angel investing

So, What's a "Pain Point in the Market"?

Updaterlogo This is part of my ongoing series on Entrepreneurial Culture.

So what's this mythical pain point every startup needs to have that everyone's always referring to? The easy answer, (to quote Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart), is "you know it when you see it". Perhaps, but I think this concept might best be illustrated by the following short case-study of a company I backed called Updater

Let's begin with a few questions for you. Have you moved recently? What was that experience like? Take a few seconds to reflect on it. Are you frowning yet? I certainly am. Last year my family moved and, even though it was literally from one apartment to another *in the same building*, it was still massively disruptive and stressful- and I still haven't updated all the services, friends and companies in our lives with our correct new address. To compound this, whenever the regular mailman is away, most of our mail still goes to our old place. The previous tenant probably has thrown out more of our mail than he's handed over to the doorman. I know for certain he tossed my car registration- I have a few tickets to show for it. Painful indeed.

So let's take a very quick snapshot of the "moving" landscape:

- 40+ million people in the US move every year and have a change of address event - The average person moves ~12X in their lifetime Moving is the third most stressful event in a person’s life, trumped only by death and divorce (according to a Employee Relocation Council survey)

I've moved many times in my life (as I am sure you have)- and everytime was a huge pain for multiple reasons. That's why when I first met the folks at Updater I already understood the profundity of the "pain in the market" deeply. I was delighted thus to learn that they could help with all of the following pain points:

  • No need to wait in line at Post Office to get your mail forwarded to your new address (avg wait time in NY's POs are 2-3X that of all other POs in the US). 
  • Forwarding mail does not mean the senders know you actually moved! This is a massive problem. How many dozens of hours would it take to update everyone and every company in your "network"? Updater provides an easy, online way to send updates of your new address to all your accounts and subscriptions such as:

    • magazines & newspapers
    • banks & credit cards
    • schools
    • catalogs
    • loyalty programs
    • charities & public service
    • professional organizations
    • political organizations
    • social organizations
  • They also allow you to easily create a very cool interactive map of your move to notify friends and family via social-sharing and email. 
  • Updater gets me access to tons of exclusive deals I can save money on. The average professional household move costs $12,230 (Worldwide ERC report)

Updater is just one example of a team that identified a huge pain in the market and is now delivering huge value to their customers. If you're testing the viability of a potential business, the best way to do this is to identify the customers in the market ahead of time(!) and talk to tons of them using a rigorous customer development approach. Keep in mind that you might have multi-sided markets- in other words there might be tons of businesses who you could partner with that help you acquire customers. You need to talk to them as well and continually refine your value proposition. 

My main point is this: if you're going to "go-for-it" as an entrepreneur, why not try to solve a huge, painful problem? So many folks are carelessly launching me-too businesses that are commoditized and "nice-t0-haves". Why not put in some heavy-duty customer development effort and emerge with a product that's a "must-have"?

John Walker of Echoing Green on Seed Money for Social Entrepreneurs

We sat down recently with John Walker, (aka "Johnnie Walker Black Label" as I call him), who is the finance director of Echoing Green, a seed-funding foundation that has disseminated $31 million to ambitious social entrepreneurs.

John's an expert in this space and tells us the story of Echoing Green, which was launched in 1987, named after a William Blake poem about creating a better world. In 2002, Echoing Green was recast as a global non-profit by one of its alumni fellows.

Echoing Green has funded the ideas of more than 500 fellows. “We’re looking for people who have the maximum potential to create social change,” says Walker. “It really is about that single individual person.”

If you need subtitles to understand my friend John's great Scottish brogue let me know. 

Enjoy

 

Will This Platform Change Startup Funding Forever?

We sat down recently with Mike Norman, co-founder of Boston-based WeFunder.

Wefunder’s platform seeks to offer an alternative to the traditional funding rounds a startup normally has to go through by marrying it with the popular crowdfunding techniques found on websites like Kickstarter and IndieGoGo. Wefunder splits from the aforementioned platforms in two key ways: It actually does allow businesses to use the platform, and potential funders are also offered a stake of equity in the company. 

