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
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