A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

JANUARY 22, 2020

Our portfolio company Stack Overflow (which I like to call Stack) is an Internet Treasure. My friend Mark Pincus introduced me to the concept of an Internet Treasure many years ago and I am a fan of the notion. In my view, an Internet Treasure is a service on the Internet that is wide open, gets better when more people use it, and solves a need that many/all of us have. Wikipedia is an Internet Treasure. Quizlet is an Internet Treasure. Reddit is an Internet Treasure.

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Entrepreneurs' Organization

JANUARY 21, 2020

Tim Hamilton, an EO member in Austin, is founder and CEO of Praxent , a custom software and web app development firm that has been named for three consecutive years to the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in the US, most recently as #2,118 on the 2019 list.

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Venture Well

JANUARY 21, 2020

If you’re planning to apply for a grant, there are several ways to ensure that your grant application stands out from the competition—and receives funding. The post 7 points to help startups write a winning grant application appeared first on VentureWell. Early Stage Innovators E-Team

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Y Combinator

JANUARY 20, 2020

YC has one of the most robust data sets on startups in the world, and the admissions team is excited to hire our first data scientist to dig into it. This is a great role for someone who’s inherently curious about our data. You should be experienced enough to know best practices but still excited to get your hands dirty.

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MAGNiTT and 500 Startups jointly launch first 'State of MENA Startups 2019" report. Survey findings reveal insights on trends in fundraising exercise, exit opportunities, hiring, and growth optimization.

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A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

JANUARY 21, 2020

A friend asked me over the weekend “why do VCs ask for a management rights letter when they make an investment?” ” A management rights letter is a short agreement between a company and an investor to allow them certain “management rights.” ” These are typically the ability to attend board meetings, the ability to have access to financial reports on a regular basis, and the ability to advise and consult with the management of the company.

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GAN

JANUARY 21, 2020

When Reilly—my partner at GAN Ventures—and I are in the final stages of talks with a company we might invest in, we always ask a question to every CEO… How would you describe your company culture to someone who was thinking about joining your team? Somewhere around three-quarters of the time, their response is something to the effect of, “We have a ‘work hard, play hard’ culture.”

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Ben Franklin Technology Partners

JANUARY 24, 2020

HARRISBURG, Pa. 24, 2020) — Gov.

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Haystack

JANUARY 18, 2020

Having spent time around and then in the world of VC in the Bay Area during the last decade, I’ve been reflecting on how different norms in the industry have changed. At the start of 2010, there was some unwritten VC industry conventions that have been tested, challenged, and upended in the last decade. I also want to be clear that there are other things that should (hopefully) change in the VC industry. That is for another post.

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Entrepreneurs' Organization

JANUARY 23, 2020

Contributed by Bill Lyons, CEO and president of Griffin Funding. Along with the excitement that comes with a new decade, 2020 brings a lot of speculation on the economy, including a focus on what we call recession proofing.

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This resource discusses the gap between early funding from friends/family and the more substantial rounds from angel groups and VCs. Why does this gap exist and what can be done about it?

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Berkonomics

JANUARY 23, 2020

It’s more common than you think. Some of the world’s best companies to work for are those that encourage employees to spend time following their own paths of curiosity toward development of new products or services.

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culture creativity development opportunity 62

OurCrowd

JANUARY 20, 2020

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Forward Cities

JANUARY 21, 2020

This interview is part of the “Ecosystem Builders” series. More information about the ESHIP Communities program can be found here. Edgar is one of the founding members of our ESHIP Communities Council in Kansas City.

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Impact Hub

JANUARY 23, 2020

Impact Hub San Francisco has been a driving force in growing both the Impact Hub Network and social innovation movement in North America and beyond. However, after over 10 years of operations we are sad to share Impact Hub San Francisco has had to close.

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A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

JANUARY 23, 2020

Tech:NYC is NYC’s tech industry advocacy group. According to its 2019 Annual Report , Tech:NYC has over 800 member companies representing all shapes and sizes of tech companies in NYC. I am the co-chair of Tech:NYC.

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OurCrowd

JANUARY 20, 2020

Says Kfir Kachlon, who is with the investment platform OurCrowd and is the tech lead for the project: “Cannabis for you [in the U.S.] sounds controversial, but in Israel we have been researching cannabis for decades, and no one is afraid of cannabis in the government.”. Read more here.

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Innovation 2 Enterprise

JANUARY 19, 2020

By Scott Meacham. Millennials (those born between about 1982 and 1996) have overtaken Baby Boomers as the largest generation in the U.S. labor force—that’s one-in-three of workers or people looking for work. With limitations on immigration and Baby Boomers retiring at an accelerating pace, businesses large and small are increasingly dependent on the Millennial segment of the population to fill the jobs and do the work.

