If you still follow me on Twitter (sorry if you still do), you may have noticed that I’ve been working out some thoughts related to the impact of how much money is not only in the Bay Area today, but how much more may come... Read More
As if working in venture capital wasn’t already a great job, my colleagues from my venture partner role at GGV Capital surprised me with an extra ticket to this week’s WSJ Live event down in Laguna Beach. It was also great to see some of... Read More
As you know, each December a small group of investors (which includes me, Bullpen, Vator) produce a conference, “Post Seed.” I’m excited to announce and share that the 2016 version of this conference will take place in San Francisco on December 1st. For more information... Read More
One of many reason LPs (rightfully) prefer to invest in new firms with “spinouts” (investors who have already been inside a VC firm) is because there is no Khan Academy online course for Fund Management. I am lucky because I have been at least exposed... Read More
As I’ve been musing about on Twitter, oftentimes in the current Bay Area ecosystem, I don’t understand how very early-stage companies recruit teams to join them because there are so many opportunities (which is great) and so much capital in the ecosystem. At the seed-stage,... Read More
On occasion, I have had the good fortune of purely investing in a person, usually someone I know well, usually someone I call a friend. I have happily done this with companies like Trusted and EaseCentral. And, I did the same thing with Joe Fernandez... Read More
Over the past few weeks, I’ve caught up with and hung out with some of the larger investors on Sand Hill and beyond. At the same time, I am helping lots of seeded companies begin to think about and/or prepare for their Series A. As... Read More
The “seed accelerator” model for early-stage investing can and does work well for those running and participating in an accelerator. Yet, the format can frustrate investors who attend. While they are good social events for investors to show up to, the information-overload and herd behavior... Read More
This past week was a busy week for LPs (those who invest in VC funds) and GPs (those who deploy said funds) to meet and mingle in the Bay Area with a few big events going on. I like to write about what I learn... Read More
As many of you know, I have been a venture partner to GGV Capital. Today, GGV Capital announced me, along with another Venture Partner (Denise Peng, formerly of Qunar) and a new EIR (and and my old friend), Jason Costa. More precisely, I have been a... Read More
I woke up on Friday ready for a day of back-to-back to meetings. Scanning my email, a few reporters had sent short emails asking about some embargo related to Chariot. I texted Ali, the CEO of Chariot, with a casual “Hey man, what the…?” Then... Read More
Years ago, I used to work in Oakland, commuting downtown daily while living off Dolores Park. That seems like a lifetime ago. Now, entrenched with work and family in the Valley, I rarely get to make it over to the East Bay — I wish... Read More
Earlier this year, Mark Zuckerberg stood in front of a deceptively simple and elegant slide that laid out the future of what Facebook will focus on. In that slide, we see everything from satellites to artificial intelligence, and beyond. In addition to far-out technologies, we... Read More
Earlier this year, a seed investor I co-invest with frequently offered to introduce me to one of his favorite companies. This startup raised a small seed round a year ago, and in that time, they brought in a new CEO, sharpened their focus, and —... Read More
A few summers ago, I was driving from mid-Connecticut to JFK to pick up my brother-in-law. On that long drive down, I stumbled upon a podcast where Jason Calacanis and Jerry Colonna were chatting. I loved the discussion, listed to the entire podcast again, and... Read More
Every summer, I try to revamp or clean-up this blog. For this summer, it was more about clean-up. There are still some loose ends to be polished up, but briefly, here’s what changed: 1/ The “Haystack” Name: For some reason, I named my site “Haywire,”... Read More
Jet.com, once laughed at — or, should I say, often laughed at — will now have the final laugh. Walmart will announce tomorrow that it has acquired Jet.com, which has raised upwards of $565M of venture capital from some of the best funds in the... Read More
These big deals are cutting into my sleep! Another day, another interesting deal in startup-land. This one wasn’t quite as big as the $35b Uber-Didi deal, but it’s still big. Quip was just acquired by Salesforce, reportedly for $750m. Quip raised two rounds of VC... Read More
It is late (for me) on a Sunday night and my Monday is packed, so I’m going to forego some sleep and quickly jot down my thoughts and reactions to the news that Uber is leaving China, taking investment from its Chinese rival, Didi, and... Read More
Fascinating interview with @semil by @HarryStebbings on @twentyminutevc! https://t.co/RQFkztHABu — Marc Andreessen (@pmarca) July 26, 2016 Today is a big media day at Haystack Fund! Just kidding, but for some reason, previous discussions I’ve had with reporters and media all seemed to surface online today.... Read More