(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

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 in inches, barely able to catch a breath, all the while unable to comprehend exactly how far you are from the finish line. For entrepreneurs,

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 goal of building a business: revenue, customers, users, engagement and retention. Securing a term sheet is about more than money — more than survival. It’s

Even before Sequoia Capital made $3.5 billion on a $60 million investment in WhatsApp, the seed- and early-stage funding landscape had already changed significantly. Most major VC firms have significantly scaled back their seed-stage investment programs. Furthermore, many Series A funds will openly admit that the traction needed to raise a Series A today as

What does Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey, Larry Page, Marc Andreessen, Elon Musk, and Peter Thiel have in common with me? We’ve all guest lectured at the Stanford Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders Seminar.  Here is me doing my best to not embarrass my fellow esteemed lecturers. . .