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Tomasz Tunguz

JANUARY 23, 2020

Today, the world's most valuable brand is Apple. Forbes estimates Apple's brand is worth $205B. Why is Apple's brand worth so much? It's the trust the brand inspires in consumers. Apple customers know Apple the company. They understand the product philososphy, the history, the quality of typical Apple products, and the reputation for quality. A strong brand is the lagging indicator of having built trust. We won't buy from people or companies we don't trust. The same is true in software.

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A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

JANUARY 24, 2020

What a wonderful project. I backed it today. USV TEAM POSTS: Bethany Crystal — Jan 22, 2020 How to Interview an Executive Coach (or a Doula) Albert Wenger — Jan 20, 2020 More on Facial Recognition Regulation Nick Grossman — Jan 17, 2020 Digital Bearer Assets Dani Grant — Jan 16, 2020 Wren. crowdfunding

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OurCrowd

JANUARY 21, 2020

OurCrowd, the global crowdfunding venture investing platform and Israel’s leading venture investor, will offer investors a sneak peek at the promising future stars of Israeli and Global tech at the sixth annual OurCrowd Global Investor Summit on February 13, 2020, in Jerusalem, Israel.

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Innovation 2 Enterprise

JANUARY 23, 2020

January 23, 2020. Contact: Sarah Seagraves, Senior VP for Marketing. 405) 813-2403. sseagraves@i2E.org. Genio Technologies, Inc. has acquired exclusive rights to the MasSpec Pen System, a revolutionary technology from the University of Texas at Austin that is proven to accurately identify the difference between cancerous and normal tissue during surgery. OKLAHOMA CITY — i2E Management Co., recently led a $1.25 million seed-round investment in Tulsa based MS Pen Technologies, Inc.,

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EntreWorks Consulting

JANUARY 22, 2020

If you’re a follower of US science and technology policy, you likely have heard and read a lot about the DARPA (The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), the Pentagon’s independent research arm. DARPA gets this attention for a reason. It has an impressive track record: it “invented the internet” or at least pioneered its early development and rollout. And, it’s also backed major breakthroughs in major fields like semiconductors, autonomous vehicles, and satellites.

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TechStars

JANUARY 21, 2020

David Cohen and Brad Feld muse on the terrific guests they’ve talked to so far and tease some new guests, announcements, and books coming soon.

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OurCrowd

JANUARY 20, 2020

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The Seraf Compass

JANUARY 22, 2020

Can you help me make it better?” You have to admit that is a fair question from an entrepreneur who’s deck you’ve just criticized. So it’s not a bad idea to have an answer ready.

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A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

JANUARY 20, 2020

I read this post on Bloomberg about a theme this week at Davos (never been) about the 2020s being a “Peak Decade”: Peak Globalization (tighter borders in the coming years) Peak Capitalism (the emergence of “stakeholder capitalism”) Peak Inequality (the rich getting poorer, relatively) Peak Youth (an aging world population) Peak Climate Change (I sure hope so) Peak Oil (I sure hope so) Peak Cars (I sure hope so) Peak Central Banks (go crypto!!!). Even if some (most?)

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Smart Hustle Magazine

JANUARY 24, 2020

Ramon Ray sat down with Christine Volden, founder of Soulful Selling at Dreamforce 2019. Christine works with entrepreneurs and small business owners to help them get comfortable with selling and to grow and scale their sales teams.

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OurCrowd

JANUARY 18, 2020

Watch OurCrowd CEO Jon Medved’s interview from the SALT Abu Dhabi conference, where he was the first Israeli VC to speak publicly in the Gulf. Watch the interview here. The post [OurCrowd CEO Jon Medved at SALT] SALT Voices: Jon Medved appeared first on OurCrowd.

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Tomasz Tunguz

JANUARY 19, 2020

Payback period is one of the best composite diagnostic metrics of product market fit. I've written before about the benefits of short payback periods. In short, startups with shorter payback periods require less capital and also grow more quickly. In 2020, what is an excellent payback period[1]?

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Continuations

JANUARY 20, 2020

I have written previously about the need to regulate the use of facial recognition technology. The calls for regulation have become stronger in the wake of Kashmir Hill ’s New York Times article about Clearview AI. It is extremely important to get this right. Here are a few more thoughts based on the article to add to my prior post. First, it should be clear by now that it has become almost trivial to build a system like this.

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Smart Hustle Magazine

JANUARY 21, 2020

It's a new decade and people are filled with resolutions and BIG plans. And I am no exception.

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Smart Hustle Magazine

JANUARY 23, 2020

Reluctant business owners are my favorite. They didn't wake up one day with a plan and take 6 months perfecting and planning things. Circumstances, often outside of their control caused them to decide to start a business. Michelle Spurlock, founder of Upside Aerial Arts and Fitness is one such business owner, where she teaches the young and old to be circus acrobats - for fun. A friend suggested she take up aerial silks - a form of aerobics and she loved it.

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