January 2009
14 posts
Smaller is Better
Today we’re happy to have a guest post from our partner Will Porteous on the benefits of small, entrepreneurial teams. - EDW
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Over the years we’ve come to believe that small teams can be stunningly effective at the early stages of a company,...
“Despite crippling losses, multibillion-dollar bailouts and the passing of some...”
– What Red Ink? Wall St. Paid Fat Bonuses - NYTimes.com
TRAVESTY
“I think the next 20 years of innovation around software and the Internet will...”
– I’m a Venture Optimist
Pitching 101: Be Prepared
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Today’s installment of Pitching 101 was motivated by a great recent presentation I saw. The message this time is - be prepared for each pitch. Two young entrepreneurs had been referred to RRE by one of our portfolio companies and we set up a time for...
Bootstrap 'n Flip?
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It’s not the same argument as “VC is dead”, which we’ve addressed a couple of times in this space, but another common theme emerging out of the discussion around startups and how to fund them successfully is the notion of a dramatically...
“NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. foreclosure activity jumped 81 percent in 2008, with...”
– Foreclosures soar 81 percent in 2008 | Reuters
This is actually why I’m slightly less upset with the mindless government attempts to prevent foreclosures at all costs, even if that means attempting to reinflate the property bubble - it WON’T WORK.
But I do think it’s a huge waste...
“Goldman: “New York apartment prices are very high relative to the...”
– Curbed: We Read Goldman Sachs’ Mind-Numbing NYC Real Estate Report So You Don’t Have To (Kill Yourself)
Steve Jobs taking a medical leave through June →
marco:
While this will generate tons of rumors and cause a big stock drop, I have faith in Apple’s upper management that they could continue doing well without Steve Jobs. And that’s true whether he’s away for 6 months or forever.
I’d actually be curious to see how the company did with someone else leading it.
There’s risk, for sure. He has impeccably good taste and is enough of an asshole...
Atlas Shrugged: From Fiction to Fact in 52 Years →
givemesomethingtoread:
Many of us who know Rand’s work have noticed that with each passing week, and with each successive bailout plan and economic-stimulus scheme out of Washington, our current politicians are committing the very acts of economic lunacy that “Atlas Shrugged” parodied in 1957.
So, I read Atlas Shrugged a couple of times between the ages of 16 and 20 (and I still maintain...
Pitching 101: Say What You Do
I’ve been thinking about putting together a series of posts about pitching, not just to RRE, but in general. Some other bloggers, particularly my friend Mark Davis at DFJ Gotham Ventures, have done an admirable job of putting together well thought-out and structured guides that go through a lot of best practices around pitching, and I’m frankly not looking to recreate those efforts....
"Mad Men Day" at RRE
Our esteemed Managing Partners declared today “Mad Men Day”, the anti-casual Friday!
The Death of Venture Capital (again)
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[caption id=”attachment_45” align=”alignleft” width=”60” caption=”Eric Wiesen”][/caption]
In these last months, the drumbeat proclaiming the death of venture capital has grown louder, even becoming...
“The Wall Street Journal, in “Home Prices Declined at Record Pace in October”,...”
– Are Home Prices Still Too High? - Seeking Alpha
Does it make sense for our national housing stock to be valued at 58% more than in early 2000? Is purchasing power higher? Is the dollar worth much less? Are the houses better. (Hint: no to all three).
This is why there is so much downside still...
“Take John James Ball, who is shaving a full percentage point off the mortgage...”
– RUN FOR THE MONEY - New York Post
I am glad that my tax dollars will be used to give this short-term real estate speculator a profit where he otherwise would have had a loss. Just thrilled.