Through my VC work, research at HBS, and our family’s angel investing program, we get a lot of updates from many entrepreneurs in many sectors. What I concluded last month is this: it is game on with the economy. Various founders report that their sales cycles have accelerated, and this cuts across multiple sectors: digital
Category: Economics
The Fear Gauge
One of the benefits of being older (and, on some days, feeling old) is that I’ve seen a few market cycles: the 1987 crash, the first Gulf War in 1990, the dot-com bubble and crash, 9/11, and the 2008 Great Recession. When these market dislocations happen, I get concerned. But, I don’t panic. Financially, I
Four More Years?
A friend of mine owns apartments and rents them to college students. Over the decades, he has assembled a large set of properties. He is the manager, too, and has his own team do all the maintenance and repairs. “It’s crazy,” he said. “I can’t find a decent plumber.” He said that he has to
Andrew Yang and Universal Basic Income
We have a large rainstorm blowing through the area all day. So, it is a great time to simmer an all-day pasta sauce, exercise and read. One book I recently read and enjoyed is Andrew Yang’s The War on Normal People. Here is how the book starts: “I am writing from inside the tech bubble to
Chats with My Barber
The Internet is down at our office building. So, it was a good moment to swing by and see my favorite barber, Mark. Thankfully, there was no wait, and I scooted into the barber’s chair right away. Mark has owned a barber shop at the same place for 30 years. He has an uncanny ability
Taxes
As someone who studied Economics in college, I often am interested in how people behave in groups. Carrots and sticks, incentives and disincentives, and the overall world of “Freakonomics.” I see it regularly in my job. Sectors become “hot” and attract many investors and entrepreneurs. Just as suddenly, they “cool.” People often buy high and