'venture capital' Category
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An idea ahead of its time
June 9, 2015Yesterday Fred Wilson penned a nostalgic post about Kozmo. it was a poignant piece for me, because I remember the Kozmo era well. But before I get to that, I encourage you to read Fred’s post because it carries some important lessons, such as carrying scars from your failures and recognizing when an idea is […]
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10 takeaways from Meeker’s Internet Trends deck
June 2, 2015If you work in tech you’ve probably already come across last week’s publication of Mary Meeker’s annual Internet Trends presentation. Meeker — formerly of Morgan Stanley and now with storied VC firm Kleiner Perkins since 2010 — presents a curated set of data reflecting what she sees as the major trends in internet usage. The […]
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Calling all cars: Please return to base immediately.
May 26, 2015On Friday France’s Conseil Constitutionnel, the country’s judicial authority, announced its long-awaited ruling on Uber’s objections to the Loi Thévenoud. For a quick recap, the Thévenoud Law (named after Thomas Thévenoud, former secretary of state who left the cabinet in a tax scandal last year) aims to handicap innovative on-demand transport companies like Uber and […]
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Four false friends for French startup lingo
May 19, 2015I greatly admire French entrepreneurs who step outside their comfort zone to pitch me in English. Regardless of your mastery of second languages, pitching in your native tongue is usually far easier. Your reflexes are more instinctive; it’s easier to think on your feet; and you control the tone and the cadence of the pitch […]
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Italy on the Pacific: How Airbnb can alter Japan’s trajectory
May 12, 2015When Japanese Prime Minister Abe visited the San Francisco Bay Area last week, he spoke about the need for Japan to foster its own version of Silicon Valley. His rationale makes sense. Many governments here in Europe have launched initiatives to encourage startup ecosystems and boost innovation (LaFrenchTech, London TechCity, Finland’s Startup Sauna, Enterprise Ireland, […]
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Hamon, Ham-off. How France’s Loi Hamon hurts startups
May 5, 2015If you believe (like many Canadians I know) that everything is better with bacon, the Loi Hamon will disappoint you. Despite its shared namesake with the Filipino word for ham, France’s Hamon law feels more like eggs benedict without the bacon… and with rotten eggs for that matter. I finally had my first direct brush […]
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I have not invested a second reading about you. Now can you give me an hour of your time?
April 21, 2015Robert Shrimsley’s column in the FT this past weekend with advice for journalism job seekers (Dear millennials: a few interview tips . . .) resonated with me. Shrimsley laments how every Spring he witnesses newly-minted journalism graduates aspiring to work at the Financial Times who seem to have so much to offer — degrees from elite universities, a hatful […]
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Time to invest in Japan?
April 14, 2015I would posit that Japan is “the ultimate contrarian bet.” For entrepreneurs and investors in the West alike, the world’s third largest economy strikes me as being unfairly dismissed. Don’t get me wrong. At the macro level, the Japanese economy faces its share of challenges. The demographic trend is not moving in the country’s favor, […]
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Crazy Bad Advice
April 7, 2015This post is directed at the small fraction of people that are crazy enough to attempt what conventional wisdom says is impossible. You know who you are. Your professional life is on the right track. if you keep your head down and don’t rebel too much, you will gradually work your way up the corporate […]
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Hacking time zones
March 31, 2015Whew, I made it through another month of March without embarrassingly shirking any business meetings. March is always the most challenging month for me to uphold the standard I set (and expect of others) of arriving on time for meetings. The difficulty stems from a combination of two primary factors: traveling across time zones, and […]
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Break out the violin: another top 5 ranking
March 24, 2015Last week CBInsights published a report on aggregate VC deal volume in the top five European geographies over the past four years. I encourage you to experiment with a free trial of the service for the underlying data, but here’s the headline graphic: This chart triggered some predictable wailing and gnashing of teeth in France, […]
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What Etsy can teach us about company culture
March 10, 2015Over the weekend I perused Etsy’s IPO filing document. Even though less ubiquitous in Europe, you’re undoubtedly familiar with Etsy: What a compelling business that successfuly positioned itself at the heart of several converging trends: sharing economy, online marketplace growth, e-commerce growth, employment dispersement, individual creativity, etc. The IPO will represent another significant milestone for […]