It’s innovative — and was nearly legal at the time of filming. Wefunder became active upon the subsequent passage of the recently congress-approved Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act, which centered on a provision that allows small and medium-sized companies acquire traditional business funding through crowdfunding methods. It could be huge win for Wefunder and the startups interested in using the platform.

Do you believe this is the startup pathway of the future? Let us know in the comments.

Note: This video was produced before the passage of the JOBS Act on March 27.

 

Ron Gonen, Founder of RecycleBank

We sat down with Ron Gonen, Founder of RecycleBank recently, to discuss his experience founding and growing Recycle Bank over a seven year period. Today, the company has over 3 million members and is working towards a world without waste by rewarding people for taking everyday green actions

Enjoy.

 

Venture Studio (26): John Frankel, Founding Partner, ff Venture Capital

Ff

I recently had the pleasure of visiting with John Frankel, founding partner of ff Venture Capital, at their beautiful new NYC headquarters.

Originally from England and with 21 years at Goldman Sachs under his belt John brings an unconventional background to the table as a venture capitalist. Yet his approach is not what one might expect upon hearing this singular detail.  I learned, for example, that he's been actively investing in early stage startups (such as Quigo (sold to AOL) and Cornerstone onDemand (now CSOD on NASDAQ) for well over a decade before finally deciding to leave GS and starting his own fund full-time. I also learned that he has a unique (and refreshing) sense of the notion of "risk" in the realm of early-stage investing. Lastly, I learned that he's immensely thoughtful about the macro trends and forces at play in and around the tech space- not surprising from a guy who studied philosophy at Oxford.

Anyway- my favorite line was when he said in a tongue & cheek way that during all those years at the bank he was asking himself what he wanted to do "when he grew up". Looking at ff's formidable portfolio and the amount of fun he's having working with great entrepreneurs who want to change the world- it seems that he's found his calling.

Enjoy!


00:05    Coming to VC from  a so-called non-traditional background

01:32     Transitioning from angel investing to full-time venture investing

02:23     John's great and original take on the notion of early-stage investing being "risky"!

03:21     What motivates him as an investor? (Some great stuff here) "A better education than he received at Oxford"... "Working with great entrepreneurs who   want to change the world"

04:19     John's take on where things are going and all the "bubble talk" these days

05:50    "We continue to see an unbelievable number of amazing companies"

06:22     On getting in touch with @ffventure  (warm intros please!)

 

For the full interview click on the image of John just below: 

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Venture Studio (24): Paul Gollash, CEO of Voxy

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Hope you enjoy my recent interview with Paul Gollash, CEO of Voxy- a language learning company with a uniquely practical, mobile & real-world model. Paul recently closed on a Series A round of $2.8million from Seavest, Countour Ventures and FF Venture Capital- and he's hiring!

00:11   Paul describes what Voxy is

00:29  How does the service work?

00:58  Some examples/use-cases

01:48  Where they are in the fundraising process?

02:45   What are the big challenges for him as an entrepreneur?

03:52   What's next for Voxy? (They are hiring!)

 

For the full interview click on the image of Paul just below:

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Venture Studio (23): Neil Capel, CEO of Sailthru

Sailthru

I sat down recently with Neil Capel, CEO of SailThru, a company that was born out of a need for a higher standard of email delivery. We met at his offices @ AOL Ventures.

In our conversation Neil describes how he went from consultant at Morgan Stanley just a few years ago to founding a company that will soon be expanding globally. He takes us through his experience of first bootstrapping his company and building a team, to raising a seed round last year, to their $8 million Series A round.

He also gives specific advice to folks like himself who have the entrepreneurial drive- but who are working in large company environments.

Enjoy.

00:06 – What is Sailthru and how does it work?

01:14 – How Neil started out

01:36 – The story of Sailthru's scrappy beginnings, bootstrapping, credit cards, moonlighting, etc.

03:03 – Their first round: all NYC investors: AOL Ventures, RRE, Metaphorphic, Thrive, Lehrer Ventures, DFJ Gotham

03:21 – The big secret in building a team!

03:54 – Something about their customers

04:03 - What's next for Sailthru

04:45 - Neil's awesome advice for entrepreneurs that are just starting out! (Going full force!)

