September 2012
Hitting Your Stride →
Conviction is one of the most important things entrepreneurs want to see in an investor. The overhead of working with an investor who lacks conviction is just too much for an entrepreneur. It can become a major drain on them and their company. I’d rather have conviction and be wrong than have doubts and be right. Because the latter doesn’t work in a relationship with an entrepreneur and you are...
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“Don’t use the phone. People are never ready to answer it. Use poetry.”
– Jack Kerouac
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The health of a platform: thinking about Maps and...
The Past
Back in the late 90’s (boy that feels like a long time ago), the Mac was in a tough spot.
Steve came back to the company and delivered the very first iMac. It was priced and packaged just right. The hardware was extremely well designed. Then came the MacBook Pro. Beautiful.
The thing holding these computers back was the browser.
It was clear by then the browser would forever...
Random Sunday thoughts
I don’t have a particular topic to share but a few random thoughts I thought I’d jot down.
1. I get asked a bunch about digital photography workflow. I try to keep things simple. I shoot everything in Raw. I bring it all into Adobe Lightroom. I nuke the ones that are out of focus. I apply VSCO presets to the ones I love for film emulation. Couldn’t be easiser. I back up...
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Behind closed doors
Last year we heard friends of ours were getting a divorce. Lauren and I were surprised because they looked like the happy couple over so many years.
But as the old saying goes, it’s hard to tell what’s going on behind closed doors.
This week we watched Mitt Romney behind closed doors. We learned what he believes, how he thinks and maybe most importantly, how he feels.
When the...
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Please register to vote
My friend Fred has written a great post about the importance of getting the next generation registered for this election and future ones as well.
Your vote does matter for this country and for this planet. Don’t believe the haters that claim your vote doesn’t count. It does.
So please register to vote (super easy and quick to do) and make your voice heard.
Thanks!
“Refraining from violence, then, is not a sign of weakness in one’s faith; it is...”
– Secretary Clinton
“We will never have the elite, smart people on our side.”
– Rick Santorum
This is a classic talking point line by conservatives in this election.
It’s meant as a rallying cry for their base.
But it’s a head fake and it’s insulting.
How these republicans can position democrats as an elitist party for “smart people” while republicans like Mitt Romney and...
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“Many of you are already familiar with the terrific Stack Overflow website, which...”
– YouTube API Blog: The YouTube API on Stack Overflow
Boom.
(disclosure: our firm is an investor in Stack Exchange — the company behind the mighty Stack Overflow)
“Photography in particular has a lot in common with designing an interface. It’s...”
– Peter Vidani
Happy Anniversary, Tumblr.
Exactly five years ago today, we co-led the very first investment in Tumblr. The actual announcement of the round came several months later along with a product update blog post.
So much has changed since that time. For some context, when we backed the company, there was an iPhone but the app store didn’t exist. It was just two guys, ceo/founder David Karp and Marco Arment, working on the...
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Delayed Gratification
The other day a friend of mine asked why I like taking photos with my Leica (manual focus and exposure) and Nikon (big dslr).
“Isn’t it hassle, to take the photo, then goto to your mac and upload. then post online”
The answer is yes. It’s far more easier to take a pic with my phone and post from there. I love sending photos to Tumblr, Twitter and Foursquare from my...
“We have the highest child poverty rate of any advanced nation in the world....”
– AZspot: Rhee is wrong and misinformed
Watchafternoon, in a car.
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28k
Earlier today, someone asked me how many Tumblr followers I have so I decided to check it out. Turns out I have a ~28k followers on Tumblr (it’s not public))
Interestingly enough, I have ~28k on Twitter. The actual difference is quite small
Made me pause and think about how much overlap there is between folks that follow me on Twitter and Tumblr.
I’m not sure.
I do know there is some...
Mercenaries vs. Missionaries: John Doerr Sees Two... →
What distinguishes companies led by mercenaries from those led by missionaries? While the two might seem similar at first glance, they are in fact very different, Doerr points out. “Mercenaries are driven by paranoia; missionaries are driven by passion,” he says. “Mercenaries think opportunistically; missionaries think strategically. Mercenaries go for the sprint; missionaries...
