Author: Paul Singh

Happy Friday.

I’m in the DC area today and getting 2-3 feet of snow dumped on me as I write this. Yay.

In other news, I’m starting to build a community around my 2016 tech tour. If you’re at any of the current cities (or know someone nearby), will you please share the link with them? If you RSVP to any of the cities now, you’ll be first to know when I lock down my schedule of events on the ground there. Also, I might buy you a beer (or pull one out of my fridge for you).

Oh, also, I opened something new this week.

1. “if you don’t decide on things for yourself, chances are someone else is deciding for you and that is no way to live.” [Link] [Tweet]

TK was one of the first founders I ever invested in and it’s been a real pleasure to watch him grow personally and professionally. I have to admit, though, that I envy his ability to share his thoughts in such an articulate way. I have a ton of drafts that haven’t seen the light of day for quite some time now.

2. “Gone are the days of the 40-hour work week that kept us at work eight hours a day.” [Link] [Tweet]

Look, the nature of work is changing. Our parents worked one job in their careers, we’ll likely work a few jobs in our careers and our children will likely work a few jobs simultaneously.

3. “Some of our feelings got hurt and our eyes were opened. And that is exactly what Tallahassee needed.” [Link] [Tweet]

I spent some time in Tallahassee earlier this month (a stop along my on-going tech tour). It’s an interesting city with a forward-thinking mayor and a lot of smart people. One of those people wrote a brief summary of my talking points.

4. “Here is the ugly truth: if you’re a non-technical entrepreneur, the odds are against you.” [Link] [Tweet]

Accelerators have come a long, long way. I remember running 500 Startups earliest accelerator batches just a few short years ago. Earlier this week, they kicked off batch 16. While all that was happening, hundreds of other accelerators have popped up all over the world.

For the most part, it’s now harder to be accepted to an accelerator than ever. And it’s way, way, way harder to get into the best accelerators than ever. The bar is rising for everyone.

5. “Startup founders must un­der­stand the basic con­cepts be­hind ven­ture fi­nanc­ing.” [Link] [Tweet]

If more founders understood the business of venture capital, I’m convinced that founders would deliver less shitty pitches.

6. “A lot of guys live like they’re going to be making $5 million for the next 20 years.” [Link] [Tweet]

Personal finance really ought to be something we teach in high schools these days. I learned most of what I know from my friend Ramit’s blog: I will teach you to be rich.

7. “Today, up to 70 percent of Internet traffic worldwide travels through this region.” [Link] [Tweet]

Hey, it’s my hood! I grew up in Ashburn.

The irony, however, is that while 70% of the world’s internet traffic goes through Ashburn, you’d never know it if you looked at the jobs available locally.

Earlier this week, I pulled back the veil on something I’ve been working on: The Brickyard. If you’re in the Northern Virginia suburbs, I hope you’ll join me there on a daily basis.

I leave you with this: almost every major city has an Ashburn of it’s own. Suburbs that are 10-30 miles outside the urban center but filled with tech-enabled workers and entrepreneurs. The Brickyard is made for them.

8. “Today we think of serendipity as something like dumb luck. But its original meaning was very different.” [Link] [Tweet]

In your professional life, try a lot of stuff. In your personal life, err on the side of “yes.” Actually, maybe do those things regardless of your personal or professional life.

9. “instead of wasting years teaching kids to memorize answers, why not teach kids to ask better questions?” [Link] [Tweet]

As the father of a two year old, it’s been amazing to see her take in the world. (I know, everyone says that about their kids. You’ll know when you have one too.)

I hope she always asks questions. And I hope you do too.

10. “There. Fixed your investing strategy for you.” [Link] [Tweet]

Everyone talks about Unicorns but not everyone will get to invest in one. So why don’t we build our investment strategies around that fact?

Oh, right. Because investing in Unicorns is more fun than actually making money.

Firehose

You can get the full stream of the things I read, it’s all on Twitter — follow me: @paulsingh. Sometimes I write stuff too. You can always find me on Slack, apply to join.

Have a great weekend!

-P

P.S. If you loved this newsletter, share it with a friend. If you hated this newsletter, share it with an enemy.

Happy Friday.