For the full interview click on the image of Neil just below:

 

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Venture Studio (22): Reece Pacheco, CEO of Shelby.tv

 

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I recently met with the entrepreneur who's trying to transform the way we share, discover and enjoy web video. Reece Pacheco, CEO of Shelby.tv and his team can take all the videos you've been linking to on facebook and twitter and pull them all together into a custom channel for you. They're making discovery and sharing a lot easier, more personalized and of course- enjoyable.

Reece also has a really unique background having traveled the world and worked in Hollywood for a while after his Brown University years and also having been a professional lacrosse player before diving into tech entrepreneurship! He also founded TeamHomeField with Joe Yevoli before launching Shelby.tv which is still going strong. Reece founded Shelby with his good friend Dan Spinosa who he met while they were students at Brown.

Everyone who knows him knows that Reece is an entrepreneur who is all about teamwork, hustle and making it happen- hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

Follow Reece on Twitter

00:11 - What is Shelby.tv and how does it get viral?

00:52 - How did it all come together?

2:05 - How Reece approached the investment community (great stuff here!)

3:53 - Reece describes the TechStars experience, the mentors, speakers, month-by-month process

4:45 - Cracking the big problem of sharing video on the web

6:01 - Walking off stage at TechStars demo day & being intro'd to investors

 

For the full interview click on the image of Reece just below:

Reece Pacheco

 

Venture Studio (21): Stacy Spikes, CEO of MoviePass

 

Moviepass

Are you one of those people that actually loves going to the movies? Do you like to go with the family, a date, or solo? Whatever it is- has Stacy Spikes has got a deal for you! In this conversation learn what Stacy, CEO of MoviePass is up to. He's trying to change the way the whole movie-going experience works. Others are obviously big believers- he's backed to the tune of $1.5MM in seed money from the likes of AOL Ventures and True Ventures. You also have to listen to the story of what he's gone through as an entrepreneur to make MoviePass a reality. It's real-life stuff we entrepreneurs benefit from hearing about. Stacy came up in the business at Miramax and then deepened his experience in the space by founding urbanworld and growing it into the largest minority film festival in the world.

For the full interview click on the image of Stacy below:

Stacy Spikes

Venture Studio (20): Ari Jacoby, CEO of Solve Media

If you're curious about what kind of entrepreneur it takes to get funded by the likes of Chris Dixon, Roger Ehrenberg, Aydin Senkut, Brian O'Kelly, First Round Capital and AOL Ventures- have a listen.

I recently sat down with 3x entrepreneur Ari Jacoby, CEO and co-founder of Solve Media. Ari's a super-smart guy who somehow found time between various startups to work at Reed-Elsevier and Google. In our talk you'll hear just how he's positioned Solve to replace traditional CAPTCHAS in a very clever manner that actually generates revenue for publishers and improves user experience. Enjoy.

There are two videos following. The one just below is a description of Solve's product:

For the full interview click on the image of Ari below:

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Venture Studio (14): Bo Peabody: Entrepreneur, Venture Capitalist, Author, Restaurateur

This is Episode (14) of Venture Studio

Welcome to this week's conversation with the multi-talented Bo Peabody, founder or co-founder of Tripod (acq. by Lycos/Terra), Everyday Health, VoodooVox, HealthGuru, UplayMe, Village Ventures, (a NYC-based $135m venture fund focused on both the media and financial services sectors), author of the book, Lucky or Smart, and owner of the hospitality company Mezze, Inc. which operates three award-winning restaurants he started. (Yes- I can personally confirm that Mezze Bistro up in Williamstown, MA is a great spot if you're ever in the area for the summer theater festival or just passing through).

We caught up with Bo in NYC recently, and in the interest of time focused our conversation on his against-the-grain habit of founding and investing in content companies- which he has been doing for years with great success.

It's no surprise- he's been an iconoclast since I met him some some seventeen years ago when he was a college student launching Tripod in the very early days of the web. Hardly any one knew or understood what the heck he was doing back then- but he did. Enjoy.

:40  -  Why does Bo invest in content when most everyone else runs from it? 

