I was very lucky during business school. I was hired as a summer associate at Bain Capital on the investment side. They didn’t have an official program but made an exception. At the end of the summer, I received an offer to join full time. I turned it down. They were shocked. Back then, Bain
Category: Personal
Self-Criticism: I Live in a Bubble
I couldn’t find street parking before a Board meeting in the Boston Innovation District, and so, I parked in one of those garages where they valet your car. The valet person was very friendly, and he initiated a conversation. He came to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic. He was 24 and came alone. He
Harvard, Rowing, and “Play to Win, Learn to Lose”
I had a Skype video with an entrepreneur last week. His company isn’t in a space we know well, but he came referred by a highly-regarded friend. So, I wanted to connect and try to help. I’m glad I did. Our conversation delved into sports. He used to row a lot. Think of large crews
A Nice Tweet and Why I Do VC
Daniel McCarthy (@SirDanielMac) sent me a nice Tweet: Love your mission for Kepha, by the way. Not many VCs these days with a strategy to help so early when the startups really need it. It made my day, and so, thank you, Daniel. And, we do have a Mission and Operating Principles. I love my
How I Blog
I’ve received quite a few emails of encouragement from people who read my blog. To all of you, I say thank you very much! One question I get is how I blog. So I thought I’d write about what I do. I find that I blog best in the morning. Maybe it’s the caffeine and
My Taxes (and How Did My Congressman, Barney Frank, Become a Millionaire?)
Our marginal income tax rate will be 54.1%: 35% Federal, 5.3% State, 3.8% Medicare and 10% for charities (we give away 10% of our pre-tax income; see “A VC’s View on Charitable Giving”). And, if the Bush tax rates expire, add another 5%. This all just covers wages, and it excludes the coming 3.8% investment