Want to Understand What Associates at VC Firms Do?

Happy official New Year’s, all. It’s that time of year where we think about new beginnings.

What I Would Look for When Choosing a VC — Knowing What I Know Now?

Picking a VC is hard. You don’t really have much to go on to decide who would make a good fit. Reputation of firm? Of partner? Deals done in your industry? It’s a bit of all of these.

The Perils of Founder Fighting

Yesterday I wrote a post about “the politics of startups” in which I asserted that all companies have politics, which in its purest sense is just about understanding human psychology.

Understanding the Politics of Tech Startups

Many startups these days are started by young, technical or product founders who are in the idealistic phase of their lives and careers.

Thus I hear many talk about “radical transparency” when virtually every experienced…

Why Am I So Lucky? Why You Need to Be Sure You’re Not the Sucker

I’m a cynic by nature. And I think it pays to be so. I sometimes wish I were an unbridled, happy-go-lucky, assume-the-best-in-everybody sort of chappy. Sadly, I’m not.

Why The Haters are Wrong About Growth Hacking

There’s an article making the rounds in tech circles titled “Growth Hacking is Bull” written by Muhammad Saleem. I’d like to make the case that the article is wrong.

Understanding the Underbelly of Online Marketing & Why You’ll Lose if You Don’t

Yesterday I wrote a post about “growth hacking” and why I thought it was wrong that people were hating on the term unnecessarily. It’s worth a quick read.

Putting Tom Perkins Comments into Context

Tom Perkins is one of the founding members of the venerable venture capitalist firm Kleiner Perkins. He just had his Mitt Romney moment and his name will forever be etched in the collective consciousness of the tech community for this terribly insensitive…

Why Most of Your Assumptions About Phone Calls are Wrong

If you follow the tech media you would be subject to a lot of narrative biases that are completely off base — and this includes the value of email and phone calls.

Why VCs Should Stop Trying to be Perfect

In my recent post “Why Am I So Lucky? Why You Need to Be Sure You’re Not the Sucker” I talked about how VCs (or other investors) get deals sent to them and how to interpret a referral.