I’m in Ashburn, VA today and heading to Vancouver, BC on Sunday evening. If you’re around, I’m doing a fireside chat and scotch tasting with the Profile Coworking team on Monday night. (If the event is full, reply here and let me know. Depending on how many responses I get, I might pull together a separate event.)

The Airstream’s coming along nicely and my 2016 tech tour is getting even more stops as you read this. More signup links for all of the events I’ll be attending, hosting or speaking at in each location will be added shortly. (And yes, that is a picture of my truck and trailer — I’ll be adding more too.) 

If you’re in the DC Metro area next Thursday, Jan 21, join me at a popup coworking event I’m hosting in Ashburn, VA. The more, the merrier. 

1. “Another prediction for 2016: bootstrapping will be cool again.” [Link] [Tweet]

If you’re based in the Valley, NYC or any other tech hub, all the talk about unicorns, bubbles and corrections is probably old (and boring) to you. If you live outside of those places, you should read this.

Everywhere I go, smart founders and investors point to the existing tech hubs as “the best” place to raise money and, when you read all the funding news that comes out each day, it’s hard to argue with them.

If you’re having a hard time raising money, the problem is either your business or your pitch (or probably both). If your first reaction is to blame the lack of investors, you’re doing it wrong.

2. “The pressure to offer lower and lower rates led to an arms race for super-massive, super-efficient ships.” [Link] [Tweet]

Dat ship tho.

3. “Life is more fun when you don’t compare.” [Link] [Tweet]

Seth Godin’s daily newsletter is one of the few things I read every day. Some times it’s a bit out there but, most of the time, it’s really good. This is the latter.

4. “Most people in the startup world aren’t founders, but most written advice is for them.” [Link] [Tweet]

If you’re thinking about joining a startup, download the ebook and start reading. If your compensation package includes stock options, read this.

5. “Don’t try to satisfy everyone too soon.  Do your thing, do it well, and find true believers.” [Link] [Tweet]

There’s nothing wrong with focusing on a niche. In fact, it’s exactly what you should be doing at the earliest stages of your company. The real challenge is knowing when to pivot versus when to expand to the next niche.

6. “To be a successful angel investor, you have to make a lot of investments.” [Link] [Tweet]

Having hosted a number of angel investing workshops, it still surprises me how often people think successful angel investing is about picking “the one” right startup.

The real trick to angel investing is to wiggle your way into the most promising investment opportunities at least 10-20 times each year and hope that you don’t run out of money while you wait for one of your investments to mature.

7. “that first kilowatt of electricity someone gets is worth an awful lot because they go from darkness to light” [Link] [Tweet]

If I was 10 years younger (read: had more patience), I’d move to India to help solve problems like this. Instead, I read about other people doing the noble work of trying to bring electricity, water and other basics to the poor.

At the risk of sounding a bit insensitive, I have to admit that moving into my Airstreamhas forced me to recognize how wasteful I’ve been with water, electricity and waste. It really is eye-opening to watch the on-board gauges move when I’m doing even the simplest of things.

8. “the internet age will have substantial impact on how we use that most precious of resources: time.” [Link] [Tweet]

Two thoughts:

• It seems that we, as a society, haven’t changed much: we’re always looking for a distraction. This time, it fits in our pocket.
• The last time the Fed raised the interest rate (old news, I know), iPhones didn’t exist and many people were still trying to figure out if the internet was a fad.

9. “Control your future. It makes fundraising much easier.” [Link] [Tweet]

Regardless of which predictions you believe, this is probably the best advice you can take. Assume you won’t raise money. Assume your sales projections are too optimistic. Assume you’ll lose your biggest customer.

Then get back to work.

10. “It’s the internet’s scale that makes the cultural use of the term so useless” [Link] [Tweet]

“As individuals, we construct our own private corners of the internet, believing ourselves to be in touch and of the moment. The least we could do is acknowledge life in its complexity—and stop talking about “the internet” as if the term still contains any meaning at all.”

Firehose

You can get the full stream of the things I read, it’s all on Twitter — follow me: @paulsingh. Sometimes I write stuff too. You can always find me on Slack, apply to join.

Have a great weekend!

-P

P.S. If you loved this newsletter, share it with a friend. If you hated this newsletter, share it with an enemy.

Happy Friday (and welcome to 2016).

