Fred Wilson wrote a great piece this week on the pain and frustration felt by mobile app publishers who rely on iTunes or Android Market as the primary distribution channel for their apps. In Fred’s words: “Centralized control of an ecosytem never offers as much opportunity and diversity as a decentralized system. And in the continue…
I recently had a fun and wide-ranging conversation with a Founders Co-op limited partner (i.e., an investor in our fund) who’s now a principal at another early-stage fund. One of the recurring themes in the discussion was the fractal similarities between starting a new company and starting a new fund — as my friend observed, continue…
I’ve heard several disappointing stories recently from first-time entrepreneurs who are out building their mentor and investor networks. The companies’ specific situations differ, but the basic story goes like this: — A credible-seeming business person reaches out to the company offering “help” with their business or fundraising. — This person represents themselves as an active continue…
Eminently quotable comedian Groucho Marx once sent a telegram to the Friar’s Club of Beverly Hills — to which he belonged — stating: “PLEASE ACCEPT MY RESIGNATION. I DON’T WANT TO BELONG TO ANY CLUB THAT WILL ACCEPT PEOPLE LIKE ME AS A MEMBER” This phrase pops into my head at least once a day, usually continue…
WARNING: This is one of those posts I occasionally write to organize my thoughts and test some ideas — it won’t hold together that well and feedback is what I need most, so please comment if you’re interested in the topics below.Q: What do smartphones, robotics, mobile health, quantified self, and the singularity all have in continue…
I’ve been thinking about the future of work lately, and I keep coming to the same puzzling conclusion: there is a seemingly unbridgeable gap in the market for engineering talent between the elite class of software “makers” and the wealthy enterprise customers who most need their help. The story goes something like this: As Marc continue…