Understanding How Dilution Affects You at a Startup

This post originally appeared on TechCrunch. Dilution. Or as industry insiders call it, “taking a haircut.”

Never Ask a Busy Person to Lunch. Here’s Why:

OK. I know with a title like that I’m going to subject myself to people thinking I’m just being a grumpy, exclusive VC. That’s not the point. It’s honest advice so please judge once you’re read the post. And despite getting flamed (as expected) in…

The Controversial First Role to Hire After Your “A Round”

I’ve thought a lot about team construction of early stage companies.

I was once asked on Quora what my idea startup team would be. I wrote the following:

“I like to invest at the…

Lead, Follow or Get the Fuck Out of the Way

Today’s post courtesy of the Dave McClure school of vocabulary.

About a month ago I was meeting with a seasoned entrepreneur. After 10 minutes I felt like we were old buddies because we had both been through the trenches of…

Why Aren’t There More Female Entrepreneurs?

I’m often asked the question about why there aren’t more women who are entrepreneurs. On my blog I’ve been hesitant to take the topic head on. Somehow it seems kind of strange for a man to answer this question that obviously comes from a man’s point of…

Why You Should Embrace Opposing Views at Your Startup

What could you learn from looking at your competitors or other tech startups in a different way?

Creating the Next Generation of US Employees. My Investment in Treehouse

[updates to post below] I’ve just completed an investment in Ryan Carson’s new company, TreeHouse. It meets everyone of my criteria so I thought I’d elaborate.

Netflix Redux: Is It Ever OK to Fire Your Customers?

This article originally appeared on TechCrunch.

Why Startups Should Pay Attention to Herman Cain’s 9–9–9

This is intended to be an apolitical post so if you want to get into a political debate in the comments you’re missing the point.

The State of Venture Capital and the Internet

Early today I gave a keynote at the VCJ Venture Alpha conference here in San Francisco. I was asked to speak about the topic of “what is going on in the venture capital world and what is the next big thing after social networking?”