I’m writing today’s newsletter from my Airstream somewhere just south of Petersburg, VA. I’m on my way to Durham, NC later this morning and spending the day with Chris Heivly (co-founder of MapQuest) and his team. If you’re in Durham this afternoon,please join me and Chris at happy hour.

About that Airstream, my 2016 tech tour is coming together nicely. (And yes, that is a picture of my truck and trailer.) It’s a work in progress and I’ll be adding even more stops over the next few days. If you’re in any of these cities (or know someone that is), I hope you’ll keep an eye on that page — I’ll add signup links for all of the events I’ll be attending, hosting or speaking at in each location shortly.

I’m looking forward to meeting even more of you through 2016. You’re doing important work and I want to help in any way I can. Maybe I’ll invest, maybe I’ll help make some noise for you, maybe I can inspire your community to swing a little harder or maybe we’ll just share a beer. 

1. “Your job as an executive is to edit, not write.” [Link] [Tweet]

The classic founder narrative goes a little something like this: grind, grind, grind, grind, grind and grind. A lot of hard work.

That’s not sustainable and, perhaps more importantly, it’s not good for your business. There is a difference between working “in” the business and “on” the business.

In order to make that transition, you’ve got to learn how to communicate and inspire others to follow your mission. (I created a free email course about public speaking — it’s got tips you can use on stage and in 1:1 conversations.)

2. “We fucked ourselves as an industry.” [Link] [Tweet]

This is one of the best written pieces I’ve ever read about making the transition awayfrom a dependence on venture capital. It’s about focusing on sales and profits.

As we head into 2016, founders should be thinking more about how to ramp sales rather than listening to the raging debate about when the bubble’s going to pop.

As they say, revenue solves a lot of problems. Funny how that works.

3. “If you dictate what the poor should get, you take away their rights to choose what they think is best for them.” [Link] [Tweet]

If you live inside the US, you probably haven’t noticed that India is throwing a wrench into Mark Zuckerberg’s Internet.org — his initiative to provide free but limited internet to the developing world.

The gist: Facebook / Internet.org wants to build Free Basics. It’s a way to bring a lot of information to people that may not have access (or the ability) to the internet. In developing countries, you’d have access to the internet as long as you’re using Facebook — it’s a bit of a walled garden — and that’s what everyone’s concerned about.

My view: Facebook is a private company that wants to invest a ton of their own money into the developing world. Why not let them do it and then determine how the local laws might need to be modified to protect the people?

I’m not suggesting that we put people in harm’s way or ignore them until Facebook treats them poorly but, just as VC’s haven’t historically been great at predicting unicorns, the government (especially the Indian government) hasn’t historically been great at understanding the pros / cons of technology.

Everyone agrees that getting more people online is a good thing. If a private company wants to put their money on the line to do it, let them do it and keep a watchful eye on them. Otherwise, build it yourself.

4. “The hardest part of changing your life is getting started.” [Link] [Tweet]

Yep. Just yep.

5. “it has never been easier to start a company and never been harder to scale one.” [Link] [Tweet]

This article, like most, tries to explain the Power Law and how it relates to the business of venture capital. The problem is that it doesn’t take fund size into account.

“Lower risk investments with higher probability for success, but where success isn’t massive, don’t typically make good venture investments because the time horizon to reach liquidity for investors in early stage companies is lengthy (except for the rare large early exit which is difficult to plan for) and therefore the asset class is only worthwhile for LPs if they can earn significant multiples on their capital.”

If you’ve got a big-ass fund (let’s say >$100M), then the above statement is absolutely true. For smaller funds, things start to get a little more interesting — and tricky.

With a small fund, you still hope that you’ve invested in a something that will get huge but you’re able to generate a great return for your LPs when portfolio companies sell for “just” $20M-$100M. Assuming you have access to the founders that can build those companies.

6. “Employees will realize their options are underwater and will start leaving tech startups in droves.” [Link] [Tweet]

I don’t know man. If my stock options are dropping in value, where do I go? An early stage company? A big corporation? Start my own thing?

7. “I will fail if I worry about the things that really, really don’t matter.” [Link] [Tweet]

The end of every year brings a bunch of reflective posts on life and this one’s no different. However, I’ve met Kalsoom a few times now and her ability to really open up is great. I hope she writes more (and that you do too).

