April 2012
6 posts
5 tags
5 tags
The oral history of Silicon Valley VCs
A friend of mine recently discovered this archive of interview transcripts of many of Silicon Valley’s seminal venture capitalists.
Considering most of the guys on this list started their respective firms before the widespread adoption of the internet, I think it’s pretty cool to think about how this stuff was documented. In many cases, some of the details are much more intimate as a...
“Just keep playing, no matter how weird it gets.”
– Bob Dylan, to The Band; 1965 (via doogman)
3 tags
5 tags
Healthcare is a long slog but I think it's worth...
A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending Blueprint Health’s inaugural demo day here in New York. For the unititiated, Blueprint is an accelerator and member of the Techstars network specifically focused on healthcare startups. Mat and Brad are great guys and really invested in the success of Blueprint and the companies they mentor. Healthcare startups outside of the quantified...
7 tags
FAKEGRIMLOCK is a pretty cool dude.
Recently, the real @FAKEGRIMLOCK sat down with The Next Web to talk about why he does what he does:
“It’s a proof of concept, it’s to prove a theory. And it’s to prove that who you are doesn’t matter. In fact, truth requires that you aren’t anyone, because if you’re someone, whatever you say is always biased. It’s influenced by what you know about that person… …So the reason I...
March 2012
9 posts
4 tags
7 tags
Honoring the Past
Yesterday I was driving to NYC with my buddy Daniel for Blueprint Health Demo Day and as usual, we spent most of the car ride discussing VC and the startup ecosystem. Every time I travel with Daniel, he knocks me over the head with some amazing story about the rich history of the VC community.
Yesterday’s moment was regarding the origin of the limited partnership in VC. Essentially, a...
5 tags
3 tags
“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people to collect wood and...”
– Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
The Atlantic did a pretty awesome interview with Neil deGrasse Tyson in which he outlines some of his hopes for the US Space program and in doing so, quotes Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. This quote has been around a while and it’s not just one that’s relevant to...
6 tags
2 tags
WatchReally phenomenal TED Talk by Susan Cain on the power of introverts. Highly recommended watching for the weekend (in addition to our Project GOATS videos).
3 tags
“ME BE ON TWITTER NOT FOR ME, FOR EVERYONE,” Fake Grimlock tells me. “FOR HELP...”
– How a Mysterious Robot Dinosaur Won Over Tech’s Top Influencers
Words of wisdom from everyone’s favorite robot dinosaur. It was such a blast working with Grim for Project G.O.A.T.S. Thanks to everyone that came out to hang with us during SxSw for making it possible.
4 tags
3 tags
“Answers are a luxury enjoyed only every now and then. So early on, learn to love...”
– Neil deGrasse Tyson did an awesome AMA over on reddit yesterday. I highly recommend checking it out.
February 2012
7 posts
4 tags
Saying "No" Sucks
I had coffee with an awesome entrepreneur over the weekend and he said something that really got me thinking: “I hate hearing no.”
Turns out that I hate saying no (and this can sometimes get me in trouble). I love the feeling of being a “yes” man, having a can do attitude, and making things happen that seem like they’re not possible, but sometimes there’s a...
6 tags
Building Community
YouTube recently released stats that 60+ hours of content are being uploaded to their site per minute. That sort of data is pretty impressive, but when you take a look at a lot of that content, it becomes a little less impressive. I’ve noticed an increasing amount of video responses to popular videos on YouTube that feature women with low cut shirts in the thumbnails blathering on about...
4 tags
“The magic, the alchemy, occurs when what we do mixes with who we are and is...”
– Jerry Colonna has written a fantastic post about becoming a leader over on AVC.com.
I’ve probably read this post 3 times so far this week. My favorite part is the story about the Buddhist saint Milarepa and the cave demons. It’s a powerful story of self-reflection and as Jerry says,...
4 tags
3 tags
4 tags
How should startups approach CES?
I (and the rest of team Shelby) recently attended CES, the largest consumer electronics show in the world. It was my first time going to such a huge event, so consequently, it was also my first time navigating the waters of a trade show that is largely geared toward large companies rather than small startups. In an effort to make things more accessible to the startups interested in attending CES...
3 tags
January 2012
1 post
4 tags
Introducing TouchPlay for Shelby.tv
Really excited about this. It’s just the tip of the iceberg. :)
If you’re headed to CES next week, come check out our booth (#73110) in the Venetian and see this in action for yourself.
