If a strong financial background validates a VC’s ability to correctly run numbers. What validates a VC’s ability to correctly evaluate new markets?

Great Post:

One thing I was thinking (and I can say this… since I was a finance
guy myself) is that perhaps one reason why there aren’t more NYC VCs is
that a lot of them half Finance roots and that’s not necessarily the
best skills set for doing venture. When you’re evaluating completely
new markets, sometimes the numbers prevent you from leaps of faith.
Risk, in general, isn’t exactly something that’s supported here in the
city, with some exceptions. I think it’s no accident that a lot of the
startups are getting angel funded by random hedge fund guys who are used
to swinging for a few fences every now and then.

You ran a company and James, Jr. is a tech guy… … Read More »

I’d like to say that Thomas Friedman said it best when he said,

“What would happen if you cross-bred Henry Ford and Yitzhak Rabin? You’d get Shai Agassi.”

I think I can improve.

Shai Agassi is a hero.

Bottom line. (Read Thomas’s book, The World is Flat, and you might think he is one as well)

The plain reality is that our civilization is experiencing harsh consequences directly resulting from our own innovations. The most highly debated and discusses innovation being automobiles and oil.

But, when you look at how oil has effected the socioeconomics of almost every culture worldwide, you would immediately understand how it is going to take a lot more then alternative energy to fix the oil problem. Because within the oil problem, there exist an entire set of other connected issue, from technology, to economy, and even religion. Being able to solve … Read More »

When the media covers a presidency, they constantly refer to the phrase “The (insert president’s name here) administration”. A phrase that is reflective of a group of people that form consensus, make decisions, and ultimately run our country. They are America’s Management Team.

When American citizens choose their next President and Vice President, why are they only presented with two teams, of two individuals (although, in reality there are actually more options)? As the world continues down this road of globalization, there are many more factors that come in to play. How can two individuals posses the mental capacity and expertise to address all of the different domestic and global challenges? The short answer is, they cannot, thus appointing others to their cabinet and creating new appointments as needed.

Why can’t the presidential candidate declare the following appointments (or at least a … Read More »

Intel’s announcement with Yahoo to bring widgets to the living room is not a real shocker.

I have seen this image 2 years ago, while I was in Las Vegas at the Consumer Electronics Show. (The widgets appeared on a 42″ LCD, hanging behind a 1 way reflective piece of glass. This was hanging in the bathroom, allowing people to check stocks and weather while brushing their teeth. It was also a prototype by Yahoo).

The idea is simple: make the Internet available in and on more mediums.

Television is clearly the most logical place to start.

But does it require hardware modifications on a television? Couldn’t the same be accomplished with a console or set box top provider like Microsoft or Scientific Atlanta?

Either way, its nice to see that companies are taking real strides to get Internet in the living room. Or … Read More »

“Here’s what’s important. We’ve allowed the way transitions look from the outside to drive our perception of what they must feel like to those going through them on the inside. From the outside, they look dramatic, almost revolutionary breakthroughs. But from the inside, they feel completely different, more like an organic development process.“-Jim Collins, Good to Great

Lotame Grabs $13 Million in Funding for New Advertising Idea

August 19, 2008 — 05:31 AM PDT — by Don Reisinger — — 13 Comments

Online advertising is the key to the future for companies that want to be successful, but a small firm called Lotame has just raised $13 million in Series B funding to take aim at advertisers and provide a unique way of getting in front of the target audience….(continue reading @ mashable.com) or at:

Silicon Alley Insider
Wired
VentureBeat
Digg
CNET

“Clearly, the good-to-great companies did … Read More »

Fred Wilson recently wrote a post about one of his portfolio companies and its search for interns in the NYC area.

In the Post…

Greg Yardley, founder/CEO of our portfolio company Pinch Media tells the following story about graduating from college and facing the career question:

When I finished school, I had a MA in Russian history and absolutely no idea what to do with myself – I started working as a customer support rep at an Internet startup because they were the first ones to offer me a job.  (If the startup was a week later with the job offer, I’d probably be a 911 emergency operator today.  Sometimes life can lead you to unexpected places.)  I was surprised to stumble across a field that I loved – soon I became a product manager, and now I’m the co-founder of a … Read More »

My mouth has been wired shut for 3 weeks now due to genetics and orthognathic surgery. As a result, I have not been able to speak, effectively engage in verbal conversation, or eat any food. Within this 3 week period, I have also lost a close friend adding significant layers or pain, discomfort, and tension to an already difficult time.

But through this extremely unpleasant experience, I can undoubtedly say that I have gained some new perspective on many things. I’m sure I’ll be better for it in the end.

What does it take to gain a new appreciation, a new outlook, or a new understanding?

* My friend Ceci is traveling abroad, alone, for one year. I’m sure she will be better for it in the end as well.

“I heard people speaking everything from English, to French, to Arabic to Spanish … Read More »