8. “The angriest and most pessimistic people in America are the people we used to call Middle Americans.” [Link] [Tweet]

Oh hey, that Trump guy is raising a ruckus in the Republican party. Grab some popcorn, y’all.

9. “If you do must do something, do something you will enjoy, not force yourself to enjoy—or endure.” [Link] [Tweet]

My favorite line: “Just as we learn as we get older that we don’t change on the days of and after our birthdays, we learn that the slates aren’t magically rubbed clean on Jan. 1.”

10. “It took a few months to realize that I was making the same mistake I have accused others.” [Link] [Tweet]

Yep. Maybe I’ll write a post like this at the end of 2016.

Firehose

You can get the full stream of the things I read, it’s all on Twitter — follow me: @paulsingh. Sometimes I write stuff too. You can always find me on Slack, apply to join.

Have a great weekend!

-P

P.S. If you loved this newsletter, share it with a friend. If you hated this newsletter, share it with an enemy.

Happy Saturday.

I’m back in Ashburn, VA after a quick trip to Vegas mid-week. The jetlag’s catching up to me but that might be my last flight for the year… unless I find out that I need a few more PQM’s to keep my 1K status on United. 

1. “Still, nobody wanted our app.” [Link] [Tweet]

I probably sound like a broken record but knowing how to build an app isn’t enough. You’ve got to be thinking about user acquisition (e.g., “how will I convince people to wantto download this app?”), user retention (e.g., “how will I make this useful enough to make them want to open the app enough to not forget about it over the other 80+ apps they have installed?”) and monetization (e.g., “how are we going to pay the bills?).

2. “But if you see it. Clearly. And have 24+ months to get to 10 customers. And 10 years to real success. Go for it.” [Link] [Tweet]

It’s never too late to start a company as long as you recognize that you have to be in it for the long haul. Building a company is harder than you think.

3. “The web is less than 8,000 days old.” [Link] [Tweet]

A little more perspective on this week’s Fed news: the last time the Fed raised interest rates, iPhones didn’t exist.

4. “We built this spreadsheet and we modeled these two scenarios — one is build, one is buy.” [Link] [Tweet]

At a basic level, the most desirable acquisition targets are the ones that are growing the fastest. That’s as simple as it is.

In this case, Respondly had product, traction and a growth rate that convinced Buffer that it was worth buying the company rather than start building the business from scratch.

Growth > Product

5. “Silicon Valley is cooling, not crashing. Valuations are falling. The era of cheap money is over.” [Link] [Tweet]

If you’re an early stage company focused on revenue and growth, you’re going to be just fine. The only people freaking out at this point are the ones that raised on high valuations in the past and haven’t been able to get their company to grow into that number.

6. “every company is now a software company, whether they sell sugar water or build buildings.” [Link] [Tweet]

On that note, you should be making friends at larger companies just outside of your industry. If your goal is to sell to Google, Facebook or any of the other big companies in the Valley, here’s the bad news: they’re likely to undervalue you, if they even notice you.

Last year, 100+ corporate venture arms were setup. That’s 100+ big corporations saying “Hey, we want to figure this tech thing out. Maybe we should invest in some stuff.” They’re recognizing that technology isn’t “the IT guy in the basement” but rather it’s the stuff that’s going to grow them for the next 100 years.

7. “It used to be that having your own car provided the ultimate sense of freedom for young adults.” [Link] [Tweet]

My first car was about freedom. Hell, my latest pickup truck is still about freedom. I guess I don’t understand those damn kids either.

On a serious note: I wonder if my daughter will ever learn to drive. By the time she’s 16, I imagine that self driving cars and the sharing economy will change the way we take our children to school, soccer practices and shopping.

8. “The problem with early stage investing is that markets can never be sized in Excel.” [Link] [Tweet]

Three things about early stage investing:

• Most due diligence happens in the rear view mirror.
• You just need to be directionally right about the market.
• If the company is spending >50% of the time talking about the product, you should see that as a red flag. The best founders recognize that the product is table stakes, growth is everything.

9. “There’s something metaphysical about driving alone through the night.” [Link] [Tweet]

I’m looking forward to the stops on my tech tour next year — and the long drives that will come with them. I’ve got 7 states confirmed around the US and the events are starting to come together. More on that next week. 🙂

10. “The best time to start a company is when you can nucleate a team around yourself and your vision.” [Link] [Tweet]

Investors will always chase great teams pursuing unique ideas. That is a constant, despite the vacillations of the financial markets.

