Author, Investor, Speaker, Mentor
Every once in a while, I come across a blog post that suddenly crystallizes something I’ve always known but never consciously realized. This week, it was this post by Sasha Pasulka, drawing the analogy between the issues some women have with body image with the issues men have with wallet image: “I know how it … Continue reading The Dangers of Unrealistic Wallet Image
I struggle all the time with the contrast between public perception and private reality. On the one hand, we see others who seem so together, so comfortable in their skins, and who always seem to know the right thing to say. On the other hand, we know how we ourselves feel–sweaty, nervous, with the faint … Continue reading Let Them See You Sweat
With all due respect to the genius that is Jessica Hagy and Indexed, the seed of a startup is *NOT* cheap technology, disgruntled workers, and an anemic economy.While that portion of the Venn diagram represents the ideal soil for starting a company, the real seed of a startup is a need.Every successful startup gives people … Continue reading The Real Seed Of A Startup Is A Need
As an entrepreneur or a company, you should appreciate the underrated power of quitting. While we often glorify a never-say-die attitude, and celebrate the entrepreneurs who build great companies despite near-universal criticism, extreme persistence comes at a price. I caught up with a friend yesterday, a high-profile entrepreneur who will remain nameless (I forgot to … Continue reading Little Bets and the Power Of Quitting
There are only a few things in life that are important. These tropes and archetypes recur and recur. This presents the artist with a dilemma–focus on the important things, and risk seeming derivative, or focus on being original at the risk of spending one’s efforts on the trivial. To me, much of modern art smacks … Continue reading Original or Important?
When entrepreneurs come to me, I always point out the following: 1) The chances of a venture-backed startup being a hit and returning meaningful wealth are about 1 in 10. 2) You’re likely to have about 20-25 years in your career where you can found a company. 3) Each time you found a company, you’re … Continue reading Entrepreneurship is about happiness, not wealth
Just for kicks, I thought I’d look at the question of whom should be favored in the NBA Finals, the L.A. Lakers or the Miami Heat. What I’ll do is take the current rosters of the two teams and match them up to see who has the advantage. My big insight is this: Everyone is … Continue reading Lakers vs. Heat
The investing socialsphere has been all a-Twitter ever since Kedrosky predicted an upcoming super-seed crash. The result has been a series of opinion pieces, both for and against, that tackle various aspects of the issue–whether super angels are a fad, if there is a seed bubble (I’m on record as saying that there is), what … Continue reading Will Angel Crash And VC Have Its Revenge?
The thought of the day, triggered by this Ben Casnocha post that quotes a book review by Eric Falkenstein: He states that the key factor in one’s happiness–not experiential happiness, but ‘remembered happiness’ that is more correlated with ‘life satisfaction’, see Kahneman on the difference–is ‘perceived earned success’. This is the willingness and ability to … Continue reading Happiness Cannot Be Given, It Must Be Earned
One of the things that bugs me about the current state of E2.0 is that even its advocates don’t seem to take it seriously. I just had a fantastic time at the E2.0 conference in Boston, but I noticed some worrying trends. I offer my thoughts in the spirit of tough love and constructive criticism, … Continue reading Is Enterprise 2.0 Just A Toy?