Author, Investor, Speaker, Mentor
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 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.
There’s been a predictable furor over the brewing feud between super angels and VCs, especially with folks like Mike Arrington fueling the fire by quoting a VC as saying, “An entire generation of entrepreneurs are building dipshit companies and hoping that they sell to Google for $25 million.” While I’m sympathetic to both sides (I … Continue reading VCs, Dipshit Companies, And Super Angels
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?
(image appears courtesy of Aeioux) I’ve done about 10 angel investments in the past couple of years, and there is definitely a trend towards higher valuations and more competitive deals. The problem is that every investment asset class obeys Newton’s Law: “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” The logic many follow … Continue reading Is Angel Investing In A Bubble?
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