Conversations about technology, culture, and the future.
Investing & Startups
Venture capital, USV thesis, portfolio companies, and startup strategy
- OuiShare Rethink & Remix Barcelona: The Evolution of the VentureDec 18, 2015
I gave this talk at the OuiShare Rethink & Remix conference in Barcelona: Continue reading
- Introducing Quackpad – simple collaborative docs for teams using SlackJul 30, 2015
Every month at USV we have an internal hack day, where we work on various fun tech projects. We hack on USV.com, we build internal tools, we play with fun new hardware, try out new APIs, etc. It’s a nice change of pace, and an opportunity to get a little closer to the tech we… Continue reading
- Introducing Quackpad - simple collaborative docs for teams using SlackJul 30, 2015
- Here’s the solution to the Uber and Airbnb problems — and no one will like itJul 23, 2015
It’s been a fascinating week to watch the war between Uber and the De Blasio administration play out. Not surprisingly, Uber ended up carrying the day using a combination of its dedicated user base and its sophisticated political machine. This is yet another very early round in what will be a long a...
- Brutal honesty delivered kindlyJul 9, 2015
On my way to SF this week, I stopped over in Boulder, visited Techstars and then had dinner with Brad Feld, where got to talking about the dynamics inside and around venture firms. He has obviously been doing this for a long time, and for me, less of a long time (3-1/2 yrs at this point).… Continue...
- Shift Conference Croatia: The Cycles of Domination and DisruptionJun 16, 2015
Two weeks ago, I traveled to Split, Croatia to speak at the Shift Conference, a large gathering of entrepreneurs and hackers from eastern and southern Europe. I had a great time meeting folks from that part of the world, and it was awesome to spend two days at the beautiful Croatian National Theatre...
- The Blockchain as verified public timestampsJun 15, 2015
Two weeks ago at USV’s annual CEO Summit, Muneeb Ali from OneName explained the blockchain in a way I hadn’t heard before, and which I thought was really helpful: the blockchain is time. That’s a somewhat abstract way of saying it, so more concretely we could say that: The blockchain is database of ...
- Regulation, the Internet wayJun 4, 2015
Today at USV, we are hosting our 4th semiannual Trust, Safety and Security Summit. Brittany, who manages the USV portfolio network, runs about 60 events per year — each one a peer-driven, peer-learning experience, like a mini-unconference on topics like engineering, people, design, etc. The USV net...
- Where do web standards come from?May 26, 2015
I’ve spent the better part of the last six years thinking about where web standards come from. Before joining USV, I was at the (now retired) urban tech incubator OpenPlans, where, among other things, we worked to further “open” technology solutions, including open data formats and web protocols. T...
- OuiShareFest Paris: Venture Capital vs. Community CapitalMay 22, 2015
Photo: Rudy (Loïs) Pignot I am in Paris this week for OuiShareFest, and spoke yesterday morning during the opening session. OuiShareFest is in its third year as a large international gathering of folks interested in the peer/collaborative/sharing/networked society, put on by the community organizat...