Both Sides of the Table
AUGUST 18, 2010
I suffer from the “urgency addiction.&# I know it sounds like one of the falsely humble things like telling somebody in a job interview that your weakness is that you’re too much of a perfectionist. But the urgency addiction is a bad thing that I’m fortunate enough to get away with. When I first discovered the concept I found it enlightening.
This is going to be BIG.
AUGUST 2, 2010
First off, let me be clear that the opinions expressed here are solely my own and not that of my employer, or anyone else. The other day, Ron Conway said at an event that “ he hopes that any entrepreneur that has “the guts” to start a company gets funded.” Fred Wilson seconded that opinion , citing that “We need more entrepreneurship, not less.
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Berkonomics
AUGUST 23, 2010
When do you cross the line between honesty and dishonesty in tax planning? Is it ethical to allocate income between periods to take advantage of tax breaks? Can expenses be put off until the next period to increase income, or accelerated into this period by prepayment to decrease net income? Where do you draw the line, assuming no intent to defraud?
This is going to be BIG.
AUGUST 20, 2010
They say people won't pay for content. They say that paywalls are stupid and that its just not monetizable. Remember when they said that people wouldn't pay for music? What Apple proved, and what I suspect is the issue with web content, is that monetization was a product problem. I never would have paid for music back in 1999 or 2000 when I was sporting my 64mb Creative Nomad, powered completely ilegally by Napster.
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This is going to be BIG.
AUGUST 11, 2010
These opinions are solely my own, for the record—not that of my employer, my family, or bald white guys in general. The other day, I unlocked the "I'm no racist" badge in the VC game. All I had to do was to name 5 black tech startup entrepreneurs in New York City when asked by a reporter to do so. Kidding aside, I did feel a totally misplaced sense of pride.
Startup Catalyst Brief brings together the best content for the entrepreneurial ecosystem from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
Both Sides of the Table
AUGUST 10, 2010
An entrepreneur recently sent me an @ reply message on Twitter asking for some help with a decision coming up in his business. I get these frequently via Twitter, Facebook or email. I don’t mind. I can’t always get to them. Basically a request like this is stacking on top of my already large to-do list. But I do like to try and make time for some and I’ll admit I’m a bit random about it.
This is going to be BIG.
AUGUST 19, 2010
Sounds like a Jean-Claude Van Damme movie doesn't it? Despite the fact that I'm a blackbelt in Tae Kwan Do (haven't practiced in a few years though), what I'm referring to has nothing to do with kicks or punches. I'm talking about innovation in New York City and a very basic thought exercise. As you may know, when I joined First Round, I was given the EIR title to kind of figure out what I wanted to do--while helping First Round get a better foothold in NYC.
Both Sides of the Table
AUGUST 30, 2010
Seth Levine of Foundry Group addresses this important topic this morning on his blog with a post, “ Has Convertible Debt Won ?&# Seth was basing this on a Tweet by Paul Graham that said&#. “Convertible notes have won. Every investment so far in this YC batch (and there have been a lot) has been done on a convertible note.&#. I have to say that I didn’t take the question to mean that convertible debt had won for the entire market, but either way it’s clear that convertible
Both Sides of the Table
AUGUST 23, 2010
I was an early user of Quora and like all new technologies they take a bit of playing with them for a while, discussing them with others and reflecting on them to let them sink in. I’m no wall flower so when something doesn’t resonate I’m usually pretty vocal about it. With Quora , it was the opposite – something has always felt right but it took me a while to. really understand it.
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Both Sides of the Table
AUGUST 19, 2010
Yesterday I wrote a post about the " Urgency Addiction ” and how many people start important tasks late and then motivate with a huge wave of productivity and inspiration driven by deadlines and commitments to others. In the comments section Bill DAllesandro offered some insight that he had seen from Microsoft on "interruptions”. “A study by Microsoft showed just how lethal interruptions are to productivity.
Both Sides of the Table
AUGUST 1, 2010
There has been much discussion about VCs doing seed funding in the past year. I’ve written about it myself (Is VC Seed Funding Dead?) and (Is There Really a Signaling Problem with VC Seed Funding?). Short summary of my posts: 1. There is a structural reason that VCs are investing at early stages, 2. Many (Union Square Ventures, Foundry Group, True Ventures, GRP Partners, Mike Hirshland at Polaris Ventures) do it the right way – we treat it as a normal investment and we don’t h
This is going to be BIG.
AUGUST 22, 2010
This is me and my own opinions talking, not the firm that gives me money to eat. hopefully, that's pretty clear. In the past, I've heard lots of arguments about how New York City needs its own [insert something national]. "We need our own Techcrunch!". "We need our own SXSW!". "We need our own Google!". Honestly, I had never really put much stock in those ideas.
This is going to be BIG.
