[4.7.12 Addendum: Many of the management company details are now available on a SEC web site. More details here.] Here’s how VC firms are paid. When VCs raise funds, they are paid in two ways. First, they get a commission on gains they produce for the fund, which is usually 20 percent and is called
Single and homeless mothers: true entrepreneurs
I recently was reading email in my parked car. A car pulled up near me. A young and pretty woman got out. Pale and thin, she looked tense. An older woman had driven her. She looked very sad. They started unloading a few plastic bags of clothing and children’s toys. It wasn’t much. The young
Forgiveness after the Holocaust?
I saw last weekend an interesting documentary called “Hiding and Seeking.” The film chronicles an Orthodox Jewish family’s journey back to the old country, but also, back in time. The narrator and his wife both have parents who survived the Holocaust. They take their grown sons back to the small eastern European towns where family members
Entrepreneurs = hope
Last week, I had a hope-filled day. I spent all day meeting with entrepreneurs. I met founders from all over. I started in the morning meeting start-up folks from Europe: Estonia, Paris, Spain, and London. In the latter part of the day, I then met with a new team from our local area here. In
Great advice from Amazon’s Jeff Bezos
In a previous life, I was recruited for a young company in Seattle. I would report directly to the CEO. One of my earliest encounters with a VC was during this time, when he called me at home to recruit me to the company. That company was Amazon.com, the CEO was Jeff Bezos, and the VC
My new blog
I am married and a father to four children. We have our usual ups and downs. But there is incredible love and self-sacrifice in the home, mostly because of my wife’s generosity. I love my family. My other job is I help build ventures. I work as a VC with entrepreneurs on their tech start-ups,