I am still thinking about the talk I gave yesterday at Brown, about which I wrote here. A student from Brazil, Gabrielle Bufrem, asked me a question about decision-making after college. I told her that the most important thing to learn for making better choices was this: learning to fail. You see, if you get
Category: Personal
Speaking at Brown
I am at Brown University this morning, speaking at a class on entrepreneurship, which Danny Warshay teaches. I’m grateful for the opportunity. I’ve arrived early and am parked at a coffee shop at a bookstore. Why not blog? I’ve never been to the campus. An ex-girlfriend went here (we met in high school, things didn’t
Tax Fraud
It’s been an interesting few days, as I learned that someone filed a fraudulent tax return in my name. The scam, which I’ve read will affect 3 million U.S. citizens and cost $50 billion this year is the following: Anyone can file a fraudulent tax return if they have your name, Social Security number, and
The Marathon Bombing Verdict
I was in Back Bay yesterday. Coincidentally, I was there during the precise moment that the jury was giving its verdict in the Marathon Bombing trial. As I drove around, and then walked around, I was struck by how ordinary everything was. There goes a known VC walking by, speaking quickly and loudly into a
Creating an Exodus
It’s Good Friday, and I’ve lost my voice. So, it’s a pretty introspective day for me. I’ve been thinking a great deal about power and how to make change. And, Passover. Let me explain. A few days ago, Curt Woodward of The Boston Globe called me regarding the Ellen Pao discrimination lawsuit (article here). I
‘Ignore the Noise’
The Ellen Pao-KPCB trial has been surreal to observe. I don’t know well the players involved but have interacted with them. John Doerr had recruited me for Amazon.com. Two of my previous investments have KPCB as investors. Ellen, who knew the Bit9 CEO, helped the company navigate the KPCB process. The firm led Bit9’s Series