It was a grand plan. I was going to learn all sorts of new things: Pentaho, R, Processing. All sorts of new things. In the end, I got caught up in getting something done and learned none of those things. Again. Using trusty old Python with the beautiful NetworkX module and the shockingly fast–if a […]
VC, entrepreneurism, startup economy
OPM
I think Chris Dixon is one of the smartest investors around. I co-invested in him when he was an angel and I’ve co-invested with his early stage fund, Founder’s Collective. But while I generally agree with his recent post on venture investing segmentation, I need to call bull on this: What we are witnessing now […]
It’s not about the founders, it’s not about the money. It’s about what you’re building.
I spent my Summer thinking about how I could continue to be useful as an angel investor. Then this Angelgate thing happened and I can’t seem to write the post I meant to write about it. So I’m writing this instead, hoping to get some thoughts out of my head and move on. I don’t […]
Startup R&D has replaced corporate R&D
I have a problem with Yves Smith’s and Rob Parenteau’s op-ed in the Times: Over the past decade and a half, corporations have been saving more and investing less in their own businesses… Since 2002, American corporations on average ran a net financial surplus of 1.7 percent of the gross domestic product—a drastic change from […]
Why isn’t Columbia part of the entrepreneurial community?
I was at a conference about a year ago and listened to the head of tech transfer of one of New York’s major universities say “We’re doing a great job. I don’t think there’s anything we could possibly be doing better.” And he actually seemed to believe it. I had a bit of culture shock. […]
Taxing carried interest is nothing but a political circus
I should start by saying that because of the idiosyncratic nature of my thirteen years of venture investing, I’ve never been paid a carry. And, since I’m now a country gentleman, cutting the brush and tending the horses over here in bucolic Hoboken, I probably never will be. So maybe I’m uniquely qualified to give […]
Who Invests in Quantitative Marketing Companies?
About a month ago Jay Yarow wrote about the financing of The Trade Desk. One of the commenters insisted that only Redpoint, Union Square, Highland, Sequoia or First Round Capital were expert enough to invest in online marketing firms. I think this is wrong-headed (and not just because I was one of the investors listed […]
I know it’s a good deal for you.
In the past few months I did not invest in a couple of companies whose businesses I really liked because they were raising seed financing through convertible debt. Convertible debt is essentially a loan with an option to invest in the next equity round at a discount. So, for instance, a typical seed stage convertible […]
Tweet Congress: we want jobs and innovation
If a great company shows up on my doorstep, I try to invest in it. If two great companies show up on my doorstep, I try to invest in both of them. I think it’s pretty much agreed that at this point, the bottleneck in startup formation is not money, it’s great entrepreneurs and great […]
Prepping for a meeting with someone who wants to become a VC
Like pretty much everyone else on earth, it took only a few months at my first full-time job to convince me that what I had always thought I wanted to do was not what I wanted to do for even one more day. So I went and talked to a ton of people about careers […]