1:41 -  Learn about Everyday Health (largest health property on the web)

4:10 - We discuss portfolio companies: Health Guru, Tech Media Network, Babble, Daily Makeover, Travel Ad Network, Trefis

6:57 - Who is Bo syndicating with these days?

8:20 - What's the right deal pace for a venture fund?

9:00 - We discuss Lucky or Smart and the recent Business Insider series

11:53 - Bo's take on the Village Ventures and their expansion


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Venture Studio (13): Jeff Clavier, Founder SoftTech VC (or, "A Well-Tempered Clavier")

This is Episode (13) of Venture Studio

I sat down recently to speak with with angel investor turned MicroVC, Jeff Clavier, @jeff, founder of SoftTechVC I, II & III on a recent visit of his to NYC. (My thanks to the great people at Polaris Ventures' DogPatch Labs down in Greenwhich Village for hosting our talk.)

Jeff is a fascinating guy who saw a special opportunity in 2004 to invest in capital-efficient Web 2.0-type companies and got into angel investing in a big way, investing his own money in 20+ companies. He turned out to be enormously gifted at it. Hearkening back to my recent Series on Angel Investing, he most certainly skipped the "Mug" phase that Mark Suster and I have joked about. 

He then had the opportunity to raise a small fund and thus became what the press like to call a "Super-Angel"- but what really is more aptly-named, a MicroVC. After 65 investments in this Fund (SoftTech VC II), he has now launched SoftTechVC III, (aka "the real-deal"as he jokingly called it) which will still be a "small" fund, but certainly considerably larger than II.

It was great to hear Jeff's perspective on early-stage investing, the market segments that interest him these days and how he has evolved over the years as an investor. Enjoy.

:26  -  A little background on @jeff & how he first got into angel investing

1:19 -  Raising his first micro-fund in 2004, which was $15M in size

1:43 - The pioneers in the MicroVC space, including Josh Kopelman

2:23 - On making 65 investments in SoftTechVC II w/10 exits already(!)

3:05 - Launching SoftTechVC III & venture partner Charles Hudson

4:14 - What types of companies/sectors will III be investing in? (See Matrix)  Listen carefully here about Jeff's approach to various sectors

6:02 - After 99 investments & reaching this level- what changes in your approach?

7:21 - Epic Line: "In our business there's no pride- we basically do whatever it takes to help our companies"

7:31 - Jeff's perspective on acquisitions (of which he's had 17!) and how he works w/his portfolio company entrepreneurs in this regard

9:01 -  Has he noticed network effects amongst his portfolio companies?

9:55 - Jeff invests in a bunch of NYC companies- what are his thoughts on NYC?

11:11 - What are the biggest challenges for him?

12:47 - What's an average day like for Jeff?

 

SOFTTECH VC III (so far)

SoftTech VC III Portfolio


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Venture Studio (10): Ben Lerer, CEO of Thrillist

This is Episode (10) of Venture Studio

Welcome to this week's conversation with Ben Lerer, CEO of Thrillist, which he started five years ago in NYC as a daily email/city guide chock full of product and experiential recommendations for a very underserved market- urban-dwelling guys.  Since then, Ben and his team have scaled the company to over three million subcribers, 90+ employees and into approximately 20 cities around the country. They have also just made their first acquisition: JackThreads and have launched a Rewards program.

I would say that "evolution" was definitely one of the major themes of our talk. Ben talks not only about the evolution of his business but also of his own from a "do everything kind of entrepreneur" to a guy who now oversees a large and growing business with talented people in important roles. It's a transition that any startup entrepreneur should aspire to make one day.

We also discuss Lerer Ventures, (the seed investment fund he and his father operate). Here too we talk about his evolution as a seed investor.  Enjoy.

:20  -  What is the story of Thrillist and how it got started?

2:10 -  On getting funded by AOL veteran Bob Pittman of the Pilot Group

3:34 -  What's an average day like for Ben lately?

4:04 - "Thrillist is definitely hiring!"

4:35 - How has Ben's role at Thrillist evolved as the company has scaled?

5:13 - What's with the Bowie Knife? (ok, ok, it's plastic....) 

8:19 - Biggest lessons learned... (it's that focus thing again!)

