I’m catching up on some reading this morning before our weekly partners’ meeting. In the mail was a report from Preqin, a highly respected firm that tracks the alternative assets industry. One graph in particular caught my eye: The graph charts various returns for a number of asset classes, indexed since 2000. It shows that
Category: Technology and VC
Adding an Independent to Your Board
I always encourage our entrepreneurs to add to the Board a potential mentor. Most do so and are usually glad later that they did. This topic has been coming up with two companies we just seeded, and so, I thought I’d write about it. As I’ve written before, the CEO job is the loneliest. A
Being a VC vs. a CEO
I had lunch with a VC friend of mine, who previously was a CEO. His firm this year has returned a billion dollars to their investors. We were talking about the VC job, and he made a very humble comment after I congratulated him on all the success: As a CEO, the harder I worked,
‘Orthogonal’ Thinking and ‘Going Nuclear’ as a VC
One of our investors recently mentioned to me the difference between “orthogonal” and “linear” thinking. By the former, I think of it as: multi-dimensional, creative, having disruptive potential. By the latter, I think of: logical, incremental, thoughtful (but almost obvious). I think entrepreneurs are predominantly orthogonal thinkers. My partners and I often mention how entrepreneurs
‘Business Love’: A New Concept
Today was our VC firm’s “annual meeting,” and it is one of my favorite days of the year. It’s an in-person meeting whereby we gather with our investors to update them on our companies. I learn a lot at these meetings. We have investors who manage huge pools of capital, and some used to manage
A VC’s ‘Annual Meeting’
Tomorrow is one of my favorite days of the year. It’s the day of our firm’s “Annual Meeting.” It’s when we get together with our investors and report on how we are doing. Most VC firms do the same thing. We rent a meeting room at a hotel and give a presentation on how our