can be difficult to find the golden needle in the haystack of junk on the Internet. If you’re founding a startup then this is most likely how your day plays out.

Side projects are not just 20-somethings coding away in their dorm rooms or the young father who makes his wife angry spending all day at work and every night on his computer. Seth Rosen’s side-project, the International Gem Society (IGS), fits neither stereotype. Rosen is the co-founder of CustomMade, an online marketplace backed by Google Ventures’ that connects customers with independent artisans producing custom-designed furniture, jewelry, home décor and other personalized items.