…and thanks to all the lovely folks at TechCrunch, Mashable and BetaBeat for the coverage!
shelbytv:
Next week, team Shelby is headed to CES. I know what you’re thinking, why would a tiny startup...
December 2011
5 posts
3 tags
“I hadn’t played with Shelby.tv for a while since I don’t ever just browse video...”
– Shelby.tv Is Perfect For People On Treadmills
Really humbling that Brad has had such an awesome experience with Shelby. Hearing this sort of stuff never gets old.
3 tags
"FIRE! (huh! woo!)" - The Ohio Players →
If there’s one thing we love at Shelby.tv, it’s holiday disco. We’re pretty sure the Ohio Players also love holiday disco, which is why they had the foresight to write the hit song “Fire,” (an ode to keeping warm with loved ones) over 30 years before we released this little holiday easter egg…er, present. Inspired by these disco greats of yesteryear, today...
3 tags
4 tags
November 2011
7 posts
4 tags
6 tags
Cornell + NYC = awesome sauce
It’s no secret that Cornell and Stanford are both gunning for NYC’s applied science and tech campus initiative. I’m obviously biased here, but I’m not the only one who thinks there are a few pretty compelling reasons that Cornell would be the best choice for the city.
Cornell already has an active and engaged alumni base in NYC. We’ve got a huge network of alumni...
2 tags
4 tags
How do you sell your corporate experience to a...
I’ve had a few conversations with classmates, prospective MBAs and others looking to get into the startup world lately about making the transition from a big corporation to a small startup. One of the common questions that comes up is “how did you sell your corporate experience to a startup?”
One of the underlying assumptions here is that corporate experience isn’t...
6 tags
#ATHLETE? Not quite, but I did run the marathon.
I used to hate running.
About a week and a half ago (yeah, I know this post is late), I had the pleasure of running the 42nd ING NYC Marathon along with a few of my colleagues at Shelby.tv and a few classmates at Cornell. Aside from the obvious numerical significance of the event, my 26.2 mile journey gave me a chance to think about what the whole experience of training, fundraising and running...
2 tags
Stop censorship.
If you’re visiting my blog today, you might notice that it looks like this:
That’s because today is American Censorship Day and Congress is holding a hearing on two bills that would create America’s first system for internet censorship (SOPA and Protect IP).
I’d encourage you to read Bijan Sabet’s post, Brad Burnham’s post, and Albert Wenger’s...
1 tag
WatchBig thanks to my friend Caitlin for taking me out to see St. Vincent last night at Webster Hall here in NYC! This is one of my favorites on the new album and happens to have a great video as well. Trunk guitar solo FTW!
October 2011
3 posts
2 tags
2 tags
7 tags
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man...”
– Theodore Roosevelt - The Man in the Arena (via joeyevoli)
Man, TR was such a boss.
September 2011
10 posts
5 tags
4 tags
1 tag
One Nation, Under Video
reecepacheco:
My friends at Wistia share some great stats on video. Can’t say this infographic doesn’t make me smile. ;)
Infographic by: Wistia
What he said.
4 tags
4 tags
5 tags
Be interesting (and other ways to help land a...
Now that I’m back in my second year at business school, I’m getting a few questions from classmates on how to go about getting an internship at a startup. In a selfish attempt to not repeat myself too many times, I figured it might actually be a good idea to blog about this so I have things documented for eternity on the internets.
Though my internship this summer was really...
5 tags
“Over the last half a century in Silicon Valley, the short life cycle of startups...”
– Steve Blank - The Pay It Forward Culture
I’m a relatively new entrant into the startup community in New York and I’ve been incredibly impressed by the willingness of others to offer advice and counsel as I try to find my way and “add value” (yeah, I just used a cheesy MBA...
2 tags
WatchAwesome first episode of TechStars on BloombergTV!
3 tags
August 2011
12 posts
5 tags
“Challenge conventional wisdom. Fight monoculture. Question authority. Take lots...”
– A phenomenal post by Mark Suster: Avoid Monoculture. Travel. Read Widely. Let Experience Be Your Compass.
3 tags
“The most corrosive piece of technology that I’ve ever seen is called television...”
– [Rolling Stone, Dec. 3, 2003] - Steve Jobs’s Best Quotes - Digits - WSJ
Thanks for a great run, Steve. Stay hungry, stay foolish. Can’t wait to see what the next iteration of Apple has in store.