Should Startups Focus on Profitability or Not?
There are certain topics that even some of the best journalists can’t fully grok. One of them is profitability. I find it amusing when a journalist writes an article about a prominent startup (either privately held or preparing for an IPO) and decries that, “They’re not even profitable!” I mention journalists here because they perpetuate [...]
The Controversial First Role to Hire After Your A Round
I’ve thought a lot about team construction of early stage companies. I was once asked on Quora what my idea startup team would be. I wrote the following: “I like to invest at the seed or A round. My ideal team is simple: Assuming 6 people 1. 5 engineers 2. 1 CEO who doubles as [...]
You’re Never Too Big–DropBox Drops the Ball
I spend a bunch of time talking to different vendors about their products and services – having done what I do for a few years now it’s interesting to see how companies that I knew when they were tiny 3 person start ups start to act once they’ve got hundreds of employees, lots of customers [...]
Why Aren’t There More Female Entrepreneurs?
I’m often asked the question about why there aren’t more women who are entrepreneurs. On my blog I’ve been hesitant to take the topic head on. Somehow it seems kind of strange for a man to answer this question that obviously comes from a man’s point of view. But last week I noticed a blog post [...]
Why I’m Doubling Down on the Twitter Ecosystem
Today I’m announcing that GRP Partners is doubling down on the Twitter ecosystem by investing in DataSift, a company who provides a real-time data platform and tools to third-party developers and corporations. Our goal is to make the enormous volume of real-time information more manageable for the 99% of companies that lack the infrastructure to [...]
On Bubbles … And Why We’ll Be Just Fine
I recently spoke at the Founder Showcase at the request of Adeo Ressi. I asked what the audience most needed to hear. He said, “They need an unbiased view of the fund raising environment because there is too much misinformation and everything seems to be changing fast.” This was [...]
Startup Lifecycle a’la ABBA (Are We in a Bubble?)
Wow, who would have thought 1970′s supergroup ABBA were such good predictors of the Startup Economy:-) No kidding… it all started with a tweet by Box Lead Magician Aaaron Levie: @levie We must be in a tech bubble given how much ABBA I’m listening to. 24 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply My first though was: [...]
Should a Startup Have a COO?
It’s rare I can dust off a 6-year old article, find it still relevant and repost it without any changes. But that’s what happened this morning, I felt provoked by this VentureBeat title: Even start-ups need a COO – wanted to respond, than I had that “I’ve already said this” feeling and realized I would [...]
The Power Of The Extreme Example
One of the entrepreneurs I’ve advised called me Yoda, because he said I was always using Jedi mind tricks to persuade him. He must not have minded, since he presented me with a Yoda bobblehead, which I keep on my mantel.One of my favorite tricks is to …
So, Mr. Bootstrap took venture funding, huh?
Longtime readers of this blog will know that I’m a big fan of bootstrapping. Instead of putting together a pretty pitch deck and hitting Sand Hill Road (or 300 W. Sixth Street, as the case may be) I’ve long preferred the model where you open up the IDE, build something valuable, find a few people [...]
How Startups Can Use Metrics to Drive Success
You Manage What you Measure One of the things I discuss the most with the portfolio companies I’m involved with is that “you manage what you measure.” It’s a very important concept for me because in a startup you are constantly under pressure and have way too many distractions. Having a set of metrics [...]
It’s 1999 Again: The Bubble 2.0 And Talent Wars Of The Silicon Valley
I have been living in the Silicon Valley for a while, and sure enough I haven’t forgotten the dot com days. A few days back, on my way to the San Francisco airport, I saw a billboard by aol advertising that they are cool (again!). I also observed that …
The Art of Riding the Bubble
People are increasingly asking whether there is a Bubble underway in the tech business. The answer is that by the time you know there is a Bubble it’s probably too late to do anything about it. But if all you’re doing is asking whether there is a Bubble, the Bubble is probably not here, yet. [...]
Startup or Founders Visa gets new life in the USA
I am a huge fan of the Startup/Founders Visa program, and while I started talking about this in 2009, the USA version of the bill has languished as the country headed off into a deep recession. The good news is that the idea of a Founders Visa has been re-introduced into the US Senate, but [...]
Silicon Valley > Boston (The Data)
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 [...]
