Author, Investor, Speaker, Mentor
James Hong penned a thoughtful essay on an important topic: “Why there are so many assholes on the Internet.” http://bit.ly/1eOhoRn “There are hard ways to get attention, and there are easy ways. The hard ways are more meaningful, but almost by definition they are more scarce and harder to generate. The easy stuff on the … Continue reading The Internet is a Rage Virus
Paul Graham has just published one of his best essays ever, “How To Raise Money” http://bit.ly/18acSGq I was nodding my head through the entire essay, but I want to draw particular attention to what Paul has to say about valuation. Now YC companies are (in)famous for raising money at huge valuations, and Paul has been … Continue reading Paul Graham to Entrepreneurs: Stop Worrying About Valuation
As Los Angeles native, I can’t help but see parallels between my home town’s industry (movies) and my adopted home’s (startups). Today’s parallel concerns the problem with having too much money. In Hollywood, studios love to work with successful directors. When a director produces a critical and commercial smash, a studio or production company is … Continue reading Carte Blanche and the Creativity of Constraint
I’ve been catching up on my RSS feeds this weekend, and loved a piece that the great Eric Barker wrote on the secrets of great presentations: http://bit.ly/14Z30wK The part of the piece I’d like to focus on is the very first point, which he sums up with a quote from Simon Sinek, the author of … Continue reading Start With “Why” not “What”
TechCrunch Disrupt is the most important conference for the early-stage startup scene in Silicon Valley. Thanks to the combination of the biggest speakers, and the TechCrunch platform, it generates a huge media spotlight. Which is why it’s astonishing that the conference’s main presentations kicked off with a completely inappropriate and offensive presentation about an app … Continue reading Sexism in tech is a problem of the majority, and has to be solved by the majority
If you ask folks in the startup community to name the most important virtues an entrepreneur can possess, you’ll hear a lot of votes for intelligence and persistence. Hopefully integrity will make an appearance as well. But few, if any, will name empathy. And that’s a shame. Empathy is the ability to understand and share … Continue reading Empathy is the most underrated startup virtue
I often advise entrepreneurs to provide regular updates to all their investors. You don’t have to set up weekly one-on-one meetings–they’re busy people too. A simple email every two weeks, with an update and the latest numbers, is more than sufficient. Entrepreneurs balk at this advice. “Don’t they trust me?” the incredulous founders ask. To … Continue reading For Investors, No News Is Bad News
The Wall Street Journal recently ran a piece on the decline of telephone usage among young professionals. Their thesis (which actually has some data to back it up) is that young professionals approach the phone as a tool of last resort, behind email, chat, and texting: http://on.wsj.com/17OfKGk “Stephanie Shih, 27, says phone calls are an … Continue reading Why You Still Need To Talk On The Phone
Fast Company recently ran an excellent interview with Shanley Kane, the author of “What Your Culture Really Says.” http://bit.ly/1fOscLj The entire interview is a good read, as is Kane’s original piece, but I want to focus on a single passage: “This idea that someone is not a culture fit functions both during the hiring process … Continue reading “Cultural Fit” is only a valid hiring criteria if you can accurately define your culture
Some entrepreneurs are in the bad habit of making excuses. I should know, because I’ve certainly done it before. But the simple fact is that excuses are useless in the startup world. We learn about the power of excuses when we’re kids. A good excuse can keep our parents from punishing us, or get us … Continue reading Excuses are useless in the startup world