10/9/19 edit: VMware has acquired Carbon Black for $2.1 billion. So, we will increase the number of startups we will back. After Carbon Black went public, Mrs. T. and I had some discussions. What should we do with my personal winnings (I co-led the first institutional round when it was called Bit9; details here and
Note to ASW Admittees: ‘Virtues’
Each year, Harvard Business School hosts two Admitted Students Weekends (“ASW”). I was fortunate to be part of the first round this year. Dear Admittees, It was wonderful to meet you! I hope you enjoyed your time on campus and our practice discussion on the Sequoia Capital case. I wanted to follow up. Congratulations on
The Gluten-Free Thanksgiving Recipes Feelz
Happy Thanksgiving Eve! We are fortunate that all of our children have traveled home from near and far for the holiday. As a parent, one of the highlights each year is when we all can be together, which has become rare these days. For the home-cooks reading this, good luck! For those of us with
Note to My Students: ‘Worry’
Hello! This goes out to Old J, New F, and VCPE-01. I’m writing this on a typical autumn New England Friday at HBS, with an overcast sky, trees starting to be stripped of leaves, and a campus about to empty for the weekend. I appreciate the opportunity to get to know so many of you
Note to Section F: ‘The Forge’
Hello, Section F! It was so great to see so many of you today for one of your My Takes. I was glad that after a long, long week, so many of you were still joking with each other, smiling, and relishing a Section culture that your faculty have noticed seems special. I also saw
Note to Section F: ‘Peak Pressure’
Hello, Section F: I looked at your weekly calendar this week and saw: problems sets, multiple three-case days, and the upcoming Shad Exercise. It reminded me of my RC year: right now for you is peak pressure. For my Section, the pressure went down right after mid-terms. The workload did not reduce. But we did
Note to My VCPE Students: ‘The Days Feel Long, but the Years Feel Short’
Hello, VCPE-1! Thank you for an amazing week in the course. Your prep, energy, and creativity were quite evident to our class guests. Simply put, they were impressed! Now that we’ve had a chance to get to know each other, I wanted to write about our classroom norms and grading. Simply put: at HBS, grades