The way we do everything has been turned upside down: how we read, how we communicate, how we get from point A to point B, how we eat and how we get help when we need it. We are living through the “re-imagination — of nearly everything,” and we are seeing this re-imagination very clearly […]

If you want to build a multibillion-dollar consumer IoT company, copy the iPod – the original IoT thingy. Most brilliant “Internet of Things” ideas are quicksand for capital unless you have the branding, vertical integration and customer lock-in that Apple achieved. The iPod model will separate IoT platforms from fads. 20 years ago, a majority

by Erik Rannala Some entrepreneurs think that (more) money will solve all their company’s problems. It won’t. Like a teenager with a million dollar allowance and an identity crisis, a startup with too much capital and no product-market fit will become capable of making larger mistakes. Biggie Smalls said it best: “Mo Money, Mo Problems.”

(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 as crowdfunding and super angels. While it’s true that the early-stage landscape is changing, VCs are hardly on the demise, nor are professional VCs losing

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. It allows you to hire and spend money on the things you need to get your startup off the ground. Funding means survival. As an

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 meetings. Without any hard numbers or rigorous analysis, I’ve alternatively played the role of brainless cheerleader and green-eyed skeptic – neither of which has convinced

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 $40B+? What brand of pomade does Travis Kalanick put in his hair? I took it upon myself this week to at least try to solve

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 still misunderstood and ill-defined, and the most important qualities in a product manager are often overlooked. As a result, startups are missing out on valuable

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 perhaps even encouraging of his idiosyncrasies. As an entrepreneur himself, founding and operating printed circuit board factories in Taiwan, my father was debating between two