How about we spend a week together in 2016?

I’ve spent the last few years jetting in/out of places for keynotes and demo days. It’s an effective way for me, as an investor, to meet the maximum amount of companies in the shortest amount of time. I want to give back to local tech communities in 2016.

Here’s the general idea: I’ll come spend a week in your community and we’ll put together a week full of office hours, tech meetups, angel investing workshops, keynotes and fun. I might even bring some other investors with me to help.

In exchange, you cover my costs and help me figure out how to best help your tech community. Bonus: I might do it all in an Airstream.

I’m only going to do a few of these week-long trips in 2016, please fill this out ASAP if you think I can help your local tech community. I’m booked into seven states already, hurry up. 🙂

Firehose

You can get the full stream of the things I read, it’s all on Twitter — follow me: @paulsingh. Sometimes I write stuff too. You can always find me on Slack, apply to join.

Have a great weekend!

-P

P.S. If you loved this newsletter, share it with a friend. If you hated this newsletter, share it with an enemy.

Happy Saturday.

Hello from Kelowna, BC today where I led workshops on fundraising & angel investing. Just one more trip left in 2015 — Las Vegas this coming Wednesday, let me know if you’re around.

1. “Star­tups are about ex­e­cu­tion, not about ideas.” [Link] [Tweet]

Split things equally, always have a vesting schedule and get back to work. The default state of your company is failure and the only team that can change that is yours.

2. The Micro VCs Are Coming [Link] [Tweet]

Outside the Valley (and most other dense tech hubs), most founders and investors simply aren’t aware of how little it now costs to start (or invest in) a company. (Which is why I’m doing the 2016 tech tour and creating a weeklong set of workshops around these topics.)

3. “We don’t need another app to order food.” [Link] [Tweet]

Entrepreneurship has been Hollywood-ized over the past few years (eg, TV shows, movies and lots of press). As with most things, this is a double-edged sword.

Just as much as we’re encouraging more people to start their own thing, let’s agree to discourage them from spending too much time on things that simply aren’t working.

4. “Quitting slowly doesn’t serve you well.” [Link] [Tweet]

I should print this out and tape it to my laptop. You should too.

5. “Valuation and market capitalization are easily confused.” [Link] [Tweet]

Unfortunately, it’s more fun to throw around lots of big numbers than to understand the nuts and bolts: “When valuation numbers are reported to the public without understanding the calculations behind them, and without the context of the differences in calculation methods, swings in tech company valuations can sound like a big deal. The drama makes for a good story.”

6. “startups using equity crowdfunding will consist of lower-quality co’s that couldn’t get funding by other means” [Link] [Tweet]

The people that tend to be most excited about equity-based crowdfunding are, ironically, the least likely to ever raise any real money this way.

Until successful companies actually use equity-based crowdfunding (or one of the existing crowdfunded companies becomes a big hit), this won’t really take off.

7. “Founders fear long-term failure, but not the short-term mistakes that lead to it.” [Link] [Tweet]

Two thoughts:

1. Yep.
2. When are we going to see some stuff around how First Round creates such useful content?

8. Stay Focused on Your Goals Not Your Critics [Link] [Tweet]

“I’m always reminded that in tough times some people pull up their socks and help get the job done while others turn to being critics: Even some who don’t actually take risks or accomplish things but love to opine.”

9. “desktop companies have leveraged mobile better than actual mobile-focused startups.” [Link] [Tweet]

Knowing how to build an app isn’t enough.

I can’t seem to find it right now but I recall hearing a comment about the number of apps submitted to the app stores continue to rise daily but the average number of apps that an end-user keeps on her phone has remained steady for the last few years.

Building mobile apps is difficult. Building mobile apps that people will find, use and remember is incredibly hard. And it’s only getting harder.

10. “The cap table gets to a point where it can be challenging for new money to come in” [Link] [Tweet]

Back in 2010, it was rare to see angels participate in rounds larger than $500K. Today, angels are banding together to pump up to $1.5M into companies — sometimes without any VC firms included. I’m convinced the last few years will be remembered as the rise of the angels.

How about we spend a week together in 2016?

