Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 29, 2014

'This week I wrote about obsessive and competitive founders and how this forms the basis of what I look for when I invest. I had been thinking a lot about this recently because I’m often asked the question of “what I look for in an entrepreneur when I want to invest?” I look for a lot of things, actually: Persistence (above all else), resiliency, leadership, humility, attention-to-detail, street smarts, transparency and both obsession with one’s company and a burning desi

startup founder 409

startup founder investing investment founder 409

This is going to be BIG.

NOVEMBER 30, 2014

'I''ve been getting involved with a couple of different models related to labor marketplaces and platforms lately. My interest dates back to my 2010 investment in chloe + isabel back when I was with First Round. I was still at FRC when we invested in TaskRabbit and Uber, even though I wasn''t on those deals. I''ve also run about 30 Kitchensurfing dinners across NYC for tech and startup folks in the last two years.

venture capital 285

venture capital technology investing investment 285

Gust

NOVEMBER 30, 2014

'Quote from Steve Jobs via Flickr. Steve Jobs was one of those entrepreneurs who seemed universally either loved or hated, but not many will argue with his ability to innovate in the technology product arena over the years. He was instrumental in creating Apple, which has pioneered a dazzling array of new products, and even surpassed Microsoft, to become the world’s most valuable technology company.

creativity 194

creativity innovation entrepreneurs technology 194

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 4, 2014

'By Dave Berkus. There are lots of ways to measure a great leader. Here are three that should resonate with you as leader and with those who follow you. These qualities are applicable whether you are leading your company or a board, and certainly are aspiration targets for you if you are measuring yourself against the best. The first quality in a great leader is to have laser focus.

board 91

board leadership education 91

Advertisement

Lack of digitalization decreases business competitiveness. To thrive, embracing modern solutions becomes essential. The approach to digitalization often aligns with a company's business model. This shift not only boosts productivity but also automates processes and improves security. The tech market offers a wealth of technologies tailored for management, planning, and forecasting, replacing outdated pen-and-paper methods.

technology

Tomasz Tunguz

DECEMBER 4, 2014

When will the tech bull market end? It’s a question that I’m asked with some frequency. There are three fundamental reasons for the bull market. First, technology is changing nearly every part of the economy. Consequently, there are many huge opportunities for entrepreneurs to seize. Our internal analysis shows that only 2% of IT budgets are spent on cloud today.

SaaS 40

SaaS sustainability VC financing 40

Gust

NOVEMBER 30, 2014

Quote from Steve Jobs via Flickr. Steve Jobs was one of those entrepreneurs who seemed universally either loved or hated, but not many will argue with his ability to innovate in the technology product arena over the years. He was instrumental in creating Apple, which has pioneered a dazzling array of new products, and even surpassed Microsoft, to become the Read more >.

innovation 130

innovation entrepreneurs technology investing 130

For Entrepreneurs

DECEMBER 3, 2014

'Consumer VCs like to make light of the Founders Fund mantra ‘We wanted flying cars, instead we got 140 characters.’ For those of us working in the enterprise, it’s actually the reverse, “They promised us 140 characters, instead we got Workday.” Since 2010, SaaS applications were supposed to “consumerize”, but as anyone who has used […].

SaaS 167

SaaS founder startup 167

Tomasz Tunguz

DECEMBER 3, 2014

2014 has been a great year for SaaS companies. By my count, 9 of them will have gone public. Meanwhile, SaaS companies in both the public and private markets continue to fetch premium valuations. To illustrate the rapid appreciation in the value of these SaaS companies, I’ve plotted the share price by round of each business. The color bars in the chart represent Series A, B… through to IPO.

SaaS 40

SaaS capital investing investment 40

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 4, 2014

'“It stops today.” I spent the entire day yesterday in a deposition so I was offline from the world around me – a rare day of no email, no social media and even no news. I had been awake since 5am, returned home from work at 9:15pm and was exhausted with my only goal of decompressing and tuning out from the world. I could not. I barely slept last night.

communities 402

communities entrepreneurs education media 402

Advertisement

Outdated or absent analytics won’t cut it in today’s data-driven applications – not for your end users, your development team, or your business. That’s what drove the five companies in this e-book to change their approach to analytics. Download this e-book to learn about the unique problems each company faced and how they achieved huge returns beyond expectation by embedding analytics into applications.

development

Gust

NOVEMBER 30, 2014

'Quote from Steve Jobs via Flickr. Steve Jobs was one of those entrepreneurs who seemed universally either loved or hated, but not many will argue with his ability to innovate in the technology product arena over the years. He was instrumental in creating Apple, which has pioneered a dazzling array of new products, and even surpassed Microsoft, to become the Read more >.

entrepreneurs 110

entrepreneurs innovation technology startup 110

Tomasz Tunguz

NOVEMBER 30, 2014

What are the pains and aspirations of your customer? Does your product truly solve your customers problems? And fulfill its promise of doing something in a better way? Most startups wrestle with these questions at their outset, when they are in the customer discovery and customer validation phases of the lean startup cycle. But all startups should reevaluate these questions periodically.

startup 61

startup pitching enablement development 61

Tomasz Tunguz

DECEMBER 1, 2014

I’ve been reading a book called Legacy Of Ashes, which is an exhaustive history of the CIA since its founding more than 50 years ago through to 2007. Reading spy stories is always enthralling, but surprisingly, the book is a fascinating case study in management. The major theme of the book is the value of intellectual honesty, a principle which was often forgotten according to the research compiled by the author.

networking 45

networking 45