Author, Investor, Speaker, Mentor
“He told us he was going to fund us,” shouts the happy entrepreneur into my ear. I’m sure he dialed me as soon as he got into the car. “He’s not going to fund you,” I say calmly, “The VCs always say that. It doesn’t mean anything.” A lot of entrepreneurs have a hard time … Continue reading How Do You Know A VC Is Interested?
There’s a lot of talk recently about a Kaufmann Foundation report on the venture capital industry that states: Over the past decade, public stock markets have outperformed the average venture capital fund and for 15 years, VC funds have failed to return to investors the significant amounts of cash invested, despite high-profile successes, including Google, … Continue reading VC 2006-11: $136 Billion In, $146 Billion Out
I read the sad news this morning that BetterWorks is shutting down. And while I’m sure that the usual haters will come out in the comments, the real lesson here is that any startup can fail. (Disclosure: Paige and I have been friends and co-investors for a couple of years, and I like him, Zao, … Continue reading Any Startup Can Fail
“You have less time than you think,” I tell entrepreneurs. From the time I was a kid, I’ve been obsessed with age and mortality. Unlike most of my peers, I was convinced that childhood was going to be the best, most carefree years of my life, and I remember thinking at age 11, “Well, at … Continue reading Entrepreneurs, The Clock is Ticking on Your Career
This blog post began as a comment on Ma.tt’s blog. You may want to read his post first for maximum impact.The shift away from traditional credentials like degrees, honors, and past accomplishments has been gradual. In the ancient days, people focused on brands on resumes–which school did you attend? Which companies did you work for? … Continue reading Branding -> Accomplishment -> Ability
I’m listening to John Frankel on the redoubtable Mark Suster‘s “This Week In Venture Capital“. It’s a great interview in general, but I love this particular point: John says he hates hot deals because it means the company is solving a currently fashionable problem. As a result, the company is doing its financing while it’s … Continue reading “We Hate Hot Deals”
Each year, NBA scouts devote their time to finding flaws in players. Landry Fields lacks athleticism. DeJuan Blair is too short. And each year, those scouts misfire badly, as players like Fields and Blair end up thriving in the NBA. The scouts fail because they’re too focused on what players can’t do, rather than understanding … Continue reading Angel Investing Is Like The NBA Draft
I’ve been saying quite a bit privately, but I think it’s time to say it publicly: If you are an entrepreneur, raise money now. It’s never easy to raise money. People who say, “It’s easy to raise money,” usually neglect to mention the second half of the sentence, which is “if you are in a … Continue reading Raise Money Now!
The US spends more on healthcare than any other nation. We spend more on education than all but Switzerland. Yet the results we get are poor because our approach is wrong. So why would things be any different for your average startup? Money is a turbo booster. It allows you to get to your destination … Continue reading Money is not the answer
My recent post on the diatom bloom in the startup ecosystem prompted calls for me to dig deeper and provide more data. Far be it from me to disappoint! Chris Tacy asked, are we seeing too many startups? It’s a loaded question, but a good one. My instinctive reaction is that it’s always good to … Continue reading Can We Ever Have Too Many Startups?