One man's opinion on Venture Capital Basics
Sharkskin pattern as anti-bacterial surface
Submitted by jpark on Fri, 10/30/2009 - 10:38Biommicry will become a bigger source of "innovation" in the coming years, as humans start to follow what nature has already developped.
If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
Submitted by jpark on Thu, 10/29/2009 - 06:21There will be chaotic times as an entrepreneur or CEO. You will get too much of the credit and too much of the blame, always.
The employees will look to you for guidance, sometimes expecting you to become an oracle and foretell the future. How you react to these situations will be telling to all those around you.
Character has been cited as the most important trait to have in a partner or as a partner. How you show your mettle will go a long way towards how others will recieve you.
IF
Submitted by jpark on Thu, 10/29/2009 - 06:05If is a big word.
In VC, IF shows up everywhere.
If the technology works
If the customers buy
If we get funding
If we execute
If we hire the right people
If, if, if....
It defines and determines a lot of investments. You take the ifs you can handle, and you abandon those you can't.
I'm going to try and use the most famous IF, Kipling's poem, and see how my thoughts on entrepreneurship and VC investment relate to his lines.
If you can keep your head when all about you
Submitted by jpark on Thu, 10/29/2009 - 05:14If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
Jean-Luc Park
Paul Graham on startups
Submitted by jpark on Wed, 10/28/2009 - 06:53It was sent to me from an entrepreneur friend.
I'll comment on his take of VCs.
He's right. Many investors don't have/need/want a full understanding of your technology.
Why? We're not the ones buying the product. We are buying the company. And we are selling the company. The product is an output of the company, but not the company itself. If the product was worthless, and t
Simple sells
Submitted by jpark on Wed, 10/28/2009 - 06:45Pay X, get Y
Straight forward and easy.
But what you get, is more than the item(s) you are buying.
People get peace of mind, comfort, memory, history when they buy products. there is something about how expectations are met with only 5 ingredients.
Zombie effect in startups
Submitted by jpark on Wed, 10/28/2009 - 06:35An entrepreneur sent me a link on how the past year has been confusing
for entrepreneurs. The internal compass many use to tell if they are
moving forward and making progress has been feeling off this past
cycle.
http://venturebeat.com/2009/10/27/for-silicon-valley-entrepreneurs-failure-is-an-option/
for entrepreneurs. The internal compass many use to tell if they are
moving forward and making progress has been feeling off this past
cycle.
http://venturebeat.com/2009/10/27/for-silicon-valley-entrepreneurs-failure-is-an-option/
The question is, what were you supposed to have learned?
Electric cars a national security issue
Submitted by jpark on Fri, 10/23/2009 - 13:56I do like support for EVs. However, any statement of this type means the speaker will also consider tar sands, and shale oil.
I used to put Jim Woolsey in that category, but this past week I heard him speak at OnDC, and he took into account the challenge of using power that pollutes, or nuclear reactors (light water) that can produce weapons grade material
Short term thinking from Cato answer
Submitted by jpark on Tue, 10/20/2009 - 08:36I had asked how to get laisse faire policies to incorporate long term
thinking.
thinking.
Boazs answer was that government is focused on the next election. And
that companies were looking at a longer time frame.
The problem that still exists is that the management team is paying
attention as long as they they will be around. That time frame can be
shorter than the time frame of an election.
All in all the answer was lacking.
Jean-Luc Park
Optical black-hole
Submitted by jpark on Thu, 10/15/2009 - 10:10The idea of having a material that will completely suck in power is interesting. Not using gravity, but instead using meta-materials to guide the waves down into one spot is quite interesting.
This might finally solve the question of what is the "blackest black"?
It could change not only design but elements of color.
On the solar side, yes the key points were highlighted, ability t
