Apr 2, 2010
Uptake happens fast — or not at all
Mike Speiser:
Most of today’s massive consumer web properties experienced exponential
growth fairly shortly after launch. A few thousand users over a few months is
probably sufficient to find out it you have hit a nerve.
Stephen O'Grady:
Whatever the reasoning, more and more developers, projects and firms were
transitioning away from centralized to decentralized. And happier for it. The
trendline was clear, which is why we weren’t exactly going out on a limb
predicting the ascension of Git, Mercurial and their brethren.
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Oct 4, 2009
Why it's ok to sell startups early“Startups operate in a financial system that
is inefficient, illiquid, and challenging to manage. More transactions of any
kind or size help improve overall startup ecosystem health. Liquidity and
transparency serve to grow the market and reward founders more richly.”
— Dave
McClure. A more detailed model from Fred
Wilson.
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Aug 14, 2009
Economic myths of America“If we look at the percentage of overall labour force that is self-employed,
the US ranks near the bottom among high-income countries. The likely
explanation: our lack of national health insurance.”
—Mark Weisbrot
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Jul 6, 2009
Entrepreneurship as profitability vs entrepreneurship as growth
Chris O'Brien: Andreessen has never started or operated a profitable
business, except for one year with Netscape. LoudCloud/Opsware failed to turn
an annual profit in its six years as a publicly traded company.
Ben
Horowitz: First, with Loudcloud we saw the whole “cloud
computing” trend way before most. Second, when the dot-com bust hit, we took
radical steps to reboot, something a lot of founders might have been unable
to do.
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Jun 30, 2009
The hungry ocean
A month in the life of a swordboat captain, a glimpse into the
mindset needed from a leader.
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May 18, 2009
Start a startup, become a low-income household“You look at assets and liability to judge the strength of established
companies, but when you have a startup, you look at cash flow. Low-income
families are the same way. When we talk about poor people living on a dollar
a day, you don't get a dollar every day. It is a lump sum, and it is very
irregular. The poorest households can recall their cash flows a month
ago.”
— Daryl Collins
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Oct 15, 2008
“ In hard times the motivations of VCs become more closely aligned with those of the founders in their portfolio.
— paraphrasing
Matt Maroon. One reason companies that survive a bust go on to flourish.
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Aug 13, 2008
“ When times are tight, we want to overfund.
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Jul 17, 2008
“ Do everything you can to avoid taking money. If you must, your best prospects are potential customers.
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May 24, 2008
“ Bad elevator pitches go on and on about the product. Good ones boil it down to a high concept pitch. The rest of the elevator pitch should be devoted to your traction, social proof, team, and market.
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