How Has Product Hunt Become Such a Critical Startup Website?
Product Hunt. It seems out of nowhere it has become the go to website for startup companies to launch their new products or businesses. It reminds me a lot of how TechCrunch felt in 2006. It was the place that every startup knew they HAD TO be in order to attract initial users and also […]
Why John Frankel Leaned in Early on Klout and Cornerstone OnDemand and What He Sees Next
It all started in 2010 with Klout. I wasn’t a believer. I had always liked and respected CEO Joe Fernandez but could never get my head around the fact that the Klout was putting up charts showing who influenced me and it didn’t map to the reality I knew in my head. I had been […]
Want to Know How to Better Partner With, Raise Money From or Be Acquired by a Big Media Company?
This is one of the best episodes of This Week in VC for a long time. I had the chance to speak with Andrew Siegel who runs corp dev & strategy for Condé Nast (aka Advance Publications). In case you don’t know, they are one of the biggest media companies in the world. They are […]
How This Entrepreneur Raised $28,000 Using Airbnb to Fund Her Startup
Tracy DiNunzio isn’t your typical Silicon Valley startup founder. She’s a painter and a self-proclaimed Bohemian. She did her first tech startup after the age of 30. And she didn’t start her company in Northern California. Tracy built her company, Recycled Media, out of necessity. She hasn’t raised any venture capital. She drove her company to […]
If You Don’t Have a Discrete Hypothesis You Are Incapable of Failing
There are very few people in Silicon Valley who have such a precise grasp on what defines success of early-stage startup companies than Eric Ries. And there are very few people who so consistently exceed my expectations when I hear them speak. I find myself nodding – even when the topic is one I don’t […]
Ever Wonder What It’s Like Inside a VC Pitch Meeting? You Can Be a Fly on the Wall Here
I’ve often wanted to let people see what a VC pitch is like to help new entrepreneurs have a better sense of what it’s like to present. Obviously having a camera on will add a small bit of an artificial result because I don’t want to ask as much confidential information and with the camera […]
Turning the Camera on Chris Dixon
Chris Dixon is one of my favorite people in tech and writes one of the few blogs I read religiously. If you don’t read it and you care about tech & entrepreneurship, you should. He’s thoughtful about markets, investors, products and is always very well reasoned in his arguments. I’ve also found him to not be […]
Spolsky on Software on Both Sides of The Table
Sometime around 2003/04 my technology team turned my on to “Spolsky on Software” a periodic newsletter served up blog style from Joel Spolsky of FogCreek Software, a maker of bug-tracking software. Blogs weren’t popularized yet so it was an oddity for me to read the founder of a software company spewing out advice. But I […]
Get to Know Richard de Silva of Highland Capital
I’ve just finished a week away from the office for Spring Break, which was much needed. I’m now back & ready for action. I took the opportunity this past week to publish summary notes of some of the VCs and entrepreneurs I had interviewed on This Week in VC. Back to regular writing this week […]
Want to Know How First Round Capital was Started?
If you read this blog often you’ll know that I’m a huge fan of First Round Capital. They have totally changed the way you run a VC firm, investing heavily in systems & events for their founders that are pushing the boundaries of the way our industry works. One example is that they introduced a […]
Master of Customer Acquisition, Matt Coffin, On Startups …
I recently sat down with Matt Coffin, the founder of LowerMyBills, which sold for $400 million but was very nearly a bankruptcy only a few years early, and talked “startups.” Matt is one of the most transparent, focused & honest startup guys you’ll meet. You can watch him on YouTube, download in iTunes (for […]
8 Startup Lessons You Could Learn from Gotham Gal
It’s easy to think that the wife of a well-known & successful VC (Fred Wilson) would have had an easy and storied life of wealth and privilege. I had previously had the opportunity to spend time with Joanne Wilson, Fred’s wife, and knew otherwise. That’s why I was so interested in having “The Gotham […]
Brad Feld Drops Knowledge. Here’s What He Said …
Brad Feld is a fountain of knowledge & wisdom. I had the chance to sit down with him for an hour and ask him loads of questions that I thought you’d enjoy hearing. If you have time check out the video (or download on iTunes – Episode 27 – and listen at the gym or on […]
Your Product Needs to be 10x Better than the Competition to Win. Here’s Why:
Last night I had the great privilege to interview Bill Gross, one of the Internet’s true pioneers. To say he has had an impact on the web would be an understatement. His impact has even helped a small country gain admission to the United Nations. All of that are in this week’s episode of […]
Raising $$ on AngelList? Working w/ McClure? Ask Jody Sherman
I was hanging out the other day with my buddy Jody Sherman, founder & CEO of EcoMom. I was an angel investor in his company, made a bunch of calls on his behalf and then I personally sent it out on AngelList. Through this process he raised $2 million. When I described to people […]
