Writing.
Essays since 2006, plus a few things first published at USV. Occasional by design. The podcast lives on its own page.
- You need a budget
I’ve written for a long time about my desire to re-build personal finance infrastructure in ways that benefit people with the least money. We see new personal financial products all the time targeting high value customers, but it still feels like they are ignoring a huge, and important part of the ...
- The weakest link
We have spent a fair bit of time over the past year working on security at USV and across the USV portfolio. Anyone who has spent time working on personal or corporate security — and in particular information security, knows that there are a million ways in, and you’re never “finished”. Fred wrote ...
- From a labor mindset to a capital mindset
I’ve been quiet on the blog lately — writing is one of those things that’s hard to build a habit for, but always pays big dividends when you do it. Every time I’ve gotten into a good blogging rhythm I am undoubtedly surprised by the feedback I get (good and bad!), but more importantly, by… Continue...
- Service
The week before last, we lost a dear friend to cancer. Deb was an incredibly sweet, caring and giving person. The memorial service last weekend was held at the elementary school where she taught first grade for the past 15 years. The room was decorated — to the hilt — with hearts, butterflies, an...
- Changing seasons
Today is the last day of September, and I’m happy and relieved to see it go. I’ve been holding my breath. September is a violent month. That may seem like a ridiculous thing to say, but I think there’s some truth in it. Something about the end of the summer and the abrupt change to… Continue readi...
- Labor Day: Project Repat
Yesterday, in the process of cleaning out my closet and donating a bunch of old clothes, I did something I’ve wanted to do for a long time: got going creating a t-shirt quilt for my old “sentimental” t-shirts. I’m a bit of a t-shirt hoarder, especially when it comes to shirts that memorialize some ...
- Optimizing for energy
In the world of startups and investing and ideas, things are always chaotic and fluid, and as such a key skill is to somehow cut through the noise and find focus. That’s on a micro level, like what do I do for the next five minutes, and on the macro level, like am I (or… Continue reading
- On the blockchain: platform first or app first?
I was emailing with a friend recently, who asked: “On the web, in order to build a platform you first need a hit app. Do you think this dynamic is different in blockchain?” It’s a great question, and one I have been thinking about a lot lately. First, let’s unpack the idea that the way… Continue re...
- Who should police content on the Internet?
The beauty, and the danger, of the internet is that it’s open to everyone. Anyone can put up a website, about pretty much anything. This “open platform” is an amazing thing, and means that innovation can come from all corners, without barriers or gatekeepers. It also introduces new challenges for...
- Learning by doing
I had lunch yesterday with someone who has been investing in the crypto / token space recently — having pooled together a small “fund” from friends and family. It’s a short-term vehicle (like, 6 months), and a large part of the goal is simply to become hands-on familiar / capable investing in token...
- Keeping it simple
We recently had our daughter’s birthday party, and we held it in a public park near our house, where there’s an old parks department building. The sun plan was outdoors, but of course it thunderstormed and we didn’t have a back-up plan. So we called an audible and asked if we could use the back… C...
- What’s your medium?
Yesterday, I caught up with my old friend Gary Chou. Gary was the first General Manager of the USV Portfolio Network (predating Brittany and Bethany), and has since been running Orbital, a community space and “studio for building networks” (which happens to be in the original Kickstarter building o...
- Speaking page
I’ve been doing more public speaking recently, and finally assembled videos into a single place: https://ngis.lndo.site/speaking/ As I look at that list, I realize that I’ve been doing a ton of speaking in Europe. Of course I know this, because I was there, but didn’t quite realize the pattern that ...
- Getting Help
I’m on vacation this week, and we have some old friends and their family staying with us. Last night we got to talking about therapy (like psychotherapy) and how valuable it has been for me over the past few years. Maybe four years ago I started seeing a therapist on a bi-weekly basis. There were…...
- The joy of fixing things up
I am on a plane right now, watching home renovation shows on HGTV, thinking about how much fun it is to fix things up. Doing projects around the house (last year I built an exterior staircase and made new kitchen countertops, the year before that I built a mudroom), coding and buding apps, and worki...
- Getting in over your head
I was out last night with some of the little league coach dads, and we got to talking about whether it’s better for our kids to be bumped up a level (but be at the lower end of skills/experience) or stay back a level and have a chance to really excel. The consensus was that… Continue reading
- For web platforms considering a token strategy: cryptocurrency vs. dollars?
A lot of founders / teams have been asking if they should be adopting a cryptocurrency strategy. This is understandable given the frenzy of fundraising recently and the ongoing dialogue about the potential for cryptocurrencies as an alternative business model for web platforms. As “traditional” web...
- The Next Web Amsterdam: Purpose, Mission & Strategy
Last month, I went to the (most beautiful city in the world) Amsterdam, to speak at The Next Web Conference. I did two talks, one at a sub-event focused on tech & social issues, on the topic of Data & Power, which I will post when it comes online, and a main stage talk on… Continue reading
- A little better every day
I just got done coaching my son’s baseball practice. It has been amazing to watch this group of 7 and 8 year olds improve over the course of the season – learning the fundamentals and now starting to make some pretty great plays. I had a great baseball coach as a kid. I’ll never forget the… Continu...
- Entering the world of smart contracts
One thing that’s interesting about yesterday’s Basic Attention Token sale is how quickly it went – $36M transacted in 30 sec. Lots of people were surely disappointed as they attempted to buy into the token sale only to have their orders canceled for missing the sale window. I haven’t nailed this dow...