10:04 - All about the JackThreads acquisition

11:40 -  Lerer Ventures & their evolution as seed-stage investors

14:24 - What are they looking for in terms of entrepreneurs they back?

15:02 - What is the Rewards Program and what's next for Thrillist?

Click Here for Venture Studio (11) w/ Jonathan Glick from Sulia


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Venture Studio (9): Dave Tisch, Managing Director TechStars NYC

This is Episode (9) of Venture Studio

Welcome to this week's conversation with Dave Tisch, the irrepressible Managing Director of TechStars NYC.

Dave came over to talk just two days after organizing an absolutely EPIC Tech Stars Demo Day at Webster Hall. Eleven companies (that had been whittled down from 600+ applicants) presented in front of 750 NYC investors and entrepreneurs after several months of intense preparation and mentorship. The enthusiasm and energy was simply unreal and the place was bursting at its seams. I was in the crowd and was blown-away by the quality of the presentations and companies.  Dave and his team had of course been busy making this happen for over 7 months. Each company obviously has its own story and I appreciate Dave taking the time to share a number of these with us and describing the unique experience of making the very first TechStars NYC a reality. Enjoy.

1:25 - What was the process behind bringing TechStars to NYC?

3:25 - What's the TechStars network and how does it differ from the regular TechStars model?

5:39 - How did the recent crop of TechStars grads make the roster and what's the application process like?

8:25 - Learn about Migration Box, one of the recent TechStars grads.

10:55 - Learn about Think Near, another recent TechStars grad.

12:42 - Do you have to already have funding to be a part of TechStars?

13:25 - Learn about Shelby TV, another recent TechStars grad.

15:33 - Learn about Veri, another recent TechStars grad.  Why is the story behind their application to TechStars, Dave Tisch's favorite one?

18:45 - Why does Dave Tisch love being the first money in any deal?

19:03 - What's the best way to get Dave's seed fund, The Box Group, to notice your company?

20:20 - Dave talks about TroopSwap, one of the companies in the Box Group portfolio.

24:05 - Who is Fake Dave Tisch?

Click here for Venture Studio (10) w/ Ben Lerer, CEO of Thrillist


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Venture Studio (8): Josh Weinstein, CEO of YouAre.TV

This is Episode (8) of Venture Studio

Welcome to this week's conversation with fellow Stuyvesant High School alum and tournament chess player Josh Weinstein, CEO of YouAre.TV  

Josh takes us through the labyrinth of ideas, projects, adventures and startups that have marked his remarkable entrepreneurial journey thus far. From winning the National Speed Chess Championship to launching Stuycom in highschool, to his experiences launching FreshPrince, CrushFinder, GoodCrush, RandomDorm, College Only and most recently YouAreTV- to getting funded my multiple prominent angels and VC's including Peter Thiel, Josh has a fascinating story to tell and he does so with arresting candor and a great sense humor. This was some of the most fun I've had thus far at Venture Studio and I learned that there is definitely a method to Josh's madness!  Enjoy. 

 

Below is a short table of contents (with corresponding minutes) of our conversation:

00:33    How Josh got into chess & became US Speed Chess Champion

01:27     Becoming a tech entrepreneur while @ Stuyvesant High School 

02:55     The Princeton years: FreshPrince, CrushFinder & GoodCrush

04:15     Graduating, raising seed money for GoodCrush and iterating

04:46    Adding RandomDorm to the mix & raising more capital     

05:28    Genesis: College Only (GoodCrush, RandomDorm & YouAreTV.com)

05:53     Josh describes overcoming challenges and mistakes w/College Only 

07:53     What can only be described as the "method to Josh's madness" :)

08:20    Lightbulb goes off: "Thiel is a chessplayer!!" More on Peter Thiel

09:37     Josh explains YouAreTV.com & the Game of Boxes

12:18     The YouAreTV.com team & Josh is Hiring!

12:49     Josh discusses importance of focus, shares candid insights

Click Here for Venture Studio (9) w/ Dave Tisch from TechStars NYC

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Venture Studio (7): Jordy Leiser, CEO and co-founder STELLAService

This is Episode (7) of Venture Studio

Welcome to this week's conversation with Jordy Leiser, CEO of STELLAService- one of the most intriguing and sought-after venture-backed startups in NYC. STELLAService rates the customer service performance of online stores and was recently featured in AdAge (here) and on TechCrunch (here). 

