Jeff Bussgang wrote a great post about grit. It’s a word that I’ve been thinking about since reading it. It’s an important topic, as I’ve seen that the teams that persevere the most tend to do better. Having grit does not guarantee success, but it certainly ups the odds. I’ve also seen many examples of
When Life Becomes Normal Again: Existing vs. Living
Lent and Easter are a special time for me. It’s a time of re-birth. I’ve written in the past about a rough patch in my life in my early-20s. I had everything you’re “supposed” to have: a fancy job, an obscenely high salary, many friends, a girlfriend. I had a nice apartment in mid-town Manhattan.
Venture Capital and Its 33% Success Rate
Fred Wilson has another awesome post today about how hard it is to create real companies. He wrote: I have said many times that early stage VC is a lot like baseball, if you get a hit one out of every three times, you are headed to the hall of fame. And if I look
A Passover Meal for Gentiles?
I wrote a few days ago about Passover and how it’s an important story about freedom and one that I wanted to share with my children (more here). Though I’m not Jewish, the “feast of freedom” and its recounting of sacrifice and emancipation is a story that my family, in a smaller way, experienced. In
‘Personal Authenticity’ and Fear
I meet with many people, but a meeting last week really stays with me. I met up with a young entrepreneur, who had started a company and is now working on a new idea. His previous company has gone through some ups and downs. They received great venture funding and were off to the races.
‘Feast of Freedom’ (and, Why Freedom Isn’t Free)
You hear a lot as a VC. Often, conversations turn to family backgrounds. Very often, founders talk about their families’ past journeys for, and towards, freedom: “My father’s family bribed their way out of Poland when the borders closed. They eventually made it out of Europe. My Dad returned to fight as a member of