I’ve spent the last few years jetting in/out of places for keynotes and demo days. It’s an effective way for me, as an investor, to meet the maximum amount of companies in the shortest amount of time. I want to give back to local tech communities in 2016.

Here’s the general idea: I’ll come spend a week in your community and we’ll put together a week full of office hours, tech meetups, angel investing workshops, keynotes and fun. I might even bring some other investors with me to help.

In exchange, you cover my costs and help me figure out how to best help your tech community. Bonus: I might do it all in an Airstream.

I’m only going to do a few of these week-long trips in 2016, please fill this out ASAP if you think I can help your local tech community. I’m booked into six cities already, hurry up. 🙂

Firehose

You can get the full stream of the things I read, it’s all on Twitter — follow me: @paulsingh. Sometimes I write stuff too. You can always find me on Slack, apply to join.

Have a great weekend!

-P

P.S. If you loved this newsletter, share it with a friend. If you hated this newsletter, share it with an enemy.

Happy Friday.

Hello from Lisbon today where I’m keynoting FastTrack later today. If you’re in the Washington, DC or Kelowna, BC next week, scroll to the bottom — I’m hosting a couple of private meetups and I’d love to meet you.

1. “You may have noticed a theme here: at this stage, your marketing layers become reliable.” [Link] [Tweet]

I probably sound like a broken record by now: building a great product is table stakes, figuring out how to make the right noise about the product is the real differentiator between good companies and great companies.

Another important point from the author: “Since the ease of marketing a product is directly proportional to how great it is, incremental improvements at the outset can change the entire trajectory of your business in the long run. In a startup, the odds against you are already so high that marketing a sub-par product isn’t worth anyone’s time.”

2. “Intelligent people have a reputation for making dumb mistakes, especially in situations that require common sense.” [Link] [Tweet]

Everyone makes mistakes. The surprisingly hard part is to recognize them.

3. “Once you’ve taken care of the basics, there’s very little in this world for which your life is worth deferring.” [Link] [Tweet]

I love this: “I can only speak to the experience I did have. The one I do share with millions of people who have the basics taken care of, but who still yearn for the treasure perceived to be behind the curtain. For those who might contemplate giving up all manners of integrity, dignity, or even humanity to pull it back.”

I’ve made a ton of business-related mistakes and they all share one thing in common: I put money first.

4. “Two-thirds of people around the world failed a short test of basic financial concepts.” [Link] [Tweet]

Know your money, yo.

5. “If you can’t offer radical candor, the second best thing you can do is be an asshole.” [Link] [Tweet]

Being nice and being direct don’t have to be mutually exclusive.

6. “I felt like this led to an arm’s race for the highest growth rates” [Link] [Tweet]

There are few people that understand SaaS businesses as well as Christoph Janz. Click through to his site to find KPI templates and a bunch of other extremely relevant content.

7. “Nei­ther of us know any­thing about angel in­vest­ing. Let’s learn quickly by fund­ing a bunch of star­tups.” [Link] [Tweet]

While it’s always interesting to read the story behind any successful company, survivor bias will likely result in at least a few of the readers to consider opening their own accelerators. If that’s you, don’t do it — accelerators are much harder than they look.

8. “mindset research is increasingly finding that it doesn’t take much to shift one’s thinking.” [Link] [Tweet]

I’m hot right now. Shifting my mindset doesn’t seem to be slowing my profuse sweating.

9. “cash is addictive.” [Link] [Tweet]

The best entrepreneurs see money as a tool rather than a milestone.

10. “Silicon Valley loves the mission-based startup and retroactively constructs a founder mythology.” [Link] [Tweet]

Every company has a story and a real story. Unfortunately, we rarely hear the latter.

Want to meet up next week?

Washington, DC Metro: I’m tired of working out of coffee shops when I’m at home in Ashburn — if you’re around on Tuesday, come hang with me. I’m borrowing a friends office for a few hours and want to get some work done around other smart people. Get more details and sign up here.

Kelowna, BC: I’m going to be hosting two workshops this coming Thursday in Kelowna:Fundraising 101 and VC 101. Each event is limited to 15 people so signup now.

Can I spend a week with you in 2016?

I’ve spent the last few years jetting in/out of places for keynotes and demo days. It’s an effective way for me, as an investor, to meet the maximum amount of companies in the shortest amount of time. I want to give back to local tech communities in 2016.

