Author, Investor, Speaker, Mentor
You can think of the startup ecosystem as a food chain, with different species fulfilling different ecological niches. Angel Investors feed on tiny early-stage deals, while VCs gobble up bigger deals. Private equity, corporate buyers, and the public markets make up the higher reaches of the chain. What we’re going through now is the equivalent … Continue reading The Diatom Bloom in Investing
I love Boston. I lived there for five of the best years of my life, when I was working at D. E. Shaw & Co., and then when I attended Harvard Business School. If anyone asks, I always tell them, “if Boston had the same weather and career opportunities for me as Silicon Valley, I’d … Continue reading Silicon Valley > Boston (The Data)
In case you didn’t catch this last week, the Wall Street Journal ran a great interview with Bill Draper, one of the fathers of the VC industry (and incidentally, the father of VC Tim Draper). Here is some of the wit and wisdom of this living legend: On working with entrepreneurs: “When an entrepreneur has … Continue reading The Wisdom of Bill Draper
In 2005, Peter Thiel paid $500,000 for a 10% stake in Facebook. Today, with Facebook’s estimated value topping $33 billion, his stake is worth between $2-3 billion. That’s a 6,000x return on his capital in 5 years. I’ll put it this way–if you made a $250 IRA contribution in 2005, it would have to be … Continue reading Did Peter Thiel Make The Single Best Investment In History?
I have a confession to make. There is an angel conspiracy. It dark, it is devious, and it is far-reaching. The conspirators number amongst them many of the top people in the Valley, including angels, VCs, lawyers, and yes, even journalists. We have joined together despite our differences and conflicts for a single, sinister, self-interested … Continue reading Yes, There Is A Superangel Conspiracy.
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?
John Edwards and Tiger Woods. Both famous, powerful men who projected one public image while living a completely different life in private. Both certainly deserve our scorn for their behavior. But the lesson to draw here is not that politicians are scumbags (though, by and large, they are) or that famous athletes are philanderers (though, … Continue reading John Edwards and Tiger Woods in the Boardroom
With all the fear and loathing in the VC industry, sometimes it’s good to get back to basics. Here’s a great reminder: In any economy, Technology Venture should outpace any other sector or asset class for Limited Partners with a ten year horizon, simply because of the following reasons: Technology is a low cost production … Continue reading High-Tech VC Should Outpace Any Other Asset Class
I was interviewed for an article on angel investing, and I thought you might want to see my full responses. Will let you know when the article appears. * * * Q: How did you become an angel investor? I began my angel investing career in 2005, when I invested in a friend’s business. Since … Continue reading Angel Investing Q&A
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.