AUGUST 3, 2010
At the AOL/SeedStart event last week at the Bowery Hotel, I got in a conversation about hugging. I’m more apt to hug female friends of mine from the startup world than I am in any other industry. That also goes for NoNeck. I don’t usually hug other dudes (except for my high school buddies… but all boys Jesuit prep schools are kind of like that), but NoNeck is well worth a squeeze.
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This is going to be BIG.
AUGUST 25, 2010
“Private Twitter for small groups” “BBM for every platform” “Reply-all for SMS” I could describe GroupMe in a lot of ways, but “really exciting” would have to be the most accurate one, and we’re very excited to announce it as one of our newest investments at First Round ( See the Techcrunch article here ).
This is going to be BIG.
AUGUST 30, 2010
A lot of times, people tell me they like a particular founding team because they’re really smart. I’m not 100% sure what that even means, nor am I ever in a position to counter that. I fact, I don’t think I’ve ever taken a meeting where I didn’t feel like I was sitting across the table from someone intelligent. So, if everyone is smart, why even bother mentioning it as a differentiating factor?
Both Sides of the Table
AUGUST 12, 2010
In the technology world there are a few websites that most startups track to keep up with the latest financings, acquisitions, product announcements and gossip: BusinessInsider, TechCrunch, Mashable, GigaOm, etc. In the VC & Private Equity world there’s a small number, too, with one of the most respected being PEHub. That’s thanks to Dan Primack , founding editor.
Both Sides of the Table
AUGUST 26, 2010
There are times to fight. I must admit it’s part of my DNA to enjoy a good fight (not as much as does Jason Calacanis, mind you ahem: Facebook. Er: Comscore , Cough: Angel funding payola ). But there are times to given in and compromise. Don’t confuse the two. When you give in, do so graciously. Take the high road. Act and feel zen.
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Both Sides of the Table
AUGUST 15, 2010
The life of an entrepreneur is filled with 20 second opportunities. Some get converted into 5 minute opportunities or into a lifetime. Most are squandered. It starts in a crowded room at a conference or networking event. You bump into the person you’ve always wanted to chat with or your perfect business development partner who can “make” you. What are you going to say in the moment?
Both Sides of the Table
AUGUST 24, 2010
Two days ago I wrote about Quora. I’ve been loving the product even if it sucks up some of my time. I prefer my time go into a very focused Q&A website than into a more generic Facebook. What Quora has done is wrap social networking around Q&A with the more clever next-gen UX I’ve seen. But my post today is not about Quora, it’s about an answer that I wrote on Quora.
Both Sides of the Table
AUGUST 8, 2010
Around a month ago I heard people talking about Twitter’s bucket test ( definition ) of their new personalized suggested user list and this past week I actually got to experience it myself. The results for me have been excellent and in this post I’ll explain why this is critical to Twitter’s continued adoption. Twitter has implemented its recommended users on your Twitter.com home page as the “who to follow&# (see graphic above) and you have a list of two recommended peo
Both Sides of the Table
AUGUST 3, 2010
There is a telltale sign of an inexperienced startup entrepreneur. They get premature merge elation. You know, they get so excited about doing deals all the time instead of doing the hard work of figuring out their businesses. I understand this. I was a premature merge elater once. Here’s what I learned: 1. As a startup you shouldn’t focus on buying other companies until you’ve figured out your own business.
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This is going to be BIG.
AUGUST 10, 2010
I’m in shorts today. Why? One, because it’s hot out. Two, also because I attended the Startup Waffles breakfast at Dogpatch. Also, I kind of hate pants. Once, in college, I wore shorts until December—until single digit temps. It was my personal protest against the cold weather. Yes, I was that guy. When you’ve got waffles, syrup, and vegan chocolate chips being doled out to 150 local entrepreneurs at 8 in the morning, you don’t exactly want to be the guy in the khak
Berkonomics
AUGUST 9, 2010
Over the years in business and as a member of over forty boards, I have received good advice from corporate attorneys and on occasion bad advice as well. There is a line that should be drawn in a relationship between corporate attorney and CEO or board. Attorneys are paid to protect the corporation, not to give business advice. Some are experienced enough to provide great business advice.
Berkonomics
AUGUST 30, 2010
At one time or another, most all businesses use consultants to fill the gaps in knowledge or to provide guidance for management. Consultants are good in that you can sample their work with short projects, change to other consultants quickly, and stop using them when a project is completed. I have a partner in a consulting practice that specializes in the travel industry.
Both Sides of the Table
AUGUST 6, 2010
I don’t generally blog about politics. It’s not my thing. I’m a socially liberal, fiscally conservative, non-party libertarian at heart. Most issues are really nuanced. I accept that on many issues there is no “right&# answer and rational people can disagree. Proposition 8 was passed in California by a margin of 52-48. It defines marriage as being between a man and a woman.
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