Here’s the general idea: I’ll come spend a week in your community and we’ll put together a week full of office hours, tech meetups, keynotes and fun. I might even bring some other investors with me to help.

In exchange, you cover my costs and help me figure out how to best help your tech community. Bonus: I might do it all in an Airstream.

I’m only going to do a few of these week-long trips in 2016, please fill this out ASAP if you think I can help your local tech community. I’m booked into six cities already, hurry up. 🙂

Firehose

You can get the full stream of the things I read, it’s all on Twitter — follow me: @paulsingh. Sometimes I write stuff too. You can always find me on Slack, apply to join.

Have a great weekend!

-P

P.S. If you loved this newsletter, share it with a friend. If you hated this newsletter, share it with an enemy.

Happy Friday.

Hello from 34,000 feet today. I’m somewhere over the Atlantic and heading home after a week of speaking and events in Guadalajara, MX and Madrid. I’d love to come spend a week with you in 2016, scroll to the bottom to learn more.

1. “Whatever I’m doing, I’m fully invested in that thing as I’m doing it.” [Link] [Tweet]

I agree with the author: it’s not about work-life balance, it’s about work-life integration.

2. “anyone building a marketplace company knows that marketplaces face unique challenges” [Link] [Tweet]

If you’re building a marketplace-based company, you should read this.

3. “I understood they wanted us to have a better life than theirs, but there were times I felt suffocated.” [Link] [Tweet]

As a first-generation Indian-American, every word in this piece rings true for me. I imagine other children of immigrants to the US feel the same way.

4. “a Trident D5 ballistic missile launched by the USS Kentucky off the coast of Southern California.” [Link] [Tweet]

Because missiles. Also, here’s a late Veteran’s Day “thank you” to all of the men and women that keep us safe.

5. “you don’t have to suspend reality to imagine that a few portfolio companies might exit at ~$250 million.” [Link] [Tweet]

Two thoughts:

1. The math around venture funds is relatively straightforward yet very few founders (and perhaps some investors as well) spend any time trying to understand how things work. The goal is to return 3X-5X (or more) to the LPs and that gets trickier as the fund size increases.
2. Has anyone seen how these single-GP funds are structured? Aside from the management fees and carry, I’d be interested in understanding how the rest of the LPA looks. Hit ‘reply’ and let me know if you’ve got something I can read.

6. “success goes to the fastest, not the first” [Link] [Tweet]

Having sat in countless pitches around the world, this particular idea is the least understood outside of Silicon Valley.

While everyone outside the Valley pitches their app/idea/concept, people inside the Valley are pitching their growth tactics.

How do we share that concept with more founders and investors outside of the major tech hubs?

7. “It is burned in your brain because the world as you knew it is now forever different.” [Link] [Tweet]

I’m late to drones. Really late.

8. “he did what anyone would do and shot a high-budget rap video about it.” [Link] [Tweet]

I had a lemon once but it was pre-social media. I wonder how much faster Land Rover would have reacted if I was able to create something that might bring millions of eyeballs into the issue.

9. “It doesn’t matter what people say. Watch what they do.” [Link] [Tweet]

This.

10. “I’m trying to find these things that aren’t meant to be beautiful but are.” [Link] [Tweet]

Big ships are really big. Also, it’s important to remember that the vast majority of goods available to you daily are taking a ride on one of these things at some point during their creation.

Can I spend a week with you in 2016?

I’ve spent the last few years jetting in/out of places for keynotes and demo days. It’s an effective way for me, as an investor, to meet the maximum amount of companies in the shortest amount of time. I want to give back to local tech communities in 2016.

Here’s the general idea: I’ll come spend a week in your community and we’ll put together a week full of office hours, tech meetups, keynotes and fun. I might even bring some other investors with me to help.

In exchange, you cover my costs and help me figure out how to best help your tech community. Bonus: I might do it all in an Airstream.

I’m only going to do 6 of these week-long trips in 2016, please fill this out ASAP if you think I can help your local tech community. Three of the cities have already been booked, hurry up. 🙂

Firehose

You can get the full stream of the things I read, it’s all on Twitter — follow me: @paulsingh. Sometimes I write stuff too. You can always find me on Slack, apply to join.

Have a great weekend!

-P

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