Venture Capitalists who are serious about turning their firms into more than one-fund wonders may want to have their associates actually start and run a company for a year.  Every potential early-stage Venture Capitalist should take a year and do it before he or she makes partner. Venture Capital is still a “craft business”. MORE >>

Smart Money are prescient angel investors and Venture Capitalists who started investing in social networks, consumer and mobile applications and the cloud 3, 4 or 5 years ago. Filed under: Venture Capital. Venture CapitalMy friend  Ben Horowitz  and I debate the tech bubble in  The Economist. Know when to run. MORE >>

While this signaled that investments in technology companies could be very lucrative, both Shockley and Fairchild could only be funded through corporate partners – there was no venture capital industry. government backed venture firms and limited partnerships. wave of innovation was about to meet a pile of risk capital. MORE >>

If you take funding from a venture capital firm or angel investor and want to build a large, enduring company (rather than sell it to the highest bidder), this isn’t the decade to do it. The collapse of the IPO market and dysfunctional math in the venture capital community has stacked the odds against you. Here’s why. MORE >>

Filed under: Customer Development , Venture Capital. Customer Development Venture CapitalI often get asked, “how do I get a meeting with a VC?” ”  Here is my slightly tongue-in-cheek view. MORE >>