THE DREAM IN ACTION

Quick thoughts on big valuations from pre rev startups: There are a lot of folks that don’t understand why Twitter or other startups like them can be valued at such enormous valuations while showing minimal or zero revenues. I respect your skepticism. It’s tough to understand why these early stage start ups have millions of [...]

Recently Mark Suster discussed the topic of VC seed investing and when it can be a bad thing on his blog, Both Sides of the Table. This reminded me of a conversation I had with another experienced entrepreneur offline who said… “First time entrepreneurs shouldn’t be picky. If someone is offering you venture money it’s [...]

[This is the second portion of a series on raising seed funding for a web startup. You can find the first post here, where we discussed referrals, short pitches, accountability, and tracking opportunities. Note: I’ve never raised any seed money for a startup. I write these observations to share what I’ve been learning and to [...]

I’ve been studying a lot about raising a seed round of funding for a startup. Once your prototype is out and some traction is shown, if you’re going to need capital you gotta work very hard to get it. Here is the first of a multiple (probably 3) part series on the core things I’ve [...]

What I’d like to see more of in Chicago is… 1) VC’s and Angels who blog – so that they communicate what is interesting to them and so that they are more accessible or even appear more accessible to the areas entrepreneurs. 2) An increase in the understanding that failure won’t kill you – in [...]

Many of you followed the process of starting, building, then closing SocialDreamium. I’ve been learning and exploring over the past 3 or 4 months and I’m back on the startup bandwagon. I’m cofounding a startup that’s focused on social commerce (announcement soon) and I’ve been working on setting up that company. In the process of [...]

If there is one thing that I do plenty of at GE, it’s present. Whether this be over the phone or in person telling a story in a business setting is a skill that one should continue to foster and treasure everything you learn. Along with presenting, the skill of building powerful Powerpoint presentations in [...]

Image via Wikipedia People think that winning an awards show like The Crunchies makes them a success…false. Along those lines, SO many people consider getting a solid round of venture funding a success…false again. Why or how is it that a company can be successful without making money (or, creating value)? If you sell your [...]

Great interview with Fred Wilson by Nicole Simon for the pre LeWeb podcasts series. Click here for the interview.

 Think back to pre-Facebook and pre-MySpace days…even pre-Friendster… Nobody understood the idea of a web friend or a social network. Then those companies came on the scene, people understood them and began to find value in them. Then the niche social networks came, the good ones provide great value for those involved and the ones [...]

The VC internet investments have officially slowed down! This chart shows that they are down 16% in Q3. As stated in hundreds of blog posts, the slow down in the economy will undoubted affect the startup world, but just how much is still unknown. There are many things that startups can focus on in order [...]

Imagine you bet on baseball. The Padres are playing the Yankees and your betting the Padres to win. Not a very safe bet, but the returns are awesome when the Padres come through (assume that happened 1 in 10 times). Then a huge steroids bust occurs, 3 Yankee starting pitchers get canned, and only 1 [...]

In 2001 the pop of the bubble in Silicon Valley brought Wall St. tumbling down. Will This pop on Wall St return the favor to Silicon Valley? The super investment savvy in NYC and beyond probably have a pretty good take on what the hell is going on with the financial crisis. What’s most interesting [...]

In an article from PE Week, that many VC’s have discussed recently, the argument was made that the bubble of 01 prepared VC firms to be ready for this type of financial crisis. VC firms don’t seem to be largely affected by the recent financial crisis and many are confused why. A few of the [...]

This is the keynote at the Web2.0 Expo in New York this week given by Fred Wilson. It is extremely cumulative and shows super potential for NYC going forward. Fred – great work on this presentation and Jeremy great work on the slides!