Below is a short table of contents (with corresponding minutes) of our conversation:

00:27     Jordy's background & how it led to the founding of STELLAService

01:30     Who invested, how the deal came together 

02:50     Who is this new player in town, Consiglieri?

4:39       The size of their angel and venture rounds

05:25     Who's the team behind STELLAService? 

06:30    Why'd they choose to set-up shop in NYC?

07:15     How a high school internship framed Jordy's perception of branding

07:34     Jordy's previous work w/ IMG and his experience in sports licensing

08:12     The business model

09:45     The STELLAService Seal and what it means for a company to carry it

10:25     Who are some of the companies displaying the seal?

12:02     How are brands picked and evaluated?

13:25     What's the company doing with all the data it's accumulating?

14:13     How many brands are displaying the seal?

16:00    What's Jordy learning about running a company?

16:30    What's currently happening at STELLAService?

17:08     Are they hiring?

Click for Venture Studio (8) w/ Josh Wienstein of YouAre.TV

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Venture Studio (3): Mark Loranger of Square 1 Bank

This is Episode (3) of Venture Studio

Get to know Mark Loranger, who runs the Square Roots Program @ Square 1 Bank. Square Roots is completely dedicated to serving the banking needs of promising startups so if you are a tech entrepreneur you'll learn all about what services Mark's program provides for their clients.

In this conversation we explore such topics as:

:43       What the heck is a venture bank?

2:25     What is the Square Roots Program?

3:40     What services do they provide for their clients? 

4:35     What types of companies they work with

6:03     What is their portfolio like?

7:10      Costs, etc... why it's pretty much free, etc.

8:42     Discussion of Startup Genome Project

10:20   Trends Square 1 is seeing in Angel/VC investing

11:40   Convergence of Seed Rounds and Series A in 2010

13:40   How this convergence resembles pro-wrestling!? :)

16:09   Bubble(s) Forming? What's happening in 2011?

16:27    Ron Conway/Yuri Milner/Y combinator           

Click For Venture Studio (4) w/ Vinny Vacanti, CEO of Yipit

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Primate Makes Daring Escape From Cage, Becomes Entrepreneur: Society Uneasy, Mainstream Press Obscures His True Origins

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Callmer_tongueout Steve-jobs-pointing-angry
Jobs_laughing Ellison_hotdog

This is a tongue and cheek post that's part of my ongoing Series on Entrepreneurial Culture

We've all seen headlines like these over the years:

Enraged Siberian Tiger Escapes Enclosure after being Taunted

San Francisco Zookeepers Baffled and Say What Happened Was Impossible

Furious Tiger Makes Impossible Leap Over 12 Foot Fence to Chase Down Monkey at Miami Zoo

Relentless Orangutan Manages to Short-Circuit Electric Fence and Escapes

Incensed Japanese Monkeys Somehow Catapult Themselves Over Electric Barrier

In many of these instances, investigators learn afterwards that the animal was either taunted or enraged by someone before unleashing itself from its confines in spectacular fashion. These incidents, though sensational, provide clear evidence of the astonishing feats of which wild animals are capable when they've been pushed to their limits.

What we never see however are headlines like these:

Enraged Steve Jobs Vaults Apple Into Massive Profitability After Being Counted-Out

Maniacal Bezos Stuns Legions of Naysayers as Amazon Soars

Spurned and Resentful Zuckerberg Unleashes his Colossus Upon Humanity (actually- Sorkin got this right)

Steve Balmer in Seeming Roid-Rage Drives Microsoft to New Heights

Murdoch at 80 Still Has Massive Chip on His Shoulder

That's because the mainstream press generally puts out the same "approved narrative" concerning successful entrepreneurs wherein the storylines are variations on the following themes: "talented tech whiz kid with tousled hair changes world", "visionary entrepreneur turned philanthropist with great hair jets into Davos with entourage", " so and so pulled himself up by the bootstraps and is driven because he never wants to be poor again despite being a billionaire".

