Happy Saturday.
(Sorry for sending this much later than usual this week and hello from Miami this morning as I return from Santiago, Chile today — more on that below.)
1. “Money will solve surprisingly few of your problems.” [Link] [Tweet]
My favorite line from the article: “Venture capital is a tool designed for a very specific purpose. It’s hyperdrive.” This is a great read for anyone that’s thinking about raising their first round — especially if you’re based outside the Valley.
2. “If you’ve never seen a term sheet or before — or have for that matter — it can have a dizzying effect.” [Link] [Tweet]
This is a straight up glossary. Bookmark it, you’ll want to have it handy when you’re reviewing your next term sheet.
3. “Founders are more concerned with raising the next round of funds than actually building the business itself.” [Link] [Tweet]
Nothing surprising or new in this one. Still worth a read… actually, pretty much anything Gary writes is worth reading. (Where does that guy get all his energy? I need it.)
4. “accelerator (n.): An institution connecting college dropouts with wealthy investors eager to lose money.” [Link] [Tweet]
Hah.
5. Shark Tank Investment Data [Link] [Tweet]
Two thoughts as I checked out this spreadsheet:
- Where’s all this data coming from? It’s surprisingly detailed.
- Those valuations tho.
6. “To me, [Silicon Valley] encapsulates a feeling, both the very best and worst of it.” [Link] [Tweet]
This one’s my personal favorite this week. If you’ve ever wondered about life in the Valley, this nails it.
7. “startups should do a better job with all aspects of their incentive stock compensation” [Link] [Tweet]
Given all the interest in working with startups these days, I’m surprised at how little employees know about stock options. Here’s a great guide on stock options, you should read it before accepting that offer to join a startup.
8. “If you say and do 1,000 ridiculous things, then 1% of them might work out.” [Link] [Tweet]
I normally don’t read this kind of stuff but James Altucher has a way of making everything funny. And useful. There’s lots of good stuff in here, I hope you’ll take a minute to read it.
9. “the single most important change in the startup ecosystem: transparency between founders and investors.” [Link] [Tweet]
This is a transcript of a keynote I gave in Bangalore back in 2012. The vast majority of it is still true today.
10. “For every dollar that goes in the wrong place, that’s a shitty dollar. And it should matter.” [Link] [Tweet]
There’s a lot of confusion around the usage of data / algorithms in private market investing: data isn’t about making more right decisions, it’s about making fewer wrong decisions. When you’re investing in early stage startups, that’s a huge thing.
On Doing Interesting Things
Earlier this week, 1776’s acquisition of Disruption Corporation was completed and I’ve decided to move on from 1776. Next up… we’ll see. 🙂 I’m spending time with some of the smartest people I know and looking at a bunch of interesting opportunities.
If you’re working on something interesting and think I can help, hit ‘reply’ and tell me about it.
On Santiago, Chile (and everywhere else… again)
Last week, I told you about my experience in Lincoln, NE: “Lincoln’s come along way in four years but it’s growth is just one example of what’s happening in smaller cities all over the US and abroad. It’s fascinating to watch.” I could say the same thing about Santiago.
I first visited Startup Chile for a demo day in June 2013 — the people were smart, the event was organized and the teams were interesting. Fast forwarding to this week’s demo day, Startup Chile’s come a long way: every team had revenue ranging from a few thousand dollars per month to $60K a month, the organization itself is bigger and their ambitions have grown exponentially.
In short, Chile has less startups and more businesses now.
(Any interesting events coming up in your neck of the woods? I’ll be in San Francisco, CA and Greenville, SC this week — let me know if you’ll be around.)
Apple Watch Week 2
A couple of additional thoughts:
- I’ve continued to use my phone less, so there’s that. More interestingly, I now wish there was an easy (read: cheap) way to switch my iPhone 6+ for a smaller iPhone 6.
- The number of notifications on the watch became a bit much. I’ve pulled it back so that the only alerts I get now are texts, specific emails, phone calls, calendar alerts and weather alerts.
- The battery life isn’t as bad as I imagined. The watch routinely makes it through a full day with plenty of charge left. I put the watch on with 100% charge yesterday morning and there’s 45% remaining nearly 24 hours later.
Thanks (again) to Russell Rosenblum and Ed Pizzarello of RMR Capital for letting me borrow your Apple Watch for a bit.
Firehose
A few of you asked about getting the full stream of the things I read, it’s all on Twitter — follow me here: @paulsingh
Have a great weekend!
-P