March 2010
1 tag
Tokyo Police Club - Tessellate
acoustic and...
I don't use a laptop in meetings but what about...
I know plenty of folks that bring a laptop to meetings. I’m not talking about people that use a laptop to present materials or need specific data in the actual meeting.
I’m talking about people that bring a laptop to take notes or whatever.
I’ve seen entrepreneurs do it and I’ve seen some VCs do it.
I’m not a huge fan of this idea which is why I don’t bring...
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2010-3-28) →
The xx (25)
Dirty Projectors (20)
Magic Wands (1)
The National (1)
Blitzen Trapper (1)
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
Packing Blankets - Eels
2 tags
A compact camera that rivals the DSLR
For the past 5 years, I’ve been using a DSLR as my “real camera”. It started when I bought the Canon Rebel and then a few years back I bought the 40d. It’s an amazing camera that is fast & flexible. I have three very different lenses for almost every situation. It takes beautiful pictures.
But there is a problem with the 40d. It’s big & heavy and I end up...
“A few months ago Sarah Palin mockingly asked “How’s that Hopey Changey thing...”
– Bill Maher (via soupsoup)
jerry said it well.
1 tag
Blitzen Trapper - Heaven And Earth
New single...
Sometimes selling out isn't just about the money
Big companies often like to acquire great startups. Sometimes for good reasons or bad reasons. Sometimes they work out and sometimes they don’t.
An overly simple way to think about selling out is comparing the desire to remain independent vs the acquisition price. There are many other factors but let’s just leave it as a simple choice for now.
But the truth is its never that simple.
...
Dirty Projectors - Dark Eyes
Love this Dylan...
Yeasayer - Ambling Alp
Traveling today. No time...
Sen Dodd's bill vs startups
I was running around yesterday bouncing from meeting to meeting but I did see this tweet by Josh Kopelman.
I hit “favorite” on Tweetie which is my way of bookmarking the tweet to read later.
So this morning I clicked through and read the entire article on the Huffington Post.
Senator Dodd is proposing a bill that introduces a review period on angel investments and reduces the...
via jenrobinson:
The National - Bloodbuzz Ohio...
Startup Presentations
It’s easy for a VC to give feedback on presentation and demo styles. We see zillions week in and week out.
The great ones stand out.
But it’s easier said than done which is one of the reasons why I regularly give presentations. Whether it’s at a conference, or our annual shareholder meeting or a meetup or panel or whatever. It’s important to practice what you preach.
...
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2010-3-21) →
Okkervil River (49)
Radiohead (48)
Old 97’s (38)
The Rolling Stones (36)
Notorious B.I.G (36)
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
My Daytrotter drawing
One of my favorite music sites is Daytrotter.
It’s such a cool site - love the music and the feel of the site. I also dig the drawings of the various artists.
I’ve gotten to know George Howard from this blog and it turns out he works with Daytrotter. Today, i received this cool Daytrotter drawing based on my current profile pic on Twitter.
I really like it and will most likely...
“The U.S. Congress seems to have taken the first steps toward offering government...”
– Evan Handler: The Best Bad Thing to Happen in a Very Long Time
3 tags
My trouble with eBay
I use eBay from time to time. I buy things that I can’t purchase easily from Amazon or locally, like out of stock items. The perfect use case for me these days is buying vinyl records on eBay. It’s worked like a charm for me every time and I’m buying records across the globe.
Selling on eBay is awful in my experience. I have a lot of gadgets. So recently I decided to list some...
1 tag
Summer in NYC
This summer, my family and i are moving to NYC for the first two weeks in August. My oldest daughter was accepted into the ABT summer program so we decided we would all do this together.
So now I need to find a place to rent. Ideally looking for a 3-4 bedroom in the West Village, Chelsea or soho.
Any pointers or suggestions would be great.
Thanks in advance!
“There are only two priorities for a start-up: Winning the market and not running...”
– The Case for the Fat Start-Up | Ben Horowitz
What should a music social network look like?
How I experience music these days hasn’t changed much over the past few years.
It’s still mostly a combination of folks I follow on Tumblr and Twitter. I also find out about new bands from the Hype Machine. And I get my social radio fix from last.fm.
The new thing in the mix for me is Extension.fm which I’ve written about before.
And I love all of these services. They are...
The Rolling Stones - I Ain’t Lying
Mick...
My ideal home entertainment system
I was reading Fred’s post today, The Ideal Phone System, and what stands out is how many older technologies didn’t stand the test of time because they were designed with a different set of assumptions about the evolution of voice.
In some ways, Fred’s post reminds me of my longtime desire to find the ideal home entertainment system.
As we’ve moved a number of times,...
Bon Iver - Satisfied Mind
I know I’m...
I really don't care for bullies
Maybe it’s because I was a boy scout growing up or a brown belt in taekwondo or maybe it was growing up on Long Island or maybe it’s because I’m short….I’m really not sure. But I’ve always had an allergic reaction to the tough guy, to the bully.
To me, it’s an attitude problem that I don’t care for. It’s where someone thinks that by acting...
Generationals - Our Time 2 Shine
I got into the...
The Morning Benders - Crosseyed
Live. Acoustic....
Stickybits
Some of my friends (Seth Goldstein & Jon Steinberg) launched a new product last week called Stickybits.
It’s a powerful idea. You can essentially add digital content (comments, links, photos, etc) to any physical object.
Here’s how it works. First, download unique barcodes from Stickybits and attach them to an object. I have one on the back window of my car. If you have the...
The National - Terrible Love (live, from Jimmy...
1 tag
The life span of a blog post
Blogging has come a long way since I started first reading blogs and since my first blog post (old blog on typepad).
They have evolved from a pure publishing one to many model into a two way system where follow/follower, comments, reblogs, and “likes” provide a whole new experience.
But one thing I’ve noticed is that a blog post may receive a fair amount of interaction on the...
“Tumblr, a relatively new blogging platform, just might be the future of the...”
– The Curated Web | The American Prospect (via fred-wilson)
Should VCs blog?
So here’s the thing I get asked all the time: should all VCs blog?
Clearly, there are many successful VCs that are active bloggers.
But there are plenty of great venture capitalists that don’t blog at all.
I believe it really comes down to personal comfort. I believe VCs should blog if they truly enjoy it and not because they feel it’s about marketing or a way to show...
1 tag
Frightened Rabbit - I Feel Better
My first apartment in San Francisco
I’m having an absolute blast going through the old photos that I recently digitized.
Here’s my first apartment I rented in SF back in the summer of 1992 (I was 22). It was on Waller Street, one block off the Haight.
That’s Lauren and my brother Amin in the pic. Lauren lived around the corner on Frederick and Cole St. Amin and I drove out together from Boston to SF in just...
1 tag
Bright Eyes & Neva Dinova - Rollerskating
I...
2 tags
Scale first, monetize second
With every (venture backed) consumer web startup there is always the question of when to start thinking about monetization.
If the monthly burn is modest, I usually suggest that startups focus on reaching scale first.
It’s not because I don’t care about revenue or because I embrace “hope as a strategy” (which never works).
Rather it’s because:
1 - when your user...