As I see it, for the most part these storylines reflect an alternate reality. Reality, (ie. company-building), never comes with this glossy sheen.

It's been my observation that very successful entrepreneurs are no different than the caged animals who shatter the zoo-keeper's "impassable" barrier when incensed enough. (If you're skeptical of the animal comparison definitely check out Desmond Morris' The Human Zoo at some point).

From what I've seen, more than anything else, they share this primal impulse to break free of behavioral restraints whether imposed by the corporate arena/working world, by the society/attitudes/belief systems in which they were raised, or by the "way things are done" in certain arenas/disciplines. Their mentality is primarily a roiling cauldron of any or all of the following traits: resentment/subversiveness/anger/mania/vision/piss & vinegar and/or sheer force of will. The "make-the-world-a-better-place" stuff comes later, (if at all).

The reality is that most of these wildly successful entrepreneurs have a real chip on their shoulders and something to prove. It's personal. They often have hard edges to them, have visceral reactions to people and ideas alike, make brutal sacrifices, and often drive themselves and their companies more than anyone around them can possibly imagine. 

For Part 29 in in this Series, click here

Welcome to Venture Studio

As a new feature to my blog, I'll be posting my one-on-one conversations with entrepreneurs, hackers, founders, vc's, angels and others who comprise New York's vibrant tech ecosystem starting next week. Getting some great guests working on fascinating projects! Our parter organizations below will be helping with identifying guests and getting the word out about the show. Stand by...

 

For Episode 1 of Venture Studio click here

 

Co-Hosting Organizations:

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                                                        The Startup Genome Project
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Angel Profiling (4): The Wild and Wooly (and Expanding) Angel Universe

 This is part of my Series on Angel Investing.

In the first post of this mini-series I pointed out that the landscape of angel investing is quite sprawling and diverse with many constituents. In fact, many are calling 2010 the "Year of the Angel", although this is often uttered ironically by those who believe we are witnessing (and participating in) a seed-stage bubble these days with requisite inflated valuations. During my recent interview with him, Mark Suster made the classic remark that "everyone is an angel today" and it's true. The Venture Hacks Angel List seems to be adding new angel investors by the hour!

So bubble or not, as promised, below is an infographic that illustrates this rapidly expanding and overlapping angel universe in a tongue-and-cheek manner. The entire wild and wooly cast of characters are represented below including the aforementioned "Susterian Mugs", the ubiquitous Friends and Family investors, the two varieties of Maniacs, the Celebs and of course, the so called "Pro-leaguers" or nearly extinct "SuperAngels" (most of whom are now running their own micro-funds).

The full dramatis personae are as follows:

  • Friends and Family supporting "our own": The largest contingent of all pumping $60B/year into startups
  • "Mugs" who don't know what the heck they are getting into and don't realize it (me circa 2001)! 
  • Maniacs Tilting at Windmills who don't know what they're doing, realize it, and don't care
  • Maniacal Wisemen Tilting at Windmills Although these guys are maniacs, there is a method to their madness. They are trying to fund companies that will make a massive and positive difference in the world and solve important problems and carry their checkbooks with them. Paige Craig is one such dude.
  • "Weekend Warriors" of varying skills and motivations, (this includes participants in Angel Groups)
  • Entrepreneurs Giving Back and supporting the younger generation
  • Celeb Angels Ashton Kutcher, Will.i.am, etc.
  • VC Angels VC's who do some angel investing on the side
  • Professional Angels (the pro-leaguers or "super-angels" who more and more are becoming micro-VC's)
  • What I call "Dark Angels" These characters are not often seen in the light of day. They are elusive, shun the spotlight, and yet appear somehow through various corporate vehicles on the cap tables of many of the top-tier funded companies out there. The further I've descended into the rabbit hole of angel investing the more I run into these figures. It's amazing really as the few I've met are serious bad-asses with deep domain expertise that just like to keep a low profile for whatever reason. The last "dark angel" I met showed up at an evening meeting the CEO had arranged a few weeks ago wearing darkly- tinted glasses and hardly said a word. To me this is the most fascinating category of all.
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