Blog
Thoughts from Mucker
Brother From Another Mother: VCs and Rappers
Guest post by Mahbod Moghadam Rappers want to be venture capitalists, venture capitalists want to be rappers: it is a tale as old as time. It totally makes sense, cause...
Venture Capital Is Dead. Long Live Venture Capital.
(Guest post by my partner, Erik Rannala) There have been rumblings recently that the traditional VC model could be in danger of extinction, threatened by more contemporary investment sources such...
What Entrepreneurs Can Learn From the 5 Craziest Investor Meetings
As a startup founder, a huge amount is staked on your ability to fundraise. Investment means you have something to live on while you turn your idea into a reality....
Is Uber Really Worth $40 ($50?) Billion?
This is the second part of my last post. . . Uber’s stratospheric valuation has joined “the weather” as the conversation topic of last resort at awkward dinner and lunch...
Reconstructing Uber’s Uber Financials
Like many of people in the tech community, I’ve been following Uber with a mix of awe, horror, and admittedly, jealousy. How exactly is it doing? How is it worth...
Getting Past the Catch-22 of Venture Capital
There are some venture capitalists who consider themselves “entrepreneurial VCs” because they identify with and approach investing from an entrepreneur perspective. Others are actually former entrepreneurs who join a venture...
The secret of great product managers: Balancing the worlds of ‘techie’ and ‘fuzzy’
Microsoft created the “modern” role of product manager 25 years ago, and the job holds an aura of myth even today. Two-and-a-half decades later, the role of product manager is...
Tale of Two Valleys: LA and the Bay Area from an Investor’s Perspective
Almost 30 years ago, my father decided to uproot the entire family from Taiwan to the United States so that his academically “inconsistent” son could have an education tolerant and...
When Partnering With Giants, the Warning Signs of a Sour Deal
When building a company, acquiring a user or closing a customer one at a time can seem like competing in a marathon while knee deep in mud — making progress...
The Term Sheet Mating Dance
There is no word more sacred and yet over-used than “term sheet” in the entrepreneurial circle. The pursuit of the mythical VC term sheet has blinded entrepreneurs from the real...