Author, Investor, Speaker, Mentor
“People often say, “I don’t have the time to…” Fill in the blank with whatever you like: exercise, make dinner, write a book, start a company, run for political office. What makes these people think that they have less time than anyone else? Of course they don’t. We all have the same 24 hours in … Continue reading Paragraph of the Day: “Time is more valuable than money”
When I hear a high-tech entrepreneur tell me, “If I can just raise $250K to build a prototype…” I know he or she is never going to make it. You used to be able to raise venture money based on an idea and a team, but those days are long gone unless your name is … Continue reading Build Product, Not PowerPoint (Even If You’re Non-Technical)
Vivek Wadhwa has a guest post up on TechCrunch, “What Have VCs Really Done For Innovation?” It’s obviously meant to court controversy. Mission accomplished.This post is my refutation. Wadhwa’s post claims:1) VCs have little to no impact on startup success, and in fact, may have a negative impact2) Venture capital slows the innovation processThis is … Continue reading VCs Are Useless? That’s Bullshit.
I thought this New York Times article from Tim Kreider was one of the best (funniest, insightful) things I’ve read this week. Kreider discusses a phenomenon that strikes many of us as we get along in years: The tendency to evaluate the lives of our friends to ponder paths not taken. Some money quotes: * … Continue reading “The Referendum”: Great Essay On Mid-Life Angst
When I heard about Mint’s sale to Intuit for $170 million, I never imagined that it would be controversial. I posted my congratulations to the friends who made money in the deal, and moved on. It’s been a busy week, and I haven’t been keeping up with Twitter and RSS, so imagine my surprise to … Continue reading 21 Million Reasons For Mint To Sell
My old friend Frans Johansson, the author of The Medici Effect, is working with the city of San Jose to bring his innovation workshop to the Bay Area next week. The Medici Effect refers to the amazing innovations of the Italian Renaissance, sparked by the mingling of disparate cultures and experiences. I went to Frans’ … Continue reading Attend The Medici Experience San Jose on 9/24
Another TC50, another set of startups, and just like clockwork, the haters will come out and troll the comment boards. “It’s all luck,” they’ll rant. “Founders are just lottery ticket winners.” What a load of crap. First of all, there’s nothing wrong with being lucky. I’d rather be lucky than good. As I’m fond of … Continue reading If Startup Success Is All About Luck, Why Aren’t You Starting More Companies?
A hearty congratulations to Rob Hayes and the First Round team, Jeff Clavier, and Mark Goines–three friends, three great investors, who got a great result from their investment in Mint (acquired today by Intuit for $170 million). Lost in the hoopla around the announcement was this very telling quote from Rob about the Mint team, … Continue reading There Is No Right Answer–And Smart VCs Know It
I recently had the pleasure (misfortune?) of attending the National Single Cougars Convention in Palo Alto as a journalist. The resulting piece has been published. Here are some highlights (lowlights?): “It’s okay, let Mama Cougar do all the talking.” “I’m here to get laid. And you can quote me on it.” When I asked how … Continue reading My Trip To The Cougar Convention
Recently, the kids have become obsessed with whether or not getting struck by lightning will kill a person. I had to look up statistics that showed that over 2/3rds of people who get struck by lightning survive. I also tried to convince them that the chances of getting struck by lightning were very remote. “In … Continue reading More Tales of Jason and Marissa